Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Biomedical Sciences and Clinical Medicine (BSCM) is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal committed to maintaining high standards of research integrity, publication ethics, and scholarly communication.

The journal's editorial policies are guided by the core practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

Manuscripts are evaluated on the basis of their relevance to the journal's scope, originality, scientific quality, methodological rigor, and contribution to scientific knowledge. Editorial decisions are made independently and are not influenced by commercial interests, personal relationships, competing interests, or whether the findings support or challenge established scientific views.

BSCM expects all authors, editors, and reviewers to uphold the principles of accuracy, transparency, accountability, confidentiality, and fairness throughout the publication process.

Allegations of Research Misconduct

BSCM takes concerns regarding research integrity and publication ethics seriously. Allegations or indications of potential misconduct will be assessed in accordance with the journal's policies and relevant COPE guidance.

The identification of an error, inconsistency, or potentially problematic reference does not, by itself, establish research misconduct. Editorial assessments will consider the nature and severity of the concerns, the available evidence, and the explanations provided by the authors.

Reference Accuracy and Verification

Authors are responsible for ensuring that all cited references are accurate, verifiable, relevant, and appropriately support the statements or findings for which they are cited.

References must not be fabricated, misrepresented, or used to support claims inconsistent with the original sources. Citation manipulation, inappropriate self-citation, and misleading attribution of findings are prohibited.

BSCM may verify cited references and request original publications or supporting documentation when concerns arise.

Significant unresolved reference-integrity concerns may result in appropriate editorial action, including rejection, withdrawal of acceptance before publication, or post-publication measures in accordance with the journal's policies.

A citation error or an unverifiable reference does not, by itself, establish research misconduct.

Content and Data Integrity

Authors are responsible for ensuring the accuracy, consistency, and reliability of all information presented in their manuscripts, including the abstract, methods, results, statistical analyses, tables, figures, supplementary materials, and conclusions.

Reported sample sizes, numerical values, statistical findings, study characteristics, and other scientific information must be accurately represented and consistent throughout the manuscript.

Substantial discrepancies, unsupported findings, or internal inconsistencies that may compromise the scientific reliability of a manuscript may be subject to further editorial verification.

Authors are expected to provide reasonable clarification, corrections, or supporting documentation when requested.

Plagiarism and Similarity Screening

Plagiarism, including the use of others' words, ideas, or research findings without appropriate acknowledgment, is strictly prohibited.

BSCM screens manuscripts for textual similarity using Turnitin. A similarity score exceeding 25% may trigger further editorial assessment. However, a similarity score alone does not establish plagiarism.

Editorial decisions are based on the nature, extent, and context of the overlapping material. Manuscripts may be rejected when substantial inappropriate overlap or plagiarism is confirmed.

Plagiarism identified after publication may result in correction, retraction, or other appropriate action.

Data Fabrication, Falsification, and Image Manipulation

Fabrication of research data or findings and falsification of research processes, materials, analyses, or results are prohibited.

Images must accurately represent the original research findings. Adjustments such as brightness or contrast enhancement may be acceptable when applied appropriately and consistently, without obscuring, removing, or misrepresenting information.

The inappropriate addition, deletion, duplication, or alteration of image elements is prohibited.

BSCM may request original images, underlying data, or other relevant materials when concerns arise regarding data or image integrity.

Consent for Publication

Written informed consent must be obtained from individuals, or their legally authorized representatives where applicable, before publishing identifiable personal information, clinical details, photographs, images, or videos.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that consent and privacy requirements have been satisfied and that identifying information is disclosed only when scientifically necessary and appropriately authorized.

Confidentiality

Manuscripts, peer-review reports, editorial communications, and supporting documentation submitted for editorial assessment are confidential.

Editors and reviewers must not disclose or use unpublished manuscript information for personal or professional advantage.

BSCM operates a double-blind peer-review process. Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of the review process and must not disclose their identities to authors or share manuscript materials without authorization.

Confidential information must be handled in accordance with applicable privacy and data-protection requirements.

Authorship and Contribution

Author Qualifications

BSCM follows the four authorship criteria recommended by the ICMJE. All listed authors must meet all four criteria:

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

Individuals who do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged rather than listed as authors, provided that appropriate permission has been obtained.

