Author Policies

  • Sample Paper
  • Participant/Patient Privacy and Informed Consent
  • Author's Agreement Form
  • Rights and Grants to the Author
  • Data Sharing Policy
  • Human and Animal Rights Policy
  • Article Processing Charge
  • Withdrawal Policy
  • Plagiarism Policy
  • Licensing Policy
  • APC Waiver Policy
  • Errata, Retractions, and Corrigenda Policy
  • Complaints Policy
  • Submission of Manuscript
  • Open Access Policy
  • Copyright Policy
  • Check List
  • English Language Editing
  • Digital Preservation
  • Manuscript Preparation

1. Sample Paper

Authors preparing a manuscript for the first time are encouraged to review a recently published article in The Ecoscan Journal as a formatting reference, available in the Archives. A downloadable manuscript template following the journal's required structure (title page, abstract, keywords, main text, references) can be requested from the editorial office at editor@theecoscan.org.

2. Participant/Patient Privacy and Informed Consent

Where research involves human participants, authors must confirm that informed consent was obtained from all participants (or their legal guardians) prior to data collection. Manuscripts must not include identifying information — names, photographs, initials, or hospital/registration numbers — unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the participant (or guardian) has provided specific written consent for publication. Authors should be prepared to provide evidence of consent and ethical approval upon editorial request.

3. Author's Agreement Form

Upon submission, the corresponding author confirms on behalf of all co-authors that:

  • The manuscript is original, has not been published previously, and is not under consideration elsewhere;
  • All listed authors have approved the final version and agree to its submission;
  • No conflicts of interest exist, or all relevant conflicts have been disclosed;
  • The authors agree to the journal's Licensing Policy upon acceptance.

A signed Author's Agreement Form may be requested by the editorial office at the time of acceptance.

4. Rights and Grants to the Author

Authors retain full copyright of their published work. By publishing under the CC BY 4.0 license, authors grant The Ecoscan Journal the right of first publication while retaining the right to:

  • Self-archive the published version on personal or institutional websites and repositories, with attribution to the original publication;
  • Reuse their own work in future publications, theses, or teaching materials;
  • Distribute and share the article freely, including via social media and academic networks.

5. Data Sharing Policy

Authors are encouraged to make the data underlying their published findings publicly available in a recognized repository, except where restricted by ethical, legal, or privacy considerations. Where data cannot be shared publicly, authors should include a Data Availability Statement in the manuscript explaining the reason and describing how data may be accessed upon reasonable request.

6. Human and Animal Rights Policy

All research involving human participants must have been conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible institutional review board and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. All research involving animals must comply with relevant institutional, national, and international guidelines for the humane care and use of laboratory and field animals, using the minimum number of animals consistent with sound scientific and statistical practice. Authors must state the approving ethics committee/institutional body and approval reference number in the Methods section.

7. Article Processing Charge

Upon acceptance following peer review, authors are required to pay an Article Processing Charge (APC) of ₹16,000 (INR) to cover editorial handling, production, and open-access publication costs. There is no submission fee; the APC is invoiced only after a manuscript has been accepted. See also our APC Waiver Policy.

8. Withdrawal Policy

Authors wishing to withdraw a manuscript must submit a written request to editor@theecoscan.org, signed by the corresponding author on behalf of all co-authors, stating the reason for withdrawal. Requests are considered at the following stages:

  • Before peer review has begun: withdrawal is generally accepted without penalty.
  • During peer review: withdrawal may be accepted; a processing fee [amount to be set by the editorial board] may apply to cover reviewer costs already incurred.
  • After acceptance, before publication: withdrawal is discouraged and may incur a fee [amount to be set by the editorial board]; repeated late withdrawals by the same author(s) may affect future submissions.

Manuscripts cannot be withdrawn after formal publication except through the journal's Errata, Retractions, and Corrigenda Policy.

