Publication Ethics

Introduction

The XERON Journal of Medical Research (XJMR) is committed to maintaining integrity, accuracy, transparency, fairness, and accountability throughout the research and publication process.

This policy applies to authors, reviewers, editors, Editorial Board members, publisher representatives, and other individuals involved in manuscript submission, peer review, editorial decision-making, production, publication, and post-publication assessment.

XJMR uses recognised international guidance on publication ethics when developing its editorial policies and when responding to concerns about submitted or published work. The journal does not claim membership of any organisation unless formal membership has been obtained.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for ensuring that:

• the submitted work is original;

• the data are authentic, accurate, and verifiable;

• the manuscript is not under consideration by another journal;

• the work has not been published previously in substantially the same form;

• all eligible contributors are included as authors;

• no guest, gift, honorary, or ghost author is included;

• all authors approve the submitted manuscript;

• ethical approval and informed consent have been obtained where required;

• clinical trials are registered where applicable;

• funding and competing interests are disclosed;

• sources are cited accurately;

• copyrighted material is used with permission; and

• any substantive use of artificial-intelligence tools is disclosed.

Authors must cooperate with requests for clarification, original data, ethical documentation, consent records, statistical files, authorship confirmation, or other material required to assess the reliability of the work.

Originality and Plagiarism

Manuscripts must represent the authors’ original work.

XJMR does not accept:

• plagiarism;

• copying without appropriate citation;

• close paraphrasing of another source without acknowledgment;

• misappropriation of ideas, methods, figures, tables, or data;

• translation of previously published material without disclosure;

• self-plagiarism or substantial text recycling;

• submission of another person’s work under different authorship; or

• reuse of copyrighted material without permission.

Submitted manuscripts may be screened using similarity-detection software. Similarity reports are evaluated editorially and are not interpreted solely on the basis of a numerical percentage.

Legitimate similarity may arise from:

• references;

• standard methodological expressions;

• properly quoted material;

• recognised technical terminology; or

• descriptions of established procedures.

Where problematic overlap is identified, the journal may request revision, reject the manuscript, contact the authors’ institution, or take other appropriate action.

Duplicate and Redundant Publication

Authors must not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal at the same time.

XJMR does not accept:

• simultaneous submission;

• duplicate publication;

• redundant publication;

• fragmentation of one study into multiple unjustified papers;

• republication of substantially identical findings without disclosure; or

• reuse of previously published tables, figures, or data without proper citation and permission.

A full manuscript based on a conference abstract may be considered when:

• the full article has not already been published;

• the earlier abstract or presentation is disclosed;

• the submitted manuscript contains substantial additional information; and

• any copyright or conference-publication requirements have been satisfied.

Data Fabrication and Falsification

Fabrication means creating data, participants, observations, results, or records that did not exist.

Falsification includes manipulating research materials, methods, images, datasets, statistical analyses, or results in a way that misrepresents the research.

XJMR prohibits:

• invented participants or observations;

• alteration or omission of data to obtain a preferred result;

• selective reporting intended to mislead readers;

• inappropriate removal of outliers without justification;

• fabricated ethical approval or consent documentation;

• manipulated laboratory or clinical records;

• false statistical outputs; and

• deceptive alteration of images.

When serious data-integrity concerns arise, the editorial process may be suspended while clarification or institutional investigation is requested.

Image Integrity

Images must accurately represent the original data.

Authors must not:

• add or remove important features;

• combine images without clearly identifying the composite;

• selectively modify one part of an image;

• obscure, move, enhance, or delete relevant information;

• duplicate images while presenting them as different results; or

• use image processing that changes the scientific interpretation.

Adjustments to brightness, contrast, or colour should normally be applied consistently to the complete image.

Editors may request:

• original image files;

• unprocessed data;

• image-acquisition details; or

• an explanation of image preparation.

Authorship and Contributorship

All listed authors must meet the journal’s authorship criteria and accept responsibility for the published work.

The author list should accurately reflect:

• intellectual contributions;

• participation in manuscript preparation or critical revision;

• approval of the final manuscript; and

• accountability for the work.

Contributors who do not qualify as authors should be acknowledged with their permission.

Requests to add, remove, or rearrange authors must include:

• a clear reason;

• an updated contribution statement; and

• written agreement from all affected authors.

The journal will not independently determine authorship where the authors remain in dispute. Such matters may be referred to the relevant institution for investigation.

Research Ethics

Research involving human participants, identifiable human material, or identifiable health information must have prior approval or formal exemption from an appropriate ethics committee or institutional review board.

