a. Publication Ethics
The publisher, journal editors and board members, authors, reviewers and all stakeholders involved in the journal’s publishing process of the ASRIC Journal on Health Sciences shall ensure integrity and standards of ethical actions in accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) “Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors” https://publicationethics.org/media/609/download?attachment, “Code of Conduct for Journal Publisher” https://publicationethics.org/media/613/download?attachment and the COPE’s “Core Practices” https://publicationethics.org/about/what-we-do/our-story/core-practices. The roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders, shall include but not be limited to: ensuring publication ethics, biosecurity, permit for animal/human use and research; disclosure and conflict of interest; reporting research funding; ensuring adherence to COPE’s core practices in the peer-reviewing process, editorial independence, copyright issues, authorship, publication misconduct/fraud/plagiarism, article retraction, clarification or correction.
b. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automated Tools Policy
The ASRIC Journal on Health Sciences recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI), generative AI, large language models, chatbots and other automated tools may support legitimate activities in research, manuscript preparation and scholarly publishing. Their use shall, however, be governed by the principles of transparency, accountability, confidentiality, research integrity and human oversight.
i. Authorship and Accountability
Artificial intelligence tools shall not be listed or cited as authors or co-authors of manuscripts submitted to the Journal. Authorship is restricted to individuals who meet the Journal's applicable authorship criteria and who can take responsibility and accountability for the accuracy, integrity and originality of the work.
Authors remain fully responsible for all content submitted to the Journal, including text, data, analyses, references, tables, figures, images, computer code or other material generated, modified or assisted by AI or automated tools. The use of an AI tool does not transfer or diminish the responsibility of the authors.
ii. Disclosure by Authors
Authors shall transparently disclose any substantive use of generative AI or automated tools in the preparation or conduct of work submitted to the Journal. The disclosure shall identify, as appropriate, the name and version of the tool, the purpose for which it was used, and the part of the research or manuscript in which it was used.
Where AI or automated tools have been used as part of the research methodology, including data analysis, generation or modification of images or figures, statistical analysis, computer code or other substantive research processes, their use shall be described in sufficient detail in the Methods section to permit appropriate scientific evaluation and, where applicable, reproducibility.
Routine tools used solely for spelling, grammar, formatting, reference management or similar non-substantive editorial assistance need not normally be disclosed, provided that they do not generate or materially alter the scientific content of the manuscript.
iii. Accuracy, Originality and References
Authors shall independently verify the accuracy, completeness and appropriateness of all AI-assisted or AI-generated material. Authors are responsible for ensuring that such material does not contain fabricated or inaccurate information, fabricated references, plagiarism, inappropriate attribution, undisclosed manipulation, bias, or infringement of copyright or other rights.
AI-generated output shall not be treated as an authoritative scientific source where the underlying original source can be identified and cited.
iv. Confidentiality and Use by Reviewers
Peer reviewers shall not upload, transmit or otherwise provide unpublished manuscripts, supplementary materials, confidential reviewer information or other confidential journal material to publicly accessible generative AI systems or other external AI tools where doing so may compromise confidentiality, intellectual property, privacy or data protection.
Where the Journal expressly permits an AI or automated tool to assist a reviewer, such use shall be disclosed to the Editor. Reviewers remain personally responsible for the content, accuracy and integrity of their review and for the recommendation submitted to the Journal.
v. Editors and Editorial Decision-Making
Editors and members of the Editorial Board shall protect the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and shall not upload confidential manuscript material to external AI systems where confidentiality, privacy, intellectual property or data protection cannot be assured.
AI or automated tools may assist appropriate administrative or editorial processes but shall not independently make decisions concerning manuscript acceptance, rejection or other substantive editorial outcomes. Final editorial decisions shall remain under human responsibility and oversight.
Editors remain accountable for any AI-assisted content used in editorial correspondence, manuscript assessment or other editorial activities.
vi. Human Oversight
All substantive uses of AI or automated tools in research, authorship, peer review and editorial processing shall remain subject to appropriate human review and oversight. Authors, reviewers and editors shall exercise independent professional and scientific judgement and shall not rely solely on AI-generated assessments, conclusions or recommendations.
vii. Undisclosed or Inappropriate Use
Where the Journal identifies potentially inappropriate, misleading or undisclosed use of AI or automated tools, the matter shall be evaluated in accordance with the Journal's publication-ethics procedures and applicable international publication-ethics guidance. Where necessary, the Journal may request clarification or correction, reject a manuscript, publish a correction or retraction, or take other appropriate action consistent with established publication-ethics procedures.
