Ethical Standards for Authors
The Archives of Surgery and Clinical Research (ASCR; ISSN: 2576-9537) expects all authors to uphold the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and respect for patients, participants, colleagues, and the scientific record. This page translates our policies into practical expectations for authors before, during, and after peer review.
Authorship, CRediT Roles & Accountability
Assign authorship to those who made substantial scholarly contributions and can take public responsibility for the work. List all authors who meet accepted authorship criteria and obtain their approval of the final manuscript and of the order in which they are listed. Use the CRediT taxonomy to describe specific contributions (e.g., conceptualization, methodology, data curation, formal analysis, writing—original draft, writing—review & editing, supervision, funding acquisition).
What to include on the Title Page
- Full author names with affiliations and ORCID iDs.
- CRediT contribution statements for each author.
- Corresponding author details and guarantor statement for clinical accuracy where applicable.
Group authorship: When a collaboration group is listed, specify both group name and individual contributors who meet authorship criteria. Others who contributed but do not qualify for authorship should be acknowledged with consent.
Originality, Prior Dissemination & Plagiarism
Submit only original work not under consideration elsewhere. Provide transparent disclosure of any prior dissemination (e.g., preprints, theses, conference abstracts). ASCR welcomes preprints; include the server name and DOI on submission and link the version of record (VoR) after publication. We screen all submissions for text similarity and inappropriate reuse. Reuse of text, figures, or tables must be properly cited and licensed; quotation marks are required for verbatim text beyond brief technical phrases.
Data, Image & Statistical Integrity
- Raw data retention: Retain underlying data and unprocessed images for a reasonable period (typically ≥5 years) and provide them upon request during review or post-publication investigations.
- Image processing: Global adjustments (brightness/contrast, color balance) are acceptable if applied to the entire image and do not obscure, eliminate, or misrepresent information. Disclose adjustments in figure legends. Clearly demarcate splices or composites.
- Statistics: Report effect sizes with 95% confidence intervals alongside exact p-values; specify statistical tests, assumptions, and software versions. Pre-specify primary/secondary outcomes where applicable.
- Data availability: Provide a Data Availability Statement. When possible, share de-identified data and code in trusted repositories with persistent identifiers and cite them in the reference list.
Human Participants, Patient Privacy & Animal Research
Human research must have approval from an institutional review board or ethics committee and comply with recognized ethical frameworks. Obtain informed consent from participants and specific publication consent for images or details that could identify individuals. For case reports, secure written consent from the patient or legal guardian. Remove protected health information (PHI) and de-identify images unless explicit consent allows identifiability.
Animal research must state protocol approval, humane endpoints, and measures to minimize pain and distress. Follow appropriate reporting and welfare guidelines; justify sample sizes and experimental endpoints.
Trial registration
Register interventional clinical trials in a recognized registry prior to first participant enrollment and include the registry name and identifier in the manuscript and on the Title Page.
Conflicts of Interest & Funding Transparency
Disclose all relationships that could reasonably be perceived to influence the work—financial (grants, consulting, equity), academic (competing groups), or personal. Provide funder names and grant numbers and describe the funder’s role in study design, data collection, analysis, decision to publish, and manuscript preparation. If the funder had no such role, state this explicitly.
Sample conflict statement
Author A reports research support from [Funder, Grant #]. Author B received speaker honoraria from [Company] outside the submitted work. The funders had no role in study design; data collection, analysis, and interpretation; manuscript writing; or the decision to submit.
Responsible Use of AI Tools
Generative AI and large language models may assist with language polishing, figure rendering, or code generation, but they cannot be listed as authors and must not be used to fabricate or falsify data, images, citations, or quotes. Authors are fully accountable for all content, including AI-assisted passages.
- Disclosure: If AI tools were used, describe the tool, version, and purpose in the manuscript (e.g., writing—editing for grammar; code refactoring; figure rendering) and verify outputs manually.
- Privacy: Do not input confidential data, PHI, or unpublished images into external AI tools without an appropriate data-processing agreement.
- Citations: Do not cite AI outputs as primary sources; verify and cite the underlying literature or datasets.
Citation Practices & Literature Ethics
Cite relevant prior work fairly and proportionately; avoid coercive or gratuitous self-citation. Ensure one-to-one correspondence between in-text citations and the reference list. Include DOIs in the canonical https://doi.org/ form where available. Do not use non-existent references or “placeholder” citations.
