Publication Ethics

Contents

1. Policy framework and application

2. Ownership, governance and editorial independence

3. Aims, scope and editorial priorities

4. Publishing schedule and record integrity

5. Peer review policy

6. Editorial board and editor submissions

7. Authorship and contributorship

8. Changes in authorship and disputes

9. Competing interests and funding

10. Ethical oversight of human research

11. Animal research and welfare

12. Consent for publication and confidentiality

13. Clinical trial registration

14. Data sharing, reproducibility and research materials

15. Reporting guidelines and statistical integrity

16. Research and publication misconduct

17. Originality, preprints and overlapping publication

18. Image and data integrity

19. Artificial intelligence policy

20. Editorial decisions, appeals and complaints

21. Corrections, expressions of concern and retractions

22. Article withdrawal and removal

23. Post-publication discussion

24. Copyright, licensing and permissions

25. Open access and author fees

26. Special issues and guest-edited collections

27. Advertising, sponsorship and revenue

28. Digital preservation, metadata and access

29. Privacy and personal data

30. Sanctions and cooperation with institutions

31. Indexing and metrics claims

32. Policy review and contact

33. Implementation checklist before indexing applications

34. Standards and source framework

1. Policy framework and application

These policies apply to all content submitted to or published by QES MedPharm Journal, including research articles, reviews, case reports, editorials, letters, supplements, special issues, invited content and corrections. The journal follows internationally recognised principles of research integrity, transparent peer review and responsible medical publishing, including relevant ICMJE recommendations, COPE principles and guidance, the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing and study-specific reporting standards.

The journal applies its policies consistently regardless of authors’ nationality, institutional affiliation, seniority, discipline, commercial relationships or ability to pay. Where a policy is silent, the editor will use the most relevant current ethical guidance and document the reasoning.

2. Ownership, governance and editorial independence

QES MedPharm Journal is owned and published by QES. The journal’s website will identify the owner, publisher, editorial office, full contact details, editorial leadership and governing structure. Editorial decisions are made independently by the Editor-in-Chief and delegated editors on the basis of scientific quality, originality, methodological rigour, ethical compliance, relevance and clarity.

The owner, publisher, sponsors, advertisers and commercial partners must not interfere with individual editorial decisions. Editorial staff will disclose relationships that could influence their work and recuse themselves when necessary. The Editor-in-Chief has authority over the editorial content and is responsible for protecting the integrity of the published record.

3. Aims, scope and editorial priorities

The journal publishes work in medical, pharmaceutical and connected multidisciplinary sciences, including clinical medicine, biomedical sciences, pharmacology, toxicology, therapeutics, pharmaceutics, drug discovery and development, diagnostics, public health, translational research, evidence synthesis, health technologies and related fields.

Priority is given to manuscripts that ask important questions, use appropriate and transparent methods, report findings completely, avoid unjustified claims and make a meaningful academic or clinical contribution. The journal will monitor whether published content, editorial board expertise and authorship remain aligned with the stated scope and reflect appropriate geographic and disciplinary diversity.

4. Publishing schedule and record integrity

QES MedPharm Journal is published quarterly. The journal will maintain its announced publication schedule and will communicate material delays transparently. Every published article will display a stable citation, publication date, article type, author information, affiliations, abstract, keywords, references, copyright and licence information, and relevant submission, revision and acceptance dates.

The journal does not guarantee acceptance or unrealistically short review times. Operational targets may be published only when supported by actual performance data. The journal will preserve version history and clearly link corrections, retractions and other notices to the affected article.

5. Peer review policy

5.1 Editorial screening

All submissions are screened for scope, completeness, originality, ethical compliance, reporting quality, language, figures and tables, and basic scientific validity. Manuscripts may be returned for technical correction or declined without external review when they are out of scope, methodologically inadequate, unethical, duplicative, misleading, poorly reported or unlikely to meet the journal’s standards.

5.2 Review model

Research articles, reviews and case reports normally undergo double-anonymous peer review by at least two independent subject experts. Reviewers should not be part of the authors’ immediate institutional or collaborative network and must disclose conflicts. An editor may seek statistical, methodological, ethical or specialist review when needed.

The editor evaluates reviewer reports critically rather than using them as votes. The editor may accept, request minor or major revision, reject, or obtain further review. The final decision rests with the responsible editor. Exceptions to the usual peer-review process will be disclosed in the published article when relevant.

