Publication Ethics

Stecab Publishing is committed to meet and uphold standards of ethical behavior at all the stages of the publication ethics. All the journal follows closely the industry associations, such as the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) and International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) that set standards and provide guidelines for best practices in order to meet these requirements.

1. Publication Ethics

1.1. Ethical Statement Stecab Publishing is committed to meet and uphold standards of ethical behavior at all the stages of the publication ethics. To ensure the quality of the research with the rigorous peer-review policy, some obstacles like plagiarism, data duplication, data fabrication, data falsification, misleading information, image manipulation occurs. The following ethical standards are strictly followed by the journal to prevent these issues.
1.1.1. Author should read carefully the Author’s Guidelines before submitting their article.
1.1.2. It is required to declare that there is no conflict of interest in this research during the submission.
1.1.3. The research article should be prepared by following the Manuscript Template for better representation of the article.
1.1.4. The author should not include any contents that are already published. If any figure, or information is used, please include the citation and make sure that it has necessary permission and is licensed under CC-BY.
1.1.5. If an unusual image, misleading data, or misinterpreting information manipulation is found and identified during the peer-review process, the journal may decline the article.
1.1.6. If an unusual image (improper cropped image, low resolution image, lack of information, copied image that missed data, etc.), misleading data, or misinterpreting information manipulation is found and identified after publishing the article, the journal may correct or retract the article from the website.
1.1.7. The article must not be submitted anywhere else before or after the submission.
1.1.8. The manuscript should describe clearly the methodology for further use by other researchers as well as the findings of the research.
1.1.9. The author should prepare the raw data of the research to share with the editorial body.
1.1.10. The journal only accepts research that is written in English.
1.1.11. Those researches are encouraged that are already published in another language.
1.1.12. The author should be responsive to communicate with the editorial office for any assistance regarding the publication.
1.1.13. After reviewing the manuscript the revised version must be submitted by a week (maximum).
1.1.14. To avoid correction after publication, the journal publishes the copyedited article once the author confirms it. After all if any inaccurate information is found after publication then please provide the necessary and sufficient information to the respective journal’s email.
1.1.15. The journal currently accepts preprint articles.
If any allegation of misconduct is found to the editor of the journal, they will contact the corresponding author, and/or other contributor with necessary and sufficient evidence. All the authors of Stecab Publishing are encouraged to read carefully the code of ethics and comply with the best ethical standards.
1.2. Editorial Process and Peer-Review
1.2.1. Preliminary Review
After submitting any article, the editor of the journal preliminary reviews the whole article and checks the manuscript whether it is maintained to the ethical standard, whether it is developed according to the manuscript template, the article is suitable for the particular journal. The assigned editor can make a decision on the article, accept for review, request for revision before undergoing the review process, or decline the submission.
1.2.2. Peer-Review
After successfully passing the preliminary review process, it will be assigned a minimum of two experts on the particular research area for the double-blinded peer-review.
1.2.2.1. Reviewer Selection Process
Reviewers are selected for each article based on their expertise in the subject matter of the submitted manuscript. The editorial team carefully chooses one or more most qualified reviewers who have relevant knowledge and experience in the specific area of the submitted article.
1.2.2.2. Reviewer Confidentiality
All the reviewers are expected to maintain the confidentiality of the manuscripts they review. They are responsible to not disclosing any information about the manuscript or its content to others before publishing the article.
1.2.2.3. Reviewer's Recommendations
It is requested to the assigned reviewers to provide descriptive feedback and objective comments on the manuscript's fairness, weaknesses, and scopes for improvement of the article. Based on the reviewer's evaluation, they make one of the following recommendations to the editorial team:

  • Accept Submission: This recommendation means the manuscript meets the journal's criteria and scopes and can be accepted for publication without major corrections.
  • Accept after Minor Revision: This suggestion states that the manuscript requires minor correction before publishing to address specific concerns raised by the reviewers
  • Major Revision Required: This decision maybe recommended when an article does not align with the journal criteria but can be improved by correcting a significant part of the article.
  • Decline Submission: This decision describes that the article does not comply with the journal policy and is not recommended to publish.

