PUBLICATION ETHICS
SUMMARY
Authors should only submit research to us if the following conditions apply; 1) The research has been conducted with the highest standards of rigour and integrity, 2) Articles should be original, research-based, unpublished and not under review for possible publication in other journals, 3) The work does not include libellous, defamatory or unlawful statements, 4) Permission has been cleared for any third-party material included, 5) Proof of consent has been obtained for any named individuals or organisations.
If your research is published and we find that any of these conditions have not been met, we may take action in line with the COPE guidelines, which may result in one of the following correction notices, or we may remove or retract the article from our database.
ETHICS ISSUES
Generative AI Usage Principles
Copywriting any part of an article using a generative AI tool/LLM would not be permissible, the author(s) must be responsible for the work and accountable for its accuracy, integrity, and validity. The generation or reporting of results using a generative AI tool/LLM is not permissible, the author(s) must be responsible for the creation and interpretation of their work and accountable for its accuracy, integrity, and validity. The in-text reporting of statistics using a generative AI tool/LLM is not permissible due to concerns over the authenticity, integrity, and validity of the data produced, although the use of such a tool to aid in the analysis of the work would be permissible. Copy-editing an article using a generative AI tool/LLM in order to improve its language and readability would be permissible as this mirrors standard tools already employed to improve spelling and grammar, and uses existing author-created material, rather than generating wholly new content, while the author(s) remains responsible for the original work. Lastly, the submission and publication of images created by AI tools or large-scale generative models is not permitted.
With the increasing use of AI and AI-assisted technologies in scientific writing, effective July 31st, 2024, we ask authors who have used AI or AI-assisted tools to include a statement titled ‘Declaration of AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process’ at the beginning of their submission. The format should be as follows:
During the preparation of this work, the author(s) used [NAME TOOL / SERVICE] in order to [REASON]. After using this tool/service, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full responsibility for the content of the publication.
When it comes to listing the authors of your paper, we understand that it can be tempting to include everyone who has assisted you in your work. It’s also easy to forget someone who may have been involved at the very start of the process. Authorship issues vary, but include:
Ghost authorship are individuals who contribute to the research, data analysis, and/or writing of a manuscript but are not listed or acknowledged in the author byline or acknowledgments. One form of ghost authorship involves not crediting a junior colleague (such as a postgraduate student, postdoctoral fellow, or junior researcher) in the author list, despite their significant contributions to the research and the drafting of the manuscript. Another form occurs when an individual who was not involved in the research writes the first draft, acts as the author's personal editor, and improves the manuscript's quality, thereby saving the "author's" time.
Disputes over the order of the authors and the level of contribution that each has made to the paper.
These issues can overshadow your work, and potentially lead to retractions, so it’s important to agree authorship prior to submitting your paper.
Authors should meet all following criteria for authorship:
Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
Drafting the work or reviewing it critically for important intellectual content; AND
Final approval of the version to be published; AND
Agreement 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.
These authorship criteria are intended to reserve the status of authorship for those who deserve credit and can take responsibility for the work. The criteria are not intended for use as a means to disqualify colleagues from authorship who otherwise meet authorship criteria by denying them the opportunity to meet criterion #s 2 or 3. Therefore, all individuals who meet the first criterion should have the opportunity to participate in the review, drafting, and final approval of the manuscript.
Moreover, the corresponding author is the one individual who takes primary responsibility for communication with the journal during the manuscript submission, peer-review, and publication process. The corresponding author typically ensures that all the journal’s administrative requirements, such as providing details of authorship, ethics committee approval, clinical trial registration documentation, and disclosures of relationships and activities are properly completed and reported, although these duties may be delegated to one or more co-authors. The corresponding author should be available throughout the submission and peer-review process to respond to editorial queries in a timely way, and should be available after publication to respond to critiques of the work and cooperate with any requests from the journal for data or additional information should questions about the paper arise after publication.
When a large multi-author group has conducted the work, the group ideally should decide who will be an author before the work is started and confirm who is an author before submitting the manuscript for publication. All members of the group named as authors should meet all four criteria for authorship, including approval of the final manuscript, and they should be able to take public responsibility for the work and should have full confidence in the accuracy and integrity of the work of other group authors. They will also be expected as individuals to complete disclosure forms.
