Publication Ethics
Overview
The journal of Emergency Management, published by Malek Ashtar University of Technology in collaboration with the Iranian Association of Safety Sciences , follows the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals. JOEM is committed to following and implementing the guidelines and flowcharts of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) throughout its review and publication processes.
Submitting a manuscript to our journal implies that all authors listed as contributors have reviewed and agreed to the content of the submitted work, and that the submission complies with the policies of our journal.
Ethics and Consent
journal of Emergency Management is dedicated to ensuring that all articles included in the publication discuss research that is ethically sound.
Authors should be familiar with ethical principals in the area of publication including copy right and etc. All of the ethical principals have been identified for authors and editorial board. Submitting your paper it means that you accept all of principals of ethics in publication with Journal of Emergency Management.
Ethics approval
Any research that involves human participants, material, or data must have been conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and must have received approval from an appropriate ethics committee. A statement indicating this, including the name of the ethics committee and the reference number (where applicable), must be included in all manuscripts reporting such research. If a study has been exempted from requiring ethics approval, this should also be detailed in the manuscript, including the name of the ethics committee that granted the exemption. Additional information and documentation to support this exemption should be made available to the Editor upon request. Manuscripts may be rejected if the Editor determines that the research has not been conducted within an appropriate ethical framework. In exceptional cases, the Editor may contact the ethics committee for further information. We will thoroughly investigate any allegations of publication misconduct before and after the publication of a scientific work. We retain the right to contact the institutions, funders, or regulatory bodies affiliated with the authors if necessary. If we find conclusive evidence of misconduct, we will take appropriate actions to rectify the scientific record. This may involve issuing a correction or retraction.
Privacy statement
The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other parties.
Patient Consent and Confidentiality
Any article containing personal medical information of an identifiable living individual must obtain the patient’s explicit consent before publication. The patient must sign the consent form, which specifies that they have read the article. If the patient has not seen the final version of the manuscript to be submitted to our journal, the form must be modified to indicate that they have approved publication without viewing the final version of the manuscript. Once informed consent has been obtained, it will be clearly indicated in the published article.
If obtaining consent is not possible due to the patient being untraceable, publication can only occur if the information can be adequately anonymized. Anonymization implies that neither the patient nor anyone else can identify the patient based on our standard of anonymization. However, this anonymization may result in the loss of information/evidence.
In the case of a deceased patient, the authors must obtain permission from a relative as a respectful gesture and follow medical ethics. If contact with the relatives is not possible, the journals will assess the significance of the case, the likelihood of identification, and the potential for offense when making a decision to publish the submitted manuscript.
Human and animal rights
All research conducted for publication in our journal must have been done within an appropriate ethical framework. If there is suspicion that work has not been conducted within an appropriate ethical framework, Editors may reject the manuscript. On rare occasions, if the Editor has serious concerns about the ethics of a study, the manuscript may be rejected on ethical grounds, even if approval from an ethics committee has been obtained.
Research involving human subjects, material, or data must have been performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and must have been approved by an appropriate ethics committee.
Statistical Methods
To maintain the highest quality standards, authors must provide detailed information about their statistical methods and measures, including a justification for the chosen statistical test. The suitability of the statistical methods will be assessed by the reviewers, and if necessary, the submission may be sent to a specialist for further review. The editors may also seek advice from a statistical expert in the relevant field.
Ethical Responsibilities of Authors
This journal is committed to upholding the integrity of the scientific record. The journal will follow the COPE guidelines on how to deal with potential acts of misconduct.
Authors should refrain from misrepresenting research results which could damage the trust in the journal, the professionalism of scientific authorship, and ultimately the entire scientific endeavor. Maintaining integrity of the research and its presentation is helped by following the rules of good scientific practice, which include:
The manuscript should not be submitted to more than one journal for simultaneous consideration.
The submitted work should be original and should not have been published elsewhere in any form or language (partially or in full), unless the new work concerns an expansion of previous work. (Please provide transparency on the re-use of material to avoid the concerns about text-recycling.
A single study should not be split up into several parts to increase the quantity of submissions and submitted to various journals or to one journal over time.
Results should be presented clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification or inappropriate data manipulation (including image based manipulation). Authors should adhere to discipline-specific rules for acquiring, selecting and processing data.
No data, text, or theories by others are presented as if they were the author’s own.
Proper acknowledgements to other works must be given (this includes material that is closely copied (near verbatim), summarized and/or paraphrased), quotation marks (to indicate words taken from another source) are used for verbatim copying of material, and permissions secured for material that is copyrighted.
Authorship and contributorship
Authorship
This policy ensures that individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions to an article are given credit and that these individuals understand their responsibility and accountability for the content published. Contributors can be either author contributors, who meet all four authorship criteria listed below, or non-author contributors.
An acknowledgment statement is included at the end of the manuscript, recognizing those who helped with the research but were not involved as contributors, as well as personal expressions of gratitude.
