Editorial Policy

Overview

This policy sets forth the guidelines for the publication process of our journals. Conscientia Beam adopts and strives to abide by the principles set out by the following organisations:

Authorship

An author is an individual who has significantly contributed to the development of a manuscript. ICMJE recommends that authorship be based on all four of the following criteria:

• ✓Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
• ✓Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
• ✓Final approval of the version to be published; AND
• ✓Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Acknowledgement

Individuals who participated in the development of a manuscript but do not qualify as an author should be acknowledged. Organizations that provided support in terms of funding and/or other resources should also be acknowledged.

Changes in Authorship

Whenever there is a need to make changes in the authorship of a manuscript or a published article, the changes will be implemented according to COPE specification. Only corresponding authors can make request for a change in authorship. Requests to do so should be made to the editor using the Changes in Authorship Form.

Further reading: ICMJE — Defining the Role of Authors and Contributors  |  COPE — Flowcharts on Changes in Authorship

Submission of a Manuscript

Authors should read the "Instruction for Authors" on the journal's page before making a submission. Manuscripts should be prepared according to the style and specifications of the journal's policy.

Authors listed on the manuscript should have met the requirements for authorship specified above. Where possible, specify the contribution of each of the authors.

All authors should approve the final version of the manuscript prior to submission. Once a manuscript is submitted, it is therefore assumed that all authors have read and given their approval for the submission of the manuscript.

The contact information of all authors should be stated on the manuscript including surnames, other names, affiliations, email addresses and phone and fax numbers. Declarations of conflicts of interest should be stated in the manuscript and the submission should be made online.

Conflict of Interest

"Conflict of interest (COI) exists when there is a divergence between an individual's private interests (competing interests) and his or her responsibilities to scientific and publishing activities such that a reasonable observer might wonder if the individual's behavior or judgment was motivated by considerations of his or her competing interests" — WAME.

Authors should disclose all financial/relevant interest that may have influenced the development of the manuscript. Reviewers should disclose any conflict of interest and if necessary, decline the review of any manuscript they perceive to generate a conflict of interest. Editors should also decline from considering any manuscript that may have conflict of interest. Such manuscripts will be re-assigned to other editors.

Further reading: COPE — Flowcharts on Conflict of Interest  |  ICMJE — Conflicts of Interest  |  STM — International Ethical Principles  |  WAME — Conflict of Interest in Peer-Reviewed Medical Journals

Confidentiality

A submitted manuscript is confidential material. Our academic journals will not disclose a submitted manuscript to anyone except individuals who partake in the processing and preparation of the manuscript for publication (if accepted). These individuals include editorial staff, corresponding authors, potential reviewers, actual reviewers, and editors.

However, in suspected cases of misconduct, a manuscript may be revealed to the members of the academic journals' ethics committee and institutions/organizations that may require it for the investigation and resolution of the misconduct. Our academic journals shall follow the appropriate COPE flowcharts wherever necessary.

Further reading: ICMJE — Responsibilities in the Submission and Peer-Review Process  |  STM — International Ethical Principles for Scholarly Publication

Peer Review

The review process is an important aspect of the publication process of an article. It helps an editor in making a decision on an article and also enables the author to improve the manuscript.

Manuscripts are assigned to members of the editorial board or other qualified reviewers via the Manuscript Management System. Reviewers make one of the following recommendations:

• ✓ Accept as is
• ✓ Requires minor corrections
• ✓ Requires moderate revision
• ✓ Requires major revision
• ✓ Submit to another publication
• ✓ Reject on grounds of (with specific reason included)

A Review certificate is issued to reviewers after the review of the manuscript. Review reports are sent to the authors with reviewer identity removed. A minimum of two review reports are required per manuscript.

On receipt of the author's revised manuscript, the original manuscript, the revised manuscript and the review reports are sent to the editor. The editor makes one of the following decisions: Accept, Requires improvement, or Reject. Only an editor has the authority to accept or reject a manuscript.

Misconduct

Misconduct constitutes violation of this editorial policy, journal policies, publication ethics, or any applicable guidelines/policies specified by COPE, WAME, ICMJE, and STM. Any other activities that threaten or compromise the integrity of the research/publication process are potential instances of misconduct. Suspected cases of misconduct will be investigated according to COPE guidelines.

Correction and Retraction of Articles

Corrections may be made to a published article with the authorization of the editor of the journal. Editors will decide the magnitude of the corrections. Minor corrections are made directly to the original article. In cases of major corrections, the original article will remain unchanged while the corrected version will also be published — both versions linked to each other. A statement indicating the reason for the major change will also be published. When necessary, the retraction of articles will be done according to COPE retraction guidelines.

Further reading: ICMJE — Scientific Misconduct, Expressions of Concern, and Retraction  |  COPE — Guidelines, Flowcharts, Retraction Guidelines  |  WAME — Publication Ethics Policies  |  STM — International Ethical Principles