Citations Policy

Citation Policy

VTM is committed to responsible authorship and citation practices in accordance with COPE guidelines. All authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to adhere to the following principles:

1. Accurate and Relevant Citations

• All claims in manuscripts must be supported by relevant, reliable, and up-to-date literature.

• Citations must directly support the statements made and must not be misrepresented.

• References should not be included solely for embellishment or to inflate apparent scholarship.

2. Ethical Self-Citation

• Self-citation is acceptable when relevant and justified, for example, to build upon previous work.

• Excessive self-citation aimed at inflating citation counts is unethical and unacceptable.

• Authors must avoid manipulating author lists or collaborating for the sole purpose of boosting citations.

3. Balanced References

• References should fairly and objectively represent the breadth of the field.

• Avoid prioritizing citations from the same journal without valid scientific justification.

• Omission of relevant work, including studies that may contradict your findings, is discouraged.

4. Consequences of Citation Manipulation

• Manuscripts found to manipulate citations may be rejected.

• In severe cases, author institutions may be notified.

• Authors are encouraged to report any attempts by editors or reviewers to coerce citation manipulation.

5. Upholding Ethical Standards

• Adherence to these guidelines ensures integrity, transparency, and credibility in scholarly communication.

• Ethical citation practices support the responsible advancement of knowledge and the trustworthiness of the research ecosystem.