Ethics Policy
PUBLICATION ETHICS AND PUBLICATION MALPRACTICE STATEMENT
BioEnv is dedicated to upholding the highest ethical standards for all parties involved in publishing in a peer-reviewed journal, including the authors, the editors, peer reviewers, and the publisher. One of the editorial board's most significant roles is to prevent publication malpractice. Any unethical action is not tolerated by the Editorial Board of this publication, and plagiarism in any form is not tolerated. Authors who submit articles to BioEnv certify that the content of their manuscript is original.
As such, BioEnv follows the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors and the Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers. The following duties outlined for editors, copy editors, authors, and reviewers are based on the COPE Code of Conduct for Journal Editors, AERA Code of Ethics, and APA Publication Ethics.
DUTIES OF THE CHIEF EDITOR
- Empower the BioEnv’s status with indexation by professional bodies that are recognized by the Ministry of Education Malaysia.
- Providing strategic direction for BioEnv and identifying the latest and relevant topic to the journal.
- Identify and recruit new members for the editorial team who are experts in the journal’s niche field.
- Has the responsibility to decide on the acceptance/rejection of articles with the help of the editorial board members.
- Applying ethical publication policies according to the ‘Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors’ by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (https://publicationethics. org/).
- Showing a prominent reputation in the journal's niche field.
DUTIES OF MANAGING EDITOR
- Handling the article management system.
- Recording all information about articles that are applying for publication.
- Screening articles for plagiarism.
- Getting early evaluation for an article from the Chief Editor/Editorial Board, whether it is suitable for further reviewing process.
- Managing the process of informing/sending an article to the reviewer if it is suitable; or informing the author if the article is rejected.
- Ensure that the reviewing process is according to the journal’s guidelines. The reviewing process includes reviewer appointment, managing feedback from the reviewer, giving and receiving feedback from the author, etc.
- Ensure that the number of articles is enough (at least 10 articles for each edition), and that each edition is published in the journal’s specified time. (POT – Publishing on Time).
- Ensure that the accepted articles are formatted according to the journal’s template.
- Sending all accepted articles for publication to the Chief Editor for proofreading.
DUTIES OF AUTHORS
- Ensure that all individuals who made major contributions are acknowledged as co-authors.
- Contribute significantly to their work and be held accountable for any shortcomings.
- Expected to agree on authorship and the sequence in which author names are published.
- Ensure that only new and original work is submitted.
- Ensure to not duplicate the work previously published in other journals.
- Ensure to not simultaneously submit to other publications any articles that are being reviewed or considered by BioEnv.
- Notify the Chief Editor or publisher of any inaccuracies in their published work so that the piece can be corrected or retracted.
- Permitted to publish their work elsewhere only after obtaining a formal rejection from BioEnv or after BioEnv accepts their request to withdraw their work.
DUTIES OF THE CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
- Ascertain that all named authors have approved the article's submitted version and any subsequent updates.
- Ensure that all named authors agree to its submission and are willing to accept appropriate responsibility for it.
- Ascertain that all authors have approved the accepted version of the paper.
- Ensure that no other journal is considering the work at the time of submission.
- Ascertain that all co-authors' contact information is entered and correct at the time of submission.
DUTIES OF EDITORIAL TEAM MEMBERS
- Contribute actively to the development and success of BioEnv.
- Consistently promote and support the journal.
- Encourage peers to contribute their finest work by endorsing BioEnv to writers, readers, and subscribers.
- Identify prospective reviewers for the review process.
- Examine any tasks that have been assigned to them.
- Identify new commissions and special editions, as well as advise on BioEnv's direction by providing feedback on previous issues and making proposals for the subject matter and potential authors.
- Contact prospective contributors for BioEnv.
- Assist in identifying peer reviewers and providing second opinions on manuscripts upon conflicts between reviewers
DUTIES OF REVIEWER
Before accepting/declining the review.
- The reviewer must know his/her expertise is matched to the content and scope of the manuscript. The reviewer can refuse to review the manuscript due to inadequate knowledge or competing interest.
- Must disclose any potential conflict of interest to the Chief Editor.
- Respond to the invitation (accepting/declining) within three working days to avoid delays in the review process.
- Adhere to the 3-week time allocated for the review process. Any request for an extension to review the submission is at the discretion of the Chief Editor.
- It is important to understand BioEnv's peer review requirements before starting the review process.
Managing the review process.
- The documents must be treated as confidential documents.
- Must not discuss the content or share the information related to the manuscript with anyone else without permission from the editors and authors.
- Assess the originality of the manuscript in terms of knowledge contribution, research insight, and future directions to the field of the research.
- Must be vigilant to any redundant publication or plagiarism.
- Should review the manuscript fairly by identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the method and results described in the manuscript.
- Make constructive and specific comments on the writing of the manuscript including figures, tables, manuscript structure, and author's interpretation of the results, method and data visualization, and conclusion made from the results. Identify inconsistencies in the results which require further explanation.
- Evaluate existing methodological approaches.
- Make robust reviews by pointing out any gaps which require more explanation or additional experiments.
- Reveal any ethical misconduct encountered while reviewing to the Chief Editor for further action.
- Must ensure the references are relevant to the scope and content of the manuscript.
Recommendation
When the reviewer makes a recommendation, there are several considerations for the manuscript:
- Reject – The reviewers must fairly explain the explicit reason for rejection.
- Revise – It is either major or minor, the reviewers must explain the reason for revision with a clear indication of what needs to be revised and why it is necessary.
- Accept – Can be made after the authors have addressed all the comments by all reviewers in which the manuscript has significantly improved in its quality. Accepting without revision can also be made with fair and explicit reason by the reviewers.
REPORTING
Authors should clearly articulate results with integrity, and without fabrication, falsification, or any inappropriate data manipulation. The methods used in the work should be explicitly explained so that the findings can be replicated and validated by other researchers.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
A statement on conflict of interest must be included in the manuscript if authors receive any support that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. Transparency in research is important. To help our readers make their own judgments of potential bias, the corresponding author must disclose any potential competing or non-financial interests on behalf of all authors of the manuscript. All sources of financial support for the conducted research and/or preparation of the article should be disclosed. Potential conflicts of interest should be disclosed at the earliest possible stage.
PLAGIARISM
Authors should submit only original work that is not plagiarized and has not been published or is considered elsewhere. Intellectual property is a seriously concerned by the journal. Appropriate software may be used by the editorial office to check for similarities between submitted manuscripts with existing literature. Inclusions of fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements are unacceptable. Work and/or words from other publications must be appropriately cited or quoted.
AUTHORSHIPS
Only individuals who made a major contribution to the study's conception, design, implementation, or interpretation should be listed as authors. Co-authors should include everyone who has made a substantial contribution. The corresponding author ensures that the author list includes all contributing co-authors and no uninvolved individuals. The corresponding author will also ensure that all co-authors have signed off on the final version of the work and agreed to its publication.
Make a new submission to the Bioresources section.
PRIVACY STATEMENT
The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.