Editorial policies

Table of contents

1.   Overview

Leaflet Publisher employs the following editorial policies for its journal authors, who must prepare their manuscripts according to the guidelines listed below. Articles must be original and should not be under consideration by another publication at the same time, nor should they have been previously published in any form or medium. Manuscripts may be rejected or returned to the author for revision if the work is deemed unethical. All data, concepts, and information contained in the article must be the sole responsibility of the authors.

2.   Ethics & consent

2.1. Ethical approvals for animal experimentation

The authors are required to submit a formal declaration or ethics committee approval along with their reference number, which must appear in all manuscripts if they conduct experiments on humans or animals (All live animals considered experimental when used for the study). The authors must have conducted their research on humans or animals in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration.

The editor reserves the right to reject manuscripts if he/she believes that the research was not conducted within an appropriate ethical framework, the study has not been approved by the ethics committee, or if the research involved procedures that were not consistent with generally accepted animal research norms. In exceptional circumstances, the editor may contact the ethics committee for additional information.

The authors must have obtained ethics committee approval and informed patient consent for using any novel experimental procedure or tool where a clear clinical advantage based on clinical need was not apparent prior to treatment.

In the case of study involves by human participants, informed consent must be obtained from the participants or their parents or legal guardians (in the case of a minor (under the age of 16) patient) and a statement to this effect/results must be included in the manuscript.

In that study, the authors must obtain consent for all types of personally identifiable information (biometric, biomedical, clinical, etc.). Furthermore, authors must include a statement affirming that no organs/tissues were obtained from prisoners, as well as the institution(s)/clinic(s)/department(s) from which organs/tissues were obtained in the study involved in human transplantation. If requested, documentation of consent must be provided.

The authors must confirm that all experiments involving human embryos and gametes, clinical applications of stem cells or human embryonic stem cells, and related materials were carried out in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations of the Ethics and Consent statements. We recommend that authors follow the guidelines outlined in the 2016 ISSCR Guidelines for Stem Cell Research and Clinical Translation.

2.2. Ethics & consent on research involving plants

The authors must confirm that all experiments were carried out in accordance with national and international standards and guidelines, if the research was conducted on plants, live vertebrates or higher invertebrates.

In the manuscript, the authors should include a statement outlining the proper permits and/or licenses for the collection of plant or seed specimens. We recommend that authors follow the guidelines of  the IUCN Policy Statement on Research Involving Species at Risk of Extinction and the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Voucher specimens for all wild plants mentioned in the manuscript must be deposited in a public herbarium or another public collection that allows access to deposited materials to support reproducibility. The manuscript must contain information about the voucher specimen and the person who identified it.

3.   Authorship

Authorship carries responsibility and gives researchers credit for their contributions to a study. All authors should play a visible role in improving and interpreting the manuscript, and must agree on its final approval. Authors are requested to meet the following requirements (Transparency in authors’ contributions and responsibilities to promote integrity in scientific publications. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1715374115).

Those who contributed but didn't meet the requirements for authorship should be acknowledged in the Acknowledgements section. Please see the ‘’Guidelines for Authors” in the individual journals for more information about the formatting of author contributions.

In respect to data safety, the authors must keep their data safe because the editorial board may require it while reviewing the paper. This would only be done to ensure the authenticity of the work sent. It is guaranteed that the information sent would not be used improperly in any situation. The author must notify the journal immediately if they discover any inconsistent or inappropriate information in the paper so that it can be corrected.

3.1. Change in authorship

Any disagreements or conflicts of interest among the authors should be settled by themselves or the appropriate institutional authority. Before or after publication, the Leaflet Publisher is not obligated to fix them. Any changes to the author list made after the manuscript is submitted, must be approved by all authors. Authors who wish to change their authorship must fill out our ‘’Change of Authorship Form’’ (request to: managing.editor@leafletpub.com, leafletpublisher@gmail.com).

