Publication Ethics

Advances in BioScience (ISSN 2583-0058) is committed to maintaining the highest ethical standards in scientific publishing. These guidelines are intended to outline the ethical responsibilities of authors, reviewers, and editors to ensure the integrity of the published scientific record and the credibility of the journal.

Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

  • Originality and Authorship: Authors must submit original work that has not been previously published and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. Authorship should be restricted to individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported research. All listed authors must approve the final version of the manuscript prior to submission and take collective responsibility for its content.
  • Citation of sources: Authors are responsible for accurately citing all sources of ideas, data, and previously published content used in their work and must properly acknowledge all relevant contributions.
  • Data Availability and Sharing: Authors are expected to share research data upon reasonable request, in accordance with ethical and legal considerations. Where applicable, raw data, methodologies, protocols, and other supporting materials should be made available to allow for independent verification of the findings.
  • Research Conduct: All research must comply with established ethical guidelines. Studies involving human participants require approval from an Institutional Review Board (IRB) or ethics committee, and informed consent must be obtained. For animal research, authors must adhere to recognized standards such as the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals or equivalent institutional guidelines.
  • Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Authors must disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that could influence the interpretation of their results or affect the peer review process. This includes funding sources, employment affiliations, patent holdings, and any other relevant interests.
  • Authorship Disputes: Authors are expected to resolve all disagreements regarding authorship before submitting their manuscript. Any disputes that arise after submission should be promptly communicated to the editorial team for mediation.

Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

  • Confidentiality: Manuscripts under review must be treated as confidential documents. Reviewers must not share, discuss, or disclose any part of the manuscript or its content outside the formal peer-review process.
  • Objectivity: Reviews must be conducted objectively, focusing solely on the scientific merit of the manuscript. Reviewers should provide constructive feedback and avoid personal bias, inappropriate language, or discriminatory remarks.
  • Disclosure of conflicts: Reviewers must disclose any potential conflicts of interest—such as competitive, collaborative, or financial—and should decline to review any manuscript where such conflicts could compromise their objectivity.
  • Timeliness and Expertise: Reviewers should accept assignments only if they have the appropriate expertise and can complete the review within the specified timeframe. They are expected to provide constructive and timely feedback to support the integrity and quality of the peer-review process.
  • Originality and Plagiarism: Reviewers should report any suspected plagiarism, data duplication, redundant publication, or other ethical concerns identified in the manuscript.

Ethical Responsibilities of Editors

  • Fairness and Objectivity: Editors must ensure that all submitted manuscripts are evaluated fairly and objectively, based solely on their scientific merit, originality, and relevance to the journal’s scope. Editorial decisions must be free from bias or discrimination based on authors’ race, gender, religion, nationality, institutional affiliation, or other personal characteristics.
  • Confidentiality and Integrity: Editors must maintain the confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts and the anonymity of peer reviewers throughout the review process. Unpublished information obtained through the review process must not be used for personal gain or advantage.
  • Conflict of Interest: Editors must recuse themselves from handling any manuscript in which they may have a potential conflict of interest and assign it to another qualified editor.
  • Handling Misconduct: Editors will investigate all allegations of research or publication misconduct—including plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, data manipulation, or authorship disputes—and take appropriate action, which may include contacting the corresponding author, their institution, or relevant authorities.
  • Retraction and Correction: In cases of confirmed misconduct or significant publishing errors, editors will take appropriate corrective action—such as issuing corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions in accordance with established ethical guidelines, such as those provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Handling of Ethical Issues

  • Investigation of Allegations: All allegations of research or publication misconduct will be investigated promptly, fairly, and confidentially by the Editorial Board.
  • Action on Misconduct: If misconduct is confirmed, the journal will take appropriate actions to uphold research integrity. These may include retracting the article, publishing a statement of concern, notifying affected parties, and restricting future submissions from the authors involved.

Ethical Guidelines for Research

To ensure ethical research practices, Advances in Bioscience requires all authors to comply with the following international guidelines:

  • Declaration of Helsinki: Ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects, established by the World Medical Association.
  • Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals: A foundational document outlining internationally recognized ethical principles and standards for the care, use, and welfare of animals in research.
  • International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations: Provides comprehensive guidelines for the conduct, reporting, editing, and peer review of biomedical research.

Publication Ethics Resources

Authors, reviewers, and editors are encouraged to refer to the following resources for more information on publication ethics:

To ensure ethical publication practices, Advances in Bioscience requires that authors, reviewers, and editors adhere to these guidelines. Authors, reviewers, and editors are responsible for upholding the principles of publication ethics throughout their involvement with the journal. By submitting a manuscript to Advances in Bioscience, authors explicitly agree to abide by these ethical guidelines and to cooperate fully with any investigation of alleged misconduct. Violations of these guidelines may result in corrective actions, including retraction of published articles and restrictions on submission of future manuscripts.

For any questions or concerns regarding publication ethics, contact the Editorial Office at editor[at]sospublication.co.in.