5.3 Reviewer responsibilities

·   Treat the manuscript and review process as confidential.

·   Review objectively, constructively and within the agreed time.

·   Declare conflicts and decline when impartial review is not possible.

·   Do not use unpublished information for personal advantage.

·   Report suspected plagiarism, fabrication, image manipulation, ethical problems or undisclosed overlap to the editor.

·   Do not upload manuscripts or identifiable content to external AI systems unless the journal has explicitly authorised a secure, confidentiality-preserving tool.

5.4 Reviewer identity and suggestions

Authors may suggest or oppose reviewers with reasons, but the journal is not bound by these suggestions. Reviewer identities are not disclosed under the double-anonymous model unless the journal and reviewer explicitly adopt an open-review arrangement for a specific article.

6. Editorial board and editor submissions

Editors and editorial board members may submit manuscripts, but they receive no preferential treatment. The manuscript is assigned to an independent editor with no relevant relationship to the authors. The submitting editor is excluded from reviewer selection, correspondence, deliberation and access to the decision. This independent handling will be documented internally and disclosed in the article when appropriate.

Editorial board membership does not guarantee publication, reviewer invitations, citation or other benefit. Board members must agree to serve, maintain accurate affiliations, contribute within their expertise and comply with conflict-of-interest and confidentiality requirements.

7. Authorship and contributorship

The journal uses the current ICMJE authorship criteria. Authors must have made substantial contributions to the conception or design, or acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data; drafted the work or revised it critically; approved the final version; and agreed to be accountable for the work. All four conditions are required.

Contributions must be reported using the CRediT taxonomy. Gift, guest, honorary and ghost authorship are prohibited. Individuals who contributed but do not qualify as authors should be acknowledged with permission. Artificial intelligence tools cannot be authors.

The corresponding author must ensure that all authors approve submission, that the author list is complete, that disclosures are accurate and that the journal receives prompt responses. All authors share responsibility for responding to questions about integrity after publication.

8. Changes in authorship and disputes

Requests to add, remove or reorder authors must include a reason and written agreement from all listed and affected authors. Changes after acceptance are exceptional and may delay publication. Unresolved disputes will normally be referred to the relevant institutions. The journal may pause review or publication until the matter is resolved.

9. Competing interests and funding

Authors, reviewers and editors must disclose financial and non-financial interests that could be perceived to influence their work. Relevant interests may include employment, grants, consultancies, fees, stock ownership, patents, advisory roles, personal or professional relationships, academic competition and strongly held intellectual positions.

Funding sources and grant numbers must be reported. Authors must describe the sponsor’s role in design, conduct, analysis, interpretation, writing and the decision to submit. Editors and reviewers with conflicts must recuse themselves. Undisclosed interests discovered after publication may lead to a correction, expression of concern or other action.

10. Ethical oversight of human research

Research involving human participants, human biological material or identifiable human data requires prior approval or a documented exemption from a competent ethics committee or institutional review board. Manuscripts must state the committee name, approval number, approval date and consent process. The journal may request protocols, approvals, consent forms and related documentation.

Research should comply with applicable law and accepted ethical principles, including the Declaration of Helsinki where relevant. Editors may reject research that is legal but ethically unacceptable. Concerns identified after publication will be investigated and may be referred to institutions or regulators.

11. Animal research and welfare

Animal research requires prior approval from an appropriate committee and compliance with applicable legislation and accepted welfare standards. Authors must justify the model and sample size, report measures to reduce bias and suffering, and follow the current ARRIVE guideline where applicable. Studies involving unnecessary harm, inadequate analgesia, inappropriate endpoints or insufficient welfare oversight may be rejected.

12. Consent for publication and confidentiality

Written informed consent for publication is required when a person may be identifiable from clinical details, images, pedigrees, audio, video or other information. Authors must retain the consent documentation and provide confirmation or a copy when requested. Identifying details should be removed unless scientifically necessary and explicitly consented.

Editorial staff and reviewers must protect confidential manuscripts, participant information and correspondence. Confidential material will be shared only with individuals involved in editorial assessment, production, integrity review or legal compliance.

13. Clinical trial registration

The journal requires prospective registration of clinical trials in a publicly accessible registry accepted by the ICMJE or the World Health Organization registry network. Registration must occur before enrolment of the first participant. The registration number must appear in the abstract and manuscript. Any discrepancy between the registry, protocol and article must be explained.

