Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement
“International Journal of Biomedicine” (IJBM) endorses and behaves in accordance with the codes of conduct and international standards established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
IJBM publishes peer-reviewed articles on basic, applied, and translational research in biology and medicine.
Editorial Procedures
IJBM’s editorial procedures are guided by the COPE Code of Conduct for Journal Editors and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals. Manuscripts are evaluated for their content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy. IJBM is committed to following best practices on ethical matters, errors, and retractions, and to provide legal review if necessary.
The journal publishes only original works presenting reliable data and results. All submissions must provide proper citation of all sources. Data falsification or manipulation, and plagiarism, are strictly prohibited and lead to the rejection of manuscripts and the retraction of published papers.
Authorship Statement
IIJBM follows the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which state that only contributors who have made substantive intellectual contributions to a paper are credited as authors. Contributors credited as authors must understand their role in taking responsibility and being accountable for what is published. Contributors who do not meet all criteria for authorship should be listed in the Acknowledgements section.
The corresponding author serves as the primary liaison between the research team and the journal. The corresponding author, acting on behalf of all authors, is responsible for the entire contents, including the author list and statements regarding author contributions. Any changes to the author list after the submission of the manuscript—such as alterations to the author order, or the addition or removal of authors—must be approved by each author. The corresponding author is required to submit a statement regarding competing interests on behalf of all authors of the article. The corresponding author is also required to obtain and submit written permission for the reuse of materials from the authors of previous works and/or their publishers. Following the publication of the article, the corresponding author serves as the primary point of contact for addressing any inquiries regarding the published material.
Confidentiality
The editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author and reviewers, other editorial advisers, as appropriate. The editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author and reviewers, other editorial advisers, as appropriate.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor's own research without the express written consent of the author. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. All authors must disclose any financial or other relations that could lead to a conflict of interest. If a potential conflict exists, its nature should be stated for each author. When there is a stated potential conflict of interest, a footnote must be added indicating the author's equity interest in or other affiliation with the identified commercial firms. All sources of financial support for the study should be cited, including federal or state agencies, nonprofit organizations, and pharmaceutical or other commercial sources. Acknowledgment of those who contributed to the research or preparation of the paper should follow the text. Please use the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest (http://www.icmje.org/conflicts-of-interest/).
The Use of Generative AI and AI-assisted Technologies in Scientific Writing
The adoption of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in scientific writing has prompted the formulation of this policy. The policy aims to enhance transparency and provide guidance to authors, readers, reviewers, editors, and contributors. This policy focuses solely on the writing process and does not encompass the use of AI tools for data analysis in research.
When authors employ generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process, they must use these tools only to enhance readability and linguistic quality. Human control should be exercised while applying these technologies, as authors must review and edit the results meticulously. This precaution is necessary because AI-generated content may sound authoritative but can be incorrect, incomplete, or biased. Authors bear ultimate responsibility and accountability for the content of their work.
Authors are required to disclose their use of AI and AI-assisted technologies. A statement regarding the use of these technologies should be included in the published work to aid compliance with the relevant tool or technology terms of use. Authors should not credit AI and AI-based technologies as co-authors, as authorship entails responsibilities that only humans can fulfill.
Regarding figures and images, we do not permit the use of generative AI or AI-assisted tools to create or modify images in submitted manuscripts. Adjustments to brightness, contrast, or color balance are permitted as long as they do not obscure or destroy any information present in the original. Finally, the use of generative AI or AI-assisted tools in creating graphical abstracts is not permitted.
The only exception is when the use of AI or AI-assisted tools is part of the research design or research methods (for example, in AI-assisted imaging approaches to generate or interpret underlying research data, such as in biomedical imaging). Such use should be described in a reproducible manner in the methods section, explaining how the AI or AI-enabled tools were used to create or modify the image.
Authors must adhere to specific policies for using AI software and ensure proper attribution of content. In some cases, authors may be asked to provide pre-AI-corrected versions of images and/or composite raw images used to create the final submitted versions for editorial assessment.
Plagiarism and Fabrication
Data falsification or manipulation, and plagiarism, are strictly prohibited and lead to the rejection of manuscripts and the retraction of published papers. Plagiarism is considered evident in cases where significant fragments of text have been copied and pasted without proper and unambiguous attribution of the source. Self-plagiarism, also known as "text recycling," is also unacceptable; it involves the reuse of one's own previously submitted or published materials presented as new, without proper citation.
