The Journal is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and academic integrity. The journal adheres to the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals issued by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and follows the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing developed by COPE, WAME, and OASPA.
Editors, reviewers, authors, and the publisher are required to comply with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.
The journal complies with the ICMJE and COPE guidelines and unfolds a zero tolerance towards plagiarism. Plagiarism is recognized as the appropriation of someone else's work, be it ideas, data, methods, results, figures, or text, without due acknowledgment. This includes data fabrication and falsification, as well as the concealment of conflicts of interest.
All submitted manuscripts are screened using industry-standard plagiarism detection software (e.g., iThenticate or Turnitin) prior to peer review. Similarity is assessed on a case-by-case basis, considering the nature, extent, and context of overlap (no fixed threshold; overlaps in references, common methods, or properly cited material are excluded).
Authors should not re-submit large sections of their own previously published work without due citations and explanations. There must be transparency if any recycling (e.g., in methods sections) is to be considered acceptable.
Generative AI tools like ChatGPT cannot be credited as a creator in any publications since they have no liability for the output. Any AI application used for generation, editing, grammar correction, writing assistance, or analysis must be mentioned in the Methods or Acknowledgments section, including the name of the tool and its function. Confidential information, such as details about patients, cannot be used in public AI applications.
• Depending on the severity, a manuscript with unacceptable similarity will be either returned for revision or rejected.
• Detection after publication might result in an Expression of Concern, correction, or retraction, including author institutions and funders notifications in accordance with COPE flowcharts.
• A pattern of such behavior may result in a submission ban for an author.
The journal follows a double-blind peer review process, wherein the identities of authors and reviewers are concealed throughout the review process.
Each manuscript is evaluated for:
All submissions undergo initial editorial screening followed by review from at least two independent external reviewers with relevant expertise. The journal adheres to COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers.
All authors must disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest at the time of submission. These include, but are not limited to:
For industry-funded studies, authors must clearly state the role of the funding agency. If the sponsor had no involvement, authors must declare:
“The sponsor had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, or manuscript preparation.”
Conflict of interest statements are published with accepted articles in accordance with COPE guidelines.
The journal follows the COPE Retraction Guidelines. Articles may be retracted in cases of:
Retracted articles will be clearly identified and linked to the original publication to maintain the integrity of the scholarly record.
Manuscripts submitted by editorial board members or editors are handled with strict editorial independence. Such submissions are assigned to an independent editor, and the submitting editor is fully excluded from the peer-review and decision-making process. These manuscripts are reviewed by external reviewers only.
For studies involving human participants, written informed consent must be obtained from all participants or their legally authorized representatives. Authors must confirm that participants were informed about the study objectives, procedures, risks, and benefits.
A statement confirming informed consent must be included in the Methods section. Editors may request copies of consent forms when necessary.
All studies involving human participants must have prior approval from an Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) / Institutional Review Board (IRB). The approval number and protocol ID must be stated in the manuscript.
Research must comply with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (World Medical Association).
Studies involving animals must have approval from an appropriate Institutional Animal Ethics Committee, and all procedures must follow internationally accepted animal welfare guidelines.
Authorship should be based on the ICMJE criteria: substantial contributions to conception/design, acquisition/analysis/interpretation of data; drafting or critical revision of the manuscript; final approval of the version to be published; and agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
Only individuals who meet all four criteria should be listed as authors. Ghost authorship (uncredited contributions) and guest authorship (credit without contribution) are unacceptable. Changes to authorship after submission require justification and approval from all authors.
All authors must approve the final manuscript and agree to its submission.
Authors are encouraged (and in some cases required) to make research data publicly available to promote reproducibility and transparency. Data should be deposited in a relevant public repository (e.g., Figshare, Dryad, or domain-specific repositories) prior to publication.
A data availability statement must be included in the manuscript, specifying:
The journal supports the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) for data management.
The journal follows COPE Core Practices in handling:
All allegations are investigated fairly, confidentially, and transparently. Investigations involve relevant parties and may include external experts. Outcomes are communicated to stakeholders, and appropriate actions (e.g., corrections, retractions) are taken.
Minor errors (e.g., typographical) will be corrected via an online notice or erratum without altering the original article. Significant errors affecting interpretation may lead to a formal correction or partial retraction.
Expressions of Concern are issued for serious issues under investigation (e.g., potential misconduct) while resolution is pending.
Authors or readers should contact the editor promptly with concerns. Corrections are published with a timestamp and linked to the original article.
Publication Decisions: Editors are responsible for deciding which manuscripts are accepted, revised, or rejected based on peer-review reports, journal scope, and scientific merit.
Fair Review: Manuscripts are evaluated solely on intellectual and scientific content, without discrimination based on personal or demographic characteristics.
Confidentiality: Editors and editorial staff must maintain confidentiality of all submitted material.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Editors must not use unpublished material for personal research and must disclose conflicts of interest.
Editorial Integrity: Editors ensure clarity of author guidelines, uphold ethical standards, and publish corrections or retractions when necessary.
Originality and Accuracy: Authors must ensure that manuscripts are original and accurately represent the research performed.
Multiple Submissions: Simultaneous submission to more than one journal is unethical and prohibited.
Authorship: Only individuals who made substantial contributions should be listed as authors. All authors must approve the final manuscript.
Conflicts of Interest: Authors must disclose all potential conflicts of interest.
Post-Publication Errors: Authors must promptly inform the editor if significant errors are identified after publication.
Confidentiality: Manuscripts under review must not be shared or discussed.
Objectivity: Reviews should be objective and constructive.
Conflict of Interest: Reviewers must decline manuscripts where conflicts exist.
Timeliness: Reviewers should complete reviews within the agreed timeframe.
Acknowledgment of Sources: Reviewers should identify uncited relevant literature and report suspected plagiarism.
The publisher supports editorial independence and ethical publishing practices in accordance with COPE standards. The publisher ensures:
Duplicate Submission: Manuscripts found to be under simultaneous review elsewhere will be rejected, and authors may be barred from submission for up to three years.
Duplicate Publication: Confirmed duplicate publications will be retracted, and relevant institutions and journals will be notified.
Other violations (e.g., plagiarism, data falsification) may result in retraction, blacklisting, and reporting to funding bodies or employers, per COPE guidelines.