Policy Document

• Frequency of Journal
• Guidelines for Submission of Research Articles
• Peer Review Policy
• Originality and Plagiarism Policy
• Ethical Guidelines
• Author Agreement Form
• Reviewing and Editing
• Acceptance of Articles and Publication of Articles
• Timelines of Publication of Issues
• Articles Processing and Publication Fee
• Steps Involved from Date of Receipt of Research Article till the Publication of Article
• Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
• Appeal Process
• Complaints Process
• Allegation of Research Misconduct
• Correction & Retraction of Research Articles
• Contribution & Consents of each Author & any other Information

1. Frequency of Journal

Gohar-e -Tahqeeq is a double-blind peer reviewed Biannual Urdu research Journal. It published two issues per year.

Guidelines for Submission of Research Articles

• As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.
•  The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
•  The submission file is in OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, or RTF document file format.
•  Where available, URLs for the references have been provided.
•  The text is single-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.
•  The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines.

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• English: Font Style; Times New Roman, Font Size; Heading 14 and other text 12
• Urdu: Font Style; Jameel Noori Nastaleeq, Font Size; Heading 16 and other text 14

      Begin each of the following section on separate page and in the following order:

• Title page.
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Results & Conclusions
• References

Number pages consecutively, beginning with the title page. Type the page number in the upper right-hand corner of each page in English, and in the upper left-hand corner of each page in Urdu.

• Manuscripts should be typed in MS-Word. Text may kindly be limited to 3000 to 12000 words. A4 Paper size.
• The title page should:
• present an appropriate title of article
• list full names, affiliation, institutional and email addresses and phone numbers of all authors
• indicate the corresponding author
• The abstract of 150-200 words should briefly summarize the aim, findings or purpose of the article. Please minimize the use of abbreviations and avoid citing references in the abstract. 
• Mention five to ten keywords representing the main content of the article.
• Introduction should explain the background to the study, its aims, a summary of the existing literature and why this study was necessary.
• For research articles this section should discuss the implications of the findings in context of existing research and highlight limitations of the study. For methodology manuscripts this section should include a discussion of any practical or operational issues involved in performing the study and any issues not covered in other sections.
• For reviews this should contain the body of the article, and may also be broken into subsections with short, informative headings.
• For case studies this should describe the pros and the cons of the intervention, with a realistic evaluation of its feasibility and effectiveness.
• Conclusions should state clearly the main conclusions and provide an explanation of their relevance or importance to the field.
• If the paper is based on the case studies than conclusion should state what was learnt, what the next steps should be, and, if possible, what contingency planning may be required for those steps. 
• Please make sure you have the following information available before you submit your manuscript. Full names, affiliation, institutional and email addresses and phone numbers of all authors.

For a detailed account of ethics international standards for authors developed by COPE during the 2nd World Conference on Research Integrity in Singapore in 2010, please access the following document:

https://publicationethics.org/guidance/endorsed-guidance/international-standards-editors-and-authors-wcri-2010

Must Read before Paper Submission

Submitting your paper to Gohar-e -Tahqeeq Urdu Research Journal means author(s) agrees that:

• Authors permit to publish the article and identify it as the original publisher.
• Authors also grant any third party the right to use the article freely as long as its integrity is maintained and its original authors, citation details and publisher are identified.
• All authors have approved the manuscript for submission.
• Confirmation that the manuscript is unpublished and is not submitted elsewhere for publication.
• Submitting your article means you accept the terms and conditions of the journal.

3. Peer Review Policy

All submitted manuscripts will be checked whether they are well prepared and following the journal ethical policy. Manuscripts that do not follow the ethics policy of journal will be rejected before peer-review. Manuscripts that are not prepared according to the journal guidelines will be returned for revision and resubmission. After these checks, then check the manuscript whether it fits to the scope of the journal. The Editor-in-Chief will verify the reject decisions at this stage. Once a manuscript checked for all these necessary checks, will send the authentic paper to two independent experts for peer-review. The journal follows the double-blind review, where authors and reviewers don’t know each other identity. Peer review comments are confidential. If both experts are satisfied, the paper is sent to the Editorial Board for possible acceptance. Otherwise, it will back to the author(s) for revision according to the expert’s opinion. The revised paper submitted by the author(s) is again sent to the same experts for final comments, if required.

