Publication Ethics

JLBSR adheres to the highest standards of publication ethics and takes all possible measures against publication malpractice. Authors are expected to present their work accurately and objectively. The journal follows the guidelines set by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement

The publication of an article in the peer-reviewed journal JLBSR is to support the standard and respected knowledge transfer network. Our publication ethics and publication malpractice statement is mainly based on the Code of Conduct and Best-Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors (Committee on Publication Ethics, 2011) that includes;

  1. General duties and responsibilities of editors.
  2. Relations with readers.
  3. Relations with authors.
  4. Relations with editors.
  5. Relations with editorial board members.
  6. Relations with journal owners and publishers.
  7. Editorial and peer review processes.
  8. Protecting individual data.
  9. Encouraging ethical research (e.g. research involving humans or animals).
  10. Dealing with possible misconduct.
  11. Ensuring the integrity of the academic record.
  12. Intellectual property.
  13. Encouraging debate.
  14. Complaints.
  15. Conflicts of interest.

Plagiarism Checking-up 

The Editorial Board of JLBSR will check any case of plagiarism on its own merits. If the plagiarism is detected, either by the editor or peer reviewer at any stage before publication of the manuscript (before or after acceptance), the author(s) will be alerted, and he/she will be asked to rewrite the text. If at least 20% of the original submission is plagiarized, JLBSR has the right to reject the manuscript. We use plagiarism detection that includes the use of one of the active software applications for that purpose.

Conflict of interest

All authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial, professional, or personal relationships that could influence their judgment. Conflicts of interest must be declared upon manuscript submission. Authors are required to submit a signed Conflict of Interest Declaration form as part of the submission process.

Failure to disclose relevant conflicts may result in manuscript rejection or retraction after publication. The editorial office may request additional clarification when necessary.

Research Involving Human Participants

TheJournal of Life and Bio-sciences Research (JLBSR) upholds the highest ethical standards for research involving human participants. The journal aligns with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (World Medical Association) and the COPE guidelines.

  1. Ethical Approval: Studies involving human subjects must be approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB), Ethics Committee, or similar authority. Authors must clearly identify the approving body and provide reference numbers.
  2. Informed Consent: Written informed consent must be obtained from all participants. If consent is waived or provided verbally, authors must provide justification approved by the ethics body.
  3. Participant Privacy: Identifiable personal data should not be disclosed without explicit consent. Data must be handled in accordance with data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR).
  4. Vulnerable Populations: Research involving vulnerable groups must include additional ethical considerations, including legal guardian consent where applicable.
  5. Ethics Statement in Manuscripts: Articles must include an “Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate” section specifying the ethics protocol followed.
  6. Editorial Oversight: The editorial board reserves the right to reject manuscripts not compliant with these standards or request supporting documentation.

Special Considerations for Vulnerable Populations

Research involving vulnerable populations—such as children, the elderly, individuals with cognitive impairments, and economically or socially disadvantaged groups—requires heightened ethical oversight. In such cases:

JLBSR adheres to international ethical principles as outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki (World Medical Association) and the COPE guidelines.

Informed Consent

Obtaining informed consent is a basic ethical obligation and a legal requirement for researchers. An informed consent document is typically used to provide subjects with the information they need to make a decision to volunteer for a research study. This information is most often presented subjects in the form of a written document, but may also be offered verbally by a member of the study team or in some other format understandable to the subject. Regulations and policy require that certain information be provided as part of the consent process. For the research papers that include volunteers as a part of the research (e.g. medical research papers), the Authors must provide documents that clearly indicate the informed consent issue.

Animal Research

  1. For research conducted on regulated animals (which includes all live vertebrates and/or higher invertebrates), appropriate approval must have been obtained according to either international or local laws and regulations. Before conducting the research, approval must have been obtained from the relevant body (in most cases an Institutional Review Board, or Ethics Committee). The authors must provide an ethics statement as part of their Methods section detailing full information as to their approval (including the name of the granting organization, and the approval reference numbers). If an approval reference number is not provided, written approval must be provided as a confidential supplemental information file. Research on non-human primates is subject to specific guidelines from the Weatherall (2006) report (The Use of Non-Human Primates in Research).
  2. For research conducted on non-regulated animals, a statement should be made as to why ethical approval was not required.
  3. Experimental animals should have been handled according to the highest standards dictated by the author’s institution.
  4. We strongly encourage all authors to comply with the 'Animal Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments' (ARRIVE) guidelines, developed by NC3Rs.
  5. Articles should be specific in descriptions of the organism(s) used in the study. The description should indicate strain names when known.