JEMA obligates authors to declare their contributions by filling this form
The concept of CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) was developed to acknowledge individual author contributions, minimize authorship conflicts, and promote collaboration. It originated from a collaborative workshop led by Harvard University and the Wellcome Trust in 2012, with input from researchers, the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and publishers. During the submission process, authors are required to provide CRediT statements, which will be displayed after the references section (About the Authors) in the published paper. The definitions of each contribution category are based on the work of Brand et al. (2015), as outlined in Learned Publishing 28(2).
Conceptualization. Conceptualization or development of overarching research goals and objectives.
Methodology. The creation or design of research methods and models.
Software. The development, programming, and implementation of computer programs, including testing and design.
Validation. Ensuring the replication and reproducibility of research results through verification.
Formal analysis. The use of statistical, mathematical, computational, or other formal techniques to analyze research data.
Investigation. Conducting research experiments, data collection, and evidence gathering.
Resources. Providing necessary study materials, instruments, samples, or computing resources for research.
Data Curation. Managing and annotating research data for initial use and future reference.
Writing - Original Draft. Creating the initial draft of the published work, including substantive translation if needed.
Writing - Review & Editing. Critically reviewing, commenting, or revising the published work, including pre- and post-publication stages.
Visualization. Presenting research findings visually through data visualization.
Supervision. Providing oversight and leadership for research activities, including mentorship.
Project administration. Managing and coordinating research activities.
Funding acquisition. Securing financial support for the research project leading to publication.
Wan: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Writing - Original Draft, Win: Formal analysis, Data Curation, Visualization, Wun: Supervision, Project Administration, Funding acquisition
or
Wan contributed to the conceptualization of the research goals and aims, as well as the methodology design. Win was involved in the investigation process, including conducting experiments and collecting data. Wun played a role in formal analysis, applying statistical techniques to analyze the study data. All authors contributed to the writing of the original draft, with Wan taking the lead in preparation and creation, Win and Wun contributing to review and editing.
Furthermore, at submission, the journal should require authors to disclose whether they used artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technologies (such as Large Language Models [LLMs], chatbots, or image creators) in the production of submitted work. Authors who use such technology should describe, in both the cover letter and the submitted work, how they used it. Chatbots (such as ChatGPT) should not be listed as authors because they cannot be responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the work, and these responsibilities are required for authorship. The details policies about generative AI usage can be seen in submission guidelines page.
Citation Manipulation
Citations and referencing are important when writing any research, however, researchers should be mindful of the following behaviours:
Authors should not indulge in excessive self-citations of their own previously published works. Included citations must be relevant, add value to the article, and should not be included just to increase the citation score of that author. If discussing methodologies or literature reviews, authors should keep their self-citations to a minimum.
During the peer-review process, you may be referred to papers the reviewer believes can further develop and improve your ideas. While there may be legitimate reasons to reference other publications, 'coercive citation' is unethical (this is where a reference is included as a condition of acceptance or without academic justification).
We are an advocate of both author freedom and editorial independence. If you feel you have been pressured to include a particular reference in your article, or that an editor is unclear on best ethical practice, please feel free to contact us!
'Citation pushing' is where an author includes superfluous or irrelevant references with the intention of boosting another specific individual’s citation score; this often occurs amongst groups of individuals who aim to boost each other’s citation scores. This kind of behaviour is monitored across all of our publications.
Plagiarism
The content you submit to a publisher should be based on your own research and expressed in your own words. If it isn’t, that could be considered plagiarism. Our editors have access to the plagiarism detection service Crossref Similarity Check, which compares submissions against a database of 49 million works from 800 scholarly publishers. This, combined with our knowledgeable reviewers and editors, means it’s increasingly hard for plagiarised work to go unnoticed. Please check our plagiarism policy to get more detailed explanation. Lastly, there are various forms plagiarism can take.
An exact copy or copying text directly from another source without giving credit is considered plagiarism and is easily detectable. This type of plagiarism involves reproducing a work word for word, either in part or in its entirety, without obtaining permission from the original author and without acknowledging the source. This type of plagiarism is blatant and can be identified by comparing the texts in question.
