Editorial policies
Editorial decisions in ICER are not based on the number of given votes, assessment of numerical ranks and/or following assumed recommendations. ICER tries to assess/evaluate/consider the strength of arguments introduced by reviewers and/or authors, or the information/ideas/concepts presented by neither party. The prior responsibility of ICER is towards the scientific community at large and the readers. ICER vigilantly investigates/studies each manuscript in detail and examines/inspects the claims of the manuscript against other manuscripts under consideration.
ICER appreciates recommendations for a specific course of action by reviewer(s), however, reviewers should take into account that other reviewers of a manuscript may express different views and/or have specific technical expertise, and thus, ICER editors should make a decision based on the contrasting/conflicting information provided by the reviewers. Establishment of an argument for/against a publication is preferred to a direct recommendation for the editors.
Peer review policy
Authors and reviewers are asked to submit their manuscripts via the secure online system (http://journals.sbmu.ac.ir/iej/login)
Best Practices in Research Reporting
ICER accepts reviews/reports/research papers in accordance with the defined international standards for the specific type of study, with ethical considerations obtained where necessary.
Scientific and Initial Screening
ICER editors/staff will check the content(s) and overall structure of the submitted manuscript to make sure they i) are within the aim and scope of the target journal, ii) are in compliance with the defined/standard structure based on the type of the reported study, and iii) adhere to ethical considerations/issues. At this stage, manuscripts will be screened in the shortest/quickest possible time. When all the rules, regulations, standards and mentioned criteria are met by the manuscript, the editorial process shall commence. This stage will consequently assist editors in making their final decisions, which will improve the final quality of the manuscript and thus, published papers.
Cover letter
ICER requires cover letters as an important document to be submitted next to the manuscript. Cover letters are meant to help the editors and clarify the aim of the manuscript for preliminary assessment/evaluation. Authors should clearly specify why their manuscript is suitable/appropriate for the target journal.
Selecting reviewers
The selection of reviewers is a crucial/critical stage in the process of peer review. The selection is based upon various elements/factors; including, but not limited to, expertise, reputation and previous experience of a refereeing. In ICER, the editorial office contacts potential reviewers prior to sending manuscripts to be reviewed/refereed. The calls and the corresponding information are highly confidential and reviewers are expected to follow confidentiality of the calls/contacts/information at all times.
Double blind peer review process
Double blind peer review, as a model of peer review, can reduce bias and allow reviewer(s) to review/revise/assess/evaluate/judge manuscript(s) according to their scientific content, without considering who the author(s) is/are.
Manuscripts submitted are initially allocated with a “Code of Submission”, which is used for future contacts/correspondence. Manuscripts submitted must adhere to “Instructions for Authors”, otherwise they shall be returned for appropriate revisions/reviews to be consistent with the aforementioned instructions. They may be rejected or resubmitted.
The manuscripts, which are in accordance with the defined aim/scope and seem to be of potential interest to readership, shall be sent for formal review, normally to three reviewers. The manuscript(s) will be reviewed/refereed by the selected reviewers as well as a statistician chosen by ICER, who will check the paper(s) for methodological errors, format and their compliance with ICER “Instruction for Authors”. Reviewers/referees are subjected to accept manuscript(s) which are in their expertise and have thorough knowledge and science. In no circumstances, peer reviewers and authors are revealed to one another. Additionally, the submitted manuscript, going through the review process, is not revealed to anyone but the editorial staff and reviewers/referees.
Reviewers/referees are required to keep the information of manuscript(s) completely confidential. Reviewers are not allowed to express/use the knowledge of manuscript(s) before its publication for any reasons, e.g. personal/organization interests. If there is a conflict of interest, the reviewer(s) is/are expected to declare their conflict, and decline the review/refereeing process of the manuscript. Knowing the author of the manuscript should not affect/influence the reviewer and their decisions. Reviewers are expected to express constructive, honest and polite comments, and refrain from being inflammatory and hostile. After vigilant and thorough review, the reviewers’ comments shall be passed on to the authors and the responses of authors to the comments along with the comments of reviewers will be evaluated by a final reviewer, who can be a member of the editorial board and the editor-in-chief. The editor-in-chief and/or the editors shall decide for the manuscripts to be rejected, conditionally accepted or accepted for publication, taking the standards of ICER and the answers to the comments into account.
