Journal Policies and Publication Ethics

Ricos Biology Journal Policies and Publication Ethics

1.0 Journal Overview & Peer Review
Ricos Biology is a monthly, peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journal dedicated to publishing high-quality research in all fields of biology. We are committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics to ensure the integrity and trustworthiness of the scientific record.

1.1 Peer Review Process
All submitted manuscripts undergo a rigorous peer-review process to ensure they meet standards of academic excellence.

  • Manuscripts approved by the Editor-in-Chief are sent to anonymous reviewers (Double-Blind Peer Review).

  • The final decision on acceptance rests with the editorial board, considering the reviewers' recommendations.

1.2 Extended Assessment
For manuscripts with serious ethical, security, biosecurity, or societal implications, the Research Integrity team comprising the Editor-in-Chief and selected senior editors, may seek advice beyond standard peer review. This can involve consulting additional experts and may lead to actions such as recruiting specialized reviewers or declining further consideration of the submission.

2. Ethical Conduct of Research
2.1 Studies Involving Human or Animal Subjects
Research involving human participants, human data, or animal subjects must have been conducted in accordance with internationally recognized guidelines.

  • Human Subjects: For manuscripts reporting on studies with human subjects, authors must declare that the study was approved by an appropriate institutional ethics committee and that it was conducted in accordance with the World Medical Association's Declaration of Helsinki. Authors must confirm that informed consent was obtained from all participants.

  • Animal Subjects: For studies involving experimental animals, authors must state that the work was approved by an institutional animal care and use committee and that all procedures were performed in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations (e.g., the NIH Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals).

  • Manuscripts must include a statement within the "Methods" section confirming ethical approval and adherence to these standards.

3. Authorship and Contributorship
3.1 Authorship Criteria
All listed authors must meet all the following criteria, as per the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations. 

  1. Made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data.

  2. Drafted the work or revised it critically for important intellectual content.

  3. Approved the final version to be published.

  4. Agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

3.2 Author Responsibilities

  • Author Contributions: Authors are encouraged to describe their individual contributions at the end of the manuscript, optionally using the CRediT taxonomy.

  • ORCID: The submitting author must provide an ORCID iD. We strongly encourage all co-authors to link their ORCID iDs to their profiles.

  • Acknowledgements: Individuals who contributed to the research or preparation of the manuscript but do not meet the authorship criteria should be acknowledged with their explicit permission.

  • Changes in Authorship: Any changes to the author list after submission must be formally requested and agreed upon by all authors.

4. Originality and Duplicate Publication
4.1 Original Content
Ricos Biology only considers original content that has not been published previously in any form, except in certain pre-publication venues. This policy aligns with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines on text recycling. 

  • Preprints: Manuscripts previously posted on preprint servers, in institutional repositories, or in a thesis are eligible for submission. The preprint or thesis must be cited and discussed in the manuscript.

  • Conference Proceedings: Extended versions of conference papers are considered if declared upon submission, the original work is cited, significant new content is added, and necessary permissions are obtained.

4.2 Duplicate and Redundant Publication

  • Simultaneous Submission: Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently is prohibited and will result in immediate rejection and potential sanctions.

  • Redundant Publication (Salami Slicing): Inappropriately splitting the results of a single study into multiple articles is unacceptable. Such manuscripts will be rejected or merged, and published articles may be corrected, in line with COPE guidance. 

  • Self-Plagiarism: When building upon their own previous work, authors must cite it. Verbatim reuse of the authors' own text outside the Methods section must be attributed or quoted. Reuse of figures or substantial text may require permission from the copyright holder.

5. Research and Publication Misconduct
5.1 Plagiarism
Authors must appropriately attribute the words, figures, and ideas of others. All sources must be cited at the point of use.

5.2 Data Fabrication and Falsification
Fabricating data or manipulating results, including image manipulation to misrepresent findings, constitutes severe misconduct. Sanctions will be applied, and published articles will be retracted.

5.3 Citation Manipulation

  • Authors: Citations must be relevant and scholarly. Manipulating citations to inflate the reference count of a specific author or journal is prohibited and may incur sanctions.

  • Reviewers and Editors: Reviewers and editors must not demand the inclusion of irrelevant, self-serving citations to their own work or affiliated journals, as per the WAME recommendations on peer reviewer responsibilities. 

6. Use of Generative AI
The use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies in manuscript preparation must be clearly disclosed and is subject to the following restrictions, in accordance with COPE position statements. 

  • Prohibited Use: AI tools cannot be listed as an author. They cannot be used to generate the central research ideas, hypotheses, or to create the primary data and research findings that form the core of the paper.

  • Permissible Use: The use of AI for specific, limited tasks is permitted, such as improving the readability and language of a manuscript, data analysis, or refining the explanation of pre-existing ideas. This use must be explicitly described in the AI Author Contribution Statement section of the manuscript.

  • Author Accountability: Authors are solely responsible for the entire content of their manuscript, including any parts assisted by AI, and for ensuring the accuracy and originality of their work.

7. Conflicts of Interest
A conflict of interest (COI) exists when any external interest could reasonably be perceived as influencing an individual's objectivity. Our policy is based on guidance fromWAME the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME). 

