Publishing Ethics
The editorial policy of the journal "Science & Healthcare" is based on the principles established by authoritative international associations, such as the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which set standards for ethical behavior among all parties involved in publication (authors, journal editors, reviewers, publishers, and scientific societies).
Ethical guidelines for reviewers and editors can be found at COPE: https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Guidelines.
Duties of the Editors
Publication decision - The Editor of “Science & Healthcare” is solely and independently responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published, often working in conjunction with the relevant society (for society-owned or sponsored journals). The validation of the work in question and its importance to researchers and readers must always underwrite such decisions. The Editor may be guided by the policies of the “Science & Healthcare”, the journal’s Editorial Board and constrained by such legal requirements which then will be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The Editor may confer with other Editors or Reviewers (or society officers) in making this decision.
Fair play - The Editor should evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the Authors.
Confidentiality - The Editor and any Editorial staff of the “Science & Healthcare” must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding Author, the Reviewers, potential Reviewers, other Editorial advisers, and the Publisher, as appropriate.
Disclosure and Conflicts of interest
- Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in the Editor’s own research without the express written consent of the Author. Information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.
- The Editors should recuse themselves (i.e. should ask a co-editor, associate editor or another member of the Editorial board instead to review and consider) from considering manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or (possibly) institutions connected to the papers.
- Vigilance over a published record.
The Editor presented with convincing evidence that the substance or conclusions of a published paper are erroneous should coordinate with the Publisher (and/or society) to promote the prompt publication of a correction, retraction, expression of concern, or another note, as may be relevant.
- Involvement and cooperation in investigations.
The Editor should take reasonably responsive measures when ethical complaints have been presented concerning a submitted manuscript or published paper, in conjunction with the Publisher (or society). Such measures will generally include contacting the Author of the manuscript or paper and giving due consideration to the respective complaint or claims made but may also include further communications to the relevant institutions and research bodies.
Duties of the Reviewers
Contribution to Editorial Decisions.
Peer review assists the Editor in making editorial decisions and the editorial communications with the Author may also assist the Author in improving the paper. Peer review is an essential component of formal scholarly communication and lies at the heart of the scientific method. Publisher shares the view of many that all scholars who wish to contribute to publications should do a fair share of reviewing.
Promptness
Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the Editor of the “Science & Healthcare” and excuse themselves from the review process.
Confidentiality
Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except those authorized by the Editor.
Standard and objectivity
Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. The Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.
Acknowledgement of Sources
The Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the Authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. The Reviewer should also call to the Editor’s attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.
Disclosure and Conflict of Interest.
- Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in the Reviewer’s own research without the express written consent of the Author. Information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.
- The Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.
Duties of the Authors
- The manuscript requirements can be found in the 'Author Guidelines'
- The Authors of the original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behaviour and are unacceptable.
- Reviews should also be accurate and objective.
Data Access and Retention
- Authors may be asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review, and should be prepared to provide public access to such data, if practicable, and should, in any event, be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.
Originality and Plagiarism
- Authors must ensure that the work presented is entirely original and, if the work or statements of other Authors are used, must provide appropriate citations or excerpts.
- Plagiarism takes many forms, from ‘passing off’ another’s paper as the Author’s own paper, to copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another’s paper (without attribution), to claiming results from research conducted by others. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behaviour and is unacceptable.
- An Author should not in general publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal of primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behaviour and is unacceptable.
- An author should not submit for consideration in another journal a previously published paper.
- Publication of some kinds of articles (eg, clinical guidelines, translations) in more than one journal is sometimes justifiable, provided certain conditions are met. The Authors and the Editors of the journals concerned must agree to the secondary publication, which must reflect the same data and interpretation of the primary document.
The primary reference must be cited in the secondary publication. Further detail on acceptable forms of secondary publication can be found at www.icmje.org.
Acknowledgement of Source
- Proper acknowledgement of the work of others must always be given. The Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work. Information obtained privately, as in conversation, correspondence, or discussion with third parties, must not be used or reported without explicit, written permission from the source. Information obtained in the course of confidential services, such as refereeing manuscripts or grant applications, must not be used without the explicit written permission of the Author of the work involved in these services.
Authorship of the Paper
- 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 significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where others have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors.
- The corresponding Author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper and that all co-Authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.
Hazards and Human or Animal Subjects
- If the work involves chemicals, procedures or equipment that have any unusual hazards inherent in their use, the author must clearly identify these in the manuscript.
- If the work involves the use of animal or human subjects, the Author should ensure that the manuscript contains a statement that all procedures were performed in compliance with relevant laws and institutional guidelines and that the appropriate institutional committee(s) has approved them. The Authors should include a statement in the manuscript that informed consent was obtained for experimentation with human subjects. The privacy rights of human subjects must always be observed.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
- All Authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.
- Examples of potential conflicts of interest which should be disclosed include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. Potential conflicts of interest should be disclosed at the earliest possible stage.
Fundamental errors in published works
When the Author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in a published work, the Author should promptly notify the Editor of “Science & Healthcare” and cooperate with Publisher to retract or correct the paper. If the Editor or the Publisher learns from a third party that a published work contains a significant error, the Author should promptly retract or correct the paper.