Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics and Research Integrity

The Yemeni Journal of Life Sciences is committed to maintaining the highest standards of research integrity, publication ethics, transparency, and responsible scholarly communication.

The journal follows internationally recognized principles and best practices in scholarly publishing and is committed to aligning its editorial policies and procedures with the Core Practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing.

These principles apply to authors, reviewers, editors, editorial board members, and the journal's publishing and management processes.

COPE status: The Yemeni Journal of Life Sciences is committed to following COPE guidance and Core Practices. This statement does not imply that the journal is currently a COPE member.

1. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for ensuring the originality, accuracy, integrity, and ethical conduct of their research and manuscript.

Authors must:

Submit original work that has not been published previously and is not under consideration by another journal.
Ensure that all sources, data, ideas, and previously published material are appropriately acknowledged and cited.
Avoid plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, duplicate publication, redundant publication, and other forms of research or publication misconduct.
Ensure that reported data and results accurately represent the research conducted.
Provide sufficient methodological information to permit appropriate evaluation and, where possible, reproducibility.
Obtain all required ethical approvals before conducting research involving human participants, animals, biological materials, or other regulated research activities.
Obtain informed consent where required.
Protect the privacy and confidentiality of research participants.
Disclose relevant conflicts of interest.
Disclose all sources of financial support for the research.
Ensure that all listed authors meet the journal's authorship requirements.
Approve the final version of the manuscript before publication.
Cooperate with the journal in responding to ethical concerns, investigations, corrections, or post-publication issues.

Detailed requirements are provided in the Author Guidelines and the journal's Authorship and Contributorship Policy.

2. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers contribute to maintaining the scientific quality and integrity of the journal.

Reviewers must:

Evaluate manuscripts objectively, fairly, and independently.
Maintain confidentiality regarding manuscripts and information obtained during peer review.
Declare any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest.
Decline a review when they lack appropriate expertise or cannot provide an impartial assessment.
Provide constructive, evidence-based, and professional comments.
Avoid personal criticism of authors.
Identify relevant published work that has not been appropriately cited where reasonably possible.
Not use unpublished information obtained through peer review for personal or professional advantage.
Notify the editorial office if they suspect plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, duplicate publication, or other ethical concerns.
Complete reviews within the agreed timeframe or notify the editorial office if additional time is required.
Respect confidentiality when using artificial intelligence or automated tools during peer review.

Further information is available in the Reviewer Guidelines and Peer Review Policy.

3. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for ensuring that editorial decisions are fair, transparent, independent, and based on scholarly merit.

Editors must:

Evaluate manuscripts fairly and without discrimination.
Base editorial decisions on scholarly quality, originality, methodological soundness, ethical compliance, relevance, and the journal's scope.
Protect the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts.
Select appropriate and independent reviewers.
Identify and appropriately manage conflicts of interest.
Ensure that peer review is conducted according to the journal's published procedures.
Investigate credible allegations of research or publication misconduct.
Respond appropriately to complaints and appeals.
Correct the scholarly record when errors or ethical problems are identified.
Avoid allowing commercial, financial, institutional, political, or personal interests to influence editorial decisions.
Maintain appropriate editorial independence.

4. Ethical Oversight

The Yemeni Journal of Life Sciences requires research published in the journal to comply with applicable ethical standards, institutional requirements, and relevant national and international regulations.

Ethical oversight includes, but is not limited to:

Research involving human participants.
Research involving animals.
Informed consent and consent for publication.
Research involving vulnerable populations.
Confidential or personally identifiable information.
Human biological materials and genetic data.
Field research involving biological resources.
Research requiring institutional or regulatory approval.

Authors are responsible for obtaining all necessary approvals before conducting research and for reporting relevant ethical information accurately in their manuscripts.

4.1 Research Involving Human Participants

Research involving human participants must receive appropriate ethical review and approval before the research begins, where required.

Manuscripts should identify:

The name of the approving ethics committee or institutional review board.
The institution responsible for ethical approval.
The approval or reference number, where available.
Whether informed consent was obtained.
Any ethical exemption or waiver, where applicable.

Research involving human participants should comply with applicable ethical principles, including the Declaration of Helsinki where applicable.

4.2 Informed Consent and Consent for Publication

Authors must obtain informed consent from research participants when required by the nature of the study and applicable ethical standards.

Appropriate consent should also be obtained for the publication of identifiable information, clinical images, photographs, case details, or other material from which an individual could reasonably be identified.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that consent procedures comply with the requirements of the relevant ethics committee and applicable regulations.

4.3 Privacy and Confidentiality

The journal is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of research participants.

Manuscripts should not contain unnecessary personally identifiable information, including names, medical record numbers, addresses, or other identifying information.

Where identifiable information is scientifically necessary, appropriate consent must be obtained.

4.4 Vulnerable Populations

Research involving children, individuals unable to provide informed consent, prisoners, or other vulnerable populations must include appropriate ethical safeguards.

Authors should demonstrate that additional protections were implemented where required.

4.5 Animal Research

Research involving animals must comply with applicable institutional, national, and international standards for animal welfare.

Authors must provide an appropriate statement regarding ethical approval and identify the relevant animal ethics committee or equivalent authority where applicable.

The journal encourages compliance with internationally recognized standards, including the ARRIVE guidelines where applicable.

Authors should demonstrate appropriate consideration of the principles of:

Replacement
Reduction
Refinement

Research should minimize pain, distress, and unnecessary use of animals.

4.6 Clinical Trials and Study Registration

Clinical trials and other study types requiring prospective registration should be registered in an appropriate publicly accessible registry in accordance with applicable international standards and disciplinary requirements.

Where applicable, the registration identifier should be reported in the manuscript.

4.7 Biological Samples and Genetic Data

Research involving human biological samples, genetic data, genomic information, or other sensitive biological materials must comply with applicable ethical, legal, and institutional requirements.

Authors are responsible for ensuring appropriate consent, ethical approval, privacy protections, and data-sharing restrictions where applicable.

4.8 Field and Biodiversity Research

Research involving the collection of plants, animals, microorganisms, genetic resources, or other biological materials from natural or protected environments must comply with applicable permits, national legislation, institutional requirements, conservation regulations, and access and benefit-sharing requirements where applicable.

5. Research and Publication Misconduct

The Yemeni Journal of Life Sciences considers research and publication misconduct to be a serious violation of scholarly integrity.

Potential misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

Plagiarism.
Fabrication of data or results.
Falsification or inappropriate manipulation of data.
Inappropriate manipulation or misleading presentation of images.
Duplicate or redundant publication.
Undisclosed overlapping publication.
Citation manipulation.
Peer-review manipulation.
Authorship or contributorship manipulation.
Undisclosed conflicts of interest.
Other practices that compromise the integrity of the scholarly record.

The journal may investigate concerns arising before or after publication.

Allegations may be raised by authors, reviewers, editors, readers, institutions, or other individuals, including whistleblowers.

The journal will assess allegations confidentially and may request explanations or supporting documentation.

Where appropriate, the journal may seek information from the authors' institutions or other competent authorities.

Possible editorial actions may include rejection, correction, expression of concern, retraction, or other appropriate action.

The journal follows relevant COPE guidance when addressing suspected publication and research misconduct.

See the Plagiarism Policy and Retraction & Correction Policy.

6. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship must accurately reflect substantial contributions to the research and manuscript.

All listed authors should:

Make an appropriate contribution to the work.
Participate sufficiently in the preparation or critical revision of the manuscript.
Approve the final version.
Accept accountability for their contributions and the integrity of the work.

Individuals who do not meet authorship criteria should not be listed as authors solely because of their position, supervision, funding, administrative role, or other non-qualifying contribution.

Changes to authorship after submission or publication must follow the journal's established procedures and require appropriate agreement from the affected authors.

See the Authorship and Contributorship Policy.

7. Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, editors, editorial board members, and the publisher should disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest that could influence, or could reasonably be perceived to influence, the research or publication process.

Conflicts may be:

Financial.
Personal.
Professional.
Institutional.
Academic.
Commercial.
Other relationships relevant to the manuscript.

The journal will assess and manage disclosed conflicts appropriately.

See the Conflict of Interest Policy.

8. Funding and Financial Transparency

Authors must disclose all sources of financial support for the research.

Where no external funding was received, authors should provide an appropriate funding statement indicating that the research received no external financial support.

Funding disclosure does not influence editorial decisions.

Journal Funding and Financial Support

The Yemeni Journal of Life Sciences operates as a Diamond Open Access journal.

The journal does not charge authors article processing charges (APCs), submission fees, publication fees, reading fees, or download fees.

The journal does not currently receive financial support, sponsorship, advertising revenue, institutional subsidies, or other external funding.

The journal operates primarily through voluntary editorial and scholarly contributions.

The costs of website hosting and domain registration are currently covered through personal support provided by the Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor.

No member of the editorial or publishing team receives a full-time or part-time salary or remuneration from the journal.

The journal's financial arrangements do not influence editorial decisions, peer review, acceptance, rejection, or publication.

This information is provided in the interest of transparency and editorial independence.

9. Data Sharing and Reproducibility

The journal encourages responsible data sharing and reproducible research practices.

