Publication Ethics & Malpractice Statement

Last updated: September 04, 2025

INNOVAPATH is committed to the highest standards of publication ethics. Our policies follow guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics1  (COPE) and the ICMJE recommendations2.

1. Editorial Independence & Oversight:

  • The Managing Editor has full authority over editorial decisions, independent of the publisher or sponsors.
  • The journal uses single-blind peer review (reviewers anonymous; authors visible). Submissions undergo editorial triage, plagiarism screening, and evaluation by at least two independent reviewers; a third may be invited if there is significant disagreement.

2. Authorship & Contributorship:

  • Authorship follows ICMJE criteria (substantial contribution; drafting/revision; final approval; accountability).
  • A contributorship statement (e.g., CRediT taxonomy) must be provided for all accepted articles.
  • All authors must supply ORCID iDs (preferred) and declare conflicts of interest.

3. Originality, Plagiarism & Duplicate Submission:

  • Submissions must be original and not under review elsewhere.
  • The journal screens manuscripts with plagiarism-detection tools. Verified plagiarism, redundant publication, or text recycling beyond acceptable norms may result in rejection or retraction.

4. Research Ethics:

  • For Human Subject Research:
    • Manuscripts must state IRB/ethics committee approval and informed consent (or justification for waiver). Identifying information must be removed or consented to for publication.
    • Register trials in a public registry before enrollment; include registry ID in the manuscript.
  • For Animal Research: Report compliance with institutional and national guidelines; include protocol/approval numbers.
  • Data integrity: Fabrication, falsification, or undisclosed image manipulation constitute misconduct.

1https://publicationethics.org
2https://icmje.org/recommendations

5. Data Availability & Reproducibility:

  • Authors should provide a Data Availability Statement describing where data, code, and materials can be found (e.g., institutional repository, OSF, Zenodo), any access restrictions, and conditions of reuse.
  • Where appropriate, authors should share study protocols, statistical code, and negative or null results.

6. Conflicts of Interest & Funding:

  • All authors, editors, and reviewers must disclose financial and non-financial competing interests.
  • Funding sources and the role of the funder must be described in the manuscript.

7. Peer Reviewer Responsibilities:

  • Maintain confidentiality; declare conflicts promptly; provide fair, evidence-based, and timely reviews; avoid use of privileged information for personal benefit.

8. Editorial Decision-making & Appeals:

  • Decisions are based on scientific merit, originality, clarity, and relevance.
  • Authors may appeal decisions by emailing the Editorial Office with a reasoned response; appeals are handled by an editor not involved in the initial decision.

9. Corrections, Retractions, Expressions of Concern:

  • Minor errors that do not affect conclusions may be corrected via a corrigendum/erratum.
  • Retractions follow COPE Retraction Guidelines3 and occur when findings are unreliable (e.g., misconduct or honest error), involve plagiarism or redundant publication, or breach ethical standards.
  • Expressions of concern may be issued when an investigation is ongoing but unresolved.All post-publication notices are linked bidirectionally with the original article and deposited with the DOI registry.

10. Misconduct Handling & Complaints:

  • Allegations (from readers, editors, reviewers, or institutions) are investigated in accordance with COPE flowcharts.
  • The journal may contact authors’ institutions or funders and, where necessary, suspend review, publish notices, or retract.
  • Complaints about editorial processes or publication ethics may be sent to [email protected]; the Managing Editor or an 
    independent ethics editor oversees appeals.

3https://publicationethics.org/guidance/guideline/retraction-guidelines

11. Copyright, Licensing & Permissions:

  • Authors retain copyright under a Creative Commons license specified on each article (e.g., CC BY 4.04  unless stated otherwise).
  • Third-party content must include proof of permission or be used under a compatible license.

12. AI-assisted Writing & Tools:

    • Authors must disclose any use of generative AI tools in writing or analysis and accept full responsibility for the content; AI tools are not listed as authors and must not fabricate data, references, or images.

Policy Contact: Questions about ethics or malpractice should be directed to [email protected] 

4https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en