Journal Policies — Insights in Animal Science

Open Access

Insights in Animal Science (ISSN 3007-6420) is a peer reviewed, open access journal. All types of articles including regular articles, review papers, short communications, and editorials published open access will be immediately and permanently free for everyone to read, download, copy and distribute. All our articles are published under a Creative Commons (CC BY) license.

Meaning of Open Access

In accordance with major definitions of open access in scientific literature, we define open access by the following conditions:

• all content including peer-reviewed literature is freely available without subscription or price barriers,
• published content is immediately released in open access format (no embargo period), and
• published content can be re-used without obtaining permission as long as a correct citation to the original publication is given.

Copyright and Licensing

Creative Commons Attribution - CC BY

All content in Insights in Animal Science is available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.This license allows users to distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the original work, even for commercial purposes, as long as they credit the original creation. The full details of the license are available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. This is the most accommodating of licenses offered.

Copyright

Each published content has a copyright holder, with the following statement:

CC BY 4.0

Plagiarism Policy

Insights in Animal Science requires that all submissions be original and free from plagiarism. The journal uses Turnitin to screen manuscripts for overlap with published material and other sources.

• Acceptable similarity index: below 20% (overlap from references and institutional repositories/preprint servers may be excluded where appropriate).
• Manuscripts exceeding 20% similarity will be returned for revision or may be rejected depending on the nature and location of the overlap.
• Duplicate publication, data fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate image manipulation are considered serious misconduct and may lead to rejection, retraction, and/or reporting to the authors’ institutions.

Ethics Policy

The journal follows the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Authors must ensure ethical standards are met for all research involving animals or human participants.

• Animal studies should comply with recognized guidelines (e.g., ARRIVE) and include a statement of ethical approval with the ethics committee name and approval number.
• Human studies must follow the Declaration of Helsinki and include evidence of ethical approval and informed consent where applicable.
• Ethical approval details must be provided at the time of submission and included in the Methods or Ethics statement section of the manuscript.

Authorship Policy

The journal follows ICMJE authorship criteria. All authors listed must meet the following four criteria:

1. Substantial contributions to conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data.
2. Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content.
3. Final approval of the version to be published.
4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring questions related to accuracy or integrity are appropriately investigated and resolved.

All manuscripts must include an Author Contributions statement describing each author’s role. The Editorial Office will follow COPE guidance to resolve authorship disputes; authors are expected to settle contribution/order conflicts prior to submission whenever possible.

Peer Review Policy

Insights in Animal Science implements a single-blind peer review model:

• Reviewers are anonymous to the authors; reviewers receive author names and affiliations.
• Each manuscript is evaluated by a minimum of two independent reviewers with relevant expertise.
• Typical review timeline: 6–8 weeks from submission to the initial decision (this may vary by subject area and reviewer availability).
• Editorial decisions are made by the Editor-in-Chief or handling editor on the basis of reviewer recommendations, originality, scientific rigor, and relevance to the journal.

Funding Source & Conflict of Interest Policy

Transparency about funding and potential conflicts of interest is required for all submissions.

• Authors must declare all sources of financial support (grants, institutional funding, commercial sponsorship) in a Funding Statement.
• Authors must also provide a Conflict of Interest statement disclosing any financial or non-financial relationships that could influence the work.
• Undisclosed conflicts discovered post-publication may result in correction or retraction.

Publication Changes Policy

To preserve the integrity of the scholarly record, the journal permits post-publication notices where appropriate. Types of notices include:

• Erratum: For minor errors introduced by the publisher that do not affect the scientific content or conclusions.
• Corrigendum: For substantive errors reported by the authors that require correction but do not invalidate the main conclusions.
• Expression of Concern: Where editors have concern about the integrity of an article and an investigation is ongoing.
• Retraction: For cases of proven misconduct, major errors that invalidate the findings, or unethical research (see Retraction Policy below).

All corrections, corrigenda, expressions of concern, and retractions will be linked to the original article and the article’s DOI to ensure transparency.

Correction Policy

The journal corrects the published record as necessary.

• Minor corrections that do not affect interpretation may be updated directly in the online version with an editorial note if appropriate.
• Significant corrections that affect interpretation, data, or conclusions will be published as a formal Correction or Corrigendum and linked to the original DOI.
• Where errors invalidate results or conclusions, retraction procedures will be followed.

Retraction Policy

Retractions will be issued in line with COPE guidelines. Reasons for retraction include, but are not limited to:

• Confirmed findings of plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification.
• Major methodological errors that invalidate results or conclusions.
• Unethical research conduct or failure to secure required ethical approval.
• Duplicate publication (published elsewhere without disclosure).

Retraction notices will:

• Be linked to the original article and remain publicly accessible.
• Clearly state the reason(s) for retraction.
• Be issued after thorough investigation; where appropriate, the authors’ institution may be notified.

Complaint & Appeal Policy

The Editorial Office is committed to fair, transparent, and timely handling of complaints and appeals.

Complaints

• Complaints regarding editorial processes, conflicts of interest, or peer review quality should be sent in writing to the Editor-in-Chief at editor@insightsinanimalscience.org (or the journal's official contact).
• Complaints will be acknowledged within 7 working days and investigated in accordance with COPE recommendations. A response will be provided once the investigation is complete.

Appeals

• Authors may appeal editorial decisions by submitting a formal appeal letter detailing the grounds for appeal and any new evidence or clarifications.
• Appeals are reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief and, if appropriate, members of the editorial board or an independent reviewer who was not involved in the original decision.
• Final decisions on appeals will be communicated in writing.

Fee Waiver Policy

The journal levies an Article Processing Charge (APC) upon acceptance to support open access publishing:

• International authors: USD 100
• National authors (Pakistan): PKR 30,000

To ensure equitable access:

• Partial or full APC waivers may be granted on a case-by-case basis for authors from low-income countries, early-career researchers, or students.
• The journal provides reviewer vouchers which may be redeemed as partial waivers or discounts for future submissions.
• Requests for waivers should be submitted at the time of manuscript submission with appropriate justification; decisions are made by the Editorial Office.

Archiving Policy

The journal ensures long-term preservation of published content via:

• PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN)
• LOCKSS

Articles may also be deposited in institutional or subject repositories in accordance with the journal’s open access license.

Contact & Implementation

Questions regarding these policies, complaints, appeals, or requests for APC waivers should be sent to:

© Insights in Animal Science. These policies apply to all articles published in Insights in Animal Science and are periodically reviewed to ensure alignment with best practices.