It should be stated that the manuscript(s) submitted by the staff, editors, reviewers, and editor-in-chief of ICER are subjected to the same peer review process and thus, the authors will be completely blind to the process of their paper until a final decision is made.
Editing referees’ reports
As a matter of policy, the editor(s) of ICER evaluate reviewers’ reports and any comments that were intended for the authors are transmitted. However, the editor(s) may edit a report to remove offensive language or comments that reveal confidential information about other matters. We ask reviewers to avoid statements that may cause needless offence; conversely, we strongly encourage reviewers to state plainly their opinion of a paper.
Timing
ICER commits itself to rationally rapid editorial review/decision and publication and strongly believes in the efficiency of editorial process as a valuable service to the authors and the scientific community.
Confidentiality
ICER keeps the existence of the submitted manuscript(s) highly confidential. The persons (i.e. editors, reviewers) involved must fully adhere to confidentiality requirements and guidelines. Moreover, the identities of editors, authors and reviewers will be kept confidential.
Advertising policy
ICER does not consider/accept/publish any advertisements and/or any direct/indirect marketing/business activities based on the decision made by the editorial board. Furthermore, ICER does not approve any products and/or services introduced by a sponsor or as an advertisement in its publications. Editorial content is not affected by any interests, commercial/financial or otherwise, or by any arrangements with advertising companies, sponsors or clients.
Research ethics policy
ICER follows the “Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, released by the ICMJE”, in which an AUTHORis defined as someone who meets all the following conditions concurrently:
Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
Final approval of the version to be published; AND
Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
There is a distinct difference between an author and a contributor. An author should have all the above-mentioned characteristics and contributed significantly to research/manuscript/paper. The ones, with a lesser role in the research/manuscript/paper, should be considered CONTRIBUTORS and can be mentioned in the “Acknowledgement” section.
ICER demands authors to take full responsibility for their submitted work/manuscript/paper; e.g. validity of data, data presentation, methods/materials used, proofs, and its published form. Methods and Materials section should be clearly, precisely and unambiguously defined in detail(s) so as to be used by other researchers. Authors should all participate in the process of peer review and follow the requirements needed for the process.
Moreover, ICER requires authors to carefully consider the names, order and list of all authors of the manuscript before the submission of the paper and thus, at the time of original submission, ICER expects to be provided with the definitive/final list of authors. Any modifications in the authors list, i.e. rearrangement, addition or deletion of authors’ names in the final authorship list, should be made only before the manuscript is accepted and only when the modification is approved by the editor-in-chief of the journal. To send a request for the aforementioned change, the editor-in-chief must receive: i) the reason(s)/cause(s) for the change/modification in the list of authorship, ii) written letter of confirmation on the modification/change signed by all authors showing their agreement on the rearrangement, addition or deletion. When an author is added/removed from the paper, the letter should show the confirmation from the author who has been added/removed from the manuscript.
The corresponding author is the author who accepts full responsibility for communication with ICER/target journal during the submission of the manuscript, peer review and process of publication, and provides ICER/target journal with administrative/publishing requirements, e.g. ethics committee approval, clinical trial registration documentation, gathering conflict of interest statements, providing details of authorship and so forth. Correspondence should reflect professionalism and be timely. In addition, the corresponding author shoulders the responsibility of responding to all the queries of the editorial board throughout the review and publication process in a timely manner. He/she should be in touch/cooperate with all the requests and queries from the publisher/target journal after publication. ICER does not accept multiple corresponding authors for one manuscript, only one author is assigned to correspond with the editorial office and addressees.
