⚖️ Publication Ethics Policy

GSC Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences (GSCBPS) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, transparency, fairness, and ethical responsibility throughout the scholarly publishing process. The journal believes that ethical publishing is fundamental to advancing scientific knowledge and preserving public confidence in academic research.

As an international peer-reviewed Open Access journal, GSCBPS expects authors, editors, reviewers, members of the editorial board, and the publisher to uphold internationally accepted principles of publication ethics at every stage of manuscript submission, peer review, editorial evaluation, publication, and post-publication activities.

The journal follows internationally recognized best practices for ethical scholarly publishing and considers the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and other widely accepted publishing standards when addressing ethical matters, research integrity, editorial independence, and publication malpractice.

Every manuscript submitted to GSCBPS is evaluated on the basis of scientific quality, originality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, and relevance to the journal's aims and scope. Editorial decisions are made independently and are never influenced by an author's nationality, institutional affiliation, gender, ethnicity, religion, political views, financial status, or ability to pay publication charges.

🌍 Our Commitment to Ethical Publishing

GSC Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences is dedicated to promoting responsible research and ethical scholarly communication. The journal strives to maintain a transparent editorial process that protects the interests of authors, reviewers, readers, research participants, funding organizations, and the wider scientific community.

Our publication ethics policy is designed to:

• ⚖️ Promote honesty, transparency, and accountability in scientific publishing.
• 🔬 Ensure the publication of reliable and scientifically sound research.
• 🛡️ Protect the integrity of the scholarly record.
• 👨‍⚖️ Support fair, unbiased, and confidential peer review.
• 📄 Prevent plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication, and research misconduct.
• 🤝 Encourage responsible authorship and collaborative research practices.
• 🌍 Maintain public trust in published scientific literature.
• 📚 Preserve the long-term credibility of the journal and its published articles.

📖 Core Principles of Publication Ethics

Every participant in the publication process shares responsibility for maintaining ethical standards. GSCBPS expects all contributors to observe the following core principles:

• ✅ Honesty in reporting research findings.
• ✅ Originality of submitted work.
• ✅ Accuracy in data collection, analysis, and presentation.
• ✅ Transparency regarding funding and conflicts of interest.
• ✅ Respect for intellectual property and copyright.
• ✅ Responsible authorship and appropriate acknowledgement of contributions.
• ✅ Compliance with applicable human and animal research ethics.
• ✅ Confidential handling of manuscripts during peer review.
• ✅ Respectful and objective communication throughout the editorial process.

These principles apply equally to authors, editors, reviewers, editorial staff, and the publisher.

🛡️ Ethical Responsibilities Shared by All Participants

Maintaining research integrity requires cooperation among everyone involved in scholarly publishing. GSCBPS therefore expects every participant to act responsibly, professionally, and ethically throughout the publication process.

All participants should:

• 📋 Follow internationally accepted standards of research integrity.
• ⚖️ Respect confidentiality throughout editorial and peer review activities.
• 🤝 Avoid conflicts of interest whenever possible.
• 📚 Properly acknowledge the work of other researchers.
• 📝 Report suspected ethical concerns promptly.
• 🔍 Cooperate fully during investigations of potential misconduct.
• 📖 Support correction of the scientific record whenever necessary.

🔍 Research Integrity

Scientific progress depends upon the accuracy, reproducibility, and reliability of published research. Authors are expected to present research honestly and completely, without fabrication, falsification, inappropriate data manipulation, selective reporting, or misleading interpretation of results.

Research submitted to GSCBPS should be conducted according to accepted scientific methods and ethical standards. Experimental procedures, statistical analyses, and research methodologies should be described with sufficient detail to enable readers and researchers to understand, evaluate, and, where appropriate, reproduce the reported work.

Where necessary, authors may be requested to provide additional information, supporting documentation, or original research data during editorial assessment or after publication.

🌐 Ethical Publishing in an Open Access Environment

As an Open Access journal, GSCBPS recognizes its responsibility to ensure that freely accessible scientific literature remains accurate, trustworthy, and ethically published. Open accessibility increases the visibility and impact of research while also increasing the importance of maintaining rigorous editorial standards and responsible publication practices.

For this reason, every accepted manuscript undergoes editorial evaluation and independent peer review before publication. Ethical publishing practices are applied consistently regardless of an author's country, institution, funding source, or publication charges.

