Publication Ethics

Preamble

Scientific Research Publishing (SCIRP) is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics across all journals under its portfolio. The policies set forth in this document govern the conduct of authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial staff. They have been developed in accordance with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), and other internationally recognised standards bodies.

These policies apply universally to all submissions, regardless of the geographic origin of the submitting authors, the funding source of the research, or the access model under which the resulting publication appears.

SCIRP operates under an open access model. All article processing charges (APCs) are disclosed transparently at the point of submission, and no editorial decision is influenced by a submitting author's ability or willingness to pay.

1. Publication Ethics Statement

SCIRP's publication ethics framework distributes responsibilities across all parties involved in the publication lifecycle: authors, peer reviewers, handling editors, editors-in-chief, and SCIRP as publisher. Each party bears distinct obligations, and failure to fulfil those obligations may result in investigation, correction, or other remedial action as described in later sections of this policy.

1.1 Obligations of Authors

Authors submitting work to SCIRP journals undertake to:

• Present original research that has not been submitted simultaneously to any other journal and has not been published in substantially similar form elsewhere.
• Ensure that all data reported are accurate, complete, and have not been fabricated, falsified, or selectively omitted to support a predetermined conclusion.
• Obtain and document all required ethical approvals prior to conducting the research, including approvals from institutional review boards or ethics committees.
• Disclose all financial and non-financial interests that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the reported work.
• Accurately attribute authorship in accordance with SCIRP's authorship criteria (Section 4).
• Notify SCIRP promptly upon identifying any significant errors or inaccuracies in a published work.

1.2 Obligations of Reviewers

Peer reviewers accept responsibility to:

• Conduct reviews with objectivity, confidentiality, and scholarly rigor.
• Declare and recuse themselves from any manuscript for which a conflict of interest exists.
• Refrain from using unpublished material disclosed in a manuscript for personal or professional advantage.
• Deliver assessments within agreed timelines and notify the editor if they are unable to complete a review.
• Base recommendations solely on the scientific merit, methodological soundness, and scholarly contribution of the submitted work.

1.3 Obligations of Editors

Editors are responsible for:

• Making publication decisions based exclusively on academic merit, independent of author identity, institutional affiliation, nationality, or funding source.
• Maintaining confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts until publication.
• Declaring and managing conflicts of interest that affect their handling of any manuscript.
• Investigating credible allegations of misconduct in a timely and impartial manner.
• Applying editorial policies consistently across all submissions.

1.4 Obligations of SCIRP

As publisher, SCIRP is responsible for:

• Providing clear, publicly accessible editorial policies that are consistently enforced.
• Protecting the integrity of the scholarly record through transparent correction and retraction procedures.
• Archiving published content through recognized digital preservation services.
• Reviewing and updating these policies at least annually and communicating substantive changes to all journal editors and to authors at the point of submission.

2. Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions at SCIRP journals are made by journal editors and are not subject to influence by SCIRP management, commercial advertisers, or any third party with a financial relationship with the publisher.

2.1 Separation of Editorial and Commercial Functions

A formal separation exists between SCIRP's editorial operations and its commercial functions. Revenue considerations, including article processing charge (APC) income, do not factor into acceptance or rejection decisions. Editors are not informed of an author's APC payment status at any point before a final decision is reached.

2.2 Editor-in-Chief Authority

The Editor-in-Chief of each journal holds sole authority over the editorial content of that journal. SCIRP management may provide operational support and resources but does not possess the authority to override or reverse editorial decisions. In cases of alleged misconduct involving editorial decisions, SCIRP's Research Integrity Team conducts an independent review (see Section 9).

2.3 Editorial Board Governance

Editorial board members are appointed based on demonstrated scholarly expertise in the relevant field. Board appointments, continuations, and terminations are governed by SCIRP's Editorial Governance Policy, which is reviewed annually. Editorial board members may not simultaneously serve as commercial agents or resellers for SCIRP services.

3. Peer Review Policy

Peer review at SCIRP is conducted to provide authors with substantive scholarly feedback and to assist editors in evaluating the validity, originality, and significance of submitted work. All peer review processes are documented and auditable.

3.1 Peer Review Model

SCIRP employs double-anonymised peer review as its default model. Under this model:

• Author identities are not disclosed to reviewers.
• Reviewer identities are not disclosed to authors, either during the review process or after publication.

Individual journals may adopt single-anonymised or open peer review models where this is declared in the journal's Aims & Scope and a rationale is provided.

