Ethical Principles and Publication Policy

Research Ethics Policy

Purpose and Scope

Archives of Current Medical Research (ACMR) requires adherence to the highest ethical standards in all scientific studies involving human and/or animal subjects. This policy applies to original research articles, reviews, case reports, clinical trials, laboratory and animal studies, as well as database and retrospective investigations.


1. Ethics Committee Approval

1.1. All studies involving human participants must obtain approval from a duly authorized Ethics Committee/Institutional Review Board (IRB). The name of the committee, approval date, and protocol/decision number must be clearly stated in the manuscript.
1.2. Retrospective chart reviews, surveys, and archival studies must provide ethics documentation when required by national or institutional regulations. 1.3. Clinical trials must be registered in a recognized clinical trial registry (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov or an equivalent registry). The registration number must be disclosed in the manuscript.


2. Informed Consent

2.1. Written informed consent must be obtained after providing participants with clear information regarding the study’s purpose, procedures, risks, and benefits.
2.2. For minors and individuals with impaired decision‑making capacity, consent must be obtained from a parent or legal guardian; assent from the minor should be sought when appropriate.
2.3. Case reports and identifiable images require explicit written permission from the patient or authorized representative.


3. Privacy and Data Protection

3.1. Participant confidentiality must be strictly protected. Identifiable information (e.g., names, facial images, ID numbers, unique clinical details) shall not be published without explicit informed consent.
3.2. Personal data must be processed in accordance with applicable regulations, including GDPR, KVKK, and other relevant legal frameworks.


4. Animal Research Welfare

4.1. Studies involving animals must obtain approval from the relevant Animal Experiments Local Ethics Committee (HADYEK) or equivalent authority.
4.2. Research must follow ARRIVE guidelines and the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
4.3. Appropriate methods must be used to minimize pain, distress, and discomfort, including proper anesthesia, analgesia, and humane endpoints.


5. Scientific Integrity and Research Conduct

5.1. Fabrication, falsification, inappropriate image manipulation, selective reporting, duplicate publication, and salami slicing are strictly prohibited.
5.2. Methods must be transparent and reproducible; underlying data should be made available upon reasonable request, within ethical and legal limits.


6. Reporting Standards

6.1. Authors are expected to follow internationally recognized reporting guidelines appropriate to the study design (e.g., CONSORT, STROBE, PRISMA, CARE, ARRIVE).
6.2. Methodology and results must be presented with sufficient detail to ensure replicability.


7. Conflicts of Interest and Funding Disclosure

7.1. All potential conflicts of interest (financial, professional, or personal) must be disclosed.
7.2. Funding sources, grant numbers, and the role of sponsors in study design, data analysis, and reporting must be explicitly stated.


8. Misconduct Reporting and Sanctions

8.1. Allegations of ethical misconduct will be investigated according to COPE guidelines and flowcharts.

8.2. Depending on the severity of the violation, actions may include rejection of the submission, correction, expression of concern, retraction, or notification of relevant institutions.



Publication Ethics Policy

Principles and Foundation

ACMR conducts all editorial and publication processes in accordance with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). This policy outlines the responsibilities of authors, editors, reviewers, and the journal’s governing body.


1. Responsibilities of Authors

1.1. Submissions must be original, not previously published, and not under review elsewhere.
1.2. Authorship must reflect substantial scholarly contributions in line with ICMJE criteria; author contribution statements must be transparent.
1.3. All conflicts of interest and funding sources must be fully disclosed.
1.4. Authors are responsible for the accuracy and integrity of all data presented; supporting data and materials should be available upon reasonable request.
1.5. Ethics approval, clinical trial registration numbers, and informed consent statements must be included in the manuscript when applicable.


2. Responsibilities of Editors

2.1. Editors make decisions based on the scientific merit of submissions and the relevance to the journal’s scope, independent of authors’ identity, affiliation, or personal attributes.
2.2. Manuscripts are handled with confidentiality; content is not shared with unauthorized individuals.
2.3. Editors must withdraw from handling submissions in which they have a conflict of interest.
2.4. Ethical concerns and misconduct allegations are investigated with rigor and in accordance with COPE best practices.


3. Responsibilities of Reviewers

3.1. Peer review is confidential; materials cannot be shared or used for personal research.
3.2. Reviews must be objective, constructive, and free from personal bias, focusing on methodological quality and scientific contribution.
3.3. Reviewers with conflicts of interest or insufficient expertise must decline the review invitation.


4. Plagiarism, Similarity, and Research Misconduct

4.1. All submissions undergo similarity screening using appropriate detection tools.
4.2. Plagiarism, data fabrication/falsification, inappropriate image manipulation, duplicate publication, and other forms of misconduct result in rejection or, if discovered post‑publication, retraction and institutional notification as necessary.


5. Corrections, Retractions, and Editorial Notices

5.1. Minor errors may be addressed through Errata or Corrigenda.
5.2. Serious ethical breaches or errors compromising scientific validity require Retraction.
5.3. An Expression of Concern may be issued when unresolved issues affect research reliability.


