• Duties of Editors
• Integrity in the Process
• Publication Decision
• Confidentiality
• Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
• Duties Toward Authors
• Data Access and Retention
• Originality and Plagiarism
• Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication
• Suggested Revisions
• Responsibilities of Authors

The publication of a scientific article in the ECOCIENCIA Scientific Journal represents a fundamental step in the dissemination of scientific knowledge. Each contribution must reflect the quality, integrity, and responsibility of the institutions and individuals involved in its development and support.

The Editorial Committee upholds a transparent and rigorous process at every stage of editorial management, ensuring the academic and scientific quality of all published articles. Therefore, it is essential that all parties involved authors, reviewers, and editors understand and comply with the journal’s ethical policies, which are designed to uphold integrity and ensure the proper conduct of the publication process.

Publication Decision: The decision to publish a manuscript depends on the author’s adherence to the journal’s editorial policies and submission guidelines, as well as the recommendations provided by double-blind peer reviewers, who are responsible for assessing the scientific quality of the content. Accepted articles are published within the timeframe established by the journal’s periodicity.

Confidentiality: Editors must maintain strict confidentiality regarding all submitted manuscripts and any non-public information obtained through the editorial process. The anonymity of both authors and reviewers must be preserved to ensure the intellectual integrity of the evaluation process.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Editors must not use, for their own research or benefit, any part of the content from submitted manuscripts without the express written consent of the authors.

Duties Toward Authors: Editors are not permitted to alter the content of submitted articles or compromise the ethical integrity of the information. Once a manuscript is under review, any request from the authors to add, remove, or reorder authorship is discouraged. If authors request to withdraw their manuscript during the evaluation process, editors may accept the withdrawal and terminate the review accordingly.

Data Access and Retention: If necessary, the Editorial Committee may request that authors make available the data, datasets, or sources underlying their research. These may be archived for a reasonable period after publication to ensure transparency and reproducibility.

Originality and Plagiarism: Editors are responsible for ensuring that all submitted manuscripts are free from plagiarism. For this purpose, the journal uses the anti-plagiarism software Turnitin. Each member of the Editorial Board has an individual Turnitin account assigned by the Editor-in-Chief, under the institutional agreement with Turnitin’s technical support team.

Upon receiving a manuscript, editors must submit it to their personal Turnitin account to generate a similarity report. Manuscripts with a similarity index greater than 10% are automatically rejected. Reports allow editors to identify the original sources of duplicated content and assess whether issues stem from improper citation or clear plagiarism. If plagiarism is confirmed, the article is immediately rejected and the decision is communicated to the author(s).

In cases of minor citation or formatting issues, the manuscript may be returned to the authors for correction. However, if major issues are detected, the manuscript will be rejected without proceeding to peer review.

Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication: The ECOCIENCIA Scientific Journal only considers unpublished manuscripts that fully comply with its editorial policies in both content and structure. Submitting a manuscript that has already been published elsewhere whether in full or in substantial part is considered duplicate publication and constitutes unethical behavior. Such submissions will be rejected immediately.

Suggested Revisions: When any issue is reported by the article’s authors, the journal is obligated to make the necessary corrections, clarifications, or retractions, and to provide appropriate explanations. The responsible editorial staff must respond promptly to ensure the timely resolution of such issues.

Responsibilities of Authors: Authors are responsible for disclosing any conflicts of interest related to the publication of their data and results, including those associated with institutions, financial relationships, collaborations, or other affiliations. Authors must also appropriately credit all contributors involved in the preparation of the manuscript submitted to the journal. Moreover, it is their responsibility to safeguard intellectual property by properly referencing the information sources used in their scientific contribution.

Authors must complete a form declaring the authorship of the article, including relevant details for each contributor. This form must confirm the authenticity and originality of the research for the intended purposes. It must also state that the publication has been approved by all authors and, if accepted, will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or any other language, including in electronic format.