Skip to main content
Back to Author Guidelines

Publication Ethics

Core Collection is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics. We follow the guidelines set forth by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

COPE Member

We adhere to Committee on Publication Ethics guidelines

Visit COPE website

On This Page

Authorship Criteria

All individuals listed as authors must meet the following criteria as defined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE):

  1. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
  2. Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
  3. Final approval of the version to be published; AND
  4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Contributors who do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged but not listed as authors. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring all authors meet these criteria and for managing all communication between the journal and all co-authors.

Originality & Plagiarism

Authors must ensure that their submitted work is entirely original. If authors have used the work or words of others, they must be appropriately cited or quoted.

Plagiarism includes

  • Copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another's work without acknowledgment
  • Claiming results from research conducted by others
  • Self-plagiarism (reusing substantial parts of one's own previously published work without citation)

All submissions are screened using plagiarism detection software. Manuscripts with similarity index above 15% (excluding references and quotations) will be returned to authors for revision or may be rejected.

Preprints Posting a manuscript on a preprint server before submission is acceptable, but authors must disclose this in their cover letter and include the preprint DOI.

Data Integrity & Reproducibility

Authors must present their findings accurately and provide sufficient detail for others to replicate the work.

Data Requirements

  • Underlying data should be made available where ethically and legally possible
  • Authors should state where data can be accessed or explain why it cannot be shared
  • Datasets should be deposited in appropriate public repositories when applicable
  • Data manipulation (e.g., image enhancement) must be disclosed and not misrepresent the results

Fabrication and Falsification

  • Fabricating data (making up results) or falsifying data (manipulating research data, equipment, or processes) constitutes serious research misconduct and will result in immediate rejection and reporting to the authors' institutions.

Conflicts of Interest

All authors must disclose any financial or personal relationships that could influence their research. Conflicts of interest do not preclude publication but must be declared.

Examples of potential conflicts

  • Employment or consultancy relationships with companies related to the research
  • Stock ownership or options in relevant companies
  • Honoraria, expert testimony, or speaker fees
  • Patents or patent applications related to the research
  • Personal relationships with individuals who could benefit from the publication

Reviewers and editors must also disclose conflicts and recuse themselves when appropriate.

Declaration A conflict of interest statement is required for all submissions, even if no conflicts exist ("The authors declare no conflicts of interest").

Human & Animal Research

Human Subjects: Research involving human participants must be conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Authors must: - Obtain informed consent from all participants (or legal guardians for minors) - Obtain approval from an appropriate ethics committee or institutional review board - State the ethics approval reference number in the Methods section - Protect participant privacy and confidentiality

Clinical Trials

  • All clinical trials must be registered in a public trials registry (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov, ISRCTN) before enrollment of the first participant. The registration number must be provided.

Animal Studies

  • Research involving animals must comply with national and institutional guidelines for animal welfare. Authors must:
  • Follow the ARRIVE guidelines for reporting animal research
  • State the ethics approval for animal experiments
  • Describe efforts to minimize animal suffering

Corrections & Retractions

Core Collection is committed to maintaining the integrity of the published record.

Erratum/Corrigendum

  • If authors or editors discover significant errors that affect the interpretation of data, a correction notice will be published. The original article will be linked to the correction.

Retraction

  • Articles may be retracted if:
  • There is clear evidence of unreliable findings due to misconduct or honest error
  • Findings have been previously published elsewhere without permission or justification
  • The work constitutes plagiarism
  • There is evidence of unethical research

Retractions will follow COPE guidelines and include a clear statement explaining why the article is being retracted. The retracted article will remain available but will be clearly marked.

Expressions of Concern

  • If an investigation is ongoing, we may publish an expression of concern to alert readers while maintaining due process for the authors.

COPE Guidelines We Follow

As a COPE member, Core Collection follows established flowcharts and best practices for handling ethical issues:

  • How to handle authorship disputes
  • How to respond to allegations of fabrication or falsification
  • How to handle suspected plagiarism
  • How to handle redundant (duplicate) publication
  • How to handle changes in authorship
View COPE Flowcharts

Report an Ethics Concern

If you have concerns about the ethical conduct of research published in Core Collection, or suspect misconduct in a submission, please contact our editorial office:

ethics@core-collection.com

All reports will be handled confidentially and investigated according to COPE guidelines.