3.2 Review Process

1. Upon submission, the handling editor conducts an initial editorial assessment to verify that the manuscript falls within the journal's scope and meets minimum quality thresholds. Manuscripts failing this assessment are returned to the authors without external review, typically within seven (7) working days.
2. Manuscripts passing initial assessment are assigned to at least two independent peer reviewers with relevant expertise.
3. Reviewers are requested to submit assessments within twenty-one (21) calendar days. Extensions may be granted on request.
4. The editor consolidates reviewer reports and reaches one of the following decisions: Accept, Minor Revision, Major Revision, or Reject.
5. Revised manuscripts are evaluated to confirm that authors have addressed reviewer comments substantively.
6. Final acceptance decisions are communicated in writing, with confirmation of acceptance criteria.

3.3 Reviewer Selection and Qualification

Reviewers are selected on the basis of:

• Demonstrated expertise in the manuscript's primary subject area, as evidenced by recent publications.
• Absence of a disqualifying conflict of interest (see Section 5).
• Availability to complete the review within the requested timeline.

SCIRP does not permit authors to review manuscripts submitted by former advisors, doctoral students, or close collaborators within the preceding three years.

3.4 Integrity of the Review Process

Attempts to manipulate the peer review process — including submission of false reviewer contact information, impersonation of reviewers, or undisclosed communication with reviewers — constitute serious misconduct. Such attempts will result in manuscript rejection and may result in a ban on future submissions.

4. Authorship Criteria

SCIRP applies the authorship criteria established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Authorship carries both credit and accountability for the published work.

4.1 Criteria for Authorship

Each listed author must satisfy all four of the following criteria:

1. Substantial contribution to the conception or design of the work, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data.
2. Drafting the work or critically revising it for important intellectual content.
3. Approval of the final version to be published.
4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work, including the investigation and resolution of questions relating to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work.

Individuals who meet fewer than all four criteria should be acknowledged in the Acknowledgements section rather than listed as authors.

4.2 Corresponding Author Responsibilities

The corresponding author serves as the primary contact for all matters relating to the submission and the published work, and is responsible for:

• Ensuring that all individuals who meet authorship criteria are included and that no eligible individuals are omitted.
• Obtaining agreement from all co-authors on the final submitted version and any subsequent revisions.
• Managing all author contribution statements and conflict of interest disclosures on behalf of the author group.
• Notifying SCIRP of any required post-publication corrections.

4.3 Changes to Authorship

Changes to the authorship list after submission — including addition, removal, or reordering of authors — require written consent from all listed authors, including any author proposed for removal. Post-publication authorship changes will be implemented only where a clear administrative error is demonstrated, and will be accompanied by a published correction notice.

4.4 Contributor Roles

SCIRP recommends that authors use the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) framework to describe individual contributions. Author contribution statements are required for all multi-author submissions and are published alongside the article.

5. Conflicts of Interest

A conflict of interest exists when a professional judgement regarding a primary interest — the integrity of research — may be influenced by a secondary interest, whether financial, personal, institutional, or otherwise. The existence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily imply wrongdoing; however, undisclosed conflicts of interest constitute a breach of publication ethics.

5.1 Author Disclosure Requirements

All submitting authors must complete a Conflict of Interest disclosure statement at the time of submission. Disclosures must include:

• Any financial relationships with organisations that have a financial interest in the subject matter of the manuscript, including employment, consultancy, stock ownership, honoraria, patents, and research funding.
• Non-financial relationships that may present a perceived conflict, including personal or professional relationships with individuals or organisations involved in the subject matter.

Disclosures are published as part of the final article. Where no conflict of interest exists, a statement to that effect must be included.

5.2 Reviewer Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers must decline an assignment if they have:

• A current or recent employment, supervisory, or collaborative relationship with any author of the manuscript.
• A financial interest in the outcome of the research.
• A personal relationship with any author that could reasonably compromise objectivity.
• Previously reviewed the same manuscript for another journal.

5.3 Editor Conflicts of Interest

Editors who have authored or co-authored a submitted manuscript, who have a current collaborative or supervisory relationship with a submitting author, or who hold a financial interest in the subject matter must recuse themselves from all editorial decisions regarding that manuscript.

6. Data Availability & Reproducibility

SCIRP is committed to supporting the principles of open science and research reproducibility.

6.1 Data Availability Statement

All manuscripts reporting original research must include a Data Availability Statement, which must specify one of the following:

• The data are publicly available, with a link to a recognised repository and an associated DOI or accession number.
• The data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, with the reason for non-public availability stated.
• The data are not available due to legal, ethical, or contractual restrictions, with the nature of those restrictions explained.

