Editorial Policy

1. Peer Review Process

Our journal employs a single-blind peer review process. The manuscript handling process is outlined as follows:

(1) Initial Review: The manuscript undergoes an initial review by the editor. Manuscripts lacking originality, suspected of academic misconduct, containing serious scientific flaws, lacking valuable information, or not aligning with the journal’s scope will be directly rejected. Manuscripts that pass this stage proceed to an initial review by the editorial board, and those deemed suitable are sent for external peer review.

(2) External Review: The manuscript is reviewed by at least two external experts in the field.

(3) Final Decision: The Chief Editor makes the final decision based on the external reviewers’ comments. The final decision could be acceptance, revision and resubmission, or rejection.

(4) Editing: Accepted manuscripts undergo editing, processing, and publication by the editorial team.

2. Editorial Board/Editors/Special Issue Editor Submissions

For submissions from editors, editorial board members, and special issue editors of this journal, they must adhere to all peer review and editorial procedures of the journal. Peer review for these submissions must be conducted independently of the relevant editor/board member/special issue editor and their research group. Editors, editorial board members, and special issue editors are prohibited from participating in the peer review process for papers authored by themselves, their family members, colleagues, or other authors with whom they have conflicts of interest.

3. Special Issue Policy

The above manuscript review process applies equally to submissions for special issues. Manuscripts submitted for a special issue will undergo the same peer review and editorial process as regular journal submissions, and the final decision on acceptance will also be made by the Editor-in-Chief.

4. Appeals and Feedback

Authors who have objections to the review comments or decisions can submit a written appeal to the editorial office via email to the journal’s inbox. Authors must provide detailed explanations and clarifications for each review comment they are appealing. The editorial office will promptly review the appeal upon receipt and provide feedback to the author. Additionally, if any readers or authors have feedback or comments on articles published in the journal, they are encouraged to send their comments to the journal’s email. The editorial office will promptly address and respond to received comments as appropriate. The journal welcomes active engagement from readers and authors to provide feedback and contribute to fostering a positive academic environment.

5. Academic Misconduct Detection and Handling

To minimize academic misconduct, the editorial office employs the CNKI Academic Misconduct Literature Detection System to conduct plagiarism checks on submissions, with a requirement that similarity rates be below 10%. If any form of academic misconduct is detected in a manuscript, the manuscript will be rejected accordingly.

6. Corrections and Retractions

(1) Retractions by the Editor may be considered under the following circumstances:

 ·  Clear evidence indicates unreliable research results due to misconduct (such as data fabrication) or honest errors (e.g., misjudgments or experimental errors).

 ·  Previous publication of research results elsewhere without appropriate cross-referencing, permission, or justification (i.e., duplicate publication); constitutes plagiarism.

 ·  Reporting of unethical research.

(2) Retraction notices should ideally link to the retracted article (in all electronic versions), clearly identifying the retracted article (e.g., including the title and authors in the retraction notice), and should be promptly announced to minimize the harmful impact of misleading publications.

(3) The Editor may consider issuing corrections under the following circumstances:

 ·  Portions of a reliable publication are proven to be misleading (especially due to honest errors).

 ·  Incorrect author/contributor listings (i.e., qualified authors omitted or unqualified individuals listed).

7. Advertising Disclaimer

This journal does not publish any commercial advertisements. All articles published in this journal, as well as its official website and other platforms, do not contain any advertising content. The editorial and acceptance decisions for any manuscript are not influenced by commercial factors.