Publication Policies

Authorship Criteria
HNUEJS: Natural Sciences recommends that authorship be granted to individuals who have made significant intellectual contributions to a scientific article based on the following four criteria:

  1. Substantial contribution to the conception or design of the research; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the research.
  2. Drafting the article or critically revising it for important intellectual content.
  3. Final approval of and accountability for the version to be published.
  4. Agreement with the article’s content and perspectives, taking responsibility for all aspects of the research to ensure accuracy and integrity in scientific work.

Additionally, authors must be able to identify which co-author is responsible for specific parts of the research and have confidence in the integrity of their co-authors’ contributions.

Roles of Authors in an Article
An author is an individual who directly creates the article. If two or more individuals jointly create an article with the intent of their contributions forming a complete work, they are considered co-authors (collectively referred to as authors). Authors may include researchers, scientists, experts, lecturers, graduate students, trainees, etc.

When submitting an article to the Journal, authors must clearly specify their roles: lead author, corresponding author, and other authors. The roles and order of authors are defined as follows:

  • The lead author is the individual listed first in the author list or marked with an asterisk (*) beside their name, recognized as the primary contributor who directly created the scientific article.
  • The corresponding author is the sole representative of the author group, responsible for submitting the article, communicating with the Journal, ensuring accurate author information, and verifying the authenticity of the research.
  • Other authors, who made significant contributions to the research idea or design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, drafting, or critical revision, are considered co-authors, with their positions determined by the level of contribution in descending order.

An individual must meet all four authorship criteria to qualify as an author of a scientific article. Note that individuals who only secured funding, provided data, or led a research group do not qualify as authors unless they meet all four criteria.

The author group collectively decides and is responsible for designating the lead author and corresponding author. Author information, including full names, affiliations (including city and country), author order, and contact email, must match the details provided in the Journal’s submission system.

After the manuscript is edited, no additions, deletions, or rearrangements of author names are permitted. The Journal considers requests to change an individual’s name or information without their explicit consent as a breach of publishing ethics.

All individuals listed as contributors must agree to have their names included, as readers may infer their endorsement of the article’s data and conclusions.

Individuals who assisted with the research but are not recognized as contributors should be acknowledged in the author’s acknowledgments, as this recognition may reflect their endorsement of the research’s data and conclusions.

Author Rights
Under Vietnam’s Intellectual Property Law 2022, its amendments, and the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0), authors submitting to the Journal have personal and property rights, as follows:

Personal Rights:

  • Authors may name the article or allow the Journal to revise the title to improve quality, in line with the Journal’s guidelines.
  • Authors may permit the Journal to publish their article, prevent others from distorting, altering, or truncating the manuscript in ways that harm their honor or reputation, and allow the Journal’s reviewers and editors to propose revisions to enhance the manuscript’s quality and compliance with guidelines.

Property Rights:

  • Authors retain property rights and ownership of the original manuscript submitted to the Journal.
  • Authors may submit the manuscript to another journal if HNUEJS rejects or declines to publish it.

Declaration of Competing Interests
All authors must disclose any financial or personal relationships with individuals or organizations that could be perceived as influencing their manuscript. Authors are required to report all potential conflicts of interest at the time of submission, and this information will remain confidential during review. If the manuscript is accepted, conflicts of interest will be disclosed in a footnote. The Journal’s editors may reject manuscripts if undisclosed conflicts of interest exist or if disclosed conflicts are deemed likely to bias the work.

Authors must identify individuals or organizations that provided financial support for the research and/or article preparation and briefly describe their roles in the Acknowledgments section. Financial support for research or manuscript preparation (e.g., salaries, equipment, supplies, or other expenses), employment, consulting fees, patents, or grants must be disclosed. Non-financial support, such as personal or professional relationships, must also be reported. Authors should acknowledge organizations or individuals contributing to the research or manuscript content (e.g., ideas, design, data collection, analysis, or preparation).

Plagiarism and Duplication
Plagiarism is strictly prohibited and will not be tolerated. Any instance of plagiarism, such as copying, paraphrasing, or reusing previously published material or data without proper attribution, will result in manuscript rejection and potential sanctions for the authors. HNUEJS: Natural Sciences uses Turnitin to verify the authenticity of submissions. Manuscripts with a similarity index exceeding 25% will not be considered for review.

Use of AI
The Journal encourages the use of artificial intelligence (AI) as a supportive tool in research, such as for analyzing large datasets, retrieving information, or developing predictive models. Authors must ensure transparency by providing detailed information about the AI technology used, the rationale for its use, and how its outputs were evaluated. In the Acknowledgments section, authors should clearly state the type of AI technology used, its purpose, and its role in the research. If AI was used in the research process, a detailed description should be included in the Methods section. Editors may request additional information or revisions to ensure transparency and readiness for publication.

Submission Policy
Manuscripts must be submitted online at hnuejs.edu.vn, following the Journal’s guidelines and adhering to its policies, publishing ethics, and formatting requirements. Manuscripts must align with the purpose and scope of HNUEJS: Natural Sciences (referred to as the Journal). Authors certify that the manuscript is an original work, not previously published in any form (print or electronic) in other journals, proceedings, or publications, and has been approved by all co-authors. Authors must not submit the manuscript to other publications until a final decision is received from the Journal (e.g., rejection).

