Ethical Statements
Publication Ethics
The IOASD Journal of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences is committed to promoting ethical research, scientific integrity, transparency, and responsible scholarly publishing. The journal expects all participants in the publication process—including authors, reviewers, editors, editorial board members, and the publisher—to uphold the highest standards of honesty, accountability, professionalism, and ethical conduct.
Submission of a manuscript to the journal signifies that the authors confirm the work is original, has not been published previously, is not under consideration elsewhere, and complies with the journal's publication policies and applicable ethical standards.
Ethical Responsibilities of Authors
Authors are responsible for ensuring that their research is conducted, reported, and presented accurately and transparently. All submitted manuscripts should represent genuine scholarly work supported by reliable data and sound scientific methodology.
Originality and Plagiarism
Authors must submit original manuscripts prepared in accordance with accepted standards of academic integrity.
The following practices are considered unacceptable:
· Plagiarism of published or unpublished material.
· Self-plagiarism or inappropriate text recycling.
· Duplicate or redundant publication.
· Unauthorized reproduction of copyrighted material.
· Misappropriation of ideas, data, images, or research findings.
· Inadequate acknowledgement of original sources.
All quotations, figures, tables, illustrations, and previously published material must be appropriately cited or reproduced with the necessary permissions where applicable.
Data Integrity and Research Accuracy
Authors are responsible for the accuracy, completeness, and authenticity of the data presented in their manuscripts.
Research findings should be reported honestly without fabrication, falsification, selective reporting, inappropriate manipulation of data, or misleading interpretation of results.
Authors should retain original research data and supporting documentation and provide them to the Editorial Office if requested during the editorial or post-publication process.
Authorship
Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the conception, design, execution, analysis, interpretation, or preparation of the manuscript.
The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that:
· All eligible contributors are appropriately listed as authors.
· No individual who does not meet authorship criteria is included.
· All authors have reviewed and approved the final manuscript.
· All authors consent to the submission and publication of the work.
Any request to modify the authorship of a manuscript after submission must be supported by a valid justification and the written agreement of all authors.
Conflicts of Interest
Authors must disclose any financial, professional, institutional, personal, or other interests that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research or its interpretation.
Sources of research funding, grants, sponsorship, employment, consultancy, or other relevant support should be disclosed within the manuscript where applicable.
Disclosure promotes transparency and does not necessarily affect editorial decisions.
Research Ethics
Research involving human participants, biological specimens, clinical investigations, patient data, animal studies, or other ethically sensitive materials should be conducted in accordance with applicable institutional, national, and legal requirements.
Where applicable, authors should:
· Obtain approval from an appropriate ethics committee or institutional review board before commencing the research.
· Obtain informed consent from participants or their legally authorized representatives where required.
· Protect the privacy, confidentiality, dignity, and rights of research participants.
· Ensure that animal studies are conducted humanely and in accordance with applicable animal welfare regulations.
Authors may be asked to provide documentation supporting ethical approval or participant consent during the editorial process.
Clinical Trial Registration
Where applicable, clinical trials should be registered in a publicly accessible clinical trial registry before the enrolment of participants.
Authors should provide the trial registration number and the name of the registry within the manuscript.
Data Availability
Authors are encouraged to make research data supporting published findings available whenever appropriate and legally permissible.
Where data cannot be shared due to ethical, legal, privacy, or confidentiality considerations, authors should provide an appropriate explanation within the manuscript.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-Assisted Technologies
Authors are responsible for all content submitted to the journal, including any material prepared with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
AI tools must not be listed as authors because they cannot assume responsibility for the integrity, originality, or accountability of scholarly work.
Where AI-assisted technologies have been used for language editing, writing assistance, data analysis, image generation, coding, or similar purposes, authors should disclose such use appropriately within the manuscript.
Regardless of the use of AI-assisted technologies, authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, scientific validity, and integrity of the submitted work.
Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers
Reviewers play an essential role in maintaining the scientific quality, integrity, and credibility of the journal. They are expected to evaluate manuscripts objectively, professionally, and confidentially while providing constructive feedback that supports scientific improvement.
Reviewers should:
· Accept review invitations only when the manuscript falls within their area of expertise.
· Conduct reviews fairly, objectively, and without personal or professional bias.
· Maintain the confidentiality of all manuscripts and review materials.
· Promptly disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest and decline the review where impartiality may be compromised.
· Provide clear, evidence-based, and constructive comments supported by scientific reasoning.
· Identify relevant published literature that may have been overlooked by the authors where appropriate.
· Notify the Editorial Office of suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication, data falsification, image manipulation, citation manipulation, authorship concerns, or other forms of research misconduct.
· Refrain from using unpublished information obtained during peer review for personal, academic, professional, or commercial benefit.
· Not share manuscripts or upload confidential manuscript content to publicly accessible artificial intelligence (AI) platforms or other unauthorized third-party services without prior approval from the journal.
