Ethical Standards & Best Practices

Research Ethics

Human research: Studies involving human participants must state that the research was approved by an institutional human ethics or an equivalent body. The approval number and the name of the institution must be provided, when applicable. Authors are encouraged to follow internationally recognized ethical guidelines, such as the Declaration of Helsinki, and should confirm that informed consent was obtained from all participants, ensuring confidentiality and anonymity when applicable.

Animal research: Studies involving experimental animals must declare that research was conducted in accordance with internationally accepted principles for laboratory animal use and was reviewed and approved by an institutional animal ethics committee, when applicable. The approval number and the name of the approving institution must be explicitly stated. For studies involving wild species, authors must provide the permit number for collection and the name of the approving agency responsible for issuing the permit.

Use of genetic or biological material: If research involves the collection or use of biological specimens or genetic material, authors must provide details on the legal authorizations obtained and demonstrate compliance with national and international biodiversity regulations, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Manuscripts that lack clear ethical statements regarding human or animal research may be rejected during peer review.

Publication Ethics & Integrity

The Ethnobiology and Conservation journal adheres to the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) Best Practice Guidelines to ensure high ethical standards in publishing. All parties involved—authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher—are expected to follow these ethical principles.

Author Responsibilities

  • Originality & Plagiarism: Manuscripts must be original works, free from plagiarism.
  • Citations & Acknowledgments: Proper credit must be given to all referenced sources.
  • Authorship: Only individuals who contributed significantly to the study should be listed as authors.
  • Multiple Submissions: Authors must not submit the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously.
  • Conflicts of Interest: Authors must disclose any financial or personal conflicts of interest.
  • Data Transparency: Authors may be asked to provide raw data and should ensure data availability.
  • Corrections & Retractions: If an author identifies a major error in their published work, they must notify the editors promptly.

 

Editorial Responsibilities

  • Fair & Unbiased Review: Manuscripts are evaluated based on academic merit, regardless of authors' race, gender, nationality, or ideology.
  • Confidentiality: Editors must not disclose any manuscript details to unauthorized individuals.
  • Conflict of Interest Management: Editors must avoid handling submissions in which they have conflicts of interest.
  • Misconduct Investigation: The journal will address all allegations of research or publication misconduct.

Reviewer Responsibilities

  • Objective Peer Review: Reviews should be constructive, fair, and free from personal bias.
  • Confidentiality: Reviewers must treat all manuscripts as confidential.
  • Source Acknowledgment: Reviewers should flag any uncredited relevant work.
  • Conflict of Interest Disclosure: Reviewers should decline assignments where conflicts exist.

 

Data sharing and transparency: Authors may be asked to provide raw data for editorial review and should, when possible, ensure public access to non-sensitive data to promote transparency and reproducibility. Any restrictions due to ethical or legal considerations must be clearly justified.