Medical and Pharmaceutical Health Research Journal (MPHRJ) is committed to publishing original, accurate, and ethically conducted research. Authors, editors, reviewers, and editorial staff are expected to uphold the principles of research integrity and responsible scholarly communication.
The journal does not tolerate plagiarism, fabricated or falsified research findings, inappropriate manipulation of images or data, duplicate publication, or other forms of research misconduct.
All manuscripts must comply with the journal's publication ethics requirements and accurately represent the origin, conduct, analysis, and findings of the research.
Plagiarism includes presenting another person's words, ideas, data, images, or other intellectual contributions as one's own without appropriate acknowledgment.
Examples may include:
Copying text from published or unpublished sources without appropriate attribution.
Paraphrasing another person's work without proper citation.
Using figures, tables, photographs, or other materials without the required acknowledgment or permission.
Presenting another researcher's ideas, methods, or findings as original contributions.
Reusing substantial portions of one's own previously published work without appropriate citation or disclosure when the reuse misrepresents the originality of the submission.
Authors are responsible for ensuring that all sources are properly cited and that reused material is identified and handled in accordance with applicable copyright and licensing requirements.
The journal may use similarity-detection software and editorial assessment to identify textual overlap between submitted manuscripts and existing publications or other sources.
Similarity reports are screening tools and do not, by themselves, establish plagiarism or misconduct. Editors will consider the nature, extent, location, attribution, and context of the overlapping material.
References, standard methodological descriptions, quotations, and other legitimate forms of overlap may require different treatment from unattributed copying of original scholarly content.
The journal may request clarification or revisions, conduct further assessment, or reject a manuscript when substantial unattributed overlap or other serious concerns are identified.
Any claim about the software used or a numerical similarity threshold must reflect the journal's actual procedures. The journal does not treat a single similarity percentage as a universal determination of misconduct.
Manuscripts submitted to MPHRJ must not have been published previously or be under simultaneous consideration by another journal, except where prior dissemination is permitted by the journal's stated policy and is fully disclosed.
Duplicate or redundant publication may occur when substantially the same research, data, or findings are published more than once without adequate disclosure or justification.
Authors must disclose relevant prior publications, preprints, conference abstracts, registered reports, or related manuscripts when required by the journal's submission policy. Such prior dissemination is not automatically misconduct; its acceptability depends on the circumstances and the journal's stated rules.
If a manuscript substantially overlaps with another publication or submission, authors must provide the related work and explain the relationship between the documents.
The journal will assess whether the overlap represents acceptable dissemination, legitimate reuse, or an inappropriate attempt to present previously published work as new.
Fabrication means making up data, experiments, participants, results, or other research information and presenting them as genuine.
Falsification means manipulating research materials, processes, data, images, or results in a way that misrepresents the research record.
Examples may include:
Inventing experimental observations or participant records.
Altering or selectively omitting data to misrepresent research findings.
Manipulating images in a way that changes their scientific interpretation.
Reporting analyses or methods that were not actually performed.
Misrepresenting study results, approvals, or research procedures.
Authors must retain appropriate research records and provide relevant supporting information when reasonably requested to investigate a credible concern, subject to applicable privacy, ethical, and legal requirements.
Images, figures, and visual materials must accurately represent the underlying research.
Image processing must not obscure, remove, introduce, or misrepresent scientifically relevant information. Adjustments made for clarity or presentation must be consistent with accepted disciplinary practices and must not alter the interpretation of the results.
Where relevant, the journal may request original image files, unprocessed images, figure preparation details, or other supporting documentation.
Concerns about image integrity will be assessed in context and may result in requests for clarification, rejection, correction, or further action concerning a published article.
All authors must meet the journal's authorship criteria and accept appropriate responsibility for their contributions.
Gift, guest, or ghost authorship, undisclosed changes to the author list, and misrepresentation of individual contributions are unacceptable.
Authors must confirm that all listed co-authors have approved the submitted manuscript and that any required permissions or acknowledgments have been obtained.
Concerns about authorship or contributor attribution will be assessed under the journal's authorship and publication ethics policies.
Authors must disclose relevant financial and non-financial competing interests and identify applicable funding sources.
The journal may investigate concerns involving undisclosed conflicts of interest, missing or misrepresented ethics approvals, inadequate informed consent, unauthorized use of confidential data, or other violations of applicable research ethics requirements.
Authors may be asked to provide ethics approval documentation, consent information, funding declarations, study protocols, or other relevant records.
When a credible concern is identified, the journal will assess the available information and determine whether further investigation is warranted.
The process may include:
An initial assessment by the editorial office or an authorized editor.
A request for an explanation or supporting evidence from the relevant authors.
Review of available records, similarity reports, data, images, or related publications.
Consultation with independent experts or relevant institutions when appropriate.
A documented editorial decision based on the available evidence.
The journal will handle concerns as confidentially as practicable and will give relevant parties a reasonable opportunity to respond. The process will respect applicable privacy, legal, and ethical obligations.
Where the concern involves an editor or editorial board member, an independent and appropriately qualified representative should oversee the assessment.
Depending on the seriousness of the concern and the evidence available, the journal may take one or more of the following actions:
Request clarification, additional documentation, or correction of the manuscript.
Reject a manuscript before publication.
Suspend editorial consideration while a significant concern is investigated.
Publish a correction or an expression of concern concerning a published article.
Retract a published article when the reliability or integrity of the scholarly record is substantially compromised.
Refer the matter to an appropriate institution or authority when warranted.
Actions will be proportionate to the findings and consistent with the journal's policies on publication ethics, corrections, and retractions.
Concerns about a published article will be assessed even after the article has appeared online or in an issue.
Where appropriate, the journal may request original data, ethics documentation, author explanations, or independent expert advice.
If an error or breach is confirmed, the journal will take appropriate action to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record. Corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions will be clearly identified and linked to the original article whenever technically possible.
The journal will not silently remove or materially alter a published article in a way that conceals a significant change to the scholarly record, except in exceptional circumstances governed by its relevant policies and applicable law.
Authors may appeal an editorial decision by submitting a reasoned explanation and relevant supporting evidence.
Complaints about the handling of a suspected misconduct case will be reviewed impartially, where practicable by an editor or designated representative who was not directly responsible for the original decision.
An appeal does not automatically suspend editorial action when prompt steps are necessary to protect readers or the integrity of the scholarly record.
By submitting a manuscript, authors confirm that:
The manuscript accurately represents the research conducted.
Sources and prior work have been appropriately acknowledged.
Data, figures, and results have not been fabricated or falsified.
Related publications and submissions have been disclosed as required.
Required permissions, approvals, and consents have been obtained where applicable.
All authors have approved the submitted version and accept appropriate responsibility for their contributions.
Failure to comply with these requirements may result in editorial action before or after publication.
MPHRJ will periodically review this policy to ensure that its procedures remain consistent with recognized publication ethics principles and the journal's operational practices.
The journal aims to assess allegations fairly, avoid unsupported conclusions, and take appropriate action when evidence indicates that the integrity of a manuscript or published article has been compromised.