• Steps in Peer Review Process

Peer review process can be broadly described as:

Sr.#	Steps of Review Process	Estimated Time
1	Submission of paper	-
2	First Internal Review *	1 week
3	External Review	1-2 weeks
4	Communication of review reports to authors for minor/ major revision **	1 week
5	Submission of the revised paper	1-2 weeks
6	Second internal review (to assess whether reviewers suggestions have been incorporated satisfactorily) ***	1 week
7	Acceptance of paper (on successful submission of revised paper)	1 week

* Paper is returned to authors if it does not meet the basic criteria.

** Paper is returned to authors if external reviewers find that the research paper has so serious faults that cannot be resolved through a major revision.

*** Authors are requested for further revision if editors find that reviewers’ suggestions have not been incorporated satisfactorily.

Note: Authors are requested to revise the paper carefully in accordance with the reviewers’ suggestions to avoid unnecessary delay in the review process.

• Resubmission of Paper (after peer review)

1. Gohar-e-Tahqeeq (Urdu) is published for two times in a year. Its first issue comes in June and second in December.
2. Fifteen (15) research papers are published in one issue. This obligation has been adopted as per HEC Pakistan guidelines for research journals.
3. Authors are not allowed to submit their research paper to any other journal if once submitted to Gohar-e-Tahqeeq (Urdu) till the time he receives any rejection.
4. Papers of the new authors are preferred for the new issue. However, if any paper has been marked as extraordinary work or very notable by the reviewer, that can be considered even if the paper of same author was published in last issue.
5. Papers, not written/ composed as per the guidelines for authors given at Gohar-e-Tahqeeq (Urdu) website, will not be entertained for further process.

Keeping in view the other academic/professional commitments, authors may request extra time, if they feel that revision needs more effort and time to improve the quality of the paper.

4. Originality and Plagiarism Policy

By submitting manuscript to the Gohar-e-Tahqeeq it is understood that it is an original manuscript, unpublished work and is not submitted elsewhere. Plagiarism, including duplicate publication of the author’s own work, in whole or in part without proper citation is not tolerated by the journal. Plagiarism appears in various forms such as copying the same content from the other source; most commonly from internet, coping elements of another author’s paper such as figures, tables or illustrations that con not be considered as common knowledge. Self-plagiarism is also not allowed. Gohar-e-Tahqeeq (Urdu) defines self-plagiarism as the intentional or unintentional reuse of one’s own copyrighted work without citing the original source. However, this policy does not apply to the manuscripts presented/appeared in any conference proceeding from the author's side and an explicit reference is made.

Plagiarism Check

Firstly, Gohar-e-Tahqeeq (Urdu) checks plagiarism with the software recommended by HEC Pakistan. Secondly, it is checked manually by the team Gohar-e-Tahqeeq (Urdu). If plagiarism is detected by the editorial/advisory board member, reviewer etc., at any stage of article process- before or after acceptance, during editing or at a proof reading stage, we will inform the same to the author(s) and will ask them to reconsider the content or to cite the references from where the content has been taken. HEC Pakistan has already set the acceptable limit of similarity index produced by the TURNITIN i.e. 19%.

Plagiarism detected after publishing:

Sometimes, TURNITIN appears not very much efficient regarding the detection of plagiarism from the papers written in Urdu. In that case, if the plagiarism is detected manually and reported with proof after publishing, Gohar-e-Tahqeeq (Urdu) will conduct an investigation. In case if plagiarism is found, the paper may be formally retracted. Editor will write to the author’s institute and funding agencies about that and the paper containing the plagiarism will be marked "Plagiarism Detected after Publishing" on each page of the PDF Copy for a period of two months. Moreover, after two months, that paper will be removed from the website and author(s) will be banned for next six (6) issues of Gohar-e-Tahqeeq (Urdu).

