Publication Ethics and Malpractice Policy

Editorial Policies
Natural Products and Translational Medicine is dedicated to upholding the scientific record's integrity, publication ethics, and publication malpractice statement. It is based on the Code of Conduct and Best Publishing Practice in scientific publications, which contains the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (ICMJE) and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (joint statement by COPE, DOAJ, WAME, and OASPSA). Natural Products and Translational Medicine encourages its editors to adhere to the "Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors" established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Plagiarism
Self-plagiarism is the redundant reuse of one's work, "using another's invention without crediting the sources," or "presenting an idea or product derived from an existing source as novel and original." The Natural Products and Translational Medicine also considers "self-plagiarism" a form of plagiarism. Self-plagiarism occurs when an author plagiarises their previously published work without properly citing it in a newly submitted manuscript. As a part of the technical check in our manuscript submission system (Manuscript Manager), all submissions are screened with iThenticate. Only submissions that pass the technical check are considered for additional editorial and peer review.

Editors' Responsibilities:

• The Editor of NPTM is responsible for deciding the publication of articles submitted to the journal. The editor may consult the editorial board and reviewers in making decisions and will consider the recommendations of corresponding editors. The editor will also consider basic legal requirements for publication, including plagiarism and copyright infringement.
• Manuscripts submitted to the journal are evaluated based on their intellectual and scientific content. NPTM ensure the publication process is free from any bias without regard to any form of discrimination, including race, gender, religious beliefs, political ideology or citizenship.
• The editor or any other editorial staff should not disclose the status of the manuscript under review in a journal to any individual or organisation other than the corresponding author, potential reviewers, editorial advisors and the publisher, except when appropriate and by appropriate means.


Reviewers' Responsibilities:

• Reviewers, through peer review, assist the editor in making editorial decisions and the author(s) in improving their manuscript.
• When an assigned referee feels unqualified to review the assigned manuscript or knows that timely review will not be possible, the referee should excuse himself/herself by notifying the editor in time to avoid any delay in manuscript review.
• Reviewers should express objective comments without personally criticising the author(s). Reviewers should also provide necessary supporting arguments and clearly express their views to the author(s), which should help the author(s) improve their work.
• Reviewers should promptly communicate with the editor about any conflict of interest that may result from undue influence over their ability to evaluate the manuscript professionally. Also, any direct competitive or collaborative relationship between the author and the manuscript reviewer constitutes a conflict of interest. If the editor finds such a conflict, an alternate reviewer will be assigned.


Author’s Responsibilities:


• Author(s) of the manuscript submitting to NPTM should present an accurate account of the work undertaken and discuss its significance objectively. It is to be ensured by the author that the entire work is undertaken by them and that, in case of use of work or words of others, they need to be cited, referenced, and acknowledged.
• Author(s) should not simultaneously submit the same manuscript to multiple journals. In such cases, it will be deemed as unethical behaviour. If such behaviour is found, the editor of the journal reserves the right to remove or reject the manuscript submitted to NPTM.
• Authorship should be restricted to persons who have contributed significantly to the manuscript, including conception and execution of the work submitted to the journal. The corresponding author should ensure that all co-authors have reviewed the final version of the manuscript and agreed to its publication in the journal.
• Author(s) should cite and acknowledge the work of others properly. Explicit written permission should be obtained in case of information is obtained privately or utilizing confidential services, including through grant applications or referring manuscripts.
• Author(s) should disclose to the editor any possible conflict of interest, including financial or substantive data use or obtained results or interpretation present in the manuscript. All sources of financial support should be disclosed in the manuscript’s acknowledgement section.
• If the authors(s) identify any error or inaccuracy in the manuscript, it should be notified to the editor or publisher. Also, full cooperation is expected from the author(s) to retract or correct the published manuscript in NPTM.