6.2 Recommended Data Repositories

• General: Zenodo, Figshare, OSF
• Life sciences/genomics: NCBI/GenBank, EBI
• Clinical trials: ClinicalTrials.gov or equivalent WHO-approved registry

6.3 Code Availability

Where the research involves custom code, analysis scripts, or computational models, authors are strongly encouraged to make these available in a version-controlled public repository (e.g., GitHub, GitLab) with a persistent DOI obtained via a service such as Zenodo.

6.4 Research Preregistration

SCIRP welcomes submissions that report preregistered research designs. Authors who have preregistered their study protocols, hypotheses, or analysis plans are encouraged to include the preregistration DOI and registry name in the manuscript.

7. Plagiarism & Research Misconduct Screening

7.1 Plagiarism

Plagiarism — the presentation of another's words, data, figures, or ideas as one's own without appropriate attribution — is not acceptable in any form. SCIRP screens all submissions using automated similarity detection software prior to peer review.

The following practices constitute plagiarism and are subject to investigation:

• Verbatim copying of text from external sources without quotation marks and full citation.
• Paraphrasing that closely reproduces the structure and content of another work without acknowledgement.
• Reproduction of figures, tables, or data from other publications without permission and citation.
• Self-plagiarism: the re-use of substantial portions of one's own previously published work without disclosure and citation.

7.2 Duplicate and Redundant Publication

Submission of a manuscript that is identical or substantially similar to a paper that has been published, accepted for publication, or is simultaneously under review elsewhere is not acceptable.

7.3 Data Fabrication and Falsification

Data fabrication (inventing data or results) and data falsification (manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes, or changing or omitting data such that the research is not accurately represented) are serious violations of research integrity.

7.4 Image Manipulation

Authors must not manipulate images in ways that misrepresent the data. Acceptable adjustments include changes to brightness or contrast applied uniformly to the entire image. Unacceptable manipulations include the addition, removal, or rearrangement of image elements.

7.5 Citation Manipulation

SCIRP prohibits coercive citation practices. Editors and reviewers must not require authors to add citations unless editorially justified. Suspected citation manipulation will be reported to COPE.

8. Corrections, Retractions & Expressions of Concern

SCIRP maintains the integrity of the scholarly record by responding promptly and transparently to errors and misconduct identified in published works.

8.1 Corrections (Erratum / Corrigendum)

A correction notice is issued when an error in a published article does not affect the central conclusions but requires amendment.

• An Erratum is issued for errors introduced by the publisher.
• A Corrigendum is issued for errors attributable to the authors.

8.2 Retractions

A retraction is issued when published findings are unreliable due to misconduct or honest error, or when the work was published without appropriate ethical approvals. Retractions are issued in accordance with the COPE Retraction Guidelines.

Retracted articles are not deleted from the published record. Instead, they are clearly watermarked as "RETRACTED" across all pages, with the retraction notice specifying the reason(s), who initiated the retraction, and the date.

8.3 Expressions of Concern

An Expression of Concern is issued when an investigation into potential misconduct is underway and there are reasonable grounds to alert readers that the reliability of a published work is uncertain.

9. Complaints & Appeals Process

9.1 Editorial Decision Appeals

Authors who believe that a rejection decision is based on a factual error or a procedural irregularity may submit a formal appeal to the Editor-in-Chief within sixty (60) calendar days of the decision. Appeals must include:

• The manuscript reference number.
• A precise description of the factual error or procedural irregularity.
• Supporting evidence where applicable.

Appeals based solely on disagreement with reviewers' scientific judgement will not be considered. The Editor-in-Chief's decision on appeal is final.

9.2 Misconduct Investigations

Allegations of publication misconduct are handled in accordance with the following procedure:

1. Receipt and Acknowledgement: All allegations received in writing are acknowledged within five (5) working days.
2. Preliminary Assessment: The Research Integrity Team conducts an initial review to determine whether the allegation warrants investigation.
3. Investigation: Parties concerned are notified and invited to respond within twenty-one (21) calendar days.
4. Outcome: The Research Integrity Team issues a written determination — dismissal, correction, expression of concern, retraction, institutional referral, or submission restriction.
5. Referral: Where the allegation exceeds SCIRP's authority to investigate, the matter is referred to the relevant institutional or regulatory authority.

