Ethics Policy

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Health Sciences Quarterly (Health Sci. Q.) is committed to upholding the highest ethical standards in its publication processes, particularly given its focus on health and medical sciences. Our journal bases all its policies and practices on the Core Practices established by COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) and follows the recommendations of the ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors).

These principles define the responsibilities and ethical rules that all stakeholders involved in the publication process (authors, editors, reviewers, and publishers) must strictly adhere to.

1. Responsibilities of Authors

Originality and Attribution: Authors must guarantee that the work they submit is entirely original and that any ideas, text, data, or images taken from another source are appropriately cited.

Human and Animal Rights: For research involving human subjects, authors must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki and obtain approval from an appropriate institutional review board (IRB) or ethics committee. Informed consent must be obtained from all participants. Animal studies must follow internationally recognised guidelines (e.g., ARRIVE) and have relevant ethical approval.

Author Contribution: All listed authors must have made a substantial intellectual contribution to the study, following ICMJE authorship criteria.

Data Reliability: Authors are fully responsible for the accuracy and integrity of the data they submit. Manipulation of data or images is considered serious misconduct.

Conflict of Interest: Authors must declare any potential financial, professional, or personal conflicts of interest that might be perceived as influencing their research.

Multiple Submission: An article cannot be under consideration for publication in another journal concurrently.

2. Editors' Responsibilities and Editorial Roles

2.1 General Principles

Impartiality: Decisions are based solely on academic merit, scientific validity, and relevance to the journal's scope.

Confidentiality: All manuscript and reviewer information is kept strictly confidential.

Conflict of Interest: Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where they have a potential conflict of interest.

2.2 Editorial Roles and Responsibilities

Editor-in-Chief

• Determines the scope and strategic direction of the journal.
• Oversees the peer review process and makes final publication decisions.
• Ensures adherence to ethical standards and handles allegations of misconduct.

Managing Editor

• Coordinates daily editorial operations and communication.
• Performs initial technical and ethical checks on submissions.
• Manages the publication schedule and production process.

Section Editors / Editorial Board Members

• Manage the peer review process for manuscripts in their area of expertise.
• Provide expert advice on journal policies and specific submissions.

3. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Scientific Rigour: Evaluations should be objective, constructive, and based on scientific evidence.

Confidentiality: Manuscripts are confidential documents and must not be shared or discussed with others.

Conflict of Interest: Reviewers must decline to review if they have any conflict of interest with the authors or the research topic.

Timeliness: Reviews should be completed within the agreed timeframe.

4. Plagiarism Policy

Health Sci. Q. has a zero-tolerance policy towards plagiarism, including self-plagiarism and "salami slicing." All submissions are screened using similarity detection software (e.g., iThenticate). Manuscripts with substantiated plagiarism will be immediately rejected.

5. Data Sharing and Reproducibility

Authors are encouraged to share their research data in public repositories. Statements regarding data availability should be included in the manuscript. Raw data may be requested during the review process.

6. Correction and Retraction Policy

Correction: Issued for minor errors that do not affect the scientific validity of the paper.

Retraction: Issued for serious misconduct (e.g., data fabrication, plagiarism, unethical research) that invalidates the findings. Retractions follow COPE guidelines.

7. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

The use of AI tools (e.g., LLMs such as ChatGPT) must be transparently disclosed in the methodology or acknowledgements section. AI tools cannot be listed as authors. Authors are ultimately responsible for all content in their manuscript.