Ethics for Editors

Introduction

Editors of the Journal of Clinical Intensive Care and Medicine (JCICM) are entrusted with upholding the highest ethical standards in scholarly publishing. These Ethics for Editors outline principles that ensure fairness, transparency, and academic integrity throughout the editorial process.

Editorial Integrity

  • Editors must act in the best interest of authors, reviewers, and readers.
  • Decisions should be based solely on the manuscript’s scholarly merit, relevance, and originality.
  • Editors should avoid favoritism, bias, or external influence.

Confidentiality

Editors are responsible for maintaining confidentiality regarding:

  • Unpublished manuscript data.
  • Author identities during review (for double-blind review).
  • Reviewer identities and feedback.

Conflict of Interest

Editors must disclose and avoid conflicts of interest, including:

  • Personal or professional relationships with authors.
  • Financial interests in the research outcomes.
  • Institutional or competitive affiliations that may bias judgment.

In such cases, editorial responsibilities should be reassigned to another editor.

Decision-Making Standards

Editorial decisions should adhere to the following ethical standards:

  • Transparency in communicating acceptance, revision, or rejection decisions.
  • Providing constructive feedback for rejected manuscripts when possible.
  • Ensuring peer review is fair, rigorous, and unbiased.

Ethical Oversight

Editors must take active responsibility in identifying and addressing ethical issues, such as:

  • Plagiarism and duplicate submissions.
  • Data fabrication or falsification.
  • Unethical research practices in human or animal studies.

When necessary, editors must initiate retractions, corrections, or expressions of concern, in line with COPE guidelines.

Respect for Diversity and Inclusion

Editors should ensure an inclusive editorial process by promoting diversity in authorship, reviewer selection, and board composition.

Professional Development

Editors are encouraged to engage in continuous training and education through organizations such as COPE, ICMJE, and WAME to remain aligned with global best practices in scholarly publishing.

FAQs

Can editors publish in the journal? Yes, but their work must be handled independently to avoid conflicts.

What if ethical misconduct is suspected? Editors must investigate confidentially and follow COPE procedures.

Are editors accountable for reviewer misconduct? Yes, editors are responsible for monitoring reviewer conduct and integrity.