1.2.3. Editorial Decision
The final decision on the submission by the editorial team is based on the reviewers' recommendations and the assessment of the editorial team. The decision is communicated to the authors along with the reviewers' comments to help them understand the rationale behind the verdict.
1.2.4. Author Appeals
Authors have the right to appeal a decision if they believe there was an error in the review process. Appeals should be submitted to the journal's editorial office, and they will be carefully considered by the editorial team.
The journal maintains the highest standards of double-blind and peer-review to uphold the integrity of the scientific literature and promote advancements in propulsion technology. The journal always appreciates the invaluable contributions of our reviewers, whose expertise and efforts play a vital role in ensuring the quality and impact of the research to the global research community.
1.2.5. Copyediting and Publication
After preparing the manuscript for publication the copyediting step starts. The final copy is being sent to the author for galley proof. Once approved by the author, the publication process starts immediately on the journal website.

2. Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC)

Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC) refers to scientific research that, while intended for beneficial purposes, could potentially be misapplied for harmful purposes. The concept of DURC has gained attention in the context of life sciences and biotechnology, where research findings and technologies could have both positive and negative implications, including potential harm to public health or the environment.
According to the definition introduced by COPE, the researcher should be clearly indicated in the manuscript, and potential dual-use research of concern should be explained in the cover letter during the submission. It is the responsibility of the author to comply with relevant national and international laws.

3. Plagiarism and Fabrication

All the articles published at Stecab Publishing, evaluate submissions on the understanding that they are the original work of the author(s). Re-use of text, data, figures, or images without appropriate acknowledgment or permission is considered plagiarism, as is the paraphrasing of text, concepts, and ideas.

4. Redundant/Duplicate Publication

Duplicate or redundant publication is a publication that overlaps substantially with one already published, in press, or in an electronic media submission. Duplicate or redundant submission is the same manuscript (or the same data) that is submitted to different journals at the same time. International copyright laws, ethical conduct, and cost effective use of resources require that readers can be assured that what they are reading is original.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published or currently submitted elsewhere. Duplicate publication is a violation of the APA code of ethics (APA Publication Manual, 2010) and will be grounds for prompt rejection of the submitted manuscript. If the editor was not aware of the violation and the article has been published, a notice of duplicate submission and the ethical violation will be published.

6. Correction and Retraction Policy

If any unusual image manipulation, misleading data, misinterpreting information, conflict of interest, bogus claims of authorship is found and identified after publishing the article, the journal authority may correct or retract the article from the website.

7. Human Subject Research

When the research will be related to human data, human subjects, human materials, it is mandatory to ensure the investigations were carried out under the declaration of Helsinki rules. As per the rule, an approval from the appropriate ethical committee must be undertaken before the research study. The approval should be an international standard and should mention the research reference number, name of the approved committee, and date of the approval. If the information is non-interventional, the participants must be well informed about the study, their confidentiality, and the reason behind the research associated.
The author should mention appropriate cause if the approval is not required, author should provide the local legal clause where mentioned that ethical approval is not required.

8. Use of Animal in Research

Ethical guidelines for the use of animals in research are crucial to ensure the humane treatment of animals and the scientific validity of the research. Research involving animals should have approval from an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) or an equivalent ethics committee. It is recommended to reduce the number of animals used, refine experimental techniques to minimize harm and distress, and replace animals with alternative methods whenever possible. The researcher should provide appropriate housing conditions, including sufficient space, environmental enrichment, and proper nutrition. Reports of the use of animals in research, including methods, results, and ethical considerations, in scientific publications should be presented transparently according to ARRIVE guidelines.
Authors should be aware of and comply with the applicable laws and regulations governing the use of animals in research in their specific context.

9. Open Access

All the original research articles published by Stecab Publishing are open-access and freely accessible online immediately after publication. Readers and visitors are free to access and distribute the contribution under Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY). Authors can be benefited from the open-access publication model from the below aspects:

  • High high visibility, free and unlimited accessibility of the publication.
  • Rigorous double-blind and peer-review of research articles in faster process.
  • Faster publication process with minimum fees without any subscription charge.
  • Open-access publications are more frequently cited by global researcher.