Editorial Policies

Roles and Responsibilities

The journal’s editorial process involves collaboration between authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher.

• Editors ensure fairness, timeliness, and confidentiality throughout the peer review process. They make final publication decisions based on scholarly merit and ethical standards.
• Reviewers provide objective, constructive evaluations that enhance the quality of submitted work while maintaining confidentiality.
• Authors are responsible for ensuring the originality, accuracy, and integrity of their research, as well as compliance with ethical standards.
• Publisher safeguards the availability, discoverability, and long-term preservation of all published content.

Duties of Editors

• Publication Decisions: Decide which manuscripts will be published based on validity, significance, and alignment with the journal’s scope, while complying with legal requirements regarding libel, copyright, and plagiarism.
• Fair Play: Evaluate manuscripts solely on academic merit, without discrimination based on race, gender, religious belief, nationality, or political opinion.
• Confidentiality: Protect the confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts and related information.
• Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Refrain from using unpublished materials for personal advantage and disclose any potential conflicts of interest.

Duties of Reviewers

• Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Assist editors in making informed publication decisions and improving the quality of manuscripts.
• Promptness: Inform the editor promptly if unable to review in a timely manner.
• Confidentiality: Treat all manuscripts as confidential documents.
• Objectivity: Provide fair, constructive, and unbiased feedback.
• Acknowledgement of Sources: Identify relevant published work that has not been cited.
• Conflicts of Interest: Decline review if conflicts of interest exist with the authors or institutions.

Duties of Authors

• Reporting Standards: Provide accurate, original, and complete descriptions of the research performed.
• Data Access and Retention: Provide underlying data for editorial review and make data publicly available when possible.
• Originality and Plagiarism: Ensure submissions are entirely original works and appropriately cite the work and words of others.
• Multiple or Concurrent Publication: Avoid submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously.
• Acknowledgement of Sources: Properly acknowledge all sources that have influenced the research.
• Authorship of the Paper: Only individuals who made significant contributions should be listed as authors; all authors must approve the final manuscript.
• Hazards and Human/Animal Subjects: Disclose any hazards inherent in the research and detail ethical procedures.
• Conflicts of Interest: Disclose all potential conflicts and sources of funding.
• Fundamental Errors in Published Works: Promptly notify the editor if significant errors are discovered after publication.

Duties of the Publisher

• Safeguard editorial independence from commercial or political influence.
• Cooperate with other journals and relevant organizations when ethical misconduct is suspected.

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Authorship and Contributorship

The International Journal of Public Health Science (IJPHS) applies the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) to ensure transparency in author contributions and to minimize disputes. Authors are strongly encouraged to provide a CRediT statement in their manuscript, detailing each contributor’s role. One corresponding author must be clearly designated to manage all communication during submission, peer review, and publication. 

IJPHS generally recommends manuscripts to be prepared by at least two authors, with one designated as the corresponding author to handle communication with the editorial office. This recommendation is intended to strengthen collaborative research and ensure accountability. However, single-author manuscripts are still considered, provided that the authorship criteria and contribution standards are clearly met.

1. CRediT Role Definitions

To qualify for authorship, each contributor must have participated substantially in at least one core research activity (e.g., Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal Analysis, or Investigation), and it at least one aspect of manuscript preparation (e.g., Original Draft Preparation or Writing – Review & Editing).

2. Authorship Change Requests

Authorship (including order and corresponding author designation) must be finalized upon initial submission. Changes are only permitted under exceptional circumstances, such as proven administrative errors, major revisions in contributions before acceptance, or identity errors.

Requests for changes must meet the following requirements:

• Valid justification – only considered for legitimate reasons; personal or informal requests are not accepted.
• Written consent – all authors (both original and proposed) must provide signed, written consent.
• Editorial approval – all requests are subject to evaluation and approval by the Editor-in-Chief.
• Timing restrictions – changes after acceptance are rarely approved. Post-publication changes require a formal published correction with transparent explanation.
• Record-keeping – all requests and supporting documentation are archived by the editorial office.

This policy follows the COPE Core Practices and is designed to safeguard the integrity of authorship while ensuring fair credit for contributions, in alignment with internationally recognized standards of ethical publishing.

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Ethics and Research Integrity

The International Journal of Public Health Science (IJPHS) is committed to upholding the highest standards of research ethics, integrity, and transparency in scholarly publishing. All parties involved in the publication process—authors, reviewers, and editors—are expected to adhere to principles of honesty, accountability, and professional responsibility. The following guidelines outline the journal’s ethical expectations and practices.

