Journal Policy
Conditions for Manuscript Publication
The Abai Journal of Biological Sciences (AJBS) accepts only original scientific articles that have not been previously published and are not under consideration elsewhere. Manuscripts may be submitted in Kazakh, Russian, or English and must align with the journal’s scope and strictly follow the established formatting requirements.
A manuscript must be submitted to the editorial board by the corresponding author (designated among co-authors, if applicable) at least two months before the publication date of the relevant issue.
Manuscripts ranging from 1,500 to 7,000 words are considered (excluding title, author information, abstract, keywords, and references).
Submissions are made via the journal’s electronic platform by the corresponding author, including all metadata and author information. An author (individually or in co-authorship) may publish no more than one article per calendar year in the journal.
Authors are required to submit original research that has not been published or submitted elsewhere. They bear full responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and validity of their research. During the review process and after publication, resubmission of the same work to other journals is not permitted.
Communication between the editorial board, corresponding author, and reviewers is carried out via the OJS platform, and in exceptional cases, via official email.
The editorial board reviews manuscripts, organizes the peer-review process, and makes publication decisions within two months of submission.
If accepted, authors must pay the publication fee according to the journal’s official pricing policy. Payment confirmation (PDF format) must be sent to the editorial office.
Plagiarism and Ethical Standards
The editorial office of the Abai Journal of Biological Sciences (AJBS), when checking manuscripts for compliance with formal requirements, performs a mandatory text analysis for the presence of borrowings (similarity/plagiarism) using anti-plagiarism systems accessible through institutional or national subscriptions.
Only original manuscripts with a similarity index of at least 75% are admitted to the next stage of peer review. Materials that do not meet originality requirements or formatting standards are returned to authors for revision and must be resubmitted through the journal’s electronic platform.
Authors are required to properly format all quotations, borrowings, and references to sources used. Plagiarism, self-plagiarism, data falsification, and other forms of unethical scientific practice are considered serious violations of publication ethics and are strictly not accepted in the journal.
All participants in the editorial process (editors, reviewers, and authors) are obliged to comply with international standards of research ethics, including COPE principles, as well as norms of academic integrity.
In case of detected violations, the editorial board acts in accordance with international ethical standards and the journal’s policy, including the possibility of retraction of published articles.
If a violation of research ethics is confirmed in a published article, the editorial office retracts it from the official journal website, indicating the reasons. Information about the violation is published in one of the subsequent issues of the journal.
Authors found to have proven violations of research ethics may be restricted from submitting manuscripts to this journal and other publications for a period of up to three years.
Open Access Policy and Archiving
The Abai Journal of Biological Sciences (AJBS) follows a full Open Access policy, ensuring the free and unrestricted distribution of all published materials through the official journal website.
This policy is aimed at providing global access to scientific research and supporting international exchange of knowledge without financial or institutional barriers.
The official journal website provides complete information about its activities, including publication conditions, manuscript formatting requirements, submission and peer-review procedures, editorial policies, publication ethics, details of the editorial board, as well as contact information for the editorial office.
Authors and readers have free access to all current issues of the journal, as well as to the full archive of previously published issues.
All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which permits free use, distribution, and reproduction of the materials, provided that proper attribution is given and a reference to the original publication in the journal is included.
Copyright and Licensing
Authors of articles published in the Abai Journal of Biological Sciences (AJBS) retain the copyright to their scientific works and grant the journal the right of first publication. At the same time, all materials are licensed under the open Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.
Authorship is attributed to researchers who have made a substantial contribution to the development of the research concept, the execution of the study, data analysis and interpretation, and the preparation of the manuscript text.
Under the CC BY license, authors retain all copyright while granting unrestricted rights to users to read, download, and distribute articles; reproduce and adapt the materials; and use them for any scientific and educational purposes.
The only mandatory requirement is proper attribution and a reference to the original publication in ABJS. No additional permission from the authors or the publisher is required.
Authors are also permitted to deposit their published articles in institutional repositories, scientific archives, personal websites, and other open-access platforms, provided that the original publication in the journal is properly cited.
Confidentiality Policy
Authors’ personal data, including names, affiliations, contact information, positions, academic degrees, and profile identifiers in international scientific databases, are published within the article in the “Author Information” section.
The Editorial Board of the Abai Journal of Biological Sciences (AJBS) ensures strict adherence to confidentiality principles at all stages of the editorial and publishing process.
Information about submitted manuscripts is not disclosed to third parties prior to publication, except for assigned reviewers.
The editorial office also ensures strict confidentiality of reviewer data: their identities are not disclosed to authors or other participants in the peer-review process.
