Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics & Editorial Policies
SALVERA Medical Journal

As part of our commitment to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics, SALVERA adopts policies aligned with internationally recognized guidelines, including those from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), ICMJE, and the World Medical Association’s Declaration of Helsinki. All authors, editors, and reviewers involved in the publication process are expected to adhere to the following ethical standards.

1. Authorship & Contributorship

All listed authors must have made a substantial contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the study. Authorship should reflect meaningful participation in:

  • Study design or data acquisition/analysis

  • Drafting or revising the manuscript critically

  • Final approval of the version to be published

Changes in authorship after submission must be approved by all co-authors and accompanied by a formal request to the editorial board. Use of ghostwriting or honorary authorship is strictly prohibited.

2. Conflicts of Interest

All authors, reviewers, and editors are required to declare any financial, personal, academic, or professional relationships that could be perceived to influence their work. These declarations must be included:

  • In the manuscript upon submission

  • During the peer review process (for reviewers)

  • In published articles when relevant

If no conflict exists, a standard statement such as “The authors declare no conflicts of interest” must be included.

3. Human Subjects & Informed Consent

For manuscripts involving human participants:

  • Authors must confirm that research was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

  • Ethical approval must be obtained from a recognized Institutional Review Board (IRB).

  • Informed consent must be obtained from all participants. If images or identifiable data are used, specific written consent for publication must be provided.

A statement of ethical compliance must be included in the Methods section.

4. Data Sharing and Reproducibility

SALVERA encourages transparency and reproducibility in research. Authors should

  • Provide data availability statements in the manuscript

  • Share anonymized data upon reasonable request

  • Disclose any restrictions on data access

Where applicable, authors are encouraged to deposit datasets in open-access repositories (e.g., Dryad, Figshare).

5. Plagiarism and Originality

All submissions must be original and free from

  • Plagiarism

  • Redundant or duplicate publication

  • Fabricated or falsified data

SALVERA uses plagiarism detection software (e.g., Turnitin or iThenticate) to screen all submissions. Any ethical misconduct will be handled in accordance with COPE guidelines and may lead to retraction or rejection.

6. Use of AI and Large Language Models

Authors must disclose the use of any generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT) in the writing or data analysis of their manuscript. These tools:

  • Must not be listed as authors

  • Should be used responsibly, with proper human oversight

  • Must be disclosed in the Acknowledgement or Methods section

The editorial board reserves the right to reject work deemed overly reliant on AI-generated content.

7. Reviewer Ethics & Confidentiality

SALVERA uses double-blind peer review. Reviewers must:

  • Treat all submissions as confidential

  • Declare conflicts of interest immediately

  • Provide objective, constructive feedback

  • Avoid any use of reviewed materials for personal advantage

Reviewer identities remain confidential unless the reviewer opts to sign their report.

8. Copyright and Licensing

Authors publishing in SALVERA retain copyright under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). This license allows:

  • Sharing and adaptation for non-commercial use

  • Proper attribution to the original work

  • Authors to archive accepted manuscripts in institutional repositories

For reuse of third-party content, authors must obtain appropriate permissions and include evidence of license or rights.

9. Preprints and Self-Archiving

SALVERA allows submission of manuscripts previously posted as preprints, provided

  • The preprint is cited clearly in the manuscript

  • Authors disclose any previous peer review

  • The version under review is significantly developed or revised

Authors may self-archive accepted versions of manuscripts (not final publisher PDFs) after publication, with appropriate citation.

10. Editorial Oversight & Misconduct

The SALVERA Editorial Board reserves the right to investigate allegations of:

  • Plagiarism

  • Ethical misconduct

  • Data manipulation

  • Author disputes

Retractions, corrections, or expressions of concern will be issued in accordance with COPE standards. Any suspected biosecurity or patient confidentiality risks will be escalated to relevant ethics committees.

11. Acknowledgements, ORCID & Funding

All authors must:

  • Disclose funding sources in the manuscript

  • Acknowledge contributions not qualifying for authorship

  • Provide ORCID iDs, especially for corresponding authors

If you have any concerns about publication ethics or wish to report an issue, please contact the SALVERA editorial team via [salverajournal.gmail.com].