Publication Ethics and Duties

Ethics and Duties of Editors

The Research Medical Journal (RMJ) upholds the integrity of medical research publishing by following the Committee of Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines. Key responsibilities include:

1) Submission and Peer Review: Manuscripts undergo initial screening and a double-blinded peer review by at least 3 reviewers. Decisions are based on reviewer feedback and editor judgment. Submissions can be rejected for reasons like plagiarism, poor methodology, or irrelevance. Accepted articles proceed to production.

2) Ethical Standards: The journal enforces strict rules against plagiarism, self-plagiarism, salami slicing, and multiple submissions, utilizing software like Turnitin for detection. Violations may lead to rejection or retraction of articles.

3) Research Fraud: Incidents of data falsification or fabrication are investigated thoroughly, potentially leading to manuscript rejection, retraction, or notification of the authors' institutions.

4) Authorship and Author Contribution Changes: RMJ follows the authorship criteria of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and encourages the use of the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) to describe individual author contributions. Requests to add, remove, reorder authors, or change the corresponding author after manuscript submission must be approved by the Editorial Office. Such requests must be accompanied by a completed Authorship Change Request Form, including the reason for the change and written consent from all authors listed in either the original or revised author list, including any author being added or removed. RMJ reserves the right to request additional documentation and to reject authorship changes that do not comply with journal policies.

5) Privacy: Personal data is strictly used for journal purposes and not shared, except as required by law.

Ethics and Duties of Reviewers

The journal's peer review process is underpinned by a double-blinded system involving at least 3 reviewers with the necessary expertise selected from institutions different from the authors. While authors can suggest or oppose up to 5 potential reviewers, the final decision lies with the editor. Reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest, adhere to confidentiality agreements, and commit to providing constructive, timely feedback to maintain the integrity and efficiency of the review process.

Ethics and Duties of Authors

Authors are expected to adhere to specific guidelines to maintain the integrity and quality of their manuscripts. These include ensuring that the work is original and free from plagiarism, not submitting the manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously, disclosing any potential conflicts of interest or funding sources, and accurately describing the methodology and results without falsification. Authors must also secure permission for any copyrighted material used, sign a contribution form validating their significant input to the work, and be accountable for the content of the manuscript.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that the author list and author contributions are accurate at the time of submission. RMJ follows the authorship criteria of the ICMJE and encourages authors to describe individual contributions using the CRediT framework. Any request to add, remove, reorder authors, correct author names, or change the corresponding author after manuscript submission must be approved by the Editorial Office and requires submission of an Authorship Change Request Form with written consent from all affected authors.

In multicenter studies, one author should be designated as the corresponding author responsible for communication with the journal and for ensuring that all coauthors approve the manuscript and any subsequent revisions. Contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be acknowledged separately, in accordance with the ICMJE Recommendations.

Ethics of Research Involving Humans and Animals

Research involving human subjects must comply with the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki. Animal studies require approval from an ethics committee. Manuscripts must declare approval from the Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board, including the committee’s full name, institution, and approval number. Clinical trials must be registered in a public clinical trial registry before or at the time of enrolling the first patient. Adherence to the ICMJE Recommendations is mandatory.