Authorship Ethics in Research (Part 4)

Overlapping Publications

1. If the printed or electronic version of an article has been published before or is being reviewed for publication, it is unethical to submit it to another journal.

Note 1: The authors of a manuscript that is being reviewed by a journal could decide to submit that manuscript to another journal for any reason. In this case, first, they must request the withdrawal of their manuscript from the first journal and get their approval. They must do it before the acceptance of the manuscript for publication. Please notice that it is possible only if the first journal approves.

2. The authors must inform the chief editor if their article contains a notable volume of another published article.

Note 1: Repeating parts of the “Materials and Methods” section in other articles by the same author(s) is not unethical, if necessary, but still requires a reference.

3. If an electronic or paper version of the article has been published earlier or is being reviewed for publication, submitting its translation for publication is not unethical if the chief editors of both journals approve and inform the readers.

Conflict of interest

1. Conflict of interest refers to any financial or non-financial benefits that are likely to affect the opinions of the authors, reviewers, or chief editor. Conflict of interest is not in itself an ethical issue for a manuscript.

2. The author(s) of a manuscript should disclose any conflict of interest they might have to the readers, in the text of their article.

   Note 1: The contract between the researchers and the research sponsor should not in any form prohibit the disclosure of the conflict of interest in the manuscript.

3. The author(s) should introduce the sources of the fund for the research and writing of the article.

Privacy and Confidentiality

1. The authors should not include in the article the personal identities of the subjects, the staff of the research site, or any other person other than themselves and those whom they appreciate. If they want to do so, they should obtain the written informed consent of that person or her/his legal representative.

Note 1: The authors should cover people’s photographs in a way that they are not identifiable unless written informed consent is obtained.

Note 2: The dissemination of information that has become available to the public in advance does not require informed consent.

2. The chief editor, editorial board, and reviewers must consider all the details of the reviewing process of the paper confidential. In addition, unless the reviewing process is open, the entire process must take place without revealing the names of the reviewers. Besides, reviewers should keep the information of the articles confidential as well.

Related Posts: 

Ethics in research

Ethics in Research

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Ethics and publishing (Part 2)

Publication Ethics-(Part 1)

Publication Ethics-(Part3)

Authorship Ethics in Research (Part 1)

Authorship Ethics in Research (Part 2)

Authorship Ethics in Research (Part 3)