Publications Ethics and Misconduct
The Editorial Board of Indian Journal Horticulture adheres to strict intellectual integrity for its publications. All stakeholders, i.e. publisher, editors, reviewers, and authors agree upon the following standards of expected ethical behavior, which are based as Academy’s policy and based on the Guidelines & Standard developed by the Committee on Publications Ethics (COPE). The journal is committed to maintain strict integrity of research publication and hence, discourages misrepresentation and prevents malpractices of research results. Strict compliance with ethical standards should be practiced before submitting a manuscript.
Publication Ethics and Statement
- Ethical guidelines for Journal Publication
The publication of an article in Indian Journal of Horticulture is an essential requirement in the development of a coherent and respected showcasing of latest scientific knowledge/ findings in nay branch of Horticulture to the global scientific community as whole. The research reported should be direct reflection of the quality of the research work of the author(s) and the institutions that supported them. Peer-reviewed articles support and embody the universally agreed scientific method(s). Hence, it is desired that they agree upon the standards of expected of sound ethical behavior of all parties involved in the act of publication, i.e. the author, the journal editor/ editorial team, the peer reviewer, the publisher and the Academy.
The Indian Academy of Horticultural Sciences as publisher of the Indian Journal of Horticulture takes its duty of guardianship over all the stages of publishing with utter sense of seriousness and recognizes it ethical and other responsibilities.
It is further declared that, momentary contributions for reprint/ publication of an article or any other commercial revenue have no impact or influence on editorial decisions in publication. In addition, the Editors and Editorial Board will assist in communication to other journals and/or publishers where an article is more relevant and useful.
- Duties of Authors
Reporting standards
Authors of any article submit for reporting any original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. The complete experimental data should be represented accurately in the paper. A manuscript should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work reported upon. Fraudulent or concealing of facts and declaring inaccurate statements would constitute an unethical behaviour of the author(s) and are unacceptable. Review and professional publication of articles should be accurate and objective and editorial opinion should be clearly identified as such.
Data Access and Retention
Author(s) are required to provide the raw data of some specific research in connection with a manuscript for editorial review as an query/ request is made, so as to get the same under public access. If possible, the data required for such purposes should be retained for a reasonable time after publication of the journal.
Originality and Plagiarism
The authors/ Corresponding author(s) should ensure that they have written and submitted the original research, and in cases where the authors have used the work and/ or words of others that should have been appropriately cited or quoted. Authors should confirm that their manuscript is based on their own original work and that has not been copied or plagiarized. Manuscript plagiarism check report along with the submission is desired. The authors are expected to exhibit COPE ethics & follow good scientific practices. Application Copyright Laws are required to be followed. Proper acknowledgment of others work must always be made. Fabrications of data/ results and the making of fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior & may result in immediate rejection or retraction of manuscript even a published article.
Multiple, redundant or concurrent publication
Authors should refrain from publishing manuscript(s) 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 behaviour and this practice is strictly discouraged and is unacceptable. Publication of some kinds of articles in more than one journal is sometimes justifiable upto to certain extenst, provided certain conditions are met when some advancement are also being reported in the newer manuscript. The authors and editors of the journals concerned must agree to the secondary publication, which must reflect the same data and interpretation of the primary document. The primary reference must be cited in the secondary publication. This should never be hidden by the corresponding author(s) of any manuscript.
Acknowledgement of Sources
Authors should acknowledge of the work reported by others and must be mentioned at the time of submission. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work. Avoid using information obtained privately, as in conversation, correspondence, or discussion with third party (ies), must not be used or reported without explicit, written permission from the source. Information obtained in the course of confidential services, such as refereeing manuscripts or grant applications, must not be used without the explicit written permission of the author(s) of the work involved in these services.
Authorship in Manuscript
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 only 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 in the initial submission stage. All the co-authors should ensure that they have seen and approved the final version of the manuscript and also have agreed to its submission for publication in IJH.
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 undertaking the study should be essentially be disclosed. Examples of potential conflicts of interest, which corresponding author expect should be disclosed in the manuscript including employment, consultancies, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. Potential conflicts of interest should be disclosed at the time on initial submission.
Fundamental errors in published Research paper
When an author/ authors discover a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, it is their obligation to promptly notify the Editor-in-Chief to retract or correct the paper by submission of errata to be published in the latest issue. If the Editorial Team or the Publisher learns from a third party that a published work contains a prominent error/ scientific blunder, it is the obligation of the Author(s) to promptly retract or correct the paper or provide evidence to the Editor-in-Chief/ Executive Council of IAHS of the correctness of the original paper/ data.
- Reviewer of a Manuscript
A Reviewer should maintain complete confidentiality, while doing a review of manuscript should not in any situation reveal his/ her identity to the author(s). A reviewer should strictly go by the merit and newness in findings of the submitted manuscript without sharing the idea/ results to any other individual working in the specialized field. No bias is expected, while review of a manuscript from any individual/ team.
III. Editorial Team
The Editorial Team would adhere to high ethical standards in handling, processing and printing of journal without bias or prejudice to individual or a team. It would take utmost care in maintaining the standards of research being reported and would help in minimizing self-citation in the publication. Any ethical issue if reported/ noted would be brought to the notice of Editor-in-Chief and sent for seeking action on such issues from the Executive Council headed by the President of the IAHS as per the procedure outlined in the COPE.
