Journal of Polymer and Composites fully adheres to the Code of Conduct of Publication Ethics (COPE) and its Best Practice Guidelines. and is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of integrity and ethics in publishing. This policy outlines the responsibilities and ethical obligations of all parties involved in the publication process—authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher—to ensure transparent, fair, and respectful practices that foster scientific excellence and trust.

Responsibilities of Authors

Manuscript removal is a serious matter that should only be considered in exceptional circumstances. rrjofst has a policy in place for manuscript removal to ensure the integrity of our publications and to protect the interests of our readers, authors, and publishers.

Integrity and Originality

• Original Work: Authors must ensure that submitted works are entirely original. Proper citation or quotation is required for the work or words of others.
• Plagiarism: Submitting plagiarized content, including self-plagiarism, is prohibited.

Reporting Standards

• Accurate Presentation: Authors should present results accurately without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation. Manuscripts should allow for replication through sufficient detail and references.
• Data Access and Retention: Authors may need to provide raw data for editorial review and retain it post-publication for a reasonable time.

Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication

jopc‘s commitment to integrity and originality is paramount, necessitating strict guidelines against concurrent submissions, prior publications, and unauthorized sharing.

Prohibition of Concurrent Submissions and Prior Publications

• Exclusive Submission Requirement: Manuscripts submitted to jopc must not be under consideration by any other publication venue or have been previously published. This exclusivity extends to all forms of publication, including other Journals, books, and digital platforms, ensuring the novelty and integrity of the submitted work.
• Plagiarism and Fabrication Prohibition: We strictly prohibit any form of plagiarism and fabricated data. Authors agree, by submitting their work, to undergo scrutiny and accept potential legal actions by the publishers if misconduct is discovered.

Restrictions on Digital Sharing and Academic Platforms

• Social Media and Academic Platforms: Manuscripts submitted to jopc cannot be published or shared on social media, personal websites, or any academic platforms outside of jopc. The unauthorized distribution, including uploads to traffic repositories or academic sharing platforms, is strictly prohibited to preserve the integrity of the peer review and publication process.
• Regulations on Downloads and Redistribution: Authors wishing to distribute their manuscripts on different academic platforms must first obtain explicit permission by signing a declaration of copyright violation. This process includes the payment of applicable fees and the potential publication of the manuscript under an open-access model, ensuring that proper copyright protocols are followed.

Handling Translations and Previously Published Work

• Authors publishing translations or work previously published in another language must obtain permission and transparently declare them as translations, citing the original source.

Acknowledgment of Sources

• Proper Citation: Authors must acknowledge all sources of data used in the research and cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.
• Permission for Use: Permission should be obtained for the use of copyrighted material from other sources, including the Internet.

Authorship and Contributions

Authorship should accurately reflect each individual’s contributions to the work and its reporting. All authors listed in the manuscript must meet the following authorship criteria:

• Authorship Criteria:
  • Significant contributions to the conception, design, data acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of the study.
  • Involvement in drafting or revising the article critically for important intellectual content.
  • Final approval of the version to be published.
• All three criteria must be met for an individual to qualify as an author.
• Agreement on Authorship:
  • Before submission, all authors must agree on the content of the manuscript and their listing as authors. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors have approved the final manuscript and have agreed to its submission.
• Changes in Authorship:
  • Any addition, deletion, or rearrangement of author names should only occur before acceptance and must be approved by all authors. To request such changes, the corresponding author must send a letter explaining the reason and confirming all authors’ agreement.
• Acknowledgment of Contributions:
  • Individuals who contributed to the study but do not meet the criteria for authorship (e.g., technical help, writing assistance) should be acknowledged in an “Acknowledgments” or “Contributors” section of the manuscript. Permission must be obtained from each person mentioned.
• Contributorship Statements:
  • To ensure transparency, authors are encouraged to include a statement detailing each co-author’s contributions, such as study design, data collection, data analysis, or manuscript writing.
• Resolution of Disputes:
  • In cases of authorship disagreements unresolved at the author level, the matter should be referred to the institutions involved. The Journal may mediate in authorship disputes but generally defers to institutional resolutions.
• Ghost, Guest, and Gift Authorship:
  • Ghost Authorship (significant contributions uncredited) and Guest Authorship (credit given without meeting authorship criteria) are unethical and prohibited. Authorship must reflect actual contributions to maintain scientific integrity.

Authorship of the Paper

• Authorship Criteria: Only persons who meet these criteria should be listed as authors on the manuscript: (a) made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study; (b) participated in drafting, revising, or critically reviewing the article; and (c) approved the final version to be published.
• Collective Responsibility: All listed authors should have seen and approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to its submission for publication.

