Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Introduction

At Torkwase Journal of Agricultural Research, our commitment to the integrity of our academic content and publishing process is a guarantee. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to conduct their research in line with appropriate practices and a good code of conduct of professional relevance or internationally regulated bodies.

Research integrity

We uphold high standards at the Torkwase Journal of Agricultural Research. As such, our esteemed contributors from different disciplines/institutions are encouraged to abide by the following principles:

Mental honesty in all aspects of research;

Thoroughgoing review, accuracy, and excellence in research practice;

Research report communication with heightened transparency and integrity;

Respect, care, and protection of all participants in the subject(s) of research.

Editorial process

We are committed to upholding an elevated standard in the process through which content is created and made independent from simple data or information. Our editorial process is both interactive and synergistic, and our standards are exceptionally high. Our all-inclusive editorial policies are articulated thus:

We start a preliminary check process after submission, and the submission can be accepted for peer evaluation only when:

The manuscript falls within the scope of the journal's requirement(s);

Authorship information is well-grounded.

The presentation meets our selection standards.

The needful information regarding our research ethics is included in the manuscript.

The manuscript is free from plagiarism. The accepted similarity level is 20% or below.

When a submission is made to the journal, qualified and worthy reviewers will be contacted to assess it critically.

After critical assessment and evaluation of reviewers' comments, editors will decide whether to accept or reject the submitted manuscript or require the authors to review their manuscript.

After an author’s revision, reviewers are contacted again for a rerun of the review of the manuscript. Adopting this procedure, editors will decide whether to accept or reject the revised manuscript.

Nevertheless, if a manuscript is eventually accepted, attention will be paid to layout editing, author proofreading, format conversion, and language structure editing before publication.

Peer review

We employ a double-blind peer review process to evaluate submitted manuscripts. The journal conducts external peer reviews, with reviewers who are independent of the publisher. We acknowledge the indispensable role of critical assessment in the integrity of the scholarly record. Our ethical publication policies for peer review set the fundamental principles and standards that all prominent peer reviewers should adhere to during the critical assessment process. Therefore, we have delineated the basic principles to which our peer reviewers should adhere as follows:

Reviewers should only agree to assess manuscripts that require their subject expertise to conduct a proper review, which they can evaluate promptly.

Reviewers should ensure the confidentiality of peer review and not disclose any details of a manuscript or its review during or after the peer-review process, except for those that are released by the journal.

Reviewers should neither use the details/information obtained during the critical assessment process to the disadvantage of others nor for their own, other persons, or an organisation’s advantage.

Reviewers should declare all potential conflicting interests and seek advice from the journal if unsure whether something constitutes a relevant interest.

Reviewers should not let their reviews be influenced by the origin of a manuscript, its nationality, religious or political beliefs, gender, commercial deliberations, or other characteristics of the authors.

Reviewers should be unbiased and constructive in their reviews, refraining from being antagonistic or provocative and making defamatory personal comments.

Reviewers should acknowledge that peer review is primarily a reciprocal effort and, therefore, endeavour to complete their fair share of reviews promptly.

Reviewers should provide the journal with precise personal and professional information that truly represents their proficiency.

Reviewers should acknowledge that the impersonation of another individual during the review process is considered a serious wrongdoing.

Special issue policies

The journal applies the following for its special issues:

The Editor-in-Chief can serve as the editor, or a Guest Editor, or Editors will be appointed.

Where a Guest Editor or Editors are to be appointed, the individuals must be experts on the special issue theme with proven track records of publications.

The Guest Editor will screen submitted manuscripts, invite reviewers, coordinate the review process, and make decisions regarding submitted manuscripts.

When the Guest Editor or Editors share the same institutional affiliations as the authors, the final decision to accept or reject a manuscript will be made by the Editor-in-Chief or another assigned editorial board member.

The review process for the special issue follows the same procedure as the regular issue.

A special issue with authors drawn from a single institution is possible, but the peer-review process must follow the journal's standard. The special issue's theme must also fall within the journal's scope.

