Ethical Standards
The Archives of Clinical Research is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics. All parties — authors, peer reviewers, and editors — are expected to adhere to these standards. ACR follows the guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
Authorship
- All listed authors must have made a substantial contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study.
- All authors must have approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
- Ghost authorship and gift authorship are not permitted.
- Changes to authorship after submission must be approved in writing by all listed authors and the Editor-in-Chief.
Research Involving Human Subjects
Studies involving human participants must have been approved by an appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Research Ethics Committee (REC). Authors must include a statement confirming ethical approval and informed consent in the Methods section of the manuscript.
Research Involving Animals
Animal studies must comply with applicable national welfare regulations and must have received institutional approval. The ARRIVE guidelines should be followed where appropriate.
Plagiarism Policy
ACR does not tolerate plagiarism in any form. All submitted manuscripts are screened for originality. Manuscripts found to contain plagiarised content will be immediately rejected. Previously published authors found to have plagiarised may have their articles retracted.
Conflicts of Interest
Authors must disclose any financial, personal, or professional relationships that could be perceived as influencing the work. Conflict of interest statements must be included in the manuscript. Reviewers who have a conflict of interest with a submitted manuscript must recuse themselves.
Peer Review Policy
ACR follows a double-blind peer review process. Manuscripts are evaluated by at least two independent expert reviewers. The identities of both authors and reviewers are concealed from each other throughout the review process.
Corrections & Retractions
When significant errors are identified in published articles, ACR will publish a correction notice. Articles found to have been fraudulent, plagiarised, or to violate research ethics will be retracted, with a clear retraction notice linked to the original article.
Data Availability
Authors are encouraged to make their underlying research data available. Where data sharing is not possible, authors should explain why in their manuscript.