Ethical Approval and Consent

• Compliance: When reporting studies involving human participants, animals, or potentially hazardous substances, authors should indicate whether the procedures followed were by the ethical standards of the relevant committee(s).
• Informed Consent: For research involving human subjects, authors should include a statement indicating that informed consent was obtained from all subjects.

Responsibilities Towards Data Sharing and Transparency

• Data Sharing: Authors are encouraged to share or make their data that supports the findings of their research available in a public repository whenever possible. At a minimum, authors should cite the data repository in their manuscript.
• Standards of Reporting: Authors should adhere to community standards for reporting their research. This includes following relevant reporting guidelines and protocols for data collection and analysis.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions

• Expert Evaluation: Reviewers assist editors in decision-making and help authors improve manuscripts through constructive feedback.
• Timeliness: Reviewers unable to meet deadlines should notify the editor promptly.

Standards of Objectivity

• Constructive Criticism: Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.
• Acknowledgment of Sources: Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation.

Promptness

• Review Timeline: Reviewers should complete their reviews within the period specified by the Journal. This is crucial in ensuring a timely review process for manuscripts, benefiting both authors and the editorial decision-making process.

Specific Observations

• Detailed Feedback: Reviewers should provide detailed, constructive feedback that helps both the editor make a decision and the author improve their manuscript. This includes articulating the strengths as well as the weaknesses of the manuscript, with clear and supported suggestions for improvement.

Evaluation of Ethics

• Ethical Concerns: Reviewers should be alert to potential ethical issues in the paper and should bring these to the attention of the editor, including any possible evidence of dual submission, plagiarism, manipulation of data, or inappropriate authorship.

Respect for the Integrity of the Record

• Consistency and Fairness: Reviewers should ensure that their reviews are consistent and fair, applying the same standards to all manuscripts irrespective of the authors’ nationality, religious or political beliefs, gender, or other characteristics.

Responsibilities of Editors

Decision-Making and Fairness

• Editorial Decisions: Editors are responsible for deciding which of the submitted articles should be published. Decisions should be based on the manuscript’s importance, originality, clarity, and relevance to the jopc‘s scope.
• Fair Review: Editors should ensure that each manuscript received by jopc is reviewed for its intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.

Involvement and Cooperation in Investigations

• Ethical Concerns: Editors should take reasonably responsive measures when ethical complaints have been presented concerning a submitted manuscript or published paper. This includes contacting the author of the manuscript or paper and giving due consideration to the respective complaint or claims made, but may also involve further communications to the relevant institutions and research bodies.

Publication Decisions and Peer Review

• Responsibility for Peer Review: Editors should ensure that the peer review process is fair, unbiased, and timely. The process should be clearly described on the jopc‘s website, and editors should use appropriate peer reviewers for papers that are considered for publication by selecting individuals with sufficient expertise and avoiding those with conflicts of interest.

Vigilance Over the Published Record

• Monitoring and Safeguarding Publishing Ethics: Editors should guard the integrity of the published record by issuing corrections and retractions when needed and pursuing suspected or alleged research and publication misconduct.
• Guidance on Ethical Requirements: Editors should provide guidance to authors and reviewers on everything that is expected of them. This includes providing policies on authorship, originality, and conflicts of interest.

Engagement and Communication

• Feedback and Complaints: Editors should encourage and be willing to consider critiques of their work and to respond to them constructively.
• Continuous Improvement: Editors should work to improve the quality of the Journal, including its systems for selecting and processing manuscripts, through the ongoing review of the jopc‘s policies and practices.

Promoting Access and Inclusiveness

• Inclusiveness: Editors should seek to engage a diverse group of authors and reviewers to represent the community the Journal serves.
• Accessibility: Efforts should be made to ensure the accessibility of the jopc‘s content, including adherence to open access policies where applicable.

Confidentiality

• All manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential. Editors, reviewers, and editorial staff are prohibited from sharing manuscript details with unauthorized persons. Reviewer identities should remain anonymous unless mutual consent is provided by both the editor and reviewer.

Conflict of Interest

Disclosure Requirements

• For Authors: Authors must disclose any financial, personal, or professional relationships that could be viewed as potential conflicts of interest about their submissions. This includes, but is not limited to, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, patents, and grants or other funding. Authors should provide a detailed acknowledgment of any potential conflict of interest in their manuscript, typically in an acknowledgment section or a separate statement.
• For Reviewers: Reviewers should disclose to editors any conflicts of interest that could bias their opinions of the manuscript, and they should recuse themselves from reviewing specific manuscripts if the potential for bias exists. Reviewers must not use knowledge of the work they’re reviewing before its publication to further their interests.
• For Editors: Editors who make final decisions about manuscripts must have no personal, professional, or financial involvement in any of the issues they might judge. If a potential conflict of interest arises, editors should delegate manuscript handling and decisions to other editorial staff or associate editors without such conflicts.

