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Ethics and Malpractice Statement | Archives of Surgery and Clinical Research

Editorial Independence & Principles

Editorial decisions at ASCR are based on methodological rigor, ethical conduct, and relevance to surgical practice. Editors are independent of commercial considerations; sponsors and advertisers have no role in peer review or acceptance decisions. We strive for fairness and transparency across all stages of the editorial process and publish clear policies on authorship, conflicts, peer review, corrections, and retractions.

Authorship, Contributorship & Changes

Authorship implies responsibility and accountability. Authors should meet widely adopted authorship criteria: substantial contributions to the work; drafting or critical revision; final approval; and accountability for all aspects of the work. We capture contributor roles using the CRediT taxonomy and encourage ORCID iDs for unambiguous attribution. Contributors who do not meet authorship criteria (e.g., funding acquisition only, general supervision, language editing) should be acknowledged with permission.

Changes to authorship: After submission, additions, removals, or order changes require written confirmation from all authors with a clear rationale. The editorial office may request institutional verification when appropriate.

Conflicts of Interest & Funding Transparency

All authors must disclose relationships or activities that could influence the work, including financial support, consulting, equity, patents, speaker fees, or close professional/personal relationships. Editors and reviewers similarly disclose conflicts and recuse themselves when necessary. The manuscript and metadata should list funders and grant identifiers, with a statement of the funder’s role in study design, data collection/analysis, and publication. If the funder had no role, authors should state this explicitly.

Human Participants, Patient Privacy & Animal Research

Submissions involving humans must identify the approving ethics committee/institutional review board, provide protocol identifiers, and describe informed consent procedures. Clinical trials and prospective interventional studies are expected to be registered in a recognized registry prior to first patient enrollment. Submissions involving animals must state protocol approval and humane care standards and describe methods to minimize pain and distress. Clinical images and case reports require documented consent and de-identification; face and tattoo blurring alone may be insufficient if re-identification remains possible.

Data, Statistics & Image Integrity

Research reports must transparently describe data sources, inclusion/exclusion criteria, and analytical methods. Statistical analyses should justify sample sizes, handling of missing data, and sensitivity analyses. ASCR screens submissions for textual overlap and inappropriate image manipulation. Acceptable adjustments (e.g., uniform brightness/contrast changes) must be applied to the entire image and described in the figure legend. Unacceptable practices include selective enhancement, feature duplication, splicing without demarcation, and the fabrication or removal of data. Authors should retain raw data and original, unprocessed images and be prepared to share them upon request during review or post-publication investigation.

Research Misconduct & Questionable Practices

We consider the following to be misconduct (non-exhaustive): fabrication, falsification, plagiarism (including self-plagiarism/duplicate publication), undisclosed conflicts of interest that materially affect interpretation, peer-review manipulation, guest/ghost/acknowledgment authorship practices, undisclosed data/image manipulation, and unethical research conduct with humans or animals. Questionable practices include inappropriate salami publication, inadequate citation of prior work, and undisclosed prior dissemination when material overlap exists.

Practice Definition Potential action
Fabrication Inventing data or cases Reject; investigate; notify institution; retract if published
Falsification Manipulating data or methods to misrepresent results Reject or retract; publish notice; inform stakeholders
Plagiarism Using others’ work without appropriate credit Reject; request corrections; retract for serious cases
Duplicate publication Publishing substantially overlapping work without disclosure Reject; cross-reference; retract/replace if necessary
Peer-review manipulation Misrepresenting reviewer identity or interfering with review Reject; ban submissions; notify institutions/funders
Image manipulation Undisclosed or misleading alterations Reject; request raw data; retract if published

How We Handle Concerns, Complaints & Appeals

We take all concerns seriously—whether raised by authors, reviewers, readers, or institutions. Reports should include the manuscript/article ID, a description of the issue, and any supporting evidence (e.g., similarity reports, image annotations, dataset discrepancies). We follow a stepwise, documented process that preserves confidentiality while ensuring fairness and the right to respond.

  1. Receipt & logging: We acknowledge receipt, assign a case ID, and limit visibility to staff with a need to know.
  2. Preliminary assessment: A handling editor screens the concern and decides whether to proceed, request more information, or close with an explanation.
  3. Author response: Corresponding authors are invited to respond with clarifications and supporting materials; deadlines are set to keep cases timely.
  4. Investigation: We may run additional checks, consult independent experts, and request raw data or approvals. Where institutional oversight is required, we contact the relevant office.
  5. Outcome: Actions may include no change, correction, expression of concern, retraction, or rejection (for in-review manuscripts). We document reasoning and interlink notices with DOIs.
  6. Appeal: If authors disagree, they may appeal with a concise, evidence-based rationale. Appeals are handled by a senior editor not involved in the initial decision.
Whistleblowing: We protect good-faith whistleblowers and treat identities confidentially unless disclosure is required by law.

Corrections, Retractions & Expressions of Concern

Post-publication updates follow established definitions. Corrections address substantive errors that do not invalidate findings; retractions are issued when findings are unreliable due to error or misconduct; expressions of concern may be used while investigations are ongoing. Notices are assigned DOIs, linked bidirectionally with the affected articles, and include a clear reason for the change. We do not remove the original article except in rare legal or safety circumstances; instead, we watermark or banner the version of record and maintain a complete history of changes.

Preprints, AI-Assisted Tools & Transparency

Preprints are welcome when fully disclosed at submission (include server and DOI). Authors should describe substantive changes between the preprint and the version of record when relevant. Authors may use AI-assisted tools for language editing or analysis, but must verify all outputs, disclose tool use in the manuscript, and accept full responsibility for accuracy and integrity. Confidential manuscript content must not be entered into systems that store or reuse data. Generated images must not mislead readers and should never simulate clinical findings.

Advertising, Sponsorship & Supplements

Commercial relationships do not influence editorial decisions. Sponsored supplements or thematic collections—if commissioned—must undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process, adhere to all policies, and disclose sponsorship and conflicts transparently. Editors overseeing sponsored content must be free of conflicts and apply the same standards as for regular submissions.

Sanctions & Remedial Actions

When malpractice is confirmed, we may apply one or more of the following, proportional to the severity and context: rejection; publication of a correction, expression of concern, or retraction; submission bans for a defined period; notification of institutions, funders, and other journals; and, where applicable, withdrawal of reviewer or editorial privileges. Our goal is to correct the record and deter future misconduct while maintaining fairness and due process.

Practical Examples

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you accept papers posted as preprints?

Yes, if fully disclosed with the preprint DOI and any major differences described. We encourage linking the version of record in the preprint upon publication.

May I suggest or exclude reviewers?

Yes. Suggest qualified, conflict-free reviewers and indicate non-preferred reviewers with reasons. Editors make final selections to ensure expertise and avoid conflicts.

How long do you keep editorial and peer-review records?

We retain records for a reasonable period to support audit and investigations, consistent with privacy and legal requirements (see our Privacy Statement for typical retention ranges).

What if I discover an error after publication?

Contact the editorial office with details and your proposed correction. If changes are warranted, we will issue a notice with a DOI and link it to the article.

Contact

Ethics concerns, appeals, or corrections: ethics@clinsurgeryjournal.com · Editorial queries: editorial@clinsurgeryjournal.com