Publication Ethics

The editorial team of the Outbreak, Surveillance, Investigation & Response (OSIR) Journal is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and ethical conduct in scholarly publishing. The journal adheres to the principles and guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) for the conduct, reporting, editing, and publication of academic work in medical journals.

All parties involved in the publication process—including editors, authors, and reviewers—must comply with the ethical standards outlined below. The journal does not tolerate research misconduct, plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, duplicate submission, or undisclosed conflicts of interest.

If any individual suspects that these guidelines have not been followed, they are encouraged to contact the Editor for further investigation.

Roles of Editors

Editors play a critical role in maintaining the scientific quality and ethical integrity of OSIR Journal. In accordance with ethical publishing standards, editors must adhere to the following principles:

Maintaining High Standards

Editors are responsible for upholding the high-quality standards of OSIR Journal and ensuring its ongoing improvement. They must work towards fostering academic excellence, fairness, and transparency in the review and publication process.

Evaluating Manuscripts Based on Merit

Editors must evaluate submitted manuscripts based on scientific importance, originality, validity, interest to the journal’s readership, and relevance to the journal’s scope. Manuscript decisions should not be influenced by superficial factors such as language or formatting issues, and should be free from bias related to the authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy.

Conflicts of Interest

Editors must avoid any vested interest or conflicts of interest regarding the authors or reviewers of submitted manuscripts. They should not derive any personal or commercial benefit from published articles. Any potential conflicts of interest must be disclosed and managed appropriately to maintain impartiality.

Handling Plagiarism

Plagiarized content exceeding 20% is detected, the article review process will be immediately suspended. The editor must promptly contact the author(s) for clarification and take appropriate action in line with the journal’s policies, which may include retraction or other corrective measures.

Confidentiality

Editors must respect the confidentiality of the peer-review process and the manuscript’s content. Manuscript information should not be disclosed to third parties or used for personal gain until the article has been officially published.

Integrity of Peer-Review Process

Editors should not alter or change the review results provided by the reviewers. The editorial process must remain transparent, objective, and aligned with the journal’s standards.

Transparency in Handling Editor-authored Articles

Editors are allowed to submit articles for publication in OSIR Journal; however, to ensure transparency and objectivity in the peer-review process, editors must not be involved in the review process of their own articles. Articles authored by editors should undergo the same rigorous peer-review process as any other submission to the journal.

Ethical Oversight and Post-publication Corrections

Editors must ensure that the journal adheres to ethical oversight, including monitoring and taking corrective actions when necessary. This includes addressing any ethical concerns raised post-publication, such as retractions, corrections, or clarifications, in a transparent and timely manner. Editors must ensure that any errors or ethical issues identified after publication are corrected promptly and that the integrity of the journal is maintained.

Roles of Authors

Authors play a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of the scientific community, ensuring that the work published in OSIR Journal is of the highest quality and meets all necessary ethical standards:

Originality of Manuscript

The submitted manuscript must be original and not previously submitted or published in any peer-reviewed journal in any language. The manuscript should meet the highest academic standards and should comply with the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in OSIR Journal’s submission guidelines.

Authorship

OSIR Journal follows the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines for authorship. All authors listed in the manuscript should have made substantial contributions to the study, including conception, design, acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data, and drafting or revising the manuscript. The contributions of all authors should be clearly defined.

Exclusion of AI Technology as Authors: Authors should ensure that artificial intelligence technologies, such as ChatGPT, are not listed as authors, as they cannot be held accountable for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the manuscript. Only individuals who have made significant intellectual contributions should be credited as authors.

Plagiarism

Authors must ensure that their work is free from plagiarism. This includes avoiding the presentation of others’ data, ideas, text, or theories as their own without proper citation and acknowledgment. Manuscripts found to have a plagiarism rate exceeding 20% during the review process will be immediately rejected, and the review process will be halted.

Data Integrity

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their research data is accurately reported and based on valid evidence. All data presented in the manuscript must be authentic, reliable, and correctly interpreted. Manipulation or falsification of data is strictly prohibited. Authors must be able to provide access to raw data upon request to support the study’s findings, in accordance with the journal’s data-sharing policy.

