ETHICAL GUIDELINES FOR EDITORS

The Editor of a research journal plays a vital role in establishing and maintaining professional, academic, and ethical standards. Publication is expected to reflect the quality of scholarly work produced by the author(s) and their affiliated institution(s), where applicable. The Editor is responsible for the journal at all stages of the publication process, from receipt of a manuscript to its final publication. In this context, it is the prime responsibility of the Editor to adhere to the following ethical guidelines while publishing research in the Journal of Biomolecules, Pathogenesis and Therapeutics (JBPT).

Editor’s Responsibilities

The Editor of the Journal of Biomolecules, Pathogenesis and Therapeutics (JBPT) holds a central role in establishing, maintaining, and upholding high professional, academic, and ethical standards. Publication in an HEC-recognized journal reflects the quality of scholarly work produced by authors and their affiliated institutions. The Editor is responsible for the journal throughout the entire publication process, from initial manuscript submission to final publication. In this capacity, the Editor ensures the academic quality of published content by selecting high-quality, original, and relevant research, promoting freedom of expression within legal and cultural boundaries, maintaining the integrity and transparency of research, addressing the needs of authors and readers, enforcing publication ethics, and issuing corrigenda, clarifications, expressions of concern, or apologies when necessary.

Good Editorial Practices

Good editorial practices at JBPT involve encouraging innovative ideas and constructive feedback from authors, reviewers, editorial board members, and readers to enhance journal quality. The Editor ensures the implementation of a genuine blind peer-review process, promotes significant and novel research contributions, enforces a strict anti-plagiarism policy, and educates contributors about ethical research and publication standards. Journal policies are applied independently, free from institutional or external pressure, and are periodically reviewed and revised to maintain relevance and integrity.

2. Formation of the Editorial Board

The Editor ensures that the Editorial Board consists of reputable, competent, and experienced scholars capable of supporting and promoting the journal. The Board comprises an Editorial Committee responsible for editorial management and logistics, and an Advisory Committee providing academic oversight and manuscript review, with at least 50% international representation. Board members may be appointed for defined terms, and the composition may be revised as required. All new members are informed about the journal’s ethical guidelines and responsibilities. Collectively, the Editorial Board is responsible for maintaining journal quality, which directly influences the journal’s HEC standing. Editorial Board meetings are conducted regularly, at least twice a year, to ensure effective journal operations.

3. Fair Play and Impartiality

Manuscript selection at JBPT is conducted impartially and based solely on academic merit, scientific quality, and relevance. The Editor responds promptly to authors, assigns a unique identification number to each manuscript, and ensures unbiased consideration of all submissions. Discriminatory factors such as gender, race, ethnicity, religion, cultural background, political views, seniority, or institutional affiliation are strictly disregarded. Reviewers are informed of their obligation to disclose any potential conflicts of interest.

4. Confidentiality

The Editor ensures strict confidentiality of authors and reviewers throughout the double-blind peer-review process. Information related to manuscripts is disclosed only to authors, reviewers, and relevant editorial board members. Following acceptance, only the article title and author names may be disclosed unless prior approval is obtained. Confidentiality of research participants is protected by safeguarding identifiable personal data, images, and individual results. Editors and reviewers must not share, use, or benefit from unpublished material prior to publication.

5. Editing and Formatting Guidelines

The Editor provides clear, accessible, and comprehensive guidelines for manuscript preparation and formatting. These guidelines address both content-related and technical requirements, including structure, referencing, and presentation. The journal’s preferred reference style and formatting manual are clearly stated as part of its editorial policy.

6. The Peer Review Process

JBPT follows a rigorous double-blind peer-review system for all submitted manuscripts. Each manuscript undergoes peer review by qualified reviewers, with at least one reviewer based outside Pakistan. The Editor ensures proper anonymization, provides reviewers with clear guidelines and structured evaluation forms, and facilitates prompt, professional, and unbiased reviews. Reviewers’ comments are communicated to authors in a timely manner, and the Editor ensures that suggested revisions are adequately addressed. Peer-review practices are reviewed periodically, a competent reviewer database is maintained, and complex or conflicted cases are referred to the Advisory Committee.

7. Dealing with Misconduct

Editors encourage reviewers to identify ethical concerns, including plagiarism, data fabrication, data manipulation, and insufficient ethical approval. Plagiarism is objectively verified using Turnitin® or equivalent software. In cases of confirmed misconduct, the Editor may publish corrections, remove content, or retract articles in accordance with international ethical standards.

8. Transparency and Authorship Ethics

JBPT enforces strict authorship policies to maintain transparency. An author may publish only one manuscript per issue as a principal investigator and may be listed as a co-author on only one additional manuscript. Editorial Board members, including the Editor, may publish only one manuscript per issue. Authorship must reflect substantial intellectual contribution, and honorary or forced authorship is strictly prohibited.

9. Conflict of Interest

Editors must not handle manuscripts involving authors, institutions, or organizations with which they have conflicts of interest. This policy applies equally to reviewers and Editorial Board members. Manuscripts submitted by the Editor or Board members are managed independently by an Associate Editor. Records of declared conflicts of interest are maintained and updated periodically.

10. Disclosure

Editors must not use unpublished data or information from submitted manuscripts without explicit author permission. Confidential information obtained during the editorial process must not be used for personal, academic, or professional advantage.

11. Publication Decisions

Editorial decisions are based solely on the journal’s scope, scientific merit, methodological rigor, originality, and ethical compliance. Reasons for rejection are clearly communicated and may include scope mismatch, insufficient depth, methodological weaknesses, or ethical violations. Decisions are conveyed promptly and are not reversed without due process.

12. Appeals and Complaints

The Editor establishes a transparent mechanism for handling appeals and complaints related to manuscript rejection, ethical concerns, or allegations of misconduct. Appeals are reviewed objectively, and decisions made following due process are final.