Plagiarism Undertaking:

Authors must declare that their work is original at the time of submission. For this, an undertaking form has been given in the link below, stating that author has not plagiarized any material and if found guilty he shall be solely responsible and Gohar-e-Tahqeeq (Urdu) reserve the right to take action against him. Author(s) are required to submit that form duly signed and stamped at the time of manuscript submission. In case if a paper has multiple authors, first/ principal author would be bound to take the responsibility of the plagiarism and only he would be required to submit the said undertaking.

Note: Please keep in mind these categories before sending your research articles for Gohar-e-Tahqeeq. For more information, read the guidelines.

5. Ethical Guidelines

As per HEC guidelines, the Editor of a research journal plays an important role in establishing and maintaining the professional standards. Publication of a paper in an HEC recognized journal is expected to be a reflection of quality work of the author (s) and the affiliating institution (if any). The Editor is expected to perform the responsibility towards the journal on its all aspects and at varied stages i.e. from receiving of an article to publishing it. Keeping this in view, it becomes prime responsibility of an editor to adapt the following guidelines while publishing papers in his/her research journal.

The Editor of a research journal should be responsible for:

1. Establishing and maintaining quality of the journal by publishing quality papers in his/her journal.
2. Promotion of freedom of expression within the cultural, constitutional/legal framework.
3. Providing integrity and credibility of the research contributions.
4. Meeting the needs of authors and readers,
5. Maintaining ethical standards of their journal.
6. Providing corrigendum for any correction, clarification and apologies where required.
7. Encourage new ideas and suggestions of authors, peer reviewers, members of editorial board and readers for improving quality of his/her journal.
8. Apply the process of blind peer review in true letter and spirit.
9. Promote innovative findings in respective field and publishing them on priority,
10. Promote anti plagiarism policy.
11. Educate contributors (authors) about ethical practices in research, and Implement the journal’s policy without institutional pressure and revise the policy from time to time.

The detailed Ethical Guidelines by HEC are available at the following link:

https://www.hec.gov.pk/Pages/PageNotFoundError.aspx?requestUrl=https://www.hec.gov.pk/english/services/faculty/SSAH/Documents/JCR/HEC%20Approved%20Ethical%20Guidelines.pdf

6. Author Agreement Form

Publication and Submission Fee:

Article Processing and Publishing Charges are 12000PKR.

Open Access Policy:

Gohar-e-Tahqeeq is freely available online. Authors are required to agree with this open access policy which enables unrestricted access and reuse of all published articles.

Originality and Plagiarism:

The authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others that this has been appropriately cited or quoted. Plagiarism takes many forms, from “passing off” another´s paper as the author´s own paper, to copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another´s paper (without attribution), to claiming results from research conducted by others. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.

Multiple, Redundant or Concurrent Publication:

An author should not, in general, publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior. In general, an author should not submit for consideration in another journal a previously published paper.

Authorship of the Paper:

Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest:

All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.

Examples of potential conflicts of interest which should be disclosed include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/ registrations, and grants or other funding. Potential conflicts of interest should be disclosed at the earliest stage possible. Readers should be informed about who has funded research and on the role of the funders in the research.

7. Reviewing and Editing

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions:

Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and through the editorial communications with the author may also assist the author in improving the paper. Peer review is an essential component of formal scholarly communication. Authors who wish to contribute to publications have an obligation to do a fair share of reviewing.

Promptness:

Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse him/herself from the review process.

Confidentiality:

Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.

