Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement
Peer Review
The peer review process is contingent upon certain conditions. Firstly, the submitted paper must not have been previously published or simultaneously offered elsewhere. The author should have read and approved the content, and all authors must declare any competing interests. Furthermore, the work should have received ethical approval and be conducted in accordance with internationally accepted ethical standards. If there is suspicion of ethical misconduct, the editorial board will adhere to the relevant international publishing ethics standards (https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Guidelines).
The journal's editorial policy follows the guidelines recommended by the Scientific Editors' Committee, as reflected in the Uniform Standard Requirements for Manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publications (http://www.icmje.org/).
Authors, reviewers, and publishers are expected to adhere to the best practices guidelines for ethical behavior outlined in the statement. The submitted manuscript undergoes a double-blind peer review process. The scientific committee responsible for deciding on the publication of articles consists of experts elected by the journal, along with selected national and international experts in the relevant research fields. All manuscripts are reviewed by editors, managing editors, and at least two internal and external experts. Additionally, all research articles undergo interpretation by statistical editors.
Human and Animal Rights
For experimental, clinical, and pharmaceutical human studies, approval from the Ethics Committee and a declaration regarding compliance with international agreements, as amended by the World Medical Association of Helsinki in October 2013 (http://www.wma.net/)
, are required. In experimental animal studies, authors must indicate adherence to animal rights and guidelines for animal care and use (https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/5140/guide-for-the-care-and-use-of-laboratory-animals), and obtain approval from the Animal Ethics Committee. The manuscript submission to the Kirkuk Journal of Medical Sciences should include the Ethics Committee's approval document. In cases where data or media used reveal a patient's identity, approval from the Ethics Committee, compliance with international guidelines, and informed consent from the patient are necessary for case reports. Authors must declare conflicts of interest between authors and institutions, recognize financial or material support, and provide assistance to authors submitting manuscripts. These declarations should be included at the end of the manuscript. Reviewers should report any potential conflicts of interest between themselves, the author, and the institution. For subjects under the age of 18, a consent form containing the signatures of both parents, or the legal guardian or supervisor of the person is required.
Plagiarism and Ethical Misconduct
To ensure originality, this journal employs iThenticate to check all submissions for plagiarism before publication. Authors are strongly advised to avoid all forms of plagiarism and ethical offenses, including the following:
- Plagiarism: Republishing the entire or part of another author's content without giving credit.
- Fabrication: Publishing nonexistent data and findings/results.
- Duplication: Using data from another publication, including republishing an article in different languages.
- Salamization: Creating multiple publications by artificially dividing the results of a study.
- Data manipulation/falsification: Manipulating or deliberately distorting research data to provide false impressions.
Unethical practices such as plagiarism, fabrication, reproduction, data manipulation/falsification, salamization, and attempts to influence the review process through practices like donation of authorship or inappropriate recognition and referencing are not tolerated, in accordance with COPE Flowcharts (https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Flowcharts).
Manuscripts submitted are also subjected to plagiarism and automatic software tests. Authors must disclose whether the results of the study have been previously published in whole or in part as abstracts.
- Duties of the Publisher:
Handling Unethical Publishing Behavior
The publisher will take appropriate measures in cooperation with the editors to address cases of alleged or proven scientific misconduct, fraudulent publication, or plagiarism. This may involve publishing an erratum, disclosure, or retraction of the affected work. The publisher, along with the editors, will make reasonable efforts to detect and prevent research misconduct and will not promote or knowingly allow such abuse.
Editorial Autonomy
The Kirkuk Journal of Medical Sciences ensures editorial decisions are made autonomously, free from external influence or commercial partners.
Intellectual Property and Copyright
The journal is licensed under CC BY 4.0 (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International), ensuring the integrity and transparency of each published article.
Scientific Misconduct
The publishers of the Kirkuk Journal of Medical Sciences take appropriate measures against fraudulent publications and plagiarism.
- Duties of the Editors:
Publication Decision and Responsibility
Editors oversee the journal and aim to meet the needs of readers and authors. They are responsible for deciding which articles should be published, adhering to policies on defamation, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. Editors may consult with reviewers in making publication decisions. They bear the responsibility for the content and overall quality of the publication and should ensure a fair peer review process.
Objectivity
Articles submitted to the journal are evaluated without bias.
Confidentiality
Editors must keep information about published articles confidential, sharing it only with other editors, reviewers, and publishers.
Conflicts of Interest and Disclosure
Editors must prevent conflicts of interest between authors, reviewers, and themselves. Unpublished materials from submissions should not be used without the author's written consent.
Fundamental Errors in Published Works
Authors should promptly notify the editor or publisher if significant errors or inaccuracies are discovered in their published work. If errors or inaccuracies are reported by a third party, authors must quickly correct or retract the article or provide evidence of its correctness to the publisher.
- Duties of Reviewers:
Evaluation
Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts impartially, irrespective of the authors' background, gender, sexual orientation, or political philosophy. They should ensure a fair blind peer review process.
Confidentiality
All information about submitted articles should remain confidential, not to be discussed with others unless authorized by the author.
Disclosure and Conflict of Interest
Reviewers should declare any conflicts of interest with authors, funders, editors, etc.
Contribution to the Editor
Reviewers assist editors in making decisions and help authors improve their manuscripts.
Objectivity
Reviewers should provide objective judgments, expressing their views clearly with appropriate supporting arguments.
Acknowledgment of Sources
Reviewers must identify relevant published studies that have not been cited by the authors. They should also notify the editor of any significant similarities or overlaps between the manuscript and other published documents they are aware of.
- Duties of Authors:
Reporting Standards
Submitted manuscripts must be original and not have been published previously. The research data should be clearly presented in the article, including sufficient details and references for reproducibility.
Originality
Authors must ensure their research is entirely original and correctly cite words and phrases from the literature.
Multiple Publications
Authors should not submit the same study to multiple journals simultaneously, as it is considered unethical behavior.
Acknowledgment of Sources
Proper credit must be given to others' studies, and authors should cite publications that influenced their research. All sources used in the research process must be documented.
Authorship of a Paper
Authorship should be limited to those who have made significant contributions to the study. If others have participated in the research, they should be listed as contributors. The corresponding author, who communicates with the managing editor, should ensure all appropriate co-authors are included.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
Authors should disclose all sources of financial support and any significant conflicts of interest during the research process. Financial support or funding from individuals or institutions should be reported to the editor-in-chief. The journal may require completion of the ICMJE Potential Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form (https://www.icmje.org/disclosure-of-interest/) to disclose potential conflicts. The editors' committee assesses conflicts of interest between authors, reviewers, and editors following COPE (https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Guidelines) and ICMJE (https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/) guidelines.
Authors should avoid agreements that limit their access to research data or restrict their ability to analyze, interpret, prepare, and publish the data. The final decision-makers on articles should not have personal, professional, or financial links to the issues they are deciding on. Authors must inform the Editorial Board of potential conflicts of interest to ensure an independent evaluation process.
If one of the publishers is an author of a manuscript, they are excluded from the evaluation process. The article evaluation process is conducted through double-blind review, where reviewers are unaware of the authors' identities. The editorial team ensures an impartial evaluation process, taking these factors into account.
For more detailed information on conflicts of interest, please refer to the provided link. Each author must upload a conflicts of interest form during manuscript submission.