Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement
The National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology (NJPPP) is an international, peer-reviewed scholarly journal committed to maintaining high standards of publication ethics, research integrity, editorial independence, and responsible scholarly communication.
NJPPP recognizes that publication ethics is a shared responsibility involving authors, editors, reviewers, editorial board members, and the publisher. The journal follows recognized principles of responsible scholarly publishing, including the COPE Core Practices, and expects all participants in the publication process to comply with applicable ethical and research-integrity standards.
NJPPP uses a double-blind peer-review process for manuscripts proceeding to external peer review. Manuscripts may also undergo similarity screening using iThenticate or another appropriate similarity-detection system. Similarity screening is used to identify potential plagiarism, inappropriate text reuse, and substantial overlap with previously published material; it does not, by itself, establish fabrication, falsification, or other forms of research misconduct.
Where concerns about research or publication misconduct arise, NJPPP will assess the matter carefully and may take appropriate action, which may include requesting clarification, correction, rejection, expression of concern, retraction, or other measures depending on the nature and seriousness of the concern.
1. General Principles of Publication Ethics
Publication in a peer-reviewed journal contributes to the development and dissemination of reliable scientific knowledge. NJPPP therefore considers integrity, transparency, accountability, fairness, and confidentiality fundamental principles of scholarly publishing.
The journal does not tolerate publication misconduct, including plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, duplicate or redundant publication, inappropriate authorship practices, undisclosed conflicts of interest, manipulation of the peer-review process, unethical research practices, or other conduct that may compromise the integrity of the scholarly record.
All allegations of misconduct are assessed on their merits, and appropriate procedures are followed according to the circumstances of each case.
2. Responsibilities of Authors
Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscripts and research comply with applicable ethical and scientific standards.
2.1. Originality and Proper Attribution
Authors must submit original work and appropriately acknowledge and cite the contributions of other researchers.
Plagiarism in any form is unacceptable, including copying text, ideas, data, images, or other intellectual material without appropriate attribution.
Authors must obtain permission where necessary for the use of copyrighted material belonging to others.
2.2. Original Publication and Duplicate Submission
Manuscripts submitted to NJPPP must not have been published previously in substantially the same form and must not be simultaneously under consideration by another journal.
Duplicate, redundant, or substantially overlapping publication without appropriate justification and disclosure is considered unacceptable.
If related manuscripts or previous publications contain overlapping data or content, authors must disclose this information to the editorial office.
2.3. Data Integrity
Authors must report their research accurately and honestly.
Fabrication, falsification, selective reporting, inappropriate manipulation of data, or misleading presentation of results is prohibited.
Authors should retain appropriate research records and supporting data for a reasonable period in accordance with applicable institutional, legal, and disciplinary requirements.
2.4. Image and Figure Integrity
Images, figures, and other visual materials must accurately represent the underlying research.
Manipulation that could misrepresent the results or conclusions is unacceptable. Any legitimate image processing should be appropriate to the type of research and should not obscure, remove, or introduce information in a misleading manner.
2.5. Authorship and Contributorship
Authorship must reflect genuine and substantial contributions to the research and manuscript.
All listed authors should:
have made a meaningful contribution to the work;
participate in drafting the manuscript or critically revising it;
approve the final version; and
accept responsibility for the integrity of the work.
Gift authorship, honorary authorship, and ghost authorship are not acceptable.
Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be appropriately acknowledged where applicable.
All authors should agree on the author list and order before submission. Any change in authorship after submission requires appropriate justification and agreement from all affected authors.
2.6. Conflicts of Interest
Authors must disclose financial, professional, personal, institutional, or other relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research or its interpretation.
Relevant conflicts of interest should be disclosed at submission and reported in the manuscript where appropriate.
2.7. Funding Disclosure
Authors must disclose all sources of financial or material support for the research.
Where applicable, authors should identify the role of the funder in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.
2.8. Ethical Approval
Research involving human participants, human biological materials, or animals must comply with applicable ethical and regulatory requirements.
Where ethical approval is required, authors must obtain approval from the appropriate institutional or research ethics committee before conducting the research and provide relevant approval information in the manuscript.
2.9. Informed Consent
Appropriate informed consent must be obtained from human participants where required.
When a manuscript contains identifiable information, clinical details, photographs, or other material that could identify an individual, authors must obtain appropriate consent for publication in accordance with applicable ethical standards.
2.10. Clinical Trials
Where applicable, clinical trials should be registered in an appropriate recognized clinical-trial registry before or in accordance with applicable requirements for participant enrollment.
Authors should provide the trial registration number in the manuscript where applicable.
