Publication Ethics Guidelines for Authors
Current Clinical Cases is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics. Adherence to these guidelines by authors is essential for maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record and public trust in research. Submission of a manuscript implies that the work described complies with these ethical policies.
1. Authorship and Contributorship
- Criteria: All listed authors must have made a significant intellectual contribution to the research (based on established criteria, e.g., ICMJE guidelines) and agree to be accountable for the work.
- Approval: All authors must approve the final version of the manuscript and its submission to the journal.
- Acknowledgments: Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged with their permission.
2. Originality, Plagiarism, and Duplicate Publication
- Originality: Submitted manuscripts must represent original work and not be published or under consideration elsewhere.
- Plagiarism: Presenting others' work, ideas, data, or words without proper attribution is unethical and unacceptable. All sources must be appropriately cited. (Note: Manuscripts may be screened using plagiarism detection software.)
- Duplicate Publication: Submitting or publishing substantially overlapping work in multiple journals is prohibited.
3. Data Integrity and Transparency
- Accuracy: Data must be presented accurately. Fabrication, falsification, or manipulation of data is strictly forbidden.
- Images: Manipulation of images that misrepresents results is unacceptable.
4. Conflicts of Interest (COI)
- Disclosure: Authors must disclose all financial and non-financial relationships or interests (personal, professional, or institutional) that could potentially be perceived as biasing their work.
- Transparency: Full disclosure allows editors, reviewers, and readers to assess potential biases transparently. If no conflicts exist, this should be stated.
5. Ethical Conduct in Research Involving Humans or Animals
- Human Subjects: Research must comply with ethical principles (e.g., Declaration of Helsinki), obtain informed consent from participants, protect confidentiality, and receive approval from an appropriate ethics committee/Institutional Review Board (IRB). A statement confirming ethical approval must be included in the manuscript.
- Animal Subjects: Research must follow relevant ethical guidelines (e.g., ARRIVE), minimize harm, ensure humane treatment, and receive approval from an institutional animal care and use committee. A statement confirming ethical approval must be included in the manuscript.
6. Acknowledgments and Funding Disclosure
- Funding: All sources of funding for the research must be explicitly acknowledged.
- Role of Funder: The role of the funding body (if any) in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and manuscript writing should be disclosed.
7. Interaction with Peer Review
- Authors are expected to engage constructively with the peer review process, addressing reviewer comments professionally and thoroughly.
Consequences of Ethical Breaches: Failure to adhere to these ethical standards may result in rejection of the manuscript, retraction of a published article, notification of the authors' institutions, and other appropriate measures.
