Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science (IAES) is a non-profit international scientific association of distinguished scholars engaged in engineering and science devoted to promoting research and technologies in the engineering and science fields through digital technology. IAES journals are peer-reviewed international journals. This statement clarifies the ethical behavior of all parties involved in the act of publishing an article in our journals, including the authors, the editors, the peer-reviewers, and the publisher (Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science). This statement is based on COPE’s Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.

 

IAES Statement for Article Assessment

All submitted manuscripts must conform to IAES’s policies as described. All manuscripts are subject to peer review and must meet academic excellence requirements. Submissions will be considered by peer reviewers whose identities will be kept anonymous to the authors if they are authorized by the editor. In all cases, IAES strictly adheres to the COPE standards of publication ethics as outlined in its core practice papers. Their counsel includes assistance in dealing with conflicts of interest, authorship and contributorship concerns and disputes, misconduct allegations and data issues, overlap and plagiarism, and peer review integrity.

IAES Editorial Boards are independent, and the publisher will not influence with editorial decisions. When ethical or legal concerns arise, a decision may be reversed; acceptance of a manuscript may be revoked if an ethical issue or violation with policies is discovered. Manuscripts that do not comply with IAES ethical norms may be withdrawn from consideration by the publisher.

All manuscripts are checked by IAES to ensure that they comply with the Publication Ethics Guidelines. Some of the described checks are carried out with the assistance of checks, assisted by iThenticate (Crossref Similarity Check), while others are carried out manually by the Journal Editorial Office personnel. A human decision maker confirms potential issues that are detected. In many circumstances, an Academic Editor is consulted when a paper does not correspond to policies or is highlighted during check.

 

Publication Ethics Statement

IAES fully adhere to its Code of Conduct and to its Best Practice Guidelines. To facilitate the contribution of high-quality scientific studies to the field of academic publication, IAES journals adhere to a rigorous peer-review procedure as well as defined ethical principles and standards. When we become aware of ethical difficulties, we are committed to investigating and taking the required steps to protect the integrity of the literature and the safety of research participants. Manuscripts should follow the IAES editorial and ethical criteria established on this page and in the IAES Guidelines for Authors. Submissions should also follow the guidelines of the respective journals.

Principles:

  • Prevention—early detection and flagging of potential ethical concerns through automated and manual assessments of peer review and manuscript.
  • Neutrality—to be fair and objective, making judgements to correct the literature where necessary.
  • Transparency—when possible and appropriate, keep all parties informed and allow them time to respond.
  • Consistency— ensuring proper processes are followed for the investigation of concerns and applicability of policies, and principles and flowcharts of COPE are upheld.

 

Ethical Guidelines for Authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to IAES publications must guarantee that they are ethically sound and fulfill industry-recognized standards, as represented in IAES policies.

Authors who submit their manuscripts to IAES journals must:

  • Present their research findings accurately and give an objective appraisal of their importance.
  • Maintain accurate authorship by including only those who are eligible for authorship and explicitly describing their contribution.
  • At the time of submission, disclose any information that could be interpreted as a potential conflict of interest.
  • Present their data and techniques with precision. The data and methods used in the study must be described in sufficient detail in the publication for other researchers to repeat their work. Unless there is a strong reason to the contrary (e.g., patient confidentiality), raw data must be made public.
  • Be advised that concurrent submission of articles to multiple journals is not authorized.
  • Original research results must be unique and previously unpublished, and any translations must adhere to our translation policy.
  • Obtain permission from the copyright owners to publish any previously published content (including quotations, figures, or tables).
  • Promptly communicate any errors or inaccuracies discovered after publishing.

This is not an entire list, and authors should be aware of local rules and acceptable academic publication practices.

 

Authorship

IAES adheres to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines, which say that in order to qualify for authorship of a publication, authors must meet all four criteria:

  • Significant contributions to the work's idea or design; or gathering, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
  • Drafting the work or critically editing it for important intellectual substance; AND
  • Final approval of the published version; AND
  • Acceptance of responsibility for all parts of the work, including ensuring that any questions about the accuracy or integrity of any portion of the work are appropriately investigated and handled.

ICMJE provides more specific information on authorship. The minimum recognized requirements for authorship are making a substantial contribution to the research and being accountable for the work undertaken (COPE Discussion document: authorship). Author contributions may be described at the end of the submission, optionally utilizing CRediT responsibilities. Submitting authors are required to give an ORCID, and we encourage all authors to do so. Any changes to the author list made during the editorial process or after publication must be accepted by all authors, including those who have been removed. With their consent, everyone who contributed to the research or manuscript preparation but is not an author should be credited. Submissions from anyone other than one of the authors will be rejected. We reserve the right to require proof of authorship, and modifications to authorship after acceptance will be made at the discretion of IAES.

Author Contributions

To ensure complete openness, all submitted manuscripts should include an author contributorship declaration that details each author's effort. A short paragraph describing each author's individual contributions is required for research articles with several authors.