9.3 Publisher-Level Complaints

Complaints regarding SCIRP's own conduct as a publisher may be submitted to:

10. Human & Animal Research Ethics

10.1 Human Participants

Manuscripts reporting research involving human participants must confirm compliance with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (as revised). Authors must provide:

• The name and reference number of the ethics committee or IRB that approved the study.
• Confirmation that informed consent was obtained from all participants, or a justification for any waiver of consent.
• A statement that participation was voluntary and that participants were informed of their right to withdraw.

10.2 Patient Data and Privacy

Authors must not include any data that could identify individual patients or participants unless written informed consent has been obtained specifically for publication.

10.3 Animal Research

Manuscripts reporting research involving animal subjects must comply with the ARRIVE guidelines and confirm:

• The name and reference number of the institutional animal ethics committee that approved the study.
• The regulatory framework under which the research was conducted.
• The specific steps taken to minimise suffering, consistent with the 3Rs principles (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement).

11. Use of Artificial Intelligence in Research & Publishing

SCIRP recognises that artificial intelligence (AI) and large language model (LLM) tools are increasingly used in research and writing.

11.1 AI Tools in Manuscript Preparation

The use of AI-assisted tools to improve language clarity, grammar, or readability is permitted, provided that such use is disclosed. Authors must include a brief statement in the Methods section describing any AI tool used, the purpose for which it was used, and the nature of the content to which it was applied.

11.2 AI Cannot be Listed as an Author

AI tools and LLMs do not satisfy SCIRP's authorship criteria (Section 4) and must not be listed as authors. Accountability for the content of a submission rests with the human authors.

11.3 Undisclosed AI Use

Failure to disclose the use of AI tools in manuscript preparation constitutes a breach of transparency obligations and will be treated as a potential integrity concern under SCIRP's misconduct investigation procedure (Section 9.2).

11.4 AI in Editorial and Peer Review Processes

Reviewers must not input manuscript content into AI tools that may retain that content or use it for training, as this breaches confidentiality obligations. Editors using AI-assisted tools for administrative purposes must ensure that such use does not compromise manuscript confidentiality.

12. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

12.1 Non-Discrimination in Editorial Decisions

Editorial decisions are based solely on the scholarly merit of submitted work. No submission shall be evaluated differently on the basis of the author's nationality, institutional affiliation, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability status, or career stage.

12.2 Editorial Board Composition

SCIRP actively seeks to appoint editorial board members from diverse geographic regions, career stages, and institutional types. Board composition is reviewed annually.

12.3 Language Accessibility

Acknowledging that English is not the first language of the majority of the global research community, SCIRP provides language editing guidance for authors and does not reject manuscripts on grounds of language quality alone, provided the scientific content is clearly communicated.

13. Confidentiality Policy

13.1 Manuscripts Under Review

All submitted manuscripts are treated as confidential documents from the point of receipt until publication. Editors and reviewers must not share, cite, discuss, or disclose the content of any manuscript under review without the written consent of the corresponding author.

13.2 Review Communications

Reviewer reports, editorial decision letters, and all correspondence relating to a manuscript under review are confidential. Reviewers may not retain copies of manuscripts after the review process is complete.

13.3 Author Identities (Double-Anonymised Review)

In journals operating under a double-anonymised review model, editor and reviewer access to author identity data is restricted.

13.4 Data Protection

Personal data submitted to SCIRP is processed in accordance with SCIRP's Privacy Policy and applicable data protection legislation. Authors, reviewers, and editors may request access to, correction of, or deletion of their personal data by contacting privacy@scirp.org.

14. Open Access & Licensing

SCIRP is an open access publisher. All articles are published under a Creative Commons licence.

14.1 Licence Options

• CC BY 4.0 (default): Permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly attributed.
• CC BY-NC 4.0: Permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction with attribution.

Authors retain copyright in their work and grant SCIRP a perpetual, non-exclusive licence to publish, archive, and distribute the work.

14.2 Article Processing Charges (APCs)

APCs are charged upon acceptance of a manuscript. APC waivers and discounts are available for authors from low-income countries, as defined by the World Bank classification. APC payment or non-payment does not affect editorial decisions.

15. Digital Preservation & Archiving

To ensure the long-term availability of the published scholarly record, SCIRP deposits all published content with recognised digital preservation services, including:

• CLOCKSS — A not-for-profit, distributed digital preservation archive.
• Portico — A community-supported digital preservation service.

In the event that a journal ceases publication, archived content will remain accessible through these preservation partners in perpetuity.

16. Policy Review & Contact Information

16.1 Policy Review

This policy is reviewed annually by SCIRP's Research Integrity and Editorial Policy Committee. Revisions are published with a version number and effective date.

16.2 Contact