Ethical Principles and Publication Policy

Aintelia Science Notes Journal adheres to the highest standards of publication ethics and adopts the guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

1. Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers Reviewers play a central role in ensuring the integrity and quality of scholarly publication, and are expected to adhere to the following:

Responsibilities & Professionalism

  • Expertise: Reviewers should only accept assignments within their area of expertise.
  • Confidentiality: All manuscripts received for review are confidential and must not be shown to or discussed with others without authorization from the Editor.
  • Timeliness: Reviewers should accept invitations only if they can complete the review within the specified timeframe; any delay must be reported immediately.
  • Conflict of Interest: Reviewers must declare any potential conflict of interest to the Editor before accepting the assignment.

Conducting the Review

  • Objectivity: Reviews must be objective; personal criticism of the author is inappropriate.
  • Constructive Feedback: Comments should be clear and supported by arguments, aiming to help the author improve the manuscript.
  • Data vs. Opinion: Reviewers should distinguish personal opinions from comments supported by data or literature.
  • Anonymity: Reviewers must not include their names or personal details in the review file (double-anonymous policy).

Reviewer Checklist: Originality, Methodology, Clarity, Structure, References, Ethical Concerns.

Recommendation Options: Accept · Minor Revision · Major Revision · Reject.

2. Ethical Guidelines for Authors

  • Originality & Plagiarism: Work must be entirely original. Self-plagiarism is prohibited. All submissions are screened with similarity-detection software; the maximum acceptable similarity rate is 20%. Manuscripts exceeding this limit are returned or rejected without review. Concurrent submission to more than one journal is not permitted.
  • Authorship & Contribution: Authorship is limited to those who have made a significant intellectual contribution to the work, meeting all of the following criteria (adapted from ICMJE): (1) substantial contribution to the conception or design of the work, or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; (2) drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content; (3) approval of the final version to be published; and (4) agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work. All authors must approve the final version prior to submission. Any change to authorship (addition, removal, or reordering of authors) after initial submission must be approved in writing by all listed authors and the Editor-in-Chief, and — if the manuscript has already been published — will be handled in accordance with the journal's Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions Policy. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all listed authors meet the authorship criteria, for communicating with the editorial office throughout the review and production process, and for confirming that the final version has been approved by all co-authors. Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet the full authorship criteria (e.g., technical assistance, funding acquisition alone, general supervision) should be listed in an Acknowledgements section rather than as authors, with their consent.
  • Data Access & Retention: Authors may be asked to provide raw data for editorial review and should be prepared to provide public access where applicable.
  • Competing Interests: All authors must disclose any financial, personal, or professional relationships that could influence the work. If no competing interests exist, this must be explicitly stated (e.g., "The authors declare no competing interests"). The competing interest statement must be included in the manuscript and/or submitted as a supplementary file.
  • Ethics Committee Approval & Informed Consent: For research involving human or animal subjects, authors must state ethics committee approval and confirm that informed consent was obtained.

3. The Role of the Editor The Editor decides which articles are published, evaluates manuscripts solely on intellectual content without discrimination, and ensures every submission undergoes double-anonymous review by at least two independent reviewers.

4. International Standards & References

5. Responsible Research Assessment: BAUDER is a member of the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) and a signatory of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). In line with these commitments, the journal evaluates research on its own merits and intrinsic quality, and does not rely on journal-based metrics such as the Journal Impact Factor as a surrogate measure of the quality of individual articles or to inform editorial decisions.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

For Authors:

  • Authors should disclose the use of generative AI tools (e.g. large language models) in manuscript preparation, beyond routine language correction, editing, and formatting.
  • Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of their work.
  • AI tools may not be listed as authors or cited as sources.

For Peer Reviewers and Editors:

  • Reviewers and editors are encouraged to exercise caution when using generative AI in their assessments. Any use must be disclosed and overseen by the individual responsible.
  • Use of AI for language editing is acceptable if disclosed.