Publication Ethics

The International Journal of Medical Research, Health and Clinical Studies (IJMRHCS), published by Dupar Publications, is committed to maintaining high standards of publication ethics, academic integrity, transparency, confidentiality, and responsible scholarly communication.

Editors, reviewers, authors, and the publisher share responsibility for maintaining the quality, reliability, and integrity of the publication process. The journal expects all participants in the publication process to follow appropriate ethical standards in medical, clinical, and healthcare research.

1. Editorial Responsibilities

Editorial decisions are based on the academic merit, originality, relevance, scientific quality, ethical compliance, and suitability of manuscripts for the journal.

Editors must evaluate manuscripts fairly and objectively.
Editorial decisions must be based on scholarly quality and the journal's scope.
Manuscripts must be handled without discrimination.
Editors must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts.
Manuscripts may be sent to qualified independent reviewers for evaluation.
Editors must disclose any conflicts of interest that may affect their decisions.
Editors should ensure that ethical requirements relevant to medical and clinical research have been appropriately addressed.

Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions should be made independently, based on scholarly quality, originality, scientific validity, relevance, and contribution to Medical Sciences, Health Sciences, and Clinical Research.

2. Reviewer Responsibilities

Reviewers help editors assess the quality, originality, scientific validity, clarity, and academic contribution of submitted research.

Reviewers should provide fair, objective, constructive, and timely feedback.
Reviews should focus on academic quality, research methodology, evidence, and scientific findings.
Reviewers should assess whether the research methods and conclusions are adequately supported.
Reviewers should identify unsupported claims and relevant missing references.
Reviewers should report suspected plagiarism or substantial similarities to the editor.
Reviewers must keep manuscript content confidential.
Unpublished information must not be used for personal or professional benefit.
Reviewers should decline assignments outside their expertise or when they cannot complete the review on time.
Potential conflicts of interest must be disclosed.
Reviewers should consider relevant ethical approval, informed consent, patient confidentiality, and clinical trial registration requirements wherever applicable.
Reviewers should communicate through the editorial office unless otherwise authorised.

Reviewer Conduct

Reviewers are expected to act professionally, impartially, and respectfully. Breaches of confidentiality, serious bias, or other misconduct may result in removal from the journal's reviewer pool.

3. Author Responsibilities

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their submissions meet the journal's academic, scientific, and ethical requirements.

Submitted work must be original.
Manuscripts must not have been published previously in substantially the same form or be under consideration by another journal.
All sources, data, quotations, and ideas from other works must be properly acknowledged.
Authors must follow the journal's manuscript preparation and submission guidelines.
Relevant funding and conflicts of interest must be disclosed.
Authorship should reflect substantial contributions to the research and manuscript.
All listed authors must approve the final manuscript and its submission.
Authors should respond to editorial and reviewer comments and make required revisions.
Authors must ensure that research findings are reported accurately and honestly.
Authors must inform the editorial office if they discover a significant error in their published work.

Correction of Published Work

Authors should promptly notify the editorial office when they identify a significant error or omission in a published article. The journal will assess the matter and may publish a correction, expression of concern, or consider retraction when appropriate.

4. Originality and Publication Integrity

IJMRHCS does not accept plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabrication, falsification, image manipulation, or other forms of research and publication misconduct.

Authors must ensure that their work is original and accurately reported.
All borrowed ideas, data, images, and quotations must be properly cited.
Manuscripts may be checked for plagiarism and originality.
Research data and clinical findings must not be fabricated or falsified.
Images, figures, and clinical photographs must not be misleadingly manipulated.
Suspected misconduct may be investigated by the editorial team.
Appropriate action may be taken if ethical violations are established.

Possible actions include manuscript rejection, requests for clarification or correction, publication of an editorial notice, or retraction of a published article.

5. Conflict of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any interests or relationships that could influence the objectivity of research, peer review, or editorial decisions.

Conflicts may include:

Financial or commercial interests.
Personal or professional relationships.
Institutional affiliations.
Pharmaceutical or medical device industry relationships.
Sponsored research or financial support.
Competing research interests.
Other circumstances that could affect impartial judgment.

The editorial team will assess disclosed conflicts and take appropriate steps to protect the integrity of the publication process.

6. Confidentiality and Patient Privacy

Manuscripts and related communications are treated as confidential during the editorial and peer-review process.