Authors must report:

• the name of the approving committee;

• approval or exemption number;

• approval date, where available; and

• the process used to obtain informed consent.

Research involving animals must have approval from an appropriate animal ethics committee and must follow applicable welfare standards.

The journal may reject a manuscript where:

• required ethical approval was not obtained;

• approval appears to have been granted retrospectively without justification;

• participant safety was inadequately protected;

• informed consent requirements were not met;

• patient confidentiality was breached; or

• ethical documentation is unreliable.

Informed Consent and Patient Privacy

Written informed consent must be obtained where required for participation in research.

Separate consent for publication is required when a manuscript contains potentially identifiable:

• clinical details;

• photographs;

• imaging studies;

• pedigrees;

• videos;

• audio recordings; or

• unusual case information.

Removing a patient’s name may not be sufficient when the remaining details could still identify the individual.

Authors should include only information that is scientifically necessary.

Clinical-Trial Registration

Prospective clinical trials should be registered in an appropriate publicly accessible trial registry before or at the time the first participant is enrolled.

The registry name and registration number should be included in:

• the title page;

• abstract; and

• methodology section.

Where registration occurred retrospectively, the authors must explain the reason. Editorial consideration is not guaranteed.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, editors, and Editorial Board members must disclose interests that could influence, or reasonably appear to influence, their judgment.

Relevant interests may include:

• employment;

• consultancy;

• honoraria;

• grants;

• patents;

• stock ownership;

• institutional relationships;

• personal relationships;

• academic competition; and

• involvement in the research under consideration.

A disclosed conflict does not automatically prevent publication. It allows editors and readers to evaluate the work transparently.

Editors and reviewers must withdraw from handling a manuscript where they cannot provide an independent assessment.

Funding Disclosure

Authors must identify all financial and material support received for the research.

The funding statement should describe:

• the funder’s name;

• grant number, where applicable; and

• the funder’s role in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or publication decisions.

If no specific funding was received, authors should state:

The authors received no specific funding for this work.

Peer-review Integrity

Authors, reviewers, and editors must not attempt to manipulate the peer-review process.

Prohibited practices include:

• submitting false reviewer names;

• providing fabricated reviewer email addresses;

• creating false reviewer accounts;

• impersonating reviewers;

• attempting to influence reviewer selection improperly;

• contacting reviewers privately about a submitted manuscript;

• pressuring editors or reviewers;

• submitting fraudulent review reports; or

• interfering with editorial decisions.

Suspected peer-review manipulation may result in rejection, retraction, institutional notification, or suspension of accounts.

Confidentiality

Submitted manuscripts and associated files are confidential.

Editors and reviewers must not:

• share manuscripts with unauthorised individuals;

• use unpublished information for personal benefit;

• reveal confidential editorial discussions;

• disclose reviewer identities under a confidential review model;

• retain or distribute manuscript files unnecessarily; or

• upload manuscript content to unauthorised external systems.

Authors must also keep reviewer reports and confidential editorial correspondence secure.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial-intelligence tools cannot be listed as authors because they cannot approve a manuscript, declare conflicts of interest, or accept accountability for published work.

Authors must disclose substantive use of AI-assisted tools for:

• text generation or major rewriting;

• translation;

• data analysis;

• coding;

• image generation;

• figure preparation; or

• literature processing.

Authors remain responsible for:

• accuracy;

• originality;

• citations;

• confidentiality;

• data integrity; and

• all statements made in the manuscript.

Reviewers and editors must not upload confidential manuscripts to public AI platforms or systems that may retain, reuse, or disclose submitted material.

Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions are made by the Editor-in-Chief or authorised editors.

Decisions are based on:

• relevance to the journal;

• scientific quality;

• originality;

• methodological reliability;

• ethical compliance;

• transparency of reporting; and

• value to readers.

Decisions must not be influenced by:

• commercial interests;

• political pressure;

• personal relationships;

• authors’ nationality or institution;

• professional seniority;

• positive or negative findings; or

• use of XERON Research Services.

The publisher must not interfere with individual acceptance or rejection decisions.

Manuscripts Submitted by Editors

An editor or Editorial Board member may submit work to XJMR, but must not participate in handling their own manuscript.

Such submissions will be:

• assigned to an independent editor;

• assessed by independent reviewers;

• processed without involvement from the submitting editor; and

• subject to the same standards applied to other manuscripts.

The article should disclose the author’s editorial role where appropriate.

