Publication Ethics

Introduction

Human Biology Journal is committed to maintaining high standards of publication ethics, academic integrity, transparency, and responsible scholarly publishing. Authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher are expected to uphold ethical principles that protect the credibility, accuracy, and integrity of the scientific record.

All manuscripts submitted to the journal must comply with accepted standards of research integrity, proper attribution, responsible authorship, and ethical conduct.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their submitted manuscripts meet appropriate standards of scientific integrity. Authors must:

Submit original work and appropriately acknowledge all sources, ideas, data, and previously published materials.
Avoid plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, duplicate publication, and other forms of research misconduct.
Ensure that all listed authors have made meaningful scholarly contributions, approved the final manuscript, and accepted responsibility for their contributions.
Disclose relevant financial and non-financial conflicts of interest.
Present research methods, results, and conclusions accurately and transparently.
Obtain appropriate ethical approval and informed consent for research involving human participants, where applicable.
Disclose related manuscripts, overlapping publications, and other relevant information that could affect the editorial assessment.
Respond appropriately to editorial and reviewer comments during the review and revision process.

Research Involving Human Participants

Research involving human participants, identifiable personal information, or human biological specimens must comply with applicable ethical requirements and relevant institutional and national regulations.

Where applicable, manuscripts must identify the approving ethics committee or institutional review board, provide the approval reference, and include a statement regarding informed consent. Any exemption from ethical review should be appropriately explained.

Authors must protect participants’ privacy and confidentiality. Identifiable information, photographs, clinical details, and other sensitive materials must not be published without appropriate consent and authorization where required.

The journal reserves the right to request supporting documentation relating to ethical approval, informed consent, and participant protection.

Editorial Responsibilities

Editors are responsible for evaluating manuscripts fairly, objectively, and confidentially. Editorial decisions should be based on scientific merit, originality, methodological quality, relevance to the journal’s scope, and the reliability of the reported findings.

Editors must:

Handle manuscripts impartially and without discrimination.
Maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and editorial communications.
Identify and appropriately manage conflicts of interest.
Ensure that manuscripts receive suitable editorial assessment and peer review.
Investigate credible concerns regarding research integrity and publication ethics.
Make editorial decisions independently of inappropriate personal, commercial, or external influence.

Editors must not use unpublished information obtained through manuscript handling for personal advantage or research without appropriate authorization.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers are expected to provide objective, constructive, timely, and evidence-based assessments of submitted manuscripts. Their evaluations should address scientific quality, originality, methodology, interpretation of results, and relevance to the field.

Reviewers must maintain confidentiality, disclose potential conflicts of interest, and decline assignments when they cannot provide an impartial assessment or lack the necessary expertise.

Reviewers should identify relevant uncited work and report suspected plagiarism, data manipulation, ethical concerns, or other potential misconduct to the editor. They must not use unpublished information obtained during peer review for personal benefit.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors, editors, and reviewers must disclose financial, professional, personal, institutional, or other relationships that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, their work or decisions.

The disclosure of a conflict of interest allows the journal to assess its potential impact and take appropriate measures to preserve editorial independence and fairness.

Editors and reviewers should not participate in decisions concerning manuscripts when their conflicts of interest could compromise their impartiality.

Plagiarism and Research Misconduct

The journal does not tolerate plagiarism, fabrication or falsification of data, inappropriate image manipulation, duplicate publication, or other serious breaches of research integrity.

Manuscripts may undergo similarity screening and other editorial checks. If concerns arise, the editorial team may request explanations, supporting data, or additional documentation.

Depending on the findings, the journal may reject a manuscript, request corrections, withdraw an accepted manuscript, or take appropriate action concerning a published article. Decisions will be based on the nature and seriousness of the concern and the available evidence.

Authorship and Acknowledgments

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions to the research or manuscript and who accept responsibility for their contributions. All authors must approve the final version submitted for publication.

Contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship may be acknowledged with their permission, where appropriate.

Changes to authorship after submission must be justified and approved by all affected authors, subject to the journal’s editorial procedures.

Duplicate Submission and Redundant Publication

Manuscripts must not involve inappropriate simultaneous submission or substantial duplication of previously published work. Authors should disclose related publications, preprints, overlapping datasets, and manuscripts under consideration elsewhere when relevant.

Such disclosures will be evaluated according to the circumstances and the journal’s editorial policies. Legitimate scholarly practices, including appropriately disclosed preprint posting and justified secondary analyses, will be considered on their merits.

Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

The journal is committed to maintaining the accuracy and reliability of the scholarly record. When significant errors, ethical concerns, or questions about the reliability of published findings arise, the editorial team will assess the available evidence.

Depending on the circumstances, the journal may issue a correction, an expression of concern, or a retraction. Relevant notices will identify the affected publication and explain the reason for the action as clearly as possible.

Complaints and Appeals

Authors may submit reasoned appeals of editorial decisions or raise concerns regarding manuscript handling, peer review, authorship, or publication ethics.

Complaints and appeals should be submitted to the journal’s editorial office with relevant supporting information. The journal will review such matters fairly and objectively, taking into account the available evidence and applicable policies. An appeal does not guarantee that an editorial decision will be changed.

Ethical Oversight

The journal may request additional information or documentation when ethical or scientific concerns arise. Where appropriate, the editorial team may consult independent experts or relevant institutions to assist in evaluating serious concerns.

All cases will be handled with due consideration for fairness, confidentiality, applicable requirements, and the protection of research participants and the scientific record.

Commitment to Publication Ethics

Human Biology Journal is committed to promoting responsible research practices, transparent reporting, fair editorial assessment, and ethical scholarly communication. All participants in the publication process are expected to uphold these principles and cooperate in addressing concerns that may affect the integrity of published research.