The International Journal of Medical Toxicology and Forensic Medicine (IJMTFM) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and scholarly integrity. The journal follows internationally recognized principles and recommendations, including the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices and the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).
This policy applies to all participants in the publication process, including authors, co-authors, editors, reviewers, and editorial staff. It provides guidance on responsible research and publication practices and addresses authorship, peer review, conflicts of interest, plagiarism, research misconduct, artificial intelligence, corrections, retractions, and other matters relating to publication ethics.
Authors are responsible for ensuring that their submitted manuscripts represent original, ethically conducted, and accurately reported research.
By submitting a manuscript to IJMTFM, authors confirm that:
Authors are responsible for the integrity and accuracy of their work and must cooperate with the journal in addressing any questions concerning the research or publication.
IJMTFM follows the authorship criteria recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).
Authorship should be based on all four of the following criteria:
All individuals who meet all four criteria should be listed as authors. Individuals who contribute to the work but do not meet all authorship criteria should be appropriately acknowledged rather than listed as authors.
The corresponding author is responsible for communication with the journal and for ensuring that all authors have approved the submitted manuscript and the authorship information.
Any changes to authorship after submission must be justified and agreed upon by all affected authors. The journal may request written confirmation from all authors before approving any change in authorship.
Authors must submit original work and must not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal.
Any previously published or submitted work that substantially overlaps with the submitted manuscript must be disclosed to the Editor at the time of submission and appropriately cited.
Duplicate publication, redundant publication, and inappropriate fragmentation of research findings are considered unacceptable publication practices.
Where substantial overlap or duplicate publication is suspected, IJMTFM will investigate the matter in accordance with relevant COPE guidance.
Plagiarism is unacceptable. It includes presenting another person's ideas, words, data, images, or other intellectual contributions as one's own without appropriate attribution.
IJMTFM may use plagiarism-detection software to screen submitted manuscripts.
Cases of suspected plagiarism will be assessed according to the extent and nature of the overlap. Depending on the circumstances, authors may be asked to revise the manuscript, provide clarification, or the manuscript may be rejected.
Where plagiarism is identified after publication, the journal may publish a correction, expression of concern, or retraction, as appropriate.
IJMTFM recognizes that limited text recycling may occur in specific circumstances, particularly in descriptions of established methods. However, authors must not reuse substantial portions of their previously published text, data, or conclusions without appropriate disclosure and citation.
Each case of text recycling will be assessed individually, taking into account the amount and location of the overlap, whether the previous work has been appropriately cited, and whether the reused material affects the originality of the submitted or published work.
Cases involving substantial duplication of data or previously published findings will be handled in accordance with relevant COPE guidance.
Fabrication, falsification, manipulation of research data, inappropriate image manipulation, plagiarism, unethical research practices, and other forms of research misconduct are unacceptable.
Where misconduct is suspected, IJMTFM may request clarification, supporting documentation, raw data, ethical approval documents, study protocols, or other relevant information.
The journal may contact the authors' institution or another appropriate authority when necessary to investigate serious allegations of research misconduct.
Appropriate corrective action may include rejection of a manuscript, publication of a correction or expression of concern, retraction of a published article, or other action consistent with applicable publication ethics standards.
Editors are responsible for maintaining the integrity, quality, and fairness of the journal's editorial process.
Editorial decisions should be based on the manuscript's scientific quality, originality, relevance, methodological rigor, ethical standards, and suitability for the journal.
Editors must:
Editors must not use unpublished information from submitted manuscripts for personal, academic, or financial advantage.
An Editor who has a conflict of interest in relation to a manuscript must not participate in its editorial evaluation or final decision.
IJMTFM is committed to editorial independence. Editorial decisions must not be influenced by commercial, financial, personal, political, or other external interests.
The Editor-in-Chief and editorial team are responsible for editorial decisions based on academic and ethical considerations.
Reviewers play an essential role in maintaining the quality and integrity of the journal.
Reviewers must:
Reviewers must not share manuscripts with other individuals or use external assistance without prior permission from the journal.
The final decision regarding acceptance, revision, or rejection of a manuscript rests with the Editor and is not determined by an individual reviewer.
All manuscripts submitted to IJMTFM are treated as confidential documents.
Editors, reviewers, and editorial staff must not disclose information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than those directly involved in the editorial and peer-review process.
Unpublished information obtained through the editorial process must not be used for personal or professional advantage.
Authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial staff must disclose any financial or non-financial interests that could influence, or could reasonably be perceived to influence, their judgment.
Authors must provide a conflict-of-interest declaration at
submission.
Reviewers and editors must decline participation when a conflict of interest could compromise their objectivity.
Further information is provided in the journal's Conflict of Interest Policy.
Research involving human participants, human data, or animals must comply with applicable ethical standards and institutional requirements.
Where required, authors must obtain approval from an appropriate ethics committee or institutional review board and provide relevant approval information in the manuscript.
Research involving human participants should be conducted in accordance with applicable international ethical principles, including the Declaration of Helsinki where relevant.
Authors must obtain appropriate informed consent where required, including consent for publication of identifiable information, photographs, or case details.
IJMTFM is committed to maintaining the integrity of the published scholarly record.
If a significant error is identified after publication, the journal may publish a correction or other appropriate notice.
Where published findings are determined to be unreliable because of serious errors, misconduct, or other significant concerns, the journal may retract the article in accordance with applicable COPE guidance.
An expression of concern may be published when substantial concerns exist but an investigation has not yet been completed or the available evidence is insufficient to reach a final conclusion.
IJMTFM provides authors with an opportunity to raise concerns or appeal editorial decisions.
Appeals should provide a clear and substantive justification and should address the editorial or peer-review decision rather than simply disagreeing with the outcome.
Complaints concerning editorial processes, publication ethics, or journal practices will be handled as promptly and fairly as possible.
Where a matter cannot be resolved internally, the journal may seek guidance from an appropriate external body, including COPE where applicable.
IJMTFM follows current recommendations concerning the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies in scholarly publishing.
Authors must disclose the use of AI-assisted technologies in the production of a manuscript at the time of submission.
If AI was used for writing assistance, this use should be appropriately disclosed in the manuscript, such as in the Acknowledgements section. If AI was used for data collection, analysis, image generation, or other substantive research activities, the use should be described in the appropriate section of the manuscript.
AI tools, including large language models and chatbots, must not be listed as authors or co-authors because they cannot assume responsibility or accountability for the work.
Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and ethical compliance of their submitted work, including material produced or assisted by AI.
Authors must carefully review AI-generated content because such systems may produce inaccurate, incomplete, biased, or fabricated information.
Authors are responsible for ensuring appropriate attribution and citation of all sources and for ensuring that AI-assisted content does not contain plagiarism or unauthorized copyrighted material.
Reviewers must not upload confidential manuscripts or unpublished information into AI systems unless the journal has expressly permitted such use and confidentiality can be adequately protected.
Editorial decisions at IJMTFM are independent of advertising, sponsorship, commercial interests, or other financial considerations.
Commercial activities must not influence the selection, review, acceptance, or publication of scholarly content.
The journal's advertising and commercial policies, where applicable, are managed independently of editorial decision-making.
IJMTFM respects authors' intellectual property rights and is committed to protecting the integrity of published scholarly work.
Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyrighted material belonging to third parties.
Cases involving copyright infringement or unauthorized use of intellectual property will be investigated and addressed appropriately.
IJMTFM encourages responsible academic discussion of published research.
Authors of published articles may be given an opportunity to respond to substantive criticisms concerning their work.
The journal may publish letters, comments, corrections, or other post-publication notices where appropriate.
Any suspected breach of publication ethics will be taken seriously.
IJMTFM may investigate concerns relating to:
The journal will follow appropriate COPE guidance and established ethical procedures when investigating such cases.
IJMTFM is committed to promoting transparency, integrity, accountability, and fairness throughout the research and publication process.
The journal will regularly review and update its publication ethics policies in accordance with developments in international standards and recommendations from organizations such as COPE and ICMJE.