Publication Ethics

Author Responsibilities

JAPR is committed to providing authors and readers with a professional and courteous experience throughout the review and publication process. As an author, there are certain responsibilities that you are expected to fulfill, which include:

  • Respond promptly to any queries or requests for information during the publication process.
  • Assume accountability for all aspects of your work, including investigating and resolving any questions or concerns related to accuracy or research integrity.
  • Maintain the confidentiality of all communications between you and the journal editor until an editorial decision has been made.
  • Review and adhere to our research ethics guidelines regarding authorship. These guidelines state that you must:
  • Incorporate anyone who has made a significant and meaningful contribution to the manuscript as an author (any other individuals involved in the research or writing process should be acknowledged in the acknowledgments section).
  • Exclude individuals who have not made a contribution to the manuscript, or who have opted not to be associated with the research.
  • In accordance with COPE’s position statement on AI tools, Large Language Models cannot be credited with authorship as they are incapable of conceptualising a research design without human direction and cannot be accountable for the integrity, originality, and validity of the published work.
  • If your manuscript involves human participants, you must ensure that you have considered whether ethical approval is necessary for your research, and provide this information as part of your submission.

Research and publishing ethics

Our editors and staff are committed to ensuring that the content we publish meets high ethical standards. To achieve this goal, we closely follow the guidelines and flowcharts provided on the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) website.

JAPR has also developed its own research and publishing ethics guidelines. They will help you avoid the most common publishing ethics issues. We urge you to read these guidelines:

1. Clinical trials

We can only consider submissions that involve clinical trials if the following conditions are met:

  • The trial must be registered in a publicly-accessible database. This should have been done before the trial started or participants were enrolled. Publicly-accessible databases may include sites such as those provided by the National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization.
  • When submitting your work to us, please provide the name of your trial register and your clinical trial registration number.
  • You must be able to demonstrate that you obtained clearance for the trial from your institutional ethics board.

2. Authorship

It can be tempting to include all individuals who have assisted you in your work when listing authors for your paper, but it's crucial to avoid forgetting anyone who may have been involved from the beginning. Authorship issues such as ghost authorship, where a contributor is excluded from the author list, and gift/guest authorship, where someone who hasn't contributed is included, can lead to disputes over author order and contribution levels. These issues have the potential to overshadow your work and even result in retractions, which is why it's important to agree on authorship prior to submission.

According to the authorship principles outlined by the International Council of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), for someone to be considered an author, they must have:

  • Made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
  • Drafted the work or revised it critically for important intellectual content; AND
  • Given final approval of the version to be published; AND
  • Agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

If someone only secured the research grant that financed the study, it does not qualify them for authorship. Contributors who do not meet all four criteria established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) should instead be acknowledged. Additionally, in compliance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) stance on AI tools, Large Language Models cannot be attributed authorship since they lack the ability to conceptualize a research design without human guidance and cannot be held responsible for the integrity, originality, and validity of the published work.

In order to ensure transparency and integrity in the use of AI tools for creating, developing, or generating content in JAPR publications, authors must clearly disclose such usage in the Methods and Acknowledgements (or another appropriate section) of their article, chapter, or case study. The disclosure should include a description of the content created or modified and a citation of the name and version of the AI tool used, as well as any additional works drawn on by the tool. Standard tools for improving spelling and grammar are exempt from this requirement. The Editor and Publisher have the discretion to determine whether the use of an AI tool is acceptable in a submitted work, and the submission and publication of images created by such tools is not permitted.

To avoid disputes over authorship, co-authors must be able to identify who wrote which section of the paper and have confidence in the integrity of each other's work. If any uncertainty arises, authors are advised to discuss the matter with their co-authors or with their institution's Research Integrity Officer before submission. In the event of authorship disputes, JAPR seeks to facilitate resolution, but cannot comment on the level of contribution by each author as it relates to the research stage. Authors are referred to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) website for guidance on the resolution of such disputes. If necessary, disputes may be referred to the authors' institutions, or an expression of concern may be issued. For more information about the authorship roles, please see CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy), which is a high-level taxonomy, including 14 roles.

3. Informed consent

If your article is related to medical research or involves human participants, it is crucial to ensure that ethical considerations are taken into account. This involves obtaining clearance from your institutional ethics board and following recognized standards such as the Declaration of Helsinki to minimize harm to the individuals taking part in the research.

Additionally, if your article includes an image of someone's face or anything else that might identify them, you must provide proof of informed consent via a completed consent to publish form. This is to ensure that the individuals depicted in the article have given their explicit permission for their image or information to be used in the publication.

By following these ethical guidelines, you can ensure that your article is not only accurate and informative but also respects the privacy and rights of the individuals involved in the research. It is essential to prioritize ethics and ensure that your research is conducted in a responsible and respectful manner.

4. Citation and Referencing

Citations and referencing are essential components of any research as they provide evidence for the claims made in the study and allow readers to access the sources used. However, researchers should be mindful of the following behaviors:

  1. Plagiarism: Researchers must avoid copying someone else's work without proper attribution. Plagiarism can be intentional or unintentional, but both can have serious consequences, including loss of reputation, legal action, and rejection of the research article.
  2. Self-plagiarism: Researchers should not submit the same article to multiple journals or present the same research at different conferences without proper citation and disclosure. This behavior is known as self-plagiarism and is not considered acceptable in the academic community.
  3. Over-reliance on sources: While citing sources is essential, researchers should also ensure that their study provides new insights or perspectives on the topic. Over-reliance on sources may indicate a lack of originality in the study.
  4. Improper citation format: Researchers must follow the citation guidelines provided by the journal or conference they are submitting to. Improper citation format can result in the rejection of the article or delays in the publication process.
  5. Self-Citation: It is not recommended for authors to excessively cite their own previously published works. Any included citations must be relevant and add value to the article, rather than being added solely to increase the author's citation score. When discussing methodologies or literature reviews, authors should limit their self-citations as much as possible.