Conflict of Interest

Authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest at the time of manuscript submission. Conflicts of interest may include financial interests, such as employment, consultancy, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications, grants, or any other funding that could influence the interpretation of the research. Authors should also disclose any personal, professional, or intellectual biases that might affect the objectivity of the manuscript. Failure to disclose conflicts of interest may lead to rejection of the manuscript or retraction if published.

Acknowledgments

All relevant contributions to the manuscript, including funding and technical assistance, should be appropriately acknowledged in the manuscript. Individuals or organizations that contributed to the study but did not meet the criteria for authorship should be acknowledged in the “Acknowledgments” section. Additionally, authors must ensure that all prior work referenced in the manuscript is properly cited.

Ethical Misconduct

OSIR Journal has a zero-tolerance policy for unethical practices, including data fabrication, falsification, citation manipulation, and multiple, duplicate, or simultaneous submissions of the same manuscript to multiple journals. Such actions will result in immediate manuscript rejection, withdrawal of the manuscript from the review process, and the prohibition of future submissions from the authors involved.

Consent for Publication

Each co-author of the manuscript must provide explicit consent for publication. Additionally, if the manuscript includes details, images, or videos of specific individuals, the authors must obtain written informed consent for publication from the individuals (or their legal guardians) prior to submission. The manuscript must include a statement confirming that written informed consent has been obtained. If the authors use figures, tables, or other materials from previously published works, they must seek permission from the original copyright holders to use these materials. The responsibility for any legal issues arising from copyright infringement lies solely with the authors.

Role of Reviewers

Reviewers play a vital role in ensuring the integrity of the publication process and must adhere to the following principles regarding intellectual property:

Confidentiality of Manuscripts

Reviewers must treat manuscripts and all associated materials as confidential. The content of the manuscript, including any intellectual property it contains, should not be shared or discussed with others unless explicitly authorized by the journal or publisher. This confidentiality must be maintained until the manuscript is published.

Unbiased Review

The review should be based solely on the quality of the manuscript, which should be assessed primarily on scientific rationale and judgment, free from bias or personal opinions. The decision to accept or reject a manuscript should be made without regard to the nationality, religious or political beliefs, gender, or other characteristics of the authors, the manuscript’s origins, or commercial interests.

Professional and Objective Feedback

Reviewers must possess the necessary skills and expertise in the field related to the article under review. Comments should be professional, objective, and constructive, aimed at helping the authors improve the manuscript. Reviewers may use resources such as the OSIR Journal reviewer checklist to guide their feedback.

Respect for Intellectual Property

Reviewers must not use any unpublished information, data, or ideas from the manuscript for their own personal research or gain. They must also refrain from claiming ownership of any content in the manuscript, whether in part or in full. If reviewers identify that any parts of the article under review are similar to or an exact duplicate of another publication, they should promptly notify the editor.

Disclosure of Competing Interests

Reviewers are required to disclose any potential competing or conflicting interests that may influence their assessment of the manuscript. These conflicts could be personal, intellectual, professional, political, or religious. If a reviewer suspects they know the identity of the author(s), they should notify the editor to assess the potential for competing or conflicting interests.

Integrity of the Peer-Review Process

Reviewers must respect the confidentiality and integrity of the peer-review process. The information contained in the manuscript should not be used for personal gain, and reviewers should ensure that they do not derive any benefit from the reviewed papers.

Ethics Declarations for Research Studies Involving Humans and Animals

Research involving human participants, human materials, or human data must:

Be conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration (2013 revision).
Receive approval from an appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB) or ethics committee.
Clearly state in the manuscript:
- Name of the approving ethics committee
- Protocol number
- Approval date
- If exempted, the name of the committee granting the exemption and justification

Research involving animals must:

Be reviewed and approved by an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) or equivalent body.
State the name of the approving committee and approval number.
Confirm adherence to relevant national and international animal welfare guidelines.

Written informed consent must be obtained from participants (or their legal guardians) and a statement confirming this must be included in the manuscript. Documentation must be provided upon request.

If verbal informed consent was obtained, the manuscript must clearly state the reason written consent was not feasible, describe how consent was documented, and confirm that the procedure was approved by the relevant ethics committee.

