ASPG Publishing Ethics 

Introduction

The ASPG publisher is dedicated to supporting the vast efforts of the editors, the academic contributions of authors, and the respected volunteer work undertaken by reviewers. The publisher is also responsible for ensuring that the publication system works smoothly and that ethical guidelines are applied to assist the editor, author, and reviewer in performing their ethical duties. ASPG publisher adheres to the principles outlined by COPE- Committee on Publication Ethics. Authors who are concerned about the editorial process may refer to COPE.

Journal Role

·      Decision-Making: He/she is entitled to carry out decision-making in consultation with reviewers or members of the editorial board.

·      Impartiality: An Editor should evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without any bias towards race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.

·      Confidentiality: The Editor or any Editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate depending on the need and stage of processing.

ASPG Publisher Role

Journals published by ASPG International are following timely rigorous peer-review process to bring the recent and novel scientific information at its best possible mode. As a publisher the following policies are being considered:

·      Supporting fair and timely peer-review process with valuable inputs and from the responsible Editors and Reviewers.

·      The publisher adheres to the guidelines and procedures designed to ensure the fair and best practice followed by the industry.

·      Making constructive recommendations for improving the overall process along with better product support and global dissemination of the information published in the journals.

·      The publisher ensures the smooth functioning of web development, web management, social media management for journals and articles with the help of the staff members.

Academic Ethics and Policy Compliance

Publishing Ethics

Authors must adhere strictly to ASPG. 

Submission Declaration

By submitting, authors affirm that:

The work is original and has not been published previously (preprints, abstracts, theses, or registered reports exempted; see Multiple Publication Policy).

The manuscript is not under review elsewhere.

All authors and responsible institutions approve publication.

Post-acceptance, the work will not be republished without written consent.
Note: Manuscripts are screened for policy compliance.

Authorship Criteria

All authors must contribute substantially to:

Study conception/design, data acquisition, analysis, or interpretation.

Drafting or critical revision.

Final approval of the submitted version. 

The corresponding author coordinates communication and ensures accountability for the work’s integrity.

Authorship Changes

Pre-acceptance: Changes require journal editor approval and written consent from all authors (including added/removed parties). Submit requests via this form.

Post-acceptance: Changes permitted only in exceptional circumstances; may incur publication delays or corrigenda. Unauthorized changes risk rejection/retraction.

Competing Interests

Disclose all financial/personal relationships that could bias the work (e.g., employment, consultancies, stock ownership, grants). Use the declarations tool:

Journal-affiliated authors: State: "Given their role as [Journal Role], [Author Name] had no involvement in peer review."

No conflicts: Select "I have nothing to declare."

Upload the completed .doc/.docx declaration at submission. Signatures are unnecessary.

Funding Disclosure

Declare all funding sources and their role in:

Study design, data collection/analysis, manuscript preparation, or publication decisions.
Format:

Funding: [Funder 1] [Grant ID]; [Funder 2] [Grant ID].

No funding:

This research received no specific grants from public, commercial, or non-profit sectors.

Third-Party Permissions

Secure written permission for third-party material prior to submission, covering:

Non-exclusive global reproduction rights.

Permanent print/electronic English-language rights.

Note: STM members may qualify for fee-waived reuse.

Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP)

Authors must:

Cite all data/code with persistent identifiers (e.g., DOI).

Adhere to ethical standards for data privacy.

Follow FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) principles.

Alignment with COPE guidelines ensures ethical rigor throughout the publication lifecycle.

Using AI generated content

Authors understand that the use of content generated by artificial intelligence (AI) in an article (including but not limited to text, figures, images, and code) shall be disclosed in the acknowledgments section of any article submitted to ASPG journals. The AI system used shall be identified, and specific sections of the article that use AI-generated content shall be identified and accompanied by a brief explanation regarding the level at which the AI system was used to generate the content.

Manuscript Preparation Guidelines

Writing and Formatting

Submit editable source files (e.g., .docx or .tex). PDFs are unacceptable.

Use single-column text layout.

Eliminate non-scientific strikethrough or underlined text.

Employ spell/grammar checks rigorously.

LaTeX users: Utilize Elsevier’s template and provide all source files upon submission.

Title Page Requirements

Title: Concise, informative; avoid non-standard abbreviations/formulae.

