Chitkara University Publications (CUP) is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and ethical conduct in scholarly publishing. This Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement outlines the responsibilities of all parties involved in the publication process—editors, authors, reviewers, and publisher—and the procedures followed in cases of unethical behavior or misconduct.

Editorial Responsibilities

• Editors are responsible for ensuring a fair, unbiased, and timely peer review process based solely on academic merit.
• Editorial decisions are made independently and without regard to race, gender, affiliation, or personal belief.
• Editors will take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred.
• In cases of suspected misconduct, editors will follow COPE’s flowcharts and guidelines to investigate and act accordingly.

Author Responsibilities

• Authors must ensure that their work is original, properly cited, and free from plagiarism or data falsification.
• Submission to CUP journals implies that the manuscript is not under review elsewhere and has not been published previously.
• All listed authors must have made a significant contribution to the work and agree to its submission.
• Authors must disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest and provide information on ethical approval for research involving human or animal subjects.
• Authors should cooperate with editors and reviewers during the review process and promptly respond to requests for revisions or clarifications.

Changes to Authorship

No changes to authorship are permissible after final submission on the manuscript submission system

Reviewer Responsibilities

• Peer reviewers are expected to provide objective, constructive, and timely evaluations.
• Reviewers must maintain confidentiality and must not use submitted work for personal advantage or disclose its content.
• If a reviewer identifies ethical concerns (e.g., suspected plagiarism or undisclosed conflicts), they are expected to report it to the editor.

Publisher Responsibilities

• CUP takes all necessary measures to maintain the integrity of the academic record.
• In cases of proven misconduct (e.g., plagiarism, duplicate publication, fraudulent data, citation manipulation), CUP will work with the editors to correct or retract the article in line with COPE guidance.
• CUP provides training and resources to editors and editorial boards to promote ethical publishing practices.

Misconduct Handling Procedures

Allegations of unethical behavior will be taken seriously and investigated promptly. These may include:

• Plagiarism or self-plagiarism
• Fabrication or falsification of data
• Improper authorship attribution
• Undisclosed conflicts of interest
• Manipulation of citations or peer review

If misconduct is confirmed, CUP journals may:

• Reject the manuscript or retract a published article.
• Notify the author’s institution or funding body.
• Impose sanctions such as submission bans for a defined period.

This statement applies to all journals published under the CUP umbrella and is reviewed periodically to align with evolving ethical standards in scholarly publishing.
For more information or to report suspected misconduct, please contact: chitkarauniversitypublications@chitkara.edu.in

Submission by Editors

The CUP journals permit editors to submit their own manuscripts to the journals that they serve, but not to participate in the review, handling, and decision-making process of their papers. Another board editor will handle such submissions in order to make the process fair, as per COPE guidelines. The reviewers will not be selected by the editors, who will submit their work, and the paper(s) will undergo a blind peer review.

If an editor submits an article, it is important to specify his/her position in the conflict of interest section upon submission.

Authorship Principles

Credit is given to individuals who contribute to the work intellectually, such as the creation of ideas, designing, data gathering, writing and interpretation.The authors mentioned are all responsible with regard to the integrity of the work. They must make sure that any questions on research integrity are resolved.

Every author has to agree with the version of the manuscript submitted.

Competing Interests

Conflicts of interest can be of a financial, personal, or professional nature, which may compromise the research ethics and research integrity. It is the responsibility of the author to report conflicts of interest (COI) that can influence the research or analysis of the results.

Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

• The work must be original, and any claims made within the manuscript should not be deceptive.
• Authors are required to adhere to established guidelines for data acquisition.
• Authors must refrain from plagiarism, falsification, or inappropriate manipulation of data.
• The manuscript should not be submitted to more than one journal simultaneously.
• Authors should avoid dividing a single study into multiple segments to increase submission counts.
• Proper acknowledgment and credit must be given to all individuals who have made significant contributions to the research.
• The sequence of authorship should be determined prior to writing, and the corresponding author is responsible for communication and ensuring that all co-authors approve the manuscript.
• Research must receive approval from the appropriate institutional ethics committee before it is conducted.