9. Plagiarism Policy

The Ecoscan Journal screens all submissions for originality using iThenticate prior to peer review. Manuscripts with substantial unoriginal or improperly attributed content may be returned for revision or rejected, and confirmed cases of plagiarism, data fabrication, or duplicate publication may be reported to the author's institution, in line with COPE guidance.

10. Licensing Policy

All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), allowing free reuse and redistribution with appropriate credit to the original authors and source.

11. APC Waiver Policy

The Ecoscan Journal recognizes that the Article Processing Charge may be a barrier for some researchers. Full or partial waivers may be considered on a case-by-case basis for authors demonstrating genuine financial hardship, in line with criteria to be published by the editorial board [criteria and application process to be finalized]. Waiver requests should be submitted in writing to editor@theecoscan.org at the time of submission, and are evaluated independently of the peer review decision.

12. Errata, Retractions, and Corrigenda Policy

Following COPE guidance, published articles may be corrected or retracted as follows:

  • Corrigendum: a correction of an error introduced by the author(s) (e.g. a data or authorship error) that does not invalidate the overall findings.
  • Erratum: a correction of a production/publisher error.
  • Retraction: issued where findings are shown to be unreliable due to misconduct, honest error invalidating the conclusions, plagiarism, or duplicate publication.

All corrections and retractions are linked to the original article and clearly labeled, and the original article remains accessible except in exceptional legal circumstances.

13. Complaints Policy

Concerns regarding editorial decisions, peer review conduct, publication ethics, or any other aspect of the journal's operation may be submitted in writing to editor@theecoscan.org. Complaints are acknowledged and reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief; where the complaint concerns the Editor-in-Chief directly, it will be escalated to [an independent NEA officer/ombudsperson to be designated]. The journal follows COPE's guidance on handling complaints fairly and confidentially.

14. Submission of Manuscript

Manuscripts must be submitted online through the journal's OJS submission portal. Authors will need to register for an account (if new) and follow the guided, five-step submission process, uploading the manuscript, title page, and any supplementary files as prompted. For assistance, contact editor@theecoscan.org.

15. Open Access Policy

The Ecoscan Journal provides immediate, free access to all published content, with no subscription or paywall, in line with the Budapest Open Access Initiative.

Authors retain copyright of their published work. Published articles are licensed under CC BY 4.0, permitting free reuse with attribution. See also Rights and Grants to the Author.

17. Check List

Before submitting, please confirm:

  • The manuscript has not been published and is not under consideration elsewhere;
  • The submission follows the journal's Manuscript Preparation guidelines and reference style (APA);
  • All authors have approved the manuscript and its submission;
  • Ethical approval and consent statements are included where applicable;
  • A Data Availability Statement is included;
  • Any conflicts of interest are disclosed;
  • Figures/tables are cited in the text and supplied at adequate resolution.

18. English Language Editing

Manuscripts must be submitted in clear, grammatically correct English. While professional language editing is not mandatory, authors who are not native English speakers, or who are unsure of their manuscript's language quality, are encouraged to have their work reviewed by a colleague or professional editing service prior to submission. Language editing does not guarantee acceptance and is independent of the editorial and peer review decision.

19. Digital Preservation

To ensure the long-term availability of published content, The Ecoscan Journal maintains digital preservation through the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN), a distributed, LOCKSS-based archiving service built into OJS, in addition to routine backups of the journal's full content and metadata.

20. Manuscript Preparation

  • Format: Word document (.doc/.docx), double-spaced, standard margins, 12pt font.
  • Title page: Full title, author names and affiliations, corresponding author's email, and a running title.
  • Abstract: Structured or unstructured, 250 words or fewer, followed by 4–6 keywords.
  • Main text: Introduction, Materials & Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion (structure may vary for reviews).
  • References: APA style (7th edition), cited in-text and listed alphabetically.
  • Tables and figures: Numbered sequentially, with descriptive captions, cited in the text, and supplied as separate high-resolution files.
  • There is no strict overall word limit; authors should aim for concise, complete reporting appropriate to the study.