It is recommended to make the following statements: X.X. and Y.Y. were responsible for the conceptualization of the project; X.X. was in charge of the methodology; X.X. was in charge of the software; X.X., Y.Y., and Z.Z. were responsible for the validation of the project; X.X. was in charge of the formal analysis; X.X. was in charge of the investigation; X.X. was in charge of the resources; X.X. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Please refer to CRediT taxonomy for an explanation of terms. Authorship must be limited to those who have contributed substantially to the work reported.

The corresponding author should serve as a point of contact between the editor and the other authors, keeping co-authors informed and involving them in major publication decisions.

The statement "X and X contributed equally to this paper" in the manuscript indicates joint first authors. The roles of the equal authors should also be adequately disclosed in the contributorship statement.

Individual statements are less applicable in review articles, so a statement that clarifies who was responsible for the ideation, who performed the literature search and/or data analysis, and who drafted and revised the work should be included.

The IAES recommends that the student be listed as the primary author for articles that are primarily based on a student's dissertation or thesis.

Consortium/Group Authorship

If the consortium or group retains authorship, the consortium or group should be listed as an author. Individual consortium/group author members listed in the author byline must meet ICMJE guidelines for authorship.

When the author(s) present work on behalf of a consortium or group, this should be stated in the author list, for example, "Author A on behalf of XXX Consortium/Group." The consortium/group will not retain authorship and will only be listed as an author.

If provided, the consortium/group members will be listed in Acknowledgments, Appendix, or Supplementary Materials at the end of the article.

Authorship and the Use of AI or AI-Assisted Technologies

When it comes to the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technology in manuscript preparation, IAES adheres to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) position statement. ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs) do not meet authorship criteria and thus are not permitted to be listed as authors on manuscripts.

In cases where AI or AI-assisted tools were used in the preparation of a manuscript, this must be declared appropriately and with sufficient details at the time of submission via the cover letter. Furthermore, authors must be transparent about the use of these tools, disclosing details of how the AI tool was used in the "Materials and Methods" section, as well as providing product details for the AI tool in the "Acknowledgments" section.

Authors are fully responsible for the originality, validity, and integrity of their manuscript's content and must ensure that it complies with all of IAES's publication ethics policies. The IAES reserves the right to request additional information, and editorial decisions will be made in accordance with the IAES Editorial Process and our Terms and Conditions.

Deceased Authors

If a manuscript is submitted with the authorship of a deceased author, or if an author dies during peer review, the corresponding author or co-authors must notify the editorial office. If the deceased author was a corresponding author, the authorship group should appoint a co-author to fill this position. The corresponding author should confirm the deceased author's contribution and any potential conflicts of interest. When the article is published, a note will be added under the author list.

Changes to Authorship

Before submitting a manuscript, authors are expected to carefully consider their authorship. Any changes to the author list should be made during the editorial process, prior to manuscript acceptance. Authorship changes, including the addition, removal, or rearrangement of author names, will require the approval of all authors, including those who will be removed. To request a change in authorship, the journal must receive a completed authorship change form that includes the signatures of all authors and a reason for the change. Any changes to authorship requested after manuscript acceptance will result in a delay in publication. If the manuscript has already been published, requests for changes in authorship will be considered and will necessitate the publication of a Correction. We reserve the right to request proof of authorship, and changes to authorship after acceptance will be made at the discretion of IAES.

Authorship Disputes

When it comes to resolving authorship disputes that may arise during or after publication, IAES adheres to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines. Here, COPE guidelines clearly state that Journals are not in a position to adjudicate on appropriate authorship contributions (https://publicationethics.org/resources/discussion-documents/authorship) and that disputed authorship is not usually grounds for retraction when “there is no reason to doubt the validity of the findings” (https://publicationethics.org/retraction-guidelines).

When disputes cannot be resolved by the affected parties, Journals will refer the matter to an appropriate Institution or Governing Body for final decision. The IAES reserves the right to change authorship lists in accordance with recommendations from the Institution or Governing Body.

 

Plagiarism, Data Fabrication and Image Manipulation

Plagiarism is strictly prohibited in IAES journals. Plagiarism is defined as the act of copying text, ideas, images, or data from another source, including your own publications, without crediting the original source.

Text copied from another source must be reused between quotation marks, and the original source must be cited. If the design of a study, or the structure or language of the manuscript, was inspired by previous research, it must be explicitly cited.

The industry standard software “iThenticate” is used to check all IAES submissions for plagiarism. The manuscript may be rejected if plagiarism is discovered during the peer review process. If plagiarism is discovered after publication, an investigation will be conducted and appropriate action will be taken in accordance with our policies.

Image files must not be manipulated or altered in any way that could result in incorrect interpretation of the information provided by the original image. Irregular manipulation includes 1) adding, enhancing, moving, or removing features from the original image, 2) grouping images that should clearly be presented separately (e.g., from different parts of the same gel, or from different gels), and 3) modifying the contrast, brightness, or color balance to obscure, eliminate, or enhance some information.

