## Policies

DOI: 10.62275/josep.policies.24

1. Authorship & Contributions

Eligibility:

- Authors must be affiliated with accredited institutions or recognized organizations, verified via institutional email and/or website profiles

- AI tools (e.g., LLMs, chatbots) are prohibited as authors but must be acknowledged in the “Acknowledgments” section if used for content refinement.

Contributions:

- Credit taxonomy is mandatory to specify roles (e.g., Conceptualization, Data Curation, Formal Analysis).

- Non-author contributors (e.g., technical/writing assistants) must be listed in Acknowledgments with their consent .

Changes:

- Post-publication authorship modifications require unanimous author approval and a new version with an “Amendments” statement.

- Name changes (e.g., gender identity, marriage) will be confidentially processed without legal documentation.

2. Originality & Prior Publication

- Plagiarism: All submissions are screened via Crossref’s iThenticate. Unattributed plagiarism/self-plagiarism results in rejection.

- Preprints: Preprint server submissions (e.g., arXiv, bioRxiv) are permitted but must be disclosed during submission.

- Redundant Publication: Simultaneous submission to multiple journals is prohibited. Articles under review elsewhere will be rejected.

3. Ethical Compliance

- Human/Animal Research: Must adhere to institutional/national ethics guidelines. Ethics committee approval details and compliance statements are required.

- Competing Interests: Financial (e.g., funding, patents) and non-financial (e.g., ideological, political) conflicts must be declared. Use: “No competing interests disclosed” if applicable.

- Misconduct: Fabrication, falsification, or unethical data collection will lead to retraction and institutional notification.

4. Data, Software & Reproducibility

Data Availability:

- Mandatory statement detailing repository, access conditions, and license (e.g., CC0, CC-BY).

- Restricted data (e.g., privacy, copyright) must justify limitations and provide controlled-access methods.

Software & Code:

- Source code must be archived in GitHub/BitBucket with OSI-approved licenses. Version numbers and open-access alternatives for proprietary tools are required.

Extended Data:

- Supplemental materials (e.g., questionnaires, protocols) must be deposited in approved repositories (e.g., Zenodo, OSF).

5. Peer Review Process

- Model: Open, post-publication review. Articles publish pre-review; expert reviewers are invited post-publication.

- Criteria: Reviewers assess scholarly validity, methodology, and ethical compliance. Competing interests must be declared in reports.

- Revisions: Authors must respond to reviewer comments. Persistent disputes may trigger editorial arbitration.

6. Article Types & Structure

Research Articles:

- Scope: Original/null/confirmatory findings; methodological advances

- Word limits: ≤20,000

- Sections: Intro, Methods, Results, Discussion

Reviews/Systematic Reviews:

- Scope: Critical field assessments

- Word limits: ≤15,000

- Sections: Balanced literature synthesis

- Abstracts: Structured (Background, Methods, Results, Conclusions) for research; unstructured for opinions

7. Corrections, Retractions & Versioning

- Corrections: Errors are amended via new versions with tracked changes. All versions retain DOIs and are cross-linked.

- Retractions: Applied for legal/ethical violations, dangerous inaccuracies, or irreproducible data. Retraction notices specify reasons.

- Withdrawals: Permitted only pre-publication. Post-acceptance withdrawals incur no fee refunds.

8. Fees, Licensing & Open Access

- APC: https://jsciengpap.com/apc/

- Licensing: CC BY-SA 4.0 default. Data/software under CC0 or OSI-approved licenses.

9. Copyright & Permissions

- Authors retain copyright but grant JoSEP publishing rights.

- Third-party material: Permissions must be obtained for copyrighted figures/tables. CC-licensed material reused per license terms

10. Editorial Independence & Misconduct Handling

- Editors may reject articles violating policies or with legal/ethical risks.

- Complaints: Allegations (e.g., plagiarism, bias) are investigated per COPE guidelines. Outcomes include corrections, retractions, or bans

What is Crossmark?

Crossmark is a multi-publisher initiative from Crossref that provides a standardized way for readers to verify the current status of a scholarly publication. When you see the Crossmark logo () on a document, it indicates the publisher’s commitment to maintaining the content and providing timely updates about any changes.

The Crossmark Logo: What It Means

The Crossmark logo appears on HTML and PDF versions of publications. Clicking the logo reveals a pop-up dialog box showing:

- Publication Status: Confirms whether the document is the latest version.

- Update History: Details any changes (e.g., corrections, retractions, or additions).

- Publication Record: Links to metadata, peer review reports (if available), and funding data.

Example Statuses:

- Current Version: No updates exist.

