Editorial policies for the IJTLD, IJTLD OPEN and PHA
The following policies apply to all Union publications. Before submission, authors should refer to the Instructions to Authors for the relevant journal to check that they have complied with our requirements.
Manuscripts should conform to the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journals (https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/).
Authors should ensure they follow the relevant recommendations and guidelines for reporting their findings (CONSORT, STARD, MOOSE, STROBE, PRISMA, STREGA).
Articles on clinical research should conform to the standards defined in the Helsinki Declaration (https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medical-research-involving-human-subjects/).
AUTHORSHIP
We use the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors’ criteria for authorship (http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-
responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html).
Ethics approval and informed consent
Details of ethics approval (or a statement as to why it was not required) should be provided in the Methods section of all research studies. All studies involving human subjects should include details of informed consent.
Data sharing
Data sharing – we strongly encourage authors to share the data and other elements presented by archiving it in an appropriate public repository. Authors may include a data availability statement within the Acknowledgements section, with a link to the repository used.
Acknowledgments and COI
Acknowledge only those people who have made substantial contributions to the study, with their consent. All sources of support in the form of grants relevant to the published work should be included. If appropriate, include a data availability statement with a link to the repository used.
All conflicts of interest should be declared. If none, please state 'Conflicts of interest: none declared'.
Stigmatising language
Authors are advised to avoid terms that may be perceived to be stigmatising, such as “TB suspect” or “defaulter”. Authors can refer to the following publication: Zachariah R. et al., Language in tuberculosis services: can we change to patient-centred terminology and stop the paradigm of blaming the patients? Int J Tuberc Lung Dis 2012; 16: 714–717
Plagiarism
The Journal checks for plagiarism. If suspected, we follow the guidelines set out by the Committee on Publications Ethics (COPE)
PERMISSIONS
Authors who wish to include material from other copyrighted sources must seek permission from the copyright holders and provide written evidence of this permission at the time the article is submitted.
PEER REVIEW PROCESS
We use single-anonymous peer review (i.e., the reviewers know the identify of the authors of an article, but the authors do not know the identity of the reviewers). This allows reviewers to give feedback without fear of any repercussions.
Corrections and retraction policy
We follow the COPE guidelines on retraction when assessing the need for an article to be corrected or retracted - see https://doi.org/10.24318/cope.2019.1.4
DISCLAIMER
Every effort is made to ensure that no inaccurate or misleading data or statements appear in our journals, but the data and opinions are the responsibility of the authors of each article. Also, although every effort is made to ensure that drug doses are presented accurately, readers are advised that dosage should be followed in conjunction with the drug manufacturer’s published literature.
Sponsorship and advertising
We work with Sponsors/Advertisers to create content that benefits our community and the Sponsor/Advertiser.
All potential partners are subject to a due diligence process to avoid any conflicts of interest. We have a strict policy to ensure the partner does not have any direct business relationship with, or knowingly received payment or other support from any tobacco product manufacturer.