Management of Conflicts

• Transparency: Upon disclosure of any potential conflicts of interest, the Journal should assess the nature and extent of the conflict and decide on the appropriate course of action, which may include publishing a statement with the article detailing the conflict.
• Recusal: In cases where the conflict of interest is considered significant, individuals (authors, reviewers, editors) should recuse themselves from the review process or decision-making related to the manuscript in question.

Role of the Publisher

• The Publisher has a crucial role in supporting jopc editors in identifying and managing potential conflicts of interest to protect the integrity of the academic record. The publisher should ensure that all participants in the publication process are educated about what constitutes a conflict of interest and the importance of disclosing any potential conflicts.

Procedures for Handling Conflicts

• Clear procedures should be in place for handling conflicts of interest of the editorial staff, reviewers, and authors. This includes steps for identifying potential conflicts, disclosing them appropriately, and deciding on the actions to be taken when a conflict of interest is identified.

Post-Publication Amendments and Discussion

jopc is committed to upholding scientific integrity through transparent post-publication practices. The following actions and policies are in place to address corrections, retractions, and post-publication dialogue:

• Corrections and Retractions: If errors significantly impacting the interpretation or conclusions of published work are identified, jopc will issue a correction or retraction. This ensures that readers are accurately informed. Retractions will include a clear statement explaining the reason and will remain linked to the original article to maintain transparency.
• Expressions of Concern: In cases where concerns about a published work arise due to ongoing investigations, jopc may publish an expression of concern. This notice will alert readers while investigations are underway.
• Post-Publication Discussions and Critiques: jopc encourages constructive dialogue around published content. Readers and authors may engage in post-publication discussions through moderated forums, such as letters to the editor or comment sections on article pages. Authors of the original work will have the opportunity to respond to critiques, providing a balanced view of the discussion.
• Linking Amendments: All corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern will be linked to the original article, ensuring that any amendments are accessible to readers.

Know More about Article Withdrawal Policy

Ethical Oversight of the Review Process

jopc is dedicated to maintaining the highest ethical standards in the peer review process. We recognize the critical role of peer review in upholding the quality and integrity of the scientific discourse and are committed to ensuring that this process is fair, unbiased, and transparent.

Responsibilities of the Editorial Team

• Selection of Reviewers: The editorial team is responsible for selecting reviewers with the appropriate expertise and without conflicts of interest. The selection process should be free from bias, promoting a fair and objective review.
• Confidentiality: Editors must ensure the confidentiality of the review process, protecting the identity of reviewers and the content of manuscripts under review.
• Guidance for Reviewers: Clear guidance should be provided to reviewers on how to conduct an ethical and effective review. This includes evaluating the manuscript fairly, providing constructive feedback, and identifying potential ethical concerns.
• Monitoring the Review Process: The editorial team should monitor the review process for any signs of unfairness or breach of ethical standards, taking corrective action when necessary.

Handling Allegations of Misconduct

• Investigating Concerns: Any allegations of misconduct, including biased review, breach of confidentiality, or conflicts of interest, will be thoroughly investigated by [Journal Name]’s misconduct policy.
• Corrective Actions: If misconduct is confirmed, appropriate corrective actions will be taken, which may include revising editorial decisions, implementing additional review processes, or involving external authorities.

Promoting Transparency

• Anonymity vs. Openness: jopc clearly articulates its policy on reviewer anonymity versus openness, explaining the rationale behind the chosen approach and how it supports ethical oversight.
• Decision Explanation: When possible, editors should provide explanations for editorial decisions, especially when these decisions are contrary to the reviewers’ recommendations, to ensure transparency and accountability.

