EthicsStatement

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Mallomo Journal of Health (MJH) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics, research integrity, transparency, and responsible scholarly communication.

The journal follows internationally recognized principles of publication ethics and editorial practice, including guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

All parties involved in the publication process—including authors, reviewers, editors, editorial board members, and the publisher—are expected to uphold these ethical standards.

1. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for ensuring that submitted manuscripts are accurate, original, ethically conducted, and appropriately reported.

Authors must:

  • submit original work that has not been published previously and is not under consideration by another journal;
  • accurately describe the research conducted and present the results honestly;
  • avoid fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, inappropriate image manipulation, and selective reporting;
  • appropriately acknowledge and cite the work of others;
  • disclose all relevant funding sources and conflicts of interest;
  • ensure that all listed authors meet appropriate authorship criteria;
  • obtain ethical approval and informed consent where required;
  • provide accurate data and supporting information when requested by the editors;
  • promptly inform the journal if significant errors are discovered after publication; and
  • cooperate with requests for corrections, clarifications, or investigations.

Submission of the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously is not permitted.

2. Originality and Plagiarism

Authors must ensure that their work is original.

All manuscripts may be screened using plagiarism-detection or similarity-checking software before or during the editorial process.

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

  • copying text, ideas, data, figures, or results without proper acknowledgment;
  • substantial unattributed paraphrasing;
  • presenting another person’s work as one’s own;
  • duplicate or redundant publication;
  • inappropriate reuse of previously published material;
  • self-plagiarism that results in significant duplication without proper disclosure.

MJH does not determine publication decisions solely on the basis of a numerical similarity percentage. Similarity reports are assessed contextually by the editorial team.

Manuscripts found to contain substantial plagiarism or other serious integrity violations may be rejected. If misconduct is identified after publication, appropriate corrective action may include correction, expression of concern, or retraction.

3. Data Fabrication and Falsification

Fabrication or falsification of research data is strictly prohibited.

Fabrication includes making up data or results that were not actually obtained.

Falsification includes inappropriate manipulation, omission, alteration, or selective presentation of data, methods, images, or research findings in a manner that misrepresents the research.

If there is reasonable concern regarding data integrity, MJH may request:

  • raw data;
  • study protocols;
  • statistical outputs;
  • ethics approval documentation;
  • data collection instruments; or
  • other relevant supporting materials.

Failure to provide reasonable clarification or documentation may result in rejection, investigation, correction, or retraction.

4. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship should reflect substantial scholarly contribution and responsibility for the published work.

MJH follows the principles of authorship recommended by the ICMJE. Authors should make substantial contributions to the work, participate in drafting or critically revising the manuscript, approve the final version, and accept accountability for the work.

All authors must:

  • approve the final manuscript;
  • agree to the order of authorship;
  • agree to submission to MJH; and
  • take appropriate responsibility for the content of the work.

Individuals who contributed to the research but do not qualify for authorship should be acknowledged appropriately.

Practices such as:

  • guest authorship;
  • gift authorship;
  • honorary authorship; and
  • ghost authorship

are not acceptable.

Any request to add, remove, or reorder authors after submission must be justified and approved by all affected authors. The editor may request written documentation before accepting the change.

5. Conflict of Interest

All participants in the publication process—including authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members—must disclose relationships or activities that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, their judgment.

ICMJE emphasizes transparency regarding both financial and non-financial relationships throughout research, peer review, editing, and publication.

Potential conflicts may include:

  • research funding;
  • employment;
  • consultancy;
  • advisory roles;
  • stock ownership;
  • patents;
  • personal relationships;
  • academic competition;
  • institutional relationships; or
  • other financial or non-financial interests.

Authors must include a Conflict of Interest Statement in the manuscript.

If no conflict exists, authors should state:

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Reviewers or editors with significant conflicts of interest should decline involvement in the manuscript.

6. Ethical Approval for Research Involving Human Participants

Research involving human participants must comply with recognized ethical principles and applicable institutional, national, and international standards.

Authors should provide:

  • the name of the ethics committee or institutional review board;
  • the ethics approval/reference number; and
  • the date of approval where applicable.

The Methods section should clearly describe relevant ethical safeguards.

Research involving vulnerable populations requires particular care regarding consent, confidentiality, privacy, and participant protection.

7. Informed Consent

Where applicable, authors must confirm that informed consent was obtained from research participants before participation.

