Publication Ethics and Integrity

The journal is committed to ensuring the quality of every paper it publishes. To maintain the highest standards of academic publishing, we require all authors, editors, reviewers, and editorial staff to adhere to the guidelines set forth by this journal.

The data and methods used in research must be presented in sufficient detail within the paper so that other researchers can replicate the work. Authors should provide original data in a public repository prior to manuscript submission; at a minimum, journal reviewers and editors should have access to this data upon request. Additionally, authors should take appropriate measures to ensure that their original data is preserved in its entirety for a reasonable time after publication.

This journal does not consider manuscripts that are simultaneously submitted to multiple journals or fail to present novel results. For instance, English translations of papers that have already been published in another language will not be considered. Furthermore, manuscripts should not be submitted to the journal if the primary original information has already been published elsewhere. Previously published graphics or images may be included only if the necessary permissions from the original copyright holders have been obtained, even if the author is the original creator, and must comply with the CC-BY license.

1. Misconduct

Any form of misconduct is strictly prohibited. Authors should avoid issues related to ghost, guest, gift, and other authorship problems. Authors must retain their original data and source files after submitting their articles, as editors may request these materials during the publication evaluation process; otherwise, the process will be suspended until any issues are resolved.

Reviewers and editors must treat manuscripts fairly and confidentially and disclose any competing interests. We will actively investigate allegations of research or publication misconduct.

Any suspicion of misconduct by authors, reviewers, or editors will lead to action taken before or after publication. When ethical concerns arise regarding a published paper (even years after publication), the parties involved will be required to state their case. The editors reserve the right to question the originality and integrity of the manuscript and to raise these issues with the authors' sponsoring institutions and other relevant bodies.

2. Submission of Duplicate and Redundant Manuscripts

The journal only considers original manuscripts that have not been published elsewhere in any form or language. When submitting a manuscript, it is assumed that no other manuscripts that are fundamentally similar have been submitted or will be submitted to any other journal before the journal has had the opportunity to decide on publication. In other words, simultaneous submission of the same manuscript to multiple journals is considered unethical.

If authors use their previously published or under-review work in a new manuscript, they should appropriately cite that work. The new manuscript should clearly outline how it differs from the previously published work.

Any reused text from the authors' own previous work in any part of the submitted manuscript should be properly cited. Reusing the authors' own figures or substantial wording may require copyright permission from the copyright holder, and it is the authors' responsibility to obtain such permission.

Extended articles from published conference proceedings must be clearly stated with proper citations and discussions.

Duplicate or redundant publications (i.e., presenting the same data already published by the same author in different wording) are not accepted. A single study should not be divided into multiple submissions with the same or similar methods and questions and submitted over time to different journals or the same journal.

3. Fabrication and Falsification

If a submitted manuscript or published article is found to have fabricated or falsified results, or if it has undergone improper image processing, the authors will face sanctions, and the published article will be retracted immediately.

4. Investigations and Sanctions

Allegations of violations of publication ethics, both before and after publication, as well as concerns regarding unethical research practices, should be reported to the TSP Integrity Team for thorough investigation. During the investigation, authors may be required to provide underlying data and images and respond to all editorial inquiries.

Depending on the circumstances, this may lead to the journal and/or TSP implementing the following measures, including but not limited to:
- If the manuscript is still under consideration, it may be rejected and returned to the authors.
- If the article has already been published online, a correction or erratum may be issued and linked to the article, or in severe cases, the article may be retracted.
- If TSP finds violations of publication ethics, the TSP journal may impose the following penalties:
      a. Rejection of submitted manuscripts and any other manuscripts by the authors.
      b. A ban on submissions for 1-3 years.
      c. A prohibition on serving as an editor or reviewer.