IJMEIR follows all ethical standards to ensure scientific integrity responsibly, to maintain public confidence in research published for the public interest and research development.

Duties of Editors

Publication decision

The editors ensure that all submitted manuscripts being considered for publication to undergo peer-review by at least two reviewers who are experts in the field. The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for deciding which of the manuscripts submitted to IJMEIR will be published. Validation of the work in question and its importance to researchers and readers must always drive such decisions. The editor may confer with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.

Fair play

An editor at any time evaluates manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors. Editor evaluates submitted manuscripts exclusively based on their academic merit (importance, originality, study’s validity, clarity) and its relevance to the IJMEIR’s scope.

Confidentiality

The editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate. 

Disclosure and Conflicts of interest

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor's research without the express written consent of the author. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Editors should excuse themselves (i.e. should ask a co-editor, associate editor or other members of the editorial board instead to review and consider) from considering manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or (possibly) institutions connected to the articles. Editors should require all contributors to disclose relevant competing interests and publish corrections if competing interests are revealed after publication. If needed, other appropriate action should be taken, such as the publication of a retraction or expression of concern.

Involvement and cooperation in investigations

An editor should take reasonably responsive measures when ethical complaints have been presented concerning a submitted manuscript or published article, in conjunction with the publisher. Such measures will generally include contacting the author of the manuscript or article and giving due consideration of the respective complaint or claims made, but may also include further communications to the relevant institutions and research bodies, and if the complaint is upheld, the publication of a correction, retraction, expression of concern, or other note, as may be relevant. Every reported act of unethical publishing behavior must be looked into, even if it is discovered years after publication.

Sanctions

In the case of a complaint of misconduct, IJMEIR will investigate based on the COPE guidelines. All stakeholders will be allowed to share their views on the matter. If the complaint raises valid concerns, the IJMEIR will implement sanctions on authors according to the severity of the breach. IJMEIR might find it compulsory in some cases to rectify certain pieces of literature. In which cases, IJMEIR will abide by the COPE Retraction Guidelines.

Corrections of an article should be issued if:

1. A small portion of an otherwise reliable publication proves to be misleading (mainly because of honest error)
2. The author/contributor list is incorrect (i.e., a deserving author has been omitted, or somebody who does not meet authorship criteria has been included)

Manuscripts should be retracted if:

1. IJMEIR Editors have clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, either as a result of misconduct (e.g., data fabrication) or honest error (e.g., miscalculation or experimental error)
2. The findings have previously been published elsewhere without proper cross-referencing, permission, or justification (i.e., cases of redundant publication)
3. It constitutes plagiarism
4. It reports unethical research

IJMEIR editors should consider issuing an expression of concern if:

1. They receive inconclusive evidence of research or publication misconduct by the authors
2. There is evidence that the findings are unreliable, but the authors' institution will not investigate the case
3. They believe that investigations into alleged violations related to publication have not been, or have not, been fair and impartial or conclusive
4. An investigation is underway, but an assessment will not be available for quite a long time

Duties of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decision

Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and through editorial communications with the author may also assist the author in improving the article. Peer review is an essential component of formal scholarly communication and lies at the heart of the scientific method.

Promptness

Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse himself from the review process.

Confidentiality

Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.

Standards of Objectivity

Reviews should be conducted objectively and observations formulated clearly with supporting arguments so that authors can use them for improving the manuscript. Personal criticism of the authors is inappropriate.

Acknowledgment of Source

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. A reviewer should also call to the editor's attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published article of which they have personal knowledge. 

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in a reviewer's research without the express written consent of the author. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the articles.

Duties of Authors

Reporting standards

Authors of reports of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the article. An article should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work.

Data Access and Retention

Authors are asked to provide the raw data in connection with an article for editorial review, and should be prepared to provide public access to such data (consistent with the ALPSP-STM Statement on Data and Databases), if practicable, and should, in any event, be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.

Plagiarism

IJMEIR is committed to publishing original and unpublished material to maintain the integrity of the scientific record. The Corresponding Author must affirm that all of the other authors have read and approved of the manuscript. All articles submitted to IJMEIR are screened for plagiarism using iThenticate. If an article contains traces of plagiarism, IJMEIR will lead an investigation on the matter and take further action depending on the type of plagiarism.

Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication

The redundant publication refers to publishing the same intellectual material more than once, by the Author. Suspected cases of redundant manuscript submission will be handled as per the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines. Duplicate submission/publication: Authors must assure that the manuscript is not being considered for publication in whole or in part elsewhere. A process on manuscripts that are found to have been published elsewhere or under review will be suspended.

Acknowledgment

Authors can acknowledge people who assist in research projects, such as office staff, editorial assistants, medical writers, or other individuals. Guests (symbolic), gifts (an individual who does not contribute to research work), and ghostwriters are all inconsistent with the authorship definition and cannot be accepted and violate this policy.

Authorship of the Article

The Author made a considerable academic contribution to scientific inquiry, for example, one who makes a significant contribution to the conception, design, implementation, analysis, and interpretation of data, participates in compiling, reviewing, or revising manuscripts for intellectual content, and approving manuscripts that will be published.

All publication co-authors are responsible for

1. Authorizing authorship,
2. Contribute to the research work,
3. Acknowledge that they have reviewed and agreed to the manuscript,
4. The contents of all parts of the manuscript accordingly, including the integrity of any applicable research.

Conflicts of Interest

A Conflict of Interest exists when judgment regarding the research is influenced by factors such as financial gain or personal relationships. All authors must disclose any financial, personal, or other associations that may change or be perceived to influence their work.

Fundamental errors in published works

When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her published work, the author should notify the IJMEIR editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the article. If the editor or the publisher learns from a third party that a published work contains a significant error, the author should promptly retract or correct the article or provide evidence to the editor of the correctness of the original article.

Citation Manipulation

Citation manipulation refers to the publication of an article primarily to increase an author's number of citations. This is against our Ethical Guidelines, and we strongly advise authors not to indulge in similar activities.