Information for Authors

Authors must adhere to the journal's policies (those under "About")and submission guidelines. Manuscripts found to be in violation will be returned without review.

1. Artificial Intelligence Use Policy

Bytran Publishing Services supports transparent and responsible use of artificial intelligence tools in manuscript preparation.

Authors may use AI tools for:

Spelling and grammar checking
Language and style refinement
Assistance in designing or sketching figures

However, authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of the work.

If AI tools are used in any part of manuscript preparation, including text editing, data visualisation, or image generation, this must be clearly acknowledged in the manuscript, usually in the Acknowledgments section or in a short note. The statement should specify which tool was used and for what purpose, for example:

“The authors used [tool name] to assist with grammar checking and figure visualisation.”

AI tools must not be used to generate or fabricate research data, statistical analyses, study results, or citations. All scientific content, interpretation, and conclusions must originate from human authors. The editorial office may request clarification about AI use during review. Inappropriate or undisclosed use of AI may lead to requests for revision, rejection of the manuscript, or retraction in serious cases, in line with the publisher’s ethics policy.

2. Ethical Responsibilities

Bytran Publishing Services follows international standards for publication ethics and integrity. Authors are expected to:

Submit only original work that has not been published previously and is not under review elsewhere
Cite all relevant sources accurately and avoid plagiarism, self-plagiarism, or data manipulation
Provide a statement of ethical approval for studies involving human participants or animals
Include a statement of informed consent when required, particularly for research that involves human subjects, identifiable data, or images
Disclose all sources of funding and any potential conflicts of interest

To help authors meet ethical requirements, BPS provides an official Informed Consent Template. Authors may use this template or provide an institutional version that satisfies equivalent ethical standards.

Any serious ethical breach may result in rejection, correction, or retraction, following the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

3. Additional Ethical Requirements for Medical and Clinical Research

For journals that publish medical, clinical, or biomedical research, BPS expects enhanced ethical compliance consistent with international norms. Authors must ensure that all work involving human participants, patient data, or biological materials meets the following standards:

Institutional Review Board or Ethics Committee approval:
All research that involves human participants, clinical records, patient images, or biological specimens must obtain prior approval from an ethics committee, research ethics board, or institutional review board. The manuscript should clearly state the committee name, approval number or reference code, and date of approval.
Compliance with international guidelines:
Clinical and biomedical studies must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki, Good Clinical Practice (GCP), the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and any applicable national or regional regulations.
Written informed consent:
Written informed consent is required for all prospective clinical studies and any research in which participants are contacted, examined, or exposed to interventions. Consent may be given by participants or by legally authorised representatives in accordance with local law. Editors may request copies of consent forms or related documentation during peer review.
Consent to publish identifiable data:
If a manuscript includes identifiable patient information such as clinical photographs, videos, radiological images, or detailed case descriptions, separate written consent for publication must be obtained. Anonymization alone is not considered sufficient if individuals could still be recognised.
Clinical trial registration:
Interventional clinical trials must be registered in a publicly accessible registry (for example, ClinicalTrials.gov, ISRCTN, or a registry recognised by the World Health Organization) before enrolment of the first participant. The trial registration number should be stated on the title page or in the Methods section.
Vulnerable populations:
Research involving children, pregnant individuals, older adults with cognitive impairment, critically ill patients, or other vulnerable groups must include special safeguards. Authors should describe the rationale for including these populations, the consent procedures, and any additional protections implemented.
Use of human biological materials and genetic data:
Studies that use tissues, blood, DNA, or other biological materials must confirm that collection, storage, and subsequent use were approved by the relevant ethics committee and conducted in line with biosafety and data protection rules. Where applicable, informed consent should cover potential future use of samples and data.
Confidentiality and clinical data protection:
Patient privacy must always be protected. Data should be deidentified or anonymized before analysis and submission. Identifiable clinical datasets must not be placed in public repositories. Authors must comply with relevant data protection laws such as PDPA, GDPR, or equivalent national regulations.
Required ethical statements:
For medical and clinical studies, the manuscript must clearly describe ethics approval, informed consent procedures, consent for publication of identifiable information (when relevant), clinical trial registration, and adherence to recognised ethical and regulatory frameworks.

4. Peer Review Process

All manuscripts submitted to BPS journals undergo double blind peer review. Both reviewers and authors remain anonymous during the review process to promote fairness and reduce bias.

