Introduction

Globenix Publisher is committed to the highest standards of ethical conduct in scholarly publishing. This Ethics & Integrity Policy sets out the responsibilities and expected behaviour of authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher, and describes how allegations of misconduct will be handled. Our practices are informed by widely accepted guidelines (e.g., COPE, ICMJE, and discipline-specific reporting standards such as CONSORT, PRISMA, ARRIVE) and aim to ensure the integrity, transparency, and trustworthiness of the scholarly record.

Scope: This policy applies to all journals and all content published by Globenix Publisher.

Core Principles

1. Honesty & Accuracy: Research should be reported honestly, accurately and without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation.
2. Originality & Plagiarism: Authors must present original work and appropriately cite prior work; plagiarism in any form is unacceptable.
3. Transparency & Disclosure: Authors, reviewers and editors must disclose conflicts of interest, funding sources, and any relationships that could bias the work.
4. Ethical Research Practice: Research involving humans, animals, or sensitive data must meet accepted ethical standards and obtain necessary approvals and consents.
5. Responsible Authorship: Only individuals who have made a substantial intellectual contribution should be listed as authors; contributor roles should be transparent.
6. Fair & Confidential Peer Review: Reviewers must act impartially and maintain confidentiality; editors must manage peer review fairly and without undue delay.
7. Correction of the Record: Errors, honest mistakes, and cases of misconduct will be corrected promptly and transparently.

Responsibilities

Authors

Authors must:

• Ensure the submission is original, not previously published, and not under consideration elsewhere (except where preprints are declared).
• Provide accurate, complete, and honest accounts of research with sufficient detail to permit replication where possible.
• Disclose all sources of funding and any competing interests or financial relationships.
• Obtain and provide evidence of ethical approval for research involving humans or animals, and consent for publication of identifiable information.
• Declare contributions for each author using the CRediT taxonomy or an equivalent statement.
• Correct the record when errors are discovered and cooperate in investigations of alleged misconduct.

Editors

Editors must:

• Make editorial decisions based on the paper’s importance, originality, clarity, and relevance to the journal’s scope.
• Ensure timely, fair assessment and maintain confidentiality of submissions.
• Avoid conflicts of interest and assign an alternate editor if a conflict arises.
• Act decisively on suspected misconduct following this policy and keep thorough records of decisions and correspondence.

Reviewers

Reviewers must:

• Provide objective, constructive, and timely reviews.
• Declare conflicts of interest and decline invitations if conflicted.
• Keep manuscripts and review content confidential and not use material for personal advantage.
• Alert editors if they suspect ethical problems, plagiarism, or fabrication.

Publisher

Globenix Publisher will:

• Support editors in investigating ethical concerns.
• Maintain secure, auditable records of editorial decisions, reviewer reports and communications.
• Make publicly available key policies (peer review, ethics, APCs, indexing) and report basic editorial statistics annually.
• Cooperate with institutions, funders and other publishers during investigations.

Authorship, Contributorship & Ghostwriting

• Authorship criteria: An author should have made substantial contributions to conception/design, data acquisition/analysis, drafting or critically revising the work, and approve the final version and agree to be accountable for the work.
• Contributor statements: All submissions must include an author contribution statement (CRediT preferred).
• Ghost/guest authorship: The practice of excluding contributors (ghost authorship) or including individuals who did not contribute (guest authorship) is unethical and will be investigated if suspected.

Conflicts of Interest (Competing Interests)

• Disclosure requirement: All authors, reviewers and editors must disclose any financial or non-financial interests that could be perceived to influence the work.
• Declaration formats: Conflict of interest statements should be included in the manuscript (title page or a separate declarations section). Examples include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patents, or personal relationships.
• Publication of declarations: Disclosed competing interests will be published with the article.

Sample disclosure sentence: “Author A reports grants from [funder], author B declares no competing interests.”

Research Involving Humans, Animals, and Sensitive Data

• Human subjects: Manuscripts reporting research on human participants must include the name of the ethics committee that approved the study and the reference number, and must state that informed consent was obtained. Clinical trials must be registered in a recognized registry and the trial registration number must be supplied.
• Vulnerable populations & indigenous communities: Research involving vulnerable groups or Indigenous peoples must demonstrate culturally appropriate approvals, community consultation, and consent procedures.
• Animal research: Animal studies must comply with relevant national and institutional standards (e.g., ARRIVE) and include ethical approval details.
• Personal data & privacy: Authors must comply with applicable data protection regulations and avoid publishing identifiable personal data without explicit consent.

Data Availability & Reproducibility

• Authors must include a Data Availability Statement describing where data, code, and materials can be accessed, or explaining restrictions.
• Where appropriate, authors are encouraged to deposit data in recognized subject or institutional repositories and to provide persistent identifiers (DOIs).
• Failure to share data without good reason may be queried during review or after publication.

Plagiarism, Redundant Publication & Text Recycling

• All submissions are checked for similarity using reputable tools. Minor overlap (e.g., methods) may be acceptable with appropriate citation; substantial overlap or duplicate publication is not.
• Redundant publication / salami slicing: Authors must not publish the same dataset or substantially similar analyses across multiple papers without full disclosure and justification.
• If plagiarism or redundant publication is detected, Globenix Publisher will investigate and may reject, correct, or retract published articles.

Image & Data Manipulation

• Any manipulation of images or data that misrepresents results is unacceptable. Acceptable adjustments (e.g., contrast/brightness) must be applied uniformly and reported if they could affect interpretation.
• Authors must supply original unprocessed data (e.g., raw images) on request during review or investigation.

