Editorial Policies

These policies explain who makes editorial decisions at the International Journal of Biological and Biomedical Research (IJBBR), how editors are appointed, and how conflicts of interest are managed. They follow the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

1. Editorial Independence

• Editorial decisions are based only on a manuscript's scientific quality, originality, fit with the journal's aims and scope, and compliance with ethical standards.
• The publisher, Anfo Publication House, provides technical, production and administrative support and takes no part in decisions to accept or reject manuscripts.
• There is no submission or review fee. The Article Processing Charge is requested only after a manuscript has been formally accepted following peer review.
• Editors and reviewers do not handle payments and are not told whether an author can or will pay. An offer of payment never changes a decision: a rejected manuscript is not reconsidered because the authors offer to pay the APC.

2. Editorial Roles and Responsibilities

Editor-in-Chief: responsible for the academic content of the journal and for every final decision. The Editor-in-Chief assigns each manuscript to a Handling Editor, decides on appeals, and oversees the handling of ethics cases.

Handling Editors (Editorial Board members): screen manuscripts in their area of expertise, invite reviewers, assess the reviewer reports and the authors' responses, and recommend a decision to the Editor-in-Chief. Editors handle only manuscripts within their subject expertise and with no conflict of interest.

Reviewers: provide independent, confidential and evidence-based assessments, as described in the Peer Review Policy.

Editorial Office: carries out technical checks (completeness, formatting, similarity screening), manages correspondence, and keeps the peer-review records. Editorial Office staff have no authority over editorial decisions.

3. Appointment of Editors

1. Eligibility: a doctoral degree or equivalent professional qualification, a record of peer-reviewed publications in a field covered by the journal, and a current academic, clinical or research affiliation.
2. Selection: candidates are nominated by the Editor-in-Chief or a current Board member, or apply directly. The Editor-in-Chief reviews the candidate's CV, publication record and subject fit with the journal's core research areas.
3. Verification: the candidate's identity and affiliation are confirmed through an institutional email address, an official university or institutional profile, or an ORCID record. These links are shown on the Editorial Board page where available.
4. Acceptance: the candidate accepts the role in writing, agrees to these policies and submits a conflict-of-interest declaration.
5. Term and review: appointments are for three years and may be renewed. The Board listing is reviewed every year; members who are inactive, whose affiliation can no longer be verified, or who breach these policies are removed.

4. Conflicts of Interest for Editors

An editor has a conflict of interest, and must not handle a manuscript, when the editor:

• works at the same institution or department as any author;
• has co-authored a publication or held a joint grant with any author in the past three years;
• is, or was, a supervisor, student, close colleague, relative or personal friend of any author;
• has a financial interest in the outcome of the work, or a competing research interest;
• is an author of the manuscript.

Editors declare their interests when appointed and update the declaration every year. When a conflict arises, the editor declines the assignment and the manuscript is reassigned to an editor without a conflict. See also the Conflict of Interest Policy.

5. Manuscripts Submitted by Editors, Board Members or Publisher Staff

• Such manuscripts receive no preferential treatment and go through the same double-blind review by at least two independent reviewers.
• They are handled by an editor with no conflict of interest. The author-editor has no access to the manuscript's review records and takes no part in reviewer selection or the decision.
• A manuscript submitted by the Editor-in-Chief is handled by a senior Board member designated for that purpose, who takes the final decision.
• If published, the article states that the author is a member of the journal's Editorial Board and that the manuscript was handled independently.

6. Peer Review and Decisions

Manuscripts that pass editorial screening undergo double-blind peer review by at least two independent reviewers. Possible decisions are accept, minor revision, major revision, or reject. Full details are in the Peer Review Policy.

Appeals: authors may appeal a decision within 30 days by writing to the Editorial Office with a reasoned explanation. The appeal is considered by the Editor-in-Chief together with an editor who was not involved in the original decision. The appeal decision is final.

7. Publication Schedule

IJBBR publishes six issues a year (bimonthly). After acceptance, final proofs and payment of the APC, articles are published in the next available issue.

8. Copyright and Licensing

Authors retain copyright of their work and grant the journal a non-exclusive right to publish it. All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Commercial use requires prior written permission from the copyright holder(s).

9. Corrections, Retractions and Complaints

Errors, suspected misconduct and complaints are handled in line with COPE guidance and may lead to a correction, an expression of concern or a retraction. Details are in the Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement.

10. Editorial Records

For every manuscript the Editorial Office keeps the submission, reviewer-invitation, review and decision dates, the reviewer reports, the editor's decision letters and the authors' responses to revision requests, for at least five years. See section 8 of the Peer Review Policy.

11. Archiving and Digital Preservation

All articles are published as full-text PDF with complete metadata on the journal website. Each article receives a Crossref DOI, so its link stays valid even if the website address changes. Article metadata can be harvested openly through the journal's OAI-PMH interface, and the journal is listed in ROAD. The website files and the article database are backed up regularly. The journal is arranging deposit of its full content with a dedicated long-term preservation service and will name the service here once deposit begins.

12. Self-Archiving (Repository) Policy

Authors may deposit any version of their article, at any time and with no embargo, in an institutional or subject repository, on a personal or departmental website, or on an academic network. This covers the submitted version (preprint), the accepted manuscript and the published PDF. The deposit must cite the original publication in IJBBR with its DOI. Manuscripts already posted as preprints may be submitted to the journal.

13. Advertising and Direct Marketing

The journal website carries no third-party advertising. Any future advertising will be clearly separated from editorial content and will have no influence on editorial decisions. Email invitations to submit manuscripts are sent by the publisher only to researchers working in the journal's subject areas. They clearly identify the journal and include a way to unsubscribe. Publication and Editorial Board membership are never offered in exchange for payment.

14. Ownership and Management

IJBBR is owned and published by Anfo Publication House, K-95 Phase 1, Vijay Vihar, Rohini Sector 4, Delhi 110085, India. The publisher manages the website, production, payments and administration. The academic content and all editorial decisions are the responsibility of the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board. Contact: [email protected], +91 7531065651.