Author Contribution Statements

Authors are required to provide an accurate statement describing each author's contributions to the work.

The contributions reported must reflect the activities actually performed and must be consistent with the article type and study methodology.

All authors are responsible for reviewing and approving the author contribution statement before submission.

Authorship Changes

Requests to add, remove, or rearrange authors after submission must be submitted by the corresponding author with an explanation and written agreement from all affected authors.

Such changes require editorial approval and will be considered in accordance with relevant COPE guidance.

Authorship changes after acceptance or publication may require additional verification and appropriate editorial procedures.

Before Publication

Clinical Trial Registration

Clinical trials, as defined by the ICMJE and the World Health Organization (WHO), must be prospectively registered in a publicly accessible clinical trial registry that meets applicable ICMJE requirements.

Examples include the Thai Clinical Trials Registry (TCTR) and other eligible registries recognized through the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform.

The trial registration number and registry name must be provided in the manuscript.

Preprints

BSCM does not accept manuscripts that have previously been made publicly available as preprints or posted on preprint servers.

Authors must disclose any prior public dissemination of the manuscript or substantially similar content.

Copyrighted Materials

Authors are responsible for obtaining all necessary permissions or licenses for copyrighted materials reproduced or adapted from other sources, including figures, tables, images, and substantial textual content.

Appropriate acknowledgment of the original sources and applicable license conditions must be provided.

Standards of Reporting

Authors are encouraged to follow relevant reporting guidelines available through the EQUATOR Network and other recognized reporting frameworks.

Examples include CONSORT for randomized controlled trials, PRISMA for systematic reviews and meta-analyses, STROBE for observational studies, and ARRIVE for animal studies.

The manuscript must accurately describe its study design, methods, analyses, and findings.

For systematic reviews and meta-analyses, study selection, eligibility criteria, data extraction, study characteristics, and evidence synthesis must be accurately reported and consistent with the stated methodology.

Research Involving Humans or Animals

Research involving human participants or animals must comply with applicable ethical standards, institutional requirements, and relevant laws and regulations.

Appropriate ethics committee or institutional review board approval, licensing, or other required authorization must be obtained before the research begins.

Authors must provide relevant approval details, including the approving body and approval or reference number, in the manuscript.

Research involving human participants must be conducted in accordance with the applicable principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.

Where ethics approval or informed consent was waived, the basis for the waiver and the responsible authority must be clearly stated.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose relationships, activities, or interests that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the submitted work.

Disclosures should follow the applicable ICMJE recommendations, including relevant interests related to the work and other interests within the specified disclosure period.

Editors and reviewers must also disclose potential conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from editorial or review activities when appropriate.

Data Sharing and Availability

Authors are encouraged to make underlying research data available through supplementary materials or suitable repositories when ethically and legally permissible.

Manuscripts should include an appropriate data availability statement describing where relevant data may be accessed or explaining any restrictions on access.

Authors must retain sufficient supporting documentation to allow reasonable verification of the reported findings, subject to applicable ethical, confidentiality, and legal requirements.

Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence

Authors must disclose the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted technologies in manuscript preparation in accordance with the journal's Author Guidelines.

AI tools must not be listed as authors or co-authors.

Authors remain fully responsible for the originality, accuracy, integrity, and reliability of all manuscript content, including AI-assisted text, data, tables, figures, citations, and references.

All AI-generated or AI-assisted scientific information must be independently verified by the authors. The use of AI does not diminish authors' responsibility to provide clarification or supporting documentation when requested.

AI-assisted editorial screening may be used to identify potential concerns requiring further assessment. However, AI-generated findings alone will not establish research misconduct or determine editorial decisions.

Initial Screening and Return of Manuscripts

Manuscripts that do not meet the journal's submission requirements may be returned to authors for correction or resubmission before further editorial consideration.

Examples include incomplete submissions, formatting problems, missing tables or figures, language requirements, or other deficiencies affecting editorial assessment.

Concerns involving plagiarism, scientific integrity, or publication ethics will be assessed according to their nature and severity and may result in rejection or further investigation.

Author-Requested Manuscript Withdrawal

Requests to withdraw a manuscript before publication must be submitted in writing by the corresponding author, together with an explanation and confirmation of agreement from all authors.

Such requests will be considered by the Editor-in-Chief in accordance with the journal's policies.