👨‍🔬 Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to GSC Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences (GSCBPS) are expected to uphold the highest standards of scientific integrity, ethical research conduct, and responsible scholarly publishing. Authors share primary responsibility for ensuring that submitted work is original, accurate, transparent, and prepared according to internationally accepted ethical principles.

Submission of a manuscript to GSCBPS signifies that all authors have read, understood, and agreed to comply with the journal's publication ethics policy, author guidelines, and editorial requirements.

📝 Originality and Scientific Integrity

Authors must ensure that every submitted manuscript represents original research and has not been published previously, either in whole or in substantial part. Research findings should be presented honestly and accurately without fabrication, falsification, selective reporting, or inappropriate manipulation of data.

The manuscript should clearly describe the objectives, methodology, experimental procedures, statistical analysis, results, and conclusions so that readers can properly evaluate the scientific validity of the study.

Authors should avoid practices that may compromise research integrity, including:

• ❌ Fabrication of research data.
• ❌ Falsification or manipulation of experimental results.
• ❌ Selective omission of important findings.
• ❌ Misrepresentation of research methodology.
• ❌ Misleading interpretation of scientific results.

🛡️ Plagiarism and Original Work

GSCBPS maintains a strict policy against plagiarism in any form. Authors must submit only original work and appropriately acknowledge the ideas, text, figures, tables, datasets, and findings of other researchers through accurate citation and referencing.

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

• ❌ Copying text without proper citation.
• ❌ Self-plagiarism or duplicate publication.
• ❌ Improper paraphrasing.
• ❌ Unauthorized use of figures, tables, or images.
• ❌ Presentation of another person's research as one's own.

Manuscripts suspected of plagiarism may be rejected immediately or investigated further according to the journal's publication ethics procedures.

📄 Multiple, Duplicate, or Simultaneous Submission

Authors should not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal. Manuscripts submitted to GSCBPS must not be under consideration elsewhere during the editorial and peer review process.

Likewise, substantially similar work should not be published more than once unless clearly justified and appropriately referenced according to accepted publishing standards.

👥 Authorship Criteria

Authorship should accurately reflect individual contributions to the research and manuscript preparation. Every listed author should have made a meaningful intellectual contribution to the work and should be able to take public responsibility for the published research.

Individuals generally qualify for authorship when they have contributed substantially to one or more of the following:

• 🔬 Research conception or study design.
• 🧪 Data collection or experimentation.
• 📊 Data analysis and interpretation.
• ✍️ Drafting or critically revising the manuscript.
• ✅ Final approval of the version submitted for publication.
• ⚖️ Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Individuals providing only administrative, financial, technical, or general supervision should normally be acknowledged rather than listed as authors unless they also satisfy the accepted authorship criteria.

🤝 Corresponding Author Responsibilities

The corresponding author serves as the primary contact between the journal and all co-authors throughout the publication process.

The corresponding author should ensure that:

• ✅ All listed authors have approved the final manuscript.
• ✅ No eligible contributor has been omitted.
• ✅ All co-authors agree with manuscript submission.
• ✅ Author information is accurate and complete.
• ✅ Editorial communications are shared promptly with co-authors.
• ✅ Revision requests are coordinated efficiently.

⚠️ Changes in Authorship

Requests to add, remove, or rearrange authors after manuscript submission should be avoided whenever possible. Where such changes are necessary, the corresponding author must provide a clear explanation together with written agreement from all authors.

The Editorial Office reserves the right to request additional documentation before approving any authorship modification.

💰 Disclosure of Funding and Conflicts of Interest

Authors should disclose all financial support, research grants, institutional funding, sponsorship, consulting relationships, employment, personal relationships, or other circumstances that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research or its interpretation.

Disclosure promotes transparency and allows readers to evaluate potential sources of bias while maintaining confidence in published research.

📊 Data Availability and Record Retention

Authors should maintain accurate records of the original research data supporting their published findings. Where appropriate, authors may be requested to provide raw data, supplementary materials, ethical approvals, or additional documentation during editorial evaluation or after publication.

Research data should be retained for an appropriate period following publication to facilitate verification if necessary.

🤖 Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools

Authors may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist with language improvement, grammar correction, or manuscript preparation, provided that the scientific content, data analysis, interpretation, conclusions, and overall responsibility remain entirely with the authors.