The Journal shall periodically review this policy to reflect developments in artificial intelligence, scholarly publishing standards and internationally recognized publication-ethics guidance.
c. Plagiarism and Research Integrity
The ASRIC Journal on Health Sciences maintains a strict policy against plagiarism and is committed to upholding internationally recognized standards of research integrity and publication ethics.
Plagiarism is the presentation or appropriation of another person’s words, ideas, data, images, results, methods, or other intellectual contributions as one’s own, without appropriate acknowledgment, attribution, or permission where required. Plagiarism may include substantial unattributed copying, close paraphrasing without appropriate attribution, or the unauthorized use of intellectual or scholarly material belonging to others.
Plagiarism should be distinguished from inadvertent citation or referencing errors. Minor omissions, incorrectly formatted citations, incomplete references, or other unintentional attribution errors do not, by themselves, constitute plagiarism. Where such errors are identified, the Journal may require the author to correct them before publication or, where appropriate, through a post-publication correction. However, repeated, extensive, or misleading attribution failures may warrant further investigation where there is reason to suspect research misconduct.
The Journal also prohibits duplicate or redundant publication, including the submission or publication of substantially the same work in more than one journal without appropriate disclosure, justification, and authorization. Legitimate reuse of an author’s previously published material must be appropriately cited and must comply with applicable copyright and licensing requirements.
Where plagiarism, duplicate publication, or other suspected research misconduct is identified, the Editorial Board shall conduct or coordinate a fair and documented investigation and shall provide the author(s) with an opportunity to respond to the allegations. Any action taken shall be proportionate to the nature and severity of the confirmed violation and may include rejection of the manuscript, correction or retraction of a published article, restrictions on future submissions, and, where warranted, notification of the author’s institution or other relevant authority.
No author shall be subject to a finding of research misconduct or related sanction solely on the basis of an allegation or similarity-detection result without appropriate editorial assessment and investigation.
d. Corrections and Corrigenda
Authors and Editors may identify and correct errors in articles published in the ASRIC Journal on Health Sciences. Where a correction is necessary, a formal correction notice (corrigendum or erratum, as appropriate) shall be published and made available in the online and, where applicable, print versions of the Journal.
The original published article shall remain part of the scholarly record. The online version of the original article shall contain a clear and prominent link to the correction notice, and the correction notice shall contain a corresponding link back to the original article, thereby ensuring bidirectional linking between the two records.
The correction notice shall clearly identify the article concerned and describe the error and the correction made. Corrections shall be implemented in a manner that preserves the transparency and integrity of the published scholarly record.
e. Retraction
The ASRIC Journal on Health Sciences is committed to maintaining the integrity, accuracy, and reliability of the scholarly record. The Journal shall consider the retraction of a published article where there is clear evidence that its findings or conclusions are unreliable, whether as a result of major error or research misconduct, or where serious breaches of research or publication ethics have occurred. Such circumstances may include, but are not limited to, fabrication or falsification of data, plagiarism, duplicate or redundant publication, unethical research, serious authorship violations, compromised or manipulated peer review, or publication without required authorization or consent.
All allegations or concerns that may warrant retraction shall be assessed fairly and thoroughly by the Editorial Board in accordance with the Journal’s procedures and relevant guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Authors shall normally be given an opportunity to respond to the concerns raised. Retraction shall be based on the evidence available and shall not be used merely to resolve authorship disputes where the validity and integrity of the published findings are unaffected.
Where retraction is warranted, the Journal shall publish a formal retraction notice promptly online, without waiting for the publication of the next scheduled issue. The notice shall clearly identify the affected article, state the reason for the retraction, identify the person or body initiating the retraction where appropriate, and distinguish research misconduct from honest error where this has been established.
The retraction notice and the affected article shall be bidirectionally linked. The original article shall remain accessible as part of the scholarly record but shall be clearly and prominently identified as retracted on the article landing page and, where technically feasible, on each page of the electronic article or PDF. The retraction notice shall be freely accessible and shall link directly to the retracted article.
Where the Journal is unable to reach a definitive conclusion promptly but there are well-founded concerns regarding the reliability or integrity of an article, the Journal may publish an expression of concern while the matter is being investigated. Where an error affects only a limited part of an otherwise reliable article, the Journal may issue a correction rather than retract the article.
Retractions, corrections, and expressions of concern shall be handled transparently and in accordance with applicable COPE guidance and recognized international best practices in scholarly publishing.
