Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement

Publication malpractice is an unfortunate occurrence in the world of scholarly literature and its prevention is the responsibility of every author, editor, reviewer, and publisher. Authors are expected to adhere to the ethical standards and conduct that remain mandatory in scholarly publishing. During the submission, authors need to state that their work has not been submitted elsewhere.

Duties of the editor and editorial board:

  • Publication decisions: the editor of the Indian Journal of Child Health is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published and the editorial board makes the final decision about the articles to be published. The editor is guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements. The editor may consult with the editorial board or reviewers in decision making.
  • Fair play: the editor should evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.
  • Confidentiality: the editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, as appropriate.

Duties of Reviewers:

  • Contribution to Editorial Decisions: peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and through the editorial communications with the author may also assist the author in improving the paper.
  • Standards of Objectivity: reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.
  • Disclosure and Conflict of Interest: 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 papers.

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 paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.
  • Originality and Plagiarism: the authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others that this has been appropriately cited or quoted. Plagiarism takes many forms, from ‘passing off’ another’s paper as the author’s paper, to copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another’s paper (without attribution), to claiming results from research conducted by others. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
  • Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication: an author should not, in general, publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
  • Acknowledgment of Sources: proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work. Information obtained privately, as in conversation, correspondence, or discussion with third parties, must not be used or reported without explicit, written permission from the source. Information obtained in the course of confidential services, such as refereeing manuscripts or grant applications, must not be used without the explicit written permission of the author of the work involved in these services.
  • Authorship of the Paper: authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where others have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.
  • Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: all authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.
  • Fundamental errors in published work: when an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her published work, the author must promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper

Please feel free to contact us with your comments, suggestions, or questions regarding article submission or ideas you may have in mind.

Human and Animal Rights, and Informed Consent

Published research must comply with the guidelines for human studies and animal welfare rules.

The authors must state that individuals have participated in the study with informed consent and the study protocol by the Institute's "Human Research Committee" approved.