AI tools must not be listed as authors. Where AI-assisted tools have been used in manuscript preparation beyond basic language editing, authors should disclose their use in accordance with applicable journal policies and accepted publishing standards.

🧑‍⚕️ Human and Animal Research Ethics

Research involving human participants, animals, biological materials, or sensitive data should comply with applicable institutional, national, and international ethical requirements.

Where applicable, manuscripts should clearly state:

• 🧑‍⚕️ Institutional Ethics Committee approval.
• 📋 Informed consent from participants.
• 🐾 Animal ethics approval.
• 🛡️ Protection of participant privacy and confidentiality.
• ⚖️ Compliance with relevant ethical guidelines.

The Editorial Office may request supporting ethical approval documents whenever necessary.

👨‍⚖️ Responsibilities of Editors

Editors play a vital role in maintaining the scientific quality, integrity, and credibility of GSC Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences (GSCBPS). Editorial decisions should always be guided by scientific merit, ethical publishing standards, and the interests of the scholarly community while remaining independent of commercial or personal considerations.

Editors are expected to conduct the editorial process fairly, consistently, objectively, and confidentially throughout manuscript handling.

⚖️ Fair and Unbiased Editorial Decisions

Editors evaluate submitted manuscripts solely on their scientific quality, originality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, and relevance to the journal's scope. Editorial decisions are never influenced by:

• ❌ Nationality or country of origin.
• ❌ Race or ethnicity.
• ❌ Gender or gender identity.
• ❌ Religious or political beliefs.
• ❌ Institutional affiliation.
• ❌ Financial status.
• ❌ Ability to pay publication charges.
• ❌ Personal relationships with authors.

Every manuscript receives equal editorial consideration based solely on its academic and scientific merit.

🔒 Confidentiality

Editors and editorial staff must maintain strict confidentiality throughout the editorial and peer review process. Information contained within submitted manuscripts should not be disclosed to anyone other than individuals directly involved in the editorial evaluation, peer review, or publication process.

Editors must not:

• 🚫 Share unpublished manuscripts without authorization.
• 🚫 Discuss confidential research with unauthorized individuals.
• 🚫 Use unpublished information for personal research or professional advantage.
• 🚫 Reveal reviewer identities where confidentiality applies.

⚠️ Conflicts of Interest

Editors should avoid handling manuscripts whenever a real or perceived conflict of interest exists. Conflicts may arise from professional collaboration, institutional affiliation, financial interests, personal relationships, or academic competition.

Where a conflict exists, editorial responsibility should be transferred to another qualified editor to preserve impartiality and maintain confidence in the editorial process.

🛡️ Editorial Independence

Editorial independence is fundamental to responsible scholarly publishing. Editorial decisions at GSCBPS remain completely independent of publication charges, advertising, sponsorship, institutional relationships, or commercial considerations.

Acceptance or rejection of a manuscript is determined exclusively through editorial assessment and independent peer review.

📚 Protecting the Scientific Record

Editors are responsible for safeguarding the integrity of published research. When credible concerns arise regarding plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated data, image manipulation, unethical research practices, or authorship disputes, the Editorial Office will investigate the matter carefully and fairly.

Where appropriate, corrective actions may include:

• 📝 Requests for clarification.
• 📄 Publication of corrections.
• ⚠️ Expressions of concern.
• ❌ Retraction of published articles.
• 🚫 Rejection of submitted manuscripts.
• 📢 Notification of relevant institutions where necessary.

🔬 Responsibilities of Peer Reviewers

Peer reviewers make an essential contribution to maintaining the scientific quality of GSC Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Independent peer review helps editors evaluate manuscripts objectively while providing authors with constructive recommendations for improving their work.

Reviewers are selected on the basis of their subject expertise, research experience, publication record, and ability to provide objective scientific evaluation.

📖 Objective Scientific Assessment

Reviewers should evaluate manuscripts fairly, objectively, and professionally. Reviews should focus on the scientific content rather than personal opinions regarding the authors or their institutions.

Review reports should provide constructive comments regarding:

• 🔬 Scientific originality.
• 📊 Research methodology.
• 📈 Data analysis and interpretation.
• 📝 Organization and clarity.
• 📚 Literature review and citations.
• 🎯 Overall contribution to the field.