If authors do not wish to respond to the comment(s) of editor(s)/reviewer(s) and/or they wish to withdraw their manuscript after conditional acceptance, the corresponding author should immediately write to the editor(s)/editor-in-chief. Additionally, the corresponding author is responsible for the accurate refection of individual contribution to ICER.
Publishing Ethics Issues
The editorial board of ICER shall maintain the integrity of academic record of the journal and will safeguard/monitor its publishing ethics. No fraudulent data and no plagiarism shall be allowed in the journal.
Disclosure of Funding Sources
ICER demands authors to reveal/show/identify the source of financial support for the study/research and if any, to succinctly elaborate the role(s) of sponsor(s) in “Methods and Materials” section.
Use of Inclusive Language
ICER believes in using inclusive language. Therefore, manuscript(s) should not have any content which may convey superiority of one to another on the grounds of sex, race, culture and/or any other characteristics, or make any assumptions regarding the beliefs and/or commitments of any reader. Inclusive language should be used throughout the manuscript. In addition, ICER demands the authors to ensure that writing is free from bias, and using the job titles free of any stereotype.
Reporting clinical trials
CONSORT guidelines should be presented for randomized controlled/clinical trials. At the beginning of manuscript submission, CONSORT checklist accompanied by a flow diagram must be provided to show the progress of patient throughout the trial; including enrollment, randomization, recruitment, withdrawal, completion, and a detailed explanation on the process of randomization. ICER will The CONSORT checklist and template flow diagram available online.
Originality and Duplicate Publication
ICER does not accept/acknowledge manuscripts reviewed/revised/published by other journals, and manuscript(s)/paper(s) published by ICER will not be allowed to be reproduced in any form of publication without granting the permission form ICER. It is the responsibility of the author(s) toresolve any issues on copyright when citation of a figure and/or table is necessary form other journals which are not open access.
Post-publication discussions
The post-publication discussion may be obtained via a “letter to the editor”. If there are concerns/worries concerning any published paper(s), reads can submit a “letter to the editor” in a 3-month period after the publication of the manuscript.
Handling the complaints and appeals
Reviewers, authors and readers may document/register/send their appeals/complaints to the editor-in-chief/editor via a letter on a various issues as follows: authorship dispute, fabrication, duplicate publication, plagiarism, falsification, conflict of interest, informed consent, un-ethical treatment of animals, bias or unfair/inappropriate competitive acts, stolen data, copyright, defamation, and legal problem. In such cases, tangible/concrete information with reliable replies to factual questions (who, when, where, what, how, why) should be sent to the editor. ICER uses flowchart provided by the Committee of Publication Ethics available from: https://publicationethics.org/appealsto manage appeals and complaints.
Data sharing and reproducibility
ICER strongly recommends authors to share their data to promote public trust. Consequently, ICER encourages authors to declare the related code. If the data has been already publicized, its URL or source(s) must be disclosed to the public. ICER follows ICMJE guidelines for scholarly journal practice and ICMJE data sharing policy. ICER requires a data sharing statement, including “conditions of consideration for publication of a clinical trial report” as defined by ICMJE, when manuscript(s) submitted to ICER report(s) results of clinical trials.
Privacy Statement
ICER will not disclose the names and email addresses and will not make them available for to any other parties and/or any other purposes. The submitted names and email addresses are exclusively used for the purposes defined above by ICER.
Ethical Consideration for Human and Animal Subjects
ICER requires registration with the “Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials website (www.irct.ir)” and/or related country and corresponding ethical committee of the university and/or research center and/or any appropriate trial registries/bodies if human subjects are used in the study; e.g. in randomized clinical trials. When human subjects are involved, the research should be carried out consistent with principles of ethics; including “WMA Declaration of Helsinki-Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects (2008) http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/b3/index.htm”. The submitted manuscripts must clearly state the involvement of human subjects in their “Methods and Materials” section with a statement showing whether the conducted study has been reviewed independently and/or ratified by an ethical board. When human subjects are involved, ICER requires informed consent describing the procedure/research. In addition, possible risks should be taken from all participants who have taken part in the study/research/investigation. Human subjects should feel free to reject research participation.
