Publication Ethics and Responsibilities

Publication Ethics and Responsibilities

Aquatic Animal Reports (AQAR), published under ScopesScience (SS), is committed to the highest standards of publication ethics. We follow the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) to ensure integrity, transparency, and public trust in scientific publishing.

 

General Ethical Standards

Publication ethical standards stand for high-quality research findings with public trust. All manuscripts must be original, scientifically sound, and prepared in accordance with international ethical principles.

 

Plagiarism

  • Only original research is accepted.
  • Manuscripts found to have been plagiarized will be rejected and subject to sanctions.
  • AQAR uses plagiarism detection software (Turnitin) to verify originality.

 

Duplicate Submission

  • Manuscripts must not be under review or published elsewhere.
  • Duplicate submissions will result in rejection and sanctions.

 

Citation Manipulation

  • Citations must be relevant and scientifically justified.
  • Citation manipulation aimed at artificially increasing citation counts will incur sanctions.

 

Data Fabrication and Falsification

  • Fabricated or falsified results, including manipulated images or figures, are strictly prohibited.
  • Such violations will result in rejection and possible retraction.

 

 

Improper Author Contribution or Attribution

  • All listed authors must have made a significant contribution to the research.
  • Contributions should be clearly stated (including students and collaborators).
  • Ghost authorship or honorary authorship is not permitted.

 

Redundant Publications

  • Fragmentation of study results into multiple articles (“salami slicing”) is considered unethical.
  • Authors must ensure that submissions represent complete and coherent studies.

Ethical Approval

  • Studies involving humans, animals, or sensitive data must include ethical committee approval details (committee name, date, approval number).
  • These details must be stated in the Methods section. 
  • Manuscripts without proper ethical approval will be rejected.

 

Responsibilities of Stakeholders

Authors

  • Ensure originality, accuracy, and transparency of data.
  • Provide ORCID identifiers for all authors.
  • Disclose conflicts of interest and funding sources.
  • Follow journal formatting and referencing guidelines (APA 6th edition or later).

Reviewers

  • Conduct reviews in a double-blind manner, maintaining confidentiality and impartiality.
  • Provide constructive, evidence-based feedback.
  • Declare conflicts of interest and complete reviews on time.

Editors

  • Uphold fairness, confidentiality, and impartiality in editorial decisions.
  • Assign at least two independent reviewers from different institutions.
  • Manage conflicts of interest and ensure transparency in peer review.
  • Editors and board members must not review their own submissions.

Publisher

  • Safeguard the integrity of the academic record.
  • Issue corrections, clarifications, or retractions when necessary.
  • Ensure permanent accessibility and archiving of published content.

Sanctions

In the occurrence of documented violations of the above-mentioned policies, the following sanctions will be applied:

  • Immediate rejection of the manuscript.
  • Immediate rejection of all other manuscripts submitted by the authors to any journal under ScopesScience (SS).
  • Prohibition against new submissions by the authors for 24 months.
  • ScopesScience (SS) reserves the right to apply additional sanctions beyond those listed.

 

Retraction and Correction Policy

  • Articles may be retracted in cases of plagiarism, data fabrication, ethical violations, or duplicate publication.
  • Corrections will be issued for minor errors that do not invalidate findings.
  • Retraction notices will remain permanently linked to the original article.

 

Compliance with International Standards

Aquatic Animal Reports strictly follows:

  • COPE Core Practices
  • ICMJE Recommendations
  • WAME Guidelines