For studies involving identifiable personal information, photographs, case descriptions, or other potentially identifying material, authors must obtain appropriate consent for publication.

Consent procedures should be described in the manuscript.

If informed consent was waived by an ethics committee, the manuscript should state the basis for the waiver.

8. Animal Research

Research involving animals must comply with recognized standards for animal welfare and institutional ethical requirements.

Authors should provide:

  • the name of the relevant ethics committee;
  • approval/reference number where applicable; and
  • a description of measures taken to minimize animal suffering.

9. Clinical Trial Registration

Clinical trials should be registered in a publicly accessible and recognized trial registry in accordance with applicable international standards.

Where relevant, authors should provide:

  • trial registration number;
  • registry name; and
  • registration details.

ICMJE continues to emphasize prospective registration and transparent reporting of clinical trials.

10. Reporting Standards

Authors should report research in a transparent, complete, and reproducible manner.

Where applicable, authors are expected to follow recognized reporting guidelines such as:

  • CONSORT;
  • STROBE;
  • PRISMA;
  • CARE;
  • COREQ;
  • SRQR;
  • STARD;
  • TRIPOD;
  • CHEERS;
  • SQUIRE; and
  • ARRIVE.

Authors may be asked to submit the relevant reporting checklist.

11. Data Availability and Reproducibility

Authors should retain research data and supporting documentation for an appropriate period after publication.

Where ethically and legally permissible, authors are encouraged to make data available through:

  • institutional repositories;
  • recognized data repositories; or
  • reasonable request to the corresponding author.

The manuscript should include a Data Availability Statement.

COPE identifies data availability and reproducibility as a core publication ethics practice.

12. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers play an important role in maintaining scientific quality and integrity.

Reviewers must:

  • provide objective, constructive, and evidence-based feedback;
  • treat manuscripts as confidential;
  • disclose conflicts of interest;
  • decline review when they lack appropriate expertise;
  • avoid using unpublished information for personal advantage;
  • notify the editor of suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabrication, falsification, or other misconduct;
  • complete reviews within a reasonable timeframe where possible; and
  • avoid personal, discriminatory, or inappropriate criticism.

Reviewer recommendations should be based on scientific merit rather than personal preference.

13. Confidentiality of Peer Review

Submitted manuscripts are confidential documents.

Editors and reviewers must not disclose manuscript contents, unpublished data, reviewer reports, author information, or editorial correspondence to unauthorized persons.

Information obtained through peer review must not be used for personal, academic, financial, or competitive advantage.

14. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for ensuring a fair, independent, confidential, and timely editorial process.

Editorial decisions should be based on:

  • scientific quality;
  • originality;
  • methodological rigor;
  • relevance to the journal;
  • ethical compliance; and
  • contribution to knowledge or practice.

Editors must not discriminate on the basis of nationality, institutional affiliation, gender, ethnicity, religion, political views, academic status, or other irrelevant personal characteristics.

Editors must disclose conflicts of interest and should not handle manuscripts where their impartiality could reasonably be questioned.

15. Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions are independent of commercial, institutional, financial, or political influence.

The publisher does not interfere with decisions to:

  • accept;
  • revise;
  • reject;
  • correct; or
  • retract manuscripts

when such decisions fall within the editorial responsibility of the journal.

Payment of any Article Processing Charge or other fee does not influence peer review or editorial decisions.

16. Research Misconduct

MJH takes allegations of research and publication misconduct seriously.

Potential misconduct may include:

  • plagiarism;
  • data fabrication;
  • data falsification;
  • inappropriate image manipulation;
  • duplicate publication;
  • redundant publication;
  • unethical research;
  • authorship manipulation;
  • peer-review manipulation;
  • citation manipulation;
  • undisclosed conflicts of interest;
  • fraudulent identities;
  • fabricated reviewer accounts; or
  • other practices that compromise the integrity of the scholarly record.

COPE recommends that journals have clear processes for responding to allegations of misconduct both before and after publication.

Where warranted, MJH may seek clarification from authors, reviewers, institutions, research ethics committees, or other relevant organizations.

17. Duplicate and Redundant Publication

Authors must not submit or publish substantially the same research in more than one journal without transparent disclosure and appropriate justification.

If parts of the work have appeared previously, authors must:

  • disclose the previous publication;
  • cite it appropriately; and
  • explain how the submitted manuscript differs.

Translations, secondary analyses, or related publications may be considered only when transparently disclosed and ethically justified.

