Publication Ethics

 

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement (PEMS)

Preamble and Scope

The Archives of Breast Cancer is unequivocally committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and ethical practice in scholarly publication. This Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement (PEMS) is a binding document that delineates the ethical principles and responsibilities for all parties participating in the publication process with the Journal, including authors, peer reviewers, editors, and the publisher. Adherence to these principles is a prerequisite for submission, review, and publication.

This statement is based on and expands upon the COPE Core Practices and the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals. It is a living document that will be updated to reflect evolving best practices in research and publication ethics.

1. Integrity of the Scholarly Record

The Journal maintains a zero-tolerance policy for any breach of scholarly ethics. Research misconduct is defined as any action involving fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research results. All allegations of misconduct, whether arising from intentional acts or gross negligence, will be investigated thoroughly.

  • 1.1. Fabrication: The invention, creation, and reporting of fictitious data or results as if they were genuine.
  • 1.2. Falsification: The manipulation of research materials, equipment, or processes, or the selective alteration, omission, or suppression of data or results without scientific or statistical justification, leading to a misrepresentation of the research record. This includes the inappropriate manipulation of images.
  • 1.3. Plagiarism: The appropriation of another person's ideas, processes, results, words, or intellectual property without giving appropriate and explicit credit. This is prohibited in all its forms, including direct, mosaic, and inadequately paraphrased plagiarism, as well as self-plagiarism (redundant publication). All submitted manuscripts are systematically screened for textual similarities using plagiarism detection software (e.g., iThenticate).
  • 1.4. Authorship Misconduct: The misrepresentation of contributions to the work, including "guest," "gift," or "ghost" authorship, which are strictly prohibited (see Section 2.1).
  • 1.5. Deliberate Interference: Intentionally causing material harm to the research or scholarly work of others, including damaging research equipment, disrupting experiments, or altering or deleting research data.

2. Authorship and Contributorship

  • 2.1. Authorship Criteria: Authorship is strictly based on meeting all four of the ICMJE criteria:
    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.
  • 2.2. Responsibilities of All Authors: In addition to being accountable for the parts of the work they have done, authors should be able to identify which co-authors are responsible for specific other parts of the work and should have confidence in the integrity of their co-authors' contributions.
  • 2.3. The Corresponding Author: This individual assumes primary responsibility for communication with the journal, ensuring all administrative requirements are met, and that all co-authors are aware of and approve the manuscript's status at all stages.
  • 2.4. Use of AI and AI-Assisted Technologies: The use of artificial intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted technologies in the writing or data analysis process must be transparently declared in the manuscript's Methods or Acknowledgements section. AI cannot be listed as an author because it cannot meet the criteria for authorship, particularly the requirement for accountability. Authors are fully responsible for the accuracy and integrity of any content produced with the assistance of AI.
  • 2.5. Authorship Changes: Any request to add, remove, or reorder authors after submission must be accompanied by a signed statement of agreement from all original and newly proposed authors, explaining the justification for the change.
  • 2.6. Diversity and Inclusion in Authorship: The Journal encourages diversity and inclusion in research teams and authorship.

3. Peer Review Process

  • 3.1. Duties of Reviewers:
    • Contribution: Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and helps authors improve their work.
    • Promptness: Any invited referee who feels unqualified or knows that a prompt review is impossible must notify the editor and decline the invitation immediately.
    • Confidentiality: Manuscripts received for review are confidential documents and must not be retained, copied, shared, or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.
    • Objectivity and Constructiveness: Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Comments should be constructive and substantiated with arguments or evidence.
    • Conflicts of Interest: Reviewers must disclose any potential conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from reviewing any manuscript where a conflict could be perceived.
  • 3.2. Duties of Editors in Peer Review: Editors shall ensure a fair, unbiased, timely, and rigorous double-blind peer-review process. They will select qualified reviewers with suitable expertise and will protect the anonymity of the process. Editors will follow best practices to avoid the selection of fraudulent peer reviewers.

4. Editorial Responsibilities

  • 4.1. Publication Decisions: The Editor-in-Chief has full authority over the editorial content and timing of publication. Decisions are based solely on the manuscript's scientific validity, originality, and importance, without influence from commercial interests or external agencies.
  • 4.2. Fair Play and Inclusion: Manuscripts are evaluated on intellectual merit without regard to the authors' race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy. The Journal is committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of publishing.
  • 4.3. Confidentiality: The editor and editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript except to the corresponding author, reviewers, and potential reviewers.
  • 4.4. Conflicts of Interest: Editors must not be involved in decisions about papers they have written themselves, that have been written by family members or colleagues, or which relate to products or services in which the editor has an interest.
  • 4.5. Vigilance over the Published Record: Editors shall actively safeguard the integrity of the published record by investigating all credible claims of misconduct and taking appropriate action as outlined in Section 8.