Constructive criticism should be respectful, evidence-based, and intended to improve manuscript quality.

🔒 Confidential Handling of Manuscripts

All manuscripts received for review are confidential documents. Reviewers must not distribute, discuss, copy, or use unpublished information obtained through peer review for personal, academic, or commercial benefit.

Review materials should be destroyed or securely deleted after completion of the review unless otherwise instructed by the Editorial Office.

⚠️ Reviewer Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers should decline review invitations whenever conflicts of interest could compromise impartial evaluation.

Potential conflicts include:

• 👥 Recent collaboration with the authors.
• 🏛️ Employment at the same institution.
• 💰 Financial interests.
• 🤝 Personal relationships.
• 🏆 Academic competition.
• 📄 Ongoing collaborative research.

Whenever uncertainty exists, reviewers should disclose the situation to the Editorial Office before accepting the review invitation.

⏱️ Timely Review

Reviewers who accept an invitation are expected to complete their evaluation within the agreed review period. If circumstances prevent timely completion, reviewers should notify the Editorial Office promptly so alternative arrangements can be made.

📚 Recognition of Relevant Literature

Reviewers should identify important published work that has not been appropriately cited and may recommend additional relevant references where scientifically justified.

Recommendations for citation should be based solely on scientific relevance and should never be used to artificially increase citations of particular authors, journals, or institutions.

🚫 Research Misconduct and Publication Malpractice

GSC Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences (GSCBPS) takes allegations of research misconduct seriously and investigates all credible concerns fairly, confidentially, and objectively. The journal is committed to protecting the integrity of the scientific record while ensuring that investigations are conducted according to internationally accepted ethical publishing practices.

Research misconduct may occur before submission, during peer review, or after publication. Where sufficient evidence exists, the Editorial Office will take appropriate action to correct the scholarly record.

❌ Forms of Research Misconduct

Examples of publication malpractice include, but are not limited to:

• 🚫 Plagiarism or self-plagiarism.
• 🚫 Data fabrication.
• 🚫 Data falsification or selective reporting.
• 🚫 Duplicate or redundant publication.
• 🚫 Simultaneous submission to multiple journals.
• 🚫 Image manipulation or inappropriate image enhancement.
• 🚫 Citation manipulation.
• 🚫 Gift, guest, or ghost authorship.
• 🚫 Undisclosed conflicts of interest.
• 🚫 Ethical approval fraud.
• 🚫 Manipulation of the peer review process.
• 🚫 Submission of fraudulent reviewer information.

Any suspected misconduct will be assessed individually according to the available evidence and the journal's ethical procedures.

🔍 Investigation of Ethical Concerns

When potential ethical concerns are identified, the Editorial Office conducts an impartial investigation while maintaining confidentiality for all parties involved.

Depending on the nature of the concern, the investigation may include:

• 📄 Requesting explanations from the corresponding author.
• 📊 Examining original research data.
• 📝 Reviewing manuscript revisions and supporting documents.
• 🔎 Consulting editors, reviewers, or subject experts.
• 🏛️ Contacting the relevant institution when appropriate.
• ⚖️ Considering internationally accepted publication ethics guidance.

Authors are expected to cooperate fully during any ethics investigation and provide requested documentation within a reasonable timeframe.

📑 Corrections and Errata

Despite careful editorial review, genuine errors may occasionally be identified after publication. Where an error does not invalidate the overall scientific findings, GSCBPS may publish a correction (Erratum or Corrigendum) to maintain the accuracy of the published record.

Examples include:

• ✍️ Typographical errors affecting interpretation.
• 📊 Minor errors in tables or figures.
• 🏛️ Incorrect author affiliations.
• 📧 Contact information updates.
• 📚 Reference corrections.

Corrections are published transparently and linked to the original article whenever appropriate.

⚠️ Expressions of Concern

Where substantial concerns exist regarding the integrity of a published article but the available evidence is insufficient for an immediate correction or retraction, the journal may publish an Expression of Concern.

This mechanism informs readers that an investigation is underway while ensuring fairness to all parties until the investigation has been completed.

❌ Article Retractions

Retraction is considered only when necessary to protect the integrity of the scientific literature. Retractions may occur when published findings are demonstrated to be unreliable or when serious publication misconduct has occurred.

