Ethics

We uphold a high standard and integrity of research in the work published in BCH based on the following principles:

• Honesty in all aspects of research or study
• Scrupulous care and excellence in research practice
• Transparency and open communication
• Respect for all participants (co-authors, authors) and subjects of research (animals, human voluntaries).

We are committed to editorial independence in BCH and act to avoid potential research, economic, or political conflicts of interest at all stages of editorial review and publication of manuscripts.

We promote the inclusion and equity between authors, editors, and peer reviewers. We do not discriminate on personal characteristics or identity, including race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, and disability at every stage of our publishing process.

We are committed to actively promote the participation in the submitting of manuscripts from scholars and non-scholars of diverse backgrounds. Moreover, we seek and promote the participation of authors who have no experience writing scientific article or have Citizen-based observations.

Every article, note or naturalistic note published in the BCH is subject to strict peer review, where it is ensured that, in addition to scientific findings are supported by evidence, that there are no practices that are unethical. Standards of appropriate scientific and moral conduct are expected of editors, reviewers, and authors, and any identification of malpractice must be reported to the Editors-in-Chief.​ As a reference, we use the guidelines from the Committee on Publications Ethics (COPE).

All authors listed in a manuscript must agree with the appearance of their name in the manuscript, as well as having made scientific contributions to this.

Conflicts of interest that may arise during the editorial process, already identified by the editors, reviewers or authors, must be notified to the Editor-in-Chief in charge, to take concrete measures to avoid bias (for example, assigning another associate editor or reviewer for the manuscript).

The falsification or theft of data, plagiarism and manipulation of bibliographic references is a serious breach of scientific ethics, and under no circumstances do we tolerate this type of act.

If at any time we are presented with concrete evidence that some manuscript presents any of these forms of unethical conduct, then it will be rejected, and in the unfortunate event that the work has been published, it will be officially retracted.

Authorship and Contributions

We recognize any of the following roles for an author of a manuscript submitted to the BCH:

• Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work
• The acquisition, analysis, and/or interpretation of data for the work
• Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content
• Acquisition of funding/resources for the work or substantial involvement in the logistics of the project.

We recognize the following corresponding author’s specific responsibilities:

• Manuscript correction and proofreading. Handling the revisions and re-submission of revised manuscripts according to Author´s Instructions.
• Acting on behalf of all co-authors in responding to queries from all sources post-publication, including questions relating to publishing ethics, content, or the data availability, materials, resources etc.
• Be responsible for complying with the instructions and formats of the BCH, and timely communicate delays in the delivery times of the revised versions during the peer review process.We encourage authors to use the Acknowledgments section in their publication to recognize the contributions of those who provided research or writing assistance.

Plagiarism

We understand plagiarism as "intentionally using another person's ideas, words, data or other material produced by them without their recognition".

We do not tolerate plagiarism in any of the BCH publications. Submissions that contain suspicions of plagiarism, in whole or in part, will be rejected.

Plagiarism can occur in text, illustrations, downloaded material, published and unpublished material.

If plagiarism is discovered in a work published on BCH, we will make a retraction, correction or expression of concern in accordance with the COPE Retraction Guidelines (https://doi.org/10.24318/cope.2019.1.4).