The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors’ Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (ICMJE Recommendations) suggest that authorship should be based on four criteria:
Our journal requires that all individuals designated as authors meet all four ICMJE criteria for authorship. Those who meet these criteria should be identified as author contributors. These criteria are designed to ensure that authorship is reserved for those who deserve credit and can take responsibility for the work. These criteria should not disqualify colleagues from being listed as authors if they meet all criteria, simply because they are unable to fulfill criteria 2 or 3. Therefore, all individuals who meet the first criterion should be given the opportunity to participate in the review, drafting, and final approval of the manuscript.
All contributors who have made significant contributions to the paper but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be clearly listed in the contributorship statement. Authors are responsible for the parts of the work they have contributed and should have confidence in the integrity of their co-authors’ contributions. When submitting a paper, it is the responsibility of the submitting author to ensure that each author who is included in the paper meets the criteria for authorship, and that no one who meets the criteria has been excluded as an author. If any disagreements arise among authors, the COPE guidelines are followed to resolve the issue.
Submitting author
The submitting author must fulfill all administrative requirements, such as completing authorship details, obtaining ethics committee approval and collecting conflict of interest forms and statements. While these tasks can be delegated to co-authors, the submitting author remains accountable for them.
At the time of submission, the submitting author will be prompted to provide the name, email address, and institutional affiliation of all author contributors.
The institutional affiliations listed should be where the work has been conducted at the time the research/article was written. All author contributors will receive a confirmation email upon submission and when a final decision is made.
The submitting author should also designate the corresponding author when providing author details. The corresponding author will be responsible for managing all communications between the journal and the authors and can be the same person as the submitting author.
The corresponding author is primarily responsible for completing all necessary actions following the acceptance of the manuscript and communicating with the journal and readers after publication.
Collaborators (group authorship)
The corresponding author will receive a link to review and approve the proof when it becomes available, as well as confirmation that the article has been published online. Additionally, notifications will be sent when responses have been posted to the article.
Although only one corresponding author is listed for email communication, multiple authors can be included in the author byline of the final published article with correspondence information. This information can be added at the article proof stage before acceptance.
Collaborators, who are a large group of multi-author contributors, should decide who will be an author before the work is started and confirm who is an author before submitting the manuscript for publication. All members of the group named as authors should meet all four criteria for authorship as detailed above. The authors are mandated to submit conflict-of-interest disclosure forms and provide a summary in the relevant section.
The name(s) of the collaborator group must be included in the primary author list, followed by individual names in the ‘Collaborator’ field. Furthermore, the group’s contributions should be delineated in the ‘Contributorship statement’ section.
Deceased authors
If the article involves deceased authors who are deemed suitable, they should be notified to the Editorial Assistant during submission and incorporated in the contributorship statement and co-authors should obtain approval from a (legal) representative which could be a direct relative.
Alteration to authorship
This policy concerns the addition, deletion, or rearrangement of author names in the authorship of accepted manuscripts:
Before the accepted manuscript is published in an online issue: Requests to add or remove an author, or to rearrange the author names, must be sent to the Journal Manager from the corresponding author of the accepted manuscript and must include: (a) the reason the name should be added or removed, or the author names rearranged and (b) written confirmation (e-mail, fax, letter) from all authors that they agree with the addition, removal or rearrangement. In the case of addition or removal of authors, this includes confirmation from the author being added or removed. Requests that are not sent by the corresponding author will be forwarded by the Journal Manager to the corresponding author, who must follow the procedure as described above. Note that: (1) Journal Managers will inform the Journal Editors of any such requests and (2) publication of the accepted manuscript in an online issue is suspended until authorship has been agreed.
After the accepted manuscript is published in an online issue: Any requests to add, delete, or rearrange author names in an article published in an online issue will follow the same policies as noted above and result in a corrigendum.
Contributorship statement
A contributorship statement is required for every article and must detail the contributions of all authors, non-author contributors, and group author contributors (collaborators) to the planning, execution, and reporting of the work described in the article. Researchers must jointly determine the precise nature of each person's contribution.
Furthermore, this is the appropriate section to include contributions made by patients or members of the public who have served as research volunteers, along with their names and specific roles. All individuals named in the contributorship statement must give their consent to be included, as readers may infer their endorsement of the data and conclusions of the paper. It is the responsibility of the submitting author to ensure that consent is obtained and to be able to provide evidence if required. Each contributorship statement must clearly identify the individual responsible for the overall content as the guarantor. The guarantor assumes full responsibility for the finished work and/or the conduct of the study, has access to the data, and retains authority over the decision to publish.
Acknowledgments
In order to properly attribute the individuals who have assisted in the submitted work but do not meet all four criteria of authorship, it is necessary to acknowledge them by listing their names and detailing their contributions in the "Acknowledgments" section. The authors are responsible for ensuring that every individual mentioned in the "Acknowledgments" section has been granted permission to be listed for their respective contributions to the work.
Furthermore, it is crucial to acknowledge any financial and material support received. This includes grants and other forms of support obtained for the project or study, whether from contributors, institutions, or commercial sources. Additionally, any consultancies or direct funds provided to investigators should be transparently disclosed.