Authorship

Any form of scholarly contribution to the development and conclusion of research work has significant academic implications. This suggests that for published works, authorship comes with liability and accountability. Subsequently, in enlisting authors for research work, potential authors must be acquainted with the following:

Individuals with considerable contributions to the conception, design of the work, acquisition, analysis, interpretation of data, and drafting of the work or its revision must be listed as authors.

The position of a corresponding author is not superior to that of other authors or collaborators; instead, the corresponding author assumes primary responsibility for communicating with the journal during the manuscript submission, peer review, and publication process.

For those individuals whose contributions did not justify authorship (e.g., data collectors, data managers, professional writing assistants, etc.), a short acknowledgement section should highlight their contribution(s) during the research process.

Plagiarism

We use Turnitin to screen all manuscripts submitted to the journal. Using another author’s language, ideas, expressions, and thoughts as one’s original work is highly unacceptable. By percentage, at the journal, the maximum acceptable range for the originality of a manuscript is 20% or below. Self-plagiarism is also considered an offence. It occurs when an author uses a considerable part of his/her work that has been previously published without referencing or citing correctly. It can range from modifying a previously published manuscript to publishing it in multiple journals. To solve this problem, authors are advised to do the following:

Avoid exact repetition of another person’s work if proper acknowledgement of the author or source cannot be done;

Avoid rearranging, rewording, or rephrasing another person’s ideas or work if proper citation of the source cannot be done;

Avoid using the works or ideas of people from the Internet to make an imitation of online sources;

Using the work of other authors as part of one’s own when proper acknowledgement of the author cannot be made should be avoided.

Generative AI Policies

For authors

The journal adopted and modified the Generative AI policies of Elsevier (https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies-and-standards/generative-ai-policies-for-journals)

Authors should note the following before submitting their manuscripts to TOJAR:

The AI policy of TOJAR only refers to the writing stage and not to the use of AI tools to analyze and draw insights from data as part of the research process.

Authors are not permitted to use AI to generate their manuscripts; instead, they must write them themselves.

When authors utilise generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process, these technologies should be employed solely to enhance the readability and language of the work.

The use of AI technology should be accompanied by human oversight and control, and authors should carefully review and edit the results, as AI can generate authoritative-sounding output that may be incorrect, incomplete, or biased. The authors are ultimately responsible and accountable for the contents of the work.

Authors should not list AI and AI-assisted technologies as authors or co-authors, or cite AI as an author. Authorship implies responsibilities and tasks that can only be attributed to and performed by humans.

Each (co-) author is accountable for ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. Authorship requires the ability to approve the final version of the work and agree to its submission.

The use of generative AI and AI-assisted tools in figures, images and artwork

At TOJAR, authors are not allowed to use Generative AI or AI-assisted tools to create or alter images in submitted manuscripts. This may include enhancing, obscuring, moving, removing, or introducing a specific feature within an image or figure.

Adjustments of brightness, contrast, or colour balance are acceptable if and as long as they do not obscure or eliminate any information present in the original. Image forensics tools or specialised software might be applied to submitted manuscripts to identify suspected image irregularities.

The only exception is when AI or AI-assisted tools are integral to the research design or methods (such as in AI-assisted imaging approaches that generate or interpret the underlying research data, for example, in biomedical imaging). If this is done, such use must be described in a reproducible manner in the methods section. This should include an explanation of how the AI or AI-assisted tools were used in the image creation or alteration process, as well as the name of the model or tool, version, extension numbers, and manufacturer.

Authors should adhere to the AI software’s specific usage policies and ensure correct content attribution. Where applicable, authors could be asked to provide pre-AI-adjusted versions of images and/or the composite raw images used to create the final submitted versions for editorial assessment.

The use of generative AI or AI-assisted tools in the production of artwork, such as for graphical abstracts, is not permitted.

The use of generative AI in the production of cover art may be permitted in some cases, provided the author obtains prior permission from the journal editor and publisher, demonstrates that all necessary rights have been cleared for the use of the relevant material, and ensures that correct content attribution is provided.

For reviewers

The use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the journal peer review process

When a researcher is invited to review another researcher’s paper, the manuscript must be treated as a confidential document. Reviewers should not upload a submitted manuscript or any part of it into a generative AI tool, as this may violate the authors’ confidentiality and proprietary rights. Additionally, if the paper contains personally identifiable information, it may also breach data privacy rights.

