(based on Elsevier recommendations and COPE's Best Practice Guidelines (Ethical_guidelines_for_peer_reviewers) for Journal Editors).
Journal of “Transactions of the Institute of Molecular Biology & Biotechnologies” is committed to ensuring ethics in publication and quality of articles. Conformance to standards of ethical behavior is therefore expected of all parties involved: Authors, Editors, Reviewers, and the Publisher.
In particular;
Editors: Based on the review report of the editorial review board, the editor can accept, reject, or request modifications to the manuscript. Each editor must ensure that each manuscript is initially evaluated by the editor for originality, making use of appropriate software to do so. Following desk review, the manuscript is forwarded blind peer review to the editorial review board that will make a recommendation to accept, reject, or modify the manuscript. The editor must ensure that information regarding manuscripts submitted by the authors is kept confidential. The editor of “Transactions of the Institute of Molecular Biology & Biotechnologies” journal will not use unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript for his/her own research without written consent of the author.
Authors: Authors should present an accurate account of their original research as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Manuscripts will follow the submission guidelines of the journal. (See submission guideline policies). Authors must ensure that they have written entirely original work. Authors should not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently. Authors should acknowledge all sources of data used in the research and cite publications that have been influential in the research work. Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to conception, design, execution or interpretation of the reported study. Others who have made significant contribution must be listed as co-authors. Authors also ensure that all the authors have seen and agreed to the submitted version of the manuscript and their inclusion of names as co-authors. Authors should provide raw data related to their manuscript for editorial review and must retain such data. If at any point of time, the author(s) discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in submitted manuscript, then the error or inaccuracy must be reported to the editor.
Reviewers: Information regarding manuscripts submitted by authors should be kept confidential and be treated as privileged information. Manuscript reviewers must ensure that authors have acknowledged all sources of data used in the research. Any kind of similarity or overlap between the manuscripts under consideration or with any other published paper of which reviewer has personal knowledge must be immediately brought to the editor's notice. Review of submitted manuscripts must be done objectively and the reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments. In the event that a reviewer feels it is not possible for him/her to complete review of manuscript within stipulated time then this information must be communicated to the editor, so that the manuscript could be sent to another reviewer. On all other aspects of the reviewing process reviewer should adhere to the “COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers”.
(http://publicationethics.org/files/Ethical_guidelines_for_peer_reviewers_0.pdf)
On all other aspects of the monitoring publications ethics and malpractice the journal strictly adheres to international standards developed by: http://publicationethics.org
Transactions of the Institute of Molecular Biology & Biotechnologies (TIMBB)
Strict Prohibition of AI-Generated Manuscripts
Authors are strictly prohibited from using ChatGPT, or any other generative artificial intelligence tools, to write, draft, or generate the main content of manuscripts. Submissions produced in whole or in part by generative AI without human intellectual contribution are considered a violation of international publishing ethics (COPE, Elsevier, ICMJE).
All submitted manuscripts undergo rigorous checks (plagiarism detection, originality screening, and peer review) to ensure compliance. Any evidence of AI-generated writing without disclosure and human oversight will result in immediate rejection or retraction.
Permitted Use (under supervision)
Authors may use AI tools only for:
Final responsibility for accuracy, originality, and interpretation lies solely with the authors.
Disclosure Requirement
All submitted manuscripts undergo rigorous checks (plagiarism detection, originality screening, and peer review) to ensure compliance. Any evidence of AI-generated writing without disclosure and human oversight will result in immediate rejection or retraction.
Prohibited Practices:
Reviewers must not upload manuscripts into AI systems to protect confidentiality. Editors may use AI for technical support (plagiarism check, formatting), but editorial decisions are human-only.
Reviewers must not upload manuscripts into AI systems to protect confidentiality. Editors may use AI for technical support (plagiarism check, formatting), but editorial decisions are human-only.
This policy will be updated regularly to reflect developments in AI technologies and international publication ethics. Authors must always consult the latest version before submission.