By being mindful of these behaviors, researchers can ensure that their research is properly cited, original, and meets the ethical standards of the academic community.

5. Animals in research

We expect researchers who involve animals in their studies to adhere to the 3R principles: Replacement of animals in research with alternative methods whenever possible, Reduction of animal use by minimizing the number of animals involved, and Refinement of the animal welfare in research. A statement confirming institutional and national ethical approval is required, demonstrating that the study followed relevant guidelines and regulations. Compliance with the ARRIVE guidelines is necessary, along with adherence to location-specific laws.

6. Plagiarism

It is essential that the content you submit to a publisher is original and presented using your own words. Failure to do so could be considered plagiarism. To prevent plagiarism, JAPR needs authors to use Similarity Check software, a plagiarism detection service that compares submissions to a vast database. We recommend Hamanandjoo, a Persian-Language Similarity Check software. Our reviewers and editors are well-informed and experienced, making it increasingly difficult for plagiarised work to pass through unnoticed. Plagiarism can manifest in various forms and should be avoided at all costs.

7. Fabricated data

Fabricating or manipulating data is a serious violation of research integrity and is considered unethical. Our publication may require the original data files for review, and we reserve the right to request a dataset at any time as part of an investigation. If the data appears implausible, we have the right to reject the paper and may notify your institution accordingly.

8. Redundant publication

Submitting the same work to more than one journal simultaneously, also known as duplicate submission or dual publication, is considered unacceptable academic practice. As a researcher, you should ensure that any work you submit to us is original and has not been previously published. It is expected that you will wait to receive a decision from one journal before submitting to another, to avoid any potential issues with multiple publications of the same work.

9. Figure or image manipulation

There are two types of image manipulation: inappropriate and fraudulent. Inappropriate manipulation involves adjusting an image or figure in a way that violates established research guidelines but does not affect the interpretation of the data presented. Fraudulent manipulation, on the other hand, involves deliberately adjusting or manipulating an image or figure to influence the interpretation of the data. This can include adding or removing elements from a figure or altering the formatting of an image to highlight or obscure a particular result.

When submitting images or figures to JAPR, it is important to keep processing to a minimum. If there is evidence of potential manipulation, our editors may request the original data and screen the images. If intentional manipulation is found, we reserve the right to reject the paper and contact your institution in accordance with the COPE guidelines.

As research is conducted prior to submission, it may not always be possible for us or the editors to resolve issues related to image manipulation. However, we will try to help parties reach a resolution and refer the matter to the authors' institutions if necessary. More details on the processes we follow can be found in the relevant COPE flowcharts.

10. Attribution

It is important to acknowledge any previous publication or presentation of the ideas that are included in your current submission by citing them. This includes conference papers, workshop presentations, and listserv communications. By doing so, a complete record of the work is documented. When referencing other publications, it is important to follow APA style for JAPR, which can be found in the author guidelines of your chosen journal. Ensure that all references are thoroughly checked for accuracy, completeness, and consistency.

11. Conflicts of interest

All individuals involved in the publication process, including authors, reviewers, and editors, have a responsibility to disclose any potential conflicts of interest. This includes anything that could influence the research, review process, or publication of an article. If an author is uncertain about whether a particular factor constitutes a conflict of interest, they should seek clarification from the publisher or editor before submitting their work. Examples of possible conflicts of interest include a prior relationship between the author and editor, financial or personal interests in the research outcomes, undisclosed financial support from third parties, and pending patents. Authors should include a statement describing any financial support from third parties and any other possible conflicts of interest when submitting their work. If an author suspects that an editor or reviewer may have a conflict of interest, they should report it to JAPR editor. In accordance with COPE guidelines, if a conflict of interest is identified, the editor or reviewer will be removed from the manuscript handling process.

Third party copyright permissions

It is important to obtain written permission prior to submitting an article that includes any third-party material. We are unable to publish any article with pending permissions. The following rights are required:

  • Non-exclusive rights to reproduce the material in the article or book chapter.
  • Print and electronic rights.
  • Worldwide English-language rights.
  • The ability to use the material for the life of the work, without time restrictions on its re-use (e.g. a one-year license).

As a member of the International Association of Scientific, Technical, and Medical Publishers (STM), we follow the STM permissions guidelines, which include a reciprocal free exchange of material with other STM publishers. If content is eligible for reuse without permission, please indicate this during submission. Please review our publishing permissions guide to ensure all requirements have been met for timely processing of your submission.

Open access submissions and information

JAPR supports gold open access model for publishing all academic works.

Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) Guidelines

As a signatory of the Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) Guidelines, we strive to promote the reproducibility of research by encouraging authors to adopt transparent research practices. To support this, we request that authors:

Cite and reference all data, program code, and other methods used in their article.

Include persistent identifiers, such as Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs), in references for datasets and program codes to ensure future access to unique published digital objects.

Follow appropriate international and national procedures concerning data protection, privacy rights, and other ethical considerations when citing data. For further guidance, please refer to our research and publishing ethics guidelines.

As an example of how to cite datasets, please refer to the references section below. We believe that these measures will enhance the reproducibility and transparency of research, which is essential for advancing scientific knowledge.