We may reject the manuscript if irregular image manipulation is discovered and confirmed during the peer review process. If we discover and confirm irregular image manipulation after publication, we may correct or retract the paper.

The information presented must be original and not have been improperly selected, manipulated, enhanced, or fabricated. This includes 1) excluding data points to increase the significance of conclusions, 2) fabricating data, 3) selecting results that support a specific conclusion over contradictory data, and 4) deliberate selection of analysis tools or methods to support a specific conclusion (including p-hacking). We strongly advise method and analysis preregistration.

 

Research Involving Human Subjects

When reporting on research involving human subjects, human material, human tissues, or human data, authors must state that the investigations were conducted in accordance with the 1975 Helsinki Declaration (https://www.wma.net/what-we-do/medical-ethics/declaration-of-helsinki/), as revised in 2013. According to point 23 of this declaration, prior to conducting the research, an approval from the local institutional review board (IRB) or other appropriate ethics committee must be obtained to ensure the study meets national and international guidelines. In Section 'Institutional Review Board Statement' of the article, at a minimum, a statement including the project identification code, date of approval, and name of the ethics committee or institutional review board must be stated.

"All subjects gave their informed consent for inclusion before participating in the study," as an example of an ethical statement. The research was carried out in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration, and the protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of XXX (Project identification code)."

For non-interventional studies (e.g., surveys, questionnaires, social media research), all participants must be fully informed if anonymity is guaranteed, why the research is being conducted, how their data will be used, and if there are any risks involved. Prior to conducting the study, as with all human research, ethical approval from an appropriate ethics committee must be obtained. If ethical approval is not required, authors must either provide an exemption from the ethics committee or are encouraged to cite local or national legislation indicating that ethics approval is not required for this type of study. Where a study has been granted exemption, the name of the ethics committee that granted it should be stated in Section 'Institutional Review Board Statement,' along with a detailed explanation of why ethical approval was not required.

Participating patients must provide written informed consent for publication. Individual participant data must be described in detail, but private information identifying participants must be avoided unless the identifiable materials are relevant to the research (for example, photographs of participants' faces displaying a specific symptom). Initials or other personal identifiers of patients must not appear in any images. Before submitting a manuscript to an IAES journal, authors must obtain signed informed consent for publication from patients (or their relatives/guardians) for any case details, personal information, and/or images of patients. Patient information should be anonymized as much as possible; for example, do not mention specific age, ethnicity, or occupation if they are irrelevant to the conclusions. A permission form template is available for download. A blank version of the permission form (without the patient names or signatures) must be uploaded along with your submission. Any submission that does not meet these requirements will be rejected by the editors.

After consulting with your affiliated institution, you may refer to our sample form and provide an appropriate form. A consent, permission, or release form should include unlimited permission for publication in all formats (including print, electronic, and online), in sublicensed and reprinted versions (including translations and derived works), and in other works and products under open access license for the purposes of publishing in IAES journals. Please do not send signed forms in order to respect the privacy of patients and others. If necessary, the journal reserves the right to request signed forms from authors.

An additional check may be performed if the study reports research involving vulnerable groups. The submitted manuscript will be reviewed by the editorial office, and documentary evidence (blank consent forms and any related discussion documents from the ethics board) will be required upon request. Furthermore, when studies describe groups based on race, ethnicity, gender, disability, disease, and so on, the article must explain why such categorization was necessary.

 

Research Involving the Use of Animals

The editors will require that the benefits derived from any research that causes animal harm be significant in comparison to any cost borne by animals, and that the procedures used are unlikely to offend the majority of readers. Authors should take special care to ensure that their research adheres to the widely accepted '3Rs' [1]:

  • Replacement of animals by alternatives wherever possible;
  • Reduction in number of animals used; AND
  • Refinement of experimental conditions and procedures to minimize the harm to animals.

In their manuscript, authors must include information on housing, husbandry, and pain management.

Authors should consult the Code of Practice for the Housing and Care of Animals Used in Scientific Procedures [2], the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [3], or the European Animal Research Association [4] for additional guidance.

Studies involving vertebrates or higher invertebrates must be carried out only after approval from the appropriate ethics committee, if required by national legislation. Section 'Institutional Review Board Statement' should include at a minimum the project identification code, date of approval, and name of the ethics committee or institutional review board. National and institutional regulations must be followed when conducting research. Animal welfare statements should confirm that the study complied with all relevant legislation. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, clinical studies involving animals and interventions other than routine care require the oversight of an ethics committee. If the study used client-owned animals, informed client consent must be obtained and certified in the research manuscript report. Owners must be fully informed of any risks associated with the procedures, as well as the fact that the research will be published. A high standard of veterinary care must be provided if it is available. The authors are responsible for the accuracy of the statements in the manuscript.

If national laws do not require ethical approval, authors must provide an exemption from the ethics committee, if one is available. When a study is granted exemption, the name of the ethics committee that granted it should be listed in Section 'Institutional Review Board Statement,' along with a detailed explanation of why ethical approval was not required.

