ETHICS POLICY

General Principles

Sapiens Sciences is committed to the highest standards of scientific integrity, editorial transparency, academic responsibility, and ethical publishing practices.

The journal adheres to the principles, recommendations, and international standards established by:

  • Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
  • International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)
  • World Association of Medical Editors (WAME)
  • Council of Science Editors (CSE)

All individuals involved in the publication process including authors, reviewers, editors, editorial board members, and editorial staff are expected to uphold these principles throughout the submission, peer-review, publication, and post-publication stages.

The journal promotes a culture of responsible research founded on scientific honesty, transparency, reproducibility, accountability, fairness, and respect for research participants and the integrity of the scholarly record.

1. Authorship, Contributorship, and ORCID

Authorship must accurately reflect substantial intellectual contributions to the scholarly work.

Authors should have made significant contributions to one or more of the following activities:

  • Conception and design of the study.
  • Data acquisition, analysis, or interpretation.
  • Methodological or technical development.
  • Drafting of the manuscript.
  • Critical revision of intellectual content.
  • Approval of the final version.
  • Accountability for the accuracy and integrity of the work.

All authors must satisfy internationally recognized authorship criteria and accept public responsibility for the scientific content of the publication.

The journal requires the disclosure of individual contributions through the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy).

In addition, all authors are required to provide a valid ORCID iD to facilitate transparency, accurate author identification, scholarly interoperability, and proper attribution of academic contributions.

Any request to add, remove, or rearrange authors after manuscript submission must be adequately justified and accompanied by written consent from all authors involved.

2. Research Ethics

Research submitted to the journal must comply with all applicable national and international ethical standards and regulations.

Research Involving Human Participants

Studies involving human participants must comply with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki, as well as applicable institutional and legal requirements.

Authors must provide:

  • The name of the ethics committee or Institutional Review Board (IRB).
  • The ethics approval number or reference code, when available.
  • Confirmation that informed consent was obtained from participants whenever applicable.

Research Involving Animals

Studies involving animals must comply with recognized national and international standards for animal welfare and ethical experimentation.

Authors must report the relevant ethical approval and describe measures implemented to minimize animal suffering.

Research Involving Vulnerable Populations

When research involves:

  • Children and adolescents.
  • Older adults.
  • Individuals with disabilities.
  • Indigenous communities.
  • Socially or economically vulnerable populations.
  • Other groups requiring special protection.

Authors must clearly describe the additional ethical safeguards implemented to protect participants.

The journal reserves the right to request supporting ethical documentation at any stage of the editorial process.

3. Scientific Integrity and Research Misconduct

The journal does not tolerate scientific misconduct in any form.

Examples of misconduct include, but are not limited to:

  • Data fabrication.
  • Data falsification.
  • Selective reporting of findings.
  • Plagiarism.
  • Self-plagiarism.
  • Duplicate or redundant publication.
  • Simultaneous submission to multiple journals.
  • Citation manipulation.
  • Inappropriate image manipulation.
  • Undisclosed use of third-party writing services.
  • Misrepresentation of authorship.
  • Failure to disclose conflicts of interest.
  • Deliberate concealment of ethical violations.

Allegations or suspicions of misconduct will be investigated in accordance with COPE guidelines and may result in editorial action before or after publication.

4. Plagiarism and Similarity Screening

All submitted manuscripts undergo similarity screening using specialized plagiarism-detection software.

Similarity reports are evaluated within their academic and scientific context.

A high similarity score does not automatically constitute plagiarism; however, evidence of plagiarism, duplicate publication, excessive text recycling, or other unethical publication practices may result in:

  • Requests for clarification.
  • Requests for revision.
  • Rejection of the manuscript.
  • Retraction of published articles.
  • Notification of relevant academic institutions when appropriate.

5. Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial, institutional, professional, academic, personal, political, or other relationships that could influence—or reasonably be perceived to influence—the editorial process or the interpretation of research findings.

The existence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily preclude publication.