Data Sharing and Reproducibility

• Mandate for Data Availability: Authors are required to make their research data, methods, and protocols available to readers upon publication. Data should be deposited in a recognized, accessible data repository, enabling validation of the results presented and facilitating further research.
• Conditions and Exceptions: While we advocate for the openness of data, we also recognize the importance of privacy, confidentiality, and sensitivity concerns related to certain types of data. Authors should anonymize sensitive data appropriately and may restrict access to data if necessary, provided that they furnish a compelling ethical or legal reason supported by a statement within the manuscript.
• Supporting Reproducibility: Authors are encouraged to provide sufficient detail about their methodologies and analysis procedures to allow their experiments and studies to be reproduced by others. Supplementary materials, including but not limited to datasets, code, and algorithms, should be made publicly available when possible.
• Detailed Methodological Transparency: Submissions must include comprehensive descriptions of the procedures and materials used, allowing others in the field to replicate the work. Where applicable, standardized reporting guidelines should be followed to ensure clarity and consistency.
• Verification and Validation: jopc supports the verification of key results by independent researchers. To this end, we encourage authors to make available any additional resources that would facilitate the reproduction of experiments, such as software and data files.
• Ethical Data Use: Authors must ensure that all data collection and analysis conducted adhere to ethical guidelines and legal standards, including obtaining informed consent and approvals from relevant ethics committees.
• Responsibility for Accuracy: Authors bear the primary responsibility for the accuracy of the data presented and must confirm that all data are authentic. Fabrication, falsification, or manipulation of data constitutes unethical behavior and will result in action according to our misconduct policy.

Ethical Considerations in Research

Research Involving Human Subjects

Human subjects are at the core of many scientific studies and are protected by stringent regulations and ethical guidelines. No research activities involving human subjects should commence without:

• IRB Approval: All research involving human subjects must have received approval from an Institutional Review Board (IRB) or equivalent ethics committee. This approval ensures the study’s compliance with both local and international ethical standards, including the Declaration of Helsinki (World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki), which outlines the ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects.
• Informed Consent: Participants must be fully informed about the study’s purposes, methods, risks, benefits, and their rights to confidentiality and withdrawal without penalty. Informed consent must be documented and retained.
• Adverse Event Reporting: Researchers must report any adverse events or unintended effects experienced by participants to their supervising IRB promptly.

Research Involving Animals

Research involving animals must be carried out under the guidance of the principles outlined in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (National Research Council) and should only be conducted when no alternative methods exist. Key considerations include:

• Ethical Review: Studies must have approval from an appropriate animal care and use committee, ensuring that the research minimizes discomfort, distress, and pain to the animals.
• Humane Treatment: Researchers must employ humane methods of animal maintenance and experiment termination, adhering to established standards for animal care.
• Protect Participant Privacy: Ensure all personal information is anonymized or securely stored, protecting participants’ privacy and confidentiality.
• Comply with Data Protection Laws: Adhere to relevant local and international data protection regulations, including GDPR for research involving subjects from the European Union (General Data Protection Regulation).
• Authors must include an Institutional Review Board Statement in their manuscript, which should at a minimum contain:
  • Project Identification Code
  • Date of Approval
  • Name of the Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board
  • This statement confirms that the research adheres to the applicable ethical standards and regulations.
• Welfare Standards: Research must treat animals humanely, minimizing discomfort and distress. Procedures should comply with the ARRIVE guidelines or equivalent standards. [https://arriveguidelines.org/.]

• Ethical Review: Studies must have approval from an appropriate animal ethics committee, ensuring that the research is justified and humane. [Link to guidelines from the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) or similar.]

Environmental Considerations

• Sustainability and Impact: Research should assess and minimize environmental impacts, promoting sustainability and ethical use of resources. [Environmental ethics guidelines.]
• Ethics Approval: Studies involving humans must have approval from an institutional review board (IRB) or an equivalent ethics committee. [IRB standards or ethical guidelines.]
• Privacy and Confidentiality: Researchers must protect participants’ privacy and confidentiality, adhering to data protection laws. [Link to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or similar regulations.]

If the research work involves chemicals, procedures, or equipment that have any unusual hazards inherent in their use, the author must identify these in the manuscript. If the work involves the use of animal or human subjects, the author should ensure that the manuscript contains a statement that all procedures were performed in compliance with relevant laws and institutional guidelines and that the appropriate institutional committee(s) has approved them.

Digital Preservation and Accessibility

jopc is dedicated to preserving the scholarly record for future generations and ensuring accessibility to all published content. Our commitment to digital preservation and accessibility is reflected in our robust infrastructure, archival collaborations, and adherence to accessibility standards.

• Archival Partnerships: jopc partners with trusted digital preservation organizations and repositories to ensure that published content is preserved and remains accessible, regardless of technological changes or potential disruptions.
• Redundant Storage: We implement redundant storage solutions and backup protocols to protect against data loss. All content is stored across multiple secure locations, providing an added layer of security and accessibility.
• Permanent Access: jopc strives to guarantee continuous access to content for authors, researchers, and institutions. Through partnerships with institutional and public libraries, we support broad accessibility, including open-access options to reach a global audience.
• Compliance with Accessibility Standards: jopc adheres to international accessibility standards, including the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). We continuously work to optimize our digital platform, ensuring that users of all abilities can access and engage with our content.
• Regular Review and Technological Updates: To stay current with digital preservation practices, jopc routinely evaluates and updates its preservation methods, taking advantage of advancements in digital archiving and accessibility technology.

