Research Ethics Policy
The Journal adheres to internationally recognized standards of research and publication ethics, including the Declaration of Helsinki, the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Authors are responsible for ensuring that their work complies with these standards and with all applicable institutional, national, and international regulations. The relevant declarations must be included in the submitted manuscript.
1. Ethics Approval
Manuscripts reporting research involving human participants, animals, or biological materials must include a statement confirming that the study was reviewed and approved by the appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB), Institutional Ethics Committee, or National Research Ethics Committee.
The statement must include:
the full name of the approving committee and its institution;
the approval reference number and the date of approval.
If ethical approval was waived, exempted, or deemed unnecessary, authors must explain the reasons clearly and provide supporting documentation from the relevant committee or institution where applicable.
For studies involving animals, authors must describe the housing, care, handling, and procedures used, the measures taken to minimize pain and distress, and the humane endpoints applied. Authors are encouraged to follow the ARRIVE guidelines.
2. Consent to Participate
For all research involving human participants, authors must state explicitly that freely given, informed consent was obtained from all participants before their involvement in the study. The statement should specify whether consent was written or verbal.
For participants under 16 years of age, consent must be obtained from their parents or legally authorized guardians. Any exception to these requirements, including a waiver of consent, must be justified in the manuscript and approved by the relevant ethics committee, and supporting documentation must be available.
3. Consent to Publish
If the manuscript contains personal or identifiable information about individuals, including photographs, images, videos, clinical details, or case reports, authors must obtain written consent for publication from the individuals concerned. For participants under 16 years of age, consent must be obtained from their parents or legally authorized guardians. The manuscript must include a statement confirming that this consent has been obtained.
If the manuscript contains no identifiable individual information, authors should state: “Consent for publication: Not applicable.”
4. Author Responsibility and Documentation
Authors are solely responsible for compliance with these requirements. The Journal reserves the right to request copies of ethical approval documents and signed consent forms at any stage of the editorial process. Failure to provide them, or evidence of non-compliance, may result in rejection of the manuscript or retraction of a published article.