If there is no animal ethics committee to review applications, authors should be aware that the ethics of their research will be assessed by reviewers and editors. Authors should provide an ethical justification for their work, using the same utilitarian framework that ethics committees use. Even if they have received ethical approval, authors may be asked to provide this.

The IAES supports the ARRIVE guidelines for reporting experiments with live animals (arriveguidelines.org/). The ARRIVE guidelines, which may be obtained at https://arriveguidelines.org/sites/arrive/files/documents/ARRIVE%20Compliance%20Questionnaire.pdf., must be used as a checklist by authors and reviewers. Editors reserve the right to request the checklist and reject entries that do not follow to these standards, reject submissions based on ethical or animal welfare issues, or reject submissions if the technique described does not appear to be justified by the merit of the work presented.

  1. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science. The Scientific Basis for Regulation of Animal Care and Use. Available online: https://www.aalas.org/about-aalas/position-papers/scientific-basis-for-regulation-of-animal-care-and-use
  2. European Animal Research Association. EU regulations on animal research. Available online: https://www.eara.eu/animal-research-law
  3. Home Office. Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. Code of Practice for the Housing and Care of Animals Bred, Supplied or Used for Scientific Purposes. Available online: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/388535/CoPanimalsWeb.pdf
  4. NSW Department of Primary Industries and Animal Research Review Panel. Three Rs. Available online: https://www.animalethics.org.au/three-rs

 

Research Involving Cell Lines

Methods sections for submissions reporting on cell line research should include the source of any cell lines. For established cell lines, the origin should be specified, and references should be made to either a published publication or a commercial source. If previously unpublished de novo cell lines were used, including those gifted from another laboratory, details of institutional review board or ethics committee approval must be included, as well as confirmation of written informed consent if the line is of human origin. Editors have the right to reject any material that does not satisfy these conditions.

An example of an ethical statement:

XXXX was the source from which we received the HCT116 cell line. MLH1+ cell lines were contributed by XXXXX, Ltd. Dr. XXXX was the one who provided us with the DLD-1 cell line. Dr. XXX was the source of both the DR-GFP and SA-GFP reporter plasmids, as well as the Rad51K133A expression vector. Both of these were obtained from Dr. XXX.

 

Research Involving Plants

Plant experimental research (cultivated or wild), including plant material collecting, must follow institutional, national, or international norms. We recommend that authors comply with the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Each manuscript must include supporting genetic information and its origin. Voucher specimens must be deposited in an accessible herbarium or museum for research articles using rare and non-model plants (other than Arabidopsis thaliana, Nicotiana benthamiana, Oriza sativa, and many other common model plants). Future investigators may seek vouchers for evaluation to confirm the identity of the material used in the study (particularly if taxonomic rearrangements occur in the future). They should include information about the populations collected on the collection location (GPS coordinates), the date of collection, and the part(s) used in the study, if applicable. This can be waived for uncommon, imperiled, or endangered species, but the author must explain this in the cover letter.

Any submission that does not satisfy these conditions may be rejected by the editors.

Ethical Statement Example:

This study made use of Torenia fournieri plants. Dr. XXX (XXX Institute, City, Country) graciously offered white-flowered Crown White (CrW) and violet-flowered Crown Violet (CrV) cultivars from the 'Crown Mix' (XXX Company, City, Country).

Dr. XXX, institute, city, country) kindly gave Arabidopis mutant lines (SALKxxxx, SAILxxxx,...).

 

Clinical Trials Registration

Registration

As a prerequisite of publication, IAES follows the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines, which require and recommend that clinical trials be registered in a public trials registry at or before the time of first patient enrolment.

Registration is not required for pure observational research. A clinical trial is a study that involves participant randomization and group classification in the context of the intervention under evaluation. It does not just relate to studies that take place in a hospital or use medications.

Authors are strongly advised to pre-register clinical studies with an international clinical trials registry and to include a link to the registration in the Methods section. Suitable databases include clinicaltrials.gov, the EU Clinical Trials Register and those listed by the World Health Organisation International Clinical Trials Registry Platform.

An impartial local, regional, or national review body's approval to conduct a study is not the same as prospective clinical trial registration. IAES retains the right to reject any paper that does not have a trial registration for additional peer-review. However, if the research protocol is published prior to enrollment, registration can be waived with proper reference of the published protocol.

 

CONSORT Statement

When reporting the results of a randomized trial, the IAES demands a completed CONSORT 2010 checklist and flow diagram as a condition of submission. Templates for these can be found here or on the CONSORT website (http://www.consort-statement.org), which also outlines many CONSORT checklist extensions for additional designs and types of data beyond two group parallel trials. At the very least, your article should report on the content handled by each item on the checklist.