Citations
The citation-related policy emphasizes the importance of citing appropriate and relevant literature in research and non-research articles, such as Opinion, Review, and Commentary articles. It discourages excessive and inappropriate self-citation or coordinated efforts among authors to collectively self-cite.
Self-citation must be done with caution in necessary and relevant cases. Regarding citation to references, the original work must be cited.
The precision of citations is essential to guarantee that they support the statements in the manuscript and do not misrepresent other works. Authors must only cite sources that they have read and should not prioritize their own, friends', peers', or institution's publications. It is advisable to avoid relying solely on citations from a single country and to avoid excessive numbers of citations for one point. Ideally, authors should cite sources that have undergone peer review. Citations from advertisements or advertorial material should be refrained from.
Duplicate Publication
All manuscripts submitted to the our journal should be original and not under consideration by any other journal. If there is a possibility of overlap or duplication, authors are required to be transparent about this. They should declare any potentially overlapping publications during submission and, if possible, upload them as additional files along with the manuscript. It is also necessary to cite any overlapping publications. If there are any relevant "in press" or unpublished manuscripts that could contribute to the assessment of the manuscript by the editor and reviewers, they should be provided upon request. Generally, the submitted manuscript should not have been formally published in any journal or in any other citable form. Any suspected instances of covert duplicate manuscript submission will be handled according to the COPE guidelines, and the editor may contact the authors' institution. JOEM follows the policies of the ICMJE regarding overlapping publications.
Text recycling
Authors should be mindful that reusing text from their previous publications is also known as text recycling or self-plagiarism. Authors are encouraged to paraphrase and cite their own texts in previously published papers. When authors' previous publications necessitate or involve text overlap, it is essential to transparently disclose and appropriately attribute the duplication while also adhering to copyright regulations. In this regard, authors of articles are required to conduct a similarity check on their article and provide a valid certificate of the similarity check result to the journal office.
The COPE guidance can be found here.
Peer review/responsibility for the reviewers
Reviewers ought to treat papers as confidential information and keep their contents confidential.
Reviewers ought to decline to review manuscripts if they have conflicts of interest arising from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.
Suggesting / excluding reviewers
Authors are welcome to suggest suitable reviewers and/or request the exclusion of certain individuals when they submit their manuscripts. When suggesting reviewers, authors should make sure they are totally independent and not connected to the work in any way. It is strongly recommended to suggest a mix of reviewers from different countries and different institutions. When suggesting reviewers, the Corresponding Author must provide an institutional email address for each suggested reviewer. Please note that the Journal may not use the suggestions, but suggestions are appreciated and may help facilitate the peer review process.
Editorial responsibilities
Editors (Deputy Editors or Editor-in-Chief) bear complete responsibility and authority to reject/accept an article.
Editors must not change their decision after making a decision (especially after rejection or acceptance) unless they have a serious reason.
Editors must avoid any conflicts of interest between staff, authors, reviewers, and board members.
Editors must not reject manuscripts based on suspicions; they must have proof of misconduct.
Editors must take action if they suspect any misconduct in a paper, whether it has been published or not, and make every effort to resolve the issue.
Editors must only accept a paper when they are reasonably sure of its quality and adherence to ethical guidelines.
Editors must maintain the anonymity of reviewers and refrain from overturning previous editor's decisions without a valid reason.
Editors must base their decisions solely on the paper's importance, originality, clarity, and relevance to the publication's scope.
Editors must have a clear understanding of the research's funding sources and publish errata pages or make corrections when necessary. Editors must guarantee the quality of the papers and the integrity of the academic record.
Editors must consider the needs of both authors and readers when improving the publication and take responsibility for the content and overall quality of the publication.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is essential in the publication process, and editors must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts, sharing information only with those involved in the evaluation, review, and publication processes. They must not disclose information about submitted manuscripts to anyone else or discuss the content publicly before acceptance and publication. Editors commit to safeguarding the confidentiality of authors and peer-reviewers, including their names and feedback, in line with the ICMJE policy. They also pledge to verify the accuracy of the information in their journal articles and adhere to the highest journalistic standards.
Editors will not use confidential information for their own benefit or allow others to do so. They will take all necessary precautions to prevent the inappropriate use of confidential information.
Competing interests
Editors pledge to base all editorial decisions solely on the manuscript's relevance to the journal, its originality, quality, and its contribution to the body of evidence. They also commit to making decisions free from any commercial or personal conflicts of interest.
The COPE guidance can be found here.
Intellectual property
Editors play a crucial role in ensuring the integrity of the academic publication process. As such, they must be vigilant in detecting and addressing potential violations of intellectual property laws and conventions. To this end, best practices for editors include implementing systems for detecting plagiarism, such as using software or searching for similar titles, and providing support to authors who have had their copyright infringed or been victims of plagiarism.
In addition, editors must be prepared to partner with the Publisher to defend authors' rights and pursue offenders, regardless of whether their journal holds the copyright. This may include requesting retractions or removal of content from websites.
The COPE guidance can be found here.