Publication Ethics & Integrity Policy

Mission & Scope. INNO Science Journal upholds high standards of research integrity, closely following the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices and flowcharts for best practice in publication ethics. Editorial Boards are independent; decisions may be changed or acceptances rescinded if ethical or legal concerns arise. All submissions undergo automated and manual checks for policy compliance.

Core Principles. Prevention (early detection of ethics risks), Neutrality (fair, objective assessment), Transparency (timely communication with parties), and Consistency (standardized processes aligned with COPE). Journal-specific Instructions for Authors also apply.

1) Duties of Authors

Authors must: (a) report findings accurately and discuss their significance objectively; (b) include only qualifying authors, with clear CRediT contributorship statements; (c) disclose conflicts of interest at submission; (d) describe methods and data in sufficient detail for replication and, where possible, share raw data; (e) avoid duplicate/submissions in parallel; (f) ensure submitted work is original (incl. rules for translations); (g) secure permissions for any third-party materials; (h) promptly communicate errors post-publication.

Authorship Criteria

INNO Science Journal adopts ICMJE criteria—authors must meet all: substantial contribution; drafting/revising critically; final approval; accountability for integrity of the work. Authorship changes require approval from all listed authors; evidence of authorship may be requested. Disputes are handled per COPE guidance, and when needed, by relevant institutions.

CRediT Statements & Special Cases

Provide a short CRediT paragraph (e.g., Conceptualization; Methodology; Software; Validation; Formal analysis; Investigation; Resources; Data curation; Writing – original draft; Writing – review & editing; Visualization; Supervision; Project administration; Funding acquisition). Co-first authors may be indicated (“contributed equally”). For reviews, clarify idea, literature search/data analysis, drafting/revisions. For dissertation-based works, the student is recommended as first author. Consortia may be authors if members meet criteria; otherwise use “X on behalf of Y Consortium/Group.” Deceased authors’ contributions and conflicts must be confirmed; a note will appear on publication.

2) Use of Generative AI (GenAI/LLMs)

  • If GenAI was used for content generation (text, data, graphics), study design, data collection/analysis/interpretation, authors must declare this at submission, describe use in Methods, and list product/version details in Acknowledgments (recommended wording available). Routine language editing need not be declared.
  • Authors remain fully responsible for originality, validity, and compliance with all policies (plagiarism, data fabrication, image integrity, IP).
  • GenAI/LLMs cannot be authors.
  • Reviewers and Academic Editors must not use GenAI to prepare review content or editorial decisions and must not upload confidential materials to any GenAI tool; limited language polishing is acceptable only if disclosed. Violations may invalidate reports.

3) Plagiarism, Data Fabrication & Image Integrity

  • Plagiarism is unacceptable. Direct text reuse must be quoted and cited; idea/data/image reuse requires citation. All submissions are screened with StrikePlagiarism. Detected issues may lead to rejection, correction, or retraction and, where appropriate, institutional notification.
  • Image integrity: do not add/remove features, splice panels inappropriately, or adjust contrast/brightness/color to obscure or exaggerate information. Original, high-resolution source images and unprocessed data may be required during review or post-publication checks.
  • Data integrity: not permitted—data exclusion to inflate significance, fabrication, selective reporting, analytical “p-hacking.” Preregistration of methods/analysis is encouraged. Retain raw data for ≥5 years where feasible.

4) Research Involving Humans

Follow the Declaration of Helsinki (1975; rev. 2013); obtain prior IRB/ethics approval (project ID, approval date, and committee name must be stated). For non-interventional research (surveys, social media, etc.), inform participants about anonymity, purpose, data use, risks; provide legal/ethical basis if approval is exempted. Informed Consent is required for participation and for publication of identifiable details (use de-identification; remove personal identifiers from images; provide consent scripts for verbal consent). Documentation may be requested by the Editorial Office.

Vulnerable groups & Organ Transplantation. Additional ethical review is required for vulnerable populations and for sensitive categorization (e.g., race/ethnicity, sex/gender, disability). Transplant studies must state sourcing institutions/clinics; INNO Science Journal does not accept data from illegal or unethical sourcing (e.g., executed prisoners). For terminology, see the OPTN glossary.

5) Clinical Trials

Registration in a public registry before first participant enrollment is required (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov, EU Clinical Trials Register, WHO ICTRP), with registry name, number, and registration date stated in the article. CONSORT 2010 checklist and flow diagram are required for randomized clinical trials (extensions as applicable). Observational studies do not require registration; rare exceptions must be justified and retro-registered.

6) Research Involving Animals, Cell Lines, and Plants

Animals. Comply with the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement); detail housing, husbandry, and pain management; obtain ethics approval where required; client consent is needed for clinical studies of owned animals. Report according to ARRIVE; editors may request the checklist and can reject non-compliant work.

Cell lines. State provenance for established lines (with literature or commercial references). For de novo/gifted lines, provide ethics approval; for human origin, confirm written consent.

