Editorial Policy

Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Section I: Publication

  1. By submitting an article to BISTUA, authors agree to adhere to this publication ethics and malpractice statement.
  2. All articles are subject to peer review by at least two international experts in the field relevant to the submitted manuscript.
  3. The criteria for peer review include quality, relevance, originality, innovation, appropriateness, and language.
  4. The editorial decisions made by the BISTUA Editorial Board may include acceptance, acceptance with revisions, or rejection.
  5. There is no guarantee that a reviewed article will be accepted.
  6. Articles will not be rejected without review.

Section II: Authorship

  1. All submitted articles to BISTUA must include a relevant list of references.
  2. Authors must disclose any financial support received from institutions to conduct the research.
  3. Article titles must be original. Plagiarism in any form and fraudulent data are unacceptable.
  4. BISTUA does not publish articles that are identical to material published elsewhere.

Section III: Authors' Responsibilities

  1. Authors must ensure that: their articles are original; their work has not been previously published elsewhere; all sources used in their work are identified; all data in the manuscript is accurate and authentic; all authors (in the case of co-authorship) have made significant contributions to the research.
  2. Authors are also required to:
    • Participate in the peer review process;
    • Provide retractions or corrections of errors;
    • Report any errors found in their published articles.
  3. Authors must notify the Editors of any potential conflicts of interest.

Section IV: Reviewers' Responsibilities

  1. Reviews should be conducted objectively, fairly, and without personal criticism of the author.
  2. Review comments must be handled confidentially.
  3. Reviewers should:
    • Be academically qualified to review the manuscript;
    • Have no conflicts of interest regarding the research, authors, research sponsors, companies, or institutions;
    • Express their views clearly, with supporting arguments;
    • Identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors and/or any substantial similarity between the manuscript under consideration and other published documents.

Section V: Editors' Responsibilities

  1. Editors have full responsibility and authority to accept or reject an article.
  2. Editors are responsible for the content and overall quality of the publication.
  3. Editors must:
    • Have no conflicts of interest regarding the articles they accept or reject;
    • Ensure the quality of the manuscripts;
    • Only accept a manuscript when reasonably certain of its quality;
    • Preserve the anonymity of reviewers;
    • Ensure that all published documents comply with internationally accepted ethical guidelines;
    • Promote the publication of corrections or retractions when errors are found.
  4. The Editor-in-Chief of BISTUA has the authority to make final decisions regarding the acceptance or rejection of a submitted manuscript after reviewing the comments and consulting other members of the editorial board as appropriate. The Editor-in-Chief should not harbor any bias against the authors and must have no conflicts of interest concerning the documents under review.

Section VI: Publication Ethics

The Editor-in-Chief, members of the Editorial Board, and the International Advisory Board of BISTUA are committed to:

  1. Safeguarding publication ethics;
  2. Maintaining high levels of intellectual and scientific standards without interference from commercial interests;
  3. Protecting and enhancing the peer review process;
  4. Publishing corrections, clarifications, retractions, and apologies when necessary;
  5. Collaborating closely with other editors;
  6. Ensuring that plagiarism and fraudulent data are not tolerated.