Editorial Policies
Review Process
After manuscript submission, the Editor-in-Chief screens manuscripts for fit with the journal's scope and basic quality, and notifies the corresponding author whether it is under consideration for publication. The Editor-in-Chief may sometimes reject a manuscript without external peer review if the manuscript is outside the scope of IJBM or does not meet the journal’s quality standards. Articles under such consideration are sent to peer reviewers selected by the Editor-in-Chief or the Editorial Board members to whom the task has been delegated. Experts are usually not part of the editorial staff. The Editor-in-Chief or the Editorial Board members send confidential information to the reviewer with the invitation letter, which contains explicit instructions on the IJBM’s expectations for the scope, content, quality, and timeliness of their reviews to promote thoughtful, fair, constructive, and informative critique of the submitted manuscript. The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board members ensure that reviewers have access to all materials that may be relevant to the evaluation of the manuscript, including supplementary materials. Reviewers should clearly express their views, supported by arguments. If the reviewers recommend extensive revisions or have questions, authors may be asked to revise their manuscript and then resubmit the article. Reviewers are not allowed to make copies of the manuscript for their files. Reviewers should return or destroy copies of manuscripts after submitting reviews. The Editor-in-Chief oversees the entire peer-review process to ensure quality, ethical standards, and compliance with the journal’s scope. All articles in the IJBM are evaluated by the editor-in-chief, who makes final decisions (accept, reject, or revise) based on reviewer recommendations, expert assessments, and the journal's strategic goals. IJBM editors reserve the right to edit text for clarity, style, and length. Page proofs are sent to the authors electronically and must be returned within 72 hours to avoid delay of publication. Generally, peer review is completed within 6-8 weeks.
The Editor-in-Chief ensures ethical oversight, investigating allegations of plagiarism, falsification, or unethical research conduct. The Editor-in-Chief is the primary contact for authors.
IJBM will be pleased to accept the services of reviewers in the fields of clinical science, experimental medicine, and biology.
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Timeliness
Generally, peer review is completed within 4-6 weeks, and the editor’s decision is made within 7-14 days of this. It is therefore very rare to have to wait more than 8 weeks for a final decision.
Corrections & Retractions
The International Journal of Biomedicine will issue corrections and retraction statements.
Corrections may be published to correct an important error(s) made by the Author(s) or Publisher that affects the scientific integrity of the published article and the publication record, or the reputation of the authors or of the journal.
The published article may be retracted in cases where the reliability of the published work has been substantially undermined due to errors committed during the conduct, analysis, and/or presentation of the research results. Violations of publication or research ethics may also result in the retraction of the article. The original article is marked as retracted, but its PDF version remains accessible to readers, and the retraction notice includes a bidirectional link to the original paper. Typically, retraction notices indicate whether the authors agree or disagree with this decision.
Journal Policy on Affiliation with Sanctioned Institutions
At IJBM, we uphold the highest standards of academic integrity and compliance with international laws and regulations. To ensure the ethical and legal standing of all submitted research papers, authors are required to adhere to the following policy regarding affiliation with sanctioned institutions:
1. Declaration of Non-Affiliation: Authors must provide a clear and unambiguous statement confirming their non-affiliation with any institution, organization, or individual subject to sanctions imposed by international sanctions, laws, or regulations. This declaration should be included in the cover letter accompanying their manuscript submission.
2. Sanctioned Entities: Sanctioned entities include those listed on sanctions lists maintained by international authorities, such as the United Nations, the United States Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the European Union, or any other relevant governing body.
3. Independence and Ethical Research: Authors should affirm that their research is conducted independently and ethically, without receiving any funding, resources, or support from sanctioned sources in connection with the submitted research.
4. Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest: Authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest that may compromise the ethical and legal standing of their submission. This includes any financial interests or affiliations that could be perceived as influencing the research.
5. Consequences of Non-Compliance: Failure to adhere to this policy, misrepresentation of affiliations, or non-disclosure of conflicts of interest may result in the rejection of the submitted manuscript or further investigation into the matter.
Authors submitting their research papers to IJBM are responsible for ensuring their compliance with this policy. We reserve the right to verify the accuracy of the provided information and take appropriate action in cases of non-compliance.
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IJBM only runs advertisements for scientific forums or events. IJBM prohibits the sale of advertisements for any pharmaceutical product.
