Publication ethics

NASCER E CRESCER – Birth and Growth Medical Journal is committed to meeting and upholding standards of ethical behavior at all stages of the publication process. We comply the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and World Association of Medical.
Below is the summary of key expectations for authors, editors, and reviewers.

It is the responsibility of authors, editors, editorial board and reviewers to comply with the ethical rules and current publication standards.
Articles published in the journal are available under a Creative Commons license and the management of scientific content is the responsibility of the editorial and scientific board.

Authors’ responsibilities

• Ensure the respect of ethical and deontological principles, as well as legislation and standards applicable, as recommended by the Helsinki Declaration.
• To provide a copy of the written consent of the patient and the approval of the Ethics Committee, statement of conflict of interest and financial support.
• Confirm that the manuscript submitted is not under consideration or accepted for publication in another journal.
• Confirm that the submitted article is original and that information from other sources is cited correctly. 
• Cooperate with the editor and publisher to clarify any matter related to the submitted article.

Editors’ responsibilities

• Establish, define and provide a clear statement of the Journal’s editorial policies and standards.
• Provide guidelines to authors for correct writing and submission of manuscripts.
• Establish an effective and rapid system of peer-review.
• Assigning papers for review appropriate to each reviewer’s area of interest and expertise.
• Make editorial decisions in a timely manner and communicate them clearly and constructively.
• Develop and provide mechanisms for detecting plagiarism.
• Establish a process to ensure that the manuscript is treated as a confidential document and that reviewers complete the review promptly.

Reviewers’ responsibilities

• Contribute to a process of correct decision-making and guide the authors in improving the quality of the document published, by reviewing the manuscript objectively and timely.
• Maintain confidentiality of the review process: not sharing, discussing with third parties, or disclosing information from the reviewed paper.
• Alert the editor to any published or submitted content that is substantially similar to that under review.
• To be aware of any potential conflicts and alert the editor to these.
• Avoid personal comments or criticism.
• Comply with the editor's instructions on the journal's expectations regarding the purpose, content, and quality of the review.
• Provide a thoughtful, fair, constructive and informative critique of the submitted work.
• Point out relevant published work which is not yet cited.

Publisher responsibilities

• Ensure that the Journal complies with the stipulated standards.

 

Procedures for dealing with unethical behavior

Identification of unethical behavior

Misconduct behavior may include but need not to be limited to: the mistreatment of research subjects, misconduct of data treatment and plagiarism.
Misconduct and unethical behavior can be identified by anyone at any time. Sufficient information and evidence shall be provided to initiate an investigation. All claims should be taken seriously and treated in the same way until a successful decision or conclusion is reached.

Investigation

All evidence must be collected, avoiding false claims.

The editor should identify the type of breaches:

• Minor breaches of conduct can be addressed without the need to consult more widely. In all cases, the author(s) should have the opportunity to defend themselves against any allegations.
• Serious breaches may require legal actions. It is up to the editor, after consulting the publisher and editorial/scientific board, to make the most convenient decision.

Outcomes:

• In the event of misunderstandings, the editor should explain to the authors how to avoid similar situations in the future.
• The editor may send a letter of warning to the authors and/or reviewers, referring the misconduct behavior.
• Publication of a formal notice or retracting statement detailing the misconduct.
• Report the case to the competent authorities to carry out further investigations and possible actions of punishment.