Research Misconduct

 

Research misconduct includes serious departures from accepted standards of responsible research and scholarly communication. Such misconduct may occur during research, manuscript preparation, submission, peer review, or after publication.

Forms of Research Misconduct
  • Fabrication of research data, observations, participants, or results.
  • Falsification or inappropriate manipulation of research materials and findings.
  • Plagiarism or unauthorized appropriation of intellectual material.
  • Duplicate or redundant publication.
  • Improper manipulation of citations.
  • Misrepresentation of authorship or contributions.
  • Manipulation of peer review or editorial processes.
  • Failure to disclose significant conflicts of interest.
  • Misrepresentation of ethical approval or research procedures.
Reporting Concerns

Concerns regarding suspected research misconduct may be communicated to the Editorial Office with sufficient information to allow the matter to be assessed. Anonymous concerns may be considered when they contain credible and verifiable information.

Possible Actions

Depending on the findings, the journal may request clarification, require correction, decline a manuscript, suspend editorial processing, issue an expression of concern, withdraw a publication, or retract an article. Serious cases may also be referred to the relevant institution or authority.