Authors: Full given/family names; affiliations marked with superscript letters (include full postal addresses and emails).

Corresponding Author: Clearly designate with updated contact details.

Present Addresses: Footnote moved authors using Arabic numerals; retain original affiliations.

Abstract, Keywords, and Highlights

Abstract (≤250 words): State purpose, key results, and conclusions. Avoid references/abbreviations unless essential.

Keywords: 1–7 English terms; avoid multi-word phrases.

Highlights (optional but encouraged): 3–5 bullet points (max 85 characters each) summarizing novelty. Submit as a separate editable file named "highlights."

Graphical Abstract

Purpose: Visually summarize content for broader engagement.

Format: Minimum 531 × 1328 pixels (readable at 5 × 13 cm, 96 dpi). Submit as TIFF/EPS/PDF/MS Office file.

Mathematical Formulae

Submit as editable text (not images).

Use italics for variables, exp for powers of *e*, and solidus (/) for fractions.

Number display equations consecutively.

Tables

Submit as editable text (embedded or on separate pages).

Cite/number consecutively; add captions and notes below.

Avoid vertical rules/shading. Minimize duplication of results.

Figures and Artwork

Submission: Separate files, cited/numbered in text. Use logical names (e.g., Figure_1.tiff).

Captions: Brief title + description; explain symbols/abbreviations. Submit captions in a separate file.

Artwork Formats:

Vector: EPS/PDF (embedded fonts).

Photos: TIFF/JPG/PNG (300 dpi min).

Line drawings: TIFF/JPG/PNG (1000 dpi min).

Combinations: TIFF/JPG/PNG (500 dpi min).

Color: Ensure accessibility for color-impaired readers.

General Compliance

Remove field-specific artifacts (e.g., {dir="rtl"}, "‏").

Verify reference accuracy (DOIs/URLs).

Consult Elsevier’s step-by-step publishing guide for further details.

Data Transparency and Research Elements

Data Availability Statement

Authors must declare data availability at submission to align with funder/institutional mandates. If data cannot be shared (e.g., due to confidentiality, ethical restrictions, or sensitivity), provide a justification during submission. This statement will accompany the published article on ScienceDirect.

Data Linking

Linking datasets to your article enhances research visibility, fosters collaboration, and contextualizes findings. Authors should:

Repository Integration: Provide dataset links during online submission.

Automatic Badging: Selected repositories trigger ScienceDirect banners linking datasets to published articles.

In-Text Identifiers: Reference entities using the format Database: ID (e.g., PDB: 1XFN, CCDC: 734053).

Research Elements

This journal supports publishing complementary research objects (e.g., data, methods, protocols, software) via Elsevier’s Research Elements journals. These peer-reviewed, open-access platforms ensure research objects are findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR). Benefits include:

Detailed contextualization of objects linked to original articles.

Collaborative preparation by authors or co-authors.

Submission invitations during manuscript processing.

Manuscript Submission Protocol

Pre-Submission Checklist

Prior to submission, authors must verify:

1.   Corresponding Author: Designate one author with complete contact details (email, postal address, phone).

2.   File Completeness: Upload all components:

o  Manuscript text (editable format)

o  Keywords, figure captions, and tables (with titles, descriptions, footnotes)

3.   Linguistic Integrity: Conduct comprehensive spelling and grammar reviews.

4.   Reference Validation: Ensure all in-text citations match the reference list (and vice versa).

5.   Copyright Compliance: Secure written permissions for third-party copyrighted materials (including web sources).

6.   Open Access (if applicable): Confirm understanding of APC responsibility upon acceptance (payable by author/institution/funder).

Online Submission Procedure

Submit manuscripts via the journal’s online system:

·     The platform automates file consolidation into a single PDF for peer review.

·     Editable source files (e.g., .docx, .tex) are mandatory for production.

·     All editorial correspondence (decisions, revision requests) will be transmitted electronically.

Submission Portal: [Journal Submission Link]

Editorial Process

Editors have a responsibility to maintain the integrity of the published literature, if required, by publishing errata or corrections identifying anything of significance, retractions, and expressions of concern as quickly as possible. An editor must comply with the policy guidelines provided by the ASPG publisher and fulfill the responsibilities bestowed upon with integrity.

