Research and Publication Ethics Policy

Research and Publication Ethics Policy

Avicenna Journal of Clinical and Translational Medicine

The Avicenna Journal of Clinical and Translational Medicine (AJCTM), published by Avicenna Medical Press (AMP), is committed to protecting research participants, maintaining the integrity of the scientific record, and promoting responsible scholarly communication.

Authors, reviewers and editors are expected to follow applicable ethical and legal requirements. AJCTM's policies are informed by guidance from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and relevant international research-ethics standards.

1. Research Involving Human Participants

Studies involving human participants, identifiable human data, medical records, or human biological materials must have appropriate ethics approval or a documented exemption where required.

Authors must report the name of the approving ethics committee or institutional review board, the approval reference number, and the date of approval where applicable.

Research should comply with applicable regulations and internationally accepted ethical principles, including the Declaration of Helsinki where relevant.

Retrospective studies, surveys and secondary-data analyses are not automatically exempt from ethical review. Authors must provide an appropriate institutional determination where necessary.

2. Informed Consent and Participant Protection

Authors must explain how informed consent was obtained or provide the basis for an ethically approved waiver where applicable.

Additional safeguards are required for vulnerable participants and individuals unable to provide independent informed consent.

Participation must be voluntary and privacy, dignity and confidentiality must be protected.

3. Consent for Publication

Written consent for publication must be obtained when a manuscript includes identifiable patient information, recognizable images, or clinical details that could reasonably permit identification.

Consent for clinical treatment or research participation does not necessarily constitute consent for publication.

Authors should retain consent documentation and provide appropriate confirmation when requested.

4. Animal Research

Animal investigations must comply with applicable institutional and national animal welfare standards. Authors should report ethics approval details, animal-care procedures, and measures to minimize pain, distress and unnecessary animal use.

The principles of Replacement, Reduction and Refinement should be followed, with ARRIVE reporting guidance applied where appropriate.

5. Human Tissues and Biological Materials

Research using human tissues, biospecimens, biobanked materials or human-derived cell lines must disclose relevant sources, consent or lawful use arrangements, ethical oversight, and applicable institutional permissions.

Cell-line identity and contamination checks should be reported when scientifically relevant.

6. Research Integrity

AJCTM does not tolerate fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, inappropriate image manipulation, misleading reporting, or deliberate concealment of material research information.

Authors must report methods and findings accurately, distinguish prespecified from exploratory analyses, and acknowledge important study limitations.

Original research records should be retained in accordance with applicable institutional, legal and ethical requirements.

7. Originality and Overlapping Publication

Submitted manuscripts must represent original work that is not simultaneously under consideration elsewhere, except where a permitted and fully disclosed publication arrangement applies.

Related manuscripts, preprints, overlapping datasets and prior conference presentations must be disclosed where relevant.

A similarity score alone does not establish plagiarism. Suspected overlap is evaluated in its scientific and publication context.

8. Research Reporting and Data Integrity

Authors should follow appropriate study-design reporting guidelines and provide sufficient methodological detail to permit critical appraisal.

Ethical restrictions on data sharing must be respected, particularly where patient-level information or confidential records are involved.

Clinical-trial registration, data availability, conflicts of interest, funding and AI-assisted technology use must be disclosed under the journal's applicable policies.

9. Allegations of Research Misconduct

Concerns about research or publication integrity will be assessed fairly and confidentially, with an opportunity for relevant parties to provide explanations.

The Editorial Office may request supporting documentation and may contact institutions, ethics committees or other appropriate bodies when further investigation is necessary.

Depending on the evidence, possible actions include clarification, rejection, correction, expression of concern, or retraction.

10. Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions must be guided by scientific quality, ethical standards and the journal's scope, independently of commercial relationships, publication charges or institutional influence.

11. Guidance and Contact

The journal's practices are informed by:

ICMJE Recommendations
Committee on Publication Ethics
Declaration of Helsinki

Ethical concerns may be submitted confidentially to editor@ajctm.org.