Publication Ethics

KHD Production is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and ensuring the integrity of the scholarly record. Our ethical guidelines are strictly aligned with the Core Practices established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). All parties involved in the publishing process—including the Publisher, Editors, Reviewers, and Authors—must adhere to these ethical standards.

1. Ethical Oversight in Health and Medical Sciences

As a publisher focusing on Health and Medical Sciences, KHD Production strictly enforces ethical oversight regarding human and animal research:

  • Human Subjects and Informed Consent: Any research involving human subjects must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki. Authors must provide a statement confirming that informed consent was obtained from all human participants, and patient anonymity must be strictly preserved.

  • Ethical Clearance (IRB Approval): Authors must explicitly state in the manuscript that the research protocol was approved by an appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Committee, including the reference/approval number.

2. Duties of the Publisher

  • Editorial Independence: KHD Production ensures that advertising, commercial revenue, or political pressure does not influence editorial decisions.

  • Handling Misconduct: In cases of alleged or proven scientific misconduct, fraudulent publication, or plagiarism, the Publisher, in close collaboration with the Editor-in-Chief, will take all appropriate measures to clarify the situation and amend the article in question. This includes the prompt publication of an erratum, clarification, or, in the most severe cases, the retraction of the affected work.

3. Duties of Editors

  • Fair Play and Objective Decisions: Editors evaluate submitted manuscripts exclusively based on their academic merit (importance, originality, study's validity, and clarity) and relevance to the press's scope, without regard to the authors' race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, citizenship, or institutional affiliation.

  • Confidentiality: The editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, and the publisher.

  • Disclosure and Conflict of Interest: Editors will recuse themselves from considering manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships/connections with any of the authors or institutions connected to the papers. Submissions authored by the Editorial Board are handled independently by external editors.

4. Duties of Reviewers

  • Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Peer reviews assist the Handling Editor in making informed editorial decisions and help authors improve their manuscripts through constructive feedback.

  • Promptness and Competence: Any invited reviewer who feels unqualified to assess the research or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should immediately notify the editor and decline the invitation.

  • Confidentiality: Manuscripts received for review are strictly confidential documents. They must not be shared or discussed with others unless authorized by the Editor-in-Chief.

  • Objectivity: Reviews must be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting evidence and identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors.

5. Duties of Authors

  • Reporting Standards: Authors of original research must present an accurate account of the work performed, followed by an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the manuscript.

  • Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure that their work is entirely original. If the authors have used the work and/or words of others, it must be appropriately cited or quoted. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.

  • Authorship of the Manuscript: Authorship must be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. The corresponding author ensures that all contributing co-authors are included in the author list and that they have approved the final version of the manuscript.

  • Data Access and Retention: Authors may be asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review and should be prepared to provide public access to such data, if practicable, and retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.

  • Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest: All authors must disclose any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript.