PUBLICATION ETHICS AND ETHICAL GUIDELINES
Authorship
Authors of a manuscript should include only those individuals who have made a significant contribution to the research. This includes active participation in the design and conduct of the study, data collection and analysis, as well as the writing and revision of the manuscript. Other supporters may only be listed in the Acknowledgements section of the article. Each author must confirm responsibility for the entire content of the manuscript and declare that the research has been conducted in accordance with accepted principles of scientific-ethics.
Conflict of Interest
Nature & Science international scientific journal is committed to the principles of scientific ethics and transparency. All participants involved in the publication process ‒ authors, editors, and reviewers are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest.
Authors: Authors must clearly declare in their manuscript or in the accompanying cover letter any personal or financial interests that could influence the preparation or publication of the research.
Editors: If editors have any personal or professional relationships with the authors that may affect their objectivity, they must disclose this situation and recuse themselves from the evaluation of the manuscript.
Reviewers: If reviewers identify any potential conflicts of interest related to the manuscripts they are asked to review, they must promptly inform the editorial office.
Appropriate Measures: The journal follows the guidelines of the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) and takes appropriate measures to prevent conflicts of interest. When necessary, relevant disclosures are clearly communicated to readers within the published article.
Plagiarism Policy
Nature & Science international scientific journal checks all submitted manuscripts using the StrikePlagiarism plagiarism detection system. The system compares manuscripts with a wide range of sources, including university databases, other academic databases, internet resources, and legal databases in order to ensure the originality of the submitted work. Authors must properly cite all sources used in their research. If plagiarism or any form of ethical misconduct is detected, the manuscript will not be accepted for publication.
Privacy Statement
Editors may share information about submitted manuscripts only with reviewers and other editors involved in the evaluation process; under no circumstances should this information be disclosed to other parties. Manuscripts submitted to the editorial office must be treated as confidential documents.
The names and email addresses entered on the journal website will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of the journal and will not be made available to any third party.
Publication Ethics Statement
Nature & Science international scientific journal operates in accordance with the recommendations of the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics). The journal’s evaluation and publication processes are based on the following principles:
1. Accurate and proper presentation of research data.
2. Prevention of the publication of fabricated or manipulated data.
3. Prevention of plagiarism and redundant publication (publication of the same research in multiple venues).
If ethical misconduct is identified, the journal may take appropriate actions, including correction, retraction, or rejection of the manuscript.
Corrections and Retractions Policy
Nature & Science is an international scientific journal that considers maintaining the scientific accuracy and reliability of published articles as a fundamental principle. The journal operates in accordance with the recommendations of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) throughout the publication process.
Corrections: If technical or editorial errors are identified in a published article, and these errors do not affect the main findings of the research, technical corrections are implemented.
Retractions: An article may be retracted in cases of plagiarism or other serious ethical violations, identification of fabricated or manipulated data, significant doubts regarding the reliability of the research results, or redundant publication (the same research being published in multiple venues).
Retracted articles are retained in the journal’s archive, but are clearly marked as “Retracted”, and the reason for the retraction is openly communicated to readers.
Reviewer Ethics
Reviewers must act in accordance with the journal’s principles of objective and fair evaluation. All manuscripts should be assessed objectively and fairly based solely on their intellectual content, regardless of the author(s)’ gender, race, religion, nationality, or political views. All information related to the manuscript must be treated as confidential and shared only with appropriate individuals, such as other reviewers and editors. If any conflict of interest is identified, reviewers must immediately inform the editor. When preparing their reviews, reviewers should base their evaluation on the scientific quality, originality, and methodological rigor of the manuscript, and they are also expected to submit their reviews within the specified timeframe.
Author Ethics
Authors are responsible for adhering to the ethical principles of the journal and must confirm that they comply with the following requirements when submitting a manuscript to the editorial office.