 

Sex and Gender in Research

We encourage our authors to adhere to the ‘Sex and Gender Equity in Research – SAGER – guidelines’ and to integrate sex and gender concerns whenever possible. To avoid confusion, authors should use the terms sex (biological property) and gender (formed by social and cultural factors) carefully. Article names and/or abstracts should explicitly state which gender(s) the study applies to. Authors should additionally describe if sex and/or gender differences should be expected in the background; report how sex and/or gender were accounted for in the study design; offer disaggregated data by sex and/or gender, when relevant; and discuss related outcomes. If no sex and/or gender analysis was performed, the reason should be stated in the Discussion. We recommend that our authors read the full guidelines before submission.

 

Borders and Territories

Potential border and territory issues should be respected by authors when describing their study or in author or editor correspondence addresses. Content decisions are made by the editorial team, and if there is a possible or perceived conflict or complaint, the editorial staff will work to find a solution that meets the needs of all parties involved.

Regarding jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations, IAES remains neutral.

 

Potential Conflicts of Interests

"Authors should avoid entering into agreements with study sponsors, both for-profit and non-profit, that interfere with authors' access to all of the study's data or that interfere with their ability to analyze and interpret the data and to prepare and publish manuscripts independently when and where they choose," advises the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.

Authors must identify and state any personal circumstances or interests that could be interpreted as inappropriately influencing the depiction or interpretation of the reported study findings. Financial interests (such as membership, employment, consultancies, stock/share ownership, honoraria, grants or other funding, paid expert testimonies, and patent-licensing arrangements) and non-financial interests (such as personal or professional relationships, affiliations, and personal beliefs) are examples of potential conflicts of interest.

Any involvement of the funding sponsors in the design of the study, data collection, analysis, or interpretation, manuscript writing, or decision to publish the results must be mentioned in this area. If there is no role, please write, "The funding sponsors had no role in the design of the study; data collection, analysis, or interpretation; manuscript writing; or decision to publish the results."

Authors can disclose any conflicts of interest during the submission process by using the online submission system. The IAES disclosure form can also be used to collect declarations of conflicts of interest. The corresponding author must provide a summary statement in a separate section "Conflicts of Interest" directly before the reference list in the publication. The statement should include any potential conflicts of interest disclosures collected in the form.

Examples of disclosures are shown below:

Potential Conflicts of Interest: Company A has provided research money to Author A. Author B received a speaking fee from Company X and holds stock in Company Y. Author C worked as a consultant and expert witness for Company Z. Patent X was invented by author D.

If there are no apparent perceived conflicts, the authors should state:

Potential Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

The IAES recognizes the significance of publishing research on smoking cessation or tobacco use reduction. While we accept papers on these issues, the IAES does not publish studies that have been partially or entirely supported by the tobacco industry. Other privately funded research, such as those affiliated with the pharmaceutical or food sectors, must clearly indicate the funder's position. This statement should include information about how the study topic was chosen, experimental design, and data collection and analysis.

 

Intellectual Property i.a. Copyright, Patent and Licensing

The authors maintain copyright for all publications published in IAES journals. Articles are released under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 open access license, which means that anybody can download and read the paper for free. Furthermore, the article may be reproduced and quoted as long as the original published version is cited. These terms provide for maximal use and exposure of the work while also guaranteeing that the creators are properly credited.

Articles may be licensed differently in extraordinary circumstances. If you have a specific constraint (such as one related to funding) that prevents you from using this license, please notify the journal's Editorial Office at the time of submission. Exceptions will be granted at the publisher's discretion.

Prior to submission, authors must get permission to reprint any previously published material (figures, tables, text, etc.) that does not fall into the public domain or for which they do not control the copyright.

Permission is required for:

  • Your own work published by other publishers and for which you did not retain copyright.
  • Substantial extracts from the work of anyone's works or a series of work.
  • Use of tables, graphs, charts, schemes and artworks if they are unaltered or slightly modified.
  • Photographs for which you do not hold copyright.

Permission is not required for:

  • Reconstruction of your own table with data already published elsewhere. Please note that in this case, you must cite the source of the data in the form of either "Data from..." or "Adapted from...".
  • Very short quotes are considered fair use and therefore do not require permission.
  • Graphs, charts, schemes and artwork that is completely redrawn by the authors and significantly changed beyond recognition do not require permission. However, you may need to check the copyright permissions of any underlying data.

Once you have gained permission, the copyright owners may provide you with instructions on the appropriate type of acknowledgement to use. Alternatively, use the following format: "Reproduced with permission from [author], [book/journal title]; published by [publisher], [year]".

Translations

IAES journals may consider high-quality content that has been previously published in a different language for publication, provided that the original study is appropriately referenced in the Acknowledgments section.

  • All authors from the original publication must appear on the submitted manuscript;
  • Appropriate permission must be sought and granted from the publisher, copyright holders, and/or authors of the original article prior to manuscript submission;
  • Authors should clearly declare that their paper is a translated version in the cover letter at submission;
  • Relevant documentation relating to these permissions must be uploaded in the Supplementary Materials section during submission;
  • The journal editor must be informed about the publishing history of the previously published content;
  • The original article must be referenced in the Acknowledgments section.

