Editorial Integrity and Ethical Standards

At ClinicaPress, we are deeply committed to maintaining the highest standards of editorial excellence. Our editorial policies are designed to foster transparency, ensure ethical compliance, and protect the integrity of scholarly publishing.

All manuscripts submitted to our journals are evaluated with care and respect. We do not tolerate unethical practices such as plagiarism, data manipulation, or ghost authorship. Our process is governed by internationally accepted guidelines, including:

COPE: Committee on Publication Ethics
ICMJE: International Committee of Medical Journal Editors
WAME: World Association of Medical Editors
DOAJ Principles of Transparency and Best Practice

1. Peer Review Policy

We follow a double-blind peer review process, meaning both reviewers and authors remain anonymous to each other to ensure impartiality.

Process Overview:

Manuscripts are initially screened by the editorial office for scope, structure, and ethical compliance.
Eligible submissions are sent to two or more independent reviewers.
Reviewers evaluate the manuscript for:
- Originality and significance
- Scientific and methodological soundness
- Clarity of presentation
- Ethical compliance
- Relevance to the field
Based on reviews, the Editor-in-Chief or Associate Editor makes a decision:
- Accept
- Minor revisions
- Major revisions
- Reject

Reviewer Ethics:

Reviewers are expected to maintain confidentiality, declare conflicts of interest, and provide constructive, unbiased feedback.
Reviewer identities are kept confidential throughout the process.

2. Publication Ethics

We are uncompromising in our commitment to ethical publishing. All authors, editors, and reviewers must adhere to the following ethical responsibilities:

a. Authorship Criteria

Authorship must be limited to those who have made substantial contributions to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the work. All authors must:

Approve the final version of the manuscript
Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work

Gift authorship, ghost authorship, and honorary authorship are strictly prohibited.

b. Plagiarism Policy

All manuscripts are screened using advanced plagiarism detection tools (e.g., Turnitin, iThenticate).
Any form of text duplication, data falsification, or image manipulation will result in immediate rejection and possible reporting to the author’s institution.

c. Duplicate Submission

Submissions must not be under consideration elsewhere or previously published. Authors must declare any related or overlapping publications.

3. Conflict of Interest

All authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts that may influence the interpretation or handling of the manuscript.

This includes:

Financial ties to any product or service discussed in the manuscript
Personal relationships
Academic or institutional affiliations that may affect objectivity

Conflicts are published in the final article for transparency.

4. Ethical Approval & Informed Consent

Research involving human participants or animals must include:

Statement of ethical approval from an institutional ethics committee
Informed consent documentation for studies involving human participants
Compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki and relevant national regulations

Animal studies must comply with international guidelines such as the ARRIVE guidelines and include a statement of humane treatment.

5. Data Sharing & Reproducibility

We encourage openness and reproducibility. Authors are advised to:

Provide access to raw data, where ethically appropriate
Include a Data Availability Statement
Submit supplementary files, protocols, or methods as appendices

We support data repositories (e.g., Dryad, Figshare, Zenodo) and accept preprints from recognized servers.

6. Corrections, Retractions & Editorial Updates

Corrections:

Minor errors that do not affect scientific conclusions may be corrected post-publication with a correction notice.

Retractions:

Major errors, misconduct, or ethical breaches will result in a formal retraction, following COPE guidelines.

Expressions of Concern:

If misconduct is suspected but not yet proven, the editors may issue a statement of concern pending investigation.

7. Appeals and Complaints

Authors may appeal rejection decisions by submitting a detailed rebuttal. Appeals are reviewed by an independent editorial panel.

Complaints related to editorial handling, peer review, or publication ethics should be addressed to [editorial@yourpublisher.com] and will be investigated thoroughly and fairly.

8. Open Access & Licensing

All articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), allowing free distribution and reproduction with proper attribution.

We believe in unrestricted access to knowledge:

No paywalls
No subscription fees
All articles permanently available online

We also assign a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) to every published article to ensure permanent accessibility and traceability.

9. Article Processing Charges (APCs)

To maintain editorial operations and open-access publishing, an APC may apply upon acceptance. However:

No submission fees are charged
Waivers/discounts are available for authors from low-income or resource-limited settings

APC information is transparently listed on the journal’s “For Authors” page

10. Editorial Independence

Editors and reviewers make decisions solely based on scientific merit. No editorial decisions are influenced by the journal’s sponsors, advertisers, or management.

Editorial board members are free to publish in the journal but undergo full external peer review to avoid conflicts of interest.