Conduct in Research and Publication
ETHICS IN RESEARCH AND PUBLICATION
The author(s) of research involving human beings, human material, human tissue or human data must declare that the research was conducted according to the standards of the Declaration of Helsinki of 1975, revised in 2013. All authors must obtain ethical approval/exemption letter, to conduct their research, from an independent local, regional or national review body (e.g., ethics committee, institutional review board). The individual, patient, legal guardian or person with legal authority must give explicit written consent. Written consents should be retained by the author and copies of consents or evidence that consents have been obtained may be requested by the RAE Journal and should be made available.
For non-interventional studies (inquiries, questionnaires, etc.) all participants should be informed whether anonymity is guaranteed, what the purpose of the research is, how the data will be used and whether there are any risks.
In case of exemption from ethical approval, authors must provide a waiver from the ethics committee or are encouraged to cite local or national legislation indicating that ethical approval is not required for this type of research. All participants should have the opportunity to give informed consent before entering a research project. However, a signed consent form is not required. Participants should receive the same type of information.
All exempt research should obtain consent from participants. Individual data should be described in detail, but information identifying participants do not need to be included (names, hospital numbers, dates of birth, other personal information), except in situations where the information is relevant to the research (e.g., photographs of faces showing a specific symptom). Patients' initials or another identifier, should not be next to any image. For manuscripts with some form of identification, authors should obtain a signed informed consent for publication from the patients or relatives/guardians before submitting to RAE. Details should be as anonymous as possible. A sample consent form is available for download. A version without information about users' names and signatures should be submitted at the time of submission. The editors of RAE reserve the right to reject any submission that does not meet these requirements.
To publish in the RAE Journal the author(s) must give unlimited permission for publication in all formats, in sublicensed and reprinted versions and in other works and products under an open access license. A sample permission form is available for download.
The author(s) should:
- ensure that each individual or the legal guardian of the individual appearing in an image, photograph, illustration or case study (or other identifiable form) is informed in advance of the use of that image, photograph, illustration or case study (or other identifiable form), including its disclosure to the editors.
- the consent form complies with data protection legal requirements. Special care should be taken when research includes children or individuals with special needs.
- this applies to the consent ensuring respectful use of data, not denigrating the image of individuals.
Considerations for online research
The first information window should be an informative statement. A suggestion is presented: "By participating in the research, I indicate that I have read the information provided and agree to participate". The print option should be made available, and participants should be encouraged to print a copy or save a PDF of the consent information for their records. There should also be information that participants have the right to withdraw, but that by submitting answers to the survey questions they are agreeing to participate.
Online surveys cannot normally be designated as anonymous. Even when participants are not being asked to provide their name, other information, e.g. gender, department and IP address, can be used to identify individuals. As such, it is more accurate to describe data collection from online research as 'confidential', meaning that researchers will implement appropriate procedures so that the confidentiality of the participants’ data is maintained.
NOTE: Policies underpinning third party survey software companies are different and researchers should be aware of the policies of the chosen survey tool and, as appropriate, convey this information to participants.
As applicable to your research project, the information letter or the content of the first research window containing the required information should be sent with the manuscript.
Situations that are not foreseen must be reviewed, on an individual basis, by the editorial team.
ETHICAL GUIDELINES FOR THE USE OF ANIMALS IN RESEARCH
If the research involves the use of animals, the author(s) should ensure that the manuscript contains a statement that all procedures were performed in compliance with relevant laws and institutional guidelines. This statement should be sent with the submission.
The author(s) should:
- replace animals with alternatives wherever possible;
- reduce the number of animals used;
- refine experimental conditions and procedures to minimize harm to animals.
For further information, it is recommended to consult: ARRIVE, EU regulations on animal research and Animal Ethics Infolink
The RAE Journal complies with the ARRIVE guidelines for live animal research. Author(s) must use the ARRIVE guidelines. The editors reserve the right to request the checklist and reject submissions that do not conform to the guidelines.
STUDIES RELATED TO HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
If the work involves chemicals, procedures or equipment that present unusual risks inherent to their use should be clearly and unambiguously identified in the manuscript.
