Publication Ethics

Duties for the Authors

Reporting Standards: Authors are expected to provide an accurate account of their original research, presenting an objective analysis of its significance. They should avoid fabricating, falsifying, or improperly manipulating data. Manuscripts should include sufficient detail and references for others to replicate the research. Deliberate deception or knowingly inaccurate statements are considered unethical and unacceptable. Manuscripts must adhere to the journal's submission guidelines.
Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure that their work is entirely original. The manuscript should not be submitted simultaneously to multiple publications unless a prior agreement has been reached with the editors. Proper acknowledgment and references should be given to relevant previous work, both by other researchers and the authors themselves. Direct quotations from other researchers' publications should be properly cited.
Duplicate Publications: Authors should generally avoid submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously. Similarly, authors should refrain from publishing redundant manuscripts or describing the same research in more than one journal. Simultaneous submission to multiple journals is considered unethical publishing behavior.
Acknowledgment of Sources: Authors should acknowledge all sources of data used in their research and cite publications that have significantly influenced their work. Proper credit to the work of others must always be provided.
Authorship: Authorship should accurately reflect each individual's contributions to the research and reporting. It should be limited to those who substantially contributed to the study's conception, design, execution, or interpretation. Others with less substantial or purely technical contributions should be acknowledged separately. All co-authors must review and agree to the submitted manuscript and their inclusion.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Authors should transparently disclose any financial or substantial conflicts of interest in their manuscript that could influence the results or interpretation. Financial support sources for the project should be disclosed.
Addressing Errors: If authors discover significant errors or inaccuracies in their submitted manuscript, they should promptly notify the journal editor and cooperate in retracting or correcting the paper.
Hazards and Subjects: Authors should clearly indicate in the manuscript if the research involves chemicals, procedures, or equipment with unusual hazards.

Duties for the Editors

Publication Decisions: Editors have the authority to make decisions on manuscripts based on the evaluation by the editorial board. The work's quality and significance should guide these decisions. Editors must follow the journal's policies and comply with legal requirements. They may consult with others in the decision-making process.
Manuscript Review: Editors are responsible for the initial assessment of manuscript originality. They should organize peer review processes fairly and select appropriate peer reviewers. Editors should avoid conflicts of interest.
Equity and Fairness: Editors must ensure unbiased evaluation of manuscripts, irrespective of authors' characteristics. Upholding editorial independence is crucial.
Confidentiality: Editors should maintain manuscript confidentiality and assess potential data protection and patient confidentiality breaches.
Disclosure and Avoiding Conflicts of Interest: Editors should not use unpublished materials for personal research and should avoid decisions involving conflicts of interest.

Duties for the Reviewers

Confidentiality: Reviewers must treat manuscript information as confidential and not share it without authorization.
Source Acknowledgment: Reviewers should ensure proper acknowledgment of data sources used in the research and identify relevant unpublished work.
Objectivity Standards: Reviews should be conducted objectively, providing clear opinions and supporting arguments. Reviewers should adhere to journal-specific feedback guidelines.
Disclosure and Conflict of Interest: Reviewers must not use privileged information for personal gain and should avoid reviewing papers with conflicts of interest.
Timeliness: Reviewers should provide timely responses and communicate any delays to the editor if necessary.