Qualifications for authorship

(1) Making substantial contributions to the conception or design of the study; or making a significant contribution to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of research data. 

(2) Drafting or critically revising important academic content in the research report. 

(3) Conducting a final review of the paper version for publication and providing consent.

(4) Being willing to take responsibility for all aspects of the research to ensure proper investigation and addressing of any related issues.

*It should be noted that all four criteria must be met simultaneously to fulfill author eligibility requirements.

Conflict of interest

A conflict of interest arises when one research objective (e.g., patient outcomes) is influenced by another interest (e.g., financial gain).

For academic journals, transparently addressing conflicts of interest is crucial for establishing the credibility of papers and fostering public trust in academics. Therefore, it is important to disclose potential conflicts of interest at all stages of paper publication, including authors, editors, reviewers, and editorial board members.

Potential conflicts of interest may involve various aspects such as economic relationships (e.g., employment, consultancy fees, shareholding interests, acknowledgments, patents, paid expert testimony), academic competition, personal connections or beliefs.

How authors handle conflicts of Interest: When dealing with conflicts of interest, authors should ensure that their agreement with both for-profit and nonprofit organizations allows them to have unrestricted access to all data and enables independent analysis and interpretation. Upon request from the journal, authors may submit a statement disclosing any conflicts of interest at the time of submission. In addition to declaring the presence or absence of conflicts, authors can also specify the impact on data access and analysis caused by potential conflicts, thus aiding editors and reviewers in assessing research credibility. The editor may require authors to sign a statement affirming full access to all study data and assuming sole responsibility for data integrity and accuracy.

How reviewers deal with Conflicts of Interest: Reviewers are required to disclose any conflicts of interest that may influence their assessment of the manuscript to the editor, and should abstain from participating in the review process if bias exists. Prior to publication, reviewers must not exploit any information obtained from the manuscript for personal gain. The reviewed manuscript is strictly confidential and should not be disclosed or discussed with any third party, including the author. If it becomes necessary to communicate with the author, contact should be made through the editorial department.

If there is a conflict of interest, the editor should abstain from making the final decision on the manuscript in question. Other members of the editorial staff involved in manuscript decisions should also notify the responsible editor of any financial or other conflicts of interest and refrain from participating in manuscript processing if such conflicts exist. Editorial staff must not exploit information obtained during manuscript processing for personal gain.

Obligations of journals

The submission is the personal and confidential communication of the authors. The editor shall refrain from disclosing the following information to any third parties other than the authors and reviewers: whether it has been accepted or is currently under review; The content and status of the review process; Review comments; Final disposition of opinions. No third party shall be permitted to utilize the manuscript and its review opinions in legal proceedings.

The editor shall request that reviewers maintain strict confidentiality regarding the manuscript and its associated materials. Reviewers and editorial staff should abstain from publicly discussing the author's research. Reviewers must not appropriate ideas presented in manuscripts prior to publication, retain manuscripts for personal use, but rather destroy physical copies and delete electronic documents upon completion of their reviews.

Following rejection, unless local regulations require retention, journals should remove rejected manuscripts from their systems, with any necessary retention clearly stated in a manuscript agreement.

After the manuscript is published, the journal shall retain the original submission, review, revision, and communication records for a minimum of three years or permanently.

The journal is prohibited from publishing or disclosing comments on the manuscript without obtaining consent from both authors and reviewers.

In cases where the manuscript is reviewed anonymously and unsigned comments are provided, the identity of the reviewer may not be disclosed to any party including the author unless written consent has been obtained from said reviewer.

If dishonesty or fraud is detected, it may be necessary for the journal to violate anonymity principles; however, authors and editors must be notified accordingly.

Journals should continue supporting peer review even after publication by allowing readers to submit comments, questions, or criticisms regarding published papers. Authors should be obliged to respond while cooperating with journals in addressing any inquiries related to data or other information.

Editorial decisions should solely rely on factors such as relevance of paper content to that of the journal's scope as well as originality, quality, and contribution towards important issues; they must not be influenced by commercial interests, personal relationships,negative coverage or challenges against authority.

Editorial autonomy

The editor-in-chief bears sole responsibility for all editorial content and the timely publication of the journal, ensuring complete editorial freedom.

Journal owners should refrain from interfering in manuscript evaluation, selection, timing, and editing processes, whether directly or indirectly by creating an environment that unduly influences decision-making.

Editorial decisions must be based on the research's reliability and its significance to the readership rather than being influenced by commercial considerations. Editors should have the liberty to express critical and responsible opinions on medical matters without fear of reprisal, even if such views contradict the publisher's commercial objectives.

The editor-in-chief has ultimate authority over advertising and sponsorship content within the magazine (including supplements), as well as determining policies regarding trademark usage and any commercial utilization of magazine content.

Independent editorial boards may be established by journals to assist editors in formulating and upholding editorial policies.

When necessary, editors may seek advice from various sources such as reviewers, editorial staff members, members of the editorial board, or readers when making decisions or addressing controversial ideas.

In case a legal issue arises, it is incumbent upon the editor to promptly inform both journal lawyers and publishers while maintaining confidentiality concerning authors' identities as well as reviewers' identities (including their comments), except where informed consent has been obtained.

Advertising

The journal should provide a formal and clearly written explanation of its advertising policy in both print and electronic editions. Advertising content must not be placed alongside editorial content within the magazine. Advertisements should be clearly identified as such. The editor holds full authority over the publication of print and electronic advertisements, as well as the implementation of advertising policies. Advertisements for products that pose serious health risks are prohibited. Editors ensure compliance with national advertising regulations and industry standards. Organizations cannot control advertisement distribution unless they adhere to legal requirements. Openness to criticism regarding advertisements is encouraged.

Handling of errors in published papers

Correction: Used to address errors that do not impact the significance or direction of the findings, interpretation, and conclusion, such as typographical errors or computational inaccuracies.

Retraction: In case the errors in the paper undermine the reliability of the results and conclusions, they will be retracted.

Republication: If the error in the retracted paper is unintentional and after undergoing review, if the revised paper meets approval, then it may be considered for republication. The original publication will be replaced with an explanation of the modified content provided as an attachment.

Academic misconduct

Instances of academic misconduct encompass, but are not limited to, the fabrication and falsification of data (e.g., fraudulent manipulation of images) as well as plagiarism. In case any submitted or published paper is questioned or found to involve academic misconduct, appropriate procedures will be initiated for investigation and disclosure of results; furthermore, papers exhibiting improper academic conduct will be retracted. Subsequent submissions by these authors may require their institutions to provide assurances regarding the reliability of their research or necessitate a statement acknowledging that the reliability of the author's prior research cannot be determined.