Editorial Best Practices

Editorial Best Practices

The journal adopts as its ethical and editorial framework the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing, published in June 2015 by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), in order to ensure academic integrity, transparency in editorial processes, and the scientific quality of publications.

Responsibilities of Editors

-Make editorial decisions regarding the acceptance, revision, or rejection of manuscripts based on their scientific quality, originality, thematic relevance, and peer reviewers’ evaluations.
-Ensure that the selection, evaluation, and publication process is conducted impartially, objectively, and without discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, beliefs, origin, or institutional affiliation.
-Select qualified reviewers, ensuring their academic competence, independence, and absence of conflicts of interest, while maintaining the confidentiality of manuscripts and the editorial process, and protecting the identity of authors and reviewers in the peer review system.
-Verify authorship and originality of manuscripts, preventing and detecting improper practices such as plagiarism, self-plagiarism, citation manipulation, and data fabrication or falsification.
-Manage conflicts of interest and ethical complaints diligently, ensuring objective investigation processes, the authors’ right of response, and proper documentation.
-Ensure that published content does not include false, misleading, or defamatory information affecting individuals or organizations, taking appropriate institutional measures when necessary.

Biociencias adheres to the guideline Responsible Research Publication: International Standards for Editors, adopted at the 2nd World Conference on Research Integrity (Singapore) and also published by COPE.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

-Contribute to the editorial process through critical, objective, and well-founded evaluation of manuscripts, supporting editorial decision-making and improving the academic quality of texts.
-Evaluate manuscripts rigorously, considering originality, thematic relevance, methodological soundness, argumentative coherence, and contribution to knowledge.
-Comply with established deadlines for submitting evaluations and inform the editor promptly if unable to complete the review.
-Maintain absolute confidentiality of manuscripts and all information received during the editorial process, refraining from disclosing, using, retaining, or reproducing content without authorization.
-Declare any conflicts of interest (personal, academic, institutional, or financial) that may affect the impartiality of the evaluation and refrain from participating when necessary.
-Act with impartiality, objectivity, and respect, avoiding personal judgments about authors and basing comments on clear and verifiable academic arguments.
-Identify and report to the editor any suspected cases of plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate publication, citation manipulation, misuse of sources, or other editorial misconduct.
-Follow the journal’s instructions for preparing and submitting evaluation reports.
-Refrain from using information obtained through the review process for personal, academic, or professional benefit.

Responsibilities of Authors

-Ensure that the manuscript is original, unpublished, and not under review or accepted elsewhere.
-Present research results clearly, truthfully, and completely, without falsification, improper data manipulation, or distortion of information, and avoiding any form of plagiarism, self-plagiarism, or duplicate publication.
-Properly cite all sources and obtain permission for the use of copyrighted materials.
-Ensure that authorship accurately reflects the contributions of all participants, avoiding honorary authorship or omission of relevant contributors.
-Declare any conflicts of interest that may influence the interpretation or presentation of results.
-Disclose funding sources or declare the absence of external funding.
-Notify the editor promptly of any significant errors identified in the manuscript or after publication and collaborate in corrections, clarifications, or retractions when necessary.
-Respond diligently and respectfully to peer review comments, making the required revisions or justifying their non-incorporation.
-Comply with all editorial guidelines and formal requirements established by the journal.

Biociencias promotes a diverse and enriching academic debate; however, responsibility for the content of published articles lies exclusively with the authors. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the official position of Universidad Libre or other participating institutions.

Anti-Plagiarism Policy

Biociencias ensures the academic integrity of its publications through systematic verification of the originality of all submitted manuscripts. All texts are analyzed using Turnitin similarity detection software. The similarity index must not exceed 20%, excluding references and properly cited quotations; manuscripts exceeding this threshold will be rejected or returned to authors for revision.

Regarding the use of artificial intelligence tools, the journal requires that their use be declared when applicable. The content of the manuscript must reflect an original intellectual contribution; texts that demonstrate improper use of such tools affecting quality, academic rigor, or authorship will be rejected.

The journal considers plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate publication, citation manipulation, data fabrication or falsification, and any conduct that violates academic ethics as serious offenses. The editorial team will take all necessary measures to prevent and detect such practices. If misconduct is confirmed, the manuscript will be rejected. If detected after publication, the article will be corrected, retracted, or withdrawn as appropriate.

When misconduct is suspected, the manuscript will be suspended from the editorial process and the author will be notified to submit a response within a maximum of ten (10) business days. Based on the response, the editor will make a reasoned decision, which may be reviewed by the Editorial Board, ensuring due process.

Confidentiality

Measures will be implemented to ensure that personal data provided by authors, reviewers, and users through the editorial platform are used exclusively for managing the editorial process. Information will be treated confidentially and will not be shared with third parties unrelated to these purposes, except when required by law or for indexing and interoperability in academic systems.