Peer Review process

Editors are responsible for monitoring and ensuring the fairness, timeliness, thoroughness, and civility of the peer-review editorial process. Timely suggestion to the respective journals for covering relevant and significant topics by the Editor is essential for the growth of the journal. All submissions are subject to a strict peer review process, drawing upon the expertise of a range of academic and industry experts to ensure the validity and relevance of the resulting journal content. Besides, the Editor in Chief conducts an initial review process ( pre-screening) before assigning the paper to the reviewers. Participation in the peer-review process is essential to the success and reputation of the journal. Reviewers and editors determine which works are of quality and significance. Due to our extensive readership, the research and scholarship selected by our reviewers will ultimately impact literacy in national and international classrooms. All ASPG journals use a single-blind review process. The following steps summarize the review process: 

-           Authors submit their manuscript to an ASPG journal

-           The Editorial office checks the paper to make sure it matches the requirements, e.g., formatting style.

-           The editorial office forwards the submission to the EiC of the intended journal.

-           The EiC checks the submission through a pre-screening process to make sure it meets the required level of quality and fits within the journal's scope.

-           The EiC may assign the submission to an Associate Editor to handle the submission, or he can take it by himself.

-           If the paper passes the above steps, the corresponding editor assigns reviewers to it.

-           Once the Editor receives three review reports, he can make a decision.

-           The Editor may invite more reviewers if he sees that the received reports are not strong enough

-           The decision is one of the following ( Accept, Minor Revision, Major Revision, and Reject)

-           The EiC may approve or re-consider the editor decision.

-           Once the decision is assigned to the submission by the EiC, the system will notify the authors automatically with the reviewer's comments.

-           The author is requested to submit the revised version before a deadline determined by the editor. However, he can apply for an extension through his account. 

-           Once the author submits the revised version, the whole process will be repeated.

Towards Readers and Scientific Community

·      To ensure that the content or the author information present in the manuscript is legible.

·      To evaluate all manuscripts such that they fall within the scope of the journal.

·      Maintain the journal's internal integrity by suggesting the corrections, dealing with retraction, supplemental data, etc.

·      Working with the publisher to attract the best manuscripts and research that will be of interest to readers.

·      Ensure that all involved in the publication process understand that it is inappropriate to manipulate citations.

Responsibility of the Author

Authors of original research reports should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

Authors of reports of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable. 

The authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others, that this has been appropriately cited or quoted and permission has been obtained where necessary. All authors must declare they have read and agreed to the content of the submitted manuscript. Authors must declare all potential competing interests involving people or organizations that might reasonably be perceived as relevant.

The editorial office may reject manuscripts if it is felt that the work was not carried out within an ethical framework.

Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have influenced the reported work and that give the appropriate work context within the larger scholarly record. Information obtained privately, as in conversation, correspondence, or discussion with third parties, must not be used or reported without explicit, written permission from the source.

Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the paper (e.g. language editing or medical writing), they should be recognized in the acknowledgments section

The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.

Authors take collective responsibility for the work.  Each individual author is accountable for ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved

ASPG Journals does not use any archiving policy, all papers are archived by journals website, visitors are able to access them under our copyright ethics and cite articles in their works.

Medical writers, or anyone else who assisted in the preparation of the manuscript, should be acknowledged in the manuscript, either as an author or in the Acknowledgements section, as per the guidelines of the European Medical Writers Association. Medical writers should list their source of funding and/or employer as appropriate. 

Experimental research on humans must have been approved by an appropriate ethics committee and comply with the Helsinki Declaration. 

Informed consent must be documented in cases where information or clinical photographs of human subjects are used. Signed copies of consent forms will be required before an article can be considered for review.

Data access and retention

Authors could be asked to provide the raw data of their study together with the paper for editorial review and should be prepared to make the data publicly available if practicable. In any event, authors should ensure accessibility of such data to other competent professionals for at least ten years after publication (preferably via an institutional or subject-based data repository or other data center), provided that the confidentiality of the participants can be protected and legal rights concerning proprietary data do not preclude their release.

Multiple, redundant, or concurrent publication

In general, papers describing essentially the same research should not be published in more than one journal. Submitting the same paper to more than one journal constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable. Manuscripts that have been published as copyrighted material elsewhere cannot be submitted. In addition, manuscripts under review by one journal should not be submitted to other publications while the manuscript is under review. Journals that publish creative works may make exceptions to the previously published rule; please consult the editor.

