Publication Ethics and Malpractice Policy

Applies To: Authors, Editors, Editorial Board Members, Reviewers, Guest Editors, Editorial Staff, Publishers, Readers, Institutions, Sponsors, and Other Stakeholders

1. Purpose

The Gazette of Medicine (TGM) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, transparency, accountability, and professionalism in scholarly publishing. The journal recognizes that ethical publication practices are fundamental to advancing medical science, protecting research participants, maintaining public trust, and ensuring the credibility of the scientific record.

This Publication Ethics and Malpractice Policy establishes the ethical principles, responsibilities, and procedures governing the submission, review, publication, correction, and retraction of manuscripts submitted to TGM.

TGM adheres to internationally accepted best practices in scholarly publishing and aligns its editorial processes with the recommendations of:

· Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)

· International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)

· World Association of Medical Editors (WAME)

· Council of Science Editors (CSE)

· World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki

· Good Clinical Practice (ICH-GCP)

· International Ethical Guidelines for Health-related Research Involving Humans (CIOMS)

2. Scope

This policy applies to every stage of publication, including:

· Manuscript preparation

· Submission

· Editorial assessment

· Peer review

· Revision

· Acceptance

· Publication

· Post-publication corrections

· Retractions

· Expressions of concern

· Archiving

It applies equally to:

· Authors

· Co-authors

· Corresponding authors

· Editors

· Editorial Board Members

· Reviewers

· Guest Editors

· Editorial Staff

· Publishers

· Institutions

· Research Sponsors

3. Core Ethical Principles

TGM is guided by the following principles:

· Honesty

· Transparency

· Accountability

· Scientific Integrity

· Fairness

· Confidentiality

· Independence

· Objectivity

· Respect for Human Participants

· Respect for Animals Used in Research

· Equity

· Professionalism

4. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to TGM shall:

4.1 Originality

Authors must submit only original work.

The manuscript must:

· Not contain plagiarism;

· Not contain fabricated material;

· Not contain falsified data;

· Not infringe copyright;

· Properly acknowledge all sources.

4.2 Accuracy

Authors must present:

· Accurate findings;

· Truthful methodology;

· Genuine statistical analyses;

· Honest interpretation of results.

Selective reporting is prohibited.

4.3 Multiple Submission

Authors shall not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to multiple journals.

Duplicate submission constitutes publication misconduct.

4.4 Duplicate Publication

Previously published work shall not be submitted unless:

· Substantially expanded;

· Fully disclosed;

· Approved by the editor.

4.5 Authorship

Only individuals meeting accepted authorship criteria should be listed as authors.

Each author should have substantially contributed to:

· Study conception

· Design

· Data acquisition

· Analysis

· Interpretation

· Manuscript drafting;

· Manuscript revision;

· Approval of the final manuscript.

All authors must approve submission.

4.6 Corresponding Author

The corresponding author is responsible for:

· Communicating with the journal

· Ensuring author approval

· Confirming authorship accuracy;

· Managing revisions

· Ensuring ethical compliance.

4.7 Acknowledgements

Individuals who contributed but do not qualify for authorship should be acknowledged appropriately after obtaining their permission.

4.8 Funding Disclosure

Authors must disclose:

· Funding agencies

· Grant numbers

· Institutional support

· Commercial sponsorship.

4.9 Conflict of Interest

Authors must disclose all financial and non-financial competing interests that could influence the research or its interpretation.

These include, but are not limited to:

· Employment

· Consultancy

· Stock ownership

· Honoraria

· Patents

· Advisory roles

· Research grants

· Personal relationships

· Academic competition.

4.10 Data Availability

Authors should retain research data and provide access when reasonably requested, subject to ethical, legal, and privacy constraints.

Where applicable, a Data Availability Statement should accompany the manuscript.

5. Ethical Approval

Research involving human participants must receive prior approval from a recognized Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Research Ethics Committee.

The manuscript should include:

· Name of approving committee;

· Approval number/reference;

· Date of approval where available.

6. Human Research

Human studies must comply with:

· Declaration of Helsinki;

· CIOMS Guidelines;

· Applicable national regulations.

Authors must demonstrate:

· Ethical approval;

· Informed consent;

· Confidentiality protection;

· Risk minimization.

7. Informed Consent

Authors must confirm that informed consent was obtained from participants or their legally authorized representatives where required.

For identifiable patient information or images, explicit written consent for publication must be obtained.

8. Privacy and Confidentiality

Patient confidentiality must always be protected.

Authors shall remove:

· Names;

· Hospital numbers;

· Addresses;

· Identifiable photographs;

· Identifying clinical information

Unless explicit consent has been obtained.

9. Vulnerable Populations

Research involving:

· Children;

· Pregnant women;

· Prisoners;

· Mentally impaired persons;

· Economically disadvantaged populations;

· Other vulnerable groups

must include additional ethical safeguards and justification.

10. Animal Research

Animal studies must comply with internationally recognized welfare standards.

Authors should state:

· Ethical approval;

· Animal welfare measures;

· Adherence to the principles of replacement, reduction, and refinement (3rs).

11. Clinical Trials

Clinical trials should be prospectively registered in a publicly accessible registry recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) or the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors before enrolment of the first participant.

The trial registration number should be included in the manuscript.

12. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Authors may use AI-assisted tools only to support language editing, grammar improvement, or formatting.

AI tools must not:

· Qualify as authors;

· Assume responsibility for the manuscript;

· Generate fabricated references;

· Fabricate research findings;

· Manipulate scientific images.

Any significant use of AI must be transparently disclosed in the manuscript.

13. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors shall:

· Make impartial editorial decisions;

· Preserve confidentiality;

· Avoid discrimination;

· Avoid conflicts of interest;

· Ensure rigorous peer review;

· Investigate misconduct;

· Correct the scientific record where necessary;

· Maintain editorial independence.

Editorial decisions shall be based solely on scientific merit.

14. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers shall:

· Maintain confidentiality;

· Declare conflicts of interest;

· Provide objective reviews;

· Identify ethical concerns;

· Report plagiarism;

· Report duplicate publication;

· Avoid personal criticism;

· Complete reviews promptly.

Reviewers shall not use unpublished material for personal advantage.

15. Responsibilities of the Editorial Board

Editorial Board Members shall:

· Uphold publication ethics;

· Support editorial independence;

· Advise on ethical matters;

· Assist in investigations;

· Promote journal quality.

16. Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions shall not be influenced by:

· Advertising;

· Sponsorship;

· Institutional pressure;

· Commercial interests;

· Political considerations;

· Religious beliefs;

· Personal relationships.

17. Publication Malpractice

Examples of publication malpractice include, but are not limited to:

Research Misconduct

· Fabrication

· Data falsification

· Selective reporting

· Image manipulation

· Data suppression

Publication Misconduct

· Plagiarism

· Self-plagiarism

· Duplicate publication

· Salami publication

· Citation manipulation

· Fake peer review

· Ghost authorship

· Gift authorship

· Purchased authorship

· Undisclosed AI-generated content

Ethical Misconduct

· Lack of ethical approval

· Failure to obtain informed consent

· Breach of confidentiality

· Undisclosed conflicts of interest

· Animal welfare violations

18. Complaints and Allegations

TGM accepts allegations of misconduct from:

· Readers;

· Reviewers;

· Editors;

· Institutions;

· Whistleblowers;

· Publishers.

All allegations shall be investigated confidentially and fairly.

19. Investigation Procedures

Where misconduct is suspected, TGM shall:

1. Receive allegation.

2. Conduct preliminary assessment.

3. Obtain supporting evidence.

4. Contact corresponding author.

5. Request explanation.

6. Consult Editorial Board where necessary.

7. Follow COPE guidance.

8. Reach a documented decision.

9. Notify affected parties where appropriate.

20. Editorial Actions

Depending on the findings, TGM may:

· Request clarification;

· Request corrections;

· Request revised manuscripts;

· Reject manuscripts;

· Suspend peer review;

· Publish corrections;

· Issue expressions of concern;

· Retract articles;

· Notify institutions;

· Notify funding agencies;

· Notify regulatory authorities where legally required.

21. Corrections

Corrections shall be issued where:

· Factual errors are identified;

· Author information requires amendment;

· Funding information was omitted;

· References require correction.

Corrections shall be permanently linked to the original article.

22. Expressions of Concern

An Expression of Concern may be published where:

· Investigations remain ongoing;

· Evidence is inconclusive;

· Institutional investigations are pending.

23. Retractions

Articles may be retracted where:

· Findings are unreliable;

· Plagiarism is confirmed;

· Data are fabricated or falsified;

· Ethical approval was absent where required;

· Duplicate publication occurred;

· Serious ethical violations are identified.

Retractions shall remain permanently linked to the original publication to preserve the scholarly record.

24. Appeals

Authors may appeal editorial decisions by submitting:

· Written justification;

· Supporting documentation;

· Relevant evidence.

Appeals shall be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief and, where appropriate, the Editorial Board. Decisions on appeals are final.

25. Whistleblower Protection

Individuals reporting concerns in good faith shall be treated confidentially.

Retaliation against whistleblowers is prohibited.

26. Record Keeping

The Editorial Office shall maintain confidential records of:

· Submissions;

· Peer review reports;

· Ethical approvals;

· Misconduct investigations

· Editorial decisions

· Corrections;

· Retractions.

Records shall be retained in accordance with the journal's record-retention policy.

27. Education

TGM encourages continuous education on:

· Research integrity;

· Responsible conduct of research;

· Publication ethics;

· Authorship;

· Peer review;

· Data management;

· Reporting guidelines;

· Responsible ai use.

28. Relationship to Other Journal Policies

This policy should be read together with the journal's:

· Editorial Policy

· Peer Review Policy

· Open Access Policy

· Plagiarism Policy

· Privacy Policy

· Advertising Policy

· Copyright Policy

· Data Sharing Policy

· AI and Generative Technology Policy

· Corrections, Retractions, and Withdrawal Policy

· Author Guidelines

29. Policy Review

This Publication Ethics and Malpractice Policy shall be reviewed every three (3) years, or earlier if necessary, to remain aligned with evolving international standards, legal requirements, and best practices in biomedical publishing.

Declaration

By submitting a manuscript to The Gazette of Medicine (TGM), authors affirm that their work complies with this Publication Ethics and Malpractice Policy. They certify that the manuscript is original, ethically conducted, accurately reported, free from fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and other forms of scientific misconduct, and that all authors have approved the submission. Authors acknowledge that violations of this policy may result in rejection, correction, retraction, notification of relevant institutions or funding bodies, and other editorial actions deemed necessary to preserve the integrity of the scientific record.