Keith Publications | Open Access Scholarly Publishing

Publication Ethics

Our Commitment

Keith Publications is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics. We follow the guidelines set by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and expect all parties — editors, authors, and reviewers — to adhere to these standards.

COPE Member: Keith Publications is a member of COPE and abides by its Core Practices.

Responsibilities by Role

Authors

  • Ensure originality; no plagiarism or fabrication
  • List all contributing authors; no ghost or gift authorship
  • Disclose conflicts of interest and funding
  • Obtain ethics approval for research on humans/animals
  • Not submit the same manuscript simultaneously elsewhere
  • Promptly report errors and cooperate with corrections

Reviewers

  • Review only manuscripts within their expertise
  • Declare conflicts of interest before accepting a review
  • Keep manuscripts confidential
  • Provide objective, constructive feedback
  • Identify relevant uncited work
  • Alert editors to suspected misconduct

Editors

  • Make decisions solely on scholarly merit
  • Protect reviewer and author confidentiality
  • Recuse themselves from manuscripts with conflicts
  • Follow COPE flowcharts for misconduct allegations
  • Ensure fair and timely peer review
  • Publish corrections and retractions when warranted

Authorship Standards

We follow the ICMJE criteria for authorship. All listed authors must have:

  1. Made substantial contributions to conception, design, data acquisition, or analysis
  2. Participated in drafting or critically revising the manuscript
  3. Approved the final version for submission
  4. Agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work

Ghost Authorship (inclusion of individuals who did not contribute) and Gift Authorship (exclusion of genuine contributors) are both violations of our ethics policy and grounds for rejection or retraction.

Plagiarism and Text Recycling

All manuscripts are screened for plagiarism using automated tools prior to review. We consider the following unacceptable:

  • Copying text from other sources without quotation and citation
  • Paraphrasing others' work without attribution
  • Self-plagiarism: recycling significant portions of one's own prior published work without disclosure
  • Duplicate submission or publication of the same data

Accepted: Re-use of the author's own previously published text up to ~20%, provided it is clearly cited and does not constitute the core scientific contribution.

Data Integrity and Fabrication

  • All reported data must be real and accurately represent the research performed
  • Image manipulation beyond standard processing (brightness, contrast) is not permitted
  • Raw data must be available for editorial inspection if requested
  • Authors are encouraged to deposit datasets in public repositories and cite them

Conflict of Interest

All parties must disclose any financial or personal relationships that could influence the research or its evaluation.

Authors must disclose:

  • Funding sources and sponsors
  • Employment, consultancy, or stock ownership related to the research
  • Personal relationships with editors or reviewers

Reviewers must decline if they:

  • Have collaborated with any author in the past 3 years
  • Have a financial interest in the work
  • Are from the same institution as any author

Research Involving Human and Animal Subjects

  • Studies involving human participants must have received Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Committee approval
  • Authors must confirm that informed consent was obtained from all participants
  • Animal studies must comply with the 3Rs (Replace, Reduce, Refine) and applicable legislation
  • Patient data must be fully anonymized unless explicit consent has been obtained
  • Clinical trials must be registered in a recognised public registry prior to enrolment

Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

Corrections

We will publish a correction notice if an error in a published article materially affects the interpretation or conclusions but does not invalidate the entire article.

Retractions

An article will be retracted if it is found to contain fabricated data, plagiarism, duplicate publication, or other major ethical violations. Retracted articles are clearly marked and the original text is preserved.

Expressions of Concern

Issued when an investigation is ongoing or inconclusive and readers need to be alerted to potential reliability concerns.

Reporting Misconduct

Suspected ethical violations — by any party — should be reported to our editorial office. All complaints are handled confidentially and in accordance with COPE guidelines.

Editorial Office — Keith Publications
Email: [email protected]
Complaints are acknowledged within 5 working days.

External Resources