Governance

jopc has established a robust governance framework to oversee digital preservation and accessibility. This governance model ensures that our policies and practices align with the highest standards in scholarly publishing and adapt to ongoing technological advancements.

• Policy Oversight: The governance team at jopc regularly reviews digital preservation and accessibility policies to ensure they meet evolving industry standards and technological developments.
• Ethics and Compliance: We maintain strict ethical standards in digital preservation, ensuring compliance with copyright laws, data protection regulations, and accessibility requirements, including adherence to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other relevant standards.
• Accountability and Transparency: jopc is committed to transparency in its preservation practices. We provide clear information on our archival processes and make governance policies accessible to authors, reviewers, and the academic community.
• Collaboration with Industry Experts: To uphold best practices, jopc collaborates with digital preservation experts and participates in industry initiatives to advance preservation standards.
• Risk Management and Contingency Planning: Our governance framework includes contingency plans to mitigate risks associated with data loss, technological failure, or other challenges. Regular audits and assessments are conducted to ensure that preservation systems remain secure and reliable.

Handling of Unethical Publishing Behavior

jopc is committed to maintaining the integrity of the academic record by addressing any cases of unethical publishing behavior swiftly and effectively. Our approach involves transparent procedures, fair investigations, and collaboration with relevant parties to ensure ethical compliance across all stages of the publication process. Identification and Investigation

• Initial Review: Upon receiving a report or suspicion of unethical behavior, jopc initiates a preliminary review to assess the validity of the claims. This may include concerns about plagiarism, data falsification, fabrication, authorship issues, conflict of interest, or any other form of misconduct.
• Collaboration with Editors and Experts: If initial evidence suggests potential misconduct, we involve the editorial team and may consult external experts in the relevant field to conduct a thorough investigation. This ensures an unbiased and well-informed assessment of the issue.

Actions and Consequences

• Correction or Retraction: If misconduct is confirmed, jopc will take corrective action, such as issuing a correction notice, retraction, or statement of concern. Retractions and corrections are prominently displayed and linked to the original publication to inform readers of any changes or concerns.
• Notice of Retraction or Correction: In the case of retractions or corrections, we indicate the reasons for the action, ensuring transparency for the academic community.
• Communication with Authors: jopc will notify the corresponding author(s) of any allegations and allow them to respond. If the allegations are confirmed, the author(s) will be informed of the consequences and provided with the opportunity to collaborate on corrective measures.

Reporting to Institutions and Funding Bodies

• Institutional Involvement: In serious cases of misconduct, jopc may notify the authors’ affiliated institutions, research bodies, or funding agencies. This collaborative approach ensures that any ethical breaches are addressed at both institutional and publisher levels.

Preventive Measures and Education

• Clear Guidelines: To prevent unethical behavior, jopc provides authors, reviewers, and editors with clear guidelines on publication ethics and responsible conduct in research.
• Educational Resources: We offer resources and guidance on best practices in research integrity, including workshops, webinars, and informational materials for our contributors.

Commitment to Ethical Publishing Standards jopc follows the principles and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and similar bodies. We are dedicated to promoting ethical behavior throughout the publishing process and to fostering a culture of integrity and transparency.

Ethics Statement

At jopc, we believe that ethical principles are integral to the production and dissemination of quality research. We are committed to upholding the highest ethical standards in all stages of the publication process, from manuscript submission to post-publication corrections. Our core ethical principles are honesty, integrity, transparency, objectivity, fairness, and respect for intellectual property rights. We strongly adhere to the guidelines and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and other relevant professional organizations. We expect our authors, reviewers, and editors to follow these ethical principles and guidelines, ensuring that they conduct their research and publish their work responsibly and ethically.

• Requirement for authors to declare potential conflicts of interest and prompt resolution of ethical concerns
• Prioritization of diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility in research production and dissemination
• Commitment to providing a safe and respectful environment for all individuals involved in the publication process
• Prohibition of harassment, discrimination, and bullying
• Dedication to maintaining the highest ethical standards in publications and continuous improvement of policies and procedures
• Welcoming feedback and suggestions from readers, authors, reviewers, and editors to promote responsible conduct of research.