Retrospectively registered trials are considered only in exceptional circumstances and require transparent explanation. Registration does not replace ethics approval, protocol reporting or complete disclosure of outcomes.

14. Data sharing, reproducibility and research materials

Every research article must contain a data availability statement. The journal encourages deposition of de-identified data, code, protocols, statistical analysis plans, questionnaires and materials in trusted repositories with persistent identifiers. Restrictions based on participant privacy, consent, commercial confidentiality, national security or legal obligations must be explained.

Authors must retain primary data and documentation for a period consistent with institutional, funder and legal requirements. The journal may request data, code, images, laboratory records or analysis files during review or after publication. Failure to provide a reasonable explanation or supporting material may lead to rejection or integrity action.

Clinical trial reports must include a data-sharing statement specifying what will be shared, when, for how long, with whom, for what purpose and by what access mechanism.

15. Reporting guidelines and statistical integrity

Authors must use the appropriate current reporting guideline, such as CONSORT, STROBE, PRISMA, PRISMA-ScR, STARD, CARE, ARRIVE, TRIPOD, CHEERS, SQUIRE, COREQ or SRQR. Completed checklists and flow diagrams may be required. Reporting guidelines do not replace sound study design or independent editorial assessment.

Methods and analyses must be described sufficiently for appraisal and reproduction. Authors should report effect estimates with uncertainty, justify sample size, distinguish prespecified from exploratory analyses, describe missing-data handling and avoid interpreting statistical non-significance as proof of no effect. Selective outcome reporting, undisclosed multiple testing and inappropriate image or data processing are unacceptable.

16. Research and publication misconduct

The journal takes allegations seriously before and after publication and follows a fair, confidential and evidence-based process. Misconduct and unacceptable practices include fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, inappropriate text recycling, citation manipulation, undisclosed duplicate publication, salami publication, authorship manipulation, peer-review manipulation, paper-mill activity, false ethics or registration information, undisclosed conflicts, and deliberate misrepresentation of data or methods.

Submissions may be screened using similarity-detection, image-analysis, reference-checking and other integrity tools. A similarity score is not treated as proof by itself. Editors assess the nature, extent, location and context of overlap. Allegations from named or anonymous sources are evaluated on their evidence rather than the identity of the complainant.

17. Originality, preprints and overlapping publication

Manuscripts must not be under consideration elsewhere and must not substantially duplicate published or submitted work. Authors must disclose closely related manuscripts, datasets, conference reports, protocols, theses and preprints and provide copies when requested. Secondary publication may be considered only when ethically justified, authorised, transparent and compliant with accepted guidance.

Posting a manuscript on a recognised non-commercial preprint server does not automatically prevent consideration. Authors must identify the preprint at submission and update it with the final article citation after publication. Media promotion of unreviewed findings should not misrepresent the status or certainty of the work.

18. Image and data integrity

Images and data must represent the original observations accurately. Authors must not selectively enhance, obscure, remove, duplicate, move or combine features in a way that changes interpretation. Global adjustments are acceptable only when applied consistently and disclosed when material. Composite images must identify boundaries, panels, scale bars and any non-linear processing.

The journal may request uncropped images, raw data, acquisition metadata and processing details. Inappropriate manipulation may lead to rejection, correction, retraction and notification of institutions or funders. Stock images, AI-generated images or illustrative reconstructions must never be presented as experimental, clinical, radiological, histological or microscopy data.

19. Artificial intelligence policy

19.1 Authors

Authors may use AI tools responsibly for limited assistance, but human authors remain accountable for all content. AI systems cannot be authors. Material use must be disclosed with the tool, purpose and location of use. AI use in methods, data analysis, modelling, screening, image analysis or code generation must be reported sufficiently for evaluation and reproducibility.

Authors must verify AI-assisted text, references, calculations, code and interpretations. Confidential or personal data must not be entered into external systems without permission and appropriate safeguards. Undisclosed synthetic data, fabricated references or AI-generated evidentiary images are prohibited.

19.2 Reviewers and editors

Reviewers and editors must not upload confidential manuscripts, reviews, author identities or unpublished data to public or third-party AI tools. Limited use of an approved secure tool may occur only when confidentiality, data protection, intellectual property and human accountability are preserved. AI outputs must not replace expert judgement or determine editorial decisions autonomously.