- Updated: Corrections or additions have been made.

- Retracted: The document has been withdrawn.

- Supplemental Data: Additional materials (e.g., datasets) are available.

Types of Updates We Provide

When content changes substantively, we apply a Crossmark update and notify Crossref. Changes include:

- Corrections: Typographical errors, mislabeled figures, or minor data inaccuracies.

- Retractions: Withdrawal of content due to ethical violations or irreproducible results.

- Addenda: Supplementary information (e.g., author contributions, funding details).

- Expressions of Concern: Notices about potential integrity issues under investigation.

- Article Replacements: Author-initiated updates (e.g., revised conclusions).

Note: Minor formatting changes (e.g., layout, broken links) do not trigger Crossmark updates.

How to Use Crossmark

- Look for the Crossmark logo () on the first page of any HTML/PDF document.

- Click the logo to open the status dialog box.

- Review the update history or follow links to metadata, peer review, and funding information.

- For questions, contact our editorial team at [email protected].

Our Commitment

- Transparency: All substantive updates are recorded via Crossmark.

- Timeliness: We apply Crossmark updates within 14 days of changes.

- Accuracy: Metadata (e.g., authorship, affiliations, funding) is validated upon deposit to Crossref.

- Persistence: DOIs and Crossmark records remain permanently resolvable.

Contact Us

For queries about document statuses, updates, or Crossmark:

- Email: [email protected]

We understand the importance of your privacy and take it seriously. That’s why we collect personal information only to provide you with the best possible service. Our privacy policy is transparent and explains how we keep your information safe.

### 1. What personal data we collect and when we collect it

In a few words: We collect your personal data while using our services.

- browse our websites

- register with us and create a Loop account

- submit a manuscript for publication in our journals

- work with us as a reviewer or editor

- communicate with us

- register for our events

- subscribe to our newsletters

- answer our surveys or participate in our user research programs

Our privacy policy applies to the personal data of co-authors of articles submitted to us for publication, as well as to the personal data we collect from publicly available sources such as subscription services, websites, social media, or conferences regarding your publications and your other academic activities. This means that we are committed to protecting your personal information in all aspects of your academic career, including the work you produce and the information that is publicly available about you.

### 2. How we use this data and on what basis?

In a few words: we use personal data to:

- deliver and promote our journal and publishing services

- operate and secure our websites

- identify potential authors, reviewers, and editors, to manage our publishing processes

- ensure the quality and integrity of the articles we publish (in particular by identifying and preventing publication manipulations or other misconducts)

- organize our events

- communicate with you and answer your queries

- exercise our rights and protect our interests

- develop our knowledge of the latest science published and the activities of the global scientific publishing community

The legal grounds we rely on to process your personal data are mostly:

- the necessity to process your personal data to deliver the contract we have with you under our terms and conditions (and other terms you may agree to if you cooperate with us)

- our legitimate interests to provide, improve and secure our website and publishing services and to carry out and develop our business as a professional scientific publisher

In certain situations, we will process your personal data based on your consent (that you can revoke at any time) or because we have a legal obligation to do so.

### 3. When we share your personal data

In a few words: we make certain personal data public when we publish articles online, especially the names and affiliation of the relevant authors, reviewers, and editors. To conduct our activities, we also share personal data with:

- JoSEP affiliates

- our vendors and service providers

- our reviewers and editors

- our publishing partners when the personal data we process relates to their journal

- other organizations who partner with us to archive scientific articles, promote open science, or facilitate the payment of article processing fees

- We may also share personal data when we are required to do so by law, or upon the request of an authority, as well as in case of dispute or corporate reorganization.

### 4. How we protect your personal data

In a few words: we apply technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data in accordance with legal requirements. When we share your personal data with recipients located outside Bangladesh, we use mechanisms to exercise any of these rights recognized by competent authorities to ensure your data always benefits from an adequate level of protection. We only keep your personal data for the duration needed to provide our services, protect ourselves against legal claims, or comply with our legal obligations.

### 5. How you can exercise your rights regarding your personal data

In a few words: you can contact us to ask us questions regarding the processing of your personal data or to exercise your rights under applicable laws:

- to request access to your personal data

- to ask us to rectify your data in case it is inaccurate or incomplete

- to ask us to erase your personal data

- to port your data

- to object to or to restrict the processing of personal data

### 6. How to contact us

In a few words: you can contact JOSEP office at [email protected] for any question or query regarding the processing of your personal data pursuant to this policy. You also have the right to lodge a concern with a supervisory authority.

We have prepared this privacy policy to give you an overview of our practices with all important information regarding how we handle and protect your personal data and how to contact us.