The American Scientific Publishing Group (ASPG) is committed to maintaining high standards of publication ethics, integrity, and transparency across all its journals, and operates in accordance with internationally recognized best practices in scholarly publishing.
This policy defines the ethical responsibilities of editors, authors, reviewers, and the publisher throughout the entire publication process.
1. Editorial Responsibilities
Editors are responsible for ensuring the quality, integrity, and relevance of journal content. Editorial decisions are based on the scientific merit, originality, clarity, and relevance of submitted manuscripts.
Editors shall:
- Evaluate manuscripts impartially and without discrimination
- Maintain confidentiality of all submissions
- Avoid conflicts of interest
- Take appropriate action in cases of suspected ethical misconduct
Editorial Independence
Editorial decisions are made independently and are not influenced by commercial interests, sponsors, or external parties. The publisher ensures that editorial integrity is maintained at all stages of the publication process.
2. Peer Review Process
All submitted manuscripts undergo a structured and independent peer-review process to ensure academic quality and validity.
The process includes:
- Initial editorial screening
- Evaluation by qualified independent reviewers
- Editorial decision based on reviewers’ reports
All ASPG journals apply a single-blind peer-review model, unless otherwise specified by the journal. Further details of the peer review workflow are available in the Peer Review Process.
3. Reviewer Responsibilities
Reviewers play a critical role in maintaining the quality and integrity of scholarly publishing. Reviewers must not upload manuscripts or any part of the review materials to generative AI tools or AI-assisted systems. All review materials must be treated as confidential, and review reports must be prepared solely based on the reviewer’s own expertise and judgment.
Reviewers are expected to:
- Provide objective and constructive feedback
- Maintain confidentiality of the manuscript
- Declare any conflicts of interest
- Complete reviews within the agreed timeframe
4. Author Responsibilities
Authors must ensure that:
- Submitted work is original and has not been published elsewhere
- The manuscript is not under consideration by another journal
- All sources are properly cited
- All authors have significantly contributed to the work
- The data presented are accurate and not fabricated, falsified, or manipulated
Authors are collectively responsible for the integrity of their work.
5. Authorship and Contributions
Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial contributions to:
- The conception or design of the study
- Data collection, analysis, or interpretation
- Drafting or revising the manuscript
All authors must approve the final version prior to submission. Any changes to authorship must be approved by all authors and the editorial office.
6. Conflicts of Interest
Authors, editors, and reviewers must disclose any financial or personal relationships that could influence the research or its interpretation.
If no conflicts exist, a statement confirming the absence of conflicts must be provided.
7. Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct
ASPG has zero tolerance for unethical practices, including:
- Plagiarism
- Data fabrication or falsification
- Duplicate submission or redundant publication
- Inappropriate citation practices
All submitted manuscripts are subject to plagiarism detection and similarity checking prior to peer review using recognized plagiarism detection tools (e.g., iThenticate, Turnitin). Confirmed misconduct will result in rejection or retraction.
8. Research Misconduct and Investigation
Suspected cases of ethical misconduct are investigated by the editorial office in accordance with established ethical procedures. This may include communication with authors, reviewers, and affiliated institutions.
If misconduct is confirmed, actions may include:
- Rejection of the manuscript
- Retraction of published articles
- Notification to relevant institutions
- Temporary or permanent submission restrictions
Suspected research or publication misconduct may be reported confidentially to the ASPG Research Integrity Office at researchintegrity@americaspg.com. Reports should include the journal title, article or manuscript title, DOI or manuscript number where available, a clear description of the concern, and any relevant supporting evidence.
9. Data Availability and Transparency
Authors are encouraged to:
- Provide access to supporting data where appropriate
- Cite datasets using persistent identifiers (e.g., DOI)
- Follow FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) principles
If data cannot be shared, a clear justification must be provided.
10. Ethical Approval for Research
Research involving human participants or animals must comply with recognized ethical standards and relevant institutional and international guidelines.
Authors must confirm that appropriate ethical approval has been obtained where required.
11. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Authors must disclose any use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the preparation of their manuscript. AI tools must not be listed as authors. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the content. The use of AI should be limited to supportive purposes and must be clearly described where it has contributed to the work.
12. Post-Publication Corrections, Retractions, and Version Control
ASPG is committed to preserving the accuracy, integrity, transparency, and permanence of the scholarly record.
Errors or concerns identified after publication are assessed by the journal’s editorial office. Depending on their nature and severity, appropriate actions may include minor corrections, formal correction notices, addenda, expressions of concern, retractions, withdrawals, or content removal in exceptional circumstances.
ASPG does not make undisclosed substantive changes to the Version of Record. Editorially significant updates are published transparently, assigned a separate DOI where appropriate, and linked to the original article through the article landing page and relevant Crossref metadata.
The original article DOI remains active following a correction or retraction. Retracted articles normally remain available with clear retraction markings and a link to the retraction notice in order to preserve the scholarly record.
Full procedures are provided in the ASPG Post-Publication Corrections, Retractions, and Version Control Policy.
13. Complaints and Appeals
Appeals concerning editorial decisions, peer-review procedures, manuscript handling, or editorial delays should normally be submitted to the journal’s Editor-in-Chief or Handling Editor. Where no appropriate journal contact is available, the appeal may be sent to the ASPG Editorial Office at editorial@americaspg.com.
Concerns involving research integrity, authorship misconduct, plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, peer-review manipulation, undisclosed conflicts of interest, unethical research, or the integrity of published content should be submitted confidentially to the ASPG Research Integrity Office at researchintegrity@americaspg.com.
All appeals and complaints will be assessed fairly, objectively, and confidentially in accordance with the ASPG Appeals and Complaints Policy and applicable publication-ethics procedures.
14. Copyright and Licensing
Upon acceptance, authors agree to the ASPG’s copyright and licensing terms. Authors retain the right to use their work for academic and non-commercial purposes, provided appropriate citation is given.
15. Contact Information
For concerns relating to research integrity, publication misconduct, authorship, plagiarism, data integrity, corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions, please contact:
ASPG Research Integrity Office
Email: researchintegrity@americaspg.com
For manuscript submissions, editorial decisions, peer-review matters, or general editorial communication, please contact:
ASPG Editorial Office
Email: editorial@americaspg.com