The Editor reserves the right to request additional documentation and may reject manuscripts that fail to meet ethical standards.

AI Tool Policy

AI tools cannot be credited as authors because they lack accountability for the integrity, originality, and validity of research work.

AI tools must not be listed as authors.
Authors may use AI to improve language clarity and readability.
Authors must carefully review and edit AI-generated content.
Disclosure of AI use is required if AI significantly contributed to drafting or content development.

Example disclosure statement:

This manuscript was prepared using (NAME OF TOOL) for (PURPOSE). The content has been reviewed and edited by the authors, who take full responsibility for the final version.

Disclosure is not required if AI tools were used only for grammar correction, minor editing, or reference verification.

Publication Malpractice

Plagiarism

All manuscripts are screened for similarity. If plagiarism exceeding 20% is detected:

The manuscript will be rejected immediately.
If detected after publication, the article will be retracted.
The authors’ institutions may be notified.
A retraction notice will be publicly issued.

Publication Malpractice Declaration

OSIR Journal maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward publication misconduct. The following practices are strictly prohibited:

Other Forms of Misconduct

Data fabrication and falsification: Fabricating, manipulating, or misrepresenting research data is strictly prohibited.
Duplicate or simultaneous submission: Manuscripts must not be submitted to more than one journal at the same time.
Citation manipulation: Inappropriate or excessive citation intended to influence metrics or misrepresent scholarly contribution is prohibited.
Authorship misrepresentation: All authorship disputes or misrepresentation must be resolved prior to submission.
Peer-review manipulation: Any attempt to interfere with or manipulate the peer-review process is strictly prohibited.

Investigation Procedure

If misconduct is suspected, the journal will conduct a fair and confidential investigation as follows:

The Editor conducts a preliminary assessment.
If sufficient evidence exists, a formal investigation is initiated.
Authors will be requested to provide clarification and supporting documentation.
A decision will be made based on the severity of the case.

Possible outcomes may include:

Rejection of the manuscript
Publication of corrections or clarifications
Retraction of the article
Notification of relevant institutions

All investigations will be conducted impartially, confidentially, and in accordance with established ethical guidelines.

Post-Publication Corrections and Retractions

If significant errors or ethical concerns are identified after publication:

Corrections, clarifications, or retractions will be issued promptly and transparently.
Authors are expected to cooperate fully in correcting the scientific record.

Appeals

Authors have the right to request reconsideration of an editorial decision if they believe that:

A substantial factual mistake affected the decision,
The manuscript was seriously misunderstood during the review process, or
There was a significant procedural error in handling the review.

Each manuscript is eligible for only one appeal.

Retraction Procedure

If a published article is found to contain serious errors, ethical violations, or research misconduct, the journal will initiate a formal retraction process. The procedure includes:

Conducting an initial assessment of the concern raised.
Requesting clarification and supporting evidence from the authors.
Evaluating the findings in accordance with the journal’s ethical policies.
Issuing a formal retraction notice if the concerns are substantiated.

Retraction notices will be published clearly and transparently, stating the reason for retraction, to maintain the integrity of the scientific record.

Conflicts of Interest

Editors, authors, and reviewers must disclose all potential conflicts of interest, including financial, professional, intellectual, or personal relationships that could influence their judgment.

Errors and Corrections

If minor errors are identified in a published article that do not affect the main results or conclusions, the journal will publish a correction to maintain the accuracy of the scientific record.

Authors are responsible for promptly notifying the Editor if they discover significant errors in their published work and must cooperate fully in issuing appropriate corrections.

If the errors substantially affect the validity or reliability of the findings, further action may be taken, including retraction, in accordance with the journal’s ethical policies.

Data and Reproducibility

Authors are encouraged to make their data and methodologies available to ensure transparency, verification, and reproducibility of research findings, in accordance with the journal’s data-sharing policies.

Archiving Policy

The OSIR Journal ensures the long-term preservation and accessibility of its published content through the ThaiJO platform and institutional repositories. All articles are stored in secure electronic systems to maintain permanent access. In the event that the journal ceases publication, efforts will be made to ensure continued availability of the content through appropriate archiving mechanisms.