Publication Ethics

SAMAGRA: Journal of Integrated Health Sciences is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and takes all possible measures against any publication malpractice. This statement is based on the guidelines developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).

Duties of Editors

  • Editors evaluate manuscripts solely on their intellectual and scientific merit, without regard to the authors' race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy.
  • Editors ensure that submitted manuscripts remain confidential during the review process and are not disclosed to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, and editorial staff.
  • Editors and editorial board members must not use unpublished information from a submitted manuscript for their own research without the express written consent of the author.
  • Editors disclose and manage any conflicts of interest arising from their own research, authorship, or relationships with authors or reviewers.
  • Editors are guided by editorial board decisions and constrained by legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism when making publication decisions.

Duties of Reviewers

  • Reviewers assist the Editor in making editorial decisions and, through editorial communication, may also assist authors in improving their manuscript.
  • Any manuscript received for review must be treated as a confidential document and must not be shared or discussed with others without authorization from the Editor.
  • Reviews must be conducted objectively; personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.
  • Reviewers must identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors and disclose any substantial similarity between the manuscript and any other published work of which they are aware.
  • Reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest — financial, institutional, collaborative, or personal — that may affect their judgment of the manuscript, and should decline to review when such conflicts exist.
  • Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.

Duties of Authors

  • Authors must present an accurate account of the original research performed, along with an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the manuscript, and should be available for editorial review upon request.
  • Authors must ensure that they have written entirely original work; any work or words of others must be appropriately cited or quoted.
  • Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently, or publishing substantially the same research in more than one journal, constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
  • Authorship must be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study; all who made significant contributions must be listed as co-authors.
  • All sources of financial and material support must be disclosed, as well as any conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of the manuscript.
  • Studies involving human participants must have been conducted in accordance with relevant ethical guidelines (e.g., Declaration of Helsinki) and must include appropriate ethical clearance and informed consent statements.
  • When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their own published work, they must promptly notify the Editor and cooperate to correct or retract the manuscript.

Duties of the Publisher

  • The publisher supports the Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board in investigating suspected misconduct and, where necessary, facilitates communication with other journals and/or publishers when this might help resolve a case.
  • The publisher will assist in cases of suspected research or publication misconduct, but will not itself investigate or determine such misconduct — this responsibility rests with the Editors and, where applicable, the authors' institution(s).

Research and Publication Misconduct

Research misconduct includes, but is not limited to, data fabrication, falsification, image manipulation, citation manipulation, plagiarism, redundant (duplicate) publication, and undisclosed conflicts of interest. Allegations of misconduct — whether raised by editors, reviewers, readers, or third parties — will be investigated by the Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board in accordance with COPE guidelines and flowcharts. The corresponding author will be given an opportunity to respond to any allegation. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, actions may include requesting corrections, issuing an expression of concern, rejecting the manuscript, or retracting a published article.

Conflicts of Interest

All authors, reviewers, and editors are required to disclose any financial, personal, or professional relationships that could be perceived to influence, or that could appear to influence, the work submitted, reviewed, or the editorial decision made.

Informed Consent and Ethical Approval

For studies involving human subjects, authors must state that informed consent was obtained from all participants (or their legal guardians) and that the study was approved by a relevant institutional ethics committee or review board. For case reports, written informed consent must be obtained from the patient (or legal guardian) for the publication of any identifiable clinical information, images, or data. Identifying details should be omitted unless essential for scientific purposes, in which case explicit consent for publication is required.

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

Authors may use generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) to assist with language editing, drafting, or data analysis, provided such use is disclosed in the Methods or Acknowledgment section and does not exceed [35]% of the manuscript's content. AI tools do not qualify for authorship and cannot be listed as authors, as they cannot take responsibility for the integrity, originality, or accuracy of the work. Authors remain fully accountable for all content, including AI-assisted portions. Reviewers and editors must not upload manuscript content to public/non-secure AI tools in order to preserve confidentiality during the review process.

Complaints and Appeals

Complaints regarding editorial decisions, review process delays, or publication ethics should be directed to the Editor-in-Chief at [email redaksi]. Authors wishing to appeal a rejection decision may do so by email, including the manuscript ID number in the subject line. The Editor-in-Chief will consider the authors' argument and reviewer reports before deciding whether the original decision stands, whether an independent opinion is required, or whether the appeal is upheld. Decisions on appeals are final.

This publication ethics statement is reviewed periodically and updated in accordance with evolving international standards in scholarly publishing.