JMCHS investigates all credible allegations of research or publication misconduct, before or after publication, following the COPE flowcharts.

Types of misconduct

•     Fabrication or falsification of data, including fabricated survey responses or field data

•     Plagiarism and duplicate publication

•     Image or figure manipulation

•     Research without ethics approval or valid consent

•     Authorship misconduct and undisclosed competing interests

•     Peer review manipulation and citation manipulation

•     Paper mill activity and sale of authorship

Procedure

1.    The editor and Publication Ethics Officer assess whether the allegation is specific and supported by evidence. Anonymous allegations are considered if sufficiently detailed.

2.    The authors are informed of the concern and asked to respond with explanations and, where relevant, raw data, consent records or ethics documents. The identity of the person raising the concern is protected.

3.    If the explanation is satisfactory, the case is closed or a correction published.

4.    If not, the matter is referred to the authors’ institution, ethics committee or funder, which is responsible for formal investigation.

5.    Based on the outcome, JMCHS may reject the manuscript, publish a correction, an expression of concern or a retraction, and in serious cases decline further submissions from the authors for a stated period.

Reports can be sent confidentially to editor@corvusmedpress.com.