COMPETING INTERESTS
For Authors
Authors are asked to disclose any financial or other relationships that they have that are directly or indirectly relevant to the work that they submit for publication in Insights Publisher sponsored journals. It is necessary to disclose any interests that have arisen within the previous five years after commencing the study (doing the research and preparing the work for submission). The disclosure of interests that are older than five years must be made if it is reasonable to believe that they may have an impact on the submission of the work. Disclosure of interests ensures that the process is full and honest, and it allows readers to establish their own opinions about any biases. In no way can this be construed as implying that having a financial relationship with an entity that supported the study or receiving remuneration for consulting services are unethical.
The following are examples of interests that should be examined and stated, although they are not exhaustive:
All sorts of publications published in Insights Publisher-hosted journals are required to include a disclosure statement, without exception.
The authors are solely responsible for the accuracy of the information contained in the paper. Submissions that do not adhere to the rules outlined in this section will be rejected by the Editor-in-Chief without further consideration.
For Editors
Members of the Editorial Board
Members of the Editorial Board are expected to declare any competing interests, and if a competing interest is discovered, they may be eliminated from the peer review process altogether.
In addition, they should refrain from handling manuscripts in situations where there is a conflict of interest between the parties involved. When an Editor or an Editorial Board Member is listed as an author on a submission, they must disclose this in the area under “Conflicts of Interests” on the submitted paper. Another Editor or member of the Editorial Board will be designated to take over responsibilities for managing peer review if the Editor or member of the Editorial Board is an author or has any other competing interest in a given submission. These submissions are subjected to the same rigorous peer-reviewing procedures as any other paper.
It is open to members of the editorial board to submit papers to the publication. This type of submission is not given any precedence over other manuscripts, and the fact that an author is a member of the Editorial Board has no influence on editorial consideration.
Editorial Personnel
All Insights Publisher journal editorial employees are expected to disclose to their employer any financial or other interests that may have the potential to affect, or be considered to have the potential to influence, their editorial decisions. Failure to comply with this requirement is a disciplinary offense. Despite the fact that individual acceptance choices are subject to a stringent policy of editorial independence, Insights Publisher believes that the editorial standards of quality and relevance should never be compromised. While some editors are financially rewarded for increasing the number of submissions to the journal, we are clear in our internal policies, as well as in individual contracts or formal objectives, that this should be accomplished by ensuring that submissions are of sufficient quality and never by compromising editorial standards.
DUPLICATED PUBLISHING
Any article submitted to a journal hosted by Insights Publisher must be original, and the manuscript, or major portions of it, must not be under consideration by any other journal at the time the paper is submitted to the journal. In every situation where there is the possibility of overlap or duplication, we demand that authors be open and honest about their work. When submitting their manuscripts, authors should disclose any previously published work that may be in conflict with their submission. Any publications that are similar to one another should be referenced. If the Editor requests it, any ‘In Press’ or unpublished manuscript that has been cited or that is important to the Editor’s and reviewers’ assessment of the manuscript should be made accessible to him or her. Insights Publisher maintains the right to determine whether or not two or more publications are possibly overlapping or repetitive on an individual basis.
Insights Publisher is a member of CrossCheck’s plagiarism detection project and takes all allegations of publication misconduct seriously, regardless of the source of the information. Any suspected cases of covert duplicate manuscript submission will be dealt with in accordance with the COPE rules, and the Editor may contact the authors’ institutions to confirm the allegations made against them. Insights Publisher supports the norms of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) in respect to overlapping publications.
Manuscripts in Their Entirety
Cochrane Systematic Reviews are a type of systematic review that is conducted by the Cochrane Collaboration. Currently, Insights Publisher does not have a co-publication arrangement with the Cochrane Library for Systematic Reviews, nor does it intend to do so in the future. As a result, we will only consider publishing novel Cochrane systematic reviews, or updated versions of articles in the Cochrane Library, if the new material they include is significant and adds to the body of knowledge.
Providing that the process is transparent, and that the relevant journals have agreed to it in advance, and that the parameters indicated in the ICMJE guidelines are met, the Editor may consider co-publication in several journals at his or her discretion.
Preprint servers and author/institutional repositories are two types of preprint servers. Publishing a document on a preprint server or an author’s personal or institutional website does not imply that the paper has previously been published. Authors of papers that have been accepted for publication in the journals are encouraged to self-archive their work.
Submissions containing material that has previously been used as part of a PhD or other academic thesis, including those that have been made publicly available in accordance with the requirements of the institution that awarded the qualification, will be considered by Insights Publisher for publication.
Authors should adhere to the ICMJE guidelines and obtain permission from the original publisher to ensure that they do not infringe on the copyright terms of the original publication and that the original publisher grants permission for the publication of the translation under the Creative Commons Attribution License-NonCommercial 4.0 license.
