Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

 

Introduction and Scope

At Verlumun and Penda Publishers, our commitment to the integrity of our academic content and publishing process is guaranteed. This policy serves as the guiding ethical framework for all journals and publications operating under the Verlumun and Penda Publishers LLP banner. We encourage researchers to conduct their work in line with established best practices and the professional codes of conduct of internationally regulated bodies, such as the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Research Integrity and Conduct

We uphold the highest standards of research integrity. We expect all contributors to our journals to abide by the following core principles:

  • Honesty: Maintaining complete honesty in all aspects of research, including data collection, analysis, and reporting.
  • Rigour and Accuracy: Ensuring thoroughness, accuracy, and excellence in research practice.
  • Transparency: Communicating research reports with heightened transparency regarding methods, data, and funding sources.
  • Subject Protection: Protecting the rights, care, and well-being of all human and animal subjects in the study.

Research with Animals or Humans

All research involving animals or human subjects must have prior approval from a research ethics committee (IRB). Authors must confirm that they obtained informed consent from all participants. For studies involving vulnerable groups (e.g., children under 18), authors must obtain and provide evidence of signed consent from parents or legal guardians.

Editorial Process and Independence

We are committed to upholding high standards in our editorial process, ensuring that all content is developed with rigour and independence.

Initial Submission Check

After submission, manuscripts undergo a preliminary check and will only proceed to peer review if they meet the following criteria:

  1. The manuscript falls within the journal's specific scope.
  2. Authorship information is complete and well-grounded.
  3. The manuscript meets our standards for presentation and formatting.
  4. Required information regarding research ethics and consent is included.
  5. The manuscript is free from plagiarism, with a maximum acceptable similarity level of 20%.

Peer Review and Decision

When a submission passes the preliminary check, qualified and independent reviewers are invited to critically assess it. Following a thorough evaluation of the reviewers' comments, journal editors will decide to either accept, reject, or request a revision from the author(s).

Final Decision

After a revised manuscript is resubmitted, it may be sent for a second round of review. The editors will then make a final decision to accept or reject the revised manuscript. If accepted, the manuscript will undergo professional layout editing, author proofreading, and format conversion before publication.

Peer Review and Confidentiality

We use a double-blind peer review process for all journals to ensure impartial assessment of submitted manuscripts. Our reviewers are external to the journal and publisher. We adhere to the following principles:

  • Competence and Timeliness: Reviewers should only accept manuscripts for which they have the subject expertise required and strive to complete their reviews in a timely manner.
  • Confidentiality: Reviewers must ensure the confidentiality of the peer review process, refraining from disclosing any details of a manuscript or its review.
  • Impartiality: Reviews should be impartial, objective, and constructive, free from personal or defamatory comments, and their judgment must not be influenced by the authors' characteristics.
  • Conflicts of Interest (COI): Reviewers should declare all potential conflicts of interest and must not use information from a manuscript to their own advantage.
  • Ethical Breach: Impersonating another individual during the review process is considered a serious breach of ethics.

Handling Submissions from Editorial Board Members

To ensure impartiality, all manuscripts submitted by any member of a journal's Editorial Board are subject to the following strict process: the submitting editor/board member is completely excluded from the peer-review and decision-making process for that manuscript. The manuscript will be assigned to an independent editor who will manage the entire double-blind process. The final decision will be made by the independent editor or by the Editor-in-Chief, based solely on the independent reviews.

Special Issue Policies

The publisher applies the following policies for all special issues across its journals: A Guest Editor (external or the Editor-in-Chief) will be appointed. When the Guest Editor(s) share an institutional affiliation with an author, the final decision to accept or reject a manuscript will be made by the Editor-in-Chief or another assigned editorial board member to ensure objectivity. The review process for special issues follows the same rigorous double-blind procedure as regular issues.