18. Citation Manipulation

Authors, reviewers, and editors must not manipulate citations for the purpose of artificially increasing:

  • author citation counts;
  • journal citations;
  • institutional metrics; or
  • personal academic indicators.

Reviewers should not request irrelevant citations to their own publications.

Editors should not pressure authors to cite MJH articles unless the citations are genuinely relevant to the manuscript.

19. Peer Review Manipulation

Any attempt to manipulate the peer-review process is prohibited.

Examples include:

  • providing false reviewer identities;
  • creating fabricated reviewer accounts;
  • using false email addresses;
  • interfering with independent reviewer selection;
  • influencing reviewers improperly; or
  • submitting fraudulent reviews.

Confirmed peer-review manipulation may result in immediate rejection, retraction, or notification of relevant institutions.

20. Use of Artificial Intelligence

Authors must disclose the use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies in preparing manuscripts.

AI tools cannot be listed as authors because they cannot assume responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, or originality of scholarly work. Authors remain fully responsible for all submitted content.

If AI-assisted technology is used, authors should disclose:

  • the tool used;
  • its purpose; and
  • the extent of its use.

Authors must verify AI-assisted output for:

  • accuracy;
  • bias;
  • fabricated information;
  • inappropriate citations;
  • plagiarism; and
  • confidentiality risks.

Editors and reviewers should not upload confidential manuscripts to AI systems where confidentiality cannot be assured without appropriate authorization. ICMJE explicitly highlights this confidentiality risk in its 2026 AI guidance.

21. Corrections

When a significant but correctable error is identified in a published article, MJH may publish a correction.

The correction will:

  • clearly identify the original article;
  • describe the corrected information;
  • be linked to the original publication where possible; and
  • preserve the transparency of the scholarly record.

ICMJE recommends that corrections be published promptly, linked to the original article, and clearly describe the changes.

22. Retractions

An article may be retracted when there is reliable evidence that its findings or publication are seriously compromised.

Reasons may include:

  • major data fabrication or falsification;
  • plagiarism;
  • duplicate publication;
  • unethical research;
  • fraudulent peer review;
  • serious authorship misconduct; or
  • other major integrity violations.

Retraction notices should clearly identify the retracted article and state the reason for retraction while preserving the scholarly record.

The original article should remain accessible where technically appropriate but be clearly marked as Retracted.

23. Expressions of Concern

Where serious concerns exist but an investigation has not yet reached a definitive conclusion, MJH may publish an Expression of Concern.

This may be appropriate when:

  • evidence is inconclusive;
  • an institutional investigation is ongoing;
  • key information is unavailable; or
  • findings may be unreliable but retraction is not yet justified.

24. Complaints and Appeals

MJH provides a process for complaints and appeals regarding:

  • editorial decisions;
  • peer-review procedures;
  • publication ethics;
  • editorial conduct; or
  • other matters related to journal operations.

Complaints and appeals should be submitted through the official journal contact and should include relevant supporting information.

They will be reviewed fairly and, where appropriate, independently of individuals directly involved in the original decision.

COPE identifies complaints and appeals as one of the core practices expected of responsible journals.

25. Post-Publication Discussion

MJH supports responsible scholarly discussion after publication.

Legitimate concerns regarding published work may be raised with the editorial office.

Where appropriate, the journal may publish:

  • corrections;
  • responses;
  • letters;
  • expressions of concern; or
  • retractions.

COPE emphasizes that journals should have mechanisms for correcting or revising the scholarly record after publication.

26. Copyright and Intellectual Property

Authors and readers must comply with the journal’s Copyright Statement and applicable Creative Commons license.

Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyrighted third-party materials.

MJH does not tolerate copyright infringement or unauthorized reproduction.

27. Publisher Responsibilities

The publisher supports the editorial independence of Mallomo Journal of Health and is responsible for maintaining an appropriate infrastructure for:

  • editorial management;
  • manuscript processing;
  • digital preservation;
  • journal accessibility;
  • publication ethics; and
  • long-term scholarly record preservation.

The publisher supports editors in investigating ethical concerns and implementing appropriate corrective actions where necessary.

28. Commitment to Ethical Publishing

Mallomo Journal of Health is committed to maintaining the integrity, transparency, credibility, and reliability of the scholarly record.

Where ethical concerns are identified, MJH will seek to respond fairly, transparently, and proportionately in accordance with recognized publication ethics principles.