Author-requested manuscript withdrawal is distinct from the journal's withdrawal of an acceptance decision following editorial assessment.

Post-Acceptance Editorial Review and Withdrawal of Acceptance

BSCM reserves the right to reconsider or withdraw an acceptance decision before publication if significant concerns arise regarding the scientific integrity, accuracy, or reliability of an accepted manuscript.

Such concerns may include, but are not limited to:

• Content Integrity: Major inconsistencies or discrepancies in the manuscript's methods, results, data, tables, figures, or conclusions.
• Reference Integrity: Substantial citation–source mismatches, inaccurate attribution of study findings, or potentially non-existent references that raise serious concerns about the reliability of the manuscript.
• Research and Publication Ethics: Concerns involving plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication or falsification, ethical approval, authorship, or the integrity of the peer-review process.
• Other Critical Errors: Significant errors or omissions identified after acceptance that may compromise the scientific validity or reliability of the manuscript.

When such concerns are identified, the journal may temporarily suspend the publication process pending further editorial assessment.

The corresponding author will be informed of the specific concerns and given a reasonable opportunity to provide clarification and supporting documentation.

The journal may request original source publications, relevant underlying data, study selection or data extraction records, ethical approval documentation, or other supporting evidence necessary to assess the identified concerns, subject to applicable confidentiality, privacy, and ethical requirements.

The Editor-in-Chief, in consultation with the Associate Editor or relevant experts when necessary, will evaluate the available evidence and the authors' explanations before making a final editorial decision.

Depending on the outcome of the assessment, the journal may:

1. Proceed with publication if the concerns are satisfactorily resolved.
2. Request corrections, additional documentation, or further editorial assessment.
3. Withdraw the acceptance decision and decline publication if serious concerns remain unresolved or the manuscript's scientific reliability cannot be adequately established.

The identification of a potential error or an unverifiable reference does not, by itself, establish research misconduct or justify withdrawal of acceptance. All decisions will be based on the nature and severity of the concerns and the available supporting evidence.

The final decision rests with the Editor-in-Chief and will be communicated to the corresponding author in writing, together with the principal reasons for the decision.

This policy applies to manuscripts that have been accepted but have not yet been published. Concerns identified after publication will be handled in accordance with the journal's post-publication correction, expression of concern, and retraction policies.

After Publication: Open Access and Post-Publication Measures

Open Access, Copyright, and Licensing

All articles published in BSCM are available as open access under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.

Authors retain copyright to their published work. Reuse, distribution, and adaptation are permitted in accordance with the applicable license conditions, including appropriate attribution to the original authors and source.

Archiving and Digital Preservation

BSCM maintains arrangements for the digital preservation of published articles.

Published materials are archived at: https://osf.io/kzrfx/

Post-Publication Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions

BSCM follows relevant COPE guidance when addressing significant concerns identified after publication.

The journal may publish corrections, addenda, expressions of concern, or retraction notices, as appropriate, to maintain the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record.

Post-publication actions will be determined by the nature and severity of the issues, the available evidence, and the reliability of the published findings.

• Addendum: An addendum may be issued to provide important supplementary information necessary for readers' understanding of a published article.
• Erratum (Publisher Correction): An erratum may be issued to correct significant errors introduced during the journal's publication process, such as production or typesetting errors.
• Corrigendum (Author Correction): A corrigendum may be issued to correct significant errors attributable to the authors when the findings and conclusions remain sufficiently reliable.
• Retraction: An article may be retracted when its findings are unreliable because of major errors or misconduct, including data fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, or redundant publication. Retraction does not necessarily imply misconduct. Retraction notices will explain the reasons for the action, and retracted articles will generally remain accessible with clear retraction labeling to preserve the scholarly record.
• Article Removal: Removal of published content will be considered only in exceptional circumstances, such as legal requirements, serious privacy violations, defamatory content, or substantial risks to public health or safety. Where appropriate, a removal notice will remain accessible.
• Expression of Concern: An expression of concern may be issued when serious questions about a published article's integrity or reliability remain unresolved, when an investigation is inconclusive, or when an investigation is expected to take a substantial period of time. Authors will normally be given an opportunity to respond to concerns before a post-publication decision is made, except where immediate action is necessary to protect readers or comply with legal obligations.