Publication Ethics
Members of the Editorial Board of the Abai Journal of Biological Sciences (AJBS) strictly follow publication ethics principles and standards based on the international guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
The publication ethics policy is aimed at ensuring academic integrity, transparency of the editorial process, and high quality of scientific publications. It establishes standards of conduct for authors, reviewers, and editors, and regulates issues related to conflict of interest, scientific misconduct, corrections, retractions, and withdrawal of published materials.
All participants in the publishing process — authors, reviewers, scientific editors, executive secretaries, and editorial board members — are required to strictly comply with these principles. Adherence to these standards is essential for maintaining the scientific quality of the journal and ensuring trust among all participants.
Unethical practices include: self-review or fabricated peer review; collusive or fake peer review; use of intermediaries or agencies for publication purposes; false or “guest” authorship; data falsification or fabrication; publication of unreliable or pseudoscientific content; unauthorized transfer of manuscripts to third parties; violation of copyright and editorial confidentiality; citation manipulation; plagiarism and self-plagiarism.
Ethical Principles of Editorial Board Members
Members of the Editorial Board of the Abai Journal of Biological Sciences (AJBS) are responsible for the development and improvement of the journal, as well as its inclusion in international scientometric databases. In their activities, they adhere to the principles of academic freedom, ensure the scientific and professional needs of authors and readers, and exclude any influence of commercial interests of authors, reviewers, or publishers on publication decisions. In addition, the Editorial Board takes all necessary measures to improve the quality of scientific publications and ensure confidentiality at all stages of the editorial and publishing process.
Equality of all authors. The Editorial Board evaluates manuscripts solely based on their scientific content, without discrimination on the basis of race, gender, age, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnicity, nationality, political views, or any other factors unrelated to the scientific value of the work.
Publication decision-making. Publication decisions are based on compliance with formatting requirements, originality (absence of plagiarism), and peer review results. The journal strictly follows its policy and publication ethics standards and does not accept manuscripts with evidence of plagiarism, ethical violations, or copyright infringement.
Editorial board members are responsible for publications containing known unethical practices, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, excessive self-citation, or conflicts of interest. In cases where violations of publication or research ethics are identified, the scientific editor, based on the decision of the editorial board, initiates the retraction procedure.
Articles may be withdrawn either by the author(s) or by the journal. The editorial board carries out retractions in accordance with COPE guidelines.
An article is retracted in the following cases:
- if there is clear evidence that the data are unreliable or obtained through misconduct (e.g., data fabrication);
- if the article has been previously published in another journal before publication in ABJS;
- if plagiarism is detected, including unauthorized use of figures, graphs, or tables;
- if serious errors are found that may invalidate the research (e.g., experimental or calculation errors);
- if third-party copyright claims are raised regarding the article or parts of it;
- if the content violates publication and/or research ethics standards.
In such cases, the Editorial Board conducts an investigation, after which the article may be retracted. A retraction statement is issued, signed by the scientific editor, and a copy is sent to the corresponding author.
The article is then marked as “retracted” on the journal website with stated reasons. The journal publishes information about the retraction on its official website and in a subsequent issue.
The Editorial Board reviews all substantiated complaints responsibly, objectively, and carefully.
The journal considers it the responsibility of both authors and reviewers to promptly report any errors or ethical issues identified after publication.
Confidentiality Principle. During the manuscript review process (prior to publication), editors and editorial board members must not disclose information to anyone except authors, assigned reviewers, and the publisher. All submitted manuscripts are treated as confidential materials and must not be shared or discussed with third parties without permission from the scientific editor. The Editorial Board guarantees that rejected manuscripts will not be used in the research of board members without written consent from the authors.
Handling Complaints of Unethical Behavior. Editorial Board members must individually and objectively review all complaints regarding unethical behavior by authors or published articles, regardless of when the complaint is received. If a complaint is substantiated, the Editorial Board has the right to reject publication, terminate cooperation with the corresponding author, publish corrections or retractions, and take other necessary measures to prevent further unethical conduct.
*Editorial Board, Duties and Responsibilities
The duties and responsibilities of the Scientific Editor of the Abai Journal of Biological Sciences (AJBS), the Executive Secretary, and members of the Editorial Board are defined in the approved job descriptions.
Authors’ Publication Ethics Principles
Single submission policy
Authors guarantee that the submitted manuscript has not been simultaneously submitted to other journals or publications. Simultaneous submission to multiple journals is unacceptable and constitutes a serious violation of publication ethics standards.