Substantial copying involves replicating a significant portion of a work without obtaining permission from or acknowledging the original source. When evaluating what constitutes "substantial," both the quantity and quality of the copied material are considered. Quality refers to the relative importance of the copied content in relation to the entire work. If the essence of a work is replicated, even if only a small portion, it may still be considered plagiarism. For instance, a brief excerpt from a musical composition that is easily identifiable could be deemed substantial.
For Editor. When assessing substantial copying, it's essential to consider whether the author has gained from the skill and judgment of the original creator. The extent to which the answer is affirmative indicates the presence of substantial copying.
More than one sentence within a paragraph or section of text has been changed, or sentences have been rearranged, without appropriate attribution. Significant improper paraphrasing without appropriate attribution is treated seriously as verbatim copying.
For Editor. To identify unacceptable paraphrasing, it's crucial to apply a similar test as used for substantial copying: examine both the quantity and quality of the material taken, and determine whether the second author has benefited from the skill and judgment of the first author. If it appears likely, based on a balance of probabilities, that the second author has appropriated, without permission or acknowledgment, all or a significant portion of the original work to create a second work, albeit using different wording, then such usage constitutes plagiarism.
For example, using a figure, table or paragraph without acknowledgement, references or the use of quotation marks.
You are expected to submit original content to JEMA publications. Research should only be repeated if it leads to different or new conclusions, or you want to compare it with new data. If any element of your latest submission has been published previously, you must ensure that the original work is fully referenced and make this clear to the editor or publisher at the point of submission.
A plagiarism allegation can have a serious negative effect on a researcher's career. If we are approached by a third party with an allegation of plagiarism, we always seek a response from the original author(s) or copyright holder(s) before we decide on a course of action.
We remain unbiased and will not be influenced by other parties. All allegations will be handled in accordance with the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines.
We are not obliged to discuss individual cases of alleged plagiarism with third parties, and we reserve the right not to proceed with a case if the complainant presents a false name or affiliation, or acts in an inappropriate or threatening manner towards JEMA editors and staff.
Fabricated Data
To fabricate or manipulate data is fundamentally wrong and a breach of research integrity. We may review data or request the original data files; we reserve the right to request a dataset at any point as part of an investigation. If there is reason to suspect that the data is not plausible, we reserve the right to reject that paper, and to notify your institution, as appropriate.
Redundant Publication
Also known as dual publication. Any work you submit to us must be original and previously unpublished. It is unacceptable academic practice to submit to more than one journal at the same time – you are expected to wait until receiving a decision from one journal before submitting to the next.
Figure or Image Manipulation
We may screen images and if there is evidence of potential manipulation, editors will request the original data. If intentional manipulation is found, we reserve the right to reject the paper and contact your institution, as per the COPE guidelines. Image manipulation falls into two categories:
Inappropriate manipulation: the adjustment of an image or figure, which violates established research guidelines, but does not impact the interpretation of the data shown.
Fraudulent manipulation: the deliberate adjustment or manipulation of an image or figure to affect the interpretation of the data.
Attribution
Authors should cite any previous publication or presentation of the ideas featured in your current submission. All references should be carefully checked for completeness, accuracy and consistency. See submission guidelines page to get details.
Conflict of Interest
Authors, reviewers and editors all have a duty to report possible conflicts of interest. In the case of authors, you should declare anything that may have influenced your research or could influence the review process or the publication of your article. If you are unsure whether it’s a conflict of interest, always check with the editor or publisher ahead of submission. Possible conflicts of interest include:
A prior relationship between author and editor.
A financial or personal interest in the outcomes of the research.
A financial or personal interest in the suppression of the research.
Undisclosed financial support for the research by an interested third party.
A pending patent.
If you are concerned the editor or reviewer handling your submission might have a conflict of interest, please let the journal publisher commissioning editor know.
Our Promise
When facing any issues related to research or publishing ethics, we commit to handling them with professionalism and promptness. We will always strive to be impartial and objective in our assessments. It's our policy to reach out to the individuals involved to hear their side of the story before we make any decisions or take any action. We'll ensure that everyone has enough time to provide their responses and we'll keep all relevant parties, including copyright holders, editors, and authors, updated on our decisions. As part of our commitment to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), we'll follow the guidelines and procedures outlined in their flowcharts . We also pledge to uphold authors' moral rights, which include recognizing them as the authors of their work and protecting them from being misrepresented, all while maintaining accurate records of the literature.