1. Ethics in Publishing
Authors are required to adhere to the ethical guidelines outlined in journal’s Publishing Ethics Policy. These principles include scientific integrity, transparency, respect for the rights of researchers, and compliance with international standards of research ethics.
2. Submission Declaration
By submitting a manuscript to an journal, authors implicitly confirm that:
- The work has not been previously published, except as a preprint, abstract, published lecture, academic thesis, or registered report.
- The manuscript is not under consideration by any other journal.
- The submission has been approved by all authors and by the responsible authorities at the institution where the work was conducted.
- If accepted, the article will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or any other language, including electronically, without written permission from the copyright holder.
The journal may use screening tools to verify compliance with its publishing policies.
3. Authorship
All authors must have made a meaningful contribution to:
- The conception and design of the study, or data collection, or data analysis and interpretation
- Drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content
- Final approval of the version to be submitted
A corresponding author must be designated to communicate with the journal. All authors share responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of the work and must cooperate in resolving any concerns.
4. Changes to Authorship
This journal generally does not accept changes to the authorship list after submission. Authors must ensure that the final list and order of authors are determined carefully at the time of initial submission.
Journal policies include:
- All authors must be listed in the manuscript and entered into the submission system.
- Any addition, removal, or rearrangement of authors is only permitted before acceptance and must be approved by the editor.
- Requests must be submitted by the corresponding author and include the reason for the change along with written confirmation from all authors (including those added or removed).
- Requests must be submitted using the designated form.
- In exceptional cases, changes may be considered after acceptance.
- If changes are approved after publication, a corrigendum will be issued.
- Unauthorized changes may result in rejection or retraction of the article.
5. Declaration of Competing Interests
All authors must disclose any financial or personal relationships that could inappropriately influence their work. Examples include:
- Employment
- Consultancies
- Stock ownership
- Honoraria
- Expert testimony
- Patent applications
- Grants or funding
- Editorial board membership
Authors with no competing interests must state: “I have no competing interests to declare.”
6. Funding Sources
Authors must disclose all financial support received for conducting the research or preparing the manuscript. The role of funders in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, writing, and submission must be clearly stated.
If no funding was received, the following statement must be included:
“This research received no specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not‑for‑profit sectors.”
7. Declaration of Generative AI Use
Authors must disclose any use of generative AI tools in preparing the manuscript. journal permits responsible use of such tools; however:
- AI tools must not replace human analysis or judgment.
- Authors are fully responsible for the accuracy and integrity of all content.
- All tools and sources used must be transparently disclosed.
- AI tools must not be listed as authors.
The AI use statement must appear in a separate section before the references.
8. Preprints
Authors may share preprints in accordance with journal’s article sharing policy. Posting a preprint does not constitute prior publication.
The journal also offers free preprint posting on SSRN.
9. Inclusive Language
Authors must use language that:
- Reflects diversity
- Is respectful and unbiased
- Avoids stereotypes, discriminatory expressions, and unnecessary references to personal attributes
Use of gender‑neutral terms and avoidance of unnecessary gendered pronouns is recommended.
10. Sex‑ and Gender‑Based Analyses
For studies involving humans, animals, or eukaryotic cells, sex‑ and gender‑based analyses should be incorporated into study design and reporting, or acknowledged as a limitation.
Authors must clearly define the terms sex and gender according to scientific standards.
11. Jurisdictional Claims
journal maintains neutrality regarding territorial or jurisdictional claims.
Maps must show only the actual study area and include a note indicating that map boundaries do not necessarily represent official national borders.
Institutional affiliations must be stated in their official, verifiable form.
12. Studies in Humans
Human studies must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki and ICMJE guidelines. Manuscripts must include:
- Ethical approval (with date and reference number)
- Protection of participants’ rights and privacy
- Informed consent
The journal does not accept manuscripts using human tissues or organs obtained through unethical means.
13. Studies in Animals
Animal studies must comply with ARRIVE guidelines and relevant national or international regulations.
Manuscripts must include a statement confirming compliance and must specify the sex of the animals used.
14. Sensory Studies
Sensory studies require an ethical statement.
If ethical approval is not required, the exemption must be justified.
If no ethics committee exists, authors must explain how participants’ rights and privacy were protected.
For vulnerable populations, consent from parents or legal guardians is mandatory.
15. Delayed Publication
If authors need to delay publication, they must contact the journal office as early as possible.
The journal will attempt to honor the request, but cannot guarantee that publication will not occur before the requested date.