Our publications will consider papers that are considerably extended versions of works that have previously been published in another peer-reviewed journal at the discretion of the Editor. If an article has already been published in its whole or in an abbreviated form, it would not be prohibited from being published again if the new manuscript makes a significantly innovative addition to the scientific record. Before submitting the expanded version of the article, the authors should get consent from the original publisher, if this is necessary.
Due to the fact that the complete manuscript represents a formal advance to the citable scientific record, prior abstracts up to 400 words and posters presented at, or published as part of, academic events do not prohibit consideration for peer review of a full manuscript. Abstracts that have been published should be credited or acknowledged in the Acknowledgement section. Authors should be aware that many conference proceedings surpass the permitted word limit and hence qualify as a citable type of writing for academic purposes.
Making scientific data sets publicly available before accompanying publications are submitted will not prevent submissions to our journals from being considered for publication. Because an increasing number of research funding agencies are requiring grant holders to share the “raw data” of their research outputs, Insights Publisher encourages authors to share their raw data. This is because appropriate safeguards must be in place to protect personal or sensitive information in order for the data to be made public.
Authors of non-research articles, such as reviews, commentaries, and editorials, may include figures and tables that have previously been published in other journals, as long as they confirm on submission that permission has been obtained from the original publisher (if applicable) and cite the original article as a source of inspiration. Upon request from the submitting journal editor, documentation supporting this authorization must be made available to him or her for review.
Authors agreeing to produce commissioned pieces should advise the Editor-in-Chief of any previous publications or requests to write on a similar topic in order to eliminate the possibility of self-plagiarism, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
In the event that authors have already discussed or posted their own data in forums such as blogs, wikis, social networking websites, or online electronic lab notebooks, they may still submit their findings to one of our journals. However, due to the rapidly evolving nature of these resources, in cases where discussion of data or manuscripts posted to these venues has subsequently been incorporated into the manuscript, the Editor-in-Chief will make their own determination as to whether there may be duplication in the submitted manuscript before accepting the manuscript for publication.
Journals of Insights Publisher does not publish study protocols since they do not meet their publishing criteria. Prior publication of a study protocol anywhere else before submission of a manuscript reporting the results to one of our journals, on the other hand, does not constitute duplicate publication in the eyes of Insights Publisher, which is concerned with reducing the risk of non-publication of research findings and facilitating methodological discussion.
The posting of summary trial findings in publicly available databases does not constitute duplicate publishing. Insights Publisher mandates that authors of publications describing trials have their trials registered in a publicly available registry before submitting their manuscript. Submission of these sorts of results to ClinicalTrials.gov is a legislative obligation in the United States if your study includes human participants who were included in the comparator therapies or psychological interventions.
REACHING OUT TO HUMAN PARTICIPANTS, THEIR DATA, OR BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL FOR RESEARCH
Approval on the Basis of Ethics
The authors should include a statement that confirms that the study was approved (or that an exemption was granted) by the appropriate institutional and/or national research ethics committee (including the name of the ethics committee) and certify that the study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid out in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards when reporting a study that involved human participants. If there is any uncertainty about the study’s strategy, the authors must explain why they took that approach and establish that the study’s problematic components were explicitly authorized by an independent ethics committee or institutional review board. Similarly, if a research has been given exemption from the need for ethical approval, this should be noted in the paper, together with a description of the reasons for the exemption.
Approval of Retrospective Ethical Considerations
A project that has not received clearance from an ethical committee before to its commencement will almost always fail to acquire retroactive ethics approval, and it may not be able to submit the article for peer review in this situation. In such instances, the Editor has the last say on whether or not to submit the manuscript for peer review, and this decision is final.
The legislation and national ethical guidelines of the country where the study was done or the data were analyzed may need ethics approval even when retrospective studies are based on already accessible data (for which formal consent may not be necessary or may be difficult to get). Authors should consult with their institution to ensure that they are adhering to the unique regulations of the nation in which they are publishing.
Case Studies Require Ethical Approval
Case reports must be approved by the ethics committee. The majority of institutions will have explicit policies in place on this topic. Authors should consult with their institution to ensure that they are adhering to the unique rules of their institution and, if necessary, get ethical approval. Authors should be aware of the need of obtaining informed consent from the subject (or parent or guardian if the participant is a minor or incapable).
Cell Lines
If human cells are used, the following information must be included in the manuscript: what cell lines were used by describing the source of the cell line, including when and where it was obtained, whether the cell line has been recently authenticated and by what method, and whether the cell line has been recently authenticated. If the cells were purchased from a life science business, the following information must be included in the manuscript: the name of the company (that provided the cells), the kind of cell, the number of cell lines, and the batch of cells.
