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Publication Ethics

The Innovative Horizons in Care and Community Journal (IHCCJ) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and academic integrity. The journal adheres to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices, the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing, and other internationally recognized ethical guidelines.

All parties involved in the publication process—including authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher—are expected to uphold these ethical principles throughout the editorial and publication process.

1. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are expected to uphold the highest standards of research integrity and publication ethics.

Originality and Plagiarism

Authors must submit original manuscripts that have not been previously published and are not under consideration by another journal. All submissions must be free from plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, and inappropriate image manipulation.

IHCCJ screens all submissions using plagiarism detection software. Manuscripts with unacceptable levels of textual similarity may be rejected without peer review.

Data Integrity

Authors are responsible for ensuring that all research data are collected, analyzed, and reported accurately. Data should not be fabricated, manipulated, or selectively omitted.

Authors should be prepared to provide the original research data upon reasonable request by the Editor.

Authorship

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the study, including the conception or design of the work, data acquisition, analysis or interpretation, manuscript drafting, or critical revision.

All listed authors must approve the final version of the manuscript before submission.

Changes in authorship after submission require written consent from all authors and approval by the Editor-in-Chief.

Citation and Acknowledgment

Authors must appropriately acknowledge the work of others by providing accurate citations and references. Any use of copyrighted material requires permission from the copyright holder where applicable.

Ethical Approval

Research involving human participants or animals must have received approval from an appropriate institutional ethics committee before the study was conducted.

Where applicable, authors must state:

  • Name of the ethics committee
  • Ethical approval number
  • Date of approval

Informed Consent

Studies involving human participants must confirm that informed consent was obtained before participation.

Conflict of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial, institutional, or personal relationships that could influence the interpretation of the research.

If no competing interests exist, authors should state:

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Funding Statement

Authors must disclose all financial support received for the research.

If no funding was received, authors should state:

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Corrections and Retractions

If authors discover significant errors in their published work, they are obligated to promptly notify the Editorial Office and cooperate in issuing a correction, corrigendum, or retraction where appropriate.

2. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for maintaining the quality, integrity, and fairness of the editorial process.

Editors shall:

  • Evaluate manuscripts solely on their scientific merit, originality, methodological quality, and relevance to the journal's scope.
  • Make editorial decisions independently without discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, nationality, political beliefs, institutional affiliation, or other non-scientific factors.
  • Maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts throughout the editorial process.
  • Ensure a fair, unbiased, and timely peer-review process.
  • Take appropriate action when ethical concerns or allegations of misconduct arise.
  • Refrain from handling manuscripts in which they have any personal, professional, or financial conflict of interest.

The final decision regarding publication rests with the Editor-in-Chief.

3. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers play a critical role in maintaining the scientific quality of the journal through objective and constructive peer review.

Reviewers are expected to:

  • Provide objective, evidence-based, and constructive comments that assist editors in making editorial decisions.
  • Complete reviews within the agreed review period.
  • Maintain strict confidentiality regarding all submitted manuscripts.
  • Avoid using unpublished information obtained during peer review for personal advantage.
  • Identify relevant published work that has not been cited.
  • Inform the editor of any suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, ethical concerns, or major methodological flaws.
  • Decline review invitations when a conflict of interest exists or when they lack the appropriate expertise.

4. Publication Ethics and Research Misconduct

IHCCJ takes all allegations of publication misconduct seriously and investigates them in accordance with COPE guidelines.

Research misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

  • Plagiarism
  • Self-plagiarism
  • Duplicate or redundant publication
  • Data fabrication
  • Data falsification
  • Image manipulation
  • Citation manipulation
  • Authorship disputes
  • Undisclosed conflicts of interest
  • Peer-review manipulation

When misconduct is confirmed, IHCCJ may take one or more of the following actions:

  • Reject the manuscript
  • Publish a correction (Corrigendum)
  • Publish an Expression of Concern
  • Retract the published article
  • Notify the authors' affiliated institutions or funding agencies
  • Prohibit future submissions from the responsible author(s) for a specified period

All investigations will be conducted fairly, confidentially, and in accordance with the COPE Flowcharts.

5. Open Access Policy

IHCCJ is an open-access journal, providing immediate and unrestricted access to all published content.

All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.

This license permits users to:

  • Share
  • Copy
  • Redistribute
  • Adapt
  • Transform
  • Build upon the published work for any lawful purpose

provided that appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) and the original publication in IHCCJ.

6. Ethical Oversight

IHCCJ expects that all research involving human participants, animals, personal data, or biological materials complies with internationally accepted ethical standards and applicable institutional and national regulations.

Authors may be requested to provide supporting documentation, including:

  • Ethical approval certificates
  • Participant informed consent forms (when applicable)
  • Clinical trial registration information
  • Permission to reproduce copyrighted materials

Failure to provide appropriate documentation may result in rejection of the manuscript.

7. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

IHCCJ is committed to preserving the integrity of the scholarly record.

When necessary, the journal will publish:

  • Correction (Corrigendum): for significant errors that do not invalidate the findings.
  • Retraction: when findings are unreliable due to misconduct or major errors.
  • Expression of Concern: when an investigation is ongoing but sufficient concerns exist regarding the integrity of a publication.

All post-publication notices will remain permanently linked to the original article to ensure transparency and maintain the integrity of the scientific record.