20. Editorial decisions, appeals and complaints

20.1 Appeals

Authors may appeal a rejection when they believe a factual or procedural error materially affected the decision. An appeal must be submitted promptly, normally within 30 days, and should address the editor’s and reviewers’ reasoning with evidence. Disagreement alone is not sufficient. Appeals are assessed by an editor not directly involved when feasible. The appeal decision is final unless a new integrity concern emerges.

20.2 Complaints

Complaints about editorial conduct, delays, conflicts, discrimination, peer review, published content or journal management should be submitted to the editorial office with relevant evidence. Complaints involving the Editor-in-Chief will be handled by an independent senior representative of the publisher. The journal will acknowledge, investigate and respond fairly while protecting confidentiality and due process.

21. Corrections, expressions of concern and retractions

The journal corrects the literature when errors or concerns affect interpretation, attribution, metadata or reliability. Minor typographical errors that do not affect meaning may be corrected in the online version with an audit trail. Substantive corrections are published as linked notices that identify the changes and preserve the original record where appropriate.

An expression of concern may be issued when serious questions remain unresolved and an investigation is incomplete or inconclusive. Retraction is considered when findings are unreliable because of major error or misconduct, the work is redundant or plagiarised, research is unethical, peer review was manipulated or other serious grounds apply. Retraction notices will be clearly labelled, linked, accessible and state who is retracting and why, while avoiding defamatory or unsupported language.

22. Article withdrawal and removal

Authors may request withdrawal before acceptance, but the editor may require an explanation, particularly after peer review. Accepted articles should not be withdrawn merely to submit elsewhere. Published articles are not removed solely because authors regret publication. Removal is reserved for exceptional legal, privacy, security or serious public-health circumstances. Bibliographic information and a clear notice will remain whenever legally possible.

23. Post-publication discussion

The journal welcomes evidence-based comments, letters and critiques of published work. Authors are expected to respond constructively and provide data or clarification when reasonably requested. The journal may also consider concerns raised on recognised external post-publication review platforms. Comments must be relevant, respectful, non-defamatory and free from undisclosed conflicts.

24. Copyright, licensing and permissions

Authors retain copyright and grant QES MedPharm Journal the right of first publication. Published open-access articles use the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence unless another licence is stated. The licence and copyright holder will appear on the HTML and PDF versions of each article.

Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce or adapt copyrighted material. Reuse must include complete attribution and comply with the original licence. The journal’s website content, logo and design may have separate copyright terms from article content.

25. Open access and author fees

The journal provides immediate open access to published articles. Readers are not required to register or pay to access open content. Article processing charges are waived for 2026 and 2027. Any future APC, waiver, page charge, colour charge or other author fee will be stated clearly before submission and will not be introduced retrospectively.

Editorial decisions are independent of payments, waivers, institutional agreements, sponsorship or donations. Authors unable to pay a future charge may request a waiver without influencing peer review or editorial assessment.

26. Special issues and guest-edited collections

Special issues must remain within the journal’s scope and meet the same standards as regular content. Proposals are evaluated for scientific value, feasibility, guest editor expertise, conflicts and potential risks. Guest editors must follow the journal’s policies, use independent peer review and cannot make final decisions on their own articles or on manuscripts with which they have a conflict.

The Editor-in-Chief or a designated independent editor retains oversight and final decision authority. The journal will monitor unusual submission patterns, reviewer recommendations, acceptance rates, citation behaviour and publication volume. Commercial sponsorship will be disclosed and must not determine editorial outcomes.

27. Advertising, sponsorship and revenue

The journal will state clearly whether it accepts advertising. Advertising, sponsorship, reprint income, institutional support, donations and other revenue sources must not influence editorial decisions. Advertisements must be distinguishable from editorial content, must not be placed based on specific article conclusions and must comply with applicable law and responsible health communication standards.

Sponsored supplements or collections must identify the sponsor and the sponsor’s role. Editors retain control over peer review, acceptance and publication. The journal will not accept misleading claims, unapproved medical products, discriminatory material or advertising that creates a material conflict with the journal’s mission.

28. Digital preservation, metadata and access

The journal will maintain secure, regular backups and a documented continuity plan. It will use a recognised long-term digital preservation service, such as the PKP Preservation Network, LOCKSS or CLOCKSS, and will identify the active service on the journal website. Preservation arrangements must enable continued access if the journal or publisher ceases operation.