It is advised that authors verify the National Center for Biotechnology Information database for misidentification and contamination of human cell lines. This procedure will notify authors of potential issues with the cell line and may save them a significant amount of time and effort.
The International Cell Line Authentication Committee has more information, which you may find on their website (ICLAC).
Authors should add a statement that indicates that the study was authorized by an institutional or independent ethics committee (including the name of the ethics committee) and that informed permission was acquired from the donor or next of kin before publishing their findings.
Research Resource Identifiers (RRID)
Research Resource Identifiers (RRIDs) are persistent, one-of-a-kind identifiers for research resources (which are functionally equivalent to DOIs). Insights Publisher recommends authors to use RRIDs when submitting publications that contain information about essential biological resources (antibodies, cell lines, model organisms, and tools).
The Resource Identification Portal is in charge of providing RRIDs. Many regularly used research resources already have RRIDs that have been assigned to them. The portal also offers authors with links that allow them to register a new resource and get an RRID in a matter of minutes.
Reporting Procedures and Standards
Insights Publisher is a proponent of thorough and transparent reporting of biomedical and biological research, as well as research with biological applications, in the scientific literature. When drafting their submission, authors are advised to adhere to the minimal reporting criteria maintained by the EQUATOR Network.
There are checklists available for a variety of different study designs, including:
Registration for Clinical Trials
For the reporting of patient-centered studies to be accurate and reliable, authors must register prospective clinical trials (phase II through IV trials) in appropriate publically accessible archives. For example, ClinicalTrials.gov or any of the key registries that are members of the World Health Organization’s International Clinical Trials Registry Platform are examples of such resources.
It is necessary to provide the trial registration number (TRN) and the date of registration in the final line of the paper abstract to avoid plagiarism.
When conducting clinical trials that have not been registered prospectively, authors are advised to register retroactively in order to ensure that all data are published in their entirety. When writing the paper abstract, the final line should include the trial registration number (TRN), the date of registration, and the words “retrospectively registered.”
Trials that are strictly observational in nature will not be required to register.
ANIMAL RESEARCH AND ITS RESULTS
Vertebrate or controlled invertebrate research must follow institutional, national or international norms and should have been authorized by an appropriate ethical committee where such rules are available. The Animal Research Tomorrow and the International Council for Laboratory Animal Science (ICLAS) have both issued ethical standards for doing animal research.
Anesthesia and euthanasia procedures not in line with generally established veterinary best practice norms (e.g. chloral hydrate, ether, and chloroform) will not be considered for publication in manuscripts. The ethics committee and any previously published studies have no bearing on the decision to reject submissions that present such anesthetic or euthanasia treatments. According to the AVMA, authors should refer to their own professional judgment when it comes to euthanasia and anesthesia in animals, as well as the AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals (2020).
A high quality of veterinary care must be adhered to in animal experiments utilizing client-owned animals, as well as informed permission from the client or owner.
There must be an adequate ethical committee in place for non-experimental research on animals in order to ensure compliance with applicable regulations. There must be a note in the text outlining how the guidelines and/or proper permissions or licenses have been followed. When doing research on endangered or threatened species, authors should adhere to the IUCN Policy Statement (PDF) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
RESEARCH INCLUDING EMBRYOS, GAMETES, AND STEM CELLS FROM HUMAN
Manuscripts reporting investigations involving human embryos and gametes, human embryonic stem cells and associated materials, and stem cell-related clinical applications must contain proof that all experiments were conducted in compliance with applicable standards and regulations.
The paper should include an ethical statement identifying the institutional and/or national research ethics committees that approved the studies and providing any pertinent facts. Authors should certify that informed permission was acquired from all recipients and/or donors of cells or tissues, if applicable, and detail the conditions of donation of research materials such as human embryos or gametes. The Journal may obtain copies of approved and redacted consent paperwork.
All of Insights Publisher’s journals make editorial decisions about whether to publish papers describing modifications to the human germline based on safety concerns, compliance with applicable regulations, and the state of the societal debate about the implications of such modifications for future generations. The choice to publish a manuscript is made by the journals’ Editors-in-Chief.
We encourage authors to adhere to the standards outlined in the International Society for Stem Cell Research and Clinical Translation (ISSCR) Guidelines.
PALEONTOLOGICAL AND GEOLOGICAL RESEARCH
To achieve complete openness of the research, details of paleontological specimens and geological materials should contain precise provenance information.
It is understood that detailed provenance information for older museum collections may be unavailable. When exact provenance information may jeopardize the security of paleontological or geological sites, it may be prudent to exclude detailed location information.
