Ethical Guidelines
Policy on Conflict of Interest, Human and Animal Rights, and Informed Consent for publications
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. If the work involves the use of animal or human subjects, the author should ensure that the manuscript contains a statement that all procedures were performed in compliance with relevant laws and institutional guidelines and that the appropriate institutional committees has approved them. Authors should include a statement in the manuscript that informed consent was obtained for experimentation with human subjects. The privacy rights of human subjects must always be observed.
Conflicts of interest comprise those which may not be fully apparent and which may influence the judgment of author, reviewers, and editors.
They have been described as those which, when revealed later, would make a reasonable reader feel misled or deceived.
They may be personal, commercial, political, academic or financial. “Financial” interests may include employment, research funding, stock or share ownership, payment for lectures or travel, consultancies and company support for staff.
Action
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Such interests, where relevant, must be declared to editors by researchers, authors, and reviewers.
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Editors should also disclose relevant conflicts of interest to their readers. If in doubt, disclose. Sometimes editors may need to withdraw from the review and selection process for the relevant submission.
The role of journal editors in reviewing and approving material that is published
The editors of SPER Publications are responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published. The corroboration of the work in question and its importance to researchers and readers must always drive such decisions. The editor may be guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism.
The editors should not be partial by matters such as race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.
The editors can choose to ignore any material that breaks legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The editors must ensure the confidentiality of the submitted works until they are published.
The publication of an article in a peer-reviewed journal is an essential building block in the development of a logical and valued network of knowledge. It is a direct indication of the quality of the work of the authors and the institutions that support them. Peer-reviewed articles support and exemplify the scientific method. It is therefore important to agree upon standards of expected ethical behaviour for all parties involved in the act of publishing: the author, the journal editor, the peer reviewer, the publisher and the society.
Fair play
An editor should evaluate 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 express written consent of the author. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Editors should recuse themselves (i.e. should ask a co-editor, associate editor or other member of the editorial board instead to review and consider) from considering manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or (possibly) institutions connected to the papers. Editors should require all contributors to disclose relevant competing interests and publish corrections if competing interests are revealed after publication. If needed, other appropriate action should be taken, such as the publication of a retraction or expression of concern.
Involvement and cooperation in investigations
An editor should take reasonably responsive measures when ethical complaints have been presented concerning a submitted manuscript or published paper, in conjunction with the publisher (or society). Such measures will generally include contacting the author of the manuscript or paper and giving due consideration of the respective complaint or claims made, but may also include further communications to the relevant institutions and research bodies, and if the complaint is upheld, the publication of a correction, retraction, expression of concern, or other note, as may be relevant. Every reported act of unethical publishing behaviour must be looked into, even if it is discovered years after publication.
The process for handling cases requiring corrections, retractions, and editorial expressions of concern
SPER Publications is committed to adhere closely with the ethical guidelines set by various international organizations i.e. Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICJME) and World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) and maintain the high standards of publication process set standards and provide guidelines for best practices in order to meet these requirements.
All SPER Publications journals abide by COPE Retraction Guidelines
[Click here to download COPE retraction guidelines]