Policies
Journal of Clinical Research and Case Studies is an open-access publication.
Starting on January 2023, all content published in the journal is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License which allows third parties to read and share the material immediately upon publication for only non-commercial purposes by giving the appropriate credit to the original work. Adaptation and modification of the material is not permitted.
The content published before January 2023 was licensed under traditional copyright, but the archive is still available for free access.
All published content is available online, free of charge at https://oaskpublishers.com/.
Authors retain unrestricted copyrights and publishing rights in the Journal of Clinical Research and Case Studies.
When using previously published content, including figures, tables, or any other material in both print and electronic formats, authors must obtain permission from the copyright holder. Legal, financial and criminal liabilities in this regard belong to the author(s).
Copyright Policy
A Copyright Agreement and Acknowledgement of Authorship form should be submitted with all manuscripts. By signing this form, authors agree that the article, if accepted for publication by the Journal of Clinical Research and Case Studies, will be licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License which allows third parties to read and share the material immediately upon publication for only non-commercial purposes by giving the appropriate credit to the original work. Adaptation and modification of the material is not permitted.
When using previously published content, including figures, tables, or any other material in electronic format, authors must obtain permission from the copyright holder. Legal, financial and criminal liabilities in this regard belong to the author(s).
Self-Archiving Policy
Authors retain the right to self-archive their work on their institutional or personal websites, as well as in open-access repositories, after publication. It is expected that authors appropriately acknowledge the original publication and include the DOI number when sharing their articles. Additionally, authors are requested to provide a link from the deposited version to the URL of the publisher's website. This requirement is intended to safeguard the integrity and authenticity of the scientific record, with the online published version on the publisher's website clearly identified as the definitive version of the record.
Publication Fee Policy
Journal of Clinical Research and Case Studies is sustained through article processing charges (APC).
Effective December 17, 2023, the APC for the Journal of Clinical Research and Case Studies is adjusted to USD $1519. There are no additional fees or surcharges associated with the evaluation or publication process beyond the APC.
Authors must transparently disclose any financial support received for the payment of the article processing charge.
Waiver Policy
Journal of Clinical Research and Case Studies offers 100% waivers on manuscripts whose submitting authors are based in countries classified by the World Bank as low-income economies.
Advertising Policy
Journal of Clinical Research and Case Studies accepts digital advertisements on its website. These ads must be approved by the journal's Editorial Board and management and must be clearly labeled as advertisements. Advertisers have no influence on editorial decisions or advertising policies.
Those interested in advertising in the journal should contact the Editorial Office.
Publication Ethics
Journal of Clinical Research and Case Studies aims to adhere to the guidelines and core practices set forth by several organizations, including the ICMJE guidelines. These guidelines and recommendations are designed to promote transparency, integrity, and best practices in scholarly publishing. By adhering to these standards, the journal aims to ensure that the research it publishes is of high quality and meets the ethical standards of the scientific community.
All research involving human subjects, medical records, or human tissues must be reviewed and approved by a reviewer board, such as an institutional review board (IRB) or ethics committee, before it is conducted. The name of the ethics committee that reviewed and approved the research, as well as the ethics committee approval number and date, should be included in the Methods section of the manuscript when it is submitted for publication. Additionally, the journal may require authors to provide a copy of the ethics committee approval as part of the manuscript submission process. This is to ensure that the research has been properly reviewed and approved and to allow the journal to verify that the research meets the ethical standards required for publication.
If a study is exempted from the ethics committee approval, the authors must present a statement from the ethics committee explaining the reason for the exemption. This is to ensure that the research was reviewed by an ethics committee and that the decision to exempt the study was made in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations.
If a manuscript is submitted to the Journal of Clinical Research and Case Studies without ethics committee approval, the journal will review the manuscript according to the ICMJE guidelines. This guideline provides guidance on how to handle manuscripts that do not have ethics committee approval and allows the journal to assess the risks and potential ethical concerns associated with publishing the research.
If the journal determines that the lack of ethics committee approval is a significant concern, the manuscript may be rejected after editorial review. This is to ensure that the journal maintains high ethical standards and only publishes research that has been properly reviewed and approved by an ethics committee.
For manuscripts concerning research involving human subjects, it is required to include a statement indicating that written informed consent was obtained from all participants. Informed consent should be documented in writing, and a copy of the informed consent form should be retained by the researchers for future reference.
Written informed consent should be obtained from the legal guardians and parents of all children under the age of 18 and subjects with severe mental disorders who cannot exercise their legal rights since those under 18 and subjects with severe mental disorders are considered to be vulnerable population and may not have the capacity to fully understand the risks and benefits of participating in research.
Information on informed consent should be provided in the methods section of the manuscript, along with any other relevant details about how the research was conducted.