Authors

• Present accurate, original, and verifiable research, avoiding fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation.
• Obtain prior ethical approval for studies involving human participants, animals, or sensitive data, and secure informed consent where applicable.
• Ensure that all listed authors have made a significant contribution to the work and share collective responsibility for its content.
• Disclose all funding sources, institutional affiliations, and potential conflicts of interest.
• Properly acknowledge and obtain permission for any third-party material (e.g., figures, datasets, or copyrighted content).

Reviewers

• Provide objective, constructive, and timely feedback to improve the quality of submitted manuscripts.
• Respect confidentiality by not sharing or using unpublished materials for personal advantage.
• Decline review assignments where conflicts of interest exist (e.g., personal, financial, or professional relationships).

Editors

• Ensure that editorial decisions are made fairly and impartially, based solely on academic merit and journal scope.
• Oversee a transparent and unbiased peer review process, protecting the integrity of the editorial workflow.
• Investigate and address ethical concerns promptly, in accordance with recognized best practices (e.g., COPE Core Practices).

Misconduct and Ethical Concerns

Allegations of ethical misconduct—including plagiarism, duplicate submission, data fabrication/falsification, undisclosed conflicts of interest, or unethical research practices—will be investigated thoroughly. Proven violations may result in manuscript rejection, publication of corrections or retractions, and/or notification to the authors’ affiliated institutions or funding bodies. IJPHS fully adheres to COPE Core Practices in addressing such cases.

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Peer Review Policy

The International Journal of Public Health Science (IJPHS) adopts a single-blind peer review system, in which reviewers are aware of the authors’ identities, but authors do not know the reviewers’ identities. This process ensures fair evaluation, constructive feedback, and the protection of reviewer identities.

• Each submission undergoes an initial screening by the editorial team to ensure relevance to the journal’s scope, overall quality, and compliance with author guidelines.
• Manuscripts that pass the initial check are assigned to at least two independent expert reviewers in the relevant field.
• IJPHS follows a single-blind review process, where reviewers are aware of the authors’ identities, but authors do not know the reviewers’ identities.
• Reviewers are expected to provide fair, objective, and timely evaluations that contribute to improving the scholarly quality of the manuscript.
• Editorial decisions are based on the reviewers’ recommendations and may result in acceptance, minor revision, major revision, or rejection.
• The editorial team is committed to upholding a rigorous, ethical, and efficient review process that supports both academic quality and author development.

Plagiarism and Misconduct

The International Journal of Public Health Science (IJPHS) upholds the highest standards of publication ethics and addresses all forms of plagiarism and research misconduct. This policy outlines the procedures and actions taken in cases of plagiarism, unethical withdrawal, retractions, and other forms of publication malpractice, in accordance with COPE Core Practices and international publishing standards.

1. Plagiarism Policy

• All forms of plagiarism are strictly prohibited, including plagiarism of others' work, self-plagiarism, duplicate publication, and use of content without proper citation.
• Submitted manuscripts must be original, and authors are encouraged to check their manuscripts using reliable plagiarism detection tools prior to submission.
• The editorial team screens all submissions for text similarity. Manuscripts with substantial similarity to previously published work may be returned to authors for revision or rejected before the peer review process.
• Plagiarism detected at any stage before publication will result in manuscript rejection. If plagiarism is identified after publication, the article will be retracted, and a retraction notice will be posted on the journal’s website.
• Serious violations may be reported to the authors’ affiliated institutions and relevant authorities, following COPE guidelines.
• Authors are expected to comply with this policy upon submission and throughout the publication process.

2. Handling of Misconduct Reports

• Allegations of research or publication misconduct can be reported confidentially to the editorial office via official journal contact channels.
• All reports are investigated thoroughly and impartially in accordance with COPE Core Practices, ensuring due process for all parties involved.
• Appropriate actions may include rejection, correction, retraction, notification to authors’ institutions, and/or other sanctions depending on the severity of the misconduct.
• IJPHS is committed to maintaining ethical and transparent practices across all stages of the submission, review, and publication process.

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Article Correction, Retraction & Withdrawal Policy

The International Journal of Public Health Science (IJPHS) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics. This policy outlines the procedures for manuscript withdrawal, post-publication corrections, retractions, and exceptional article removal, in accordance with COPE Core Practices and international publishing standards.

