Editorial & Publishing Ethics

Editorial & Publishing Ethics

Ethical Standards

Various authorities have their own definitions of scientific misconduct. At the Journal for International Medical Graduates (JIMG) , we address these issues on a case-by-case basis while adhering to guidelines produced by regulatory bodies which include the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

Allegations of Misconduct

The JIMGfollows the COPE guidelines for allegations of misconduct. In brief, we follow the 6 steps described by Dr. Wager former Chair of COPE (J Microbiol Biol Educ. 2014 Dec;15(2):146-50) of (1) Assess, (2) Give people an opportunity to explain, (3) Seek an investigation, (4) Protect readers from potentially misleading work, (5) Have clear journal policies and processes, and (6) Educate authors and reviewers.

Scientific misconduct includes these behaviors:

Falsification of data

From fabrication and/or deliberate suppression and/or distortion of data to deceptive selective reporting of findings and omission of conflicting data.

Plagiarism

The use of others' language, ideas, or thoughts without crediting the original source and presenting them as one's own original work. Plagiarism is evaluated in every submission using an iThenticate. Authors are informed of the findings and if there is clear plagiarism the article is rejected.

Improprieties of authorship

Improper credit assignment, such as excluding others, misrepresenting the same material as original in multiple publications, including individuals as authors who have not made a significant contribution to the work published, or submitting multi-authored publications without consent of all authors.

Misappropriation of the ideas of others

The exchange of ideas among colleagues is an essential aspect of scholarly activity. During the process of reviewing grant applications and manuscripts, scholars can pick up new ideas from others. However, if this information is misused, it can result in fraud. Wholesale appropriation of such material constitutes misconduct.

Violation of generally accepted research practices

Serious deviations from accepted practices in proposing or conducting research, improper manipulation of experiments to obtain biased results, deceptive statistical or analytical manipulations, or improper reporting of results are all examples of serious deviations from accepted practices.

Material failure to comply with legislative and regulatory requirements affecting research:

For example, serious or substantial, repeated, willful violations of applicable local regulations and law involving the use of funds, animal care, human subjects, investigational drugs, recombinant products, new devices, or radioactive, biological, or chemical materials.

Inappropriate behavior in relation to misconduct

Unfounded or knowingly false accusations of misconduct, failure to report known or suspected misconduct, withholding or destruction of information relevant to a claim of misconduct, and retaliation against people involved in the allegation or investigation are all examples of this.

 

Many journals, including The JIMG, also consider redundant and duplicate publication, lack of declaration of competing interests and of funding/sponsorship, and other failures of transparency, to be forms of misconduct.

If we suspect misconduct

We take seriously all possible misconduct.

If an editor has concerns that a submitted article describes something that might be considered to constitute misconduct in research, publication, or professional behavior, we may discuss the case in confidence with The JIMG's ethics committee.

If the case cannot be resolved by discussion with the author(s), and the editor still has concerns, they may report the case to the appropriate authorities. If during the course of reviewing an article, an editor is alerted to possible problems (for example, plagiarism) in another publication, The JIMG editor may contact the journal in which the previous publication appeared to raise the concern.

The JIMG is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Cases of research or publication misconduct may also be referred to COPE in an anonymized format.

Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions

The JIMG publishes three types of post-publication notice:

  • Corrections
  • Expressions of Concern (EOCs)
  • Retraction notices

As discussed below, we use these notices to address:

  • Errors that impact an article’s interpretation or indexing
  • Concerns about compliance with journal standards and policies
  • Concerns that have implications for the integrity, reliability, and/or validity of published JIMG articles

In addressing issues raised about JIMG publications, we uphold our journals’ policies, publication criteria, and editorial standards, and we follow ICMJE and COPE guidelines, where applicable. The JIMG Publication Ethics team works in collaboration with journal editors on post-publication cases that involve serious ethics or integrity concerns, including those for which the issues may warrant an Expression of Concern or retraction.

Notifying JIMG of concerns about submitted or published work

  • If you wish to notify JIMG of an error in your publication that may warrant a correction, please email the Journal directly with the relevant details (article citation & DOI, complete description of the error).
  • If you wish to notify JIMG of concerns pertaining to the integrity, validity, or reliability of an JIMG article, please email the Journal Publication Ethics Committee directly to analyze the situation if required. Include in your email the full citation and DOI of the article in question and details as to your specific concerns.

