Editorial Policies

The ethical policy of JNSPS is in line with the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity which is also guided by the policies described by Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Authors must be sincere in sharing the results of their research. Research misconduct is bad for knowledge since it can lead to misinformation for other researchers. Each author must acknowledge that they will adhere to the JNSPS guidelines on editorial policy when submitting manuscripts to JNSPS. All manuscripts will be scrutinized with the hope that the authors have read and approved the version submitted.

Contributions and Authorship
Each listed author must have made a substantial scientific contribution to the research described in the manuscript, endorsed its claims and agreed to be an Author. It is important that all authors who have made significant scientific contributions are listed. We refer you to section II of the ICMJE recommendations. Authors must grant permission to the corresponding author to submit each paper and any changes in the authorship.

Co-authors who made limited contributions to a specific area of the research paper are accountable for their work, however they could be held accountable only for other results too. Although not all co-authors are knowledgeable of all the research in their paper however, they should all have a procedure in place to ensure that the results are accurate.

Corresponding authors
Corresponding author is responsible for the submission and is accountable for al information conceming the manuscript. They are also saddled with the responsibility of interacting with with the editorial office if the need arises. After acceptance, several corresponding author are allowed provided that they are indicated on the title page of the manuscript. These authors are responsible for proofreading of the galley proof and also response to comment /queries about the published article.

Competing Interest
Author sanction can be given if an author fails to declare a competing financial
interest prior to submission. Authors must disclose any affiliations that could be considered to be having a conflict of interest regarding their manuscript. They must also acknowledge all funding sources. Authors, reviewers as well as editors must disclose any conflict of interest when asked to assess a manuscript.

JNSPS Competing Interest Policy
JNSPS' policy was created to manage and not eliminate conflicting interests. The policy's core principle is that authors, reviewers, editors must disclose any affiliations that could be considered to be posing conflicts of interest in relation to the manuscript. A conflicting interest disclosure is rarely a cause to invalidate research results or to change the opinions of editors or referees. It provides information to the reader that allows them to independently evaluate the work.

A footnote explaining the nature of a competing interests is added to any article published after the disclosure is made by the editor or the author.

JNSPS reserves rights to issue an Erratum that discloses any competing interests regarding papers published in the past. Authors, reviewers or editors of papers that were published in the past may be subject to disciplinary action, including exclusion from publication. This policy is applicable for all publications published in JNSPS

i. Financial Competing Interest
Interest in a financial organization whose product/service is related to the subject matter of the article should be disclosed as a conflicting interest, an.

ii. Personal Competing Interest
Conflicts can arise in personal relationships with family, friends or enemies as well as colleagues and competitors. It is possible for a editor/reviewer to have difficulties providing impartial decision/reviews of articles that have been written by co-workers. As a consequence, reviewing the work of competing authors may prove difficult. There may be strong family bonds that make it difficult for you to be objective when reviewing the work of competitors. If there is such conflict of interest, you can't serve as editor/reviewer of the manuscript.

iii. Authors responsiblities
Authors must acknowledge all funding sources as well as declare any competing interest.

iv. Responsibilities of Editor and Reviewer
If asked to evaluate manuscripts for publication, editors and reviewers need to declare any conflicts of interest. If there is a competing interest that hinders them from rendering an impartial judgment, editors and referees will be asked not to participate in the evaluation.

Research of Concern
JNSPS should be informed by reviewers and authors if a manuscript contains any potential dual use research. JNSPS can examine such manuscript, and if necessary, may seek additional reviewers.

Errata
Authors should notify JNSPS via email (editorial.office@journal.nsps.org.ng) if a published article requires a correction. JNSPS may correct errors in published articles that don't significantly impact the results. Online corrections are possible for minor typographical errors which could have an affect on the meaning.

JNSPS publishes independent or citable corrections for scientific mistakes that do no harm to the overall results and conclusions of papers. Correction requests are submitted to the editor for consideration in order to determine if they merit correction.

JNSPS editors or the authors may retract articles due to widespread errors, unsubstantiated or missing evidence. Articles may be removed for honest error and scientific misconduct. Changes in names are not subject to formal correction unless otherwise requested by the author(s).

Change of Name
JNSPS recognizes people changing their names for many reasons. If you wish to modify the name that appears in a published article, you must notify the editorial office. JNSPS reviews every request carefully to ensure that the changes are made in a timely, accurate, confidential, and practical manner. All paper versions (HTML or PDF) will be updated with the initials and given/family names. Once corrections are affected, no notice will be given unless otherwise requested. Crossref will get the most current information from JNSPS. However,JNSPS is unable to control modifications made by other downstream repositories.

Image Integrity
Technical manipulation of images is allowed for improved readability. Technical manipulation refers only to the alteration of the contrast, brightness or color balance. The Journal Editor must receive a cover note notifying any technical manipulations made by the author. Improper technical manipulation means that an image has been altered to conceal, enhance, delete, or add new elements. If Editor is unsure of the accuracy of an author's figures, the original data would be requested.

License available to publish
Completed online submission forms grant NSPS a License to publish the manuscript. The right of publication is terminated when a manuscript is rejected for publication.

Materials and Data Access Policy
We are committed to ensuring the storage, accessibility, and discovery of research data to promote transparency and efficiency in the research process. Research data includes the results of observations or experiments that support research findings, such as software, code, models, algorithms, protocols, methods, and other relevant materials.

Authors are required to provide their research data and associated protocols as supplementary information in their manuscript or deposit them in a relevant repository, with a citation and link to the dataset included in their article. If depositing data or providing them as supplementary information is not possible, authors must provide a clear statement explaining why the data cannot be shared (e.g., due to sensitive or confidential information such as patient data). This data availability statement must be submitted with the manuscript and will appear with the published article.

The term “protocol” refers to the methodologies, experimental procedures, or workflows used in the study. Authors must ensure their protocols include enough detail to allow others to replicate their methods, including steps for accessing any custom codes or algorithms. To provide clarity, the Methods section of the article should contain a “Code availability” subsection, explaining how readers can access the necessary software or algorithms.

For customized codes or algorithms, the most up-to-date versions should be included either as supplementary materials or deposited in trusted repositories with version control.

This policy underscores our commitment to transparency and reproducibility. Linking your work to the underlying data not only fosters transparency but also enhances visibility and could lead to new collaborations.

Citation Guidelines Policy for the Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences
Authors submitting to the Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences are required to follow these citation guidelines to ensure consistency, accuracy, and proper acknowledgment of sources.

1. Reference List:
• Each entry should provide full details including author(s), year of publication, title, journal/book title, volume/issue (if applicable), page numbers, and DOI (where available).
2. Electronic Sources:
• Online articles and other digital sources should include a DOI or a stable URL.
• Authors should ensure that the web addresses they provide are functional and relevant to the referenced material.
3. Self-Citation: While self-citations are permitted, they should be limited and must only reference previous work that is directly relevant to the current research.
4. Unpublished Work: References to unpublished work, such as manuscripts in preparation or under review, should be avoided. If necessary, they should be cited as "unpublished data" or "personal communication" and must have the author's permission.
5. Plagiarism and Attribution: Authors must ensure that all citations properly attribute the original sources. Any form of plagiarism, including inappropriate use of cited materials, is strictly prohibited.

By adhering to these guidelines, authors contribute to the academic integrity and clarity of the Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences.