IJOPMR is committed to the integrity of the scholarly record. The editors use publicly available guidance — including the COPE Core Practices and flowcharts and the ICMJE recommendations — when handling ethical questions. Membership of COPE or other bodies is not claimed unless confirmed by the publisher.
Authorship
All listed authors must have made a substantial contribution, approved the final version and agreed to be accountable for the work. Changes to authorship after submission require written agreement from all authors and are recorded.
Plagiarism and redundant publication
Plagiarism, duplicate submission and redundant publication are not acceptable. Suspected cases are investigated and may lead to rejection, correction or retraction.
Peer review
Reviewers must keep manuscripts confidential, not use unpublished data, declare conflicts of interest and decline when conflicted. Uploading manuscripts to generative-AI tools breaches confidentiality.
Conflicts of interest
Authors, reviewers and editors must disclose interests that could be perceived to influence their work. Editors do not handle manuscripts on which they are authors; the platform blocks such assignments automatically.
Research ethics, human and animal studies
Human research must follow the Declaration of Helsinki and be approved by an ethics committee, with informed consent. Animal research must comply with applicable laws and institutional approval and should follow ARRIVE 2.0.
Data and image integrity
Fabrication, falsification and inappropriate image manipulation are misconduct. Editors may request original data or images at any stage.
AI-use disclosure
Use of generative AI must be disclosed. AI tools are not authors, and authors are responsible for all content.
Corrections, expressions of concern and retractions
Errors are corrected through dated, linked correction notices. Where serious concerns are unresolved, an expression of concern may be issued. Retracted articles remain online, clearly watermarked with the retraction notice explaining why.
Complaints and appeals
Authors may appeal a decision once, in writing, giving specific reasons. Appeals and complaints are handled by an editor not involved in the original decision. Contact the editorial office via the Contact page.
Last updated 19 Oct 2026