Publication Ethics And Public Policy

Acta Botanica Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement is based in large part on the guidelines and standards developed. The relevant duties and expectations of authors, reviewers, and editors of the journal are set out below. It includes:

1. Allegations of misconduct Journals should have a clearly described process for handling allegations; however they are brought to the journal’s or publisher’s attention. Journals must take seriously allegations of misconduct pre-publication and post-publication. Policies should include how to handle allegations from whistleblowers. Source: https://publicationethics.org/core-practices
2. Authorship and contributorship Clear policies (that allow for transparency around who contributed to the work and in what capacity) should be in place for requirements for authorship and contributorship as well as processes for managing potential disputes Source: https://publicationethics.org/core-practices
3. Complaints and appeals Journals should have a clearly described process for handling complaints against the journal, its staff, editorial board or publisher Source: https://publicationethics.org/core-practices
4. Conflicts of interest / Competing interests There must be clear definitions of conflicts of interest and processes for handling conflicts of interest of authors, reviewers, editors, journals and publishers, whether identified before or after publication Source: https://publicationethics.org/core-practices
5. Data and reproducibility Journals should include policies on data availability and encourage the use of reporting guidelines and registration of clinical trials and other study designs according to standard practice in their discipline Source: https://publicationethics.org/core-practices
6. Ethical oversight Ethical oversight should include, but is not limited to, policies on consent to publication, publication on vulnerable populations, ethical conduct of research using animals, ethical conduct of research using human subjects, handling confidential data and of business/marketing practices Source: https://publicationethics.org/core-practices
7. Intellectual property All policies on intellectual property, including copyright and publishing licenses, should be clearly described. In addition, any costs associated with publishing should be obvious to authors and readers.
8. Journal management A well-described and implemented infrastructure is essential, including the business model, policies, processes and software for efficient running of an editorially independent journal, as well as the efficient management and training of editorial boards and editorial and publishing staff Source: https://publicationethics.org/core-practices
9. Peer review processes All peer review processes must be transparently described and well managed. Journals should provide training for editors and reviewers and have policies on diverse aspects of peer review
10. Post-publication discussions and corrections Journals must allow debate post publication either on their site, through letters to the editor, or on an external moderated site, such as PubPeer.
    
    Ethics of Human and Animal Experimentation: Established standards and procedures should be followed in the protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research whereby research participants should be fully aware of the research and the impact and risk of such research on the research participant and others. Articles conducting any animal or clinical studies should contain a statement in accordance with the animal and human ethics committee.
    
    Statement of Informed Consent All individuals have individual rights that are not to be infringed. Individual participants in studies have to be informed priory such as their personal data gathered, to what they have said during a study or an interview, as well as to any photograph that was taken in accordance with the research.