The author(s) should ensure that the manuscript contains a statement that all procedures were performed in compliance with relevant laws and institutional guidelines. It should be sent together with the submission.
CONFLICT OF INTERESTS
It is considered a conflict of interest when any agent (author, reviewer or editor) has a financial or personal relationship.
A conflict of interest is considered to exist when any agent (author, reviewer or editor) has a (financial, personal, professional, family or political) relationship that may interfere in the preparation, peer review, or publication of an article submitted to the Journal. A conflict of interest exists when professional judgment on a primary interest may be influenced by a secondary interest. The conflict of interest may be financial or non-financial, professional or personal. Possible conflicts of interest must be clearly defined and identified before or after publication.
The author(s) must declare all relevant financial or non-financial or personal interests for consideration during manuscript submission. The author may use the form made available by ICMJE to facilitate and standardize author disclosures. After completion, it should be submitted along with the manuscript. If the manuscript is published, this information will be communicated in a statement in the published article.
The reviewer(s) must declare any potential conflict of interest when submitting their review report. They must inform the editor at the time reviews are requested and, if necessary, disqualify themselves from involvement in the evaluation of the manuscript.
Editor(s) who have conflicts of interest or relationships that pose potential conflicts related to the articles under consideration should refrain from editorial decisions and pass them on to another colleague.
Manuscripts authored or co-authored by an editor will be handled by alternate editors and without the author/editor's involvement in the review or editorial process.
SEX AND GENDER IN RESEARCH
The RAE Journal encourages authors to comply with the 'Sex and Gender Equity in Research - SAGER - Guidelines.
The terms sex (biological attribute) and gender (formed by social and cultural circumstances) should be used carefully so as not to confuse the two terms. Any mention of these terms, sex and gender, throughout the manuscript should be clearly and unequivocally indicated and, if necessary, an explanation of their use should be provided.
BORDER AND TERRITORIES
The RAE Journal remains neutral regarding jurisdictional claims on published maps and institutional affiliations. In case of potential disputes regarding borders and territories, the editorial team will try to find a resolution between the parties involved.
ETHICS FOR AUTHORS
The RAE Journal complies with the COPE Code of Conduct.
The editors of the RAE Journal take issues of editorial ethics very seriously and are aware of a strict policy. It is through a peer review process and strict ethical standards and policies that a high-quality contribution to the scientific community is ensured.
The author(s):
- must comply with the publication requirements that the published work is original, not plagiarized and has not been published elsewhere and/or under review. For further information it is suggested that the point 8 of the code of ethics is read.
- must ensure that the research was conducted in an ethical and responsible manner in compliance with all legislation. For further information it is suggested that studies related to humans or dangerous animals and participant consent are read.
- is (are) responsible for reading the objectives, scope of the RAE Journal and the guidelines for authors.
- must present the results accurately, clearly and honestly, without inappropriate manipulation of the data. They must include an objective discussion of the significance of their findings. Authors are solely responsible for the content of their submissions. For further information, please refer to the submission guidelines and point 8 of the code of ethics.
- must present the data and methods used in research in sufficient detail to enable it to be replicated.
- must make the raw data available whenever requested. They should ensure that the raw data is kept for some time after publication.
- state(s) that the paper contains no unsubstantiated or illegal statements and does not violate any third-party rights. They guarantee that the rights of third parties will not be violated, and that the publishing house is not legally liable in the event of any compensation claims. For further information please refer to the submission guidelines and code of ethics.
- should describe the methods clearly and unambiguously.
- ensure(s) that all those who have contributed significantly to the manuscript are listed as authors in the agreed order. Ghost & Guest authorship should be avoided.
- is (are) responsible for disclosing sources of funding and facts that could be perceived as relevant conflicts of interests. Both financial and non-financial competing interests must be declared.
- must not include information that has already been published. If authors include previously published figures or images, they must obtain permission from the copyright owner to publish under the CC-BY license. For further information, see Rights and Permissions.
- when discovering a significant error or inaccuracy in the published work, the corresponding author should immediately notify the editors-in-chief and cooperate to resolve the situation.
- must ensure that there is no plagiarism and/or image manipulation.