Greener Journal of Cell and Animal Biology

Download the Editorial Policy in PDF

Overview

Greener Journals support the recommendations of Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE),the Office  of Research Integrity (ORI), Council of Science Editors (CSE), International Association of Scientific, Technical & Medical Publishers (STM), World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) and International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) regarding the submission, processing and publication of academic articles. Our editorial policies are therefore patterned to meet these recommendations and describes our editorial processes.

Submitting a manuscript to Greener Journals means that the authors have properly read the policies and agreed that the manuscript meets the requirements of these policies.

Authorship

According to the Office of Research Integrity, a person claiming authorship of a scholarly publication must have met the following criteria:

1. Substantial participation in conception and design of the study, or in analysis and interpretation of data;
   
2. Substantial participation in the drafting of the manuscript or in the substantive editing of the manuscript;
3. Final approval of the version of the manuscript to be published;
4. Ability to explain and defend the study in public or scholarly settings.

These criteria follow up on the recommendation of ICMJE.

Corresponding or primary author 

Greener Journals requires one author, called the corresponding or primary author, to take responsibility for all aspects of publication, including:

1.   the correctness of the data,
   
2.   the list of authors names ensuring no deserving author is neglected,
3.   approval of the final draft by all authors, and
   
4.   performing all correspondence.
   

 Further information on authorship can be found on ORI’s website.

Changes in authorship

When there is a need for change in authorship, Greener Journals requires the corresponding author to send us a direct mail requesting for a change in authorship of a submitted manuscript or published article. Corresponding authors can also fill and submit the Change in Authorship Form.  If there is prolonged dispute amongst the authors regarding authorship that cannot be suitably resolved between the authors, the authors should contact their institution(s) for a binding decision. The Editor is not responsible for settling authorship disagreement. A change in authorship of a published article will be amended following our criteria for publication of a Correction Article.  Greener Journals will follow guidelines COPE – flowcharts as regards to changes in authorship.

Acknowledgements

The acknowledgement section of a manuscript should be used to list all contributors to the study that do not meet the requirement for authorship stated above. Financial contributors should be acknowledged.

Submission of Manuscript

Manuscripts should be submitted by filling and submitting the online Submission form. Authors are required to sign up on our website to access this form.

Submitted manuscripts should conform to the requirements of Greener Journals. Therefore, authors should endeavor to read our Editorial Policies, Ethic policy and Instruction for Authors before submitting a manuscript to our editorial office. Make sure the following guidelines are met: 

·   ensure that the work has not been published before (except in the form of an abstract or as part  of a published lecture, review or thesis),

·    ensure that the manuscript is not currently being processed elsewhere,

·    ensure that duplicate submission is not made within Greener Journals,

·    ensure there is no breach of any copyright by submitting it for publication,

·   ensure that the submission and publication has been agreed on by all co-authors and responsible authorities,

·    ensure there is no default in ethical standard,

·    ensure it follows the prescription in our instruction for authors.

In addition, the accurate contact information of all authors (Surname, other names in full, affiliation, email for each author, and a phone number) should be available on the manuscript. Disclosure of conflicts of interest should also be available on the manuscript.

Materials and Data Availability 

Authors should make materials, data, and related procedures available. This will allow others to replicate and build on the work after publication. Upon submission, authors must disclose if any restriction was made on the accessibility of materials or information. With the unavailability of data and materials, there will be no proof to support claims in the study. 

Conflict of interest

Conflict of interest is a situation in which financial or other personal interests are likely to make professional judgment and objectivity bias and untrustworthy.

Supplementary definitions include:

Conflicts of interest are "situations in which financial or other personal considerations may compromise, or have the appearance of compromising, an investigator's judgment in conducting or reporting research." AAMC, 1990

"A conflict of interest in research exists when the individual has interests in the outcome of the research that may lead to a personal advantage and that might therefore, in actuality or appearance compromise the integrity of the research." NAS, Integrity in Scientific Research.

All authors, representatives, reviewers, and editors must disclose any potential Conflict of Interest associated with the manuscript. Authors must also acknowledge all sources of funds that sustained the work.

In cases of Academic Conflict of Interest where an individual (reviewer, editor or editorial board member) has bias or personal interest that can obstruct the peer-review, the individual should declare their conflicts of interest and refuse participation in the review process.

See ICMJE recommendation

Correction and retraction of articles

On rare occasions, Greener Journals may make corrections so as to maintain the standard of the articles in its academic archive. Minor or major corrections will require authorization of the editor of the journal.