1. Manuscript Withdrawal

Authors may request to withdraw their manuscript only under legitimate circumstances, such as:

• Discovery of substantial errors
• Ethical concerns (e.g., authorship disputes, unapproved data usage)
• Other unavoidable and justified reasons

All withdrawal requests must:

• Be submitted in writing to the journal’s editorial office
• Include a clear and valid explanation
• Be confirmed by all listed authors (via signature or email confirmation)

Withdrawal requests may incur administrative or processing fees as determined by the journal. Authors will be informed of any applicable fees before the request is processed.  All withdrawal requests are evaluated carefully to ensure fairness to authors, reviewers, and the journal. Requests that violate ethical standards—such as withdrawing a manuscript after acceptance to submit elsewhere—are strictly discouraged.

2. Post-Publication Corrections

Minor errors discovered in a published article that do not compromise the scientific validity or overall conclusions may be corrected via:

• Erratum: For mistakes introduced by the journal during production
• Corrigendum: For author-initiated corrections

All corrections will be clearly linked to the original article and publicly accessible.

3. Retractions

Retractions are issued when a published article is found to contain significant ethical violations or serious errors, including but not limited to:

• Plagiarism
• Data fabrication or falsification
• Duplicate or redundant publication
• Unethical research practices
• Severe methodological flaws

A retraction notice will be:

• Clearly labeled and linked to the original article
• Include the reason for retraction and who initiated it (authors, editors, or institution)
• Ensure the retracted article remains accessible but marked clearly as "Retracted"

All retractions are handled according to COPE guidelines.

4. Pre-Publication vs Post-Publication Actions

• Withdrawal: Before online publication. Authors may request withdrawal for valid reasons; withdrawal after acceptance is strongly discouraged.
• Correction: After publication. Minor content errors can be corrected via erratum or corrigendum without affecting research validity.
• Retraction: After publication. Serious ethical or scientific issues will result in retraction to maintain scholarly integrity.

5. Article Removal (Exceptional Cases)

In rare circumstances, an article may be permanently removed if it is defamatory, violates legal rights, is subject to a court order, or poses serious risk to public health or safety. A note will be displayed in place of the article explaining the reason for removal.

6. Editorial Responsibility

The editorial team follows ethical publishing practices and investigates all allegations of misconduct fairly and transparently. Decisions regarding withdrawals, corrections, or retractions are made in line with international best practices.

This policy is aligned with:

• COPE Core Practices
• DOAJ Principles of Transparency
• Elsevier/Scopus Publishing Ethics

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Data Availability & Transparency

The International Journal of Public Health Science (IJPHS) is committed to promoting transparency, reproducibility, and integrity in research. All manuscripts submitted to IJPHS must include a Data Availability Statement as part of the submission. Manuscripts without this statement will not be considered for review.

Authors are encouraged to make the underlying research data, code, and materials accessible whenever possible to support reproducibility and verification of results.

• Deposit research data in recognized public repositories, where applicable.
• Include a Data Availability Statement in the manuscript describing how the data can be accessed or why it is not publicly available.
• Provide persistent links (e.g., DOI or URL) to repositories whenever possible.
• Ensure data is transparent and sufficient for replication or verification of the study’s findings.

IJPHS supports open science principles and encourages adherence to FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data practices.

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Reporting Guidelines

To promote transparency, reproducibility, and research integrity, authors submitting to the International Journal of Public Health Science (IJPHS) are required to follow recognized reporting guidelines appropriate to their study design, as recommended by the EQUATOR Network (e.g., CONSORT for randomized controlled trials, PRISMA for systematic reviews, STROBE for observational studies).

Authors are expected to:

• Identify and adhere to the correct reporting guideline(s) based on the study methodology.
• Submit a completed checklist for the applicable guideline as a supplementary file during submission.
• Reference any relevant protocol registration (e.g., clinicaltrials.gov, PROSPERO) where applicable.
• Ensure that all key elements outlined in the guideline are fully addressed in the manuscript text, tables, and figures.

Examples of commonly accepted reporting guidelines include, but are not limited to:

Study Type	Reporting Guideline
Randomized Controlled Trials	CONSORT
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses	PRISMA
Observational Studies	STROBE
Diagnostic Accuracy Studies	STARD
Qualitative Research	COREQ
Case Reports	CARE
Animal Studies	ARRIVE
Economic Evaluations	CHEERS

The editorial team reserves the right to request revisions or reject manuscripts that do not comply with relevant reporting guidelines. Compliance with these guidelines is an essential component of IJPHS’s commitment to research integrity and high-quality scholarship.

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