Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement
The publication of a paper in a peer-reviewed journal is essential. It is a reflection of the quality of the research of the authors. Therefore, it is an important aspect to agree upon ethical behavior of the author, the editor, the reviewer and the publisher. The publication ethics and malpractice statement of Crop Research (CR), Research on Crops (ROC) and Farming & Management (F & M) journals is developed keeping in view the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) for journal editors.
Manuscripts submitted to CR, ROC and F & M Journals are mainly reviewed and evaluated on the basis of their scientific content. All necessary steps are taken to ensure the highest standards of publication ethics and to check their malpractices. Authors who submit their papers to this Journal are required to submit signed Undertaking that their work reported in the paper is original, unpublished and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. Besides this, the authors are also required to attest that the work reported in the paper has neither been copied nor plagiarized, in whole or in part, from other works and if the authors have used the works of others the same has been appropriately cited or quoted
Duties and Responsibilities of Editors
The Editorial Teams of CR, ROC and F & M journals, comprising the Editorial Board and the Committee for Publications headed by Editor-in-Chief is taking a decision as to which of the articles submitted to the journal are to be published. The Editors have complete discretion to reject or accept or get revised an article. The review process and evaluation of manuscripts is done on the basis of their originality of work and scholarly contents. The nature of the authors and their affiliation with the institution including gender, race, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors are not considered to influence the evaluation process. The journal believes in the policy of fair play in its editorial evaluation. The editors take every expected step to ensure that they have no conflict of interest with respect to the articles they accept or reject. The editorial team and staff follow strict confidentiality and ensure not to disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone except the corresponding author, reviewers and the publisher. Authors are required to correct the errors which are found during the process of review and evaluation.
Duties and Responsibilities of Reviewers
The editorial decisions of CR, ROC and F & M journals are based on peer review. The reviewers are supposed to maintain confidentiality with regard to the contents of papers. The reviews are to be done objectively and the reviewers should express their views clearly with valid reasons and logics. The reviewers should have no conflict of interest with the authors and the research reported in the manuscripts. The reviewers should identify the related published research that has not been cited by the authors. The research reported in the paper under review is found similar to any other published paper of which the reviewer has personal knowledge, may also be brought to the notice of the editors. The information or ideas obtained through peer review should not be used by the reviewers for their personal advantage. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest with any of authors or institutions connected to the papers.
Duties and Responsibilities of Authors
The authors should present original research work in the paper with objective and proper discussion of results. The paper should contain relevant and sufficient details of published literature and references. All the authors of a manuscript should have contributed to the research significantly. The inaccurate and fraudulent statements made by the authors constitute unethical behavior and would be unacceptable. Authors should ensure that the submitted paper is original and has not been published elsewhere, and work of others should be appropriately cited. Applicable copyright laws and conventions are required to be followed. Copyright materials should be reproduced only with prior permission and due acknowledgement. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously would constitute unethical practice and would be unacceptable. Authorship should be kept to those only who have made contribution to the paper which is submitted for publication. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Others who have participated in certain aspects in writing of the paper should also be acknowledged. The corresponding author is required to ensure that all co-authors have approved the final version of the paper before submission for publication. All sources of financial support should also be disclosed. In case any significant error is found in the published work, it is the duty of the authors to immediately notify the editors and cooperate in the retraction or correction of the paper.