Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

PUBLICATION ETHICS AND MALPRACTICE STATEMENT

Explore Crop Science is committed to integrity, transparency, fairness and accountability in scholarly publishing. The journal follows the core principles and guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). These standards apply to authors, reviewers, editors, editorial-board members and the publisher.

EDITORIAL INDEPENDENCE AND FAIRNESS

Editorial decisions are based on scholarly quality, originality, methodological soundness, relevance to the journal’s scope and compliance with ethical requirements. Decisions are made without discrimination based on personal characteristics, institutional affiliation, nationality, political belief or commercial considerations. The publisher does not interfere with individual editorial decisions.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Editors and reviewers must treat submitted manuscripts and associated data as confidential. Material received through peer review must not be shared, used for personal advantage or disclosed outside the editorial process unless authorized by the editor and the authors.

COMPETING INTERESTS

Authors, reviewers and editors must disclose financial, professional, personal or institutional interests that could reasonably be perceived to influence the work or editorial decision. An editor with a conflict must recuse themselves and arrange independent handling of the manuscript.

AUTHOR RESPONSIBILITIES

Authors must submit original work and must not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal at the same time. Data and images must not be fabricated, falsified or manipulated in a misleading manner. Sources must be cited accurately, and permissions must be obtained for copyrighted material.

All listed authors must have made a substantial contribution, approved the submitted version and accepted responsibility for the work. Individuals who contributed but do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged. Changes to authorship after submission require a written explanation and agreement from all affected contributors.

Authors must disclose funding, competing interests, related submissions, prior dissemination and any relevant use of generative AI. AI tools may not be listed as authors. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, citations and confidentiality of all submitted content.

ETHICS, CONSENT AND PERMITS

Research involving human participants, animals, genetically modified organisms, protected species or regulated field activities must comply with applicable institutional and national requirements. Authors must provide approval, permit and informed-consent information where required. Editors may request supporting documentation and may reject work that does not meet appropriate ethical standards.

DATA AND REPRODUCIBILITY

Methods and analyses must be reported with enough detail for evaluation and replication. Authors should preserve underlying data and make it available when ethically and legally possible. Any restrictions on data access must be explained in the data-availability statement.

PEER REVIEW

Submissions undergo editorial screening before double-blind peer review. Reviewers are selected for relevant expertise and must provide objective, constructive and timely assessments. Reviewers must declare conflicts, protect confidentiality and alert the editor to suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, data concerns or other possible misconduct. Personal criticism is unacceptable.

RESEARCH MISCONDUCT

The journal considers concerns about plagiarism, duplicate or redundant publication, data fabrication or falsification, inappropriate image manipulation, undisclosed conflicts, authorship abuse, citation manipulation and compromised peer review. Allegations will be assessed fairly and confidentially. The journal may request evidence, contact authors or institutions, pause editorial processing, reject a manuscript, or publish a correction, expression of concern or retraction as appropriate.

CORRECTIONS, RETRACTIONS AND POST-PUBLICATION CONCERNS

Material errors that affect interpretation or the publication record will be corrected transparently. Articles may be retracted when findings are unreliable, publication is redundant, research is unethical or serious misconduct is established. Retraction notices will remain linked to the article and explain the reason. Readers may report concerns to the editorial office.

APPEALS AND COMPLAINTS

Authors may appeal an editorial decision by providing a concise, evidence-based explanation. Complaints about editorial conduct, peer review or published content should be sent to editorial@explorey.org. Appeals and complaints will be handled by a person who was not directly responsible for the disputed decision whenever practicable. Disagreement with a decision alone does not guarantee reconsideration.

PUBLISHER RESPONSIBILITIES

Explore Publisher supports editorial independence, maintains the scholarly record, investigates credible concerns and takes appropriate corrective action. Commercial considerations, including article processing charges, do not determine editorial outcomes.

This statement will be reviewed periodically and updated when journal procedures or recognized publishing standards change.