Standards of Objectivity:

Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

Acknowledgement of Sources:

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. A reviewer should also call to the editor’s attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

Disclosure and Conflict of Interest:

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in a reviewer´s own research without the written consent of the author. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

Responsibilities of Editors

Duties and Responsibilities of Editors:

In addition to many general duties, such as constantly improving the quality and integrity of the journal, striving to needs of authors and readers, encouraging academic debate, and others, the editors accept an obligation to apply best will and practice to cope with the following responsibilities:

Editorial Board:

Editorial board will be generated from recognized experts in the field. The editor will provide full names and affiliations of the members as well as updated contact information for the editorial office on the journal webpage.

Publication Decisions:

The editor should be responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published. The validation of the work in question and its importance to researchers and readers must always drive such decisions. The editor may be guided by the policies of the journal’s editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The editor may confer with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.

Peer Review Process:

All of a journal’s content is subjected to peer-review. Articles submitted for possible publication are subjected to a double-blind, peer review process. Articles are first reviewed by editors. The editor may reject it out of hand either because it is not dealing with the subject matter for that journal or because it is manifestly of a low quality so that it cannot be considered at all. Articles that are found suitable for review are then sent to two experts in the field of the paper. Referees of a paper are unknown to each other. Referees are asked to classify the paper as publishable immediately, publishable with amendments and improvements, or not publishable. Referees’ evaluations usually include an explicit recommendation of what to do with the manuscript. Referees’ comments are then seen by the author. Editors should be ready to justify any important deviation from the described process. Editors should not reverse decisions on publication unless serious problems are identified. Editors should publish guidance to authors and reviewers on everything that is expected of them. This guidance should be regularly updated and will refer or link this code.

Fair Play:

Editor should evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without considering race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors. Editors´ decision to accept or reject a paper for publication should be based only on the paper´s importance, originality and clarity, and the study´s relevance to the aim of the journal.

Confidentiality:

Editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher. Editors will ensure that material submitted remains confidential while under review.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest:

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor’s own research without the express written consent of the author. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Editors should recuse themselves (i.e. should ask associate editors or other member of the editorial board instead to review and consider) from considering manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or (possibly) institutions connected to the papers. Editors should require all contributors to disclose relevant competing interests and publish corrections if competing interests are revealed after publication.

8. Acceptance of Articles and Publication of Articles

The acceptance and publication of article is based on decision of the editor of the journal. The editor takes decision in the light of review report received from reviewer.

9. Timelines of Publication of Issues

The Journal releases two issues per year. The first issue releases on 30^st June of every year and second issue releases on 31^th December of every year. The journal takes at least one week to complete review process after the date of submission. The journal publishes all research articles in the next issue which are being received in less than one week time before the release of current issue.

10. Article Processing and Publication Fee

"گوہرِ تحقیق" میں اشاعت کے لیے ہدایات

نوٹ:

ہدایات سے ہٹ کر بھیجا گیا کوئی بھی مقالہ اشاعت کے لیے ناقابلِ قبول ہو گا۔

• "گوہر ِ تحقیق" اُردو زبان و ادب کا تحقیقی مجلہ ہے سو اس میں شائع ہونے کے لیے بھیجا جانے والا مقالہ بنیادی مضمون (اُردو (سے متعلق ہی کسی موضوع پر ہونا چاہیے۔ علاوہ ازیں مضمون کی نوعیت بھی خالصتاً تحقیقی (کیفیتی یا کمیتی) ہو۔
• مقالہ بھیجنے سے پہلے تصدیق کر لیں کہ:
• آپ نے مجلہ "گوہرِ تحقیق" کی مختلف معاملات میں پالیسیز کو اچھی طرح پڑھ لیا ہے۔
• مقالہ پروف کی اغلاط سے پاک ہو۔
• مقالہ سرقے سے پاک ہو کیوں کہ اشاعت سے پہلے اسے "ٹرنٹین" سافٹ وئیر میں باقاعدہ چیک کیا جائے گا اور اگر  مطابقتی شرح  طے شدہ حد ۱۹فی صد(اکہرے ذریعۂ ماخذ میں ۵ فی صد)سے زیادہ پایا گیا تو مقالہ ناقابلِ اشاعت ہو   گا۔ علاوہ ازیں مقالہ نگار اپنے مقالے کے ساتھ ہی سرقے سے پاک ہونے کا  ایک اقرار نامہ جمع کرانے کا پابند ہو گا 
• مجلہ "گوہرِ تحقیق" کو مقالہ بھیجنے کے بعد جب تک اس کے قابلِ اشاعت/ناقابلِ اشاعت/کچھ تبدیلیوں کی صورت میں قابلِ اشاعت ہونے کی بابت مجلسِ ادارت کی طرف سے اطلاع موصول نہ ہو، اُسے کسی اور جگہ اشاعت کے لیے نہ بھیجا جائے۔
• مقالہ نگار کا نام،عہدہ ، مقالے کا عنوان ،اُردو اور انگریزی دونوں زبانوں میں دیے جائیں اور تلخیص اور کلیدی الفاظ صرف انگریزی زبان میں دیے جائیں ۔مقالے کی تلخیص ڈیڑھ سو سے دو سو الفاظ پر مشتمل ہو۔( تلخیص اور کلیدی الفاظ کا  فونٹ سائز 12 اور ٹائمز نیو رومن ہو)، (مقالہ نگار کا نام   فونٹ سائز 18 ہو ،عہدہ فونٹ سائز 10 ہو، انگریزی کے لیے ٹائم لائن نیو رومن جبکہ اُردو کے لیے جمیل نوری نستعلیق ہو)، مقالے کا عنوان (فونٹ سائز اُردو میں  20   اور انگریزی میں 16ہونا چاہیے)۔ (نوٹ:  جہاں بھی انگریزی زبان کا استعمال ہو  "ٹائمز نیو رومن "میں لکھا جائے  )  ۔
• مقالہ صرف ایم ایس ورڈ فائل میں لکھا جائے اور کسی قسم کی کوڈنگ کا استعمال نہیں کیا جائے۔ ایم ایس ورڈ میں فونٹ" جمیل نوری نستعلیق" ہو، بنیادی متن کا فونٹ سائز ۱۴  جب کہ اقتباسات کے لیے۱۲ ہونا چاہیے۔
• مقالے کے آخر میں حوالہ جات ،حواشی اور تعلیقات لازمی دیے جائیں۔
• کتاب کا حوالہ:
• مصنف کا نام، "کتاب کا نام"،( شہر کا نام:  ادارۂ اشاعت،سنِ اشاعت)، صفحہ نمبر
• رسالے کا حوالہ:
• مصنف کا نام، "مضمون کا عنوان"، مشمولہ:رسالے کا نام،  ( شہر کا نام: ادارۂ اشاعت،سنِ اشاعت)،جلد نمبر، شمارہ نمبر، صفحہ نمبر
• اگر انٹرنیٹ سے کسی آن لائن فائل کا حوالہ دیا جائے تو پیج لنک کے علاوہ تاریخ اور وقت لکھنا بھی ضروری ہے۔
• آرٹیکل پروسیسنگ فیس ۱۲۰۰۰ لاگو ہو گی
• :فیس جمع کروانے کے لیے بنک اکاونٹ کی تفصیل
• Account Title: GSCWU Income A/C
• Account Number: 25017000003601
• IBN No. HABB-0025017000003601

11. Steps Involved from Date of Receipt of Research Article till the Publication of Article

1. Authors are required to submit complete manuscript without details of authors and their institution along with separate title page carries details of authors and their affiliation.
2. The editor/manager of the journal assigns manuscript with anonymous author to an editor from editorial board for desk review. The journal use open journal system for management of the journal. The editor of the journal also has right of the journal manager.
3. The editorial board member sent article to editor after desk review/ initial screening.
4. The editor sent to review all those articles which successfully clear desk review and assign two reviewers including national/international reviewers to the article.
5. The review receive notification on his email and on Open Journal System.
6. The editor takes decision whether article is fine for publication or not. If the article is fine for publication. The editor further sends article for copy editing after receiving two positive review rom authors.
7. The copy editing involve in further proof reading of research article and doing correction inn formatting of article.
8. Once the copyediting is done. The editor sends article for production and publication. A PDF of research article is being attached on Open Journal System with abstract and affiliation details of authors.

