Research Ethics 

Policy Statement

This policy outlines the ethical requirements for research involving human participants and animals, including ethical approval, informed consent, privacy protection, and humane treatment. It ensures that all research trials comply with applicable ethical standards, legal requirements, and recognized principles of research integrity.

Research Involving Human Participants

Research involving human participants, personal information, or identifiable data must comply with applicable ethical and legal standards. Authors must obtain approval from the appropriate ethics committee where required. The name of the approving committee and approval reference number should be included in the manuscript. Informed consent must be obtained from participants or their legally authorized representatives, where applicable. Authors must clearly explain any exemption from ethical approval. Participants’ privacy, confidentiality, dignity, and rights must be protected throughout the research process. Personal and identifiable information must be handled responsibly and securely. Identifiable details must not be published without appropriate consent and lawful justification. Authors must ensure that participation is voluntary and that participants are adequately informed about the research. The journal may request supporting documentation to verify compliance with ethical requirements.

Research Involving Animals

Research involving animals must comply with applicable legislation, institutional requirements, and recognized standards for animal welfare.

Authors must report approval from the relevant animal ethics committee or equivalent authority, including the committee's name and approval reference, where applicable. Studies must demonstrate appropriate consideration of animal welfare, humane treatment, and measures to minimize pain, distress, and unnecessary harm.

The journal may request supporting documentation when necessary to verify compliance with applicable animal research ethics requirements.

Informed Consent and Privacy

Authors are responsible for obtaining informed consent wherever required by the nature of the research and applicable ethical standards. Participants must receive adequate information about the purpose of the research, their involvement, potential risks, and their rights before providing consent.

Written consent for publication must be obtained when manuscripts contain identifiable personal details, images, case information, or other material that could reveal an individual's identity. Authors must ensure that confidential information is appropriately protected and that consent documentation is available to the journal upon request, subject to applicable privacy requirements.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose financial, professional, institutional, personal, or other relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing their work or editorial judgment.

Authors should include a conflict-of-interest statement in their manuscripts. Where no competing interests exist, authors should explicitly declare this. Funding sources and the role of funders in the research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or publication decision must also be disclosed, as applicable.

Disclosed conflicts will be assessed by the editorial team, which may take appropriate steps to preserve the fairness and transparency of the publication process.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Authors who use artificial intelligence (AI) tools or AI-assisted technologies in preparing a manuscript must use them responsibly and transparently. AI tools cannot be listed as authors because they cannot take responsibility for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and ethical conduct of the work.

• Authors remain fully responsible for all content, references, data, analyses, and conclusions in their submissions.
• The use of AI for substantive content generation, data analysis, image generation, or other material research activities should be disclosed where relevant, in accordance with the journal's requirements.
• AI-generated references, claims, and research outputs must be independently verified for accuracy and reliability.
• AI tools must not be used to fabricate data, create misleading evidence, plagiarize content, or misrepresent authorship or research contributions.
• Editors and reviewers must protect manuscript confidentiality and must not upload unpublished manuscripts or confidential review materials to AI systems that are not authorized for such use.

The journal may request clarification about AI use where necessary to assess the integrity and transparency of a submission.

Handling Ethical Complaints

The journal welcomes well-founded concerns relating to research integrity, publication ethics, authorship, peer review, conflicts of interest, or editorial conduct. Complaints should be supported by relevant information or evidence wherever possible.

Complaints will be reviewed fairly and confidentially, with an opportunity for relevant parties to respond where appropriate. The journal will take reasonable steps to avoid prejudging allegations and to protect individuals who raise concerns in good faith.

Where necessary, the journal may consult institutional ethics committees, research institutions, publishers, or other relevant authorities to establish the facts and determine an appropriate course of action.

Editorial Actions and Sanctions

If a potential breach of this policy is identified, the journal will assess the circumstances, the available evidence, and the seriousness of the concern before deciding on appropriate action.

Depending on the nature and severity of the issue, possible actions may include requesting clarification or supporting documents, requiring manuscript revisions, rejecting a submission, suspending editorial consideration, issuing a correction or retraction, or notifying the relevant institution or authority where justified.

All actions will be proportionate to the circumstances and guided by the principles of fairness, confidentiality, transparency, and protection of the scholarly record.