Publication Ethics

The MJS, published by Sphinx Scientific Press, maintains the highest ethical standards in scholarly publishing. We strictly adhere to guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and other international standards to ensure integrity throughout publication. Our policy outlines clear expectations for authors, reviewers, and editors to promote responsible research conduct and maintain public trust in scientific literature.

Originality and Prior Publication
All submitted manuscripts must represent original work that has not been published previously in any form. Authors must ensure their submissions are not under concurrent review at other journals. Proper citation of all sources is mandatory, including clear attribution when referencing one's prior work. We consider duplicate publication unethical, and such cases will result in immediate rejection or retraction of published articles.

Research Misconduct
MJS maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward research misconduct, which includes fabrication (inventing data, manipulating research materials or data) and plagiarism (using others' work without proper attribution). All submissions undergo rigorous screening using plagiarism detection software, with manuscripts exceeding 20% overall similarity or showing more than 4% duplication from a single source subject to rejection. Image manipulation that misrepresents original data must be disclosed, and undisclosed alterations may lead to sanctions.

Authorship and Contributions
Authorship must be limited to those who have made substantial contributions to the research, including study Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Validation, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Resources, Data Curation, Writing – Original Draft Preparation, Writing – Review & Editing, Visualization, Supervision, Project Administration, or Funding Acquisition. All listed authors must approve the final version of the manuscript before submission. The corresponding author bears responsibility for ensuring all co-authors meet these criteria and must obtain written consent for any authorship changes after submission.

Conflicts of Interest
All authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial, professional, or personal relationships that could influence their work. Examples include funding sources, institutional affiliations, or personal connections that may create bias. If no conflicts exist, authors must explicitly state, "The authors declare no competing interests." Failure to disclose relevant conflicts may result in manuscript rejection or retraction.

Ethical Research Practices
Research involving human participants must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki and include documentation of ethical approval from an institutional review board. For animal studies, authors must confirm adherence to established welfare guidelines and provide evidence of ethical oversight. MJS reserves the right to reject submissions that lack ethical compliance or demonstrate questionable research practices.

The peer review process
MJS employs a double-blind peer review system to ensure impartial evaluation. Reviewers are selected based on expertise and must maintain confidentiality throughout the process. Editors assess manuscripts solely on academic merit, without regard to authors' personal characteristics or institutional affiliations. Any conflicts of interest among reviewers or editors must be declared, and affected individuals will be recused from the evaluation process.

Data Availability and Reproducibility
Authors must retain original research data for at least five years post-publication and provide access upon reasonable request. A data availability statement should specify where supporting materials can be found. For computational studies, authors are encouraged to share relevant codes in accessible repositories to facilitate reproducibility.

Post-Publication Corrections
When errors are identified post-publication, MJS will issue corrections (errata) for minor mistakes that do not affect interpretation. In serious ethical violations or irreproducible findings, retractions will be issued following COPE guidelines. Retracted articles remain accessible with clear markings to maintain transparency while alerting readers to concerns.

Artificial Intelligence Policy
While AI tools may assist with language editing or formatting, they must not replace human authorship or critical analysis. Authors must disclose AI usage and verify that all content reflects their interpretation. MJS prohibits AI-generated results, conclusions, or substantive text without proper human oversight.

Sanctions
Violations of these policies may lead to manuscript rejection, publication retraction, or submission bans ranging from three years.

Copyright
The MJS journal's website comprehensively explains copyright and licensing (in the guidelines for authors). The authors acknowledge that their work is unique and that it has not been submitted to another journal when they submit an article for publication to the journal. By submitting a paper, the authors immediately consent to grant SPHINXSP exclusive copyright if the manuscript is accepted for publication.