Acknowledgment of sources

Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work. Information obtained privately, as in conversation, correspondence, or discussion with third parties, must not be used or reported without explicit, written permission from the source. Information obtained in the course of confidential services, such as refereeing manuscripts or grant applications, must not be used without the explicit written permission of the author of the work involved in these services.

Fundamental errors in published works

When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author's obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper. If the editor or the publisher learns from a third party that a published work contains a significant error, it is the obligation of the author to promptly retract or correct the paper or to provide evidence to the editor of the correctness of the original paper.

Affiliation

Each author's primary affiliation should be the institution where the majority of their work was completed. This is known as the primary affiliation. If an author has since relocated, the author's current address may be included in the citation as well. After the article has been published, no changes or updates will be made to the addresses listed.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism takes many forms, from ‘passing off’ another’s paper as the author’s own paper, to copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another’s paper (without attribution), to claiming results from research conducted by others.  Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical behavior and is unacceptable.

In general, an author should not submit for consideration in the journal a paper that has been published previously, except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis or as an electronic preprint. Plagiarism detection is implemented by the reviewer during the peer-review process and by Similarity Check Software.

Information obtained in the course of confidential services, such as refereeing manuscripts or grant applications, must not be used without the explicit written permission of the author of the work involved in these services

Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study.  All those who have made substantial contributions should be listed as co-authors.

Plagiarism in any form constitutes a serious violation of the most basic principles of scholarship and cannot be tolerated. 

Examples of plagiarism include:

·      Word-for-word copying of portions of another's writing without enclosing the copied passage in quotation marks and acknowledging the source in the appropriate scholarly convention. 

·      The use of a particularly unique term or concept that one has come across in reading without acknowledging the author or source. 

·      The paraphrasing or abbreviated restatement of someone else's ideas without acknowledging that another person's text has been the basis for the paraphrasing. 

·      False citation: material should not be attributed to a source from which it has not been obtained.

·      False data: data that has been fabricated or altered in a laboratory or experiment; although not literally plagiarism, this is clearly a form of academic fraud. 

·      Unacknowledged multiple submissions of an article for several purposes without prior approval from the parties involved. 

·      Unacknowledged multiple authors or collaboration: the contributions of each author or collaborator should be made clear. 

·      Self-plagiarism/double submission: the submission of the same or a very similar article to two or more publications at the same time.

Additional guidelines can be found here (For Authors, For Reviewers, For Editors)

Author name change

In the case of a gender transition or religious conversion, an author may request that their name, pronouns, and other relevant biographical information be corrected in papers that were published prior to the change in their name. The author can choose to have this correction occur silently, in which case there will be no note indicating the change on either the pdf or the html version of the paper, or they can choose to have it occur publicly, in which case there will be a note indicating the change on both the pdf and the html version of the paper.

Author identification

Authors are strongly recommended to use their ORCID ID when submitting an article for consideration or acquire an ORCID ID via the submission process.

Confidentiality

Authors should treat all communication with the Journal as confidential, which includes correspondence with direct representatives from the Journal such as Editors-in-Chief and/or Handling Editors and reviewers’ reports unless explicit consent has been received to share information.

Authorship issues or disputes

The journal cannot investigate or adjudicate authorship disputes during peer review or after acceptance and publication. Authors will be asked to settle disputes. If they cannot, the journal reserves the right to withdraw a manuscript from the editorial process or raise the issue with the authors' institution(s).

Guidelines for Retracting Articles

ASPG Journals take the responsibility to maintain the integrity and completeness of the scholarly record of the content for all end users very seriously. The journals place great importance on the authority of articles after they have been published, and our policy is based on the best practice followed in the academic publishing community.