This confidentiality requirement extends to the peer review report, as it may contain confidential information about the manuscript and/or the authors. For this reason, reviewers should not upload their peer review report into an AI tool, even if it is just to improve language and readability.

Peer review is at the heart of the scientific ecosystem, and TOJAR abides by the highest standards of integrity in this process. Reviewing a scientific manuscript implies responsibilities that can only be attributed to humans. Reviewers should not use generative AI or AI-assisted technologies to assist in the scientific review of a paper, as the critical thinking and original assessment required for peer review are outside the scope of this technology, and there is a risk that the technology will generate incorrect, incomplete, or biased conclusions about the manuscript.

The reviewer is responsible and accountable for the content of the review report. TOJAR's AI author policy states that authors are allowed to use generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process before submission, provided that they improve the language and readability of their paper and disclose the use of these technologies appropriately.

For editors

A submitted manuscript must be treated as a confidential document. TOJAR Editors should not upload a submitted manuscript or any part of it into a generative AI tool, as this may violate the authors’ confidentiality and proprietary rights and, where the paper contains personally identifiable information, may breach data privacy rights.

This confidentiality requirement extends to all communication about the manuscript, including any notification or decision letters, as they may contain confidential information about the manuscript and/or the authors. For this reason, editors should not upload their letters to an AI tool, even if it is just to improve language and readability.

Peer review is at the heart of the scientific ecosystem, and TOJAR abides by the highest standards of integrity in this process. Managing the editorial evaluation of a scientific manuscript implies responsibilities that can only be attributed to humans. Editors should not use generative AI or AI-assisted technologies to assist in the evaluation or decision-making process of a manuscript as the critical thinking and original assessment needed for this work is outside of the scope of this technology, and there is a risk that the technology will generate incorrect, incomplete or biased conclusions about the manuscript. The editor is responsible and accountable for the editorial process, the final decision and the communication thereof to the authors.

The average number of weeks between article submission & publication: It takes an average of 30 weeks from submission to publication.

Research with animals or humans

Research involving animals or humans must be evaluated and approved by a research ethics committee (IRB) before starting the study. The rights of study subjects and participants to privacy must be respected. Additionally, informed consent from subjects who agree to participate in research must be obtained. Authors should be reminded that informed consent is not just a signed form but a process in which the subjects or participants are made to understand their roles, the objectives, and the risks that the research poses.

Research involving vulnerable groups

The following must be considered in studies that involve vulnerable groups:

For studies involving children (those under 18 years), their parents or guardians must sign a consent form for them to participate in any study.

The vulnerable group and their parents or guardians must be made to understand the full implications of participating in the study.

They must also consent to the publication of the study.

Authors must provide evidence that the above ethical requirements were met.

Conflicts of Interest (COI) and funding

One of our key aims is to ensure that our issues are free from undue influence. As such, we expect that our authors must make the following declarations:

All financial COI with no time limits.

Relevant non-financial potential COIs.

Libel, defamation, and freedom of expression

We discourage any form of false publication or statements that may harm the reputation of individuals, groups, or organisations. If such a situation arises, our legal team will take the necessary action.

Retractions, corrections, and expressions of concern

At TOJAR, we encourage retraction, correction, and expression of concern for papers published in our journal. A retraction may be initiated by our editors, the author(s) of the documents, or their institution. Where applicable, a retraction will be accompanied by apologies for the previous error and/or expressions of gratitude to persons who disclosed the error to the author. An expression of concern is also recommended in the same manner as the case with retraction or correction.

Falsification, fabrication, and image manipulation

We concede that the results of data collected or presented as images may be confusing if they are not appropriately modified. Considering this, we advise authors to be more evaluative in making decisions to modify data elicited in this form. We believe that a painstaking consideration of modifying such images is crucial to preventing falsification, fabrication, or misrepresentation of their results.

Fraudulent research and research misconduct

If we discover fraudulent research or research misconduct by our author, our feedback will be to collaborate with the relevant editor(s) and other appropriate institutions or organisations for investigation. Any publication that we find to include fraudulent content will be retracted, or an appropriate correction or expression of concern will be issued.

