Ethics Policy: It is expected that authors submitting papers to JBAO will have conducted their work in an ethical manner. General guidelines for the conduct of ethical research are available at https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.
Review for Originality: All manuscripts are reviewed for originality prior to publication. Manuscripts which do not meet minimum expectations for originality will be returned to the author(s) with a note stating the reason(s) for rejection.
Misconduct: Authors must follow apropriate ethical guidelines when conducting research. The resource published by the American Psychological Association (linked above) is one set of guidelines that should be reviewed prior to beginning a study and to submitting a work for publication. Sengupta and Honavar (see, Sengupta, S. and Honavar, S. (2017 June). Publication ethics. Indian Journal of Ophthalmology. 65(6). 429-432. doi: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_483_17) also provides guidance in this area. If misconduct is detected, the manuscript may be returned to the author(s) with a note stating the reason(s) for rejection.
Conflicts of Interest: Conflicts of interest by authors must be addressed prior to publication. Failure to do so may be cause for rejection of a work for consideration or publication. Reviewers must also disclose any conflict of interest prior to accepting the task of reviewing a manuscript for publication.
Self-Citation: Appropriate citations of one's own work are not considered to be a breath of ethics. Excessive or inappropriate self-citation is a cause for concern. Authors should not attempt to inflate their research numbers and impact by self-citation in an unprofessional manner. If this practice is detected, the manuscript may be returned to the author(s) with a note stating the reason(s) for rejection.