We do not allow changes in authorship after preliminary acceptance. We cannot accept any additions, deletions, or changes to the sequence of author names. We have this policy to prevent fraud.

If there are any potential authorship disputes, the editors will handle them in accordance with COPE standards.

3.2.      Role and responsibilities of corresponding authors

Before submitting the manuscript, the corresponding author must confirm that all the listed authors have given their consent. The corresponding author is responsible for submitting the manuscript on behalf of all authors. The corresponding author ensures that the author names and order are correct. He or she also confirms that all authors received the submission receipt, as well as all substantive correspondence with editors and full review reports. The corresponding author is also responsible for verifying all information, materials (source of reagents), and codes, including those developed or provided in the manuscript by other authors, which comply with the requirements of the field and journal for transparency and reproducibility.

If any authors from earlier versions have been declined or new authors have been added, the corresponding authors should explain the reasons. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to ensure that all authors have certified the author list and contribution description. The corresponding author should also ensure that all authors who should be credited on the manuscript are confirmed that no authors are listed who do not deserve authorship credit and that author contributions are accurately stated.

4.   Submission of manuscript

Third-party submissions are strictly prohibited. All manuscripts must be submitted by the corresponding author or an author listed in the manuscript with the permission from the corresponding author.

5.   Plagiarism or similarity, data fabrication, image manipulation

Plagiarism or similarity

Plagiarism or similarity refers to the use of someone else's work without proper acknowledgement or citation. This is considered publishing misconduct because it comprises close imitation or complete copying of someone else's data, ideas, figures and tables, entire or partial paragraphs, language, and images, including those from your own publications.

Data fabrication

Reused text copied from another source must be enclosed in quotation marks, and the original source must be cited. Previous research must be expressly cited if it inspired the design, structure, or language of a study or paper.

Reusing one's own work without giving due credit is known as self-plagiarism or text recycling. This leads to data duplication in the scholarly literature and is also considered misconduct.

Plagiarism is not acceptable in Leaflet Publisher journals. All Leaflet Publisher submissions are checked by the iThenticate software for plagiarism detection. If plagiarism is detected during the peer review process, the manuscript will be rejected, and if it is identified after publication, the paper will be retracted. Please provide relevant citations and use words/sentences carefully. Leaflet Publisher accepts <20% similarity to previously published content, with matching sections dispersed throughout the work.

Any supplied data must be original and not improperly selected, modified, enhanced, or faked. This includes:

When citing others' (or your own) previous work, please provide

The Editorial Office will stop the peer review process until the problems are successfully fixed if the data are not provided upon request. The publisher may reject the paper if irregular picture alterations are found and verified during the peer review process. If the issue is raised after publication, the article may be corrected or retracted. The authors' institutions may be notified of any problems by the Leaflet Publisher.

Authors can save unprocessed data and metadata files by archiving for at least five years in suitable repositories after publication.

Image manipulation

For post-publication investigations, the Leaflet Publisher retains the right to request unprocessed data files and original images/photographs at a high resolution, both at the time of submission and during the peer review process.

Image files cannot be altered or modified in any way that would cause the information contained in the original image to be misinterpreted. Which includes:

The original photos and unprocessed data will be provided by the authors. If plagiarism is detected, the editors and reviewers should inform the journal. However, any concerns regarding unreported image modifications during manuscript processing or after publication will be thoroughly investigated.

6.   Acknowledgements

In the ‘Acknowledgements’ section, all contributors who do not meet the eligibility or satisfy the authorship criteria should be acknowledged. In the case of relatively insignificant participation, the acknowledgement should be required in order to address any future complaints. In this issue, department chair (who provided only general or logistic support), writing assistant or technical personnel (for any instrumental or technical help) might be acknowledged as well as the funding body (institute, foundation, person or any other sources). Additionally, any person who assisted in the preparation of the manuscript's content, including hired scientific writers, should be acknowledged along with their source of funding.

