Policies & Ethics

Three E Science Institute promotes integrity, transparency, accountability, fairness, and responsible conduct throughout the scholarly publishing process.

Responsible Scholarly Publishing

Publication ethics protects the reliability, credibility, and integrity of the scholarly record. Three E Science Institute expects authors, editors, reviewers, and publishing personnel to conduct their responsibilities honestly, transparently, independently, and in accordance with established principles of responsible scholarly communication.

Each journal published by the Institute may establish additional discipline-specific requirements. Authors, reviewers, and editors should therefore consult the policies of the relevant journal in addition to the institutional principles presented on this page.

Authorship & Contributorship

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions to the work and who accept responsibility for its content. All listed authors should approve the submitted and final versions of the manuscript.

Individuals who contributed to the work but do not satisfy authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately. Guest, honorary, purchased, or ghost authorship is not acceptable. Requests for changes in authorship after submission should include a clear explanation and agreement from all affected authors.

Research & Publication Misconduct

Allegations of research or publication misconduct are evaluated according to the nature and available evidence of each case. Potential misconduct may include fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, duplicate publication, inappropriate authorship, citation manipulation, undisclosed competing interests, or manipulation of the editorial and peer-review process.

Plagiarism, Duplicate Submission & Redundant Publication

Manuscripts must represent original scholarly work. Authors should not submit substantially the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal. Previously published material must be properly identified and cited. Substantial overlap with previously disseminated work should be disclosed to the editor at submission.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors should disclose financial, professional, institutional, personal, or other relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing their work, evaluation, or editorial decision-making. Disclosure does not necessarily prevent publication or participation; it enables potential influences to be assessed transparently.

Peer Review Ethics & Confidentiality

Manuscripts received for review should be treated as confidential scholarly documents. Reviewers should not disclose, distribute, reproduce, or use unpublished material obtained through the peer-review process for personal or professional advantage.

Reviews should focus on scholarly quality and should be expressed objectively and constructively. Personal criticism, discriminatory comments, coercive citation practices, and inappropriate use of privileged information are unacceptable.

Artificial Intelligence in Scholarly Publishing

Artificial intelligence tools cannot be listed as authors because they cannot assume responsibility for the integrity, accuracy, originality, or ethical compliance of a scholarly work. Human authors remain fully accountable for all submitted content.

When generative artificial intelligence or similar tools have been used in a manner that materially contributes to manuscript preparation, analysis, presentation, or other substantive aspects of the work, such use should be disclosed transparently in accordance with the applicable journal requirements. Authors must verify generated content, citations, data interpretations, and statements before submission.

Research Data & Transparency

Authors should describe the origin, processing, analysis, availability, and limitations of research data with sufficient transparency to support scholarly evaluation. Where appropriate, manuscripts should include a data availability statement. Restrictions relating to privacy, confidentiality, legal obligations, participant protection, or third-party ownership should be clearly identified.

Human Participants & Animal Research

Research involving human participants or animals should comply with applicable ethical, institutional, and legal requirements. Where required, manuscripts should report relevant ethical approval, informed consent, participant protection, animal welfare procedures, and other discipline-specific safeguards.

Images, Figures & Data Presentation

Images, figures, tables, and research data should accurately represent the underlying evidence. Adjustments that obscure, remove, introduce, or misrepresent relevant information are not acceptable. Any legitimate image processing should preserve the scientific meaning of the original material.

Corrections, Retractions & Editorial Notices

The scholarly record should be corrected when reliable evidence demonstrates that published information contains material errors or integrity concerns. The appropriate action depends on the nature, severity, and effect of the issue on the reliability of the publication.

Complaints & Appeals

Authors, reviewers, readers, and other stakeholders may raise concerns relating to editorial procedures, publication ethics, published content, or administrative processes. Complaints should identify the publication or process concerned and provide sufficient supporting information for assessment.

Appeals against editorial decisions should present a substantive scholarly or procedural basis for reconsideration. An appeal does not guarantee reversal of the original decision. Where feasible, complaints and appeals should be reviewed by individuals who were not directly responsible for the matter being challenged.

Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions should be based on scholarly merit, relevance to journal scope, methodological and ethical considerations, and applicable editorial policies. Commercial, financial, institutional, or personal considerations should not improperly influence acceptance or rejection decisions.

Report an Ethical Concern

Concerns relating to publication ethics, research integrity, editorial procedures, or published content may be submitted to Three E Science Institute for appropriate assessment. Reports should contain sufficient information and supporting documentation to allow the matter to be reviewed.