"This is a translation/reprint of (insert title here) by (insert publisher) (insert journal name, year, issue/volume number, page numbers)." This translation was completed by (insert name) with assistance from (insert name of funding source, if applicable). (Insert publisher, copyright holder, and/or author's name) gave permission."

Any translated articles that do not adhere to the aforementioned rules are unsuitable. Those that pass the pre-check will be peer-reviewed using the IAES editing process.

Patents

IAES journals provide speedy, rigorous peer review and publication after acceptance. Accepted papers are made available online immediately, complete with a DOI, and are published on an ongoing basis, regardless of the issue's publishing date. Publication, peer review and editorial procedures, proofreading and copyediting, and any other processes will not be delayed due to pending patent or intellectual property difficulties. Prior to publishing, authors must ensure that all patent applications and intellectual property challenges are handled. Patent applications and registrations must be declared in compliance with the IAES Conflicts of Interest Policy.

Citation Policies

Where information is borrowed from other sources (including their own published writing), authors should ensure that the source is clearly cited and that appropriate permission is acquired.

Authors should avoid excessive self-citation of their work.

If the author has not read the cited work, he or she should not replicate references from other works.

Authors should not preferentially cite their own or the writings of their friends, peers, or institutions.

Advertisements or advertorial material should not be cited by authors.

We anticipate that "original wording taken directly from publications by other researchers should appear in quotation marks with the appropriate citations" in accordance with COPE recommendations. This requirement applies to an author's own work as well. COPE has created a discussion sheet on citation manipulation that includes best practice advice.

 

IAES Research Data Policies

IAES is dedicated to promoting open scientific collaboration and assisting our authors in achieving best practices in data sharing and preservation. We invite all authors of IAES journal articles to share their research data. Individual journal guidelines can be found on the 'Instructions for Authors' page of the journal. Data sharing policies are concerned with the bare minimum of data that supports the main findings of a published study. Data generated should be made public and cited in accordance with publication requirements. IAES data policies are informed by TOP Guidelines.

Data should not be disclosed where there are ethical, legal, or privacy concerns. When submitting the Data Availability Statement, the authors should make any limits known. Authors should ensure that the information disclosed is in conformity with the agreement given by participants for the use of confidential data.

Data Availability Statements describe where to find data that supports published results, including links to publicly archived datasets evaluated or generated during the study.

Below are suggested Data Availability Statements:

  • 3rd Party Data
    Restrictions apply to the availability of these data. Data was obtained from [third party] and are available [from the authors/at URL] with the permission of [third party].
  • Data available in a publicly accessible repository
    The data presented in this study are openly available in [repository name e.g., FigShare] at [doi], reference number [reference number].
  • Data available in a publicly accessible repository that does not issue DOIs
    Publicly available datasets were analyzed in this study. This data can be found here: [link/accession number].
  • Data available on request due to restrictions eg privacy or ethical
    The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to [insert reason here].
  • Data is contained within the article or supplementary material
    The data presented in this study are available in [insert article or supplementary material here].
  • Data sharing not applicable
    No new data were created or analyzed in this study. Data sharing is not applicable to this article.

Data citation:

[dataset] Authors. Year. Dataset title; Data repository or archive; Version (if any); Persistent identifier (e.g., DOI).

 

Ethical Guidelines for Reviewers and Editors

All participants in the peer-review process, including Editors-in-Chief, Editorial Board Members, Guest Editors, and Reviewers, take responsibility for overseeing the integrity of IAES's editorial process, in addition to the Editorial Office. If a peer-reviewer has ethical concerns regarding a manuscript that has been sent for review or decision, or if they learn of a potential ethical issue after publication, they must alert the Editorial Office as soon as feasible. Following that, the Editorial Office will conduct an investigation in accordance with the IAES Comments and Complaints Policy and COPE guidelines.

The following checks are undertaken by Managing Editors and Assistant Editors in the Editorial Office before and during peer review. Concerns raised by Reviewers and Editors should, however, be communicated to the Editorial Office.

  1. Clinical Trials Registration, and reference to the registration in the Methods Section.
  2. Ethics approval and permissions for research involving human subjects, animals or cell lines.
  3. Plagiarism, duplicate publication, and necessary permission from the copyright holder to include already-published figures or images.
  4. Other compliance, ethics and research integrity checks in accordance with IAES policies and guidelines.

When making a recommendation or final acceptance decision on a manuscript, Reviewers and Editors should consider:

  1. Any facts that might be perceived as a possible conflict of interest must be disclosed, and authors must disclose conflicts of interest relating to their manuscript or study prior to submission.
  2. Authors must accurately present their research findings and include an objective discussion of the significance of their findings.
  3. Data and methods used in the research need to be presented in sufficient detail in the paper, so that other researchers can replicate their work.
  4. Reviewers provided sufficient feedback and were suitable to review the submission.
  5. Whether or not the submission fits the scope of the journal.

