Publication Ethics and Policies

1. Introduction

Andalasian Livestock (ALive) is committed to promoting integrity, transparency, accountability, and ethical responsibility in scholarly publishing within animal science and related research fields.

This Publication Ethics and Policies statement has been developed with reference to the Core Practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing.

These principles provide the foundation for the journal's responsibilities toward authors, reviewers, editors, publishers, readers, research institutions, and the wider scientific community.

The journal recognizes that publication ethics extends beyond preventing plagiarism and research misconduct. It also encompasses responsible authorship, ethical research involving animals and humans, research data integrity, impartial peer review, editorial independence, intellectual property rights, and the continuing reliability of the published scholarly record.

2. Scope and Responsibilities

This policy applies to all individuals participating in the journal's editorial and publication processes, including authors, peer reviewers, editors, editorial board members, and journal management personnel.

All participants are expected to act professionally, disclose relevant competing interests, respect confidentiality, and cooperate in resolving ethical concerns.

Authors are responsible for the originality, accuracy, ethical conduct, and appropriate reporting of their research. Reviewers are responsible for providing objective, constructive, and confidential assessments. Editors are responsible for ensuring that editorial decisions are fair, independent, evidence-based, and consistent with the journal's stated policies.

3. Core Areas of Publication Ethics

3.1 Allegations of Misconduct

Andalasian Livestock recognizes that allegations of research or publication misconduct may arise before or after publication.

Potential misconduct includes fabrication or falsification of research data, plagiarism, manipulated images, misleading reporting, inappropriate authorship practices, and interference with the peer review process.

Concerns should be evaluated fairly and proportionately, with appropriate confidentiality and an opportunity for affected parties to respond.

Where an allegation requires investigation of underlying research conduct, the journal may seek cooperation from the relevant research institution or other competent authority.

3.2 Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship must accurately reflect meaningful intellectual contributions to the research and manuscript.

All listed authors must approve the submitted manuscript and accept appropriate responsibility for their contributions. Individuals who have contributed but do not meet the applicable authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately.

Guest, gift, honorary, and ghost authorship are unacceptable.

Requests to change authorship must be supported by a reasonable explanation and appropriate agreement among the affected authors.

3.3 Complaints and Appeals

Authors, reviewers, readers, and other stakeholders may raise concerns regarding editorial procedures, publication ethics, editorial conduct, or decisions affecting their manuscripts.

Complaints and appeals should be handled through a documented, impartial process that distinguishes disagreements over scholarly judgment from procedural irregularities or potential misconduct.

Where a complaint involves an editor or other decision-maker, the matter should be referred to an appropriate individual who has no relevant conflict of interest.

3.4 Conflicts of Interest

All authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial decision-makers are expected to disclose financial and non-financial interests that could influence, or reasonably appear to influence, their professional judgment.

Potential competing interests may include financial relationships, research funding, institutional affiliations, personal relationships, professional collaborations, and intellectual commitments.

Relevant conflicts must be appropriately managed. Editors and reviewers should withdraw from handling manuscripts when their impartiality may be compromised.

3.5 Data Integrity and Reproducibility

Andalasian Livestock supports accurate, transparent, and reproducible research.

Authors should describe their research methods, analytical procedures, materials, and findings with sufficient detail to permit meaningful scholarly evaluation.

Research data must not be fabricated, falsified, selectively manipulated, or misleadingly presented.

Where appropriate and legally permissible, authors are encouraged to make supporting data and relevant materials available through suitable repositories or other transparent arrangements.

Confidential, proprietary, or sensitive information must be protected in accordance with applicable legal and ethical requirements.

3.6 Ethical Oversight

Research published in Andalasian Livestock must comply with applicable institutional, national, and internationally recognized ethical standards.

Particular attention is required for research involving livestock, experimental animals, biological materials, human participants, and sensitive research information.

Animal research must follow applicable animal welfare requirements, including appropriate care, humane handling, minimization of pain and distress, and ethical approval where required.

Research involving human participants must comply with applicable informed-consent, confidentiality, and ethical review requirements.

Authors must accurately report relevant ethics approvals, exemptions, and permissions. Editors may request supporting documentation when necessary.

3.7 Intellectual Property

Authors must respect copyright, licensing conditions, and the intellectual contributions of others.

Previously published text, images, tables, datasets, and other materials must be appropriately acknowledged and used with permission where required.

The journal's copyright, licensing, and reuse conditions must be clearly communicated to authors and readers.

Plagiarism, undisclosed duplicate publication, and misleading presentation of previously published research as original work are unacceptable.

3.8 Journal Management and Editorial Independence

Andalasian Livestock recognizes editorial independence as an essential condition of trustworthy scholarly publishing.

Editorial decisions must be based on scholarly merit, methodological quality, relevance to the journal's scope, and compliance with ethical standards.

Financial considerations, institutional relationships, sponsorship, personal interests, and the ability of authors to pay publication charges must not determine manuscript acceptance or rejection.

The journal's ownership, publishing responsibilities, editorial governance, and sources of financial support should be transparently disclosed.

3.9 Peer Review Processes

Peer review is intended to provide independent scholarly assessment and support the quality and integrity of published research.

Reviewers must assess manuscripts objectively, constructively, and confidentially, while declaring any relevant competing interests.

Editors are responsible for selecting appropriately qualified reviewers and evaluating their recommendations.

Reviewer reports inform editorial decisions but do not replace editorial responsibility.

The journal's separate Peer Review Policy must describe its actual review model, reviewer selection procedures, decision-making authority, and applicable exceptions.

3.10 Post-Publication Discussions and Corrections

Responsibility for scholarly integrity continues after an article has been published.

Andalasian Livestock supports legitimate scholarly discussion and the identification and correction of errors in published research.

Where concerns affect the accuracy, reliability, or integrity of published content, appropriate editorial actions may include corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions.

Such actions should follow relevant COPE guidance and be communicated transparently, with clear links to the affected article and preservation of the scholarly record wherever possible.

4. Responsible Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence

The use of generative artificial intelligence in scholarly research and publishing must be consistent with transparency, originality, confidentiality, and human accountability.

AI systems cannot be recognized as authors because they cannot assume responsibility for scholarly work or meet authorship accountability requirements.

Authors remain responsible for the accuracy, integrity, references, data, images, and conclusions of manuscripts prepared with AI assistance.

Substantive AI-assisted contributions must be disclosed in accordance with the journal's Generative AI Policy.

Editors and reviewers must protect confidential manuscript information and must not submit unpublished or restricted editorial material to external AI services without appropriate authorization and safeguards.

Final editorial decisions must remain under human responsibility.

5. Implementation and Ethical Responsibilities

The Editor-in-Chief and designated editorial personnel are responsible for overseeing the implementation of publication ethics policies within their respective authority.

Ethical concerns should be documented, assessed consistently, and addressed using procedures proportionate to the nature and seriousness of the issue.

Where necessary, the journal may request explanations or supporting materials, seek independent expert advice, or cooperate with relevant institutions.

All individuals involved in an ethical assessment should be treated fairly, and confidential information should be disclosed only when reasonably necessary.

The journal should periodically review its policies and editorial procedures to maintain their accuracy, transparency, and relevance.

6. Publication Fees and Editorial Decisions

Andalasian Livestock does not charge fees for manuscript submission or peer review.

The journal currently states an Article Processing Charge of IDR 500,000 for accepted articles and provides a waiver mechanism for authors experiencing financial difficulty.

Publication fees must not influence peer review outcomes or editorial acceptance decisions.

Detailed information about applicable charges, waiver eligibility, and payment procedures is provided on the journal's Fees page.