Reasons for retraction may include:

• 🚫 Proven plagiarism.
• 🚫 Fabricated or falsified research data.
• 🚫 Duplicate publication.
• 🚫 Serious ethical violations.
• 🚫 Fraudulent authorship claims.
• 🚫 Manipulated peer review.
• 🚫 Major errors rendering conclusions unreliable.

Retracted articles remain part of the scholarly record but are clearly identified as retracted to preserve transparency and maintain the integrity of scientific literature.

🖼️ Image Integrity

Scientific images, photographs, microscopy images, electrophoresis gels, western blots, radiological images, and graphical data should accurately represent the original observations.

Authors should not manipulate images in ways that could mislead readers or alter scientific interpretation.

Acceptable image processing includes only adjustments applied uniformly to the entire image that do not change the scientific meaning of the data.

📚 Citation Integrity

References should be selected solely on the basis of scientific relevance. Authors, reviewers, and editors should avoid any practice intended to manipulate citation metrics or artificially increase citations of specific journals, authors, or institutions.

The journal discourages excessive self-citation and coercive citation practices that do not contribute meaningfully to the scientific discussion.

📩 Appeals and Complaints

Authors who believe that an editorial decision was made in error may submit a reasoned appeal to the Editorial Office. Appeals should include a detailed explanation supported by scientific evidence rather than disagreement alone.

Appeals are reviewed independently, and the Editorial Office may seek additional expert opinion before reaching a final decision.

Complaints regarding editorial conduct, peer review, publication ethics, or journal procedures are handled confidentially and investigated fairly.

📢 Reporting Ethical Concerns

Researchers, reviewers, editors, readers, institutions, or members of the scientific community who become aware of suspected publication misconduct are encouraged to notify the Editorial Office with appropriate supporting evidence.

Reports are handled confidentially and investigated objectively. The journal will take appropriate corrective action whenever ethical concerns are substantiated.

Editorial Office
📧 Email: editor-gscbps@gsconlinepress.com 

📋 Ethical Publishing Workflow at GSCBPS

GSC Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences (GSCBPS) follows a transparent and structured publication workflow designed to ensure fairness, scientific integrity, and compliance with internationally accepted publication ethics standards. Every manuscript is handled confidentially and evaluated solely on its academic merit throughout the editorial and peer review process.

Throughout every stage of this workflow, ethical standards, confidentiality, editorial independence, and scientific quality remain the journal's highest priorities.

🤝 Ethical Responsibilities at a Glance

🔗 Related Journal Policies

Authors are encouraged to review the following journal policies before submitting their manuscripts:

• 📝 Author Guidelines
• 👨‍⚖️ Editorial Screening & Peer Review Process
• 📋 Peer Review Policy & Reviewer Guidelines
• 🛡️ Plagiarism Policy
• 🌍 Open Access Policy
• 📜 Copyright & Licensing Policy
• 💰 Article Processing Charges
• 📤 Submit Manuscript

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What publication ethics standards does GSCBPS follow?

GSCBPS follows internationally accepted publication ethics principles and considers recommendations from organizations such as the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) while maintaining its own editorial policies.

Does the journal check manuscripts for plagiarism?

Authors are responsible for ensuring that the manuscripts they submit to GSC Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences (GSCBPS) are original, properly cited and free from plagiarism or duplicate publication.

Can a manuscript be rejected for ethical reasons?

Yes. Manuscripts may be rejected if evidence of plagiarism, duplicate submission, fabricated data, unethical research practices, authorship disputes, or other forms of publication misconduct is identified.

Does payment influence editorial decisions?

No. Editorial decisions are based solely on scientific quality, originality, relevance, ethical compliance, and independent peer review. Article Processing Charges become payable only after formal acceptance.

What happens if an ethical concern is discovered after publication?

Depending on the nature of the concern, the journal may publish a correction, expression of concern, or retraction to protect the integrity of the scientific record.

How can suspected publication misconduct be reported?

Suspected ethical concerns may be reported confidentially to the Editorial Office together with any available supporting evidence for investigation.

Does GSCBPS support ethical Open Access publishing?

Yes. GSCBPS is an international peer-reviewed Open Access journal committed to transparent editorial practices, responsible research publication, and long-term preservation of the scholarly record.