Authorship
The individual who has made the greatest intellectual contribution to the manuscript (in the case of two or more authors) should be listed first. A corresponding author must be designated for each manuscript. The corresponding author is responsible for preparing the final version of the manuscript, communicating with the editorial board, ensuring that all contributors who meet authorship criteria are included in the author list, and obtaining approval of the final version from all co-authors. All listed authors are responsible for the content of the work.
Originality principle
Authors guarantee that the submitted research is original and does not contain plagiarism or improper borrowings, which may be detected using plagiarism detection systems.
Authors are responsible for manuscripts showing signs of unethical practices, including plagiarism, self-plagiarism, excessive self-citation, data falsification or fabrication, false authorship, duplicate publication, conflicts of interest, and misconduct.
Source verification
Authors must correctly cite all scientific and other sources used in the research. Any use of parts of other works or statements from other authors must be properly referenced. Information obtained from unreliable sources must not be used.
If reviewers, the scientific editor, or editorial board members have doubts regarding the authenticity or validity of the research results, authors must provide additional supporting materials.
Correction of errors
If errors or inaccuracies are identified at any stage of the publication process, authors must immediately inform the scientific editor and assist in correcting them. Corrections (Erratum or Corrigendum) are published on the journal website with explanations. In cases of serious errors that cannot be corrected, authors must withdraw the manuscript.
Compliance with publication ethics
Authors are required to comply with ethical standards regarding criticism, feedback, and interaction with the editorial office during the review and publication process. Violation of ethical principles is considered a serious breach and may result in rejection or removal of the manuscript from review and/or publication.
Publication Ethics Principles for Reviewer
Principle of objectivity of peer review. The reviewer(s) of the Abai Journal of Biological Sciences (AJBS) is/are obliged to conduct an expert evaluation of the manuscript objectively. Personal criticism towards the author(s) of the manuscript is not allowed. The reviewer must justify their comments and substantiate their decision to accept or reject the manuscript.
The nationality, religious affiliation, political or other views of the author(s) must not be taken into account during the peer-review process.
Contribution of the reviewer to editorial decisions. The expert evaluation prepared by the reviewer(s) contributes to the editorial decision on publication and also helps the author(s) improve the manuscript. The decision to accept the manuscript for publication, return it to the author for revision or improvement, or reject it is made by the editorial board based on the results of peer review.
Principle of timeliness of peer review. The reviewer is obliged to submit the review within the period determined by the editorial office, but no later than two months from the moment of receiving the manuscript for review. If it is not possible to review the article and prepare the review within the specified period, the reviewer must immediately inform the scientific editor.
A reviewer who considers that their qualification is not sufficient to make a decision during the review of the submitted manuscript must immediately inform the scientific editor and refuse to review the manuscript.
Principle of confidentiality on the part of the reviewer. The manuscript provided to the reviewer must be considered confidential material. The reviewer has the right to show and/or discuss it with other persons only after obtaining written permission from the scientific editor of the journal and/or the author(s).
Information and ideas obtained during the peer-review and publication process must not be used by the reviewer(s) for personal gain.
Principle of source confirmation. The reviewer must indicate scientific works that could influence the research results of the manuscript under consideration but were not cited by the author(s). The reviewer must also draw the attention of the scientific editor to any significant similarity or overlap between the manuscript under review and a previously published work of which they are aware.
Conflict of interest
A conflict of interest, according to the definition of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), refers to situations in which authors, reviewers, or members of the editorial board have undisclosed interests that may influence their judgment regarding the published material. A conflict of interest arises when financial, personal, or professional conditions exist that may affect the scientific judgment of the reviewer and editorial board members and, as a result, influence the editorial decision regarding the publication of the manuscript.
The journal’s responsible editor must require all participants in the publication process to disclose any conflict of interest.
The scientific editor, editorial board members, and reviewers must disclose any potential conflict of interest that may in any way influence the editorial decision. Editorial board members must withdraw from reviewing a manuscript if they are in any competitive relationship related to the research results of the author(s) or if any other conflict of interest exists.
When submitting a manuscript for consideration, the author(s) declare that all sources of research funding are disclosed; they also indicate any commercial, financial, personal, or professional factors that could create a conflict of interest regarding the submitted manuscript. The author(s), in the cover letter, may also indicate researchers who, in their opinion, would not be able to objectively evaluate their manuscript in the presence of a conflict of interest.
The reviewer must not consider manuscripts that may lead to a conflict of interest arising from competition, collaboration, or other relationships with any of the author(s) related to the manuscript.
In case of a conflict of interest related to the manuscript content, the responsible editor must inform the scientific editor, after which the scientific editor reassigns the manuscript to another editor or reviewer.
The existence of a conflict of interest among participants in the review process does not necessarily mean that the manuscript will be rejected.