Publication Ethics Policy

1) General Principles of Publication Ethics

APPS is committed to advancing knowledge in pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences through transparent, ethical, and responsible scholarly communication. All stakeholders—authors, reviewers, editors, and publishers—are expected to adhere to the following overarching principles:

• Integrity: Upholding honesty and transparency in all aspects of research and publication.
• Accountability: Ensuring that each stakeholder is responsible for their role in the publication process.
• Fairness: Promoting equal treatment of all submissions regardless of authors’ personal or professional characteristics.
• Confidentiality: Respecting the privacy of submitted manuscripts and associated communications.
• Transparency: Providing clear disclosures regarding funding, conflicts of interest, and data availability.

2) Author Responsibilities

Authors play a central role in maintaining publication integrity. APPS requires authors to:

• Submit only original, unpublished manuscripts that are not under review elsewhere.
• Properly cite all sources and avoid plagiarism, self-plagiarism, or duplicate publication.
• Accurately represent research methods, data, and findings, ensuring reproducibility.
• Disclose all funding sources, institutional approvals, and ethical clearance for human or animal studies.
• Clearly identify contributions of each author in line with the CRediT taxonomy.
• Cooperate with editors during the review and revision process, including providing raw data if requested.

3) Reviewer Responsibilities

Peer reviewers are vital to the integrity of scholarly communication. They are expected to:

• Provide objective, constructive, and timely evaluations.
• Maintain strict confidentiality of manuscripts under review.
• Identify ethical concerns such as plagiarism, redundant publication, or data manipulation.
• Disclose conflicts of interest and decline reviews where impartiality is compromised.

4) Editor Responsibilities

Editors oversee the integrity of the publication process. Their duties include:

• Ensuring fair, unbiased, and timely manuscript evaluations.
• Maintaining confidentiality and preventing unauthorized use of manuscript content.
• Addressing ethical issues and allegations of misconduct promptly, following COPE flowcharts.
• Issuing corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern where necessary to preserve the scholarly record.

5) Publisher Responsibilities

The publisher, Heighten Science Publications Inc., supports editorial independence and ethical oversight. Publisher responsibilities include:

• Maintaining a robust ethical framework for all journals under its portfolio.
• Providing infrastructure for archiving, DOI assignment, and plagiarism detection.
• Ensuring compliance with global open access and ethical standards.
• Investigating ethical complaints in collaboration with editors and authors.

6) Handling Allegations of Misconduct

Research misconduct includes plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, redundant publication, and undeclared conflicts of interest. APPS follows COPE guidelines in addressing allegations:

1. Preliminary assessment by the editor-in-chief.
2. Confidential communication with the corresponding author for explanation.
3. Independent verification of claims using plagiarism-detection software or expert consultation.
4. Outcomes may include manuscript rejection, correction, or retraction.

7) Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

Maintaining the scholarly record requires transparent handling of errors and misconduct:

• Corrections: Issued for minor errors that do not compromise validity.
• Retractions: Issued for significant breaches of integrity, with clear reasons documented.
• Expressions of Concern: Issued when investigations are inconclusive but concerns remain.

8) Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors must declare any potential conflicts of interest that could influence the objectivity of research or evaluation. Disclosures include financial, institutional, personal, or professional relationships that may bias outcomes.

9) Data Sharing and Transparency

Authors are encouraged to make underlying research data openly available in recognized repositories. APPS supports initiatives such as FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data principles and requires data availability statements for funded research.

10) Alignment with International Standards

The Publication Ethics Policy of APPS is aligned with:

• COPE Core Practices
• ICMJE Recommendations
• WAME Principles
• Open Access publishing standards

11) Contact Information

Concerns about publication ethics can be directed to:

• Email: [email protected]
• Contact form: https://www.pharmacyscijournal.com/contact