Editorial Policies

  1. Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement
  2. Conflict of Interest and Financial Disclosures (specific to editors)
  3. Editorial Policies
  4. Peer Review Process
  5. Editorial Process
  6. Creative Commons License
  7. Publisher Policies
  8. Advertisement Policies
  9. COPE Recommendation for Plagiarism
  10. COPE Recommendation for Conflict of Interest (specific to editors)

1. Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The Indo-American Journal of Life Sciences and Biotechnology adheres to the highest standards of publication ethics. We are committed to maintaining the integrity of the academic record by ensuring fair and ethical practices in all stages of the publication process. This includes ensuring that research is conducted with transparency, proper acknowledgment of contributors, and the prevention of unethical practices such as plagiarism, falsification of data, and improper authorship attribution.

  • Ethical Guidelines: The journal follows the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines for handling ethical issues in publishing.
  • Plagiarism: Articles will be checked for plagiarism using industry-standard plagiarism detection tools.
  • Data Falsification: The journal will reject manuscripts where there is evidence of data manipulation or falsification.
  • Retraction and Corrections: Retractions and corrections will be issued when necessary, following COPE guidelines, if errors or misconduct are identified post-publication.

2. Conflict of Interest and Financial Disclosures (Specific to Editors)

Editors of the Indo-American Journal of Life Sciences and Biotechnology are required to disclose any financial or personal relationships that may influence their editorial decisions. This includes:

  • Conflict of Interest: Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where they have a direct financial, personal, or professional interest.
  • Financial Disclosures: Editors must declare any funding, grants, or financial support received that could potentially bias their editorial decisions.
  • Management of Conflicts: In cases of perceived conflicts of interest, alternative editors may be assigned to ensure impartiality in the editorial process.

3. Editorial Policies

The Indo-American Journal of Life Sciences and Biotechnology maintains the following editorial policies:

  • Scope and Aims: The journal publishes high-quality research in the field of life sciences and biotechnology, including but not limited to genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, biotechnology applications, and biomedical sciences.
  • Originality: Only original research articles that have not been previously published or are not under consideration by other journals will be considered for publication.
  • Manuscript Submission: Authors must submit manuscripts via the online submission system, adhering to the formatting and submission guidelines.
  • Peer Review: All submitted manuscripts undergo a rigorous peer review process to ensure the quality and integrity of the research.

4. Peer Review Process

The Indo-American Journal of Life Sciences and Biotechnology uses a double-blind peer review process, where both the authors and reviewers remain anonymous. This ensures an unbiased and objective evaluation of the submitted manuscripts.

  • Initial Screening: All submissions are first screened by the editorial team for compliance with journal scope and quality standards.
  • Reviewers: Manuscripts are sent to at least two independent expert reviewers in the field of life sciences and biotechnology.
  • Decision: Reviewers assess the manuscript for originality, significance, technical merit, clarity, and relevance. Based on their feedback, the editorial team will make one of the following decisions:
    • Accept without revisions
    • Minor revisions
    • Major revisions
    • Reject
  • Reviewer Selection: Reviewers are selected based on their expertise and experience in the relevant area of life sciences and biotechnology.

5. Editorial Process

The editorial process of the Indo-American Journal of Life Sciences and Biotechnology is as follows:

  • Submission: Authors submit their manuscripts through the online submission system.
  • Pre-Review Check: The editorial team checks the submission for compliance with journal guidelines.
  • Peer Review: Manuscripts are reviewed by experts in the field.
  • Revision: Authors may be required to revise their manuscripts based on reviewer feedback.
  • Final Decision: After revision, the editorial team makes the final decision on the manuscript.
  • Publication: Accepted manuscripts are scheduled for publication in an upcoming issue.

6. Creative Commons License

All articles published in the Indo-American Journal of Life Sciences and Biotechnology are made available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This allows others to share, adapt, and distribute the work, provided they give appropriate credit to the original authors. Authors retain the copyright of their work and grant the journal the right to publish it.

  • Attribution: Authors must be credited properly in any derivative work.
  • Reusability: Others can remix, tweak, and build upon the published work, even commercially, as long as they credit the original work.

7. Publisher Policies

The Indo-American Journal of Life Sciences and Biotechnology adheres to all relevant publishing standards and ethical guidelines set forth by the publisher. This includes:

  • Open Access: All articles published in the journal are freely available to readers.
  • Copyright and License: Authors retain copyright of their articles under the CC BY 4.0 license.
  • Archiving: The journal ensures that articles are archived and accessible for future reference in trusted repositories.

8. Advertisement Policies

The Indo-American Journal of Life Sciences and Biotechnology maintains editorial independence from any advertisers. Advertisements will not influence editorial decisions or content. The journal will not allow advertisements in research articles, and any sponsored content will be clearly marked as such.

  • Advertiser Independence: Advertisers have no influence on the editorial content or decision-making process.
  • Transparency: Advertisements will be clearly distinguished from editorial content.

9. COPE Recommendation for Plagiarism

In line with the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines, the Indo-American Journal of Life Sciences and Biotechnology will follow a strict policy against plagiarism. Any manuscript suspected of plagiarism will be subject to investigation.

  • Plagiarism Detection: All submitted manuscripts are checked using plagiarism detection software (e.g., Turnitin, iThenticate).
  • Consequences: If plagiarism is detected, the manuscript will be rejected, and the author(s) may face sanctions, including being banned from submitting to the journal in the future.

10. COPE Recommendation for Conflict of Interest (Specific to Editors)

Editors of the Indo-American Journal of Life Sciences and Biotechnology must disclose any conflicts of interest that may influence their editorial decisions. The journal follows COPE guidelines in managing such conflicts:

  • Declaration of Interests: Editors must declare any financial, personal, or professional interests that could affect their judgment in the editorial process.
  • Recusal: Editors with conflicts of interest related to a manuscript must recuse themselves from handling that submission.
  • Transparency: Any potential conflicts of interest related to editorial decisions will be disclosed in the final published article.