It is the responsibility of the authors to protect the anonymity of study participants and to ensure that the research is conducted in a way that respects their privacy and confidentiality. This is especially important for photographs that may reveal the identity of patients, as the publication of such photographs without proper consent could potentially violate the rights of the individuals depicted.
To protect the anonymity of patients in photographs, the authors should obtain signed releases from the patients or their legal representatives. These releases should indicate that the patients have given their consent for the publication of the photographs and should specify any restrictions or conditions on the use of the photographs. Information on the publication approval for photographs should be provided in the Methods section of the manuscript.
In addition to the ethical treatment of animals, authors should also provide information on the measures taken to prevent pain and suffering. This is to ensure that the research is conducted in a humane manner, and to allow readers to verify that the research meets the relevant ethical standards.
Plagiarism and Ethical Misconduct
All submissions are screened by a similarity detection software (CrossRef Similarity Check Powered by iThenticate) multiple times during the peer-review and/or production processes.
When you are discussing others' (or your own) previous work, make sure that you cite the material correctly in every instance.
Authors are strongly recommended to avoid any form of plagiarism and ethical misconduct that are exemplified below.
Citation manipulation: The practice of manipulating the number of citations received by an author, journal, or other publication through various means, such as self-citation, excessive citation of articles from the same journal, or the inclusion of honorary citations or citation stacking.
Self-plagiarism (text-recycling): The practice of using overlapping sections or sentences from the author's previous publications without properly citing them. This is considered to be a form of plagiarism, as it involves using someone else's work (in this case, the author's own work) without proper attribution.
Salami slicing: The practice of using the same data from a research study in several different articles. This is considered to be unethical, as it involves reporting the same hypotheses, population, and methods of a study in multiple papers.
Data Fabrication: The addition of data that never occurred during the gathering of data or experiments. This is considered to be a form of research misconduct, as it involves presenting false or misleading information as if it were real data.
Data Manipulation/Falsification: The practice of manipulating research data with the intention of giving a false impression. This can include manipulating images, removing outliers or "inconvenient" results, changing data points, and other forms of manipulation. This is also considered to be a form of research misconduct, as it involves presenting false or misleading information as if it were real data.
In the event of alleged or suspected research misconduct such as plagiarism, citation manipulation, or data falsification/fabrication, the Editorial Board will follow the appropriate ICMJE to ensure that the allegations or suspicions are handled in a fair, transparent, and consistent manner.
Authorship
All individuals listed as an authors should meet the authorship criteria recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). The ICMJE recommends that authorship is based on the following four criteria:
- Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work.
- Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content.
- Final approval of the version to be published.
- Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Furthermore, authors should have confidence in the integrity of the contributions of their co-authors. This means that they should trust that their co-authors have conducted the research in an ethical and responsible manner and that the data and results presented in the manuscript are accurate and reliable.
Individuals who do not meet all four of the authorship criteria should not be included as authors on the manuscript. However, they can still be acknowledged on the title page of the manuscript for their contributions to the research in order to recognize the contributions of these individuals and to provide transparency about who was involved in the research.
The Role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Manuscript Preparation
Journal of Clinical Research and Case Studies follows the guidelines outlined by the ICMJE with regard to the utilization of AI and AI-assisted technology in manuscript preparation. Authorship encompasses a range of tasks that can only be performed by humans, and authors are accountable for ensuring the article's originality and possessing the requisite qualifications for authorship. While AI can be employed for language corrections during the article writing process (and this should be explicitly stated in the article), it cannot be included as an author, as it is essential to maintain the originality and quality of the article.
Change of Authorship
Any requests for changes to authorship, such as the removal or addition of authors, or changes in the order of authors, should be submitted to the editorial office with a letter stating the reasons for the change. The letter must be signed by all authors, including any who have been removed.
The journal’s Editorial Board will handle all requests for changes to authorship in a consistent and transparent manner, following the relevant ICMJE guidelines. These procedures are in place to protect the integrity of the research and the reputation of all involved authors.
Declaration of Interests
Journal of Clinical Research and Case Studies requires the ICMJE Disclosure Form to be filled in and submitted by all contributing authors of each manuscript in order to be informed about potential conflicts of interest of authors.
Journal of Clinical Research and Case Studies also requires and encourages individuals involved in the peer review process of submitted manuscripts to disclose any existing or potential competing interests that might lead to potential bias.
The Editorial Board will handle cases of potential competing interests of editors, authors, or reviewers within the scope of relevant ICMJE recommendations.
Financial Disclosure
Journal of Clinical Research and Case Studies requires authors to disclose any financial support they received to conduct their research. This information should be included in the funding statement, which should be provided when the manuscript is submitted to the journal.
