The Journal of AgriSearch (JAS) is an official publication of Society for Upliftment of Rural Economy (SURE). An Editor-in-Chief's primary responsibility is to make sure the journal publishes high-caliber research, which is a fairly simple job. Nonetheless, the role is multifaceted, requiring Editors-in-Chief to engage with a diverse spectrum of individuals and carry out a number of activities. Editors should ensure that published articles conform to the journal’s policies. Editors are also expected to adhere to the Code of Conduct for Editors and COPE Core Practices, which aim to promote and support ethical practices in publishing.
Journal Editors’ of Code of conduct
The requirements and standards related to the editor's role are outlined in the Code of Conduct for Editors. These specifications are derived from best practice recommendations and standards published by groups like the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE):
- COPE is an advisory body which provides guidance to editors and publishers on all aspects of publication ethics.
- Editor has responsibility to ensure that the journals it publishes adhere to editorial and publication ethics standards recommended by COPE. When dealing with publication and research ethics issues, Editor(s) are expected to follow COPE guidance and flowcharts or any guidance provided by Publisher. The final course of action should be decided by the Editor(s). In difficult cases, or where there is no existing COPE guidance, the Editor(s) may seek advice from the Publisher, and some cases may need to be resolved in collaboration between Editor(s) and the Publisher
- Editor(s) are expected to be aware of the editorial policies and information provided for authors by the Journal.
Conflicts of interest:
- There must be clear definitions of conflicts of interest and procedures for dealing with conflicts of interest of authors, reviewers, editors, journals, and publishers, whether detected before or after publication.
- The Journal of AgriSearch (JAS) requires authors to declare all competing interests in relation to their work. All submitted manuscripts must include a ‘competing interests’ section at the end of the manuscript listing all competing interests (financial and non-financial). Where authors have no competing interests, the statement should read “The author(s) declare(s) that they have no competing interests”. The Editor may ask for further information relating to competing interests.
- Editors and reviewers are also required to declare any competing interests and may be excluded from the peer review process if a competing interest exists.
Human and animal rights and publishing policies
- The welfare of animals (vertebrates and higher invertebrates) utilized in research, education, and testing must be regarded. Authors should include extensive information about the ethical handling of their animals in their submission.
- The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Policy Statement on Research Involving Species at Risk of Extinction and consult the IUCN red list index of threatened species Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
Role of Editors
- The role of the editors is to evaluate the suitability of submitted manuscripts for the journal, including: (a) the quality of the manuscript, (b) whether it meets the Aims and Scope of the journal, and (c) the originality of the work.
- The editors will not disclose information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers or potential reviewers, or other members of the editorial board. Editors will ensure the prompt handling of the review process.
- Editors will evaluate the merit of manuscripts for intellectual content without regard to race, gender, country of origin, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation.
- Editors and editorial board members will not use unpublished information disclosed in a submitted manuscript for their own research purposes without the authors’ explicit written consent.
- The editors ensure that all submitted manuscripts being considered for publication undergo peer-review by at least two reviewers who are expert in the field.
- Editors will shun themselves from considering manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any of the authors, companies or institutions connected to the papers. Instead, they will ask another member of the editorial board to handle the manuscript.
- The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for deciding which of the manuscripts submitted to the journal will be published, based on the validation of the work in question, its importance to researchers and readers, the reviewers’ comments, and such legal requirements as are currently in force regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism.
- Editors in conjunction with the society will take responsive measures when ethical concerns are raised with regard to a submitted manuscript or published paper. Every reported act of unethical publishing behavior will be looked into, even if it is discovered years after publication. If, on investigation, the ethical concern is well-founded, a correction, retraction, expression of concern or other note as may be relevant will be published in the journal.