Publication Ethics

Medical Forum Monthly is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and to supporting ethical research practices. This policy applies to all parties involved in the publication process: authors, peer reviewers, editors, and the publisher. The journal follows the guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

1. Authorship and Contributorship

Medical Forum Monthly follows the ICMJE criteria for authorship. All listed authors must have:

  • Made substantial contributions to conception, design, acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data
  • Drafted the article or critically revised it for important intellectual content
  • Approved the final version to be published
  • Agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work

Ghost authorship (excluding contributors who qualify for authorship) and gift authorship (including individuals who do not qualify) are both considered unethical and are strictly prohibited.

Authors must identify a corresponding author who is responsible for communication with the editorial office and post-publication correspondence. Any changes to authorship after submission must be approved by all authors and justified in writing to the editor.

2. Peer Review Process

Medical Forum Monthly follows a rigorous Double-Blind Peer Review process. Each submitted manuscript is evaluated by a minimum of two independent expert reviewers before an editorial decision is made. The identities of both authors and reviewers remain confidential throughout the process.

Reviewers are expected to:

  • Review manuscripts objectively, fairly, and within the agreed timeframe
  • Maintain strict confidentiality of the manuscript and its contents
  • Declare any conflicts of interest and decline to review if such conflicts exist
  • Not use unpublished information from the manuscript for personal advantage
  • Alert the editor if they suspect plagiarism, fraud, or ethical violations

3. Editorial Responsibilities

The editors of Medical Forum Monthly are responsible for:

  • Making fair, unbiased, and timely decisions on all submitted manuscripts
  • Evaluating manuscripts solely on their academic merit, regardless of race, gender, religion, nationality, or institutional affiliation of the authors
  • Maintaining confidentiality of submitted manuscripts until published
  • Disclosing and managing their own conflicts of interest
  • Ensuring that the peer review process is fair, unbiased, and timely
  • Protecting the integrity of the published record through corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern when required
  • Taking appropriate action when ethical concerns are raised about a submitted or published article

Editors follow COPE guidelines when handling allegations of misconduct, authorship disputes, and other ethical issues.

4. Conflicts of Interest

All parties — authors, reviewers, and editors — must disclose any relationships or interests that could be perceived as influencing the research or its review.

Authors

Authors must disclose all financial and non-financial conflicts of interest at the time of submission, including funding sources, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, patents, and personal relationships that could influence the work.

Reviewers

Reviewers must declare any conflicts of interest and decline to review manuscripts where such conflicts exist, including personal, financial, or professional relationships with the authors.

Editors

Editors must not be involved in decisions about papers in which they have conflicts of interest. Such manuscripts will be handled by another editor.

5. Allegations of Research Misconduct

Medical Forum Monthly takes all allegations of research misconduct seriously. The journal follows COPE guidelines when handling such allegations, which include:

  • Plagiarism — Presenting others' work, ideas, or data as one's own
  • Fabrication — Inventing or making up data or results
  • Falsification — Manipulating research materials, data, or results
  • Duplicate/Redundant Publication — Submitting the same work to multiple journals simultaneously
  • Citation Manipulation — Inappropriately adding citations to increase citation counts
  • Image Manipulation — Inappropriately altering images or figures
  • Undisclosed AI Use — Using AI tools to generate manuscript content without disclosure

If misconduct is identified before publication, the manuscript will be rejected. If misconduct is identified after publication, the article may be retracted. All cases are investigated thoroughly, and if necessary, referred to the author's institution or relevant authorities.

6. Human and Animal Rights

All research involving human subjects must have been conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Authors must state in their manuscript that:

  • The study was approved by the relevant Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Committee
  • Informed consent was obtained from all participants
  • Patient confidentiality and anonymity have been maintained

Research involving animals must comply with institutional, national, and international guidelines for the humane use of laboratory animals. The relevant ethics approval must be stated in the manuscript.

7. Informed Consent

Authors must confirm that informed consent was obtained from all human participants included in research studies. For case reports or studies involving individual patient data, authors must ensure patient anonymity or obtain written informed consent from the patient for publication. A statement of consent must be included in the manuscript.

8. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

Medical Forum Monthly follows COPE Retraction Guidelines for post-publication amendments:

Corrections (Erratum/Corrigendum)

Minor errors that do not affect the conclusions of a published article will be addressed through a published correction notice, clearly linked to the original article.

Retractions

Articles found to contain major errors, fraudulent data, or serious ethical violations will be retracted. A retraction notice will be published, clearly stating the reason for retraction. Retracted articles remain visible on the journal website but are clearly marked as retracted.

Expressions of Concern

If an investigation is ongoing and there is uncertainty about the reliability of a published article, an Expression of Concern may be issued.

9. Complaints and Appeals

Authors who wish to appeal an editorial decision or raise a complaint about the handling of their manuscript may do so by contacting the editorial office at medicalforum@gmail.com.

Appeals must be submitted in writing and should include a clear explanation of the grounds for the appeal. The Editor-in-Chief will review all appeals and respond within a reasonable timeframe. The editor's decision on appeals is final.

Complaints about editorial conduct may also be submitted to COPE if the complainant believes COPE guidelines have been violated. See publicationethics.org for more information.

10. Data Sharing and Reproducibility

Medical Forum Monthly encourages authors to share research data supporting their published findings in publicly accessible repositories where possible. Authors should include a Data Availability Statement in their manuscript indicating where and how the data can be accessed.

All authors must be willing to provide raw data for editorial review if requested. Data must be retained by authors for a minimum of five years after publication.

11. Editorial Independence

The editorial decisions of Medical Forum Monthly are made independently of commercial, political, or personal interests. The publisher — Medical Academic Foundation — does not interfere with editorial decisions. All publication decisions are made solely on the basis of scientific merit and compliance with the journal's aims and scope.

12. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

Authors who use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools (such as ChatGPT or similar) in the preparation of their manuscript must disclose this in the Methods section or Acknowledgements. AI tools cannot be listed as authors, as they cannot take responsibility for the work. Undisclosed use of AI to generate substantial portions of manuscript text is considered a violation of publication ethics.

13. Compliance with International Standards

Medical Forum Monthly adheres to the guidelines and principles of:

  • COPE — Committee on Publication Ethics (publicationethics.org)
  • ICMJE — International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (icmje.org)
  • Declaration of Helsinki — Ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects
  • WAME — World Association of Medical Editors (wame.org)

Contact

For any questions, concerns, or reports related to publication ethics, please contact:

Editorial Office — Medical Forum Monthly
Email: medicalforum@gmail.com | med_forum@hotmail.com
Website: https://medicalforummonthly.com