Policies for Authors

Authorship

Criteria for Authorship
Authorship is granted to individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the research and manuscript. Contributing roles include:

– Conceptualization and research design.

– Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data.

– Drafting the manuscript or substantively revising it for intellectual content.

– Final approval of the version to be published.

All individuals who meet these criteria should be listed as authors.

Authorship Responsibilities
The corresponding author is primarily responsible for communication with the Journal and ensures all co-authors have approved the final manuscript and agree to its submission.

The order of authorship should be a joint decision of all co-authors.

All co-authors share collective responsibility for the entire content of the work, not only for their specific contributions.

Submitting false or fraudulent information in accompanying documents is grounds for immediate rejection, regardless of peer review outcomes.

Contributorship and Acknowledgments
Individuals who have contributed to the research (e.g., financial sponsors, supervisory support) but do not meet the full criteria for authorship should be acknowledged in a dedicated Acknowledgments section.

To ensure transparent attribution of contributions, this journal requires the use of the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) standard. Authors must specify the role(s) of each contributor using the controlled vocabulary provided at https://credit.niso.org.

Post-Publication Corrections and Retractions

The Journal is committed to preserving the integrity and completeness of the scientific record. While published articles are considered final, there are circumstances under which post-publication corrections or retractions are necessary. All such actions are handled following COPE guidelines.

Reporting Errors
Authors who identify a significant error in their published article must contact the journal immediately. The editorial team, in consultation with the RASEP Ethics Council if necessary, will review the case and determine the appropriate course of action.

Types of Corrections
– Corrigendum: Issued to correct an error or omission made by the authors that does not affect the article's core conclusions. All authors must agree to the publication of a Corrigendum, which will be permanently linked to the original article.

– Erratum: Issued to correct an error introduced by the journal/publisher during the production process. An Erratum will also be linked to the original article.

Withdrawal of Accepted Manuscripts
A manuscript in the "accepted for publication" stage (Ahead of Print) may be withdrawn if:

– Critical errors are discovered.

– It constitutes a duplicate submission or plagiarism.

– It violates editorial policies (e.g., false authorship, data fraud).

– It was published online in error by the Journal.

Withdrawn manuscripts are replaced by a page stating the reason for withdrawal, with a link to this policy.

Retraction of Published Articles
A published article may be retracted if serious issues are identified that undermine its reliability or integrity. Grounds for retraction include, but are not limited to:

– Unreliable findings due to major error or misconduct (e.g., data fabrication).

– Plagiarism or duplicate publication.

– Unauthorized use of third-party material or legal issues (e.g., copyright infringement).

– Ethical violations in research involving humans or animals.

– Compromised peer review, citation manipulation, or authorship fraud.

– Failure to disclose a major conflict of interest.

The retraction notice clearly states the reason for the action and is permanently linked to the retracted article.

Use of Third-Party Materials

Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission to reproduce any copyrighted material not owned by them. This policy protects the rights of copyright holders and ensures the legal integrity of the published work.

When Permission is Required
Permission is required for the reproduction of substantial parts of any copyrighted work, including text, illustrations, diagrams, tables, and photographs.

Permission Process
Authors must:

– Identify and contact the copyright holder (e.g., publisher, society, or author).

– Request formal written permission for use in a scholarly article, specifying the type of publication (print and online).

– Submit all permission grants to the Journal editorial office along with the manuscript.

Attribution and Exceptions
Proper attribution must be provided as stipulated by the copyright holder.

Permission is not required for material in the public domain or published under an open license (e.g., Creative Commons), provided the license terms are strictly followed.

Failure to secure necessary permissions may lead to manuscript rejection or article retraction.

Data Availability and Transparency

To promote research reproducibility and transparency, the Journal enforces the following policy on data access, aligned with COPE and Crossref recommendations.

Authors' Responsibilities
Authors must be prepared to provide supporting data and materials upon reasonable request from editors or reviewers during peer review.

This may include:

– Raw data (observational, experimental).

– Protocols, scripts, or algorithms used for analysis.

– Detailed methodologies that enable the replication of results.

Data Sharing and Formats
Data should be provided in reusable formats (e.g., CSV, TXT for data; PDF for protocols).

Authors are strongly encouraged to deposit data in recognized public repositories (e.g., Zenodo, Mendeley Data) upon article acceptance. A Data Availability Statement must be included in the manuscript, describing how and where the supporting data can be accessed.

Temporary private access for peer review is acceptable, with the understanding that data will be made publicly available upon publication.

Confidentiality and Reviewers Rights
Data shared during peer review will be treated confidentially and used solely for the evaluation process.

Reviewers may request data essential for validating the study's conclusions; such requests must be justified.

Consequences of Non-Compliance
Refusal to provide essential data for verification may result in the suspension of the review process or rejection of the manuscript. Post-publication concerns regarding data transparency may lead to an investigation and potential corrective action.