Corrections

We publish corrections to address errors in articles published in JIMG if, per our editorial assessment, all of the following criteria have been met:

  • The errors have an impact on the article's main points or understanding.
  • The overall findings and conclusions of the article are upheld.
  • There are no concerns about the reported work's integrity or reliability.

An error that affects key aspects of the publication's metadata (e.g., misspelling of an author's name, or errors in the competing interests, funding, or data availability statement) may also result in an JIMG correction.

In most cases, a correction notice will appear as a post-publication notice linked to the original JIMG article. In rare cases, the JIMG may choose to republish a corrected version of an article instead of the original online version. When we republish an article, we usually include a correction notice that is linked to the article and documents the changes.

Corrections for typographical errors or other minor issues that have no bearing on the scientific integrity, comprehension, or indexing of the article are not published in the JIMG. Authors are encouraged to post comments on their article's webpage to keep readers informed about these issues. Please contact the journal office if you have any questions about whether a correction or comment should be used to address an error in an JIMG article.

Expressions of Concern

Expressions of Concern (EOCs) are notices published at the discretion of the editors to alert readers to serious concerns about previously published work. We will usually finish the case's follow-up before publishing a notice, but in some cases, we may publish an EOC as an interim notice while JIMG or another entity investigates an issue. If we reach the end of our follow-up process and issues remain unresolved, an EOC may be used as a resolution to a post-publication case.

JIMG staff and/or the journal's Editor(s)-in-Chief or Executive Committee write EOCs. An EOC, like a correction, is posted at the top of the article's JIMG webpage and linked to the article's publication record. The status of the linked research article does not change as a result of an EOC. Following the publication of an EOC, the same article or the EOC itself may be corrected or retracted, depending on the editors' evaluation of information, data, and/or materials received in subsequent discussions.

Before publishing an EOC, JIMG makes an attempt to notify the authors of the affected article, but we do not require their approval or agreement. With an EOC, the editor may seek to publish data or other materials received from the authors as supporting files; in such cases, the authors are consulted and have the option of not having their files/materials published.

Retractions

Retraction is a mechanism for correcting the literature and notifying readers of major concerns about the integrity, validity, or reliability of an article, as discussed in COPE’s Retraction Guidelines. If the editors determine that issues that have not been resolved in our discussions with the authors warrant retraction, the article will be retracted in accordance with COPE guidelines. JIMG may also retract an article if we discover after it has been published that it violates key aspects of the journal's requirements or editorial policies; or if there are image or data concerns for which the original raw data is not provided, not available, or insufficient (in our editorial opinion) to address the issues.

We reserve the right to retract an article even if the problems were caused by honest mistakes or misconduct. JIMG does not adjudicate on intent or individual-level responsibility for issues raised, and we do not issue partial retractions, as per COPE guidelines.

JIMG publishes a notice of retraction when an article is retracted, explaining the reason(s) for the retraction. The notice appears at the top of the JIMG webpage for the affected article and is linked to the article's publication record. The authors or the editors of a journal can retract a manuscript. In both cases, the JIMG editors have the final say over the contents of the retraction notice, but in author-led retractions, the editors work with the authors to prepare the notice.

Before completing a retraction, we try to notify all authors of the retraction decision and the notice text. Other affected third parties, such as the authors' institution(s) or another journal/publisher with an article or submission in the case, may also be notified of a retraction by JIMG.

An article that has been retracted is no longer considered part of the published record. Retracted JIMG articles, on the other hand, remain online and available, with the retraction status clearly indicated, as per COPE guidance. We update the downloadable PDF, HTML, and XML available at the article's JIMG webpage at the time of retraction so that the retracted status is clearly noted on subsequent downloads.

Authors Complaints

Every author of a contribution must be credited as such. Also, a person should not be named an author when is not an author. The JIMG preference is for authors to resolve complaints and disputes amongst themselves, although that is not always possible.

Author's Conflict of Interest

A competing interest, also known as a ‘conflict of interest’, can occur when you (or your employer or sponsor) have a financial, commercial, legal, or professional relationship with other organizations, or with the people working with them, that could influence your research. JIMG asks its authors to disclose any potential conflict of interest. Please review our policies about conflict of interest.

Editorial Conflict of Interest

The JIMG asks its reviewers and editors to disclose any potential conflict of interest when reviewing submitted manuscripts. In case of any conflict, including personal, financial, and non-financial, editors and reviewers are required to disclose those to prevent bias in the editorial process.

In case of submissions from a member of the editorial team, from the same institution of the editor or reviewer, personal relationships with authors, or a previous review in another journal, the manuscript is assigned to a different editor or reviewer.