However, failure to disclose relevant conflicts may result in corrective editorial actions.

6. Funding Disclosure

Authors must transparently disclose all sources of funding related to the submitted research.

Where applicable, authors should identify:

  • Funding organizations.
  • Research grants or projects.
  • Grant numbers.
  • The role of funders in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or publication decisions.

If no external funding was received, authors must explicitly state this.

7. Data Availability, Transparency, and Reproducibility

Sapiens Sciences supports the principles of Open Science and promotes transparency and reproducibility in scientific research.

Authors are encouraged to share, whenever ethically, legally, and technically feasible:

  • Research datasets.
  • Study protocols.
  • Analytical code.
  • Research instruments.
  • Supplementary materials.

Authors should include a Data Availability Statement specifying:

  • Whether supporting data are available.
  • Where the data can be accessed.
  • Conditions governing access, where applicable.
  • Reasons for non-disclosure when relevant.

Where data availability is restricted due to ethical, legal, privacy, confidentiality, or intellectual property considerations, authors should provide an appropriate justification.

The journal may request access to underlying research data during the editorial process when necessary to verify the integrity of reported findings.

8. Confidentiality

All submitted manuscripts and related editorial communications are treated as strictly confidential documents.

Editors, reviewers, editorial board members, and editorial staff shall not:

  • Disclose confidential information.
  • Use unpublished information for personal or third-party benefit.
  • Share manuscript content with unauthorized individuals.

Confidentiality obligations remain in force before, during, and after the editorial process.

9. Ethical Responsibilities

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are expected to:

  • Ensure the originality and integrity of their research.
  • Present accurate, complete, and verifiable information.
  • Comply with all applicable ethical requirements.
  • Disclose conflicts of interest and funding sources.
  • Obtain permission for the use of copyrighted materials.
  • Cooperate in post-publication corrections or investigations.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers are expected to:

  • Provide objective, impartial, and constructive evaluations.
  • Maintain confidentiality.
  • Disclose any conflicts of interest.
  • Report potential ethical concerns.
  • Complete reviews within agreed deadlines.

Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are expected to:

  • Ensure fair, transparent, and unbiased editorial decisions.
  • Preserve editorial independence.
  • Maintain confidentiality.
  • Manage conflicts of interest appropriately.
  • Protect the integrity of the scholarly record.
  • Apply internationally recognized ethical standards.

10. Complaints and Appeals

The journal provides mechanisms for the submission of complaints, appeals, and concerns related to editorial decisions, publication practices, or potential scientific misconduct.

All cases are handled confidentially, objectively, and impartially in accordance with COPE recommendations.

Appeals must be supported by substantive scientific or procedural arguments and will be reviewed independently by the editorial team.

11. Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions

When significant errors, ethical concerns, methodological deficiencies, or evidence of scientific misconduct are identified, the journal may implement corrective measures in accordance with COPE guidance.

Editorial actions may include:

  • Corrections.
  • Errata.
  • Expressions of Concern.
  • Retractions.
  • Article removal under exceptional circumstances.

All post-publication notices will be clearly identified and permanently linked to the original publication record in order to preserve transparency and the integrity of the scholarly record.

12. Post-Publication Responsibilities

Authors have an ongoing obligation to notify the journal of significant errors, omissions, or inaccuracies discovered after publication.

The journal may initiate investigations when credible concerns are raised by readers, reviewers, institutions, funding bodies, or other stakeholders.

When appropriate, academic institutions, ethics committees, or funding agencies may be notified as part of ethical review procedures.

Final Statement

Sapiens Sciences reaffirms its commitment to scientific integrity, editorial independence, transparency, research reproducibility, and internationally recognized standards of scholarly publishing.

The journal promotes a culture of responsible, ethical, and verifiable research aimed at advancing scientific knowledge and preserving a trustworthy scholarly record of international relevance.

All editorial decisions are based exclusively on academic merit, scientific quality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, and relevance to the aims and scope of the journal.