Ethics

Research and Publication Ethics

The Ax Publications (AxP) is dedicated to publishing and disseminating high-quality content widely. It is essential for the editorial operations of AxP to adhere to rigorous ethical standards that are transparent and fair. The scholarly publishing ecosystem, encompassing editors, authors, reviewers, and publishers, is complex. We expect all participants to understand and accept AxP's policies on publication ethics and malpractice, closely aligned with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)'s Core Practices document, accessible at COPE Core Practices.

Research Ethics

When reporting research involving human subjects, materials, tissues, or data, authors must secure approval from the appropriate local institutional review board or ethics committee. This confirms the study complies with national and international guidelines. A minimum requirement is an 'Institutional Review Board Statement' in the article, including the project identification code, approval date, and ethics committee name.

For non-interventional studies, such as surveys or social media research, full participant information is necessary, ensuring informed consent with guaranteed anonymity, clear purpose communication, data usage, and risk disclosure.

The editorial offices of AxP journals will scrutinize submitted manuscripts for adherence to these standards. Upon request, authors must provide documentary evidence (e.g., blank consent forms, ethics board discussions).

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

AxP editors enforce a rigorous peer-review process along with strict ethical policies to enhance scholarly publication quality. Regrettably, instances of plagiarism, data falsification, inappropriate authorship credit, etc., occur. AxP editors, with a zero-tolerance policy, address publishing ethics issues seriously and are trained to manage such cases.

International Standards for Editors

The editor-in-chief of our journals are responsible for manuscript publication decisions, basing them solely on merit, without discrimination based on race, gender, religious or political beliefs, ethnicity, or citizenship.

Confidentiality

AxP maintains confidentiality on submitted manuscript details, limited to the corresponding author, editorial board members, or publishers as necessary.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

AxP editors will not use unpublished information in a manuscript for their research without the authors' written consent. Editors will step down from reviewing manuscripts where conflicts of interest from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any authors, companies, or institutions involved arise.

The Editorial Board must keep all information pertaining to submitted manuscripts confidential.
The Editorial Board is responsible for making publication decisions on submitted manuscripts.
The Editorial Board must strive to meet the needs of both readers and authors.
The Editorial Board must evaluate manuscripts solely based on their intellectual content.
The Editorial Board must constantly strive to improve the quality of journals.
The Editorial Board must maintain the integrity of the academic record.
The Editorial Board must disclose any conflicts of interest and ensure that business needs do not compromise intellectual and ethical standards.
The Editorial Board must always be willing to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions, and apologies when necessary.

International Standards for Authors

Citation Policy

Authors must accurately cite the sources of information used in their research, including their previously published works. The source of any material that requires special permission for use should be clearly acknowledged.

Author(s) Rights

It is crucial for authors to familiarize themselves with the journal's policies to understand their rights fully. AxP grants authors the following rights for re-using their published content:

Copyright without Restrictions

International Standards for Reviewers

Disclaimer

AxP endeavors to ensure the accuracy of all information ("Content") in our publications. However, AxP does not guarantee the Content's accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any particular purpose. The opinions and views expressed in our publications belong to the authors and do not necessarily reflect or represent AxP views. Users should not solely rely on the Content's accuracy and are advised to verify information with primary sources. AxP will not be liable for any losses, claims, costs, damages, or other liabilities arising from the use or reliance on the Content, whether directly or indirectly.