 

12. Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

Conflict of interest is a situation in which the process of research and publication may be corrupted or its results may be biased because of some other interests of its participants. It may concern any one or more of the participants of research and publication process – the author, the reviewer, or the editor. Conflicts of interest may occur for financial (e.g., employment opportunities, fees or other compensation arrangements, beneficial ownership of stock) or other reasons (e.g., personal relationships, pursuit of academic career, intellectual passion, political involvement etc.) that can reasonably be expected to influence motivations or results of actions of participants of the publication process.

Conflicts of interest constitute a serious threat to the integrity and objectivity of both scientific research and publishing. Therefore, best practice for authors, reviewers and editors alike, is to avoid conflicts of interest situations whenever possible.

All participants in publication process, who are in the situation of a conflict of interest, must disclose this fact. Of special importance is that if the original research study reported in the manuscript or the preparation of the manuscript was supported by one or more grants, the title and number of the grant(s) and the name of the institution(s) that provided the grants or financial support to conduct, analyze or write-up the study, must be specified in the manuscript.

Editors of the journal may use information disclosed in conflict-of-interest and financial-support statements as a basis for editorial decisions. The corresponding author must either notify the editor at the time of submission that there is no conflict of interest to declare, or fairly and effectively communicate all conflicts of interest, which will then be acknowledged in the published article.

Appeal Process

The authors have the right to appeal regarding the decision taken by editors or reviewers. They can send a letter to the editor who will forward it to a two-member committee for redressal.

Complaints Process

Al-Amir Research Journal ensures to have transparency at every step. If there is any grievance from a reader, author or reviewer, they are can lodge their complaint against the journal and its officials. Complaints or grievances can be directly emailed to the Managing Editor (editor.alamir@gmail.com) which will be sent to the grievance committee.  The grievance committee consists of Managing Editor and two senior members from the journal management committee.

The committee will investigate the complaint on merit and the decision will be taken based on the available evidence. The decision will be forwarded to the concerned authorities.

Allegation of Research Misconduct:

A finding of research misconduct requires that:

1. There is a significant departure from accepted practices of the relevant research paper.
2. The misconduct is committed intentionally, or knowingly, or recklessly.
3. The allegation is proven by a preponderance of the evidence.

After proper Investigation, the Editor takes reasonably responsive measures when ethical complaints have been presented concerning a submitted manuscript or published paper, in conjunction with the publisher. Such measures will generally include contacting the author of the manuscript or paper and giving due consideration to the respective complaint or claims made, but may also include further communications to the relevant institutions and research bodies, depending on the misconduct seriousness.

Minor misconduct might be dealt with/without the need to consult more widely. In any event, the author is given the opportunity to respond to any allegations.

Serious misconduct might require the application of one or more of the following measures:

• Informing the author or reviewer where there appears to be a misunderstanding or misapplication of acceptable standards.
• Publication of a formal notice detailing the misconduct.
• A formal letter to the head of the author's or reviewer's department or funding agency.
• Formal retraction or withdrawal of a publication from the journal, in conjunction with informing the head of the author or reviewer's department
• Imposition of a formal embargo on contributions from an individual for a defined period.

13. Correction and Retraction of Research Articles

The editor of the journal sends an email to the authors of the article for revision/correction proposed by Editorial board member and reviewers after the initial screening and the final review respectively.

14. Contribution and Consents of each Author and any other Information

Authors are required to submit details of contribution of each author in title page that is uploaded separately, and submit consent of each author in author agreement statement.