Editorial Policy

Fatima Journal of Sugarcane, Chemical and Crop Sciences (FJSC) is committed to maintaining high standards of research integrity, publication ethics, transparency and editorial independence. The journal expects authors, editors, reviewers and other participants in the publication process to adhere to recognized principles of responsible scholarly publishing.

The following policies apply to manuscripts submitted to, reviewed by, accepted by or published in FJSC.

1. Author Contributions

FJSC requires authors to clearly identify and describe their individual contributions to the submitted work.

Authorship should be based on substantive intellectual contributions to the research and should reflect both credit and responsibility for the published work. FJSC encourages authors to follow the current International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommendations for determining authorship, where applicable.

Authors should have:

  • Made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, or to the acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data;

  • Participated in drafting the manuscript or critically reviewing it for important intellectual content;

  • Approved the final version of the manuscript; and

  • Agreed to be accountable for the integrity of the work and to appropriately investigate and resolve questions concerning its accuracy or integrity.

Individuals who contribute to a manuscript but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be appropriately acknowledged rather than listed as authors. General supervision, administrative support, funding acquisition, technical assistance or language editing alone does not necessarily constitute authorship.

All authors are expected to have confidence in the integrity of the contributions made by their co-authors.

2. Competing Interests

FJSC requires authors, editors and reviewers to disclose any financial, professional, personal or other interests that could reasonably be perceived as influencing their judgment.

Potential competing interests may include:

  • Employment or consultancy

  • Research funding

  • Honoraria or financial relationships

  • Patents or patent applications

  • Commercial interests

  • Institutional affiliations

  • Personal or professional relationships

  • Membership of relevant organizations

Disclosure of a competing interest does not necessarily prevent publication or participation in peer review. The purpose of disclosure is to promote transparency and allow editors and readers to assess potential influences on the work.

3. Research Ethics and Community Guidelines

Research published in FJSC must comply with applicable ethical, legal and institutional requirements.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their research complies with:

  • Relevant national and international regulations;

  • Institutional research policies;

  • Appropriate disciplinary standards;

  • Environmental and biosafety requirements;

  • Animal welfare requirements, where applicable;

  • Human research ethics requirements, where applicable; and

  • Local community standards and applicable cultural or legal requirements.

Where ethical approval is required, authors should provide the name of the approving committee or institution and the relevant approval/reference number.

The journal may request documentation demonstrating ethical or regulatory approval where appropriate.

4. Human Participants and Informed Consent

Research involving human participants must comply with applicable ethical standards and institutional requirements.

Where applicable, authors must obtain informed consent from participants before collecting or publishing personal, biometric, biomedical, clinical or other identifiable information.

Participants should receive adequate information regarding:

  • The purpose of the research;

  • Procedures involved;

  • Potential risks and benefits;

  • Use and storage of their information;

  • Confidentiality arrangements; and

  • Their right to participate voluntarily and withdraw where applicable.

Consent must be obtained without coercion, undue influence or manipulation.

Where identifiable information, photographs or other potentially identifying material is published, appropriate consent for publication should be obtained.

5. Animal Research

Where research involves animals, authors must confirm that the work was conducted in accordance with applicable institutional, national and international ethical standards.

Manuscripts should provide sufficient information regarding:

  • Animal species and numbers;

  • Experimental procedures;

  • Housing and care;

  • Ethical approval, where applicable; and

  • Measures taken to minimize pain, distress or unnecessary harm.

The journal may request evidence of ethical approval or animal welfare compliance.

6. Confidentiality

FJSC treats manuscripts submitted for consideration as confidential documents.

Editors, reviewers, editorial staff and other individuals involved in manuscript assessment must not disclose confidential information concerning submitted manuscripts to unauthorized persons.

Reviewers must not:

  • Share manuscripts or unpublished information;

  • Use unpublished information for personal or professional advantage;

  • Discuss manuscripts with unauthorized individuals; or

  • Use confidential information to influence their own research.

Confidentiality applies throughout the review and editorial process and, where appropriate, after publication.