Ethical Responsibilities of Editors
Editors are responsible for safeguarding the integrity, quality, and credibility of the journal and ensuring that manuscripts are handled fairly, consistently, and transparently.
Editors should:
· Evaluate manuscripts solely on the basis of scientific merit, originality, methodological quality, ethical compliance, and relevance to the journal's scope.
· Treat all authors fairly without discrimination based on nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, institutional affiliation, or other personal characteristics.
· Preserve the confidentiality of manuscripts, reviewer reports, and editorial communications.
· Avoid handling manuscripts where actual or perceived conflicts of interest exist and transfer editorial responsibility where appropriate.
· Take appropriate action when concerns regarding publication ethics or research integrity arise.
· Ensure that editorial decisions are based on objective scientific evaluation and supported by available evidence.
· Protect the integrity of the scholarly record through appropriate editorial actions when necessary.
Research and Publication Misconduct
The journal treats all allegations of research and publication misconduct seriously and investigates such concerns in a fair, objective, and confidential manner.
Examples of misconduct include, but are not limited to:
· Plagiarism or self-plagiarism.
· Duplicate or redundant publication.
· Data fabrication or falsification.
· Manipulation or inappropriate alteration of research images or figures.
· Citation manipulation.
· Guest, honorary, or ghost authorship.
· Undisclosed conflicts of interest.
· Misrepresentation of research methods or findings.
· Submission of fraudulent ethical approval, informed consent, or clinical trial registration information.
· Any other conduct that compromises the integrity or reliability of scientific research.
Where appropriate, the journal may request original research data, laboratory records, ethics approval documentation, clinical trial registration details, informed consent documentation, or other supporting materials to verify the authenticity of submitted research.
Investigation of Ethical Concerns
When potential ethical concerns are identified before or after publication, the Editorial Office will conduct an appropriate assessment based on the available evidence.
Depending on the circumstances, the journal may:
· Request clarification from the authors.
· Request original research data or supporting documentation.
· Seek additional information from the corresponding author or co-authors.
· Consult independent experts where specialist advice is required.
· Contact the relevant institution, ethics committee, or funding organization where appropriate.
· Suspend editorial processing while an investigation is ongoing.
Investigations are conducted impartially, confidentially, and with due consideration for the rights of all parties involved.
Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern
The journal is committed to maintaining the accuracy, reliability, and integrity of the scientific record.
Where necessary, the journal may take one or more of the following actions:
Corrections
A correction may be published where an article contains errors that do not invalidate the overall scientific findings but require clarification or amendment.
Retractions
An article may be retracted where reliable evidence demonstrates serious ethical misconduct, plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated or falsified data, major errors affecting the validity of the findings, or other significant breaches of publication standards.
Expressions of Concern
Where an investigation is ongoing and sufficient evidence is not yet available to support a correction or retraction, the journal may publish an Expression of Concern to inform readers of potential issues affecting the reliability of the published work.
Whenever practicable, authors will be informed of the journal's intended editorial action before publication of a correction, retraction, or expression of concern.
Appeals and Ethical Complaints
Authors may appeal editorial decisions or raise concerns regarding the editorial process, publication ethics, or the handling of ethical matters.
Appeals and complaints should be submitted in writing to the Editorial Office, together with a clear explanation and any supporting documentation that may assist in the review of the matter.
The journal will consider all appeals and complaints objectively, fairly, and confidentially. Where appropriate, additional editorial assessment or independent expert advice may be sought before a final decision is reached.
The outcome of the appeal or complaint will be communicated to the corresponding author, and the decision reached following completion of the review process shall be considered final.
Post-Publication Responsibilities
Publication does not end the ethical responsibilities of authors, reviewers, editors, or the journal.
Authors should promptly inform the Editorial Office if they discover significant errors, inaccuracies, or ethical concerns in their published work.
Where appropriate, the journal may publish:
· Corrections;
· Retractions;
· Expressions of Concern; or
· Other editorial notices considered necessary to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.
Editors will take reasonable steps to ensure that post-publication issues are assessed fairly and addressed in a timely and transparent manner.
Policy Review
The journal periodically reviews its publication ethics policy to ensure that it remains consistent with evolving standards of responsible scholarly publishing, scientific integrity, and editorial best practices.
Revisions to this policy become effective upon publication on the journal's website.
Related Policies
This Publication Ethics policy should be read together with the journal's:
Commitment to Ethical Publishing
The IOASD Journal of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences is committed to fostering a culture of honesty, transparency, accountability, and scientific integrity throughout the publication process.
The journal expects all participants in scholarly publishing—including authors, reviewers, editors, and members of the Editorial Board—to uphold the highest standards of ethical conduct and professional responsibility.
Through fair editorial practices, rigorous peer review, responsible handling of ethical concerns, and a commitment to maintaining the integrity of the scientific record, the journal strives to publish reliable, high-quality research that advances medical, pharmaceutical, biomedical, clinical, and healthcare sciences for the benefit of researchers, healthcare professionals, policymakers, and society.
