Author Compliance

Author Compliance During the Copyediting and Production Stage 

This policy outlines the procedure for handling manuscripts where authors fail to fully address editor and copyeditor queries during the final production stages, ensuring the integrity and quality of all published content. The journal reserves the right to edit content for style, clarity, and factual accuracy. This policy applies to all manuscripts that have successfully completed peer review and have entered the copyediting and production process.

1. Author Responsibilities

• The corresponding author is expected to be available and respond to all editorial and production queries in a timely manner as specified by the production schedule and communications.
• Authors must review all queries (Author Queries or AQs) and clearly indicate their acceptance, rejection with justification, or revised input for each query.
• Authors must ensure their responses adhere to the journal's style guide and that any changes or clarifications do not introduce factual errors.

2. Editor and Production Team Procedures

• All queries will be communicated clearly, with a specific deadline provided for the author's response. The communication will outline the consequences of a delayed or incomplete response.
• If the author's initial response is incomplete or the deadline is missed, the copyeditor or production editor will send a polite follow-up reminder, clearly outlining the specific unaddressed comments and providing a revised, firm deadline (e.g., within 48-72 hours).
• If the second deadline is missed or the response is still inadequate, the editor may attempt to contact co-authors or use alternate contact information (e.g., institutional email, postal address via registered letter) to ensure the message is received.

3. Resolution and Consequences

If the author remains uncooperative or fails to address significant, unaddressed editorial concerns, the following actions will be taken:

• Editorial Authority: The journal reserves the right to make necessary edits for clarity, style, and minor corrections without explicit author approval if previous attempts to gain a response have failed, provided these changes do not alter the scientific meaning or core message of the work.
• Arbitration: For more substantial disagreements or unaddressed issues, a senior editor, independent of the peer review process, may be asked to arbitrate the case, with the journal retaining final decision-making authority.
• Publication Hold: If the unaddressed comments relate to serious scientific errors, potential misconduct, or libellous content, the paper will not be published in its current form, and the publication process will be halted.
• Withdrawal/Rejection Without Refund: If the author's non-compliance prevents the paper from being suitable for publication, the editor may rescind the acceptance and reject the paper. In cases where significant editorial and production work has already been performed, and the non-compliance is the sole cause of non-publication, any applicable Article Processing Charges (APCs) already paid will not be refunded. The journal will retain the fee to cover the costs incurred during the peer review and production process.
• Institutional Notification: In cases of serious, unaddressed concerns related to potential research or publication misconduct (e.g., questionable data, unresolvable errors), the editor may contact the author's institution to investigate and help resolve the situation.
• No Publication Without Approval (for critical issues): The paper will not be published without the corresponding author's final approval if legal or copyright issues are pending, or if critical data accuracy issues remain unresolved.

For Author https://publicationethics.org/guidance?f%5B0%5D=type%3A44