A general principle of scholarly communication is that the Editor of a learned journal is solely and independently responsible for deciding which article(s) shall be published out of the submitted articles at a particular time. In making this decision, the Editor is guided by the policies of the journal's Editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements in force regarding copyright infringement and plagiarism. An outcome of this principle is the importance of the scholarly archive as a permanent, historical record of the transactions of scholarship. Articles that have been published shall remain extant, exact and unaltered as far as possible. However, occasionally, unavoidable circumstances may arise where the article requires retraction or even removal from a particular journal after publication. Such actions must not be undertaken lightly and can only occur under exceptional circumstances, such as:

Article withdrawal: This is only used for “Article in Press” which represents the early versions of the accepted articles. Suppose any article at the stage of “Article in Press”, by any means, represents infringements of professional ethical codes, such as multiple submissions, bogus claims of authorship, plagiarism, fraudulent use of data or similar incidences. In that case, the article may be withdrawn depending on the Editor’s discretion. In this regard, Editor’s decision must be considered as final following the deep assessment and analysis of the situations on a case by case basis.

Article retraction: Infringements of professional, ethical codes, such as multiple submissions, sham claims of authorship, plagiarism, fraudulent use of data, and similar claims will lead to the retraction of an article. Occasionally, a retraction may be considered to correct errors in submission or publication.

Article removal and replacement: Subjected to legal limitations of the publisher, copyright holder or author(s). Identification of false or inaccurate data representation, which may pose a serious health risk and involves any means of scientific data tampering or other fraud hindering the fair practice of science, should be treated with the highest possible strictness. The core objective of these measures is necessary to maintain the integrity of the academic record.

Post-Publication Corrections and Retractions Policy

Integrity of the Scholarly Record

ASPG prioritizes the preservation of a complete and unaltered scholarly corpus. Published articles constitute permanent scientific records; thus, amendments require formal documentation via corrigenda, retractions, or Publisher's Notes as detailed below.

Erratum (Author-Initiated Correction)

Purpose: Addresses significant errors/omissions affecting interpretation (excluding minor typographical issues).

Implementation:

Original article remains accessible with bidirectional linking to the erratum.

Erratum explicitly states impacts on conclusions.

Retraction (Invalidation of Findings)

Grounds for Retraction:

Unreliable data (due to misconduct or error).

Duplicate publication without attribution.

Plagiarism or unethical research.

Procedure:

May be initiated by authors, editors, or publisher.

Notice details responsibility, rationale, and dissenting author views (if applicable).

Retracted article remains accessible with prominent retraction labeling.

Publisher’s Note (Production Error Correction)

Scope: Rectifies publisher-introduced errors compromising:

Metadata integrity (e.g., authorship, title).

Reader comprehension.

Action: Original article replaced by corrected version; note documents changes.

Key Provisions

Temporal Limit: Full article replacement permitted only ≤1 year post-publication. Older corrections require Publisher’s Notes.

Legal Redaction: Extreme cases (e.g., copyright violation) may warrant content removal, preserving bibliographic metadata.

Governance: Aligns with COPE Retraction Guidelines.

Copyrights and Author Agreement

ASPG policy is to acquire copyright for all contributions because ownership of copyright by a central organisation helps to nsure maximum international protection against infringement. Also,  requests for permission to reproduce articles in books, course packs, electronic reserve or for library loan can be handled efficiently and with sensitivity to changing library and reader needs. 
There are opportunities to reach institutions (e.g., companies, schools and public libraries) and individual readers that are unlikely to subscribe to the printed journal. Inderscience works with other research groups and academic inistitutions to publish its journals online, and to deliver copies of individual articles. Income received from all of these sources is used to further the interests of the Journal.

Once accepted for publication, your Article will be published in the Journal, and will be stored and distributed electronically, in order to meet increasing library and faculty demand, and to deliver it as an individual article copy or as part of a larger collection of articles to meet the specific requirements of a particular market. Assignment of copyright signifies agreement to ASPG making such arrangements.

It may be that the Author is not able to make the assignment solely by him- or herself. If it is appropriate, the Author’s employer may sign the copyright agreement. The employer may reserve the right to use the Article for internal or promotional purposes (by indicating on this agreement) and reserve all rights other than copyright.

b. If the Author is a UK Government employee, the Government will grant a non-exclusive licence to publish the Article in the Journal in any medium or form provided that Crown Copyright and user rights (including patent rights) are reserved.

c. If the Author is a US Government employee and the work was done in that capacity, the assignment applies only to the extent allowed by US law.

Under the UK’s Copyright Design and Patents Act 1988, the Author has the moral right to be identified as the author wherever the Article is published, and to object to its derogatory treatment or distortion. Inderscience encourages assertion of this right, as it represents best publishing practice and is an important safeguard for all authors.

