Research Trends is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and takes all possible measures necessary to prevent publication misconduct.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF AUTHORS

• Confirm and assert that the manuscript as submitted is not under consideration or submitted for publication elsewhere. If portions of the content have overlap with any other published or submitted content, acknowledge them and cite those sources in the manuscript. Also, provide the publisher/editor with a copy of any submitted manuscript that might have overlapping content.
• Confirm that all the work in the submitted manuscript is original and acknowledge and cite content reproduced from other sources. Obtain permission to reproduce any content from other sources so as to avoid copyright violation.
• Ensure that any studies involving human or animal subjects conform to national, local and institutional laws and requirements and confirm that approval has been sought and obtained where appropriate. Authors should obtain express permission from human subjects and respect their privacy.
• Declare in the manuscript any potential conflicts of interest that could be considered or viewed as exerting an undue influence on his or her duties at any stage during the publication process.
• Maintain accurate records of data associated with their manuscript, and provide access to the data on reasonable requests. Where appropriate and allowed by employer, funding agency and others who might have an interest, retain the data in a suitable repository or location for sharing and further use by others.
• Notify the publisher if a significant error in their publication is identified. Cooperate with the publisher and editors to publish an erratum, addendum, corrigendum notice, or retract the paper, which ever deemed necessary.

• Contribute to the decision-making process and give assistance in improving the quality of the article by reviewing the manuscript objectively, in a timely manner.
• Maintain confidentiality of any information entrusted by the publisher, editor or author. Avoid retaining or copying the manuscript.
• Give alert on any published or submitted content that is significantly similar to that under review.
• In the event of any potential conflicts of interest, of collaborative, financial, or some other nature between the reviewer and author, give alert on the same and if necessary withdraw assistance for the manuscript.

• Carry out their expected duties in a balanced, objective and fair manner, without prejudice based on gender, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs, ethnicity or geographical origin of the authors.
• Considered and accepted articles for publication solely based on their academic merit.
• Adopt and follow reasonably responsive measures in the event of complaints of an ethical or conflict nature. Give authors a reasonable opportunity to respond to any complaints. Investigate all complaints no matter when the original publication was approved. Retain documentation associated with any such complaints.

• Research Trends (P) Ltd. as publisher shall ensure that good practice is maintained to the standards outlined above.

• Misconduct and unethical behavior may be identified and brought to the attention of the publisher or editor at any time.
• Whoever informs the publisher or editor of such conduct should provide sufficient information and evidence in order to be investigated. All allegations should be taken seriously until a successful conclusion is reached.
• In any event the author should be given the opportunity to respond to any allegations.