7.1 Author Responsibilities

  • Authors must declare all potential financial and non-financial conflicts in a dedicated "Conflicts of Interest" section.

  • If no conflicts exist, authors must state: "The author(s) declare(s) that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper."

  • All sources of funding must be declared in a separate "Funding Statement," regardless of whether a conflict exists.

  • The role of any non-author (e.g., funder employees) in the research or manuscript preparation must be declared.

7.2 Reviewer and Editor Responsibilities
Editors and reviewers must recuse themselves from a manuscript if they have:

  • A recent publication or current submission with any author.

  • A shared or recent affiliation with any author.

  • A collaborative or close personal relationship with any author.

  • A financial interest in the subject matter.

  • Any other reason that prevents objective assessment.
    Any remaining potential interests must be declared confidentially to the editor.

8. Post-Publication Corrections
Ricos Biology is committed to the correctness and integrity of the scientific record and follows the COPE Retraction Guidelines. 

8.1 Corrections (Errata and Corrigenda)

  • Erratum: Published to correct a publisher-introduced error.

  • Corrigendum: Published to correct an author-introduced error.

8.2 Retractions
In cases where a published article contains significantly erroneous or unreliable data, evidence of misconduct, or pervasive errors that invalidate the conclusions, the article will be retracted. An "Expression of Concern" may be issued pending an investigation.

9. Sanctions and Investigations
9.1 Investigations
Allegations of ethical breaches, either pre- or post-publication, should be reported directly to the Editorial Board. Claimants can remain anonymous upon request. Ricos Biology may contact institutions, employers, or authors to investigate and may request underlying data, in line with COPE flowcharts. 

9.2 Sanctions
Upon confirmation of a policy violation, the following sanctions may be applied:

  • Rejection of the manuscript and any other pending submissions from the author(s).

  • A ban on new submissions for a period of 1–3 years.

  • Prohibition from serving as a reviewer or editor for the journal.

9.3 Appeals
Authors can formally appeal editorial decisions by writing to the Editor-in-Chief (editor.in-chieg@ricosbiology.net), within two weeks of editorial decision.

10. Financial Transparency, Article Processing Charges & Editorial Independence

10.1. Revenue Model and Funding Transparency
Ricos Biology Journal is a diamond open-access journal. Our operations are sustained exclusively by Article Processing Charges (APCs) paid by the authors or their institutions. We maintain a fully transparent funding structure with no secondary revenue streams. This explicitly means the journal does not accept sponsorships, capital infusions, institutional subsidies, or any form of paid advertising on its platform.

10.2. Article Processing Charge (APC), Waiver & Discount Policy
10.2.1. APC and Automatic Waivers/Discounts
We are committed to equitable global participation in scientific discourse. To reduce financial barriers, we provide an automatic APC waiver or discount based on the corresponding author's country of affiliation at the time of manuscript acceptance, as defined by the World Bank Country and Lending Groups:

  • 100% APC Waiver: For corresponding authors affiliated with institutions in Low-income economies (LI).

  • 50% APC Discount: For corresponding authors affiliated with institutions in Lower-middle-income economies (LMI).
    This tiered support is applied automatically upon acceptance; no application is required.

10.2.2. Exceptional Circumstances
Authors from lower-middle-income countries facing exceptional hardship, or those with other compelling circumstances not covered by the automatic policy, may request additional support. Such requests are considered on a case-by-case basis and must be directed to the Editorial Office prior to submission.

10.3. Editorial Independence Guarantee
Our exclusive reliance on APCs, with no other financial interests, is fundamental to safeguarding our editorial integrity. All editorial decisions—including acceptance, rejection, and the peer-review process—are made solely based on scientific validity, originality, and significance of the research. Publishing fees are used exclusively to cover operational costs and have absolutely no bearing on editorial judgments, ensuring all published content is free from commercial or external bias.

11. Data Sharing Policy

Ricos Biology Journal requires that all authors include a Data Availability Statement in their manuscripts, specifying whether and how the data supporting their findings can be accessed. Authors are strongly encouraged to deposit their data in recognized public repositories (such as Figshare, Zenodo, Dryad, NCBI, or institutional repositories) and to cite datasets using persistent identifiers like DOIs or accession numbers. For research funded by agencies with specific data sharing mandates (such as the NIH), authors must comply with all applicable funder requirements, including deposit in designated public archives. In cases where data cannot be publicly shared due to ethical, legal, or privacy restrictions, the Data Availability Statement must clearly explain the limitations and provide contact information for reasonable requests. This policy ensures transparency, reproducibility, and maximum impact of the research we publish.

Important Notes:

  • This policy applies to the current World Bank classification at the time of article acceptance.

  • For authors from lower-middle-income countries facing exceptional hardship, or for other compelling circumstances not covered by this policy, we will consider individual requests for additional support on a case-by-case basis. Contact the Editorial Office at editor.in-chief@ricosbiology.net prior to submission.

Our Commitment:
This tiered policy reflects our dedication to fostering an inclusive and geographically diverse research community, ensuring that publication costs are not a prohibitive barrier to sharing valuable scientific knowledge.