Ethical Guidelines

PUBLICATION INTEGRITY & ETHICS

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The Journal of Preventive and Integrated Medicine (JPIM) is dedicated to upholding the highest benchmarks of transparency, methodological rigor, and ethical integrity across medical science publishing.

COPE Guidelines Committee on Publication Ethics
ICMJE Recommendations Medical Journal Editors Criteria
Declaration of Helsinki WMA Clinical Research Ethics
WAME & OASPA / DOAJ Open Access Scholarly Standards

1. Overview & Editorial Independence

The Editor-in-Chief and editorial board of JPIM ensure a fair, rigorous, unbiased, and confidential evaluation of all manuscripts submitted for review. Editorial decisions are grounded strictly on scientific merit, empirical validity, originality, ethical compliance, and alignment with the journal's scope.

Editorial Independence: JPIM maintains total autonomy from commercial, institutional, sponsor, and organizational pressures. Manuscripts authored by Editorial Board members undergo independent review directed by non-conflicted guest editors, with the authoring editor recused from all evaluations, communications, and editorial determinations.

2. Authorship & Contributorship (ICMJE Standards)

Authorship credit requires substantial intellectual contribution. All authors named on a submitted manuscript must fulfill all four ICMJE criteria:

Criterion 1

Substantial contributions to conception, study design, data acquisition, or analysis and interpretation.

Criterion 2

Drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for crucial intellectual content.

Criterion 3

Final approval of the version to be submitted and officially published.

Criterion 4

Agreement to be accountable for all aspects, accuracy, and integrity of the entire work.

Note: Individuals contributing to the study who do not meet all four conditions should be listed in the Acknowledgments. Author lists cannot be modified after initial submission without formal written consent from every author.

3. Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policies

COPE & WAME Recommendations on Generative AI:
  • Authorship Ineligibility: Artificial intelligence models, LLMs, and chatbots do not qualify for authorship under any circumstances.
  • Transparent Disclosure: Authors who employ generative AI for text preparation, coding, visualization, or translation must transparently document the software version and exact usage in the Methods or Acknowledgments section.
  • Author Accountability: Human authors bear undivided responsibility for manuscript veracity, including preventing fabricated literature citations or distorted data.
  • Reviewer Confidentiality: Peer reviewers and editors must never enter unpublished manuscript contents into AI tools.

4. Plagiarism Screening & Research Integrity

All submissions undergo automated text-matching analysis to identify redundant publication, text re-use, and unauthorized paraphrasing.

0% – 10% Similarity Standard acceptable parameter; proceeds directly to peer-review workflow.
11% – 20% Similarity Manuscript returned to authors for required revisions prior to consideration.
> 20% Similarity Immediate rejection without external review; investigated for severe malpractice.

Suspected cases of data fabrication, duplicate publishing, image manipulation, or peer review collusion are resolved strictly according to established COPE Flowcharts.

5. Ethics Approvals, Consent, and Clinical Governance

  • Human Research Compliance: All human studies must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki. Documented clearance from an Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) or Institutional Review Board (IRB) with reference numbers is mandatory.
  • Informed Consent & Anonymity: Formal informed consent must be secured from all research participants. Facial images, case details, or medical records that could identify participants must be omitted unless direct written permission is provided.
  • Animal Experiments: Studies using animals must satisfy established national standards (e.g., CCSEA directives) and show approved protocols from an Institutional Animal Ethics Committee (IAEC).
  • Trial Registration: Prospective registration in recognized clinical registries (CTRI, ClinicalTrials.gov) is required prior to patient enrollment.

6. Conflicts of Interest & Manuscript Withdrawal

Conflict of Interest Disclosure: Authors, peer reviewers, and editors must provide full written disclosures of any financial, commercial, or personal associations that could represent a conflict. If none exist, include the statement: "The authors declare that they have no competing interests."

Manuscript Withdrawal Policy: Submissions may only be withdrawn upon written request from the corresponding author citing clear justification. The editorial board reserves the right to reject withdrawal requests if integrity concerns or duplicate submissions are under active investigation.

7. Corrections, Retractions & Open Access Licensing

Corrections (Errata / Corrigenda)

Issued for honest errors that do not affect the central findings or validity of the work.

Formal Retractions

Published for pervasive errors, falsified data, duplicate submissions, or research misconduct.

Expressions of Concern

Published when serious allegations remain unresolved pending formal institutional investigation.

Open Access Publishing License: JPIM publishes under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Authors retain copyright ownership while granting the journal right of first publication.