Author guidelines

Publication ethics and malpractice statement

AUCJCM follows the publication ethics expected of editors, authors, and reviewers as defined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) in its Code of Conduct (opens in a new tab) and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors (opens in a new tab), together with Elsevier’s Publishing Ethics Resource Kit (opens in a new tab), as a baseline for handling publishing ethics issues.

Editors’ responsibilities

Publication decisions

The editor is responsible for deciding which submitted papers will be published. Manuscripts are evaluated without regard to an author’s race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy. Decisions are based on importance, originality, clarity, validity, and relevance to the journal’s scope, while also considering legal requirements concerning libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.

Confidentiality

The editor and editorial staff must not disclose information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, editorial advisers, and publisher, as appropriate.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted paper will not be used by the editor or editorial board for their own research without the author’s explicit written consent.

Reviewers’ responsibilities

Contribution to editorial decisions

Peer review assists the editor and editorial board in making decisions and may also help authors improve their papers.

Promptness

A selected referee who feels unqualified to review a manuscript, or knows that a prompt review is impossible, should notify the editor and withdraw from the process.

Confidentiality

Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents and may not be disclosed or discussed except as authorized by the editor.

Standards of objectivity

Reviews should be objective. Personal criticism is inappropriate, and referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

Acknowledgement of sources

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited, check whether derived observations or arguments are accompanied by their sources, and notify the editor of any substantial similarity or overlap with other published work known to them.

Disclosure and conflict of interest

Privileged information obtained through peer review must remain confidential and must not be used for personal advantage. Reviewers should decline manuscripts where competitive, collaborative, or other relationships create a conflict of interest.

Authors’ duties

Reporting standards

Authors of original research should present an accurate account of the work and an objective discussion of its significance. Data must be represented accurately, with enough detail and references to permit replication. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements are unethical and unacceptable.

Data access and retention

Authors may be asked to provide raw data for editorial review and should be prepared to make it publicly available when practicable. They should ensure access for other competent professionals for at least ten years, preferably through an institutional or subject repository, provided participant confidentiality and relevant legal rights can be protected.

Originality, plagiarism, and acknowledgement of sources

Authors must submit original work and appropriately cite or quote the work and words of others. Publications that influenced the reported work should also be cited.

Multiple, redundant, or concurrent publication

Papers describing essentially the same research should not be published in more than one journal. Simultaneous submission is unethical and unacceptable. Copyrighted work published elsewhere cannot be submitted, and a manuscript under review by AUCJCM should not be submitted elsewhere. Authors retain rights to accepted material under the journal’s open-access policy.

Authorship of the paper

Authorship should be limited to those who made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the study. The corresponding author must ensure that all contributing co-authors—and no uninvolved persons—are listed, have approved the final version, and agree to submission.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest

Authors should disclose financial or other substantive conflicts that could influence the results or interpretation of the manuscript, together with all sources of financial support.

Fundamental errors in published works

When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in published work, the author must promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate in retracting or correcting the paper through an erratum.