Plants. Comply with institutional/national/international rules, including CBD and CITES. Provide genetic information and origin; for rare/non-model species deposit voucher specimens (herbarium/museum) with collection site (GPS), date, and plant parts used (waivable for threatened species with justification).

7) Dual Use Research of Concern & Sex/Gender Reporting

Potential dual-use risks (biosecurity, nuclear/chemical threats, military applications) must be clearly indicated and justified in the cover letter; benefits must outweigh risks and all laws must be observed. Follow COPE’s framework for editors. Sex and Gender: apply SAGER guidelines when relevant—state target sex(es) in titles/abstracts, justify expectations, report sex/gender-disaggregated data, and discuss findings; explain if analysis is not applicable.

8) Conflicts of Interest (COI) & Funding

Declare all financial and non-financial interests that could be perceived as influencing the work (employment, consultancies, stocks, honoraria, grants, patents, personal/professional relationships). State the funder’s role in design, data collection/analysis, writing, and decision to publish; if no role, use a standard “no role” statement. INNO Science Journal does not publish work funded (wholly or partly) by the tobacco industry. Include a COI section in the manuscript; disclosures may also be emailed to inno_scientific_journal@ltu.bg

9) Copyright, Licensing & Permissions

Authors retain copyright; articles are published under CC BY 4.0, enabling reuse with proper citation of the version of record. If exceptional licensing is required (e.g., funder mandate), inform the Editorial Office upon submission. Secure permissions for third-party content as needed (tables, figures, substantial text, photographs). Suggested acknowledgement: “Reproduced with permission from [author], [source]; published by [publisher], [year].”

10) Preprints, Translations & Patents

Preprints (not peer-reviewed) are allowed; disclose DOI/license on submission and update with the journal DOI after publication. Do not update the preprint with peer-reviewed content during confidential review. Translations of previously published material are considered if permissions are secured, original authors are listed, and the original article is fully referenced in Acknowledgments (template text provided). Patent issues must be resolved before publication; editorial processes are not postponed for pending applications.

11) Citation Practices

Cite original sources (including one’s own prior work); avoid excessive self-citation, unverified copied references, preferential citing of friends/institution, and citing adverts/advertorials. Verbatim text must appear in quotation marks with citations. See COPE discussion on citation manipulation for best practice.

12) Research Data Policy (FAIR/TOP)

We encourage sharing protocols, raw/processed data, code, software, and materials in trusted repositories supporting DOIs, open licenses, and long-term preservation (see re3data and FAIRsharing). Every article must include a Data Availability Statement, selecting the most appropriate template (openly available, on request due to privacy/legal/ethical reasons, third-party restrictions, embargo, not applicable, contained within article, etc.). Where feasible, retain data ≥5 years.

13) Duties of Reviewers & Editors

All participants share responsibility for the integrity of peer review. The Editorial Office conducts pre-checks (ethics approvals for humans/animals/cell lines; plagiarism/duplication & permissions; trial registration; other integrity checks). Recommendations/decisions should consider COI, accuracy and significance of findings, adequacy of methods/data for reproducibility, journal scope, and review quality.

Conflicts of Interest (Reviewers/Editors).

  • Personal/collaborative: do not review submissions from your institution; from personal friends/family; from current/previous mentor/mentee; from recent collaborators/co-authors (past 3 years).
  • Financial/professional: recuse where remunerations/board roles/grants/stocks/patents or similar could bias judgment.
  • Other: disclose any potential bias; the journal seeks diversity and non-discrimination. Alternatives will be assigned when conflicts exist.

Confidentiality & Anonymity. Manuscripts are confidential. The journal operates single- or double-blind review; reviewer identities are protected unless reviewers opt-in to signed/open reports at publication. Do not reveal your identity in comments or file metadata. If involving a student/colleague in a review, inform the Editorial Office in advance.

14) Comments, Complaints & Post-Publication Updates

Comments & Replies. Readers may submit a Comment on a published paper; authors may respond with a Reply. Tone must remain scientific and focused; typically only one round of Comment–Reply is facilitated. Substantiated issues may lead to Correction or Retraction.

Corrections & Updates.

  • Direct Update: limited circumstances; version of record amended with notice to indexers.
  • Minor Correction: non-scientific issues; footnote on PDF + back-matter notice on the website.
  • Major Correction: scientific impact; separate correction notice linked to updated article.
  • Author Name Change: article republished and metadata re-delivered; no correction notice; co-authors not notified to protect privacy.
  • Retractions: follow COPE; retracted articles remain online with “RETRACTED” watermark and a notice in the current issue; partial retractions possible; full removal only in exceptional legal/privacy/public-risk cases (metadata retained).
  • Expression of Concern: used for complex or inconclusive cases.

15) Borders & Territories

The journal remains neutral regarding jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. The editorial team will seek resolutions where disputes arise.

16) Contact

Questions, concerns, or complaints about published work may be sent to the Editorial Office for investigation in line with COPE and journal policies. Confidential handling is available where appropriate.

Email: inno_scientific_journal@ltu.bg