Data and supporting evidence

Authors are encouraged to be transparent about data coding and reports of materials used during the research process. Therefore, authors are expected to provide and store accurate data and supporting evidence related to their research in a repository or storage location. The reason for doing this is to enable others to access the data, verify the findings, understand them, and potentially replicate new insights from the data provided by the authors with ease.

By submitting manuscripts to TOJAR, contributors are agreeing to the following agreement:

By submitting manuscripts to the journal, authors grant TOJAR a license to publish the articles and identify Verlumun and Penda Publishers as the original publisher.

Authors also grant any third party the right to use the article freely provided its integrity is sustained, and its original authors, citation details, and publisher are identified.

Where an author cannot hold the copyright, minor adjustments may be needed to accommodate the peculiarities. It is mandatory for authors who require such variations to inform the TOJAR editorial team after their manuscripts have been accepted.

License agreement

In submitting an article to TOJAR, I certify that;

My co-authors authorise me to enter into these arrangements.

I warrant, on behalf of myself and my co-authors, that:

The article is original, has not been formally published in any other peer-reviewed journal, is not under consideration by any other journal, and does not infringe any existing copyright or any other third-party rights.

I am/we are the sole author(s) of the article and have full authority to enter into this agreement in granting rights to TOJAR, and we are not in breach of any other obligation.

The article contains nothing unlawful, libellous, or which would, if published, constitute a breach of contract or confidence or of commitment given to secrecy;

We have taken due care to ensure the integrity of the article. To my/our - and currently accepted scientific - knowledge of all statements in it purporting to be facts are true, and any formula or instruction contained in the article will not, if followed accurately, cause any injury, illness, or damage to the user.

All co-authors and I agree that if the article is accepted for publication, it will be licensed following TOJAR's policies.

IMPORTANT

Whether the authors fill out a form or not, the license agreement applies to all articles published by the journal. Therefore, authors need to read it before submitting their manuscripts.

Licensing

All articles published by TOJAR are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA). Therefore, through the non-commercial use of works published by TOJAR, readers can read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of our published articles, and use them for any other lawful purposes. Readers must acknowledge sources accordingly.

Archiving Policy

TOJAR's archiving policy covers the following aspects:

The journal allows article authors to archive their articles on their personal websites or corporate pages, and/or to use the final published version of the article for archiving in an institutional repository after publication.

Authors are allowed to self-archive their articles in public and/or commercial subject-based archives.

Authors are not subject to an embargo, but the published source should be cited, and a link should be provided to the article's URL in the journal.

Authors can download the article as a PDF document and send copies to their colleagues without any embargo.

Articles published in our journal are digitally archived on the journal website and the PKP Preservation Network (PN), LOCKSS, and CLOCKSS pages.

Version Published in the Journal.

Publication Type: Open Access

Distribution and Archiving: PKP Preservation Network (PN), LOCKSS and CLOCKSS

Embargo Period: There is no embargo period.

Open Access License: CC BY-NC-SA

Archive Location: Journal website, institutional archive, institutional site, author's personal website, public and/or non-commercial subject-based archives.

Policy Conditions: The journal should be cited following the citation and citation standards. It should be linked to the publisher version.

The Version Accepted after peer review

Embargo Period: None

Archive Location: Journal website, institutional site, author's website, public and/or non-commercial subject-based archives.

Embargo Period: None

Archive Location: Journal website, and any other location that is not publicly available, to avoid being flagged for plagiarism.

Repository Policy: Authors are permitted to deposit their works in the institutional repository of their choice, provided the appropriate versions of their works accompany them. The three versions are explained thus:

Submitted Version: Submitted versions should not be deposited in an online repository to prevent them from being flagged for plagiarism during our editorial team's plagiarism checks.

Accepted version (Author Accepted Manuscript): The accepted manuscript can be deposited in an institutional or any repository of the author’s choice.

Published version (Version of Record): Accepted manuscripts can be deposited in institutional repositories, the authors' websites, and public, non-commercial, subject-based repositories.

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