The journal will maintain a registered ISSN, stable article URLs, structured citation metadata, English titles and abstracts for peer-reviewed content, persistent identifiers such as DOIs, and accurate author, affiliation, funding, licence and reference metadata. Metadata supplied to indexing and registration services must match the published record.

For PMC participation, the journal and publisher must be able to supply full-text content and associated files in compliant JATS XML and pass NLM technical evaluation. For MEDLINE, citation and abstract data must meet NLM technical requirements. These are operational requirements in addition to editorial quality.

29. Privacy and personal data

Personal information collected through submission, peer review, registration and correspondence is used only for journal operations, integrity checks, publication, legal compliance and service improvement. Access is limited to authorised staff and service providers. The journal will publish a privacy statement describing data collected, legal basis, retention, security, international transfer, cookies and user rights under applicable law.

Reviewer identities are protected according to the review model. Author contact details are published only when appropriate, usually for the corresponding author. Sensitive personal or participant data will not be published without valid consent or legal justification.

30. Sanctions and cooperation with institutions

When serious misconduct or repeated non-compliance is established, the journal may reject or retract work, issue notices, restrict submissions for a defined period, remove individuals from editorial or reviewer roles, and notify institutions, funders, regulators, other journals or relevant authorities. Sanctions are proportionate, documented and subject to fair process.

The journal will cooperate with institutions and other journals in research-integrity investigations while respecting confidentiality, evidence and jurisdiction. The journal does not substitute for an institution’s authority to investigate employee conduct, but it remains responsible for decisions about the published record.

31. Indexing and metrics claims

The journal will list only indexing, abstracting, archiving and metric services in which its status is current and verifiable. Applications, pending evaluations or deposits will not be described as acceptance or indexing. The journal will not display fabricated impact factors, misleading metrics or logos without authorisation.

PubMed is a search system that includes citations from MEDLINE, PMC and certain NCBI Bookshelf content. A journal should describe the exact route and status, such as “indexed in MEDLINE” or “full text archived in PMC”, only after official confirmation. Scopus coverage will be claimed only after the title appears in the official Scopus Sources list.

32. Policy review and contact

These policies will be reviewed at least annually and updated when standards, law, technology or journal operations change. Material policy changes will be dated and archived. Questions, appeals, complaints and integrity concerns should be submitted through the journal’s official OJS contact page or the editorial office contact listed on the website.

33. Implementation checklist before indexing applications

·   Register and display a confirmed ISSN/eISSN and exact journal title.

·   Publish on schedule for at least 12 months and build a stable body of peer-reviewed content. MEDLINE currently requires at least 40 peer-reviewed articles before application.

·   For a PMC application, publish at least 25 peer-reviewed articles in final form and ensure immediate NLM access to the journal content.

·   Document at least two years of quality life-science publishing by the publisher, or provide evidence that the journal management team has adequate comparable publishing experience.

·   Publish English titles and abstracts for all peer-reviewed content and maintain clear, consistent article structure.

·   Display full names, affiliations and countries of editors, plus a complete editorial office mailing address and contact details.

·   Activate DOI registration and ensure complete, accurate metadata and reference linking.

·   Activate and publicly identify a recognised preservation service, not only routine server backup.

·   Implement similarity checking, image-integrity review, conflict declarations, ethics verification and independent handling of editor-authored papers.

·   Maintain verifiable records of reviewer assignment, decisions, revisions, ethical approvals and complaints.

·   Ensure geographic and disciplinary diversity among editors, reviewers and authors without tokenism.

·   Develop JATS XML production and quality-control capacity before applying to PMC.

·   Avoid publication-volume spikes, repeated authorship, excessive editorial-board authorship, citation manipulation and inconsistent peer review.

·   Publish corrections and integrity notices promptly and preserve links between all versions.

·   Do not apply to an index until the website, published content and operations match every public policy statement.

Standards and source framework

QES MedPharm Journal applies these standards as guidance and does not claim membership of, endorsement by, or indexing in any organisation unless formally confirmed.

·   International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, Recommendations, updated January 2026

·   Committee on Publication Ethics, Core Principles and guidance

·   Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing, Version 4

·   EQUATOR Network reporting guidelines

·   National Library of Medicine, Journal Selection for MEDLINE

·   National Library of Medicine, Journal Selection for PMC

·   Scopus content policy and selection