PUBLICATION ETHICS
Health Sciences Journal (HSJ) adheres to the highest standards of publication ethics and takes all possible measures against publication malpractice. The journal fully supports 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 Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors. Our ethical policies are aligned with these international standards and must be observed by all parties involved in the publication process — including authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher.
The ICMJE recommendations can be accessed at http://www.icmje.org/ and the COPE guidelines at https://publicationethics.org/.
Duties of Authors
Reporting Standard: Authors must present an accurate account of the research performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. The manuscript should contain sufficient details and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fabrication, falsification, or deliberate misrepresentation of data is unethical and unacceptable.
Data Access and Retention: Authors may be required to provide the raw data related to their manuscript for editorial review and should be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable period after publication.
Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure that their work is entirely original. If the work or words of others have been used, these must be appropriately cited or quoted.
Multiple or Redundant Publication: Authors should not publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior.
Acknowledgment of Sources: Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have influenced the reported work.
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 study. All individuals who have made substantial contributions should be listed as co-authors, while others should be acknowledged. The corresponding author must ensure that all co-authors approve the final version and agree to its submission.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: All authors must disclose any financial or personal relationships that could influence the results or interpretation of their work. All sources of financial support must be declared.
Fundamental Errors in Published Works: When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, it is their obligation to promptly notify the editor and cooperate to retract or correct the paper.
Hazards and Human or Animal Subjects: If the work involves human or animal subjects, hazardous materials, or procedures, authors must clearly identify this in the manuscript and confirm compliance with ethical standards and institutional approval.
Duties of Editors
Fair Play: Editors must evaluate manuscripts based on their intellectual content without regard to the authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, or political philosophy.
Confidentiality: Editors and editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, and the publisher as appropriate.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor’s own research without the express written consent of the author.
Publication Decisions: The editor is responsible for deciding which articles will be published. The editor’s decision must be guided by the manuscript’s importance, validity, and relevance to the journal’s scope, and must comply with legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.
Review of Manuscripts: Editors must ensure that each manuscript undergoes an initial originality check and fair peer review. They should select qualified reviewers and avoid those with conflicts of interest.
Duties of Reviewers
Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and may help authors improve their manuscripts through constructive suggestions.
Confidentiality: Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.
Objectivity Standards: Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Reviewers should express their views clearly and support them with sound reasoning.
Acknowledgment of Sources: Reviewers should identify relevant published work not cited by the authors. Any similarity or overlap between the manuscript under review and other works should be reported to the editor.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Information obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should decline to review manuscripts where they have conflicts of interest.