Allegations of Misconduct

The journal will consider concerns raised by:

• authors;

• reviewers;

• readers;

• editors;

• institutions;

• research participants;

• whistleblowers; or

• other credible sources.

Concerns should be submitted to the editorial office with sufficient information to allow preliminary assessment.

The journal will:

1. record the allegation;

2. assess whether the concern is specific and credible;

3. protect confidentiality as far as reasonably possible;

4. avoid unnecessary disclosure of the complainant’s identity;

5. give relevant individuals an opportunity to respond;

6. request supporting documentation where appropriate;

7. seek institutional assistance when investigation exceeds the journal’s authority; and

8. correct the scholarly record when necessary.

COPE recommends that journals maintain clear processes for receiving and responding to allegations before and after publication, including concerns submitted by whistleblowers. (Publication Ethics)

Editorial Actions Before Publication

Where an ethical concern arises before publication, XJMR may:

• request clarification;

• return the manuscript for correction;

• suspend peer review;

• obtain additional specialist review;

• request raw data or original files;

• contact all authors;

• contact an ethics committee or institution;

• reject the manuscript; or

• restrict further submissions where serious manipulation is established.

Rejection does not prevent the journal from pursuing a serious ethical concern.

Post-publication Corrections

The journal may publish a correction when an article contains an error that affects accuracy or interpretation but does not invalidate the main findings.

Corrections should:

• be clearly labelled;

• identify the original article;

• explain what has been corrected;

• remain permanently accessible; and

• be linked electronically to the original article.

The original publication should also link to the correction.

Expressions of Concern

An expression of concern may be issued when:

• serious concerns have been raised;

• available evidence remains inconclusive;

• an institutional investigation is pending;

• an investigation is unreasonably delayed; or

• readers need to be warned while further assessment continues.

An expression of concern does not necessarily mean that misconduct has been established.

Retractions

An article may be retracted when its findings are unreliable because of:

• fabrication;

• falsification;

• major error;

• serious plagiarism;

• unethical research;

• duplicate publication;

• invalid peer review;

• unauthorised use of data;

• serious authorship misconduct; or

• another fundamental breach affecting reliability.

Retraction notices will be clearly identified and linked to the original article. The retracted article should normally remain accessible and marked as retracted to preserve the scholarly record. ICMJE recommends that corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions be prominently labelled, indexed, and linked to the original publication. (ICMJE)

Removal of Published Content

Removal of an article from the journal website will be considered only in exceptional circumstances, such as:

• a serious legal requirement;

• a substantial risk to personal safety;

• unlawful disclosure of confidential information; or

• content that cannot legally remain accessible.

Where removal is necessary, a notice explaining the reason will normally remain in place.

Appeals and Complaints

Authors may appeal an editorial decision by submitting a reasoned written request.

An appeal should:

• identify the manuscript;

• explain the basis of the appeal;

• respond to the main editorial concerns; and

• provide new or clarifying evidence.

Complaints about editorial conduct, delays, conflicts of interest, policy application, or ethical handling should be submitted to the journal’s designated contact.

Where practical, an appeal or complaint will be assessed by an editor who was not directly responsible for the original decision.

Cooperation with Institutions

Research institutions are generally responsible for conducting formal investigations into the conduct of their researchers.

XJMR may contact an institution, ethics committee, funder, regulator, or other appropriate body when:

• access to original records is required;

• the journal cannot independently verify the facts;

• allegations involve serious research misconduct;

• participant safety may be affected; or

• authors do not respond adequately.

The journal will use the available evidence and institutional findings to determine what action is needed regarding the manuscript or published article.

Record Keeping

The editorial office will maintain appropriate records of:

• submissions;

• review reports;

• editorial decisions;

• author declarations;

• ethical documentation;

• complaints;

• misconduct concerns;

• corrections; and

• retractions.

Records will be handled confidentially and retained according to applicable operational, legal, and archiving requirements.

Contact for Ethical Concerns

Concerns regarding research integrity or publication ethics should be sent to:

Publication Ethics Contact
XERON Journal of Medical Research
Published by XERON Medical Research

Email: majidhurmaz@yahoo.com
Website: https://xeronclub.com/ojs2/index.php/XJMR
Country: Pakistan

The message should include:

• article or manuscript title;

• submission or DOI number, where available;

• description of the concern;

• supporting documents or evidence; and

• the sender’s contact information.

Anonymous concerns may be considered where sufficiently detailed and supported by credible evidence.