Publication Ethics

 

The International Journal of Community Health Sciences (IJCHS) is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and academic integrity. IJCHS adheres strictly to the principles and guidelines set forth by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Prevention of publication malpractice is essential for maintaining trust in scholarly publishing and ensuring the quality of scientific research.

Duties of Authors

  • Originality & Plagiarism: Manuscripts must represent original research. Plagiarism in any form, including self-plagiarism, verbatim copying, or paraphrasing without proper attribution, is strictly prohibited.
  • Multiple or Concurrent Publication: Authors must not submit manuscripts describing essentially the same research to more than one journal concurrently.
  • Data Integrity & Availability: Authors must present accurate research data without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation. Raw datasets must be provided upon request.
  • Authorship & CRediT Taxonomy: Authorship must be limited to those who made significant contributions to the conceptualization, design, execution, or interpretation of the study. All co-authors must approve the final version.
  • Human Rights & Ethical Approval: Studies involving human participants must state compliance with ethical standards and explicitly mention approval from an institutional ethics committee and informed consent.
  • Disclosure of Conflicts & Funding: Authors must declare any potential financial or personal conflicts of interest and explicitly acknowledge all funding sources.

Duties of Editors

  • Fair Decisions & Editorial Independence: Decisions to accept or reject manuscripts are based solely on scientific merit, originality, scope, and relevance, without regard to author background or institutional affiliation.
  • Confidentiality: Editors must maintain strict confidentiality regarding submitted manuscripts and must not disclose information to anyone other than the authors and reviewers.
  • Managing Conflicts of Interest: Editors must recuse themselves from considering manuscripts in which they have competing interests or personal connections.
  • Handling Allegations of Misconduct: In cases of suspected scientific misconduct, plagiarism, or redundant publication, editors follow COPE flowcharts to investigate and issue corrections or retractions if necessary.

Duties of Peer Reviewers

  • Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Reviewers assist editors in making informed decisions and help authors improve the quality of their work through constructive evaluation.
  • Promptness & Responsiveness: Invited reviewers who feel unqualified or unable to complete evaluations within the stipulated timeframe must decline promptly.
  • Confidentiality & Anonymity: Reviewers must treat received manuscripts as confidential documents and must not share or discuss contents with third parties.
  • Objectivity & Recognition of Sources: Reviews must be conducted objectively without personal criticism. Reviewers should point out relevant unmentioned published work.

Corrections, Retractions & Post-Publication Policy

IJCHS guarantees the permanent integrity of published literature. When errors or misconduct are detected post-publication, the journal will publish Errata, Corrigenda, or Retraction Notices in accordance with COPE Retraction Guidelines to preserve scientific accuracy and transparency.