Publication Ethics

Consideration of research and publication ethics

Journal of Health Science and Medical Research (JHSMR) highly values research and publication ethics and considers this issue as its priority in considering any manuscript for publication. Research involving humans, published in JHSMR, needs to follow the ‘Good Clinical Practice’ guidelines (GCP); as provided by the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) of technical requirements for registration of pharmaceuticals for human use (ICH GCP), and Human Subject Protection practice; according to the US Office of Human Research Protections. In addition, Declaration of Helsinki for clinical research must be observed. Together with the manuscript, the authors of any article involving human subjects are required to submit a certificate of approval by their corresponding Institutional Review Board, or Human Research Ethics Committee. Short sentences that declare ethical issues are required in the material and methods section. Any articles that fails to declare their research ethics cannot advance to the review stage.

Plagiarisms, data fabrication, falsification, citation manipulation and double submission are all regarded as research misconduct. Any suspicion of such misconduct will be investigated by the editorial team. Unexplainable events will lead to rejection of the manuscript, or retraction of the published article.

Publication in JHSMR strictly observes the Publication Ethics Guideline of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and our following statement.

Responsibility of the editor-in-chief and editorial board members

The editorial board of JHSMR is elected by the Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, through the University Council, with an aim to function in continuously improving the quality of the journal, by responding to international academia. The board must work together with the university to support the quality control of articles published. To do so, the editorial board must actively seek reviewers for each manuscript and provide quick communication with the authors in order to correct, clarify and give feedback. The editorial team gives priority to the new scientific findings, originality, clarity, ethical correctness, validity and relevance to the JHSMR’s scope as criteria for acceptance of publication.

Responsibility of the authors who submit articles to JHSMR

Authors must read and understand the submission process and ethical standards of the journal. The authors shall provide clear research aims, and describe clear methodology that allows other researchers to confirm the findings; additionally, they must provide clear results and unbiased discussion without data manipulation. The authors must not submit a manuscript undergoing the process of consideration of any other journal or media to JHSMR, as this will lead to immediate rejection along with notification being sent to the other journal. In addition, the authors must sincerely reveal financial support received for any research along with any conflict of interest in publicizing the results.

Responsibility of the reviewers to JHSMR

Reviewers of JHSMR shall review a manuscript that matches their expertise, and properly assess all manuscripts in a timely manner. In addition to this they should give advice to JHSMR regarding the quality and scientifically correctness of the manuscript. The review is to be pursued under no conflict of interest, and with no knowledge regarding the authors’ identity. Suggestions and comments should be professional, constructive and contain no hostile language, nor derogative, or personal comments. Reviewers must not directly contact the authors during the peer-review process; as this would be considered serious misconduct. All reviewers will be acknowledged by Prince of Songkla University for their service to the university’s academic activities.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is regarded as serious misconduct by JHSMR. Therefore, all information and content that originates from other sources must be properly credited, cited and included in the “References” section.

On submission, all articles will be screened using the software ‘Turnitin’, which is supported by the Prince of Songkla University. Plagiarism will be suspected if similarities are reported to be higher than 20 percent. Beyond this threshold, the editor-in-chief will be informed. Clear plagiarism (use of large portions of copied text and/or data) will result in immediate rejection. Any similarity of short phrases will lead to an issued notification to the authors, so as they have a chance to provide an explanation, or undertake re-writing. If plagiarism is detected during the reviewing process, by any means, such as notified by the reviewers, all forward processes will be immediately withheld. The editor-in-chief will request an explanation from the authors, and. An unsatisfactory explanation will lead to a decision of rejection. In cases that the misconduct is clearly proven after publication, the article will be retracted from the issue. All authors, including their affiliating institutions, will be contacted to address the retraction and the issue will be officially announced as early as possible in the Journal page and website.

Ethical Code of Conduct for the Journal of Health Science and Medical Research

Preamble

The Journal of Health Science and Medical Research (JHSMR) is committed to upholding the highest standards of ethical conduct in all aspects of its publication process. This code of conduct outlines the ethical responsibilities of authors, reviewers, and editors to ensure the integrity and credibility of the research published in the journal.

I. Author Responsibilities

Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure that their work is original and does not infringe upon the copyright or intellectual property rights of others. Any use of another's work must be properly cited and acknowledged. Plagiarism, in any form, is strictly prohibited.
Data Integrity and Accuracy: Authors are responsible for the accuracy and integrity of the data presented in their manuscripts. Data fabrication, falsification, or manipulation is unacceptable.
Ethical Research Conduct: Research involving human subjects or animals must follow relevant ethical guidelines and regulations. Authors must obtain necessary approvals from appropriate ethics committees or institutional review boards and provide details of such approvals in their manuscripts.
Transparency and Disclosure: Authors must disclose any conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, that may influence the research or its interpretation. They must also acknowledge all sources of funding and support.
Authorship and Contribution: Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution, analysis, or interpretation of the research. All authors must approve the final version of the manuscript.
Duplicate Submission and Publication: Authors must not submit the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously. Duplicate publication of the same research is also prohibited.
Corrections and Retractions: Authors are obligated to promptly notify the journal editor of any errors or inaccuracies discovered in their published work and cooperate with the editor to issue corrections or retractions as necessary.

II. Reviewer Responsibilities

Confidentiality: Reviewers must treat all manuscripts as confidential documents and not disclose their contents to any third party.
Objectivity and Impartiality: Reviewers should evaluate manuscripts objectively based on their scientific merit and relevance to the journal's scope. Personal biases or conflicts of interest must not influence the review process.
Constructive Feedback: Reviewers should provide constructive and specific feedback to authors, focusing on the strengths and weaknesses of the manuscript. Comments should be respectful and professional, avoiding any personal attacks or derogatory remarks.
Timeliness: Reviewers should complete their reviews within the agreed-upon timeframe to avoid delaying publication.
Conflicts of Interest: Reviewers must disclose any potential conflicts of interest that may affect their ability to provide an unbiased review.
Originality and Plagiarism: Reviewers should be vigilant in identifying potential plagiarism or duplicate publication and bring them to the editor's attention.

III. Editor Responsibilities

Impartiality and Fairness: Editors must ensure that all manuscripts are evaluated fairly and impartially based on their scientific merit and relevance to the journal's scope. Decisions should not be influenced by the authors' affiliations, nationality, or any other personal factors.
Confidentiality: Editors must protect the confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts and related communications.
Transparency and Disclosure: Editors should be transparent about the journal's policies and procedures, including the peer-review process and criteria for publication. Any conflicts of interest must be disclosed.
Ethical Standards: Editors are responsible for upholding the highest ethical standards in the publication process and addressing any misconduct allegations.
Decision-Making: Editors make final decisions on the acceptance or rejection of manuscripts based on the reviewers' recommendations and their own assessment of the manuscript's quality and suitability for the journal.
Corrections and Retractions: Editors are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the published record and for issuing corrections or retractions as necessary.

Enforcement

Any breaches of this ethical code of conduct will be taken seriously. Depending on the severity of the misconduct, appropriate actions may be taken, including but not limited to:

Rejection of the manuscript
Notification of the authors' institution
Retraction of the published article
Banning the author(s) from future submissions

Disclaimer

This ethical code of conduct is intended to provide general guidance on ethical issues related to the publication process. It is not exhaustive and may be updated from time to time to reflect evolving best practices and standards. In cases not specifically addressed in this code, the editor will consult with relevant experts and follow the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines. (https://publicationethics.org/)