The Journal will permit the Author to use the Article elsewhere after publication, including posting it on the author’s personal web pages, in other works or for the purposes of the Author’s teaching and research, provided acknowledgement is given to the Journal as the original source of publication.

Encouraging academic integrity

Request evidence of ethical research approval for all relevant submissions and be prepared to question authors about aspects, such as how patient consent was obtained or what methods were employed to minimize animal suffering.

Ensure that reports of clinical trials cite compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki 6th revision, Good Clinical Practice, and other relevant guidelines to safeguard participants.

Ensure that reports of experiments on or studies of animals cite compliance with the US Department of Health and Human Services 

Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals or other relevant guidelines. Consider appointing a journal ethics panel to advise on specific cases and review journal policies periodically.

Ensuring the integrity of the academic record

ASPG journals is cooperated to ensure the following:

·      Take steps to reduce covert redundant publication, e.g., by requiring all clinical trials to be registered.

·      Ensure that published material is securely archived. 

·      Have systems in place to give authors the opportunity to make original research articles freely available.

We uphold high standards for the research integrity principles that cover: 

·      honesty in all aspects of research; 

·      scrupulous care, thoroughness and excellence in research practice; 

·      transparency and open communication;

·      care and respect for all participants in and subjects of research. 

·      accountability both for one’s own research integrity and that of others when behaviour falls short of our standards. 

In addition to the general principles above, we expect our journals and book editorial teams to provide specific guidelines and policies for authors on research integrity and ethics appropriate to their subject matter and discipline. 

Anyone who believes that research published by ASPG has not been carried out in line with these Academic Research Publishing Ethics Guidelines, or the above principles, should raise their concern with the relevant editor or email publishingethics@americaspg.com. Concerns will be addressed by following COPE guidelines where possible and/or by escalating the matter to our Publishing Ethics Committee if necessary.

Preclude business needs from compromising intellectual and ethical standards

Errors, inaccurate or misleading statements must be corrected promptly and with due prominence. Editors should follow the COPE guidelines on retractions.

Advertising and Marketing Communication

We allow for limited, appropriate and sometimes targeted advertising on our online ASPG system and within some of our print publications. Where present, advertising must: 

·      be independent from editorial decisions on what we publish; 

·      be clearly distinct from content. 

We reserve the right to reject or remove any advertising where we have concerns it contravenes these Research Publishing Ethics Guidelines. We also advertise our products and services to customers in accordance with our Privacy Policy and data protection regulations.

ASPG has a social media and marketing communication team who is responsible of marketing our publications, for reaching new readers and for keeping content alive. Such onward communication should never be at the expense of the integrity of the content or of the academic record. 

Corrections and Retractions Policy

Version of Record

When an article is published in its final form it is considered the “Version of Record” (VoR). The VoR establishes the expectation that that article can be relied upon as accurate, complete, and citable. ASPG is committed to preserving the integrity and transparency of the VoR. ASPG defines the VoR as (i) the article paginated in a volume and issue or (ii) the initial article publication for continuous publication Open Access journals; in both cases, the VoR includes any post-publication corrections. (Continuous publication Open Access journals do not publish any additional versions such as paginated issue/volume versions.)

Post-Publication Corrections

ASPG issues post-publication notifications to address any changes to the version of record that include:

·      Errors or omissions that impact readability, indexing or compliance to ASPG or journal policy;

·      Errors or concerns related to the validity or integrity of the article;

·      Errors or omissions that impact readability, indexing or compliance to ASPG policy.

As articles can be read and cited as soon as they are published (including OnlineFirst publication), any changes thereafter could potentially impact those who read and cited the earlier version. ASPG provides authors with an opportunity to review article proofs prior to publication with the express goal of ensuring accuracy of the content. However, in some cases corrections may be required post-publication. These may be made at the discretion of the journal and ASPG, with the understanding that not all requests for post-publication changes will be permitted.

Correction Notice: A correction notice will be issued when it is necessary to correct an error or omission which may be integral to the reading, understanding or interpretation of the article.