The typical steps are:

Initial assessment:
The editorial office screens the submission for scope, basic quality, and adherence to journal policies. A similarity check is conducted using Crossref Similarity Check (iThenticate) or an equivalent tool.
External peer review:
Manuscripts that pass the initial screening are sent to at least two independent experts with appropriate subject expertise.
Editorial decision:
The Editor-in-Chief or handling editor evaluates the reviewers’ reports and decides whether to accept, request revision, invite resubmission, or reject the manuscript.
Revision and resubmission:
If revisions are requested, authors are invited to respond to each reviewer comment and to submit a revised version. Further rounds of review may be arranged if needed.

On average, the time from submission to first editorial decision is approximately four to six weeks. Once a manuscript is accepted, it proceeds to professional editing, typesetting, and proofing, with online publication typically within two weeks.

For more detailed information, authors may consult the Editorial Process section on the BPS website.

5. Conflict of Interest

Authors must declare any financial, personal, academic, or professional relationships that could influence, or appear to influence, the research process, interpretation of the findings, or preparation of the manuscript. Examples include:

Paid employment or consultancies
Grants, honoraria, or speaker fees
Ownership of stocks or shares in relevant companies
Paid expert testimony
Close personal or professional relationships

A clear conflict of interest statement must be included in the manuscript. If there are no conflicts, authors should state:
“The authors declare no conflict of interest.”

All disclosures must be recorded using the Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form, which is required for authors, editors, and reviewers.

6. Funding Disclosure

Authors must provide complete information about all sources of financial support for the research and for manuscript preparation. The funding statement should specify:

Name of the funding agency or sponsor
Grant number, if applicable
Brief description of the funder’s role, if any, in study design, data collection, analysis, or publication

If the work did not receive external funding, authors should include the statement:
“This research received no external funding.” or "None".

7. Data Availability

To support transparency and reproducibility, authors are encouraged to make underlying research data accessible whenever possible.

A Data Availability Statement should be included, indicating:

Whether data are openly available, restricted, or available on request
Where the data are stored (for example, Zenodo, Dryad, or an institutional repository)
Any conditions governing access

Authors must not upload peer reviewed but unpublished manuscripts to preprint or public repositories. Only datasets, code, protocols, and non confidential supplementary materials may be deposited prior to or during peer review, provided that these actions do not compromise participant privacy or violate legal or ethical restrictions.

8. Preprint Policy

BPS journals permit submission of manuscripts that have previously been posted as preprints on recognised servers such as arXiv, bioRxiv, or medRxiv.

Authors must:

Disclose any preprint at the time of submission
Provide the DOI or URL of the preprint
Ensure that the preprint version has not been formally peer reviewed and published elsewhere

Posting a preprint does not influence editorial decisions. Manuscripts are evaluated on their scientific quality and suitability for the journal.

Authors are not allowed to upload peer reviewed but not yet published versions of the manuscript to preprint platforms. Once the article is formally published by BPS, authors are encouraged to update the preprint record with a link to the final version on the journal website.

9. Copyright and License

Authors retain copyright to their work. Upon acceptance, they grant Bytran Publishing Services permission to publish and disseminate the article.

All articles are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which allows others to share, adapt, and build upon the work, including for commercial purposes, provided that proper credit is given to the authors and original source.

The full license text is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

10. Proofs and Publication

After acceptance, authors will receive article proofs in electronic form for final checking. Authors should carefully review the proofs for typographical errors, formatting issues, and minor corrections.

Corrections must usually be returned within three working days. Substantial changes to the content, such as new data or major revisions, are not normally permitted at this stage.

Once the corrected proofs are approved, the article is published online as the version of record, assigned a DOI, and made immediately available in open access.

11. Appeals and Complaints

If authors believe that their manuscript has not been treated fairly or that an editorial decision was made in error, they may submit a written appeal to the journal’s editorial office. The appeal should clearly state the reasons and provide any supporting information.

Appeals are reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief, and in some cases by independent editorial advisors or additional reviewers. Complaints involving editorial decisions, peer review, or publication ethics are handled in a transparent and respectful manner, in accordance with the recommendations of COPE.

11. Contact Information

Bytran Publishing Services Sdn. Bhd.

No. 55-S-12(A)-F&G, Menara Northam, No. 55, Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, 10050 Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.

Email: editorial_office@bytran-pub.com

Website: https://journal.bytran-pub.com

Authors with questions about submission, ethics, or journal policies are encouraged to contact the editorial office using the above details.