5. Conflicts of Interest (CoI)

A conflict of interest is any financial or non-financial interest that could be perceived to compromise the objectivity, integrity, and value of a publication.

  • 5.1. Author Obligations: All authors must complete and submit the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. All sources of financial support for the research must be explicitly declared. The presence of a conflict does not preclude publication, but its non-disclosure is a serious breach of ethics.
  • 5.2. Editor and Reviewer Obligations: Editors and reviewers must recuse themselves from handling any manuscript where they have a recent publication or current submission with any author, have collaborated with any author in the last three years, have a close personal or professional relationship with an author, or have a direct financial interest in the manuscript's subject matter.

6. Ethical Oversight

  • 6.1. Research Involving Human Subjects: All research involving human participants must adhere to the principles of the most recent version of the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki. The manuscript must include a statement identifying the institutional review board (IRB) or ethics committee that approved the research protocol and include the protocol number.
  • 6.2. Patient Consent and Anonymization: For any manuscript that includes case details, personal information, or images of patients, authors must obtain explicit, written informed consent from the individual (or their legal guardian) for publication. Authors must attest to this in writing, and the Journal reserves the right to request a copy of the consent form.
  • 6.3. Research Involving Animals: For studies involving animals, the manuscript must include a statement confirming that all procedures were approved by the relevant institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC) or equivalent body. All research must comply with the ARRIVE 2.0 guidelines, including the "Essential 10" checklist.

7. Data Sharing and Reproducibility

The Journal mandates that authors include a Data Availability Statement in their manuscript, explaining where the data supporting the results can be found. Authors are strongly encouraged to deposit their data in a trusted public repository to promote transparency and reproducibility.

8. Handling Post-Publication Issues

The Journal will take all necessary steps to correct the scholarly record in accordance with COPE guidelines.

  • 8.1. Article Withdrawal: Used for articles in press that contain errors or were submitted in duplicate.
  • 8.2. Corrigendum: Published to correct a significant error made by the authors that affects the scholarly integrity of the work but does not invalidate its results.
  • 8.3. Erratum: Published to correct a significant error made by the Journal during the production process.
  • 8.4. Addendum: An addition by the authors to their article to provide further information or clarification, subject to peer review.
  • 8.5. Expression of Concern: Issued by the editor if there is inconclusive evidence of misconduct, or if an institutional investigation is not forthcoming or will be prolonged.
  • 8.6. Article Retraction: A severe measure reserved for articles that are seriously flawed due to clear evidence of plagiarism, data fabrication, or other misconduct, or in cases of honest error so significant that the central findings are no longer reliable. The retraction notice will be linked to the original article and will clearly state the reason for the retraction. Upon establishing misconduct, the Journal will notify the authors' institution(s) and may impose sanctions, such as a ban on future submissions.
  • 8.7. Article Removal: An extreme measure reserved for legal reasons, such as a defamatory article or one that infringes on legal rights.
  • 8.8. Article Replacement: In rare cases where an article contains seriously flawed information due to misconduct, the Editor-in-Chief may consider replacing it with a corrected version, with a detailed explanation of the changes.
  • 9.1. License and Copyright: This journal provides immediate open access to its content under a Creative Commons CC-BY license. Authors retain the copyright of their work and grant the Journal a license to publish the definitive version of record.
  • 9.2. Fees and Charges: There are no submission fees, page charges, or publication fees (Article Processing Charges, APCs) for this journal.
  • 9.3. Privacy Statement: Names and email addresses entered in the Journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this Journal and will not be made available for any other purpose.
  • 9.4. Journal Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the Journal. The ultimate responsibility for the use and dosage of drugs mentioned lies with the medical practitioner.

10. Appeals and Complaints

Authors who wish to appeal an editorial decision should contact the Editor-in-Chief, detailing the basis for their appeal. Complaints about potential misconduct by authors, reviewers, or the Journal itself should be directed to the Editor-in-Chief. The Journal will follow COPE flowcharts for investigating and resolving such complaints.

11. Foundational Sources

This Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement is based on the latest guidelines from: