Ethics Statement

Journal of Tropical Plant Physiology (JTPP) published by the Malaysian Society of Plant Physiology is diligent in preserving the highest standards of publication ethics. JTPP publication ethics and malpractice statement covers the code of ethics for authors, reviewers, editors and publisher. This statement is based on the Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors of the Committee on Publication Ethics – COPE (http://publicationethics.org/).

• Authors are responsible for submitting new and original work.
• Authors are expected not to submit work that has been published elsewhere.
• Authors are expected not to submit any manuscript that is under review or being considered for publication by other journals.
• Authors are only allowed to submit their work for publication in other journals after a formal rejection letter has been received from this journal or after their request to withdraw their manuscript has been officially accepted by this journal.
• Authors are expected to inform the Editor-in-Chief or the journal of any error in their published article for the article to be corrected or retracted.
• Authors listed in the article must be those having significant contributions in the published work and are accountable for any discrepancies in the article.
• Corresponding authors are expected to ensure only appropriate co-authors are included in the paper.
• Authors are expected to report their results clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification or inappropriate data manipulation by describing the methods clearly and unambiguously so that the findings are repeatable and may be validated by others.

• Reviewers are expected to reveal any competing interest of the manuscript before agreeing to review the manuscript.
• Reviewers may decline to review any manuscript due to a conflict of interest or when the subject is outside the reviewers’ fields of expertise.
• Reviewers must be objective, fair and professional when reviewing the manuscripts.
• Reviewers are obliged to disclose to the Editor-in-Chief of any ethical misconduct encountered while reviewing the manuscript so that further action may be undertaken.
• Reviewers are expected to ensure that the manuscript is original and be alert of possible plagiarism and redundant submission.
• Reviewers are expected not to discuss the manuscript content without prior permission.
• Reviewers are expected to comply with the time allocated for the for the review process. Extension in the allocated time for reviewing the manuscript may be requested from the Editor-in-Chief who gives the final decision in the matter.

• Editorial Board members are expected to recommend high quality papers for publication in JTPP
• Editorial Board members are expected to call for papers from their acquaintances
• Editorial Board members are expected to review submitted manuscripts or provide referees
• Editorial Board members are expected to hold vital decision on paper acceptance or rejection
• Editorial Board members are expected to provide support to the quality control of the journal by checking every issue before its release
• Editorial Board members are expected to promote JTPP at relevant conferences and other events.

• Editor-in-Chief is expected to evaluate manuscripts fairly and solely on their intellectual merit.
• Editor-in-Chief is obliged to ensure confidentiality of manuscripts and not to disclose any information regarding the manuscripts to anyone other than the people involved in the publishing process.
• Editor-in-Chief is responsible for the decision regarding when and which articles are to be published.
• Editor-in-Chief should actively seek the views of board members, reviewers and authors on how to improve the image and visibility of the journal.
• Editor-in-Chief must provide clear instructions to potential contributors on the submission process and the responsibilities of the authors.
• Editor-in-Chief is expected to select appropriate reviewers for the reviewing process.

• Authors must ensure that the submission is an original work that is not plagiarised, and has not been published or being considered elsewhere. The editorial office may utilise appropriate software to check for similarities of the submissions with existing literature. Any fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements are unacceptable. Work and/or words from previous publications must be appropriately cited or quoted.