 

Potential Conflicts of Interests

We advocate transparency, and everyone involved in the peer-review process must carefully evaluate and declare any conflicts of interest while participating in the review, decision-making process, and publication of an article. All associations that interfere with, or may be viewed as interfering with, the full and objective assessment, peer review, and decision-making process must be declared.

Even if a Reviewer or Editor believes that the existence of a conflict of interest, or several conflicts of interest, will not have an impact on the peer review or decision-making process, the Reviewer or Editor should withdraw from the process to avoid the perception of a conflict of interest and to protect the integrity of the peer-review process.

 

Types of Conflicts of Interest

Personal or Collaborative

Neither Reviewers nor Editors should participate in the review of papers submitted by authors affiliated with their own institution, research or project collaborators, or personal acquaintances, family members, or spouses. Reviewers or Editors should not participate in the review or decision-making process for manuscripts submitted by authors who presently represent or have previously represented a mentor or mentee role or relationship, or with whom they have worked or coauthored in the last three years.

Financial or Professional Conflicts

Any professional or corporate affiliations, financial or commercial interests, or other competing interests that may be perceived as possibly biasing the review process are considered financial conflicts. As a result of their contribution, neither Reviewers nor Editors should receive professional or personal benefits, salary, board membership, funding or grants from a company or companies with interests in the reported results or other aspects of the manuscript content, honoraria, or hold any other interests in a company whose product is discussed in the article, or intellectual property rights such as patents, royalties, and copyright. Reviewers and editors should not participate in the review or decision-making process of manuscripts when there are conflicts of interest that could be interpreted as potentially adding bias.

Other Conflicts

Any such conflicts of interest, whether real or hypothetical, that could influence the outcome of peer review and the decision-making process should be stated. Reviewers and editors should evaluate the manuscript's merit, originality, and suitability for the journal in accordance with IAES editorial rules. IAES strives to create journals that are diverse and inclusive, and prejudice based on race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, country of origin, physical ability, or socioeconomic status has no place in IAES journals. Personal biases that may influence peer review must be disclosed by reviewers and editors.

In the event of a conflict of interest, other Reviewers and/or Editors will be identified. If an Editor submits a paper to the journal, their submission will be handled by other Editors who do not have a conflict of interest.

 

Confidentiality and Anonymity

Reviewers and editors must keep the manuscript's content, including the abstract, secret. Reviewers must notify the Editorial Office if they want a student or colleague to perform the review on their behalf.

IAES journals use either single-blind or double-blind peer review. Reviewers should take care not to betray their name to the authors, either in their comments or in metadata for reports provided in Microsoft Word or PDF format.

IAES publications allow authors to publish review reports with their papers and allow reviewers to sign their open review reports; however, IAES will not reveal reviewer names until publication and only with their explicit approval.

More information can be found in Open Peer-Review Option.

 

Comments and Complaints

Before contacting the Editorial Office, readers who have concerns or complaints regarding published papers should first contact the associated author to try to resolve the issue directly.

If it is not suitable to approach the authors, if the authors are not responding, or if the concerns have not been handled, the Editorial Office may be informed. The Editorial Office will work with the complainant, author/s, and Editors-in-Chief or members of the Editorial Board to investigate, remedy, or resolve any concerns or complaints.

Complaints, criticisms, or update requests regarding the scholarly legitimacy, ethical, or legal elements of the work or its review process will be reviewed further as needed. The Editorial Office investigates all complaints, comments, or update requests relating to published papers, with the cooperation of the Editorial Board and final approval of the Editor-in-Chief. Final decisions on ethical issues are taken by the Editor-in-Chief or Editorial Board members, who are supported by the Editorial Office in order to promote adherence to the COPE's key principles of publication ethics. Other people and institutions, such as university officials or specialists in the topic, will be consulted as needed. If the complaint has legal ramifications, legal counsel should be obtained.

Personal remarks or critiques will not be tolerated. All concerns, even anonymous complaints, are investigated. Complainants may request that the Editorial Office address their complaint in a secret manner, and the Editorial Office, any Editors-in-Chief, or other Editorial Board members will make every effort to do so as appropriate and in accordance with our internal protocols.

Corrections, Comments and Replies, Expressions of Concern, or Retractions made as a result of an investigation are made by Editors-in-Chief, Section Editors-in-Chief, or Editorial Board members and reported to authors. All updates are required to follow our policy on Updating Published Papers.

If a complaint is deemed unsubstantiated, further communication will be addressed only if further information proving concerns is provided.

Complainants may not be updated on the status of an investigation until a final decision is made, but they will be contacted if an update is published. The Editorial Office and Editorial Board members are under no duty to provide more information. Communication will be terminated if it is not pleasant or respectful. Readers who have complaints or concerns should be aware that investigations can take time.

When contacting the Editorial Office, please use the Contact Form or the contact information provided below, and include details about the complaint, its scholarly, scientific, or academic validity, a summary of the main points and any other issues, details of any previous correspondence with the authors, and a statement clarifying any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest.

