Publication Ethics

Authorship and Author's Responsibilities

• Authors should not submit a manuscript previously published in an international/local/national journal. A manuscript should not be submitted simultaneously to more than one journal or book;
• Authors should not describe the same research or a slightly different one as a submitted or published paper;
• In multi-author papers, all authors should have made a significant intellectual contribution to the study. "Ghost", "Guest", and "Gift" authors are considered unacceptable;
• All authors should take collective responsibility and agree on the content of the paper;
• Authors should provide valid information about themselves (e.g., valid emails);
• If the authors have used the work and/or words of others, that should be appropriately cited or quoted:
  • References must reflect a valid state of both the historical development of the subject and the current state of opinion in the field;
  • Authors should avoid copying references from other sources if they have not read the cited work.
• Authors should have all valid permissions for use of information obtained privately and copyrighted materials;
• Authors should declare all support and funding sources in an Acknowledgment;
• Authors should supply promptly any missing items or information requested by the editors;
• Authors should avoid nominating peer reviewers who have a conflict of interest;
• Authors should not make significant changes to their manuscript after acceptance without the approval of the journal;
• Authors should notify the journal immediately if significant errors or academic misconduct are found after publication.

Peer Review Procedure

The Editorial Board recognises that peer review is the critical phase of the publishing process. All submitted papers are reviewed by at least two experts, of which at least one is not part of the editorial staff.

• In special cases, authors are allowed to nominate two referees in the field (one must be from abroad);
• Reviewers should have sufficient subject expertise to evaluate the scientific and practical value of the paper;
• Reviewers are allowed to consult colleagues about the paper but are not allowed to pass it on to another referee without notifying the Editor in Chief;
• If a reviewer is unable to assess the paper, he/she should return it or inform the Editor in Chief immediately;
• Editor in Chief may appoint new referees if reports are written superficially without clear explanation;
• The average time for evaluation is about two months.

• Reviewers should disqualify themselves in cases of conflict of interest with the authors and/or the research fund;
• Reviewers should keep the submission and contents of manuscripts confidential;
• Reviewers are not allowed to use an author's manuscript in their own research without permission and should destroy copies of manuscripts after submitting their reviews;
• Reviewers should notify the journal in case of any suspicion of misconduct.

If all reviewers' reports are positive, the paper will be accepted for publication. When at least one is negative, the manuscript will be sent to a different referee. If the second report is also negative, the paper will be rejected. If the second is positive, the manuscript will be referred to the Editor in Chief for the final decision.

Editorial Responsibilities

• Editor in Chief ensures transparent, fair, courteous, and objective treatment of all authors, avoiding discrimination on ethnic or geographical origin;
• Editor in Chief ensures the appropriateness of language in submitted manuscripts and peer review reports;
• Editor in Chief may reject a paper without further evaluation if it does not abide by journal policies or falls outside the journal's scope;
• Before deciding on controversial papers, the Editor in Chief would confer with the Editorial Board members;
• Editor in Chief maintains confidentiality of all submitted papers;
• Editor in Chief encourages constructive criticism of published work and expects notification of any detected misconduct;
• Editor in Chief investigates all suspected cases of misconduct and puts in place necessary procedures such as correction notes, retraction, or withdrawal;
• Editor in Chief ensures timely publication and avoids unnecessary delays;
• Editor in Chief may request more data or clarification from authors if anything is unclear or suspicious;
• Editor in Chief and editorial team members exclude themselves from publication decisions when they are authors or contributors to a manuscript;
• Editor in Chief communicates exactly what the decision is on a manuscript and the reasons for it;
• Editor in Chief has complete right and authority to make final decisions on which manuscripts should be published.

EAST Publishing Policies

• Papers published in EAST should have soundly reported and carefully executed contents with essential contributions to the subject area;
• EAST publishes papers in a timely and efficient manner (order of publication is based on submission dates);
• The journal is especially vigilant about plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and duplicate publication — all manuscripts are submitted to plagiarism detection software before review;
• EAST investigates all cases suspected of errors, fraudulent data, or plagiarism and takes necessary action, including correction notes, retraction, or withdrawal.