7.   Conflict of interest

The Leaflet Publisher demands that authors must disclose any ‘’conflict of interest’’ or ‘’competing interests’’ they may have with respect to their work, either personal, financial or non-financial, academic competition or intellectual approaches. A "conflict of interest" section listing all competing interests (financial and non-financial) must be included at the end of every submitted manuscript before the references. If the authors do not have any conflict of interest, the statement should be read as “The author(s) declare(s) that they have no conflict of interest” The editor may request additional information regarding the conflict of interest if necessary.  If there is any suspicion of a conflict of interest, it should be reported to the Editor-in-Chief or the Editorial Office.

Editors and reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest, and if any, they may be barred from participating in the peer review or evaluation process. It might have interpersonal or professional ties, conflicting scientific findings, or financial interests.

Our publication team devotes all of its efforts to ensuring that the evaluation procedure is carried out impartially while considering all of these circumstances. Please contact with managing.editor@leafletpub.com, leafletpublisher@gmail.com if you are unsure whether you have a competing interest.

8.   Confidentiality

Editors, reviewers, and authors must uphold confidentiality and refrain from disclosing details of the editorial or peer review process. All manuscripts submitted to all Leaflet Publisher journals will be treated as confidential by the editors. Reviewers must maintain confidentiality and not disclose any information of the manuscript and review report during or after the peer-review process, except for the information provided by the editorial office. Reviewers should first ask the journal for permission before involving a co-worker or colleague in the review process. Reviewers should follow the guidelines of  the COPE’s Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers. When the report is released, the editorial office must inform the editor of the detailed information. Publishers have the right to contact the authors, editors, or specific funding sources if they suspect malpractice.

Leaflet Publisher will not share manuscripts with third parties (required by law), outside of Publisher, unless there is a suspicion of misconduct (prohibits plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, image manipulation, and undisclosed conflicts of interest). For details, please see our ‘’Research Misconduct Policies’’ section.

Manuscripts may be shared with other editors/journals of Leaflet Publisher, unless the authors specify that they do not want their manuscript to be passed/distributed/shared/transfer outside of the journal to which they submitted it. The Editorial Office will maintain the confidentiality of manuscript information before publishing the articles, in any situation.

9.   Transfer of articles

Authors have the sole right or freedom to choose where to submit their manuscripts. We can give authors the option to transfer their article along with the reviewer reports to another Leaflet Publisher journal if their work is appropriate with the aims and scope of the proposed journal but does not meet the interest requirements of the submitted journal. Authors should specify in their cover letter upon submission if they do not want their manuscript to be shared/transfer with other Leaflet Publisher journals.

Transferring a manuscript does not guarantee acceptance by the receiving journal. If the manuscript is not suitable, the receiving journal's editor may reject it after receiving the peer reviewer/academic editor opinion. Before contacting the authors, the editors may consult with editors of other Leaflet Publisher journals to check the suitability of the article for transfer.

Reviewers who are not interested in disclosing their report to the transfer journal must mention this in the confidential section of the review report. In a closed peer review process, all the Leaflet Publisher Journals maintain the confidentiality and anonymity of the reviewers as well as their reports. As a part of the publication policy, the review report will not be published along with the article of previous and transfer journal.  The authors may resubmit their previous article to the transfer journal without using the automated transfer link. As a result, your article will be evaluated as a newly submitted article with no prior history or reference to the previous decision.

10.   Resubmissions, appeals & complaints

Resubmissions to Leaflet Publisher journals may be acceptable upon appeal request if the referees/editors decided to ‘Reject and Resubmit’ or the authors believe that their manuscripts were not accepted/evaluated due to misinterpretation/misunderstanding, or any other valid reasons with evidence. The Leaflet Publisher may consider appeals from the authors for rejected articles. Please submit your appeal and complaints to the Editor-in-Chief of the respective journal at managing.editor@leafletpub.com, leafletpublisher@gmail.com