Publication Ethics and Research Integrity

BioSight follows the principles and guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to maintain the highest standards of honesty, transparency, confidentiality, and accountability.

Originality and plagiarism

Submissions must be original, must not have been published previously, and must not be under consideration by another journal. Plagiarism, self-plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, image manipulation that misrepresents results, duplicate publication, and inappropriate authorship are unacceptable. Submissions may be screened with plagiarism-detection software.

Authorship and contributorship

Authorship is limited to individuals who made substantial scholarly contributions to the conception or design of the work; acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; drafting or critical revision; approved the final version; and accept accountability for the work. All authors must approve the submission. Contributors who do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged with their permission. Changes in authorship require a written explanation and agreement of all affected authors.

Conflicts of interest and funding

Authors must disclose all financial and non-financial competing interests and identify all sources of funding and the funder’s role. Reviewers and editors must disclose conflicts that could affect impartiality and must withdraw from handling the manuscript when necessary.

Human and animal research

Research involving human participants must have prior approval from an appropriate ethics committee, follow applicable ethical standards including the Declaration of Helsinki, and include informed-consent information where relevant. Research involving animals must have prior approval from an appropriate institutional committee and follow recognized animal-welfare standards. The approving body and approval number should be stated in the manuscript.

Data integrity and availability

Authors are responsible for the accuracy and integrity of their data and must retain supporting records. Authors should provide data or other materials needed to verify the findings when ethically and legally permissible and should include an appropriate data-availability statement.

Responsibilities of reviewers

Reviewers must provide objective, evidence-based, and respectful assessments; maintain confidentiality; identify relevant uncited work when possible; disclose competing interests; and report suspected misconduct to the editor.

Responsibilities of editors

Editors evaluate submissions on scholarly merit without discrimination, protect confidentiality, manage conflicts of interest, and take reasonable action when ethical concerns are raised. Commercial considerations do not influence editorial decisions.

Corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern

When a published article contains a material error, the journal will issue a clearly linked correction. Retractions or expressions of concern may be issued when findings are unreliable, misconduct is substantiated, publication is redundant, or serious ethical violations are identified. The original record will remain available with a clear notice, except where removal is required for legal or safety reasons. BioSight follows COPE guidance in such cases.

Allegations of misconduct

Concerns may be reported confidentially to biosight@uok.edu.pk. The journal will assess concerns fairly, seek responses from relevant parties, preserve confidentiality as far as possible, and contact institutions or other appropriate bodies when an independent investigation is required.