Publication Ethics

Author Obligations

Reporting Standards: Authors of reports of Literature Reviews or Community Service Projects should present an accurate description of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. The paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

Data Access and Retention: Authors are asked to provide the raw data related to a paper for editorial review and should be prepared to provide public access to such data (consistent with the ALPSP-STM Statement on Data and Databases), if practicable, and should in any event be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.

Originality and Plagiarism: Authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others, this has been appropriately cited or referenced.

Duplicate, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication: In general, an author should not publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.

Acknowledgment of Sources: Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.

Authorship of the Paper: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. If others have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: All authors must disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be perceived to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project must be disclosed.

Fundamental Errors in Published Works: When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author's obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.

Hazards and Human or Animal Subjects: If the work involves chemicals, procedures, or equipment that have any unusual hazards inherent in their use, the author must clearly identify these in the manuscript.

Duties of Editors

Fair Play: An editor at all times evaluates manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.

Confidentiality: The editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor's own research without the author's express written consent.

Publication Decisions: The journal's editorial board is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published. The validation of the work in question and its importance to researchers and readers must always be considered in making such decisions. Editors may be guided by the journal's editorial board policies and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. Editors may consult with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.

Manuscript Review: The editor must ensure that each manuscript is initially evaluated by the editor for originality. The editor should organize and use peer review fairly and judiciously. Editors should explain their peer review processes in the information for authors and should indicate which parts of the journal are peer reviewed. Editors should use appropriate peer reviewers to make