Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement
The Mushroom Research journal is an official publication of the Mushroom Society of India. All editors, authors and reviewers are expected to agree upon standards of proper ethical behaviour and to accept responsibility for the duties below.
Duties of Editors
Transparency
Editors evaluate submitted manuscripts exclusively on academic merit and relevance to the journal's scope, regardless of the authors' race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, citizenship, religious belief, political philosophy, or institutional affiliation. The Editor-in-Chief has full authority over the journal's editorial content and timing of publication.
Confidentiality
Editors and editorial staff will not disclose information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.
Disclosure and conflicts of interest
Editors will not use unpublished information from a submitted manuscript for their own research without the authors' explicit written consent, and will recuse themselves from manuscripts where they have a conflict of interest.
Publication decisions
All submitted manuscripts undergo peer review by at least two expert reviewers. The Editor-in-Chief decides which manuscripts are published, based on validation of the work, its importance to readers, reviewers' comments, and applicable legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.
Involvement and cooperation in investigations
Editors, in conjunction with the publisher and Society, take responsive measures when ethical concerns are raised about a submitted or published manuscript, including publishing a correction, retraction, or expression of concern where warranted.
Duties of Reviewers
Contribution to editorial decisions
Peer review assists editors in editorial decisions and helps authors improve their manuscripts.
Promptness
A reviewer who feels unqualified, or who cannot review promptly, should notify the editors immediately and decline the invitation.
Confidentiality
Manuscripts received for review are confidential and must not be shown to or discussed with others without the Editor-in-Chief's authorisation.
Standards of objectivity
Reviews should be conducted objectively, with clear supporting arguments; personal criticism of authors is inappropriate.
Acknowledgement of sources
Reviewers should identify relevant published work not cited by the authors, and notify editors of any substantial overlap with other manuscripts.
Disclosure and conflicts of interest
A reviewer with a conflict of interest should notify the editors and decline the review invitation.
Duties of Authors
Reporting standards
Authors must present an accurate account of the work and an objective discussion of its significance, with sufficient detail for replication. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements are unacceptable.
Data access and retention
Authors may be asked to provide raw data for editorial review, and should ensure its accessibility to other competent professionals for at least 10 years after publication.
Originality and plagiarism
Authors must submit only entirely original work, with proper citation of others' work and words. Plagiarism in any form is unacceptable.
Multiple, duplicate, or concurrent submission
Papers describing essentially the same research must not be submitted to, or published in, more than one journal.
Authorship of the manuscript
Only persons meeting authorship criteria — substantial contribution, drafting or critical revision, and final approval — should be listed as authors; others should be acknowledged instead.
Disclosure and conflicts of interest
Authors must disclose, at the earliest stage, any conflicts of interest that might influence the results or their interpretation.
Acknowledgement of sources
Authors must properly acknowledge others' work and cite influential prior publications.
Hazards and human or animal subjects
Any unusual hazards, or the use of animals or human participants, must be clearly identified, with confirmation of compliance with relevant laws, institutional guidelines, and informed consent.
Peer review
Authors must participate fully in peer review, responding promptly to editors' requests and revising manuscripts by the given deadline.
Fundamental errors in published work
Authors who discover significant errors in their own published work must promptly notify the editors and cooperate on a correction or retraction.
Duties of the Publisher
Handling of unethical publishing behaviour
In cases of alleged or proven scientific misconduct, fraudulent publication, or plagiarism, the publisher — with the editors — will take appropriate measures, including publication of an erratum, clarification, or retraction where warranted.
Access to journal content
The publisher is committed to the permanent availability and preservation of scholarly research. Mushroom Society of India allows free access to Mushroom Research on the ICAR ePubs platform after registration.