2.11. Reporting Standards
Authors are encouraged to follow appropriate recognized reporting guidelines relevant to their study design, including CONSORT, PRISMA, STROBE, CARE, ARRIVE, and other applicable standards.
2.12. Errors in Published Articles
Authors have a responsibility to notify the journal promptly if they discover a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work.
Authors should cooperate with the editorial office in investigating the issue and, where appropriate, publishing a correction, expression of concern, or retraction.
2.13. Artificial Intelligence
Authors must comply with NJPPP's Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy.
Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and scientific interpretation of their manuscripts, including content produced or assisted by AI tools.
AI systems must not be listed as authors.
3. Responsibilities of Editors
Editors are responsible for maintaining the integrity, fairness, confidentiality, and independence of the editorial process.
3.1. Fair and Independent Editorial Decisions
Editors must evaluate manuscripts according to their scientific and scholarly merits, relevance to the journal's scope, methodological quality, ethical compliance, and originality.
Editorial decisions must not be influenced by the authors' nationality, institutional affiliation, gender, religion, political views, personal characteristics, or commercial considerations.
3.2. Confidentiality
Editors must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and associated editorial communications.
Information concerning submitted manuscripts must not be disclosed to anyone other than those appropriately involved in the editorial and peer-review process.
3.3. Conflicts of Interest
Editors must disclose relevant conflicts of interest and should recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where their impartiality could reasonably be questioned.
An alternative editor may be assigned when necessary.
3.4. Reviewer Selection
Editors should select reviewers with appropriate expertise and should make reasonable efforts to avoid reviewers with conflicts of interest.
Editors should also take reasonable measures to protect the integrity of the double-blind peer-review process.
3.5. Misconduct and Research Integrity
Editors are responsible for responding appropriately to credible allegations or indications of research or publication misconduct.
Depending on the circumstances, the journal may request explanations or documentation from authors, consult appropriate experts or institutions, or take editorial action.
3.6. Editorial Independence from Commercial Interests
Editorial decisions must remain independent of advertising, sponsorship, article processing charges, waivers, discounts, or other commercial considerations.
Payment of an article processing charge does not guarantee acceptance or publication.
4. Responsibilities of Reviewers
4.1. Objectivity
Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts objectively and provide constructive, scientifically relevant, and respectful comments.
Personal criticism of authors is inappropriate.
4.2. Confidentiality
Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents.
Reviewers must not share, reproduce, distribute, or discuss manuscripts or their contents with unauthorized individuals.
Reviewers must not use unpublished information obtained through peer review for personal or professional advantage.
4.3. Conflict of Interest
Reviewers must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest and should decline the assignment where such a conflict could compromise the objectivity of the review.
4.4. Recognition of Relevant Work
Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been appropriately cited where this is necessary to support the scientific evaluation of the manuscript.
Reviewers should not recommend citations merely to increase their own citation counts, the citation counts of colleagues, or the journal's metrics.
4.5. Timeliness
Reviewers who are unable to complete a review within the requested timeframe should notify the editorial office promptly.
4.6. Suspected Misconduct
Reviewers should inform the editorial office if they identify credible concerns relating to plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication or falsification, unethical research, inappropriate authorship, or other potential misconduct.
5. Responsibilities of the Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board
The Editor-in-Chief and editorial board members are responsible for maintaining the academic and ethical standards of NJPPP.
They should:
uphold editorial independence and integrity;
ensure that manuscripts are handled fairly and consistently;
maintain confidentiality;
manage conflicts of interest appropriately;
support rigorous external peer review;
ensure that ethical concerns are addressed appropriately;
respond to credible allegations of research or publication misconduct; and
periodically review and improve the journal's editorial policies and procedures.
Editorial board members should not use information obtained through their editorial role for personal or professional advantage.
6. Research Involving Human Participants
NJPPP requires research involving human participants to comply with applicable ethical standards and regulations.
Authors should provide information regarding ethical approval, including the name of the approving committee and approval/reference number where applicable.
Research involving human participants should follow internationally recognized ethical principles, including the Declaration of Helsinki, where applicable.
7. Research Involving Animals
Research involving animals must comply with applicable institutional, national, and international requirements concerning animal welfare and ethical research.
Authors must obtain approval from an appropriate animal ethics committee or institutional body where required and should provide the relevant approval information in the manuscript.
Authors are encouraged to follow the ARRIVE guidelines for reporting research involving animals.
8. Plagiarism and Text Recycling
NJPPP considers plagiarism and inappropriate text recycling serious publication-ethics concerns.
The journal uses iThenticate during manuscript screening or at other stages of the publication process.