7. Embargoes and Media Communication

Authors may communicate about their research responsibly, provided that such communication does not misrepresent the status, findings or conclusions of the manuscript.

Where an embargo has been formally established by the journal, authors and other involved parties should respect the specified embargo period.

The journal may, at its discretion, highlight selected articles through news, institutional communications or other media activities following acceptance or publication.

8. Correction and Retraction

FJSC is committed to maintaining an accurate and trustworthy scholarly record.

If an error is identified after publication, the journal will assess its significance and determine the appropriate action.

Depending on the nature and seriousness of the issue, the journal may publish:

  • A correction;

  • An editorial note;

  • An expression of concern; or

  • A retraction.

Corrections may be issued for significant errors that affect the accuracy or interpretation of the published article but do not invalidate the overall research.

Retraction may be considered where published findings are demonstrated to be unreliable because of major error, fabricated or falsified data, plagiarism, unethical research, serious authorship problems, duplicate publication or other substantial violations of publication ethics.

The journal will maintain an appropriate connection between the original article and any subsequent correction or retraction notice to preserve the integrity and transparency of the scholarly record.

9. Corresponding Authors

The corresponding author serves as the principal contact between the authors and the journal.

The corresponding author is responsible for:

  • Completing the submission process;

  • Providing accurate author information;

  • Confirming that all authors have approved the submission;

  • Communicating with the editorial office;

  • Coordinating responses to reviewers;

  • Obtaining approval of the final manuscript from all authors; and

  • Communicating publication-related information to co-authors.

The corresponding author should be able to provide or obtain relevant information concerning the research and its integrity when requested by the journal.

FJSC expects all listed authors to remain informed about the manuscript and its editorial status. The corresponding author does not assume sole responsibility for the work; all authors remain accountable for their respective contributions and the integrity of the publication. This approach is consistent with current authorship guidance.

10. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

FJSC values diversity and seeks to promote an inclusive scholarly environment.

The journal welcomes contributions regardless of:

  • Nationality

  • Geographic location

  • Gender

  • Institutional affiliation

  • Career stage

  • Cultural background

  • Scientific discipline

Editorial and peer-review decisions should be based on scientific merit, relevance, originality, methodological quality and ethical standards rather than personal characteristics or institutional status.

The journal encourages fair recognition of researchers who contribute substantively to studies, including researchers and institutions in the regions where research is conducted.

11. Editorial Independence

FJSC maintains editorial independence in the evaluation and publication of scholarly work.

Editorial decisions must be based on scientific quality, originality, relevance, methodological rigor, ethical compliance and other legitimate editorial considerations.

Commercial, financial, institutional or sponsorship considerations must not determine whether a manuscript is accepted or rejected.

The journal's association with academic, industrial or institutional partners does not give external parties the right to influence individual editorial decisions.

Where potential conflicts involving editors or institutional stakeholders arise, the journal will take appropriate measures to protect the independence and integrity of the editorial process.

12. Research Misconduct, Fraud and Malpractice

FJSC takes allegations of research misconduct and publication malpractice seriously.

Potential misconduct may include:

  • Fabrication of data;

  • Falsification or manipulation of data;

  • Plagiarism;

  • Duplicate or redundant publication;

  • Image manipulation;

  • Unethical research;

  • Manipulation of the peer-review process;

  • Undisclosed conflicts of interest;

  • False authorship or inappropriate authorship;

  • Citation manipulation;

  • Misrepresentation of research findings; or

  • Other serious violations of accepted research or publication standards.

When concerns arise, the journal may conduct an initial assessment and request explanations, supporting documentation or institutional investigation.

Where appropriate, the journal may refer concerns to the relevant institution, research organization or competent authority.

13. Funding and Funder Disclosure

Authors must disclose all sources of financial or material support for the research.

Funding information should identify:

  • Name of the funding organization;

  • Grant or project number, where applicable;

  • Role of the funder in the research; and

  • Any restrictions or relationships that could influence the work.

Where the funder had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation or publication decision, authors should state this where appropriate.