Authors should provide appropriate information regarding the availability of data underlying the reported findings, subject to ethical, legal, privacy, confidentiality, intellectual property, and other legitimate restrictions.

Where appropriate, authors are encouraged to:

Deposit research data in suitable repositories.
Provide a Data Availability Statement.
Use recognized reporting guidelines.
Provide sufficient methodological information to support reproducibility.
Register clinical trials and other study designs when applicable.

See the Data Sharing and Availability Policy.

10. Artificial Intelligence and Automated Tools

The journal recognizes the increasing use of artificial intelligence and automated tools in scholarly communication.

Authors, reviewers, and editors must comply with the journal's requirements concerning the responsible use and disclosure of AI-assisted tools.

AI tools must not replace human responsibility for the accuracy, originality, integrity, confidentiality, and ethical conduct of scholarly work.

See the AI Policy.

11. Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Licensing

The journal respects the intellectual property rights of authors and other rights holders.

The journal's open access arrangements are described in the Open Access Policy.

12. Peer Review Integrity

The Yemeni Journal of Life Sciences is committed to a fair, transparent, confidential, and rigorous peer-review process.

The journal's peer-review procedures, reviewer responsibilities, confidentiality requirements, conflicts of interest, and editorial decision-making processes are described in the Peer Review Policy and Reviewer Guidelines.

The journal does not guarantee acceptance of submitted manuscripts.

13. Complaints and Appeals

The journal provides mechanisms for authors, reviewers, and other stakeholders to raise legitimate concerns or appeal editorial decisions.

Complaints may concern:

Editorial conduct.
Peer review.
Publication procedures.
Ethical concerns.
Conflicts of interest.
Editorial or publishing practices.

Appeals against editorial decisions will be considered according to the journal's established procedures.

See the Complaints and Appeals Policy.

14. Post-Publication Discussions

The journal recognizes that scholarly discussion may continue after publication.

Readers and researchers may raise legitimate scientific or ethical concerns regarding published articles.

Where appropriate, the journal may facilitate post-publication discussion through appropriate channels and may investigate concerns regarding published content.

The journal is committed to ensuring that legitimate concerns are assessed fairly and that the scholarly record is corrected when necessary.

15. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

The journal is committed to maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the published scholarly record.

When significant errors, ethical concerns, or evidence of misconduct are identified, the journal may publish:

Corrections.
Expressions of Concern.
Retractions.
Other appropriate notices.

Post-publication actions will be determined according to the circumstances and applicable ethical guidance.

See the Retraction & Correction Policy.

16. Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions are made independently on the basis of scholarly merit, methodological quality, originality, ethical compliance, and relevance to the journal's scope.

Editorial decisions must not be influenced by:

Commercial interests.
Advertising.
Sponsorship.
Financial considerations.
Institutional pressure.
Political considerations.
Personal relationships.
The nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, political beliefs, institutional affiliation, or geographic origin of authors.

The journal is committed to maintaining editorial independence from commercial and other non-editorial interests.

17. Advertising and Commercial Influence

The Yemeni Journal of Life Sciences does not currently accept or display commercial advertising.

The journal does not permit advertising, sponsorship, or commercial interests to influence editorial decisions, peer review, publication decisions, or the presentation of scholarly content.

18. Editorial and Publishing Integrity

The journal maintains procedures intended to protect the integrity of the editorial process.

These include:

Clear editorial responsibilities.
Defined peer-review procedures.
Conflict-of-interest management.
Ethical oversight of research.
Procedures for addressing allegations of misconduct.
Procedures for complaints and appeals.
Procedures for correcting or retracting published content.
Protection of confidential information.
Continuous review and improvement of editorial policies.

The journal expects all members of the editorial team and all contributors to act professionally, transparently, and in accordance with the principles of research integrity.

19. Commitment to COPE Principles

The Yemeni Journal of Life Sciences is committed to aligning its publication ethics and editorial practices with the COPE Core Practices.

The journal's ethical framework addresses the major areas identified by COPE, including:

Allegations of misconduct.
Authorship and contributorship.
Complaints and appeals.
Conflicts of interest.
Data and reproducibility.
Ethical oversight.
Intellectual property.
Journal management.
Peer-review processes.
Post-publication discussions and corrections.

The journal will continue to review and strengthen its policies and procedures in accordance with developments in international scholarly publishing standards.

COPE: [Official COPE website]

20. Policy Review

The journal periodically reviews its publication ethics and editorial policies to ensure that they remain appropriate, transparent, and consistent with recognized international standards.

Where necessary, policies may be updated to reflect developments in research integrity, scholarly publishing, ethical standards, and applicable regulations.