Ethical Considerations: Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The International Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences (IJABS), published by the Behavioral Sciences Research Center of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBMU), is committed to the highest standards of research and publication ethics. The journal follows the COPE Core Practices and Code of Conduct, the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) for the conduct, reporting, editing, and publication of scholarly work, and the Declaration of Helsinki. Authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher are all expected to adhere to this statement.

1. Research Ethics

• Studies involving human participants must be approved by an appropriate institutional or national ethics committee and conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. The name of the committee and the approval code must be stated in the Methods section.
• Participants must give informed consent. For participants who cannot consent for themselves (for example, children or persons with cognitive impairment), consent must be obtained from a parent or legal guardian, together with the participant’s assent where possible.
• The privacy and confidentiality of participants must be protected. Names, initials, contact details, and other identifying information, including in images, may not be published without the written consent of the person concerned.
• Clinical trials must be registered in a recognized trial registry before the enrolment of the first participant, and the registration number must be given at the end of the abstract.
• Studies involving animals must follow the relevant national and international guidelines and be approved by an ethics committee.
• The editors may request the ethical approval letter or consent documentation at any time. Research that was conducted without proper ethical approval, or that raises serious ethical concerns, will not be published.
• Authors are encouraged to follow the relevant reporting guideline (for example, CONSORT, STROBE, PRISMA, COREQ, or SRQR).

2. Duties of Authors

• Originality and plagiarism: authors must submit only original work and cite all sources properly. Plagiarism in any form, including self-plagiarism and the use of the words or ideas of others without credit, is unacceptable.
• Duplicate and redundant publication: a manuscript must not be submitted to more than one journal at the same time, and the same findings must not be published in more than one journal. Splitting one study into several papers without a scientific reason is not allowed.
• Data integrity: authors must report data honestly. Fabrication, falsification, selective reporting, and inappropriate manipulation of data or images are serious misconduct. Authors should keep the raw data and provide them to the editors on request, and they must include a data availability statement.
• Authorship: authorship is limited to those who meet the ICMJE criteria: a substantial contribution to the work, drafting or critical revision, final approval of the version to be published, and accountability for the work. Gift, guest, and ghost authorship are not accepted. The contribution of each author must be described, and every author must approve the manuscript and its submission. Changes to the authorship after submission need the written agreement of all authors.
• Conflicts of interest and funding: all financial and non-financial interests that might be seen as influencing the work, and all sources of financial support, must be disclosed.
• Use of artificial intelligence: AI tools cannot be listed as authors, and any use of them in the preparation of the manuscript must be disclosed. Authors remain fully responsible for the content. Fabricated or AI-generated data, images, and references are treated as misconduct.
• Errors in published work: authors who discover a significant error in their published article must promptly notify the editors and cooperate in publishing a correction or retraction.
• Cooperation: authors must respond to the reviewers’ comments honestly and respectfully and cooperate with any investigation.

3. Duties of Editors

• Editors evaluate manuscripts only on the basis of their scientific merit, originality, relevance, and methodological quality, without discrimination on the basis of the authors’ nationality, gender, religion, political beliefs, or institution.
• Editors keep all information about submitted manuscripts confidential and do not use it for their own advantage.
• Editors declare their conflicts of interest and do not handle manuscripts when they have a conflict. Submissions from editors and members of the editorial board are handled independently of the person concerned and receive the same peer review as all others.
• Editors screen all submissions for plagiarism and check the ethical approval, registration, and declarations.
• Editors select qualified, independent reviewers, ensure that reviews are objective and timely, and make decisions that are not influenced by commercial considerations or pressure from the publisher or the university.
• Editors respond to allegations of misconduct promptly and follow the COPE flowcharts. They publish corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern whenever necessary.
• Editors maintain records of their decisions and procedures, and take reasonable steps to prevent publication of articles in which misconduct has occurred.

4. Duties of Reviewers

• Reviewers treat manuscripts as confidential and do not share them, use their content, or contact the authors.
• Reviewers give objective, constructive, and well-argued comments, without personal criticism of the authors.
• Reviewers decline to review if they have a conflict of interest or lack the expertise, and inform the editor promptly if they cannot meet the deadline.
• Reviewers do not upload manuscripts into generative AI tools and do not use them to write their reports.
• Reviewers report suspected misconduct, such as plagiarism or duplicate publication, to the editor in confidence.

5. Peer Review

All research articles are peer reviewed by at least two independent experts, using a double-blind process in which the identities of the authors and reviewers are concealed from each other. The editor-in-chief makes the final decision. The journal does not charge any fees for submission, review, or publication, and payment has no influence on the decisions.

6. Handling of Suspected Misconduct

Any person may report a suspected case of misconduct, such as plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, image manipulation, duplicate publication, authorship disputes, undisclosed conflicts of interest, or unethical research, by writing to the editorial office. Reports are treated confidentially.

• The editors assess the evidence and follow the relevant COPE flowchart.
• The authors (or other persons concerned) are asked to respond. If the response is unsatisfactory, the matter is referred to their institution, ethics committee, or funder.
• Depending on the outcome, the journal may reject the manuscript, publish a correction, retraction, or expression of concern, and/or inform the relevant institutions. Authors found guilty of serious misconduct may be barred from submitting to the journal.
• All cases and decisions are documented.

7. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

• Correction (erratum or corrigendum): published when an error does not invalidate the findings of the article.
• Retraction: published when the findings are unreliable because of serious error or misconduct, or when the article is a duplicate publication, is plagiarized, or reports unethical research. The retracted article remains available on the website, clearly marked as retracted, and the notice states the reason.
• Expression of concern: published when there is credible evidence of a serious problem but an investigation is incomplete or inconclusive.

These procedures follow the COPE Retraction Guidelines. Corrections and retractions are linked to the original article.

8. Complaints and Appeals

Authors may appeal against an editorial decision in writing, giving specific scientific reasons. Complaints about the editorial process, the editors, or the reviewers should be sent to the editorial office, and will be investigated impartially. The editors will inform the complainant of the outcome.

9. Ethical Responsibilities of the Publisher

The Behavioral Sciences Research Center of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences supports the journal financially and respects its editorial independence. The publisher ensures that the journal’s policies, fees (none), copyright, and licensing (CC BY 4.0) are transparent, that content is archived for long-term access, and that the journal operates according to the standards of COPE and the other bodies mentioned above.

10. Contact

Questions about publication ethics and reports of suspected misconduct should be addressed to the editorial office at: ijabs@sbmu.ac.ir