Manuscript content must not be disclosed to unauthorised persons.
Unpublished research findings must not be shared or used without appropriate permission.
Reviewer comments and editorial communications must be handled confidentially.
Author information and research materials must be protected.
Patient records, medical histories, photographs, and personal health information must be treated as confidential.
Identifiable patient information must not be published without appropriate informed consent.
Authors must remove identifying details from clinical images and case reports wherever possible.

Information may be disclosed when necessary for authorised editorial work, an ethical investigation, or a legal obligation.

7. Publisher Responsibilities

Dupar Publications supports IJMRHCS in maintaining ethical, transparent, and responsible publishing practices.

The publisher will work with the editorial team, where appropriate, to:

Address suspected publication misconduct.
Support the investigation of ethical concerns.
Facilitate corrections, errata, and retractions when required.
Maintain transparent publication policies.
Protect the integrity of the scholarly record.
Support responsible and ethical scholarly communication.

8. Handling Publication Misconduct

Concerns involving plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated or falsified data, image manipulation, authorship disputes, unethical research practices, or other ethical violations may be investigated by the editorial team.

The journal may request explanations, ethical approval documents, consent statements, or supporting research information from the authors.

Decisions will be based on the available evidence and the applicable journal policies.

Where misconduct is established, the journal may reject the manuscript, request corrections, issue an editorial notice, or retract a published article as appropriate.

9. Corrections and Retractions

IJMRHCS aims to maintain the accuracy and reliability of its published research.

When significant errors or ethical concerns are identified after publication, the journal may publish:

Correction: To correct an important error in a published article.
Erratum: To address an error introduced during the publication process.
Expression of Concern: To notify readers of a significant unresolved concern regarding a published article.
Retraction: To withdraw a published article when serious errors or ethical violations undermine its reliability.

Authors are encouraged to report significant errors in their published articles promptly.

Retractions and other corrective actions will be handled in accordance with the journal's policies and recognised publication ethics guidance.

10. Research Ethics and Informed Consent

IJMRHCS expects authors to conduct and report medical and healthcare research responsibly.

Research Involving Human Participants

Research involving human participants must comply with applicable ethical guidelines and regulations.
Appropriate approval from an Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) or Institutional Review Board (IRB) must be obtained wherever required.
Authors should provide the name of the approving ethics committee and approval reference or number, where applicable.
Informed consent must be obtained from participants wherever required.
Additional safeguards must be followed for research involving children, vulnerable populations, or individuals unable to provide informed consent.

Patient Privacy and Confidentiality

Patient identity and personal medical information must be protected.
Identifiable photographs, clinical images, and case details must not be published without appropriate informed consent.
Authors must ensure that confidential patient information is not unnecessarily disclosed.

Clinical Trials and Medical Interventions

Clinical trials should be registered in an appropriate publicly accessible clinical trial registry wherever applicable.
Authors should provide the trial registration number and registry name in the manuscript.
Clinical research should clearly describe the study design, methods, and relevant ethical safeguards.

Research Involving Animals

Research involving animals must follow applicable animal welfare laws, institutional requirements, and ethical guidelines. Appropriate ethical approval should be obtained wherever required.

11. Authorship and Acknowledgements

IJMRHCS expects authorship to reflect genuine academic and research contributions.

All listed authors should have made meaningful contributions to the research or manuscript.
All authors must approve the final version before submission.
Individuals who provided assistance but do not meet authorship criteria may be acknowledged appropriately.
Gift authorship, guest authorship, and ghost authorship are not acceptable.
Any changes to authorship after submission must be communicated to the editorial office with appropriate agreement from the affected authors.

12. Ethical Publishing Principles

IJMRHCS is committed to the following principles:

Academic Integrity
Originality and Responsible Research
Fair and Objective Peer Review
Editorial Independence
Patient Privacy and Confidentiality
Informed Consent
Research Ethics Approval
Conflict of Interest Disclosure
Proper Citation and Attribution
Responsible Authorship
Transparency in Research Reporting
Corrections and Retractions
Responsible Scholarly Communication

13. Commitment to Publication Ethics

The International Journal of Medical Research, Health and Clinical Studies (IJMRHCS) is committed to promoting responsible scholarly communication and maintaining academic and scientific integrity.

Authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher are expected to act honestly, fairly, professionally, and responsibly.

The journal seeks to address ethical concerns appropriately and protect the credibility, accuracy, and reliability of the scholarly record in medical and healthcare research.