The International Journal of Medical Science and Dental Health (IJMSDH) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics, editorial integrity, and responsible scholarly publishing. The journal promotes honesty, transparency, fairness, and accountability throughout the editorial and publication process to ensure that all published research is accurate, reliable, and ethically conducted.

IJMSDH follows internationally recognized principles of publication ethics and considers the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and other internationally accepted best practices in scholarly publishing. All authors, editors, reviewers, and publishers are expected to comply with these ethical standards throughout the submission, peer review, editorial evaluation, and publication process.

Core Ethical Principles

Authors' Responsibilities

Editors are responsible for maintaining the quality, integrity, and credibility of the journal. Editorial decisions are made independently and are based solely on the scientific merit, originality, ethical compliance, and relevance of the submitted manuscript.

Editors are expected to:

• Evaluate manuscripts fairly and objectively without discrimination based on nationality, gender, ethnicity, religion, institutional affiliation, or political beliefs.
• Maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts throughout the editorial and peer review process.
• Select qualified, independent, and unbiased reviewers with appropriate subject expertise.
• Avoid and appropriately manage actual or potential conflicts of interest.
• Take appropriate action when research misconduct, ethical concerns, or publication irregularities are suspected.
• Issue corrections, corrigenda, expressions of concern, or retractions whenever necessary to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.
• Maintain editorial independence from commercial interests, sponsors, advertisers, and Article Processing Charges (APCs).

Peer reviewers play an essential role in ensuring the scientific quality of published research. Reviewers are expected to provide objective, constructive, confidential, and timely evaluations that assist editors in making informed editorial decisions.

Reviewers are expected to:

• Review manuscripts objectively, fairly, and without personal bias.
• Maintain strict confidentiality regarding all submitted manuscripts and associated information.
• Provide constructive comments and recommendations to improve manuscript quality.
• Identify relevant published work that has not been properly cited.
• Report suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, image manipulation, or other ethical concerns to the Editorial Office.
• Decline review invitations when a conflict of interest exists or when the manuscript falls outside their area of expertise.

Research involving human participants, animals, biological materials, or identifiable personal information must comply with internationally accepted ethical standards and all applicable institutional or national regulations.

Authors should ensure that:

• Appropriate approval has been obtained from an Institutional Review Board (IRB), Ethics Committee, or equivalent authority where required.
• Informed consent has been obtained from research participants whenever applicable.
• Patient privacy, confidentiality, and anonymity are fully protected.
• Animal research complies with recognized animal welfare guidelines and ethical standards.
• Clinical studies comply with internationally accepted ethical principles and regulatory requirements.

Authors are expected to report research findings honestly, accurately, and transparently. Data should not be fabricated, falsified, selectively manipulated, or misleadingly presented. Where appropriate, authors are encouraged to retain supporting research data and make it available for editorial review or scientific verification.

Authors should:

• Maintain accurate and complete research records.
• Present figures, images, and tables without deceptive manipulation.
• Describe research methods clearly to support reproducibility.
• Cooperate with editorial requests for supporting information when reasonably required.
• Correct any significant errors identified after publication without unnecessary delay.

IJMSDH does not tolerate any form of publication misconduct. Allegations of unethical behavior are investigated fairly, confidentially, and in accordance with the journal's editorial procedures and internationally recognized ethical principles.

Examples of publication misconduct include:

• Plagiarism and self-plagiarism.
• Duplicate or redundant publication.
• Data fabrication or falsification.
• Image manipulation that alters scientific interpretation.
• Inappropriate authorship or undisclosed contributors.
• Citation manipulation.
• Undisclosed conflicts of interest.
• Manipulation of the peer review process.

Where misconduct is suspected, the Editorial Office may request explanations, supporting documentation, or conduct further investigation before reaching an editorial decision.

Authors who use Artificial Intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted technologies during manuscript preparation should disclose such use where appropriate. AI tools may assist with language editing or formatting but must not replace the intellectual contributions and scientific responsibility of the authors.

• AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors.
• Authors remain fully responsible for the originality, accuracy, integrity, and authenticity of all manuscript content.
• Any substantial use of AI-generated content should be disclosed in accordance with the journal's editorial policies.

Requests to add, remove, or rearrange authors after manuscript submission or acceptance will be considered only in exceptional circumstances. Such requests must be supported by a written explanation and the documented agreement of all listed authors.

The Editorial Office reserves the right to request additional documentation before approving any authorship change.

If significant errors, ethical concerns, or research misconduct are identified after publication, the journal will take appropriate editorial action to maintain the integrity of the scholarly record.

Depending on the circumstances, the journal may:

• Publish a correction or corrigendum.
• Issue an editorial expression of concern.
• Retract the published article.
• Notify the relevant institutions or authorities where appropriate.

All such actions are undertaken fairly, transparently, and in accordance with the journal's editorial policies and internationally recognized publication ethics principles.

IJMSDH is committed to maintaining ethical publishing practices consistent with internationally recognized principles of scholarly publishing. The journal continually reviews and updates its editorial policies to reflect developments in publication ethics, research integrity, editorial transparency, and responsible scientific communication.

The Editorial Board, reviewers, authors, and publisher share a common responsibility to uphold the highest standards of academic integrity, ethical research, and responsible publishing. IJMSDH remains committed to ensuring a fair, transparent, independent, and trustworthy publication process that benefits the global scientific community.

Questions regarding publication ethics, research integrity, suspected misconduct, authorship, conflicts of interest, corrections, or retractions may be directed to the Editorial Office using the official contact information available on the journal website. All ethical concerns will be handled confidentially, impartially, and in accordance with the journal's editorial policies.