Our Commitment to Publication Ethics

 

  • Axis Academics Limited and its journals are committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics.

  • We follow the Core Practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

  • We adhere to the Recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

  • All editorial decisions are based solely on academic merit, originality, and relevance to the journal’s scope.

  • We do not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, religion, nationality, or institutional affiliation.

Open Access & Copyright

  • All articles are published Open Access under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.

  • Authors retain full copyright of their work.

  • Anyone may copy, distribute, and adapt published articles, provided the original author and source are credited.

  • No embargo periods apply.

  • Published articles are immediately and permanently available online free of charge.

ICMJE Compliance

  • Our journals adhere to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals.

  • This includes standards on:

    • Authorship criteria

    • Conflicts of interest

    • Peer review integrity

    • Editorial freedom and independence

    • Patient privacy and confidentiality

  • Authors must follow ICMJE reporting guidelines for their study type (e.g., CONSORT, PRISMA, STROBE, CARE).

COPE Compliance

  • We follow COPE Core Practices for handling ethical issues.

  • This includes procedures for:

    • Suspected misconduct

    • Authorship disputes

    • Plagiarism and duplicate publication

    • Data fabrication and falsification

    • Undisclosed conflicts of interest

  • Editors, reviewers, and authors are expected to comply with COPE flowcharts for resolving ethical concerns.

  • Allegations of misconduct are investigated fairly, confidentially, and promptly.

  • We maintain a zero-tolerance policy for ethical breaches.

Non-Ghostwriting Declaration

  • Axis Academics Limited does not engage in ghostwriting.

  • All manuscripts must be the original work of the named authors.

  • Professional editing, formatting, or translation support does not qualify for authorship.

  • Any external writing assistance must be fully disclosed in the Acknowledgements section, including:

    • Name of the individual or organisation

    • Nature and extent of the assistance

  • Authors are fully responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of their submitted work.

  • Ghostwriting, once detected, results in immediate rejection and may lead to a publication ban.

Authorship & Contributorship

  • Authorship must be based on the ICMJE criteria:

    • Substantial contributions to conception or design, data acquisition, analysis, or interpretation

    • Drafting the work or critically revising it for important intellectual content

    • Final approval of the version to be published

    • Accountability for all aspects of the work

  • All authors must approve the final manuscript before submission.

  • Contributors who do not meet authorship criteria should be listed in the Acknowledgements section.

  • Changes to authorship after submission require:

    • Written justification

    • Approval from all authors

    • Approval from the Editor-in-Chief

  • Corresponding authors must provide an ORCID iD where available.

  • AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT) cannot be listed as authors.

Plagiarism & Originality

  • All submissions must be original and not under consideration elsewhere.

  • Manuscripts are screened using similarity-detection software (e.g., iThenticate) before peer review.

  • An acceptable similarity threshold applies, with proper attribution required for all sources.

  • Confirmed plagiarism results in:

    • Immediate rejection

    • Publication ban (temporary or permanent)

    • Notification of the author’s institution

  • Self-plagiarism (redundant publication) is also prohibited without proper citation and justification.

Conflict of Interest

  • All authors, reviewers, and editors must declare any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest.

  • Funding sources must be disclosed in the manuscript.

  • Reviewers must recuse themselves from manuscripts where a conflict exists.

  • Editors must recuse themselves from decisions where a conflict exists.

  • Conflicts of interest are disclosed alongside the published article.

AI & Automated Tools Policy

  • AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude) cannot be listed as authors.

  • Any use of AI in writing, data analysis, or translation must be fully disclosed in the Methods or Acknowledgements section.

  • Authors are fully responsible for the accuracy and integrity of AI-assisted content.

  • AI tools must not be used to generate fraudulent data, images, or references.

  • Undisclosed AI use is considered a breach of publication ethics.

Corrections & Retractions

  • We follow COPE guidance for corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern.

  • Corrections are published when errors affect the interpretation of findings but do not invalidate the work.

  • Retractions are issued for:

    • Serious misconduct

    • Unreliable findings

    • Ethical breaches

    • Redundant publication

  • All retractions are clearly linked to the original article.

  • Retracted articles remain free to access with a clear retraction notice.

  • Expressions of concern are issued when an investigation is ongoing.

Contact for Ethics Enquiries

For all publication ethics enquiries or to report suspected misconduct, please contact:

Axis Academics Limited
Email: Admin@Axisacademics.uk
Registered Office: 8 Greaves Avenue, Walsall, West Midlands, WS5 3QF, United Kingdom

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