Authors' responsibilities
Reporting standards
Authors of original research reports must comply with reporting standards by providing an accurate account of their work and an unbiased discussion of its significance. It is necessary for them to ensure that the underlying data is accurately portrayed in the paper and that there is sufficient detail and references to enable others to replicate the work. Making statements that are fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate is considered unethical and unacceptable.
Data access and retention
Authors are responsible for accessing and maintaining data. They could be required to provide the raw data of their study along with their paper for editorial review, and they should be open to making the data accessible to the public if possible. Authors should ensure that the data is available to other professionals for at least ten years after publication, preferably through a data repository, while maintaining the confidentiality of the participants and protecting any legal rights related to proprietary data.
Originality, plagiarism, and acknowledgement of sources
Authors are required to submit only original works and acknowledge and reference the work and words of others in a proper manner. It is important to cite any publications that have played a significant role in shaping the research reported in the paper.
Multiple, redundant, or concurrent publication
Multiple, redundant, or concurrent publication is considered unethical to publish papers that describe essentially the same research in more than one journal. It is not acceptable to submit the same paper to multiple journals. Submitting manuscripts that have already been published elsewhere as copyrighted material is prohibited. Resubmitting manuscripts under review by the journal should not be done for copyrighted publications. Authors retain the rights to the published material by submitting a manuscript. If they publish their work, others can use it under a CC-BY license that allows them to copy, distribute, and adapt it, as well as make commercial use of it.
Authorship of the paper
Authorship of the paper requires individuals to have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the research being reported. The list of co-authors should include all those who have made significant contributions. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to ensure that all co-authors have agreed to the final version of the manuscript and its submission for publication, and that no individuals not involved are included in the author list.
Disclosure and conflicts of interest
Any financial or other conflicts of interest that could potentially affect the interpretation of their manuscript must be disclosed by authors. This encompasses financial support sources for the research project. All authors should include the disclosure statement.
Fundamental errors in published works
If an author finds a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, they must immediately notify the journal editor or publisher and work with them to retract or correct the paper.