ICER requires a statement protocol approval included by the animal care institution if animals are involved in the research. Furthermore, experiments on animals should be conducted in accordance with the “European Communities Council Directive of 24 November 1986 (86/609/EEC)” next to local rules, regulations and laws governed within that country or with guidelines defined by the “National Institute of Health (NIH)” in the USA regarding the use and care of animals for experimental procedures. The experiments involving animals must conform to ARRIVE guidelines. “Methods and Materials” section must demonstrate the precise and accurate measures taken to lower/minimise pain and/or discomfort. ICER may reject the manuscripts(s) if the editors realize that the study/research/ investigation has not been conducted in accordance with proper ethical framework. The editor may rarely contact the ethics committee to obtain further information on a particular study.
Copyright, Intellectual Property and Licensing
- Copyright form
ICER demands author(s) to sign a copyright form, which declares that the work/study/research is original, has not been published elsewhere before, and is not under consideration in any format by any other journals for publication in printed and/or electronic version. ICER will not accept same manuscript/study/research published in more than one journal.
Deposit Policy
ICER allows author(s) to archive published papers in any repository if the repository is properly cited
Authorship Conflicts
ICER commits itself to the recommendations of ICMJE, which states: “All those designated as authors should meet all four criteria for authorship, and all who meet the four criteria should be identified as authors. Those who do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged.” If a change in authorship is imminent (e.g. order/addition/deletion of authors) after the initial submission of the manuscript, the request should be confirmed, written and signed by all authors, sent by the corresponding author and be in accordance with COPE guidelines. It is of the responsibility of the corresponding author to ensure that all authors agree on the proposed alterations. It is not the responsibility of the journal to find a proper resolution for disputes on authorship. However, changes in authorship after the acceptance/publication of a manuscript can only be considered via a formal written request from the corresponding author signed by all authors to the editor-in-chief, nevertheless, the final decision is made by the editor-in-chief.
View the Guidelines published on good publication and the Code of Conduct by The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). According to The guidelines stated by COPE on good publication practice (2003); “Conflicts of interest arise when authors, reviewers, or editors have interests that are not fully apparent and that may influence their judgments on what is published. They have been described as those which, when revealed later, would make a reasonable reader feel misled or deceived”.
View the guidelines published by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).
View the Common Standard for Conflict of Interest Disclosure published by Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Editors, reviewers, authors must declare any potential conflict of interest/interests which may be perceived as such to the manuscript/research/review/report. The conflict of interest could be related to a person/entity or may be professional, financial, religious, ideological, political or personal. Conflict of interest is more sensitive when the interest results in personal gain and is private. Instances of conflict of interest/interests might include, however, not limited to:
Employment by an associated company
Receiving financial help/fees for consultation
Receiving funding for research
Having shares and/or stocks in an organization/company which might affect/be affected by the publication of your paper
Receiving funds reimbursing you for attending a related symposia, or talk.
Many professionals, researchers and scholars may have potential conflicts of interest, which could be perceived as a potential conflict of interest for their manuscript/research. In case of submission, ICER requires a formal declaration of conflicting interests to be carried within the publish paper. This statement should be submitted by the corresponding author at the time of submission.
Manuscripts shall be fairly evaluated/assessed in accordance with the standards/rules/regulations of review if a conflict of interest is declared. However, in case of declaration, the details of financial arrangement is not expected to be disclosed.
Plagiarism Policy
Definitions: Plagiarism is defined as the presentation of work of a researcher/author by another researcher/author as her/his work. If a substantial portion of previously published work is used in a new research/manuscript without proper citation/referencing, it is referred to as self-plagiarism or duplicate publication.
