We expect all authors to state in their article if they have a conflict of interest which could potentially bias their opinions - for example funding or employment.

All named authors on the articles should confirm that they have jointly participated in the research and writing of the article, and that no author has been omitted from the list of authors.

We require authors to warrant that their articles are original, have not been previously published, and do not plagiarise or otherwise copy someone else's work without attribution. (If the article is a translation, we are happy to consider this for publication but the authors must inform the editors on submission.)

We also require authors to warrant that their article does not defame, libel, or bring another person into disrepute, and neither does it contain anything illegal (e.g. copyright infringement).

Editors and reviewers must disclose any potential conflicts of interest that could influence, or be perceived to influence, their handling of a manuscript. Conflicts may include personal relationships, academic competition or financial interests related to the work under consideration. If a conflict exists, editors and reviewers must decline to participate in the review or editorial decision-making process. The journal maintains procedures to ensure that editorial decisions are made without bias and based solely on scholarly merit. Editors are not involved in decisions about papers in which they have a conflict of interest and such submissions are handled by another qualified editor.

All submissions are checked for originality during the editorial review. The reviewer’s role includes the process of checking and dealing with text similarity and suspected plagiarism. Plagiarism includes the unattributed use of another author’s words, ideas, data, or images, as well as excessive text recycling from one’s own prior work. Reviewers are responsible for reporting potential misconduct concerns to the Editor, who handles concerns according to the COPE plagiarism flowchart https://members.publicationethics.org/sites/default/files/plagiarism-submitted-manuscript-cope-flowchart.pdf. Manuscripts found to contain significant plagiarism are rejected, and if plagiarism is discovered after publication, the journal may issue a correction or retraction and notify the authors’ institution as appropriate. The editor is responsible for guiding the process and for publishing corrections, retractions or expressions of concern when appropriate. All authors will be informed and their consent (where possible) obtained before any changes are made. Appropriate measures will be taken, including possible retractions of articles, when cases of scholarly misconduct are detected.

Retraction of articles may be required when there is clear evidence that the findings are unreliable due to misconduct (e.g., data fabrication, plagiarism) or honest error; when the work has been previously published elsewhere without proper attribution; or when the research or publication process was unethical. Retraction notices are published promptly, clearly identified as such and linked to the original article, which remains in the public record but marked as retracted. The notice will include the reasons for retraction and who is retracting the article.

Corrections (errata or corrigenda) are published by the journal to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record. If an error is identified that affects the publication’s reliability, but not its overall conclusions, a correction will be issued. Corrections will clearly describe the change, reference the original article, and be freely accessible. Minor errors that do not affect the interpretation of the work will not typically warrant formal correction.