Manuscripts will be screened for plagiarism and research duplication. Submissions must follow the Journal’s template. Authors must provide research data with the manuscript for review and editing purposes. For English-language articles, authors are encouraged to use professional editing services to ensure clarity, grammar, formatting, punctuation, and spelling before submission. The Journal encourages citing references from articles previously published in HNUEJS. Authors are legally responsible for the manuscript’s content, copyright of materials, data, images, scientific integrity, research ethics, and conflicts of interest.

Open Access Policy
The Journal supports open access to facilitate global access to research findings and knowledge exchange. Readers may search, read, download, and print full-text articles on the Journal’s online system. Readers may use the Journal’s published content for lawful, non-commercial purposes, such as citing sources in their research, with proper attribution.

Editorial Policy
The Journal adheres to international publishing standards, developed with global experts and coordinated by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Manuscript Receipt and Review:
Manuscripts submitted via hnuejs.edu.vn undergo initial screening by editors before peer review. Editors may return manuscripts for revisions or reject them if they do not meet the Journal’s purpose, scope, policies, ethics, or submission guidelines without further evaluation.

Editors follow a double-blind peer review process, consulting the Editorial Board to select reviewers with relevant expertise. Editors with conflicts of interest (e.g., competition, collaboration, or relationships with authors or related entities) should recuse themselves and involve another editor to handle the manuscript.

Manuscript Revision:
Editors request authors to revise manuscripts based on reviewer feedback and explain changes made. Revised manuscripts are sent back to the appropriate reviewer for reassessment, followed by editorial processing.

Changes to published articles that affect interpretation or conclusions but do not fully invalidate the work are subject to the Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board’s decision.

Policy on Author Name and Order Changes

  • The author group must agree on the order of names (lead author, corresponding author, co-authors) before submission.
  • Requests to change author names or order must be made before the manuscript is accepted. In exceptional cases with clear, justified reasons, the Editorial Board may consider additions, deletions, or changes after acceptance, provided all authors confirm their agreement in writing (e.g., signed email or letter). The Editor-in-Chief’s decision on such requests is final, and further appeals will not be considered.
  • After publication (online or in print), no requests to add, remove, or reorder author names will be accepted.

Policy on Manuscript Withdrawal During Publication
Manuscripts in the publication process may be withdrawn by the Editor-in-Chief for reasons such as serious errors altering conclusions, conflicts of interest, political issues, or ethical violations by authors. Withdrawn manuscripts will be removed from the Journal’s online system or replaced with a PDF stating, “Manuscript Withdrawn: [Article Title].”

Policy on Retraction of Published Articles
Published articles may be retracted for serious errors altering conclusions, conflicts of interest, political issues, legal violations, or ethical breaches by authors. Retractions are initiated by the Editor-in-Chief upon the Editorial Board’s or scientific community’s recommendation.

Retraction measures include:

  • For print editions: Retracted articles are listed in the table of contents of the next issue as “Article Retracted: [Article Title].”
  • For online editions: Retracted articles are removed from the Journal’s system or replaced with a PDF stating, “Article Retracted: [Article Title].”

Review Policy
Review Type and Selection:
The Journal employs a double-blind peer review process, where reviewers and authors remain anonymous, and all communication occurs via the Journal’s online system.

Reviewers are selected based on their expertise, research reputation, recommendations from the Editorial Board or experts, and prior collaboration with the Journal. Authors may suggest suitable reviewers, but the Journal retains the final decision on reviewer selection.

Reviewers must adhere to the Journal’s policies, ethics, conflict of interest guidelines, review process, and response deadlines. Reviewers may accept or decline invitations based on their availability or personal reasons.

Review Timeline:
Manuscripts passing initial screening are sent for review within 30 to 60 days before the nearest publication issue. Round 1 review results are expected within 7 to 20 days from the reviewer’s acceptance of the invitation. Round 2 results (if revisions are required) are expected within 7 to 10 days from receiving the revised manuscript.

Reviewers must submit results on time. If unable to meet deadlines, they should notify the editor and withdraw from the process.

Confidentiality, Objectivity, Fairness, and Conflicts of Interest in Reviews:
Reviewers must ensure confidentiality of all review materials and refrain from sharing evaluations or manuscript details with others. Reviewers must not contact authors directly without the Editor-in-Chief’s consent or use manuscript information for personal gain.

Reviews must be objective, fair, and supported by clear arguments to help authors improve their work. Reviewers of the same manuscript have equal roles in assisting editors with decisions and supporting authors.

Reviewers should identify relevant published works not cited by authors, note any uncited or unpublished references, and alert editors to significant similarities or overlaps with other published articles. Reviewers should not review manuscripts if they have conflicts of interest due to competition, collaboration, or relationships with authors or related entities.

Publication Approval Policy
An article approved for publication must be of high quality, present novel research, and demonstrate academic rigor, meeting the following conditions:

  1. Passes initial screening by the Editorial Board, aligning with the Journal’s purpose, scope, ethics, conflict of interest policies, formatting, similarity checks, author information, and other requirements.
  2. Receives approval from two double-blind reviewers in Round 1 (initial review) and Round 2 (review of revisions, if applicable). If one reviewer rejects and another requests revisions, a third reviewer may be consulted. Round 2 proceeds as above.
  3. Undergoes editorial processing, including English language proofreading for grammar, style, and clarity, with at least two rounds of proofreading.
  4. Receives final approval from the Editor-in-Chief based on the edited manuscript, reviewer reports, Editorial Board consensus, and expert reviewer consultations. The Editor-in-Chief’s decision to approve or reject is final.