Sampling and exporting samples must always be done responsibly and in conformity with applicable local and national legislation. Any contribution describing newly created material should contain information about the permissions obtained and the issuing authority. On request, authors may be requested to produce particular supporting material.
Paleontological specimens that are type, figured, and referenced should be put in a recognized museum or collection to ensure their perpetual availability to subsequent researchers. Sufficient information about the repository, including the unique catalogue numbers allocated to the specimens (if appropriate), should be provided to enable for specimen tracking.
Insights Publisher strongly promotes the placement of 3D images of fossil specimens in permanent, accessible repositories to assist scholarly research.
The Insights Publisher requires that submitted content adhere to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) normative instruments for the protection of cultural heritage, as well as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Resolutions, Motions, guidance, and other statements (IUCN).
RESEARCH ON SEX AND GENDER
Insights Publisher strongly urges authors to adhere to the “Sex and Gender Equity in Research - SAGER” (Research Integrity and Peer Review, 2016; 1:2.) and to incorporate sex and gender concerns wherever possible. Authors should use the phrases sex (a biological characteristic) and gender (a social and cultural construct) cautiously to avoid conflating the two categories. Titles and/or abstracts of articles should make it abundantly obvious to which sex(es) the study is applicable.
Sex and gender definition should follow the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Research on Women’s Health.
BIOSECURITY AND BIOSAFETY
Insights Publisher urges authors submitting research to our journals to follow appropriate institutional biosafety and biosecurity standards, as well as any national or international guidelines relevant to the subject topic. The Editor may request that authors submit details on how such risks have been handled and how it fits with the standards of their institutional and funders, as well as any national legislation. Insights Publisher maintains the right to seek professional advice in circumstances where we fear issues may develop, and we may require an article to go through peer review particularly to examine the dual use risk of any study. As a result, authors may be asked to rewrite their paper prior to standard journal peer-review.
IMAGE CONSISTENCY
No particular aspect of a picture may be improved, concealed, relocated, deleted, or added. The layout of the figure and its legend must make evident the grouping or consolidation of pictures from numerous sources. Adjustments to brightness, contrast, or color balance are permissible as long as they are applied to the whole image and do not conceal, erase, or mislead any information included in the original, including backdrops.
Questions concerning pictures highlighted during the image screening process will be submitted to the editors, who may request the authors’ original data for comparison to the generated figures. If the paper cannot be created using the original data, it may be rejected. Cases of willful data manipulation will result in the work being rejected and reported to the corresponding author’s home institution or funding agency. Consent is required for the dissemination of figures with identifiable human faces.
NEW TAXA
Plants, Algae, and Fungi
Insights Publisher is committed to stewardship, openness, and governance in the collection and use of specimens, as well as the conduct of experiments and/or field research. As a result, the journal establishes the following guidelines:
Field experiments using genetically altered plants must adhere to applicable national and local laws, and the article must include a statement detailing the necessary permits and/or licenses, if applicable.
The authors must perform their research in accordance with the Nagoya Protocol when they use genetic plant resources obtained from local suppliers/collectors, such as species taken from protected regions or endangered species having medicinal significance (as part of the Convention on Biological Diversity).
Prior to publication, authors doing research on quarantine organisms (i.e., dangerous or pest organisms, including plant diseases) should conform to applicable national regulations and inform the relevant North American Plant Protection Organization of new discoveries. Additional information is available from the International Plant Protection Convention.
In general, it is advised that authors adhere to the following the Policy Statement on Research Involving Species at Risk of Extinction (PDF) and the IUCN red list index of threatened species Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
Voucher specimens allow for the verification of the identity of organisms examined in the field or in laboratory trials, as well as the application of novel species concepts to previous research. Voucher specimens recording all researched accessions (at least one specimen per population for population samples) have to be put in a public herbarium, such as the Index Herbarium, or other public collection that makes deposited material accessible. The article must include information about the voucher specimen and who recognized it, such as the genus and species names, the author, and the year of publication.
Zoological Nomenclature
Manuscripts containing new taxon names or other acts of nomenclature must adhere to the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature’s rules. ZooBank registration of the new taxon name and the article in which it is published is required by Insights Publisher. ZooBank’s unique identification should be included in the paper. Following publication, authors will be able to update ZooBank with the final citation.
Bacterial Nomenclature
In accordance with ICSP rules, authors must submit a final copy of the published article, along with certificates of deposition of the type strain (for unrestricted distribution). Following the List Editor's inspection, properly published names that meet all ICSP standards will appear on a future Validation List in the order received.
Virus Etymologies
New viral names must adhere to the rules outlined in the International Code of Virus Classification and Nomenclature. Proposals for novel viral taxa should be submitted to the ICTV’s appropriate Study Group for consideration.