JSH is committed to the highest standards of publication ethics. This statement aligns with the COPE Core Practices and uses the COPE Flowcharts as procedural guidance for handling ethical issues.

Related policies and resources: • JSH Home • Submissions • Author Guidelines • Peer Review Process • Manuscript Templates • COPE Retraction Guidelines

1) General Principles

• Integrity & Transparency: All parties (editors, authors, reviewers, publisher) must uphold scholarly integrity, accuracy, and transparency.
• Originality: Submissions must be original, not under consideration or published elsewhere.
• Double-Blind Review: Identities of authors and reviewers are concealed (see Peer Review Process).
• Compliance: Research involving humans must include ethics approval and informed consent statements as applicable.

2) Responsibilities

2.1 Editors

• Fair Evaluation: Decide solely on scholarly merit, relevance, and legal/ethical compliance.
• Confidentiality: Manuscripts and communications are confidential; handled within OJS.
• Conflict Management: Declare and manage COIs; reassign handling editor if needed.
• Ethics Handling: Investigate concerns using COPE Flowcharts.

2.2 Reviewers

• Objectivity & Timeliness: Provide evidence-based, constructive, and timely reports.
• Confidentiality: Do not share or use the manuscript for personal research advantage.
• COI Disclosure: Inform editors of any potential COI or inadequate expertise.
• AI Use: Do not upload confidential manuscripts to public AI systems; if using tools for minor language edits, reviewers remain fully responsible.

2.3 Authors

• Originality: Submit only original work; properly cite sources; avoid redundant/duplicate submission.
• Authorship & CRediT: Authorship reflects substantial contribution (conception/design; data; drafting/revision; approval; accountability). Contributor roles should be declared using CRediT.
• Data Integrity: Provide accurate data; retain raw data and share upon request when ethical/legal to do so.
• Human Subjects: Provide ethics approval and informed consent statements where applicable; ensure privacy/anonymity.
• AI Use: If language tools or permitted AI assistance are used, disclose in “Author’s Declaration” and maintain full responsibility for the content; AI tools are not authors.
• Corrections: Promptly notify editors of significant errors and cooperate on corrections or retractions.

3) Misconduct and Questionable Practices

• Plagiarism & Self-Plagiarism: JSH screens similarity prior to review and during revision; text recycling without proper citation is not acceptable.
• Data Fabrication/Falsification: Any manipulation or selective reporting to mislead is misconduct.
• Citation Manipulation: Coercive, irrelevant, or padded citations are prohibited.
• Salami Publishing: Fragmenting one study into multiple overlapping papers is not acceptable.

4) Conflicts of Interest (COI)

All authors must disclose financial, institutional, collaborative, or personal relationships that could influence the work. Editors and reviewers must recuse themselves where COIs exist. The COI statement appears in the “Author’s Declaration.”

5) Data, Materials, and Reproducibility

• Data Availability Statement: Required in all submissions. When possible, deposit data/materials in trusted repositories (e.g., OSF, Crossref).
• Restrictions: If ethical/legal constraints prevent public sharing, describe how qualified researchers can request access.

6) Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions

When errors are identified post-publication, JSH may publish a Correction (Erratum/ Corrigendum). In cases involving unreliable findings or ethical breaches, JSH may issue an Expression of Concern or retract the article, following the COPE Retraction Guidelines. All notices are linked to the original article with transparent reasons.

7) Complaints and Appeals

Authors may appeal editorial decisions with a reasoned justification via OJS (see Submissions). Appeals are considered by an editor not involved in the original decision where possible. Ethical complaints can be raised via the journal contact page; cases are handled using COPE guidance.

8) Preprints and Prior Dissemination

Preprints are allowed if disclosed at submission and cited appropriately. Authors should update the preprint with a link to the published version upon acceptance.

9) Copyright and Licensing

Copyright and license terms are stated on each article’s landing page. Authors must ensure permissions for any third-party content (text, tables, figures). Where applicable, license-compatible reuse must be observed.

10) Privacy and Confidentiality

Personal data are handled per the platform’s privacy policy. Review content, identities, and unpublished materials are confidential; they may not be shared, posted, or used without written permission.

References and Useful Links

• COPE Core Practices
• COPE Ethical Flowcharts
• COPE Retraction Guidelines
• JSH Author Guidelines
• JSH Peer Review Process
• JSH Manuscript Templates