To ensure the integrity of the documents and the publication process, Germinare continually investigates allegations of misconduct, before and after publication. If illegal practices are identified, even after publication, Germinare will take the necessary measures, such as issuing a correction or retraction, to ensure that compliance with the ethical standard is accomplished by all parties involved.

The publication of an article in a peer-reviewed scientific journal is essential for the construction of a coherent and well-founded scientific knowledge network, being an important indicator of the quality of the work of the authors and the institutions that support them. Articles published with peer review must incorporate the scientific method, so all parties must commit themselves to scrupulously adopting high standards of ethical behavior throughout the process.

The Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (Committee on Publication Ethics [COPE]) must be respected by all parties in Germinare's publication process, namely:
Authorship: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made substantial contributions should be listed as co-authors. If there are others who have participated in certain aspects of the article (for example, linguistic editing or medical writing), they should be acknowledged in the acknowledgment section.

Originality and plagiarism: Authors must ensure that their text is entirely original. In the case of using third-party scientific production, it must be guaranteed that these parts have been correctly identified and cited.

Data access and retention: Authors may be asked to send raw data related to the article that is in the process of editorial review, so they must be prepared to provide public access to such data. The editorial board may consider the need for publication with supplementary material.

Multiple, redundant or concurrent publication: Authors should not publish articles that describe, in essence, the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Germinare does not consider the following uses of a work as a previous publication: publication in the form of a summary at a scientific event; publication as a thesis or academic report.

Recognition of sources: the use of the work of other researchers in the preparation of the article must always be explicitly indicated, adequately recognizing the sources used.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest: Submissions must include the disclosure of all links that may be considered a potential conflict of interest. When there are doubts in this regard, the authors should put these doubts to the Germinare editor so that he can comment.

Fundamental errors in published works: If the authors discover a significant error or inaccuracy in their article, they have an obligation to immediately notify the editor of Germinare and, subsequently, actively cooperate to correct the article. In cases of serious errors, Germinare reserves the right to withdraw, provisionally or permanently, the previously published article.

Research involving humans or animals: Studies involving humans or animals always require the prior approval of an ethics committee. When humans participate in the study, informed consent must always be referenced explicitly in the article. The use of images of people, as well as the description of particular cases, requires the authorization of themselves (or their legal guardians). Images with individuals must be used in order to guarantee the anonymity of the participant. For human beings, the author must ensure that the work described has been carried out in accordance with the World Medical Association's Code of Ethics (Declaration of Helsinki) for experiments involving human beings. All animal experiments must be carried out in accordance with EU Directive 2010/63 / EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA): Germinare is deeply committed to fostering a scholarly environment that upholds the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. Germinare promotes editorial practices that respect and reflect a wide range of identities, perspectives, and academic experiences, ensuring fair and transparent peer review and publication processes that support the participation of researchers from underrepresented and diverse backgrounds, dedicated to removing systemic barriers that limit access to knowledge production and dissemination.

In particular, the different authors must respect the following obligations:

• Authors must comply with the best practices in publishing ethics, specifically regarding to authorship, duplicate submission, originality and plagiarism, font recognition, manufacturing, digital image manipulation, competing financial interests, disclosure of conflicts of interest, risks to humans or animals, and fundamental errors in published works. In addition, authors must present their work with sufficient details and references in a clear and objective manner so that the replication of the research is possible.
• Editors must ensure an impartial and fair review of manuscripts for publication and declare any conflict of interests. They must protect the integrity of the publication, taking steps whenever there is suspicion of alleged publication misconduct and issuing corrections and retractions when necessary. Editors must also follow strict editorial policies that not only promote transparency and objectivity in peer review, but also avoid editorial and reviewer misconduct.
• Reviewers must contribute to the editorial decision making, with standards of objectivity, solicitude and confidentiality. Any invited reviewer with conflict of interests or lack of experience in relation to the manuscript to be reviewed, must notify the editor and withdraw from the review process. The review, conducted in a comprehensive and objective manner, must be based on clear and precise observations, supported by evidence that support and facilitate the editorial decision-making process. At the same time, the review should help authors to improve their manuscripts.