Iraqi Journal of Pharmaceutical Research (IQJPR) Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement Guideline

This statement outlines the essential ethical elements of publication for the IQJPR, based on the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines. These principles apply to all parties involved in the publication process, including authors, reviewers, and editors.

Editorial Duties and Responsibilities

• Publication Decisions: The IQJPR editorial board evaluates all submitted manuscripts based on their scientific merit, research integrity, language, plagiarism, and ethical considerations. Manuscripts may be rejected without formal peer review if deemed unsuitable for publication or outside the journal's scope.
• Confidentiality: Submitted manuscripts are treated with strict confidentiality and their contents are not disclosed to anyone outside the publication process.
• Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Editorial board members are prohibited from using information from unpublished manuscripts for their own research without explicit written permission from the original author.
• Peer Reviewing: The editorial board is committed to impartial manuscript evaluation, free from discrimination based on author race, religion, nationality, sex, seniority, or institutional affiliation. Reviewers are chosen for their expertise in the manuscript's field, and potential conflicts of interest are carefully considered.
• Editor as an Author: If an IQJPR editor wishes to publish their own work in the journal, a different associate editor handles the peer review process independently. Editors are not involved in the peer review or editorial decisions for their own manuscripts.

Duties of Reviewers

• Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Reviewers are expected to provide timely and constructive feedback to the editorial board, helping to improve the quality of manuscripts. The editorial board is committed to providing reviewers with clear guidelines, standards, and expectations for originality. Reviewer anonymity is maintained.
• Promptness: Reviewers should promptly inform the editorial board if they are unable to review a manuscript.
• Managing Time and Workload: Reviewers should complete the review process and respond to edits within the allocated timeframe, ensuring a smooth and efficient publication process for manuscripts meeting the journal's standards.
• Confidentiality: Reviewers are obligated to maintain confidentiality regarding submitted manuscripts and not disclose any information to external parties.
• Standards of Objectivity: Reviews must be based on objective criteria, avoiding personal judgments about the authors. Reviews should be supported by clear opinions and scientific arguments, adhering to the journal's regulations and publication standards.
• Identifying and Evaluating Resources: Reviewers must carefully evaluate the sources cited in manuscripts. Any instances of plagiarism or significant overlap with existing work (published or unpublished) should be reported to the editorial board for further action.
• Reviewer Feedback: Reviewers should provide constructive and unbiased feedback using clear language. Personal criticism and offensive language are unacceptable and should be avoided.
• Acknowledgement of Sources: Reviewers must alert the editorial board if authors fail to adhere to the journal's publication standards. Reviewers should ensure the accuracy and appropriateness of references, verifying that they are correctly cited in the body of the manuscript and bibliography. They should also ensure that any ideas or arguments presented are properly attributed and do not infringe on other researchers' work. Reviewers must notify the editor if they notice any similarity or overlap between a submitted manuscript and their own published research.
• Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest: Reviewers must recuse themselves from reviewing manuscripts if they perceive a potential conflict of interest. They are prohibited from using or modifying any information from the manuscript for personal gain. Direct contact with the authors is not permitted without prior permission from the journal officials.

Duties of Authors

• Reporting Standards: Authors should submit original research with clear details and proper references. They must keep raw data and other resources used in their work.
• Originality: All submitted work must be original and free from plagiarism.
• Data Accuracy: Authors should ensure that data is collected, analyzed, and reported correctly.
• Authorship: The roles and contributions of each author must be clearly defined.
• No Duplicate Submissions: Manuscripts should not be submitted to multiple journals or published elsewhere.
• Image Ethics: Images must not be manipulated or falsified.
• Funding Disclosure: Authors must reveal any financial support for their research.
• Ethical Approval: Research involving humans or animals must have proper ethical clearance.
• Copyright Compliance: Permission must be obtained for using copyrighted material.

• Corrections in Published Work
  Authors must inform the editor or publisher of any errors identified in their manuscripts to ensure necessary corrections are made in the pre-print version.
• Ethical Considerations for Human and Animal Subjects
  For research involving human subjects, authors are responsible for ensuring that their work poses no risk or harm. Approval from the institutional ethics committee is required, and authors must complete the provided declaration form (click here).
• For studies involving animals, research must adhere to ethical guidelines governing their use in scientific studies and must also be approved by the institutional ethics committee. Authors are required to acknowledge their responsibility in complying with these ethical standards by signing the relevant declaration form (click here).