The funding statement should include the name of any granting agencies, the grant numbers, and a description of each funder's role in the research. If the funder had no role in the research, this should be stated in the funding statement as well. This information is important for readers to understand the potential biases and conflicts of interest that may exist in the research.
Post-Publication Correction Requests and Retractions
All post-publication correction requests are subject to editorial review. The editorial board will review the request and determine whether the correction is necessary and appropriate. The decision to publish a correction will be based on the nature of the error, its potential impact on the article, and the availability of supporting evidence. The editorial board may also consult with the authors, reviewers, and other experts as needed to make its decision. If the correction request is approved, the article will be corrected in the journal's archive.
The Editorial Board reviews cases following journal policies, ICMJE guidelines.
In some cases, an ombudsperson may be assigned to resolve claims that cannot be resolved internally.
If necessary, the journal may also contact institutions to inform them of suspected misconduct by researchers and provide evidence to support these concerns, following ICMJE guidelines in the process.
In the event of ethical misconduct concerns, the editors will investigate the case according to ICMJE guidelines. If the investigation verifies the concern, the editors may issue a retraction notice. The retraction notice will be published in the journal and the article's record will be updated to reflect the retraction. The article will remain in the archives of the journal, but it will be clearly marked as retracted. The article's record will also be updated in the relevant indexes to reflect the retraction.
Withdrawal Requests
Withdrawal requests for an article are reviewed by the editorial board of the journal. To request the withdrawal of an article, the authors must send a letter signed by all authors stating their request and the reasons for withdrawal to the journal editor. The editorial board will then review the request and make a decision based on the reasons provided by the authors. If the request is approved, the article will be withdrawn from the journal and the authors will be notified of the decision. It is important to note that authors should not submit their work to another journal for evaluation until the withdrawal request has been approved. This is to avoid any potential conflicts of interest or duplication of publication.
Appeals and Complaint
The editor-in-chief has the final authority in the decision-making process for all appeals and complaints. In some cases, an ombudsperson may be assigned to resolve claims that cannot be resolved internally. It is important to note that the journal follows a fair and transparent process for handling appeals and complaints, with the goal of preserving the integrity of the scientific record.
Preprint Policy
Journal of Clinical Research and Case Studies does not consider preprints as prior publication, which means that authors are allowed to present and discuss their findings on a non-commercial preprint server before submitting their work to the journal.
However, authors must provide the journal with the preprint server deposition of their article, along with its DOI, during the initial submission process.
If the article is accepted and published in the journal, it is the responsibility of the authors to update the archived preprint and link it to the published version of the article. This helps to ensure that readers can easily access the most up-to-date and accurate information.
Permission Policy
As of the March 2021 issue, the journal's content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Under this license, users are allowed to share, adapt, reproduce, and distribute the journal's content for non-commercial purposes, provided that they give appropriate credit to the original author and the journal.
Prof. Dr. Mesut Çetin is the copyright holder of content published before March 2021.
The commercial use of the journal's content requires permission from Prof. Dr. Mesut Çetin, which may be subject to fees or restrictions.
Data Sharing Policy
As of 1 January 2019, a data-sharing statement is required for the registration of clinical trials. Authors are required to provide a data-sharing statement for articles that report the results of a clinical trial. The data-sharing statement should indicate the items below according to the ICMJE data-sharing policy:
- Whether individual deidentified participant data will be shared
- What data, in particular, will be made available
- Whether additional, related documents will also be provided
- When the data will become accessible and for how long it will remain available
- The criteria for accessing the data, including who will have access, the purpose of the analysis, and the mechanism for obtaining the data
Authors are recommended to check the ICMJE data-sharing examples at
http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/publishing-and-editorial-issues/clinical-trial-registration.html
While submitting a clinical trial to the Journal of Clinical Research and Case Studies,
- Authors are required to make registration to a publicly accessible registry according to ICMJE recommendations and the instructions above.
- The name of the registry and the registration number should be provided on the Title Page during the initial submission.
- Data sharing statement should also be stated in the Title Page even if the authors do not plan to share it.
Clinical Trial and Data Sharing Policy Journal of Clinical Research and Case Studies The journal will be valid for the articles submitted from January 2023.
Disclaimer
The statements or opinions expressed in the manuscripts published in the journal reflect the views of the author(s) and not the views of the editors, editorial board, and/or publisher. The editors, editorial board, and publisher are not responsible for the content of the manuscripts and do not necessarily endorse the views expressed in them. It is the responsibility of the authors to ensure that their work is accurate and well-researched and that the views expressed in their manuscripts are their own. The editors, editorial board, and publisher simply provide a platform for the authors to share their work with the scientific community.