The submitted manuscript must represent the original work of the author(s), must not have been previously published, and must not be under consideration for publication in another journal at the same time. The information presented in the article must be accurate and reliable. The consent of all authors must be obtained, and authorship must be properly indicated. All sources of data and information used in the preparation of the manuscript must be appropriately cited. Authors must clearly disclose the sources of research funding and any sponsorship. In addition, any conflicts of interest (personal, professional, or financial), if present, must be explicitly declared. Plagiarism and redundant publication (the publication of the same research in multiple venues) are strictly prohibited.
Editor Ethics
Editors must adhere to the journal’s principles of objective and transparent publication. All manuscripts should be evaluated objectively and fairly based solely on their intellectual content, and the authors’ gender, race, religion, nationality, or political views must not influence the evaluation process. Editors must avoid personal interests during the evaluation of manuscripts and take appropriate action immediately if any conflict of interest is identified. The selection of reviewers should be conducted in accordance with the journal’s scope and scientific standards and based on transparent principles. All information related to submitted manuscripts must be kept confidential and shared only with appropriate individuals, such as editors and reviewers. Editors are responsible for properly managing communication between reviewers and authors and for making objective decisions based on the reviewers’ reports. If any ethical misconduct is detected, editors must take appropriate action without delay.
Manuscript Submission
Articles are submitted to the journal through the following methods:
- Online Submission System – Submit an Article.
- Email Submission – nature.science2000@aem.az
Notes: Manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with the journal’s writing guidelines, references must be cited correctly, and ethical requirements must be followed.
Peer Review Process
Articles in the international scientific journal Nature & Science are evaluated based on double-blind peer review process. In this system, both the authors’ and reviewers’ identities are kept confidential to ensure an objective and fair assessment.
Submission and Initial Screening: After the manuscript is sent to the editorial office, it is reviewed by the editors. At this stage, the manuscript is checked for relevance to the journal’s scope and compliance with formal requirements (format, structure, language, references, etc.). Manuscripts are then screened for plagiarism using the StrikePlagiarism system. Once originality is confirmed and ethical standards are met, the manuscript proceeds to the peer review stage.
Reviewer Assignment: Manuscripts that pass the initial screening are sent anonymously to qualified experts. Each manuscript is evaluated by at least two independent reviewers, who may be selected from both local and international experts. The identity of the reviewers is kept confidential from the authors.
Review and Feedback: Reviewers assess the manuscript based on scientific contribution, originality, methodological rigor, and the reliability of the results. They provide suggestions or required revisions when necessary.
Review Period and Receipt of Comments: The editorial team generally receives reviewers’ comments within 2–4 weeks. This period may be extended if necessary.
Decision Making: Based on the opinions of the reviewers, the field editor makes an initial decision to accept the article for publication, return it for revision, or reject it. The final approval of the article is made by the editor-in-chief.
Revisions and Resubmission: If revisions are required, authors must address the reviewers’ and editor’s comments and resubmit the manuscript to the editorial office. All communication with authors is managed by the editor.
Publication of Accepted Manuscripts: Accepted manuscripts undergo editing and formatting before publication. Once finalized, the articles are published on the journal’s website.
Article Processing Charges (APC)
Nature & Science as an Open Access international scientific journal, applies an Article Processing Charge (APC) for article publication. The fee is only charged after a manuscript has been accepted for publication. Payments can be made via Visa card. Discounts or waivers are available for authors facing financial hardship.
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Open Access Statement
Nature & Science is an international scientific journal that has been operating in Open Access mode since 2019, and all its content is published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. License information has been included in the print version since 2024 (Volume 6, Issue 8). All journal content is freely and openly accessible to users and their institutions. The full text of published articles can be accessed through the journal’s website (https://aem.az/en/nature-science) without any subscription fee or access charge. Users are permitted to read, download, copy, distribute, print, link to, and use the articles for any lawful, non-commercial purposes.
Archiving Policy
Authors are permitted to archive the published version of their articles under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license in any institutional or other repositories.
Licensing and Copyright
All articles in the journal are published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. Authors retains all rights.
Under this license, users have the following rights:
Share – copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
Adapt – remix, transform, and build upon the material.
The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
Attribution (BY) – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
NonCommercial (NC) – You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
No additional restrictions – You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Notices:
You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation.
No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.
For more information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/