01

Policy

The journal follows the COPE Core Practice on ethical oversight. Authors are responsible for conducting and reporting their research in line with the ethical standards of their institution, their country, and their discipline. Research involving people requires informed consent and, where applicable, ethical approval.

02

Research with people

—  Where approval is required, the research must have had prior approval from an ethics committee or an institutional review body. Give the name of the committee and the approval number in the Method section.

—  If approval was not required, say why.

—  State how informed consent was obtained.

—  Protect the privacy and confidentiality of participants. Do not publish names, images, recordings, or details that could identify a person without that person’s consent for publication.

03

Vulnerable groups

Research with children, displaced people, people who cannot give consent freely, marginalised communities, and other vulnerable groups needs particular care about consent, pressure, risk, and privacy.

04

Checks

The editors may ask for the approval details or the consent information, and may ask the institution or ask for expert advice if they doubt that the research was ethical. A published article can be corrected, given an expression of concern, or retracted if serious ethical problems are found. See Correction, Retraction and Withdrawal.

05

Related

Author Guidelines  ·  Research Data Policy  ·  Research Misconduct  ·  Permissions

06

Sources

This policy is based on the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE):