Publications Ethics and Malpractice

Publications Ethics and Statement on Prevention of Malpractice

WSJEST is a bimonthly, open-access, double-blind peer-reviewed, and refereed journal. All persons involved in the working of the journal in one capacity or another are expected to follow proper ethical procedures, and malpractice is strictly discouraged.

Duties and Responsibilities of Editors

  • Decision on Acceptance/Rejection of Manuscripts: The decision to either accept or reject a manuscript depends on the decision of the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Editor, who are guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and constrained by legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. All manuscripts are initially screened by licensed plagiarism software (Plagiarism Checker X). Authors are duly notified by email regarding the status of their manuscript and can track progress via the online journal management system.

  • Peer-Review Process: Sending a manuscript for peer review does not guarantee acceptance. The peer reviewers’ comments play a central role in determining publication.

  • Time Taken for Editorial Decision: WSJEST strives to provide speedy editorial decisions without compromising quality. The decision typically takes around 24 hours, though extensions may occur under exceptional circumstances (e.g., loss of internet services, natural calamities, or an unusually high volume of submissions).

  • Fair and Unbiased Decisions: The Editor-in-Chief, editorial board, and technical team evaluate manuscripts purely for their intellectual content, without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.

  • Confidentiality: The editor, editorial staff, and technical team will not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.

  • Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor's own research without the express written consent of the author.

Duties of Reviewers

  • Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Reviewers evaluate submitted manuscripts for technical content, novelty, and overall quality, assisting the editor in making informed editorial decisions.

  • Promptness: Assigned reviewers should promptly express their willingness or inability to review a manuscript within three working days of assignment.

  • Confidentiality: Any manuscript received for review must be treated as a confidential document and must not be shown to or discussed with others without prior authorization from the editor.

  • Standards of Objectivity: Reviews must be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments and technical feedback.

  • Acknowledgement of Sources: Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported must be accompanied by the relevant citation. Reviewers must also alert the editor to any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper within their personal knowledge.

  • Disclosure and Conflict of Interest: Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers must decline to review manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

Duties of Authors

  • Reporting Standards: Authors of original research reports should present an accurate and unmanipulated account of the work performed, alongside an objective discussion of its significance. A manuscript must contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable, leading to rejection or post-publication retraction.

  • Data Access and Retention: The editor reserves the right to ask authors for raw data in connection with the manuscript for editorial review and cross-checking. Authors should be prepared to provide public access to such data where practicable (consistent with the ALPSP-STM Statement on Data and Databases) and retain it for a reasonable period after publication.

  • Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure they have written entirely original works. Any work or words of others must be appropriately cited or quoted. Plagiarized manuscripts will be rejected. Plagiarism reports generated by the editor are shared with reviewers as supporting documentation.

  • Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publications: Authors should not publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior and may result in the author being blacklisted or banned from publishing in WSJEST.

  • Acknowledgement of Sources: Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.

  • Authorship of the Paper: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the study. All significant contributors must be listed as co-authors. Others who participated in substantive aspects of the research project should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author must ensure that all appropriate co-authors (and no inappropriate or "guest" authors) are included, and that all co-authors have approved the final version and agreed to its submission.

  • Hazards and Human or Animal Subjects: If the work involves chemicals, procedures, or equipment with unusual hazards, these must be clearly identified in the manuscript.

  • Ethical Clearance and Consent: Studies requiring ethical clearance must obtain prior approval from an official ethics committee. Intervention or experimental studies involving human subjects must explain potential benefits and risks to participants and obtain written consent. WSJEST reserves the right to request authentication documentation.

  • Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: All authors must disclose any financial or substantive conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project must be disclosed.

  • Fundamental Errors in Published Works: When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, it is their obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate to retract or correct the paper.

  • Timely Communications: Authors are requested to respond to emails sent by the editor in a timely manner. Delays in providing necessary data or responses may result in the manuscript being placed on hold, missing the publication deadline for that specific bimonthly issue, and being rescheduled for a subsequent issue.