ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Athenea Revista en Ciencias de la Ingeniería takes as its Code of Ethics and Good Practices for editors of scientific journals what is established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) on its page http://publicationethics.org/. Considering what is set forth by the COPE, the journal is committed to attending to the scientific quality of the publications and, with appropriate treatment, to the demands of its readers, authors, and evaluators.
PUBLICATION ETHICS
General references
Regarding plagiarism detection, Athenea Revista en Ciencias de la Ingeniería will use the PlagarismCheck software to check originality, plagiarism, and duplicity in other software.
About the scientific work
The research work submitted must follow the technical, scientific, and ethical characteristics for its correct development. The authors commit themselves to present the supporting documents that validate the ethics in the research's development in case they are requested. When required, the research work must be endorsed by the respective ethics committee of the academic institutions, duly constituted and certified by the endorsing institutions.
Literary authorship
Authors should act ethically by identifying the persons who have participated in the research and indicating their contributions in the preparation of the manuscript. The ethical research process includes the proper selection of authors. Therefore, those authors who did not participate in the research should not appear as authors.
Conflicts of Interest
Authors must provide the article and include a letter of Declaration of Originality and Declaration of no conflict of interest associated with the work to be evaluated in the following link: https://athenea.autanabooks.com/index.php/revista/author).
In addition, in the last paragraph of the article, these declarations must be specified after the conclusions. Subsequently, suppose the paper or any other material is published in the journal, and there is a conflict of interest between the authors. In that case, the material will be removed from the journal.
Peer review
Peer review must comply with the confidentiality of all involved and will be required by all those selected as evaluators or reviewers of the manuscript. Reviewers and editors are prohibited from disclosing information about the authors, such as affiliation data, e-mails, or similar, and unpublished scientific knowledge that has not been expressly authorized by the authors. In addition, editors and reviewers should inform appropriately and with pertinent discretion regarding the ethical doubts that the manuscripts may have, maintaining objectivity, clarity of content, and courtesy standards in writing opinions and comments.
Plagiarism and duplication
All manuscripts submitted must comply with the ethical standards of scientific research and writing, so all works used as sources of information must be cited appropriately, respecting the original authors' statements. Duplication of material is not allowed, nor is the submission of the same article to other journals, events, or any other type of publication.
About subsequent corrections to published articles and papers
The journal undertakes to correct a published document if there are spelling or design errors. Under no circumstances will significant changes be made to the document, such as changes of authors, subject matter, or alterations to the content of the paper, among others.
Responsibility and editorial supervision
The persons responsible for the editorial process are tacitly committed to complying with the confidentiality of the review and publication process. Likewise, they commit themselves to ensure that publication decisions are made exclusively considering the aspects related to the journal's regulations, the characteristics of the scientific research proposed, the writing, and other manuscript details.
In malpractice
The people involved in the editorial and publication process commit themselves to maintaining ethical conduct and good intentions at all times, evidencing good professional, scientific, and technical practice. Likewise, they will ensure compliance with appropriate conduct in work submitted. Athenea Revista en Ciencias de la Ingeniería will not promote or tolerate the unethical behavior of authors, reviewers, and all those involved in the editorial process.
Citation policy
The citation policy for submitted papers requires authors to include citations for all sources of information used in the manuscript, including their work. However, excessive self-citation, copying references without reading the cited work, preferential citation of oneself or their associates/institutions, and citing advertisements or advertorial material are prohibited. The COPE guidelines define citations as verbatim quotations, even when referencing works by the same authors. It is recommended that authors consult the COPE guidelines for best practices.
Research involving human subjects
These paragraphs discuss the guidelines for conducting research involving human subjects. Authors must follow the rules of the 1975 Declaration of Helsinki and declare that the research was conducted accordingly. In cases where human intervention is not required, such as surveys or questionnaires, participants must be fully informed and have given their consent, with anonymity guaranteed. Ethical approval should also be obtained from an ethics committee, and if necessary, citation of the legislation allowing the study should be included. If photos or names of individuals are used, written informed consent must be obtained, and all efforts should be made to maintain anonymity. Documents related to publication permissions should be broad and unrestricted, but signed forms should not be submitted. Suppose the study involves vulnerable groups or the categorization of race, ethnicity, disability, and disease. In that case, additional verification may be required, and the explanation of why such categorization is needed must be indicated in the article.
Ethical guidelines for the use of animals in research
These guidelines provide essential ethical considerations for the benefit of animals in research. The main principles are to minimize animal harm, use alternatives to animal testing when possible, and provide clear and detailed information about animal care and treatment in research manuscripts.
Authors should consult resources such as the Code of Practice for the Housing and Care of Animals Used in Scientific Procedures, the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, and the European Association for Animal Research for further animal welfare and care guidance. The manuscript should also clearly outline the ethics committee approvals and any permissions or authorizations obtained from the owners of animals.
The ARRIVE guidelines should be used as a checklist for reporting live animal experiments. The editorial board may request the list and reject manuscripts that do not comply with them.
Finally, authors should be aware that the editorial board and reviewers will evaluate the ethics of their research and should provide a statement justifying the work from an ethical perspective using the practical framework used by ethics committees. Links to resources for further information are also provided.
Research involving cell lines
Additionally, authors should ensure that they comply with the relevant laws and regulations regarding the use of cell lines in research, including those related to informed consent, privacy, and confidentiality of personal information. If the cell line is of human origin, authors should also ensure that the donor's identity is protected and the cell line is used only for the specific research purposes for which it was obtained.
In cases where commercial cell lines are used, authors should provide information about the source of the cell lines and any licenses or agreements required for their use.
Finally, authors should ensure that the use of cell lines in their research is scientifically justified and that alternative methods that do not involve using cell lines have been considered and, where appropriate, used.
Authors can review the following resources for further guidance:
- International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH). ICH Harmonised Tripartite Guideline: Guideline for Good Clinical Practice E6(R2). Available online: https://www.ich.org/page/efficacy-guidelines.
- National Institutes of Health (NIH). Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research. Available online: https://stemcells.nih.gov/policy/2009-guidelines.htm.
- European Medicines Agency (EMA). Guideline on Human Cell-Based Medicinal Products. Available online: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/scientific-guideline/guideline-human-cell-based-medicinal-products_en.pdf.
Research involving plants
The paragraph discusses guidelines and ethical considerations for cultivating or wild plant research. Compliance with institutional, national, or international policies such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora is recommended. For manuscripts that describe new or unknown species of plants, information from herbaria or museums should be provided, including GPS locations, dates of collection, and documentation to support the information provided. The editorial committee may request entry coupons for future researchers to access and verify the identity of the plant species described. Examples of ethical statements are also provided.
Registration of Clinical Trials
Athenea Revista en Ciencias de la Ingeniería follows ICMJE guidelines that require clinical trial registration in a public registry before enrolling the first patient as a condition for publication. This applies to all clinical trials, including observational studies. Registration promotes transparency and accountability and prevents duplication of research. The recommended registries include Clinicaltrials.gov, EU Clinical Trials Registry, and those listed by WHO. The journal may reject papers without registration, but if the study protocol has been published before registration, registration may be waived with the correct citation of the published protocol. Authors should also cite relevant previous works in their study and reference them appropriately.
Sex and gender in research
The authors should follow the Royal Spanish Academy's rules while writing. Still, it is recommended to use SAGER's guidelines for gender and sex equity in research, including proper usage of the terms 'sex' and 'gender' to avoid confusion. The distinction between these two terms should be clearly stated in the study, and the authors should explain how they were considered in their research, providing relevant data. Accuracy and inclusivity should be prioritized when using gender or sex in research.