Publication Ethics

Al-Kufa University Journal for Biology is responsible for upholding the highest standards of publishing ethics. The Committee on Publication Ethics' statements of publication standards are upheld by Journal of AJB, which forbids any attempts at unethical activity throughout the publication process. It goes without saying that all articles submitted for publication undergo peer review; if they are found to violate publication ethics, they will be rejected.

Responsibilities of Editors:

1- The quality of every author's work should be judged equally without regard to factors like race, nationality, gender, etc. The scientific content of papers is the only factor that needs to be taken into account.
2- Based on the findings of the editorial board, the outcomes of peer review, and the importance of the piece, editors may choose to approve or reject a submission.
3- The journal's editing team should only share information on papers with the publisher, editorial board, and relevant reviewers.
4- Editors are prohibited from using the content of unpublished materials without the associated authors' consent.

Responsibilities of Reviewers:
1- To avoid any potential delays, reviewers must inform the editors if the articles' topics fall outside of their areas of expertise.
2- Reviewers are not permitted to disclose any information about an article's contents to any parties save those already stated.
3- Reviewers must express their opinions on articles succinctly and with the appropriate justification.
4- Reviewers are requested to check the sources and dates cited in the authors' articles.
5- To avoid any potential conflicts of interest, it is encouraged that reviewers have similar interests to the articles' substance.

Responsibilities of Authors:
Authorship: When a person makes an intellectual contribution to a scientific inquiry, they are credited as the author. Individuals can be classified as authors if they fulfill the four requirements outlined below:
1- Scholarship: Provide a major contribution to the ideation, planning, implementation, and/or data analysis and interpretation.
2- Contribute to the writing of the manuscript by helping to draft, check for errors, and/or revise it.
3- Acceptance: Accept the manuscript for publication.
4- Consent to take responsibility for all aspects of the work in order to guarantee that any concerns about the accuracy or integrity of any portion of the work are duly investigated and addressed.

Contribution: Each manuscript that is submitted should provide information about the people who helped with the organization, execution, and reporting of the research that is the subject of the article.

All additional contributions who don't fit the bill for authorship should be acknowledged, and their names should be listed in the acknowledgements section. An individual who provides general administrative help, writing assistance, technical editing, linguistic editing, or proofreading are a few examples of those who might be honored. Support in terms of money and materials should also be thanked.
1- The actual date of the research project must be submitted by the authors, and the manuscripts must include a list of the sources consulted for the articles.
2- Apart for the cited and/or quoted elements from the work of other researchers, authors must attest that the research effort they have presented is their own.
3- The same manuscript should not be submitted by the same author to multiple journals as this is against publication ethical guidelines.
4- If there are multiple writers on an article, the corresponding author must make sure that all authors have approved the final version before it is submitted.
5- The manuscript must contain all necessary author information, such as the authors' names, affiliations, places of employment, and email addresses.
6- Conflicts of interest should obviously be disclosed by authors in their publications.
7- If the authors' work calls for chemicals or other tools that could pose risks as a result of their use, they should specifically note that in their manuscripts.
8- The writers must contact the publication as soon as possible after submitting their manuscript if they discover a mistake or inaccurate information in the study they have provided.

Plagiarism:
The use of another person's words, figures, or concepts without giving due credit is prohibited. Reuse of language must be kept to a minimum, credited, or quoted in the text, and all sources must be cited when they are used. Before publishing, AJB performs the Turnitin similarity check to identify submissions that cross-reference already published works. Any manuscripts that are found to include more than 20% of other writers' work in them will be rejected. Any articles that have been published may need to be updated or retracted.

Change, Replacement, and/or Modification of a Published Article:
1- Withdrawal: If a complaint is made about the content of a published piece, the journal will take the complaint under consideration and decide fairly whether to remove the content in question.
2- In the event that the author submits an updated version of the article, the previously published article may be replaced. Before processing the replacement, at least three reviewers must accept the article's modification. Moreover, a correction notice outlining the changes made will be published with the updated article.
3- Removal: If any of the publishers, researchers, reviewers, or other individuals discover a significant number of errors or a significant amount of plagiarism, the article will be taken down. The piece then continues.

Data Fabrication:
1- This term alludes to authors who fabricate their study findings.
2- It may occur when authors fabricate research data with the purpose to give a false impression.
3- For instance, fabricating graphics by missing or eliminating a data point from plotted figures, altering graphs or charts, leaving out outliers, or removing undesirable results, etc.
4- Some authors use a variety of well-known strategies, such as adjusting color balance and brightness, to improve how suitable photos are for reading. When a procedure is used to create an entire image rather than only a portion of it, it cannot be referred to be fabrication. Anyway, in case those modifications are performed on images, then the journal editor should be informed upon submission time by adding a note to the paper cover.
5- Unacceptable making-up methods involve enhancing, eliminating, obscuring, and/or adding brand-new components to photos.
6- In the event that the validity of their photographs and/or data is questioned, authors may be asked to present their original research data.

Conflict of Interest Policy:
Conflict of interest may arise in the following situations regarding writers and editors:
1- Current or former coworkers
2- Co-authors, recent or current
3- Current or former pupils o financial connection
4- Any further conflicts of interest, such as those involving the mind or the body.

Such connections will definitely influence how journal editors behave.
1- When submitting a study to a publication, authors are expected to disclose all conflicts of interest by noting them on the paper's cover.
2- AJB assigns editors to all submissions, reducing potential conflicts of interest. The managing editor must then be notified of any conflicts that are not covered by the aforementioned list.
3- If none of the journal editors pass all of the conflict of interest screenings, the submission will be assigned to the co-editors who have the fewest conflicts.
4- The journal editor has the right to reject a work for publication if one or more conflicts of interest have been revealed.

Complaints Policy:
1- A complaint is an author's way of expressing irritation.
2- Al-Kufa University Journal for Biology accepts authors' criticism of its actions, practices, and/or policies because it gives the journal the opportunity to improve. Hence, any author concerns will receive a prompt, considerate, and helpful answer.
3- AJB believes that while writers are unlikely to complain about something that has been published or a decision made by it, they may do so when there has been a process failure, such as a delay in responding, a harsh reaction, or incorrect judgment.
4- The journal will look into complaints regarding inaccurate materials, and a decision regarding whether or not to omit the material will be taken in good faith. If the journal determines that the complaint lacks a reasonable foundation, the complained-about material may not be removed; alternatively, a valid defense or exemption may be applicable.

Authors should file complaints as soon as possible after the publication of their article, after a decision has been taken, etc. by sending an email to biomgzn.sci@uokufa.edu.iq and including the following details: the title of their paper, the volume number, and the issue number.