Any errors of factual significance or major errors will be highlighted with the publication of a separate corrigendum (author error) or erratum (publisher error) highlighting the changes, provided the scholarly validity and integrity of the article remain intact. If the article is updated, a correction footnote will highlight the change(s) and reference the corrigendum or erratum. All corrigenda and errata will be linked to the original article.

Multiple major errors or omissions in the article that may impact the validity of the research will be investigated by ASPG in collaboration with the Journal Editor in line with COPE guidelines. If appropriate, a corrigendum will be written in collaboration with authors, journal editor and ASPG.

Minor errors in an article may be highlighted using a footnote within the corrected article to highlight the change(s).

Errors or concerns related to the validity or integrity of the article: In accordance with our complaints and appeals policy all concerns brought to ASPG will be investigated in line with COPE guidelines and ASPG policies.

Expression of Concern: ASPG will issue an expression of concern on a published article if:

·      We are made aware of serious concerns such as concerns with potential to mislead readers,

·      We become aware of concerns relating to serious research or publication misconduct,

·      Well-founded concerns where an investigation has been inconclusive, or

If an investigation into a well-founded concern is ongoing and likely to take some time to resolve.
The expression of concern will be published after notifying the authors, but we shall not require author approval or agreement. ASPG may choose to publish materials, figures or data provided by authors as part of an ongoing investigation to notify readers. ASPG may need to notify the authors’ institution to seek further resolution to the matter or other journals/publishers if multiple articles are involved. The expression of concern will be linked to the published article(s) it is related to and may be replaced by a corrigendum or a retraction or may exist in perpetuity if an investigation remains inconclusive.

Retractions: ASPG follows COPE retraction guidelines and a retraction will be issued to alert readers to major errors or breaches of scholarly integrity. An article may be retracted by ASPG if after an investigation and editorial assessment, the results or the conclusions cannot be relied upon for any reason.

ASPG may retract an article if:

The article contains honest errors or errors due to research or publication misconduct,

If the article was accepted as a result of compromised peer review,

If authors have been unable to satisfactorily resolve the concerns or queries raised on their article,

If authors cannot be verified, are unable to provide underlying raw data and/or images, or are unable to provide evidence they undertook the research themselves.

Authors may choose to request retraction of their own article by emailing publication_ethics@aspg.org. These requests will be reviewed by ASPG and the Journal Editor and may be declined if they are not in line with COPE guidance and ASPG policies, or if they have been made during an ASPG-initiated investigation.

All retraction notices will explain the reasons for retraction and will be linked to the original article. Authors will be notified and given the opportunity to provide comments. We do not seek or require author approval for retractions and the decision to retract will be reconsidered only if new evidence comes to light. See complaints and appeals policy for further details.

ASPG may choose to publish materials, figures or data provided by authors as part of the investigation to notify readers if necessary. ASPG may notify the authors’ institution(s) or other journals/publishers if multiple articles are affected.

Please note: Article Processing Charges (APCs) are not refunded if an article is retracted.

Removal: ASPG upholds the International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers (STM) guidelines on the Preservation of the Objective Record of Science, and we will not remove the article or parts of it unless legally required to do so, i.e.:

·      The privacy of a participant has been inappropriately violated,

·      The article contains errors that would result in a risk to the public if followed,

·      The article makes defamatory comments about others or their work.

Corrections to Supplemental Material Files and Research Data Files: Supplemental Material files published by ASPG are considered permanent records. Supplemental Material files and Research Data files may be hosted on an open-source repository and are assigned DOIs. If there is a substantive change to a Supplemental Material file or Research Data file, ASPG may publish a notice to alert all readers. If the change is considered not to be significant then a replacement file may be released, without the need for separate notification. Versioning details will be added to the first page of the file.

Useful Contacts

For all enquiries relating to the research integrity, please contact manager@americaspg.com. All queries will be handled sensitively and as confidentially as possible within the scope of any necessary subsequent investigation.

For institutional agreements, please contact the head of ASPG editorial department:

Head of ASPG Editorial Department

Mr. Adam M
e-mail: manager@americaspg.com

American Scientific Publishing Group (ASPG) LLC,  New Orleans, USA

You can also reach our editorial office secretary using this information: 

Editorial Office Secretary

Mr. A. Hussain
e-mail: editorial@americaspg.com

For Technical Support (submission system) or editing service, please email use the following information:

support@americaspg.com