Funding disclosure improves transparency and allows readers to understand the context in which research was conducted.

14. Institutional Affiliations

Authors must provide accurate and current institutional affiliations at the time of the research and submission.

Affiliations should normally include:

  • Department or research unit;

  • Institution or organization;

  • City;

  • Country; and

  • Other relevant institutional information requested by the journal.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that affiliations accurately represent where the research was conducted or where the author was affiliated during the relevant period.

Institutional affiliations should not be used to imply institutional endorsement of the findings unless such endorsement has been explicitly granted.

15. Peer Review

FJSC considers rigorous peer review an essential component of scholarly publishing.

The journal normally follows a single-blind peer-review process, in which reviewer identities are not disclosed to authors.

Reviewers are expected to:

  • Evaluate manuscripts objectively;

  • Provide constructive and scientifically justified comments;

  • Maintain confidentiality;

  • Identify potential ethical or methodological concerns;

  • Disclose relevant conflicts of interest;

  • Avoid using unpublished information for personal advantage; and

  • Complete reviews within the agreed timeframe where possible.

Reviewers should decline assignments when they lack sufficient expertise or have a conflict of interest that could affect their impartiality.

Editorial decisions remain the responsibility of the journal's editors and are not determined solely by individual reviewer recommendations.

16. Personal Data and Privacy

FJSC respects the privacy of authors, reviewers, research participants and other individuals involved in the publication process.

Personal information collected through manuscript submission, peer review or editorial correspondence will be used only for legitimate journal, publishing, communication and administrative purposes.

Personal information should not be disclosed publicly without appropriate permission or legitimate legal or editorial grounds.

Authors must ensure that personal or identifiable information included in their manuscripts has been obtained and used in accordance with applicable ethical and legal requirements.

17. Plagiarism

FJSC does not tolerate plagiarism.

Plagiarism includes presenting another person's words, ideas, data, figures, images, methods or other intellectual contributions as one's own without appropriate attribution.

The journal may use plagiarism or similarity-detection software as part of its editorial screening process.

Where substantial plagiarism or inappropriate text reuse is identified, the journal may:

  • Request clarification;

  • Require correction;

  • Reject the manuscript;

  • Refer the matter to the author's institution; or

  • Take further action where appropriate.

Similarity scores are not, by themselves, a determination of plagiarism. Editors consider the nature, extent, location and context of the overlap.

18. Preprints

FJSC may consider manuscripts that have previously appeared as preprints, provided that the submission is clearly disclosed and the manuscript has not been formally published as a peer-reviewed journal article.

Authors should provide the preprint DOI or URL during submission.

Publication of a preprint does not guarantee acceptance by FJSC.

If a manuscript is subsequently published in FJSC, authors should appropriately update the preprint record with a link to the final published article where permitted.

Authors should also disclose any substantial changes between the preprint and submitted manuscript.

19. Research Data and Data Availability

FJSC encourages responsible sharing, preservation and reuse of research data wherever ethically, legally and practically possible.

Authors should provide sufficient information to enable readers to understand, evaluate and, where appropriate, reproduce the reported research.

Depending on the research type, authors may be asked to provide:

  • Raw or processed datasets;

  • Experimental protocols;

  • Statistical procedures;

  • Code or computational workflows;

  • Supplementary information; or

  • Data-access statements.

Where data cannot be publicly shared because of ethical, legal, privacy, intellectual-property or other legitimate restrictions, authors should clearly explain the reason and provide an appropriate data-access statement.

20. Artificial Intelligence and AI-Assisted Technologies

FJSC recognizes the increasing use of artificial intelligence and AI-assisted technologies in scholarly research and manuscript preparation.

AI tools may be used responsibly for appropriate purposes such as language improvement, grammar correction, translation, coding assistance, data-analysis support or other legitimate research activities.

However:

AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors.

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity and ethical status of all submitted material.

Where AI-assisted technologies have been used substantially in preparing the manuscript, authors should disclose the use at submission and describe the nature of the assistance where appropriate.