Policy: ICER will consistently observe submitted manuscripts for suspected publication misconducts such as falsification, fraudulent/fabricated data, plagiarism, duplicate publication, changes in authorship, ethical problems, undisclosed conflicts of interest, complaints against editors, and so forth. Additionally, editors, authors, reviewers, readers may register appeals and complaints regarding the above-mentioned cases at any time. In case of informing such cases, the complainer should document and send a letter of complaint with attached evidence to the editor-in-chief or executive editor.
All submitted manuscripts will be checked twice by the editorial team of ICER for plagiarism; one immediately after the manuscript submission, and one before final publication, using “iThenticate” as the plagiarism detection software. If suspected plagiarism is found in the manuscript, ICER shall take actions in accordance with the guidelines provided by the committee on publication ethics (COPE)’s code of conduct and flowcharts.
The complete guidelines appear on COPE website: https://publicationethics.org/
Informed Consent Policy
All Participants, volunteers and patients of a trial/research must be carefully informed about the objectives/purposes of the related study, and any possible adverse effects of the materials/drugs used next to interventions applied in the study should be thoroughly explained to them. Written/formal informed consent must be taken from all participants and/or their legal guardians. ICER reserves the right to demand the necessary legal documents. Manuscripts, which require informed consent, should acknowledge the corresponding statement in the “Methods and Materials” section.
Correction of Articles
Article corrections may be elaborated/considered/made to a published paper/article when required authorization is granted from the editor-in-chief/senior editor of the journal. The editor-in-chief/senior editor should study and determine the magnitude of needed amendments. Minor corrections will be directly made to the original paper, nevertheless, when there are major corrections, the corrected version of paper will be published next to the original article, which remains unchanged. The corrected version of paper(s) will be linked to the original version of the article(s). In addition, a statement explaining the reason(s) for major changes to the paper should be written and published with the revised version.
The process for handling cases requiring corrections, retractions, and editorial expressions of Concern
Retraction of Articles and Withdrawal Policy
ICER applies COPE flowchart/retraction guidelines for the retraction of manuscript(s) to determine if a paper should be retracted. Manuscripts should be withdrawn only before their official acceptance. The letter of withdrawal must be submitted by the corresponding author and must be signed by all the authors explaining in detail the reason(s) for their decision on withdrawal.
Manuscripts which show errors/problems and/or duplicates of and/or similarity to other published paper(s) or are to violate the ethical guidelines of the target journal in the view of editors may be withdrawn. Manuscripts which present infringements of professional ethical codes, such as plagiarism, fraudulent use of data, unreliability of science, bogus claims of authorship and alike will be withdrawn. ICER will retract papers published in/by other journals, however, minor errors/changes in author ship needs a correction notice and shall not lead to the retraction of manuscript.
Further Reading
ICMJE - Scientific Misconduct, Expressions of Concern, and Retraction
COPE Guidelines
COPE Flowcharts
COPE retraction guidelines
WAME - Publication Ethics Policies for Medical Journals
STM - International Ethical Principles for Scholarly Publication
Editorial Independence and Responsibility
The editorial policy of ICER is consistent/in line with the principles of editorial independence presented by “World Association of Medical Editors (WAME)” (http://www.wame.org/).
ICER admires/respects editorial freedom and editor(s) will have the discretion to evaluate, assess, accept and/or reject manuscript(s) based solely on the significance, originality, validity and adherence of the manuscript(s) to the aim(s) and scope of the target journal. The editor(s) will have full authority and discretion to review, revise, accept and/or reject a manuscript. Editor(s) should have no conflict of interest to the manuscript they review, revise, accept and/or reject. The editor(s) shall be solely responsible for the promotion of the publication. The anonymity of the editor(s) and reviewer(s) will be always preserved.