Good practice
- Prefer primary sources over tertiary summaries.
- Balance citations to include international and diverse contributions where relevant.
- Cite data, software, and protocols with persistent identifiers.
Copyright, Licensing & Third-Party Materials
ASCR publishes under CC BY 4.0. Authors retain copyright and grant the public permission to share and adapt with attribution. When reusing third-party content (figures, images, tables), secure permissions if the material is not under a compatible license and keep credit lines intact. State any license differences within legends and acknowledgments.
Responsibilities During Peer Review
- Blinding: Submit a separate Title Page and a blinded manuscript with scrubbed file metadata.
- Response to reviewers: Provide a point-by-point response, indicating changes with page/line references; upload a tracked-changes file.
- Data and materials: Be prepared to share de-identified data, code, and raw images for verification; provide secure access if data are restricted.
- Ethics documentation: Supply IRB/IACUC approvals, consent forms, and trial registration records upon request.
Post-Publication Responsibilities
Authors must help maintain the integrity of the scholarly record. Notify the journal promptly of significant errors or omissions in your published article. ASCR issues citable notices—corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern—with DOIs and bidirectional links; authors are expected to cooperate fully with investigations and updates.
Press & social media
When discussing your article publicly, avoid overstating conclusions beyond the evidence and disclose any conflicts or funding relevant to the topic. Link to the DOI landing page for the version of record.
Changes to Authorship
After submission, changes in authorship (addition, removal, or order) require a clear justification and written consent from all listed authors, including those being added or removed. The Handling Editor may pause review until the authorship question is resolved. Authorship disputes may be referred back to institutions.
Essential Author Checklists
Ethics & transparency
- IRB/IACUC approval documented; informed consent obtained.
- Clinical trial registered before enrollment (if applicable).
- Conflict of interest and funding statements completed.
- Data Availability Statement drafted.
Integrity
- Similarity check passed; any reuse cited and licensed.
- Figures at required resolution; adjustments disclosed; splices demarcated.
- Statistics reported with effect sizes and CIs.
Authorship
- CRediT roles assigned and approved by all authors.
- ORCID iDs provided for each author.
- Order of authors confirmed; guarantor identified where relevant.
Templates for Required Statements
Ethics approval & consent
Ethics approval: Approved by the [Institution Name] IRB (Protocol #[ID], Date). Informed consent: Written informed consent was obtained from all participants. For case images, publication consent was obtained from the patient/legal guardian.
Data Availability Statement
Data availability: De-identified data and analysis code are available in the [Repository] at https://doi.org/[DOI]. Due to [privacy/legal constraints], individual-level clinical data are available upon reasonable request and institutional agreement.
Author Contributions (CRediT)
Conceptualization: A.B., C.D.; Methodology: A.B.; Formal analysis: C.D.; Investigation: E.F.; Data curation: E.F.; Writing—original draft: A.B.; Writing—review & editing: A.B., C.D., E.F.; Supervision: G.H.; Funding acquisition: G.H.
AI Use Disclosure
AI use: A language model (Tool, version) was used to assist with grammar and clarity. The authors verified all content and are responsible for the accuracy and integrity of the manuscript.
Research Misconduct & Investigations
Fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, undisclosed conflicts, and unethical human or animal research violate this policy. Allegations may be raised by editors, reviewers, readers, or institutions. The journal follows established flowcharts for investigations, preserves confidentiality where appropriate, and communicates outcomes via citable notices. Sanctions can include rejection, publication of a notice, or referral to institutions and funders.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I submit a manuscript based on a preprint?
Yes. Disclose the server and DOI at submission. After publication, link the VoR DOI from the preprint record.
Do you allow the VoR PDF in repositories?
Yes. Deposit is permitted on publication with the citation, DOI, and CC BY notice. Keep journal branding and credit lines.
What if my study began before trial registration?
Explain the circumstances in the cover letter and Methods. The Editor will assess whether the manuscript can proceed and what caveats are needed.
Can AI translate my manuscript?
Language translation assistance is allowed with disclosure. Verify accuracy and idiomatic usage; you are responsible for all content.
How do I report an error after publication?
Contact the editorial office with the article DOI and a concise description. We will guide you through the correction or retraction pathway as appropriate.
Contact
Ethics and integrity queries: [email protected] · Technical support: [email protected]