Publication Ethics

The Clinical and Health Research Exploration journal is committed to upholding the highest ethical standards in publishing. Our publication ethics guide the conduct of authors, reviewers, editors, and other involved parties, ensuring integrity, transparency, and responsibility in the dissemination of scientific research. These ethical principles are aligned with international standards for scholarly publishing and aim to protect the rights of all stakeholders in the research process.

2. Ethical Guidelines for Authors:

  • Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure that all submitted manuscripts are original and have not been published or under consideration for publication elsewhere. Proper citations should be provided for any work that is not the author’s own, and plagiarism in any form is strictly prohibited. The journal uses plagiarism detection software to screen submitted manuscripts.

  • Authorship: All individuals who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the research should be listed as authors. Authors must ensure that all co-authors approve the final manuscript and agree to its submission.

  • Conflict of Interest: Authors must disclose any financial, personal, or professional conflicts of interest that could influence their research or the publication of their manuscript. This includes funding sources, institutional affiliations, and relationships with organizations that could affect the objectivity of the research.

  • Research Ethics: Authors must comply with ethical standards in conducting research, including obtaining informed consent from human participants, approval from institutional review boards (IRBs), and adherence to ethical guidelines regarding animal research. Ethical approval must be documented and provided during submission.

  • Data Integrity and Reproducibility: Authors are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of their data. The data must be accurately represented in the manuscript, and any errors discovered after publication should be corrected promptly. Authors are encouraged to make their raw data and research materials available for verification by other researchers, where appropriate.

  • Multiple Submissions: Submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously is considered unethical. Authors must ensure that their manuscript is not under review by any other journal when submitting to Clinical and Health Research Exploration.

  • Acknowledging Sources: All individuals, organizations, and institutions that contributed to the research should be properly acknowledged. Authors should also clearly cite any data, text, or ideas borrowed from other works to avoid plagiarism.

3. Ethical Guidelines for Reviewers:

  • Confidentiality: Reviewers must treat all submitted manuscripts as confidential documents. They should not share or discuss the manuscript with others without prior consent from the editor.

  • Impartiality and Objectivity: Reviewers are expected to evaluate manuscripts based solely on scientific merit, relevance, and clarity, without any personal bias or conflicts of interest. Reviews should focus on the quality, validity, and originality of the research.

  • Conflict of Interest: Reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest that may influence their evaluation of the manuscript. If a reviewer has a personal or professional connection to the author(s), they should recuse themselves from reviewing that manuscript.

  • Constructive Feedback: Reviewers should provide constructive feedback to authors, offering suggestions for improvement. Reviews should be respectful and focused on enhancing the quality of the manuscript, not on undermining the author’s work.

  • Timeliness: Reviewers should provide their feedback within the timeframe agreed upon with the editor. If a reviewer is unable to meet the deadline, they should notify the editor promptly so that an alternative reviewer can be found.

4. Ethical Guidelines for Editors:

  • Fairness and Impartiality: Editors should evaluate manuscripts based solely on their scientific merit, significance, and relevance to the journal’s scope. Editorial decisions should not be influenced by personal, professional, or financial biases.

  • Confidentiality: Editors must ensure that all submitted manuscripts are kept confidential. They should not share any part of a manuscript with others outside of the peer review process without the author’s permission.

  • Conflict of Interest: Editors should disclose any conflicts of interest that may affect their editorial decisions. If an editor has a conflict of interest with a manuscript (e.g., a personal relationship with the author), they must recuse themselves from the decision-making process and assign the manuscript to another editor.

  • Ensuring Rigorous Peer Review: Editors are responsible for overseeing the peer review process to ensure that it is rigorous, fair, and unbiased. They should ensure that reviewers provide objective, constructive feedback and that any ethical concerns raised by reviewers are addressed.

  • Promoting Transparency: Editors should make decisions based on the best interests of the scientific community and ensure that the publication process is transparent. Editors must ensure that authors are informed about the status of their manuscript and the decisions made during the review process.

  • Correcting and Retraction of Articles: In cases of research misconduct, errors in published articles, or conflicts of interest, the editor is responsible for ensuring that the issue is addressed. If necessary, articles should be corrected or retracted in accordance with the best practices in scholarly publishing.

5. Ethical Guidelines for the Publisher:

  • Integrity in Publication: The publisher of Clinical and Health Research Exploration is committed to maintaining the highest ethical standards in publishing. This includes upholding the integrity of the editorial process and ensuring that all published articles adhere to the journal’s ethical guidelines.

  • Transparency: The publisher ensures that the journal’s operations, including the editorial process and conflict of interest disclosures, are transparent. Information about the journal’s policies, ethical guidelines, and funding sources will be readily accessible to authors, reviewers, and readers.

  • Adherence to Guidelines: The publisher will ensure that all aspects of the journal, from submission to publication, comply with relevant ethical guidelines, including those provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and other relevant organizations.

6. Retractions and Corrections:

  • Retractions: If a paper is found to have serious ethical or scientific flaws after publication, such as fabrication of data, plagiarism, or unethical research practices, the journal will issue a formal retraction. The retracted article will remain accessible, but it will be clearly marked as retracted.

  • Corrections: In cases where minor errors are identified after publication (e.g., typographical errors, inaccuracies in data presentation), a correction will be issued to clarify the content and ensure the accuracy of the research.

7. Protection of Human and Animal Rights:

  • Human Participants: Authors must comply with ethical standards in research involving human participants. All research involving human subjects must have been approved by an institutional review board (IRB) or ethics committee. Informed consent must be obtained from participants, and their privacy must be protected.

  • Animal Welfare: Research involving animals must follow ethical guidelines for animal welfare. Authors must ensure that their studies involving animals have been approved by an animal ethics committee and that the research minimizes harm to the animals involved.

8. Conclusion:

The Clinical and Health Research Exploration journal is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics. All authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher are expected to adhere to the principles outlined in this policy to ensure the integrity of the journal, the quality of the published research, and the protection of the rights of all involved parties.