The American Scientific Publishing Group (ASPG) is committed to ensuring a fair, transparent, and efficient editorial process. Authors, reviewers, and readers may submit appeals or complaints regarding editorial decisions, peer-review processes, or publication ethics.
All concerns will be handled in a timely, objective, and confidential manner.
1. Submission of Appeals and Complaints
Appeals concerning editorial decisions, peer-review procedures, manuscript handling, or editorial delays should be submitted to the journal’s Editor-in-Chief or Handling Editor. If no appropriate journal contact is available, the appeal may be submitted to the ASPG Editorial Office at editorial@americaspg.com
1.1. Complainant Identification and Submission Requirements
To ensure accountability, transparency, and the responsible handling of appeals and complaints, the American Scientific Publishing Group (ASPG) requires individuals submitting formal editorial appeals or administrative complaints to provide sufficient information to verify their identity and substantiate their concerns.
Required Information:
Full Name: The complainant's complete legal name.
Institutional Affiliation: The name of the university, research institution, or professional organization with which the complainant is affiliated, where applicable.
Institutional Email Address: An official email address associated with the complainant's institution or organization.
Verifiable Professional Identity: A publicly accessible institutional profile, official university staff page, or other verifiable professional profile. Google Scholar and ORCID profile links may be provided as additional supporting information.
Complaint Details: A clear description of the complaint, including the relevant manuscript identification number, article title, DOI, or publication URL, where applicable.
Supporting Evidence: Relevant documents, correspondence, or other evidence supporting the complaint.
Email Verification Requirements
Formal editorial appeals and administrative complaints must be submitted using an official institutional or organizational email address.
Submissions made solely through personal email services, such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, or Outlook, without independently verifiable professional identification, will not be accepted or processed as formal appeals or administrative complaints.
ASPG reserves the right to request additional verification before initiating a formal review. Incomplete, unverifiable, repetitive, or unsupported submissions may be closed following preliminary assessment.
Exceptions for Research Integrity Concerns
Allegations involving serious research or publication misconduct, including plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, or peer-review manipulation, may be submitted confidentially to researchintegrity@americaspg.com.
Such allegations will be assessed based on the specificity and credibility of the supporting evidence, including when the complainant uses a personal email address or requests anonymity. This exception protects legitimate whistleblowers and supports established publication ethics principles.
Confidentiality
All personal information and supporting documentation will be handled confidentially and used only for verification, assessment, and resolution of the submitted concern.
2. Appeals Against Editorial Decisions
Authors may appeal editorial decisions by providing a clear and reasoned explanation.
The Editor-in-Chief (or designated editor) will review:
- The authors’ arguments
- Reviewer reports
- Editorial assessments
Based on this evaluation, the journal may:
- Uphold the original decision
- Request an additional independent review
- Reconsider the manuscript
The decision on appeals is final.
3. Complaints About Editorial or Review Process
Complaints related to delays, communication issues, or editorial handling will be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief in consultation with the editorial team.
Appropriate actions will be taken to address the issue, and the complainant will be informed of the outcome.
4. Complaints Related to Publication Ethics
Concerns regarding authorship, research integrity, reviewer conduct, or ethical issues will be investigated in accordance with established publishing best practices.
The Editor-in-Chief may consult the publisher where necessary. A decision will be made based on the available evidence, and the complainant will be informed accordingly.
Complaints involving research misconduct, authorship disputes, plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, peer-review manipulation, unethical research, conflicts of interest, or concerns about published content should be submitted confidentially to the ASPG Research Integrity Office at researchintegrity@americaspg.com.
The Research Integrity Office may coordinate the investigation with the Editor-in-Chief, relevant editors, authors, reviewers, affiliated institutions, or other appropriate parties. Individuals involved in the assessment must disclose any conflict of interest and must not participate where their impartiality may reasonably be questioned.
5. Confidentiality and Resolution
All appeals and complaints are treated confidentially. ASPG aims to resolve all cases fairly, promptly, and in line with accepted standards of scholarly publishing.