Journal Policies

Publication Ethics & COPE

REGKT follows best practices aligned with COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics). We expect integrity from authors, reviewers, and editors at all stages.

• Submit original work; declare overlapping/related manuscripts.
• Report methods and results honestly; include limitations.
• Cooperate with investigations; corrections issued when needed.

Editors may reject or retract work that violates ethical standards.

Authorship & Contributions

Authorship requires substantial contributions (conception/design; data acquisition/curation; analysis; or drafting/revision) and final approval.

• Use a contributorship taxonomy (e.g., CRediT) in the submission form.
• Provide an author contributions statement in the manuscript.
• Authorship changes after submission require written consent from all authors and editor approval.

Conflicts of Interest (COI)

All authors, reviewers, and editors must declare financial and non‑financial interests that could influence the work.

• Disclose funding, employment, consultancies, equity, patents, or personal/professional relationships.
• Editors with COI will recuse themselves from handling decisions.

Data, Code & Materials

To advance reproducibility, authors must include a Data & Code Availability statement.

• Deposit data and code in trusted repositories (e.g., Zenodo, OSF, Dataverse, GitHub with DOI releases).
• Provide licenses enabling reuse where possible; include readme and version tags.
• Cite datasets and software with persistent identifiers (DOIs) in the references.
• For restricted data (privacy/ethics/legal), explain the constraints and share metadata/sample where feasible.

Use of AI Tools

• Authors must disclose any use of generative AI tools (e.g., for writing, translation, image generation, analysis).
• AI tools cannot be listed as authors; humans are accountable for content integrity.
• Generated content (text, images, code) must be properly checked for accuracy, bias, and permissions.
• For image-generation or data synthesis, include methods, prompts, parameters, and any training-data restrictions if known.

Preprints & Prior Posting

Preprints are allowed and encouraged. During submission, provide the server name and preprint DOI/URL. On acceptance, we will link the published DOI to the preprint.

Peer Review

REGKT uses double-blind peer review with at least two independent reviews and an Academic Editor.

• Reviewers must keep manuscripts confidential and declare COI.
• We welcome constructive, evidence‑based feedback focused on methods and clarity.
• Appeals may be considered with new evidence or identification of factual errors.

Plagiarism & Image/Data Integrity

• All submissions undergo plagiarism screening and image/data forensics as needed.
• Unattributed reuse, manipulation, or fabrication may lead to rejection or retraction.
• Re‑use of figures/tables requires permission or license compliance; cite sources.

Misconduct & Investigations

Allegations are reviewed by editors; we may contact authors’ institutions. Actions range from corrections to retractions and reporting to registries.

Corrections, Retractions & Expressions of Concern

• Erratum/Corrigendum: substantive but non‑fatal errors; linked to the original article.
• Retraction: unreliable findings (e.g., due to misconduct or pervasive error); original remains with a clear notice.
• Expression of Concern: when investigations are ongoing and reliability is in question.

Open Access & Licensing

Articles are open access. We recommend CC BY 4.0 for maximum reuse. Alternatives may be considered for justifiable cases.

Copyright & Permissions

• Authors retain copyright.
• Obtain permissions for third‑party content or ensure license compatibility.
• State the software/data licenses clearly (e.g., MIT, Apache‑2.0, CC BY).

Indexing, Archiving & Preservation

REGKT maintains high‑quality metadata, DOIs for articles, and deposit/archival commitments to ensure long‑term preservation and discoverability.

Human Subjects

• Provide IRB/ethics approval details and consent procedures.
• Describe privacy safeguards and de‑identification for sensitive data.
• Vulnerable populations require explicit justification and protections.

Animal Research

• Follow relevant guidelines (e.g., ARRIVE) and institutional approvals.
• Describe housing, welfare, and humane endpoints.

Clinical Trials

• Register trials in a public registry (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov) before enrollment.
• Provide CONSORT checklist and flow diagram where applicable.

Dual Use & Sensitive Research

Submissions with potential for misuse (e.g., security exploits, biohazards, surveillance) must include a risk‑benefit assessment. Editors may require redactions, additional safeguards, or decline publication.

Citation & Reference Integrity

• Reference relevant prior work fairly and avoid citation manipulation or coercion.
• Include DOIs where available; cite datasets/software as first‑class research outputs.
• Avoid excessive self‑citation or citation cartels; editors may request revisions.

Appeals & Complaints

Appeals must present specific methodological or factual concerns and may be sent to the editorial office. Complaints about process or editor conduct are escalated to the Editor‑in‑Chief.

Privacy & Data Protection

• We collect minimal personal data needed for publishing services (submission, review, production).
• Authors and reviewers may request access, rectification, or deletion of their data as permitted by law.
• We use third‑party processors (e.g., submission platform) under data‑processing agreements.

Accessibility & Inclusion

• Plain‑language abstracts encouraged; accessible figures and alt text recommended.
• We strive for diverse editorial boards, reviewers, and author communities.

Advertising & Sponsorship

Editorial decisions are independent of advertising or sponsorship. Any sponsored content will be clearly labeled.

Self‑Archiving & Repositories

• Authors may deposit preprints and the accepted manuscript in institutional or subject repositories, with a link to the Version of Record DOI.
• Respect third‑party licenses for included materials.

Editorial Independence

Editors have full authority over editorial content and timing of publication; the publisher does not override decisions based on commercial interests.

Post‑Acceptance Changes

• Minor: typos/formatting—corrected during production.
• Substantive: author list changes, figure replacements—require editor approval and author consent.
• After publication: handled via correction policies above.