Depending on the magnitude of the correction to be made, corrections may be made directly on the originally published article for cases of minor corrections. Major corrections will be made available through a new download link leaving the originally published article untouched. Reasons for the change will also be stated along side.

In other cases where the content of an article is observed to be violating certain rights oroffensive we may have to remove that article from our site. Article may also be retracted due to scientific errors, misconduct, or plagiarism.

Greener Journals will retract articles according to COPE guidelines.

Embargo Policy

Authors and their representatives should avoid releasing details about their article to representatives of the media until that article has been published online. Authors may only present detailed information at professional conferences before publication, but authors should abstain from giving out significant material from their articles before online publication. Officers of the press, public affairs, and others can have free access to copies of articles after publication.

Editorial Team

The Editorial Team of Greener Journals comprises of the Editorial Committee, Committee on Ethics, Editors, Editorial Board and Editorial Office Team (editorial assistants). Editors and editorial board members are selected by the Editorial Committee based on:

1.    their qualifications and professional experiences,

2.    the Journal’s need for international representation and

3.    the need to maintain a high journal standard and editorial policies.

The editors will perform their responsibilities according to the guidelines of COPE

The reviewers will perform their responsibilities according to the guidelines of COPE

Interested persons can apply to become editorial board members by filling the Editorial Partnership form online.

Peer Review

All manuscripts submitted to Greener Journals go through a peer-review process that determines if a manuscript is fit or unfit for publication. Greener Journals requires that individuals who are highly competent and recognized in the particular field of the submitted manuscript review each manuscript. Manuscripts undergo a double blind peer review process.

The Review Process

The Editorial Office will contact those reviewers that have been identified as qualified and the reviewers that may be recommended by the authors. Once potential reviewers agree to read a manuscript, they are given a period to complete the review. Greener Journals ensures that at least two reviewers undertake the review.

When the reviews are completed, a decision is made to either accept the paper or give the authors the opportunity to revise according to reviewers’ suggestions or to reject the paper based on the reviewers’ criticisms and the editors’ opinion of the paper. In some instances, it is necessary to seek the opinion of other reviewers if further comment is necessary to make a final decision. When an editor has completed his decision on a manuscript, the decision letter and reviewers’ comments are sent to the author. Any questions or concerns regarding the editorial decision on any manuscript must be made directly to the editorial office. Revised manuscripts are evaluated to determine if the author(s) have adequately addressed and answered the critics of the reviewers and editors. Depending on this evaluation, manuscripts may be accepted, returned for further revision, or rejected. If a paper is accepted, the paper is immediately sent to the publication office and slotted in for the next available issue. Greener Journal tries to complete the review and decision on each manuscript within two to four weeks. This time, however, may vary depending on the amount of revision work that needs to be completed before the manuscript is acceptable.

Appeals or complaints

Authors can make an appeal after the rejection of their manuscript. Appeals that are perceived to request a skip in our editorial process will not be accepted. Appeals should rather have a scientific base about how the content of the manuscript might be adjusted to become suitable for publication. Appeal emails should be addressed to the Editor of the specific journal. The Editor will give the final decision on the appeal.

Equally, All complains by the Authors should first be addressed to the Editor of the journal who will try to resolve them following the Journal’s procedure. If the author believes that the complaint cannot be properly handled with the Editor, the authors should address the complaint to the Publisher.  

Ethical Standards

Greener Journals maintains its stand on the following ethical issues:

Data fabrication/falsification, plagiarism, authorship, duplicate submission, duplicate publication, unethical citations, copyright infringement and non-compliance with regulatory standards affecting research.

Our ethics committee will use the recommendations of COPE in dealing with the actual and suspected unethical cases. Read our Ethics Policy for more information. 

Creative Common Attribution License

All works published by Greener Journals are covered by Creative Common Attribution License. This license allows anyone to copy, distribute, transmit and replicate the work, provided the original work and source is properly cited.

Copyright: 

Submission of a manuscript implies that the work described has not been published before and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.

Greener Journals currently allows authors to retain copyright for any article published in a journal. The article may be re-used according to the Creative Common Attribution License. The author is only required to grant Greener Journals publication right.

Processing / Publication Fee

Greener Journals will require authors to pay a processing / publication fee. See fees and waiverfor more information

Reader’s Responses

Greener Journals is receptive to responses from site visitors about published articles. A response link will be available on the web pages of the published issues and article’s abstracts for readers to give their comments. Such comments will be reviewed by the editor and sent to the authors of the original article when recommended.