STATEMENT OF EDITORIAL POLICY

The RCSAS aims to enhance the value and relevance of open access publications while ensuring their authenticity and integrity. The Editorial Board must strive to stimulate the readers’ interest. The Editorial Board has complete control over the procedure for evaluating article submissions, as well as the information published. The Editorial Board will work tirelessly to ensure that all ethical and scientific criteria are met. Authors’ copyrights and personal information will be safeguarded. All members of the Editorial Board follow a thorough peer-reviewing procedure. They are, furthermore, committed to accomplish the allocated editing task on time. The Editorial Board’s recommendations should not be swayed by extraneous considerations like, nationality, origin, gender, ethnic group, religion or author’s political opinions. The merely criteria for evaluation should be the authenticity and quality of the content provided.

Editors’ Guidelines and Responsibilities

An Editor is in charge of the style and substance of a journal’s publication. The RCSAS understands the value of an Editorial Board. The Editorial Board plays a crucial role in the open access publishing process. The Editorial Board is made up of expertise in the subject, serving as Editors. The Board of Editors plays an important role in ensuring that journal publications are of high quality, reliability, and content.

The international board of editors (ICMJE) for submitted papers and the international advisory board that helps shape the journal are both partners with the editors. Editors must make sure that the research they publish complies with accepted ethical standards on a global scale.

The RCSAS strives to make the editing and peer-reviewing process as competent and confidential as possible. The Editorial Board will take action quickly and is likely to assist in reducing the waiting time from the moment an article is submitted to the time it is published. During the evaluation of a manuscript editors have to follow their responsibilities as:

• • They should have absolute accountability and authority to approve or disapprove a manuscript.
  • They should have no personal stake in the papers they reject or accept.
  • They should only approve a paper if they are fairly certain about it.
  • They should encourage the publication of corrections or rebuttals when errors are detected.
  • They should protect reviewers’ confidentiality. The Editors should preserve anonymity of reviewing. They have to ensure that submitted manuscripts are handled in a confidential method, without disclosing the details until a decision has been taken as to whether the manuscript is to be published. They should also ensure the confidentiality of the names and other details of referees.
  • Editors should make known any conflicts of interest that might arise, particularly, in cases where an editor is an author of a submitted manuscript

Publishing Standards and Guidelines

For its issues of publication, apart from COPE guidelines, The RCSAS adheres to the following norms and guidelines: ICMJE. The RCSAS adheres to the guidelines set forth by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. The guidelines thoroughly address every aspect of editing, including specifics about peer review and handling complaints as well as how the journal is handled. This journal adheres to the majority of the recommendations, which are generally not exclusive to medical journals.

Reporting of randomized, controlled trials is covered by the CONSORT statement. The checklist and flow diagram should be uploaded along with the submission in order for authors to validate their work against them. Transparency and openness in the reporting of research are covered by TOP. For all aspects of TOP, our publications strive to be at level 1 or level 2. This journal has different specifications.

The FAIR Principles provide recommendations for enhancing data’s Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reuse. PRISMA  includes meta-analyses and systematic reviews. It is advised that authors fill out the checklist and flow diagram and attach them with their contribution.

Online software/programs for detecting plagiarism are used during the initial evaluation of a manuscript, commonly known as a pre-check. They can also be used at any point during the peer-review process, but are most frequently employed before an article is accepted for publication.

The authors must provide a detailed justification for any deviations from the above standards and recommendations because they will be considered in the final judgement. In their cover letter, authors are advised to draw attention to any pertinent requirements.