Research And Publication Ethics

The Interdisciplinary Journal of One Health (IJOH) is committed to the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and responsibility in all research and publishing activities. These principles apply to work involving humans, animals, and the environment.

 

Ethical Research

  • Human Studies - Research must follow the Declaration of Helsinki (https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medical-research-involving-human-subjects/) and relevant national regulations. Authors must obtain and document informed consent, protect participant privacy, and name the approving ethics committee or explain any exemption.
  • Animal Studies - Research involving animals must comply with international and national guidelines such as the ARRIVE Guidelines and the Three Rs principles—Replacement (use alternatives when possible), Reduction (use the minimum number of animals), and Refinement (minimize pain and distress). Authors must describe housing, husbandry, and pain management and justify the work ethically if no formal ethics committee exists. Guidance is available from the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Animal Research Review Panel (https://www.animalethics.org.au/three-rs) and the European Animal Research Association (https://www.eara.eu/animal-research-law).
  • Environmental Research - Studies must minimize disturbance to ecosystems and comply with local and international conservation or permitting requirements.

 

Authorship, Data Integrity, and Transparency

  • Only individuals who made substantial intellectual or experimental contributions should be listed as authors.
  • Methods and results must be reported honestly and in sufficient detail for others to reproduce the work.
  • Raw data must be retained and made available to editors or reviewers upon request.
  • Plagiarism, duplicate submission, data fabrication, and image manipulation are strictly prohibited.
  • Authors must disclose all financial, personal, or professional relationships that could influence the research and acknowledge all funding sources and contributions.

 

Responsibilities of Reviewers

  • Treat manuscripts and reviewer identity as confidential.
  • Provide objective, constructive, and timely evaluations focused on scientific merit and ethical compliance.
  • Decline a review if there is any conflict of interest or lack of expertise.
  • Do not use information from the manuscript for personal advantage.

 

Responsibilities of Editors

  • Base editorial decisions solely on the manuscript’s quality, relevance, and ethical compliance, without bias.
  • Ensure a fair and transparent peer-review process and protect the anonymity of reviewers when applicable.
  • Treat all submissions as confidential and investigate suspected misconduct such as plagiarism or data falsification.
  • When necessary, issue corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern in accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines (https://publicationethics.org). 

 

Ethical Citation

  • Credit and Acknowledgment - All ideas, data, methods, and words taken from other works must be properly credited to the original source. Failure to cite constitutes plagiarism, even when paraphrased.
  • Accuracy and Verifiability - Citations must accurately represent the content of the referenced work. Authors should verify every reference to ensure that statements attributed to a source are correct and that bibliographic details are complete.
  • Original Source Use - Authors should, whenever possible, consult and cite the primary source rather than relying on secondary citations. If a secondary citation is unavoidable, it must clearly identify the original work.
  • No Manipulation - Citation practices must not be used to artificially inflate citation counts of any individual, journal, or institution (no “citation stacking” or coercive citation).
  • Balance and Relevance - References must be relevant to the research question and reflect the diversity of scholarship in the field. Authors should avoid excessive self-citation or preferential citation of close colleagues.
  • Transparency in Preprints and Data - Preprints, datasets, or other non-peer-reviewed materials may be cited only when necessary and must be clearly identified as such.
  • Corrections - If authors discover an error in a reference after publication, they must promptly notify the editorial office so that a correction can be issued.

Reviewers should flag suspected plagiarism, inappropriate self-citation, or citation manipulation. Editors will investigate any concerns in line with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines (https://publicationethics.org) and take corrective action when misconduct is identified.