Login
    Life Science Research Communications

    Journal Policies

    About

    Editorial Policy ↑

    Manuscripts are accepted with the understanding that the authors have not violated any ethical practices followed in the preparation and publication of biomedical manuscripts. The list of practices that are considered unethical is given on the journal website. Author(s) are responsible for all the statements made in their work and should be willing to defend them publicly if challenged.

    Authors should prepare their manuscripts submitted to the Life Science Research Communications (LSRC) exactly according to the instructions given. Manuscripts that do not follow the format and style of the journal may be returned to the authors for revision or rejected. The journal reserves the right to make any further formal changes and language corrections necessary in a manuscript accepted for publication. Manuscripts and figures are not returned to the authors, not even upon rejection of the paper.

    RESPONSIBILITIES OF AUTHORS

    By submitting a manuscript to Life Science Research Communications (LSRC), the author(s) warrant that the manuscript is their own, original work and that it has neither been published previously nor is currently being considered for publication elsewhere. They also warrant that the sources of any ideas and/or words in the manuscript that are not their own have been properly attributed through appropriate citations and/or quotes.

    An author should not normally publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in multiple journals or publication venues. Such redundant publication is generally considered unethical publishing behavior and, if discovered, may result in a manuscript under consideration being rejected or a published article being retracted.

    Authors of manuscripts reporting on original research should present an accurate account of the work performed, accompanied by an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the manuscript. The fabrication of results and the making of fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and may be cause for rejection or retraction.

    Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission to include any images or artwork for which they do not hold copyright. The copyright holder must be made explicitly aware that the material will be made freely available online as part of the article.

    The authors’ names should be listed on the article in order of their contribution to the article, and all authors take responsibility for their own contributions. Only those individuals who have made a substantive contribution should be listed as authors; those whose contributions are indirect or marginal (e.g., colleagues or supervisors who have reviewed drafts of the work or provided proofreading assistance, and heads of research institutes/centers/labs) should be named in an “Acknowledgments” section at the end of the article, immediately preceding the Reference List. The corresponding author must ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the article, and that all listed co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the article and agreed to its publication.

    Where an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in an article of his/hers that has been published in Life Science Research Communications (LSRC), he/she has an obligation to promptly notify the editors and cooperate with them to correct the article or retract it as appropriate.

    RESPONSIBILITIES (GUIDELINES) OF REVIEWERS

    Life Science Research Communications (LSRC) reviewers perform work for the journal on a volunteer basis. Given that most of these individuals are in full-time employment, their reviewing activities for Life Science Research Communications (LSRC) must, by necessity, not be their top priority. Reviewers are free to decline invitations to review particular manuscripts at their discretion, for example, if their current employment workload and/or other commitments make it prohibitive for them to complete a review in a timely fashion and to do justice to the task in the available timeframe. They should also not accept manuscript review assignments for which they feel unqualified.

    Reviewers who have accepted manuscript assignments are normally expected to submit their reviews within three weeks. They should recuse themselves from the assignment if it becomes apparent to them at any stage that they do not possess the required expertise to perform the review, or that they may have a potential conflict of interest in performing the review (e.g., one resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, institutions, or companies associated with the manuscript).

    Privileged information or ideas obtained by reviewers through the peer review process must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents and must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the Life Science Research Communications (LSRC).

    When conducting their reviews, reviewers are asked to do so as objectively as possible, refraining from engaging in personal criticism of the author(s). They are encouraged to express their views clearly, explaining and justifying all recommendations made. They should always attempt to provide detailed and constructive feedback to assist the author(s) in improving their work, even if the manuscript is, in their opinion, not publishable.

    Reviewers should identify in their reviews relevant published work that has not been cited by the author(s), together with any instances in which proper attribution of sources has not been provided. They should call to the responsible editor’s attention any major resemblances between a manuscript under consideration and other published articles or papers of which they are aware, as well as any concerns they might have in relation to the ethical acceptability of the research reported in the manuscript.

    RESPONSIBILITIES OF EDITORS

    The Editor has ultimate responsibility for deciding if a manuscript submitted to Life Science Research Communications (LSRC) should be published, and in doing so is guided by the journal’s policies as determined by the Life Science Research Communications (LSRC) editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. The Editor may consult with the Associate Editor and other members of the editorial team, as well as with reviewers, in making publication decisions.

    The editors will evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to the race, color, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the author(s). They will not disclose any information about a manuscript under consideration to anyone other than the author(s), reviewers, and potential reviewers, and in some instances, the Life Science Research Communications (LSRC) editorial board members, as appropriate. Additionally, the editors will make every effort to ensure the integrity of the blind review process by not revealing the identity of the author(s) of a manuscript to the reviewers of that manuscript, and vice versa.

    When evaluating a manuscript for publication, in addition to considering standard criteria pertaining to the rigor of the manuscript, the quality of its presentation, and its contribution to humanity’s stock of knowledge, the editors will also seek evidence that ethical harms have been minimized in the conduct of the reported research. They will question whether the benefits outweigh the harms in the particular study’s case. Since Life Science Research Communications (LSRC) welcomes submissions from any country, it is necessary to recognize that laws and regulations on research ethics and ethical approval vary worldwide. As such, the editors may need to seek clarification in this regard with the author(s) and request that they supply a letter from the relevant institutional ethics committee or board that approved the research.

    The editors will be guided by COPE’s Guidelines for Retracting Articles when considering retracting, issuing expressions of concern about, and issuing corrections pertaining to articles that have been published in Life Science Research Communications (LSRC). They are committed to working closely with research organizations and institutions in line with COPE’s advice on Cooperation between Research Institutions and Journals on Research Integrity Cases

    More details on the Code of Conduct and guidelines can be found in this link: http://publicationethics.org/resources/guidelines

    Publication Ethics & Malpractice Statement ↑

    Life Science Research Communications (LSRC) adheres to COPE guidelines for publication ethics and malpractice policies. Authors are required to confirm that submitted articles are original and not under consideration elsewhere.

    Life Science Research Communications (LSRC) adheres to the policies of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), which promotes integrity in peer-reviewed scholarly publishing.

    Plagiarism Policy ↑

    Authors must ensure the originality of their manuscripts and properly cite others’ work. All submissions are screened using plagiarism detection tools such as iThenticate. Manuscripts containing plagiarism will be rejected or withdrawn.

    Life Science Research Communications (LSRC) follows recommended ethical procedures when investigating cases of plagiarism.

    Retraction Policy ↑

    Articles may be retracted in cases of plagiarism, data fabrication, ethical misconduct, duplicate publication, or significant errors that compromise the integrity of the work.

    ↑ Back to Table of Contents
    © Life Science Research Communications (LSRC)