Use of Preprints

• Posting on preprint servers is permitted but must be declared during submission. Preprints do not constitute prior publication for the purposes of submission, provided the preprint is cited and declared.

Handling Allegations of Misconduct

1. Reporting concerns

Concerns may be raised by readers, reviewers, editors, or third parties. Reports should be sent to:
Email: editorial@globenixpublisher.com
Include: manuscript/article details, nature of concern, evidence or links, and contact details (reporter may remain anonymous but must provide sufficient evidence).

2. Initial assessment

• The Editorial Office will acknowledge receipt within 5 business days and conduct a preliminary assessment to determine if a formal investigation is warranted.
• If essential information is missing, the Editorial Office will request additional details.

3. Investigation

• If warranted, the Publisher/Editor will gather evidence (similarity reports, raw data requests, reviewer comments) and contact the corresponding author for an explanation.
• Where necessary, institutions, funders or ethics committees will be contacted to request investigations. Globenix Publisher follows COPE flowcharts and best practices for investigations.
• Investigations aim to be thorough and fair; minor cases may be resolved administratively, while complex cases may take longer.

4. Outcomes & sanctions

Possible outcomes include:

• No action (concern unsubstantiated).
• Correction (Erratum/Corrigendum) — for honest, correctable errors.
• Expression of concern — when unresolved issues are serious and investigation is ongoing.
• Retraction — for findings unreliable due to misconduct or serious error. Retraction notices will be clearly labelled, linked to the article, and state who is retracting and why.
• Editorial note or removal — in rare cases where legal or ethical requirements mandate removal.
• Bans or restrictions — authors may be barred from submitting for a defined period if serious misconduct is proven.

Decisions will be documented and communicated to all parties. Globenix Publisher reserves the right to publish outcomes of investigations to maintain the integrity of the scholarly record.

Corrections, Expressions of Concern & Retractions

• Corrections: Corrections are published for errors that affect understanding but not the overall conclusions. Corrections are linked to the original article.
• Expressions of concern: Issued when an investigation is underway and potential issues are serious enough to warn readers.
• Retractions: Issued when results are unreliable because of misconduct or honest error that invalidates the findings. Retraction notices will explain the reason and who is retracting (authors, editors, publisher). The original article will remain accessible but clearly marked as retracted.

Retraction notice template (example):

Retraction: [Article Title], [Authors], [Journal], [Year], DOI: [DOI].
This article is retracted because [brief reason — e.g., “data fabrication identified following an institutional investigation”]. The retraction is issued by [authors/editors/publisher]. We apologise to readers.

Confidentiality, Data Protection & Record Retention

• Investigations and reports are handled confidentially to the extent possible. However, some disclosure may be necessary to carry out investigations (e.g., contacting an institution).
• Personal data will be processed in line with applicable data protection laws.
• Editorial records, reviewer reports, and investigation documentation are retained for a minimum period to support audits and indexing requirements.

Appeals & Complaints

• Authors may appeal editorial decisions or the outcome of misconduct investigations by submitting a written appeal to editorial@globenixpublisher.com, including grounds and evidence. Appeals are reviewed by an independent editor or committee.
• Complaints about editorial handling, bias, or process should be sent to the Editorial Office and will be investigated impartially.

Whistleblower Protection & Anonymity

• Reporters of suspected misconduct may request anonymity. Globenix Publisher will protect whistleblowers from retaliation and will attempt to keep their identity confidential where possible. However, absolute confidentiality cannot always be guaranteed if mandated by an investigation or legal process.

Training, Education & Reviewer Guidance

Globenix Publisher provides guidance materials for editors and reviewers (review checklists, templates, and ethical guidance) to promote consistent, high-quality reviews and ethical oversight.

Editorial Misconduct

If an editor is suspected of misconduct (e.g., bias, failure to disclose conflicts, inappropriate decision-making), a higher authority within the Publisher or an independent committee will oversee an investigation. Editors implicated in misconduct will be recused and may be suspended or removed based on findings.

Publication Ethics Reporting & Transparency

To support indexing and trust, Globenix Publisher will:

• Publish this Ethics & Integrity Policy and update it as required.
• Maintain a public record of corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions linked to the affected articles.
• Publish annual editorial statistics (submissions, acceptance rates, average decision times) on publisher or journal pages.

Useful Templates & Forms (copy-paste ready)

1. Author Conflict of Interest Declaration (example)

Conflict of Interest Declaration

Manuscript title: ________________________

Journal: ___________________________________

Corresponding author: ______________________

Please declare any actual or potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial) related to this submission. If none, please state “None declared.”

1. Funding sources (list funder names and grant numbers or “None”): _______________________
2. Financial interests (e.g., employment, consultancies, stock ownership): ___________________
3. Non-financial interests (e.g., personal, professional, political relationships): ___________

All authors have reviewed and approved this disclosure.

Signed (corresponding author): _______________________ Date: __/__/____

1. Misconduct Report Form (for readers/reporters)

Misconduct Report — Globenix Publisher

Your name (optional): ______________________

Your email (optional): ______________________

Manuscript / Article details (title, authors, journal, DOI/URL): ______________________

Nature of concern (select / describe): plagiarism / data fabrication / image manipulation / duplicate publication / ethical approval absence / other (describe)

Provide evidence / links / attachments (please include similarity reports, screenshots, DOIs, or files): ______________________

Any additional comments: ______________________

Send this report to: editorial@globenixpublisher.com