Ethical standards and procedures
Ethical considerations
Wroclaw Medical University Press is committed to upholding standards of ethical behaviour at all stages of the publication process. We strictly follow the guidelines for best practices established by the industry associations, such as the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICJME). Both Authors and Editors have ethical obligations with regard to the publication of the research results. According to our publishing policy, manuscripts not conforming to the principles of the World Medical Association (WMA) Declaration of Helsinki should not be accepted for publication.
Papers describing animal experiments can be accepted for publication only if the experiment conforms with the legal requirements binding in Poland as well as with the European Communities Council Directive 86/609/EEC as of November 24, 1986 or the National Research Council Committee for the Update of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Authors must provide a full description of the anesthetics and surgical procedures applied in their experiment.
Duties and responsibilities of Authors
Authors are obliged to prepare and send the article in accordance with the requirements set out in Information for Authors. Moreover, Authors are obliged to submit statements regarding the following: the originality of the content of the article (work not yet published anywhere), the integrity of the copyright of others, no conflict of interest or its application, as well as the superior permission to publish the article in the journal. Authors are obliged to participate in the peer-review process. Authors are obliged to provide the retractions or corrections of mistakes; they should also provide a list of references, following the AMA style guide.
Authors are responsible for disclosing all financial and personal relationships that might bias or be perceived to bias their work. They should also disclose their contribution to the manuscript. Authors may, at any time before accepting the article for publication, withdraw the article by submitting a statement in the Editorial System.
Complaints
If concerns are raised regarding the scientific soundness or originality of the published manuscript, or figure manipulation or other forms of misconduct are alleged in a direct email to Editor/Publisher, supported by sound evidence, Editor/Publisher responds to the person who raised concerns saying that they are going to investigate and will let them know the outcome, but will not necessarily be in contact regularly before then. If the evidence is not provided in the initial communication, Editor/Publisher requests it. Based on the evidence material, Editor/Publisher investigates the case according to the appropriate COPE flowchart. If there is an outcome to the investigation, such as a correction or retraction, the person who originally raised the concern is informed about the outcome of the case. Concerns raised via social media are treated in the same way as raised directly if evidence is provided in the initial claim or after a request.
Plagiarism and duplicate publications
All manuscripts submitted to Dental and Medical Problems are checked for plagiarism using Similarity Check, a service enabling Editors to screen the published and submitted content for originality by providing access to the iThenticate software. Cases of suspected scientific misconduct, including plagiarism and duplicate publications, are handled according to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ Core Practices guidance.
Duties and responsibilities of Reviewers
Articles are selected for publication in double-blind selection system and published in open access mode. Reviewers review manuscripts via the Editorial System on the basis of questions prepared by journal’s Editorial Board. It is also possible for Reviewer to send individual comments to be published in the article content. All judgments and findings in the peer-review process should be objective. Reviewers should have no conflict of interest (they make a statement before proceeding to the review). Reviewers - if there is a legitimate need - should point out the relevant published work which is not yet cited, and the articles reviewed by them should be treated confidentially prior to their publication.
Duties and responsibilities of Editors
Editors are responsible for deciding which articles are accepted for publication. Editors act in a balanced, objective and fair way while carrying out their expected duties, without discrimination on grounds of gender, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs, ethnic or geographical origin of the authors. Publisher and Editors are always ready to publish corrections, clarifications, withdrawals, and apologies if there is a legitimate need. If there is a suspicion that an inappropriate research procedure was applied in the work sent by Authors, Authors are obliged by the Editorial Office - if not yet submitted - to submit information regarding the approval of the described research procedure by a properly established ethics committee to conduct clinical trials.