Research Ethics Policy

1. Core Principles

IJMHS is committed to upholding the highest standards of research and publication ethics. All parties must adhere to principles of integrity, accountability, fairness, and respect.

2. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship must be based on substantial contributions (ICMJE criteria).
Ghost, guest, and gift authorship are prohibited.
Changes in authorship require written consent from all authors.

3. Originality, Plagiarism, and Duplicate Publication

Only original, unpublished work is considered.
Plagiarism and redundant/duplicate publication are prohibited.

4. Data Integrity, Access, and Reproducibility

Fabrication and falsification are unacceptable.
IJMHS strongly encourages data sharing in public repositories. A Data Availability Statement is required.
Clinical trial data must be shared in accordance with ICMJE guidelines.

5. Conflicts of Interest (COI)

All authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any conflicts of interest.
A declaration of COI must be included in the manuscript.

6. Ethical Approvals and Consents

Human Participants: Studies must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki, have IRB approval, and obtain documented informed consent.
Animal Subjects: Studies must comply with institutional, national, and international guidelines (e.g., ARRIVE) and have IACUC/ethical approval.
Clinical Trials: Registration in a public trials registry is mandatory before participant enrollment.

7. Peer Review Ethics

Reviewers must maintain confidentiality, objectivity, and timeliness.
Reviewers must declare conflicts of interest.

8. Publication and Post-Publication Ethics

Corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern will be issued as necessary, following COPE guidelines.

9. Handling of Allegations of Misconduct

Allegations are investigated following COPE guidelines, potentially involving author institutions.
Outcomes may include rejection, retraction, or notification of relevant bodies.

For ethics concerns: ijmhs@induspublishers.com