Authorship and Plagiarism

Authorship and Authorship Change

Individuals with considerable contributions to the work's conception, design, data acquisition/analysis, and drafting or revision must be listed as authors. Individuals whose contributions do not justify authorship should be acknowledged in a separate section.

  • Policy for Authorship Change: Any request for adding, deleting, or re-ordering authors must be made by the corresponding author and requires a written explanation and a signed statement from all authors involved confirming their agreement. Authorship changes after acceptance are highly unusual and will only be approved in extraordinary circumstances, resulting in a formal Correction Notice linked to the original article. The journal's editors reserve the right to decline any request that lacks a clear justification.

Plagiarism, Falsification, and Fabrication

We maintain a zero-tolerance policy against all forms of research misconduct.

  • Plagiarism: The use of another author's language, ideas, and expressions as one's own without proper citation is strictly unacceptable. We enforce a maximum similarity level of 20%. Authors must correctly cite all sources, including their own previous work (self-plagiarism is an offence).
  • Falsification, Fabrication, and Image Manipulation: These include making up data, manipulating materials/results, or inappropriately altering images to misrepresent findings. Minor adjustments (brightness, contrast) are acceptable only if applied uniformly and not used to obscure or eliminate information.

Consequences and Sanctions

Upon discovering or receiving credible allegations of misconduct, the journal will conduct an investigation, collaborating with the author's institution(s). If misconduct is confirmed, the journal will take severe action, including immediate rejection, publication of a formal Retraction Notice (if published), and permanent banning of the author(s) from future submissions. An Expression of Concern may be issued if an investigation is ongoing.

Generative AI Policies

The use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools must be transparent, limited, and subject to human oversight.

  • For Authors: AI is not permitted to generate manuscripts; it should only be used to improve readability and language under strict human oversight. Authors remain fully responsible and accountable for the final content. AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors.
  • Figures, Images, and Artwork: The use of AI to create or alter images, figures, or artwork is generally not permitted, unless AI is an integral, reproducible part of the research design, and such use must be clearly described in the methods section.
  • For Reviewers and Editors: Submitted manuscripts are strictly confidential. Reviewers and editors are strictly prohibited from uploading any part of a manuscript or their review reports into a generative AI tool to protect confidentiality and integrity.

Copyright, Licensing, and Archiving

Copyright and Licensing

  • Copyright on articles published by Verlumun and Penda Publishers is retained by the author(s).
  • By submitting a manuscript, authors grant Verlumun and Penda Publishers a license to publish the article.
  • Licensing: All articles published are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA). This allows readers to freely read, download, copy, distribute, print, or link to the full texts for any lawful, noncommercial purpose, provided they give proper attribution.

Archiving and Repository Policy

We ensure the long-term preservation and accessibility of all published content.

  • Journal Archiving (Publisher Responsibility): All articles are digitally archived on the journal's website and are guaranteed long-term preservation through commitment to the PKP Preservation Network (PN), LOCKSS, and CLOCKSS platforms.
  • Self-Archiving (Author Responsibility):
    • The Submitted Version should not be deposited in an online repository.
    • The Accepted Version (Author Accepted Manuscript) can be deposited in an institutional or any repository of the author’s choice.
    • The Published Version (Version of Record) can be deposited in institutional repositories, authors' websites, and public or noncommercial subject-based repositories.
  • Embargo Policy: We have no embargo period. Authors may self-archive their article immediately upon publication, provided the final published source is always cited and a link is provided to the article's official URL.

Handling Appeals and Complaints

Verlumun and Penda Publishers is dedicated to ensuring a fair and transparent publishing process.

  • Appeals Process: Authors who believe they have received an unfair decision on their manuscript must submit an appeal in writing within two weeks of receiving the rejection decision, providing a detailed, evidence-based justification. The Editor-in-Chief's decision on the appeal is final.
  • Complaints: Complaints regarding any aspect of the journal's processes (e.g., misconduct, editorial delays) should be submitted in writing to the Editor-in-Chief. All complaints will be handled with confidentiality and professionalism.