Similarity reports are evaluated by the editorial team. No single similarity percentage automatically establishes plagiarism because legitimate overlap may occur in references, standard terminology, methodological descriptions, or other technical material.
Where inappropriate overlap is identified, the journal may request clarification or revision, reject the manuscript, or investigate the matter further depending on the circumstances.
9. Fabrication, Falsification, and Data Manipulation
NJPPP considers fabrication, falsification, and deceptive manipulation of research data to be serious forms of research misconduct.
Examples include:
inventing research data or results;
deliberately altering or omitting data to produce a misleading result;
manipulating images in a manner that misrepresents findings;
selectively reporting results in a misleading manner; and
presenting fabricated or falsified research as genuine.
Where credible concerns arise, the journal may request supporting information or clarification and may contact the relevant institution or responsible authority where appropriate.
10. Duplicate, Redundant, and Salami Publication
Authors must not submit or publish substantially overlapping manuscripts without appropriate justification and disclosure.
The inappropriate division of one research project into multiple publications solely to increase the number of publications may be considered unethical where it results in redundant or misleading reporting.
When related publications exist, authors should disclose them to the editorial office.
11. Peer-Review Manipulation
NJPPP considers attempts to manipulate the peer-review process to be serious misconduct.
Examples may include:
providing false reviewer identities or contact information;
creating fraudulent reviewer accounts;
interfering with reviewer reports;
submitting fabricated peer-review recommendations; or
attempting to improperly influence editors or reviewers.
Where peer-review manipulation is suspected, the journal may suspend the editorial process and investigate the matter.
12. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern
NJPPP is committed to correcting the published scholarly record when errors or misconduct are identified.
Depending on the nature and seriousness of an issue, the journal may publish:
a correction for an identified error that does not invalidate the main findings;
an expression of concern when there are substantial unresolved concerns requiring further investigation; or
a retraction when the reliability or integrity of a published article is seriously compromised.
Editorial action is determined according to the specific circumstances and available evidence.
Retraction does not necessarily imply misconduct by the authors; it may be required because of an honest error that materially affects the reliability of the published work.
13. Appeals and Complaints
Authors have the right to appeal an editorial decision when they believe that a significant factual or procedural error affected the decision.
Appeals should provide a clear and reasoned explanation and should address specific concerns regarding the editorial process or evaluation.
Complaints concerning editorial conduct, peer review, or publication ethics will be considered fairly and confidentially by the Editor-in-Chief or an appropriately designated editor.
Where a complaint concerns the Editor-in-Chief, an alternative independent editorial authority should be designated to handle the matter.
14. Post-Publication Concerns
NJPPP welcomes credible and evidence-based concerns regarding published articles.
Concerns should be communicated to the editorial office with sufficient information to allow the matter to be assessed.
The journal may request information from authors, reviewers, institutions, or other appropriate parties when necessary to evaluate a concern.
Appropriate action will be taken where warranted to protect the integrity of the published scholarly record.
15. Publisher Responsibilities
The publisher supports the Editor-in-Chief and editorial board in maintaining the integrity and independence of the journal.
The publisher is responsible for supporting appropriate publication infrastructure, maintaining the accessibility of the journal's published content, and implementing editorial decisions concerning corrections, retractions, or other post-publication actions.
The publisher does not interfere with editorial decisions based on scientific or scholarly considerations.
16. Professional Conduct and Non-Discrimination
NJPPP is committed to maintaining a professional and respectful scholarly environment.
Harassment, discrimination, intimidation, threats, abusive communication, and other inappropriate conduct toward authors, reviewers, editors, editorial staff, or other participants in the publication process are not acceptable.
The journal expects all participants to communicate professionally and respectfully.
17. Continuous Review of Publication-Ethics Policies
NJPPP periodically reviews and updates its publication-ethics policies to reflect developments in research integrity, scholarly communication, publication technology, and recognized international standards.
Editors, reviewers, and editorial board members are encouraged to remain informed about developments in responsible research and publication practices.
18. Commitment to Publication Integrity
NJPPP is committed to maintaining a trustworthy and reliable scholarly record.
Authors, reviewers, editors, editorial board members, and the publisher share responsibility for maintaining the integrity of the publication process.
The journal will respond appropriately to credible concerns about research or publication misconduct and will take reasonable measures to correct the scholarly record when necessary.
NJPPP's publication-ethics framework is guided by the COPE Core Practices and is applied in conjunction with the journal's policies on peer review, research integrity, authorship, conflicts of interest, corrections and retractions, artificial intelligence, and other relevant areas of scholarly publishing.
