Policies & Guidelines

Policies & Guidelines

1. Scope

  • The journal publishes original research, reviews, clinical trial reports, AI applications, machine learning studies, digital health innovations, healthcare analytics, regulatory science, and research systems related to clinical research and healthcare.

2. Authorship and Contributions Policy

  • Authorship must be based on substantial contributions to the conception, design, analysis, interpretation, drafting, or revision of the manuscript. All authors must approve the final version before submission.

3. Affiliation Policy

  • Authors must provide accurate institutional affiliations and contact information at the time of submission. False or misleading affiliations may result in rejection or retraction.

4. Citation Policy

  • Authors must provide accurate, complete, and relevant citations. Citation manipulation, excessive self-citation, or misleading references are not permitted.

5. Conflict of Interest Policy

  • Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial, institutional, or personal relationships that could influence the publication process. All conflicts will be managed transparently.

6. Appeals and Complaints

  • Authors may appeal editorial decisions by submitting a written request to the Editor-in-Chief.
  • Complaints regarding editorial processes or publication ethics will be investigated fairly and confidentially.

7. Corrections, Retractions and Withdrawals

  • The journal follows COPE guidelines for corrections, expressions of concern, retractions, and article withdrawals.
  • Any changes to the scholarly record will be made transparently and permanently.

8. Research Misconduct Policy

  • The journal has zero tolerance for plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, duplicate publication, citation manipulation, image manipulation, or unethical research practices.
  • Proven misconduct may result in rejection, retraction, and notification of relevant institutions.

9. Editorial Responsibilities

  • Editors shall make decisions based solely on scientific merit, originality, ethical compliance, and relevance to the journal's scope while maintaining confidentiality and editorial independence.

10. Data Availability and Reproducibility

  • Authors are encouraged to share datasets, protocols, code, and supplementary materials whenever possible.
  • A Data Availability Statement must be included in all research articles.

11. AI Usage and Transparency Policy

  • Authors must disclose the use of artificial intelligence tools in research, writing, data analysis, image generation, or decision support.
  • Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of submitted work.

12. Plagiarism Policy

  • All submissions are screened using plagiarism-detection software.
  • Manuscripts containing significant plagiarism or duplicate content will be rejected.

13. Peer Review Policy

  • The journal follows a Double-Blind Peer Review process.
  • Each manuscript is reviewed by at least two independent experts before an editorial decision is made.

14. Research Ethics Policy

  • Studies involving humans, patient data, or clinical trials must have appropriate ethics approval and informed consent where applicable.
  • Authors must comply with international ethical standards and relevant regulations.

15. Open Access Policy

  • The journal provides immediate open access to all published content without subscription barriers, supporting the global exchange of scientific knowledge.

16. Copyright and Licensing

  • Authors retain copyright of their work.
  • Published articles are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), permitting unrestricted use with proper attribution.

17. Digital Archiving Policy

  • The journal ensures long-term preservation of published content through recognized digital archiving and repository services.

18. Article Processing Charges (APC)

  • Any publication fees, waivers, or exemptions will be clearly displayed on the journal website before manuscript submission.

19. Clinical Trial Registration Policy

  • Clinical trials must be registered in a publicly accessible registry before participant enrollment.
  • Registration numbers must be included in the manuscript.

20. Systematic Review Registration

  • Authors are encouraged to register systematic reviews and meta-analyses in recognized registries such as PROSPERO and follow PRISMA reporting guidelines.

21. Advertisement Policy

  • Advertising, sponsorship, or commercial interests shall not influence editorial decisions.
  • Editorial independence is maintained at all times.

22. Accessibility Statement

  • The journal is committed to providing accessible, inclusive, and user-friendly content for readers, authors, reviewers, and researchers worldwide.