 

Updating Published Papers

IAES acknowledges our obligation to remedy scientifically relevant errors or ethical issues that have been brought to our attention. To ensure openness for our authors and readers, we have implemented the following standardized criteria for updates to any of our published articles.

Minor errors
Minor errors that do not impair readability or meaning (e.g., spelling, grammar, or spacing issues) do not qualify for an update, regardless of when or who introduced the error.

Metadata errors
Requests to amend inaccuracies in a paper's metadata (e.g., title, author name, abstract) can be fulfilled if judged reasonable by the Editorial Office. The material will be amended and re-published on our website after it has been accepted. Following that, all relevant indexing databases will be alerted to ensure that database versions have been updated as well.

Corrections

Correction requests in the following instances can be fulfilled, but must also include the publication of a Correction notice:

  • Errors that could affect the scientific interpretation. For example:
    • error in a misleading section of an otherwise reliable publication
    • error in data or interpretation (that does not affect final conclusions)
  • Scientifically relevant formatting changes. For example:
    • missing or unclear figures/tables
  • Addition or removal of an author from authorship list (including addition or removal of entire affiliations)
  • Addition or removal of an entire reference
  • Addition or removal of a significant amount of text within the back matter. For example:
    • funding, author contributions, acknowledgements

Following approval of the update request, the document will be amended and re-published on our website, along with the publication of a Correction. This notification is a distinct publication that links to the corrected manuscript, yet it is published in the journal's most recent issue. The goal of the Correction is to tell all readers that there has been a significant change to the work and that the new version is now available on the internet. Following these modifications, all relevant indexing databases will be alerted to ensure that their database versions have been updated as well.

Author Name Change Policy
Following publishing, some authors may want to change their name. In such circumstances, IAES will update and republish the article, as well as re-deliver the new information to the appropriate indexing databases (please keep in mind that all updates are subject to the database's policies). Name changes can be sensitive and/or private for a variety of reasons, including gender identity, marriage, divorce, or religious conversion. As a result, a Correction will not be published, and co-authors will not be contacted. To request a name change, authors can contact the Editorial Office.

Retractions
A paper may need to be removed from the body of research literature at times. This could be due to unintentional errors produced during the study process, serious ethical violations, data fabrication, substantial volumes of plagiarism, or other factors. Such articles endanger the scientific record's integrity and must be retracted.

IAES follows the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) for retraction.

If a Retraction is published, the original publication is marked with a "RETRACTED" watermark but remains on the journal's website for future reference. Retracted publications, on the other hand, should not be quoted or used for further research because they cannot be trusted. Retractions are published with the same authorship and affiliation as the publication being retracted, so that readers may find both the notification and the original retracted paper in indexing databases. The retraction notice will likewise be published in the journal's current issue. In circumstances where the results are just partially incorrect, partial retractions may be released.

A paper will be completely deleted from the IAES website and associated indexing databases only in extreme cases where leaving it online would be illegal or would cause considerable harm.

 

Expression of Concern
An Expression of Concern may be released in cases that are difficult, inconclusive, or lengthy. If investigations into claimed or suspected research misconduct are still ongoing or remain inconclusive, an editor or journal may decide to publish an Expression of Concern outlining the areas of concern and what actions, if any, are being taken.

 

Comments and Replies
If a reader has reservations about the stated results or techniques employed in a given work, they should contact the journal's Editorial Office, and a Comment may be filed for prospective publication if judged justified. Comments are short letters to the editors written by readers who want to openly question a certain article.

Once a Comment has been approved for further peer review, the Editorial Office will contact the authors of the relevant work and invite them to prepare a Reply to this Comment. The Reply function allows the authors to openly respond to the reader's concerns. If the reader's complaints are validated and the authors are unable to effectively respond, a Correction to the original work may be issued, or the paper may be retracted outright. If authors do not answer by the deadline or choose not to react, the Comment may be published alongside a notice explaining the absence of the Reply.

Both Comments and Replies will be reviewed to ensure that:

  • the Comment addresses significant aspects of the original paper without becoming essentially a new paper;
  • the Reply responds directly to any concerns, without becoming evasive;
  • the tone of both publications is appropriate for a scientific journal.

While comments may be critical of the work, they should not be critical of the creators. Comments should not restate already stated disagreements. There will be no more than one round of Comment and Reply where the conversation is from the same reader/s. Comments on IAES-published works are exclusively accepted for publication in IAES publications.

 

Contact

IAES collaborates closely with authors and editors to promote adherence to the Committee on publishing Ethics' (COPE) key principles of publishing ethics. We promote the use of COPE resources, which can be found on their website. All manuscripts should adhere to ethical behavior norms. When we become aware of ethical issues, we commit to examining them and taking the appropriate steps to ensure the integrity of the literature. If you have any issues regarding a published manuscript, please email us with as much detail as possible. A member of our staff will then contact you. You can reach us at info@iaesjournal.com.