Appeals and Complaints Policy

Appeals Against Editorial Decisions

Authors may appeal an editorial rejection or withdrawal of acceptance within two months of receiving the decision.

Appeals must be submitted to bscm@cmu.ac.th and should include a written explanation, relevant supporting evidence, and, where appropriate, a revised manuscript with changes clearly identified.

Appeals will be considered when they raise substantive concerns regarding the evidence, editorial assessment, or fairness of the decision-making process.

The Editor-in-Chief may consult an Associate Editor or independent expert who was not involved in the original decision when appropriate.

An appeal does not guarantee reversal of the original decision. The outcome of the appeal will be communicated to the corresponding author in writing.

Complaints

Authors and other concerned parties may submit complaints regarding editorial procedures, policy compliance, conflicts of interest, or potential failures in the publication process.

Complaints should be submitted in writing to bscm@cmu.ac.th, with sufficient details and supporting information to permit assessment.

Complaints will be handled confidentially and fairly, to the extent reasonably possible.

Where a complaint involves an editor with a potential conflict of interest, the matter should be assessed by another appropriately authorized editor or institutional representative.

Duties of Editors, Authors, and Reviewers

Duties of Editors

• Editorial Decisions: Editors are responsible for making publication decisions based on scientific merit, originality, relevance, methodological quality, and compliance with ethical standards.
• Fair Play: Manuscripts must be evaluated without discrimination based on authors' race, gender, nationality, religion, institutional affiliation, political views, or other irrelevant personal characteristics.
• Confidentiality: Editors must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts, peer-review reports, and editorial communications.
• Conflicts of Interest: Editors must disclose relevant conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from decisions when impartiality may be compromised.
• Research Integrity: Editors are responsible for assessing credible concerns regarding the accuracy, reliability, or ethical conduct of submitted and published research. Where necessary, they may request supporting documentation, seek expert advice, or initiate appropriate editorial procedures.

Duties of Authors

• Reporting Standards: Authors must present research findings accurately, objectively, and transparently, with sufficient methodological detail to permit appropriate evaluation.
• Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must submit original work and appropriately acknowledge the contributions and intellectual property of others.
• Reference Integrity: Authors must ensure that references are accurate, verifiable, relevant, and appropriately support the statements for which they are cited.
• Data Access and Retention: Authors should retain relevant research records and provide reasonable access to supporting data or documentation when requested, subject to applicable ethical, privacy, and legal restrictions.
• Multiple or Redundant Publication: Authors must not submit or publish substantially the same work in multiple journals without appropriate disclosure and justification.
• Authorship and Accountability: All authors must meet the journal's authorship requirements, approve the submitted work, and accept responsibility for their contributions and the integrity of the publication.
• Acknowledgment of Sources: Authors must properly acknowledge the work of others and identify the original sources of information, data, and ideas.
• Research Ethics: Authors must obtain and report necessary ethical approvals and informed consent, where applicable.
• Hazards and Safety: Authors must clearly identify unusual hazards associated with chemicals, procedures, equipment, or other research activities when relevant.
• Conflicts of Interest: Authors must disclose relevant financial and non-financial interests that could influence, or reasonably appear to influence, the work.
• Fundamental Errors: Authors who discover significant errors or inaccuracies in their submitted or published work must promptly notify the journal and cooperate in appropriate corrections or other editorial actions.

Duties of Reviewers

• Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Reviewers should provide constructive, evidence-based assessments that assist editors in evaluating the quality and reliability of manuscripts.
• Promptness: Reviewers who are unable to complete a review within the requested period or who lack the necessary expertise should promptly inform the editor.
• Confidentiality: Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents and must not be shared or used without authorization.
• Objectivity: Reviews should be conducted fairly and objectively, without personal criticism or inappropriate bias.
• Acknowledgment of Sources: Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been appropriately acknowledged and alert editors to significant concerns regarding citation accuracy, originality, or research integrity.
• Conflicts of Interest: Reviewers must disclose relevant conflicts of interest and decline or withdraw from a review when impartiality may be compromised.
• Responsible Use of AI: Reviewers must not upload confidential manuscripts or unpublished research materials to unauthorized AI services. Any permitted AI assistance must comply with the journal's confidentiality requirements, and reviewers remain responsible for the accuracy and integrity of their assessments.