Ethics and Malpractice

Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The Indian Journal of Animal Reproduction is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and preventing malpractice. The journal’s ethical guidelines are based on international standards and best practices, particularly those developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), while being specifically adapted for our journal.

1. Ethical Responsibilities of Editors

  • Editorial Decision: The Editorial Board is responsible for making the final decision regarding the acceptance or rejection of submitted manuscripts. Decisions are based solely on the manuscript’s scholarly merit, originality, and relevance to the journal’s focus, regardless of the authors' gender, race, religion, or political beliefs.
  • Fair Play: Editors evaluate manuscripts without any discrimination based on personal characteristics. They are committed to ensuring a transparent and unbiased review process.
  • Confidentiality: Editors and editorial staff must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and should not disclose information about a manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, and publisher, as appropriate.
  • Conflicts of Interest: Editors must not be involved in decisions about manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest. In such cases, another editor will handle the manuscript.
  • Corrections and Retractions: Editors should work to correct or retract papers when errors, misconduct, or unethical research practices are identified post-publication.

2. Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

  • Confidentiality: Reviewers must keep all manuscript details confidential and must not discuss the manuscript with others except as authorized by the editor.
  • Objectivity: Reviews should be conducted objectively, with constructive feedback provided. Reviewers should avoid personal criticism of authors and should support their views with solid reasoning.
  • Acknowledgment of Sources: Reviewers should ensure that relevant published work is properly cited and notify the editor of any similarities or overlap between the manuscript under review and other published work.
  • Conflicts of Interest: Reviewers must declare any conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from reviewing manuscripts in which they have competing interests.

3. Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

  • Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure that their work is original and not plagiarized. If the work of others is used, it must be appropriately cited. The journal uses plagiarism detection tools and does not accept submissions with more than 20% similarity.
  • Authorship: Authorship should be limited to individuals who made significant contributions to the study. All co-authors must have approved the final manuscript before submission.
  • Multiple Submissions: Manuscripts submitted to the Indian Journal of Animal Reproduction must not be under consideration elsewhere. Simultaneous submission of the same manuscript to multiple journals is considered unethical and will lead to rejection.
  • Acknowledgment of Sources: Proper acknowledgment of others' work is required. Authors must also disclose any financial support received for their research.
  • Corrections of Errors: If significant errors are discovered in published works, authors must promptly notify the journal and cooperate in correcting or retracting the paper.

4. Peer Review Policy

  • Peer Review Process: The Indian Journal of Animal Reproduction follows a double-blind peer review process, ensuring that the identities of both the reviewers and authors remain anonymous throughout the process.
  • Initial Evaluation: Manuscripts are initially assessed by the editorial team for originality, scientific rigor, and adherence to the journal’s scope. Manuscripts that fail to meet these criteria may be rejected without external review.
  • Reviewer Selection: Reviewers are chosen based on their expertise and relevance to the manuscript’s subject matter. The journal maintains a database of qualified reviewers, which is regularly updated.
  • Reviewer Reports: Reviewers are expected to evaluate manuscripts for originality, methodological rigor, adherence to ethical standards, clarity of results, and proper referencing of previous work. Reviewers should avoid personal opinions in comments to authors, focusing on objective evaluation.

5. Ethical Standards for Animal and Human Research

  • Animal Research: Authors conducting research on animals must comply with institutional, national, and international guidelines for the care and use of animals, such as the EU Directive 2010/63/EU. Approval from an institutional animal ethics committee must be obtained prior to conducting experiments, and this must be clearly stated in the manuscript.
  • Human Research: For research involving human subjects, authors must adhere to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and ensure that informed consent has been obtained from all participants. A statement confirming ethical approval must be included in the manuscript.

6. Plagiarism and Misconduct

  • Plagiarism: The journal does not tolerate plagiarism. Submissions with significant plagiarism will be rejected. Minor instances of plagiarism without dishonest intent may be addressed with revision requests. Repeated instances will lead to rejection or retraction.
  • Duplicate Publication: The journal does not accept duplicate submissions or previously published work. Authors must declare any overlap with prior publications in their cover letter.
  • Misconduct Handling: In cases of ethical misconduct, such as plagiarism or data fabrication, the journal will conduct an investigation. If misconduct is confirmed, the journal will retract the manuscript and notify the authors' institution.

7. Article Retraction and Withdrawal

  • Article Retraction: If serious ethical breaches or significant errors are discovered post-publication, the journal reserves the right to retract the article. A retraction notice will be issued, clearly stating the reasons for the retraction.
  • Article Withdrawal: Articles in press may be withdrawn in cases of accidental duplication, errors, or ethical concerns. Withdrawn articles will be removed from the journal’s website and replaced with a notice stating the reason for withdrawal.

8. Conflict of Interest

  • Disclosure: Authors, editors, and reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest that could influence the interpretation of research or manuscript handling. Financial, personal, or professional relationships that could be viewed as biased must be declared.

9. Intellectual Property Rights

  • Respect for IP: Authors are required to respect intellectual property rights and ensure that materials used in their research, including data, figures, and text, are legally sourced and properly cited.