Research and Publication Ethics Policy

Research and Publication Ethics Policy

Avicenna Journal of Medical Sciences (AJMS) is committed to maintaining high standards of research integrity, ethical conduct, transparency, and responsible scholarly publishing.

The journal expects authors, reviewers, and editors to adhere to internationally recognized principles of research and publication ethics, including relevant guidance from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and the World Medical Association (WMA).

Research Involving Human Participants

Research involving human participants, identifiable human material, or identifiable human data must be conducted in accordance with applicable institutional, national, and international ethical requirements.

AJMS expects such research to comply with the principles of the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki, as revised in 2024.

Authors must state in the manuscript the name of the approving Institutional Review Board, Research Ethics Committee, or equivalent body; the approval or reference number where available; and whether informed consent was obtained from participants where applicable.

Where ethics approval has been waived, authors should identify the responsible ethics body and provide an appropriate explanation.

Informed Consent

Participants must provide informed consent where required by applicable ethical and legal standards.

For research involving children, individuals with impaired decision-making capacity, or other populations requiring additional protection, appropriate consent and/or assent procedures must be followed.

Patient Privacy and Consent for Publication

Authors must protect the privacy and confidentiality of patients and research participants.

Written informed consent for publication should be obtained when a manuscript contains information, photographs, pedigrees, imaging, or other material that could reasonably identify an individual.

Removing a person’s name alone may not be sufficient to ensure anonymity.

Authors are responsible for retaining appropriate consent documentation and should provide evidence of consent to the journal if requested.

Research Involving Animals

Research involving animals must be conducted in accordance with relevant institutional, national, and internationally accepted standards for animal welfare.

Authors must identify the approving animal ethics committee or institutional body, provide the approval or reference number where available, and state the ethical or regulatory framework followed.

The use of animals should be scientifically justified, and appropriate measures should be taken to minimize pain, distress, and unnecessary use of animals.

Clinical Trial Registration

AJMS requires prospective registration of clinical trials in a publicly accessible clinical trial registry recognized by the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO ICTRP) or ClinicalTrials.gov, in accordance with applicable international recommendations.

Clinical trials should be registered at or before the time of first participant consent for enrollment.

The trial registration number should be included in the manuscript and, where appropriate, in the abstract.

Retrospective registration should be exceptional and clearly justified.

Originality and Prior Publication

Manuscripts submitted to AJMS must represent original work and must not be under simultaneous consideration by another journal.

Authors must disclose any closely related manuscripts, previous publications, conference reports, preprints, datasets, or other material that may be relevant to the journal’s assessment of originality or potential overlap.

Duplicate or redundant publication without appropriate disclosure is not acceptable.

Plagiarism and Text Reuse

AJMS may use similarity-detection software and other appropriate methods to assess manuscripts for plagiarism, inappropriate text reuse, and duplication.

Similarity reports are evaluated contextually. AJMS does not use a single numerical similarity percentage as an automatic criterion for acceptance or rejection.

Plagiarism includes the use of another person’s words, ideas, data, images, or other intellectual work without appropriate attribution.

Inappropriate reuse of an author’s own previously published material may also constitute unacceptable redundant publication or text recycling.

Data Fabrication and Falsification

Fabrication, falsification, selective manipulation, or deliberate misrepresentation of research data is unacceptable.

This includes inventing data or results; altering or omitting data in a misleading manner; falsifying research procedures; manipulating images in a way that changes their scientific interpretation; or presenting fabricated or altered records as genuine research evidence.

Where credible concerns arise, AJMS may request original data, laboratory records, ethics documentation, images, or other supporting material and may contact the relevant institution where appropriate.

Image Integrity

Images should accurately represent the original research findings.

Adjustments to brightness, contrast, or color should be applied only when they do not obscure, eliminate, or misrepresent information.

Selective enhancement, removal, movement, duplication, or introduction of image features that could alter scientific interpretation is not permitted.

The journal may request original, unprocessed image files where concerns arise.

Duplicate and Redundant Publication

AJMS does not permit substantial publication of the same data, results, images, or conclusions in more than one publication without appropriate disclosure, justification, and citation.

Secondary analyses, extended follow-up studies, translations, or related publications may be considered where scientifically justified and transparently linked to the original work.

Citation and Reference Integrity

Authors are responsible for the accuracy and appropriateness of all references.

Citations should be relevant to the manuscript and should not be added solely to increase citation counts, satisfy inappropriate requests, or manipulate bibliometric indicators.

Citation manipulation, coordinated citation practices, and coercive citation are not acceptable.

Conflicts of Interest and Funding

Authors must disclose all financial and non-financial relationships that could reasonably be perceived to influence the submitted work.

Sources of funding and the role of funders in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or publication decisions should be clearly stated.

Further requirements are described in the journal’s Conflict of Interest Policy.

Publication Process Manipulation

AJMS does not tolerate manipulation of the editorial or peer-review process.

This includes fabricated reviewer identities, false reviewer contact details, manipulation of reviewer recommendations, undisclosed third-party involvement intended to influence editorial decisions, paper-mill activity, fabricated authorship or affiliations, or coordinated attempts to circumvent legitimate peer review.

Where such concerns arise, the journal may investigate and take appropriate action.

Handling Allegations of Misconduct

Concerns regarding research or publication misconduct may be raised before or after publication.

AJMS will assess allegations fairly and confidentially and will seek appropriate information from the individuals concerned.

Where necessary, the journal may request clarification or supporting documentation, obtain additional expert review, contact authors, reviewers, or institutions, suspend editorial processing, reject a manuscript, publish a correction or expression of concern, retract an article, or take other appropriate action.

The journal will distinguish between honest error and deliberate misconduct and will avoid making unsupported allegations.

Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions

AJMS is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record.

Published articles may be corrected when errors materially affect the accuracy or interpretation of the work but do not invalidate its principal findings.

An Expression of Concern may be issued when serious concerns exist but an investigation remains incomplete or inconclusive.

A retraction may be considered where findings are unreliable because of major error, fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, unethical research, duplicate publication, compromised peer review, or other serious breaches of research integrity.

Retraction notices should clearly identify the affected article, explain the reason for retraction, and remain permanently accessible as part of the scholarly record.

Editorial Responsibility

Editors are responsible for evaluating manuscripts impartially and protecting the integrity and confidentiality of the editorial process.

Editorial decisions should be based on scientific quality, originality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, relevance to the journal’s scope, and contribution to the scholarly literature.

Commercial considerations, publication charges, personal relationships, institutional affiliation, nationality, gender, or other inappropriate factors must not influence editorial decisions.

Policy Review

AJMS periodically reviews its research and publication ethics policies to reflect evolving international standards and best practices in scholarly publishing.