Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

TCMIS is committed to upholding ethical standards and article quality in publication. Therefore, all parties involved in the publication process (i.e., authors, editors, and reviewers) must adhere to the expected ethical standards. Below are the standards to be adhered to by editors, reviewers, and authors. We are committed to adhering to COPE standards and ICMJE guidelines for issues not specified here.

The editor has a vital role to make fair, unbiased, and informed decisions about whether submitted articles are worthy of publication, in accordance with the journal's policies and legal considerations based on the reports provided by the reviewers. Through their editorial processes, editors are responsible for preserving the integrity of the scholarly record, promoting the high standards of publication ethics, and supporting best research practices.

Key principles for the editors [1]:

• Editors are responsible and should take responsibility for everything they publish under the standards of ethical principles. They should have procedures and policies in place to protect the integrity of the published record.
• Editors must make fair and impartial decisions, independent of commercial considerations. In deciding whether to publish submitted manuscripts, only the intellectual content should be considered, regardless of the authors' race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnicity, citizenship, or political philosophy. Decisions should be based on academic merit.
• Editors may be constrained by applicable legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. They must protect the integrity of the published record by monitoring suspected or alleged research and publication misconduct.
• Editors must protect the integrity of the published record by publishing corrections and retractions when necessary. If an error undermines the validity of the work, the article should be retracted.
• Editors should adopt publication policies that encourage maximum transparency and full, honest reporting.
• Editors should monitor for reviewer and editor misconduct. For example, allegations of breach of confidentiality, failure to declare a conflict of interest, or improper use of confidential material should be taken seriously.
• Editors should critically evaluate the ethical conduct of studies conducted on humans and animals. They should ensure that research complies with relevant laws and best practice guidelines.
• Editors should have appropriate policies for handling editorial conflicts of interest. They should not be involved in decision-making regarding manuscripts if a conflict of interest exists (e.g., employment at the same institution or personal relationship with the authors).
• Editors should protect the confidentiality of authors' material and remind reviewers to adhere to confidentiality. Reviewers' identities should be protected unless an open peer review system is in place.
• Editors should let reviewers and authors know what is expected of them.

Reference:
[1] Kleinert S & Wager E (2011) Responsible research publication: international standards for editors. A position statement developed at the 2nd World Conference on Research Integrity, Singapore, July 22-24, 2010. Chapter 51 in: Mayer T & Steneck N (eds) Promoting Research Integrity in a Global Environment. Imperial College Press / World Scientific Publishing, Singapore (pp 317-28). (ISBN 978-981-4340-97-7) Url: https://publicationethics.org/guidance/endorsed-guidance/international-standards-editors-and-authors-wcri-2010

Publication is the final stage of research and, therefore, a responsibility for all researchers. Because publications lay the groundwork for new research and the application of findings, researchers are responsible for ensuring their publications are honest, clear, accurate, complete, and balanced, and should avoid misleading, selective, or ambiguous reporting.

Key principles for the authors [2]:

• Reported research must be conducted ethically and responsibly and comply with all relevant legislation.
• Researchers must present their results openly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation. Research images must not be manipulated misleadingly.
• Researchers should strive to describe their methods clearly and concisely so that their findings can be verified by others. Publications should provide sufficient detail to allow for replication of experiments by other researchers.
• Authors must adhere to publication requirements that the submitted work is original, free of plagiarism, and has not been published elsewhere. The work should not be submitted elsewhere simultaneously.
• Authors must take collective responsibility for the submitted and published work. Authorship of publications should accurately reflect the contributions of individuals to the study and its reporting. Ensure that only individuals who meet the authorship criteria are listed as authors.
• Sources of funding and any relevant conflicts of interest must be disclosed. Authors must disclose any relevant financial and non-financial interests and relationships that could influence the interpretation of their findings.
• If an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their own published work, they have the obligation to promptly notify the journal's Editor-in-Chief and cooperate in retracting the article or publishing an appropriate correction.
• Existing published studies (even if they belong to the authors) must be accurately represented in citations and attributions. Data, text, figures, or ideas belonging to others must be appropriately acknowledged and not presented as if they were the authors' own work.

Reference:
[2] Wager E & Kleinert S (2011) Responsible research publication: international standards for authors. A position statement developed at the 2nd World Conference on Research Integrity, Singapore, July 22-24, 2010. Chapter 50 in: Mayer T & Steneck N (eds) Promoting Research Integrity in a Global Environment. Imperial College Press / World Scientific Publishing, Singapore (pp 309-16). (ISBN 978-981-4340-97-7) Url: https://publicationethics.org/guidance/endorsed-guidance/international-standards-editors-and-authors-wcri-2010

Peer-reviewing plays a crucial voluntary role in ensuring the integrity of the scientific literature. This process relies heavily on trust and requires everyone to act responsibly and ethically. Reviewers play a central and critical role in helping editors make publication decisions and can help improve the manuscript through communication between the author and editor.

Key principles for the reviewers [3]:

• Reviewers must respect the confidentiality of peer review and must not disclose details of a manuscript during or after the review process beyond those published by the journal.
• Reviewers must not use information obtained during the peer review process for their own or anyone else's advantage.
• Reviewers must ensure that the manuscript is relevant to them and that they can review it within a reasonable timeframe. It is courteous to respond within a reasonable timeframe when invited to review a manuscript.
• Reviewers must declare all potential conflicts of interest (personal, financial, intellectual, professional, political, or religious). If they are unsure whether something constitutes a relevant conflict, they should seek advice from the journal.
• They are expected to maintain a respectful tone at all times and avoid statements that could be perceived as inappropriate, disparaging, or personally critical.
• They should not allow their evaluations to be influenced by the origin of a manuscript, the authors' nationality, religion, political beliefs, gender, or other characteristics, or commercial considerations.
• They should recognize that peer review is largely a mutual endeavor and commit to fulfilling their peer review obligations on time. They should avoid deliberately prolonging the process.
• Reviewers should provide personal and professional information that represents an accurate representation of their expertise when creating or updating their journal accounts.
• They should avoid suggesting that authors include citations in their own work solely for the purpose of increasing citation counts or increasing the visibility of their own work; suggestions should be based on valid academic or technological reasons.

Reference:
[3] COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers. Version 2 September 2017. Url: https://doi.org/10.24318/cope.2019.1.9

The journal follows ethical standards consistent with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Authors are expected to submit manuscripts with a genuine intention to publish; therefore, withdrawal requests should be limited to exceptional cases.

Withdrawal is defined as the removal of a manuscript from the editorial process before acceptance. After acceptance, withdrawal is not permitted, and any necessary actions will follow COPE-compliant correction or retraction procedures.

Authors wishing to withdraw a manuscript must submit a formal request from the corresponding author, including the manuscript ID, a clear justification, and confirmation that all co-authors agree. The journal may request written consent from all authors.

Withdrawal requests are evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief based on their justification. Acceptable reasons include significant errors, ethical concerns, or authorship disputes. Requests based solely on delays in review or submission to another journal are generally not accepted.

The journal reserves the right to reject unjustified withdrawal requests, particularly if the manuscript is under active peer review. In cases of suspected unethical behavior, appropriate actions may be taken in line with COPE guidelines.

All withdrawal decisions are documented to ensure transparency and maintain the integrity of the scholarly record.