Ethical Guidelines

Editorial Policies | Plagiarism | Policy for handling errata, retractions, withdrawals, and expressions of concern | Ethics and Misconduct | Conflicts of Interest | Artificial Intelligence (Generative AI) Policy

 

Editorial Policies

JEFI adheres to the highest standards concerning its editorial policies on publication ethics, scientific misconduct, consent and peer review criteria. The journal follows guidance produced by bodies that include the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), the Council of Science Editors and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

Authors are required to submit a statement that their study obtained ethics approval (or a statement that it was not required and why) and that participants gave informed consent. Editors will consider whether the work is morally acceptable as determined by the World Medical Association’s Declaration of Helsinki. In addition to this, in line with General Medical Council guidelines, an article that contains personal medical information about an identifiable living individual requires patients’ explicit consent before we will publish it.

To make the best decision on how to deal with a manuscript, we need to know about any competing interests authors may have; this includes any commercial, financial or non-financial associations that may be relevant to the submitted article. Authors must download and complete a copy of the ICMJE Conflict of Interest disclosure form. In addition to this we ensure that all advertising and sponsorship associated with the journal does not influence editorial decisions, is immediately distinguishable from editorial content.

JEFI will not consider publication of papers reporting work funded wholly or partly by the tobacco industry. This also excludes work where the authors have personal financial ties with the tobacco industry. This applies to all content types.

We take all possible cases of misconduct seriously. If an Editor, author or reader has concerns that a submitted article contains something that might be considered to constitute misconduct in research, publication or professional behaviour they should forward their concerns to the journal. The editorial board will deal with allegations appropriately following ICMJE and COPE guidelines. Corrections and retractions are considered where an article has already been published; corrections, expressions of concern or a retraction notices will be published as soon as possible in line with the correction and retraction policy.

 

Plagiarism

JEFI is extremely strict in matters of Plagiarism. The Journal will not accept plagiarized articles for publication. If the journal finds a submitted plagiarized article, then it may ban all the authors responsible for the article in publishing with it. So, all the authors/researchers are requested to check their respective articles for plagiarism before submitting them for publishing.

All submitted manuscripts in JEFI will be vigorously checked for plagiarism using the iTHENTICATE plagiarism detection software before forwarding the manuscripts for the peer-review process.

 

 

All allegations of plagiarism are investigated in accordance with COPE guidelines detailed below:

1.     COPE guidelines on suspected plagiarism in a submitted manuscript

2.     COPE guidelines on suspected plagiarism in a published paper

3.     ICMJE Recommendations

 

The Journal is abide to UGC guidelines for plagiarism [https://www.ugc.gov.in/pdfnews/7771545_academic-integrity-Regulation2018.pdf]

 

In the case of suspected plagiarism in a published article:

 

·       The person who advised us of the situation is informed about the process to be followed.

·       The articles are compared to check the degree of copying.

·       All Editors of the JEFI are informed and asked for their comments.

·       The corresponding author of the article in question is contacted with documentary evidence of the case of plagiarism and is asked for a response.

·       If the authors are found guilty of plagiarism

·       The editor of the journal in which the original plagiarised article was published and the authors of the plagiarised article are informed

·       The JEFI publishes an official retraction of the paper

·       The online version of the JEFI article is withdrawn from the website, and

·       The JEFI will not publish any article by any of the authors concerned for a period of five years.

 

Policy for handling errata, retractions, withdrawals, and expressions of concern

JEFI abide by COPE Retraction Guidelines.

It is important to establish clear ethical guidelines to ensure that all content is produced and distributed in a responsible and ethical manner.

  1. Accuracy and fact-checking: We strive to publish accurate and truthful content, and we take all necessary steps to fact-check information before publication. We correct any errors promptly and transparently.
  1. Editorial independence: We maintain editorial independence and do not allow advertisers, sponsors, or any external parties to influence our content in any way.
  1. Transparency: We disclose any conflicts of interest and relationships with external parties that may influence our content, and we provide clear attribution for sources and contributors.
  1. Respect for diversity and inclusivity: We respect and celebrate diversity in all its forms, and we strive to represent diverse perspectives and voices in our content.
  1. Protection of personal information: We respect individuals’ right to privacy and we protect personal information in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
  1. Copyright and intellectual property: We respect the intellectual property rights of others and do not infringe on any copyrights or trademarks in our content.
  1. Non-discrimination: We do not publish content that discriminates against any individual or group based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or any other protected characteristic.
  1. Responsibility for content: We take responsibility for all content published under our name, and we promptly address any complaints or concerns related to our content.

These guidelines are intended to provide a framework for ethical behaviour and decision-making. We expect all contributors, and partners to adhere to these guidelines and uphold the highest standards of ethical conduct.

Errata: An erratum is a correction of a factual error that does not alter the overall conclusions of a published work. When an error is identified, we will promptly correct the error and publish an erratum that clearly identifies the correction and its implications, such changes are intimated to respective indexing agencies and DOI records are updated.

Retractions: A retraction is a notice that a published work is no longer valid or reliable. Retractions may be necessary when a work contains serious errors, plagiarism, or other forms of misconduct. The publisher and the editorial team of the journal will investigate any concerns raised about published content and, if necessary, issue a retraction that clearly explains the reasons for the retraction, such changes are intimated to respective indexing agencies and DOI records are updated.

Process for issuing a retraction statement: Where the decision is taken to retract and the article to be retracted is the Version of Record (i.e. it has been published as Online First or within an issue of a journal), National Academy of Medical Sciences recommends issuing a retraction statement which should be published separately and should be linked to the article being retracted. A "retracted" watermark should also be added to the article; however, the article as first published should be retained online to maintain the scientific record. Issuing a retraction statement will mean the following:

  1. The retraction will appear on a numbered page in a prominent section of the journal.
  2. The retraction will be listed in the contents page and the title of the original article will be included in its heading.
  3. The text of the retraction should explain why the article is being retracted; and
  4. The statement of retraction and the original article must be clearly linked in the electronic database so that the retraction will always be apparent to anyone who comes across the original article.

Withdrawals: A withdrawal is a notice that a published work is being removed from circulation because of ethical concerns or legal issues. Withdrawals may be necessary when a work contains fraudulent or unethical research or when legal issues arise. We will investigate any concerns raised about published content and, if necessary, issue a withdrawal that clearly explains the reasons for the withdrawal.

Any manuscript before or post acceptance can be withdrawn with a clear reason and the editorial team of the respective journals take appropriate action. National Academy of Medical Sciences. as a publisher do not interfere in any decision making during these process. The DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is assigned only at the time of online publication.

Expressions of Concern: An expression of concern is a notice that a published work is being reviewed for potential problems, but no decision has been made about whether to retract or correct the work. Expressions of concern may be necessary when there are concerns about the validity or reliability of a published work. The publisher and the editorial team will investigate any concerns raised about published content and, if necessary, issue an expression of concern that clearly explains the reasons for the concern and the steps being taken to address the issue.

These policies are intended to provide a framework for addressing issues that may arise with published content. We will follow these policies with care and transparency, and communicate clearly with all stakeholders throughout the process.

Complaint’s procedure: To challenge to a retraction or a related issue, JEFI procedure is as follows:

  1. The complaint may be submitted via the journal editor [email protected]
  2. The investigation involves reviewing all correspondence relating to the case in question and, if necessary, obtaining further written responses to queries from the parties involved.
  3. The purpose of the investigation is to establish that correct procedures have been followed, that decisions have been reached based on academic criteria, that personal prejudice or bias of some kind has not influenced the outcome, and that appropriate sanctions have been applied where relevant.
  4. Complainants may choose to take their complaint to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

 

Ethics and Misconduct

JEFI has a zero-tolerance policy for publications linked to publication misconduct in order to protect the standards of academic integrity and respect for other people's intellectual property rights. Plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, inappropriate authorship, duplicate submission/multiple submissions, overlapping publishing, and salami publication are all examples of publication misconduct. According to PILA and COPE Committee criteria for publishing misconduct, we have created JEFI definitions and policies, which are as follows:

  1. Plagiarism: The unjustified use of another person's words, ideas, data, statistics, research techniques, or other work without giving due credit, as well as the excessive citation of another person's published work.
  2. Fabrication: Without conducting the pertinent study, fabrication is the technique of inventing data or outcomes.
  3. Falsification: Falsification is the deliberate alteration of facts or results to lead to false conclusions.
  4. Inappropriate authorship: The author's contributions are not taken into account for determining authorship.
  5. Duplicate submission/multiple submissions: Refer to the act of submitting the same manuscript or multiple manuscripts with minor differences (e.g., differences only in title, keywords, abstract, author order, author affiliations, or a small amount of text) to two or more journals at the same time, or submitting to another journal within an agreed-upon or stipulated period.
  6. Overlapping publication: Publishing a paper that considerably overlaps with one that has already been published is referred to as an overlapping publication.
  7. Salami publication: Salami publication is the process of dividing data from a large study into smaller portions that could have been reported in a single paper and publishing them in two or more articles that all address the same population, techniques, and question.
  8. Cross-referencing references with the text

What If There Was Misconduct?

  • Immediate Rejection the manuscript or revoke the published article.
  • Not accept submissions submitted within two years by the same research team.
  • Informing the institution of the corresponding author.

JEFI has also joined Crossref - iThenticate Similarity Check in the battle against plagiarism and to guarantee high ethical standards for all of the published papers. iThenticate Turnitin is a powerful tool for identifying plagiarised material, allowing our editors to protect the integrity of the journal and the authors' copyright.

We shall carry out detection on approved articles. A fair citation was generally considered to be one that did not exceed 200 words of overlap between the paper and the literature. When substantial amounts of text overlap are discovered (e.g., >5% overlap or >10% similarity), we immediately check to see if the article is linked to publishing misconduct. We may immediately enforce the aforementioned sanctions if publication misbehaviour with the material is discovered.

 

Conflicts of Interest

All authors of must disclose any and all conflicts of interest they may have with publication of the manuscript or an institution or product that is mentioned in the manuscript and/or is important to the outcome of the study presented. Authors should also disclose conflict of interest with products that compete with those mentioned in their manuscript.

To ensure unbiased evaluations, we require all reviewers to disclose any potential conflicts of interest that could influence their judgment during the review process.

 

Artificial Intelligence (Generative AI) Policy

The JEFI has adopted the following policies, as specified by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in preparation of material to be submitted for publication in the Journal.

·       Authors must disclose at submission of the manuscript whether AI-assisted technologies (such as large language models, chatbots, or image creators) were used to produce the submitted work. If so, both the cover letter and the submitted work should include a description of the technologies used and what was produced.

·       Because the authors of a manuscript are responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the work, chatbots or other AI-assisted technologies cannot be listed as authors.

·       Authors should carefully review and edit all materials produced through the use of AI, to prevent the submission of authoritative-sounding output that is incorrect, incomplete, or biased.

·       Authors should be able to assert that there is no plagiarism of text or images in materials produced by AI. Authors must ensure that all quoted material is properly attributed, including full citations.

·       Citation of AI-generated material as a primary source is not acceptable.

For further guidance, please refer to the Ethical Best Practices in Scholarly Publishing for policy on generative AI use for authors and journals.