6. Transparency, Open Science, and Data Availability

6.1. Authors are encouraged to share data, code, and research materials, respecting ethical and legal constraints.
6.2. Clinical trial protocols, deviations, and analytic methods must be transparently reported.
6.3. Funding, sponsorship, and writing or editorial assistance must be disclosed.


7. Copyright and Licensing

7.1. Copyright transfer, open access conditions, and licensing terms (e.g., Creative Commons) are communicated clearly during the submission process. 7.2. Authors are responsible for obtaining permissions for third‑party materials and providing appropriate attribution.


8. Implementation and Updating of Policy

8.1. Interpretation and enforcement of these policies are the responsibility of the Editor‑in‑Chief and Editorial Board.
8.2. The journal periodically reviews and updates its policies; revisions are announced on the journal website.


Ethical Consideration


The editorial board of Archives of Current Medical Research (ACMR) adheres to the highest international standards in publication ethics. Our journal operates in accordance with the guidelines set by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), the World Medical Association (WMA), and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK). Authors are expected to comply with these standards.

For our journal, it is mandatory that research protocols receive approval from an ethics committee in line with relevant international agreements. Specifically, for medical research involving human subjects, adherence to the "WMA Declaration of Helsinki - Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects" (latest update: October 2013, Fortaleza, Brazil) is required. Similarly, studies involving animals must comply with the "Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals" (8th edition, 2011). Manuscripts submitted without ethics committee approval will not be considered for evaluation.

Ethics committee approval must be provided for clinical or experimental studies involving humans or animals. This approval must be clearly indicated in the methods section and documented within the article. Along with information on ethical approval (name of the ethics committee, date, and number), statements about informed consent must also be included in the manuscript. Informed consent is especially required for specific types of work, such as case reports.

Adherence to ethical principles throughout every stage of research and publication is crucial for the reliability and integrity of science. ACMR is committed to taking all necessary measures against breaches of ethics, thereby contributing positively to the scientific community.

Peer Review Process

Archives of Current Medical Research (ACMR) employs a double-blind peer review system to ensure impartial and fair evaluation of scientific work. In this system, both authors and reviewers remain anonymous to each other, enhancing the objectivity of the review process.

Review Process Steps:

Submission and Initial Screening:
Authors submit their manuscripts to our journal system. The editorial team checks for compliance with journal policies, ethical standards, and quality criteria. If the manuscript passes this initial check, it is sent for peer review.


Reviewer Assignment:
Reviewers with expertise in the subject area are selected. In accordance with the double-blind system, the identities of authors and reviewers are kept confidential.


Evaluation and Feedback:
Reviewers assess the manuscript's scientific content, methodology, ethical compliance, and originality. Suggestions for strengthening the manuscript may be provided during the review.
Evaluation reports are submitted to the editorial team without disclosing author identities.


Decision and Notification:
The editor evaluates the reviewer reports and decides whether to accept, reject, or request revisions for the manuscript. The decision, along with the reviewer feedback, is communicated to the author(s).


Revision Process:
If revisions are required, the author(s) make the necessary changes and resubmit the manuscript. The revised manuscript may undergo a further round of peer review if deemed necessary.


Ethical Principles:
Adherence to publication ethics is maintained throughout the entire process. Reviewers must avoid conflicts of interest and uphold the confidentiality principle. Scientific integrity and objectivity are fundamental principles of the review process. This process contributes to ensuring the scientific quality and continuous improvement of publications. ACMR is committed to providing a fair and transparent review environment for all stakeholders in the scientific community.

Plagiarism

Archives of Current Medical Research considers plagiarism to be an important matter and takes it very seriously. All submissions are screened for plagiarism by editors at any point during the peer-review and/or production process. Both plagiarism and self-plagiarism couldn’t be accepted. While discussing others' (or your own) previous work, please make sure that you cite the material correctly in every instance. Plagiarism report is necessary file during submission process. You can use intihal.net or any other plagiarism software. DergiPark has an aggrement with intihal.net.

Guidelines for Using Artificial Intelligence Tools in Academic Publications

ACMR is dedicated to maintaining the integrity and quality of published content in light of the changing landscape of scholarly publishing and the incorporation of advanced technologies, including the ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI). We set the following rules for using AI in line with the WAME Recommendations on Chatbots and Generative Artificial Intelligence in Relation to Scholarly Publications:

-Authors must reveal any major roles that AI tools played in the research and writing process. This includes, but is not limited to, making text, analyzing data, or making visual materials.


-Using AI should not take away from the originality of the work that was submitted. Authors are responsible for the content they create and must make sure that AI-generated content is properly credited, following all applicable copyright laws and academic standards.

-AI can help with writing and editing, but authors must make sure that the AI-generated content is accurate, well-understood, and scientifically sound. Writers should carefully look for biases and mistakes in AI outputs.

-Authors should not depend only on AI tools to do their critical thinking, peer review, and academic work. It is important to uphold ethical standards to make sure that the work is real and has academic value.

-AI should make scholarly work more accessible and open to everyone. Authors should think about how AI can make their research easier to read and understand for a variety of audiences without lowering the quality of the content.

For more detail please visit WAME related webpage: https://wame.org/page3.php?id=106

Last Update Time: 2/19/26

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