Publication ethics

Medicomplementary Journal adheres to the highest standards of publication ethics to ensure the integrity, quality, and credibility of scholarly publications. These ethical guidelines are binding on all parties involved in the publication process, including authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher. The primary aim of these principles is to uphold academic honesty, safeguard intellectual property, and promote responsible scientific communication.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are required to submit original manuscripts that are free from plagiarism, falsification, or data manipulation. Submissions must not be under consideration or published elsewhere (no duplicate publication). Proper attribution and accurate referencing of all sources are mandatory. Authors must report research findings honestly and transparently, disclose any conflicts of interest, and acknowledge all contributors appropriately.

Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for making fair and objective decisions on manuscripts based solely on their academic merit, significance, and originality, regardless of race, gender, institutional affiliation, or personal bias. Editors must maintain confidentiality of submitted manuscripts prior to publication and ensure that ethical concerns, such as plagiarism or research misconduct, are addressed promptly and in accordance with established procedures.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers play a critical role in maintaining the scholarly quality of publications. They are expected to evaluate manuscripts objectively and constructively, providing feedback that improves scientific rigor and clarity. Reviewers must treat all reviewed manuscripts as confidential documents and refrain from using any unpublished material for personal advantage.

Responsibilities of the Publisher

The journal’s publisher is committed to ensuring the integrity of the entire publication process. The publisher upholds internationally recognized ethical standards, including those set by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Mechanisms are in place to handle complaints, ethical violations, and conflicts of interest, ensuring accountability and transparency in scholarly publishing.

Purpose of Publication Ethics

The implementation of strict publication ethics serves to protect public trust in scientific research, safeguard intellectual property rights, prevent plagiarism and data fabrication, and promote the healthy advancement of knowledge.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI Disclosure Policy

Medicomplementary Journal recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI)–assisted tools (such as language models, grammar checkers, or reference management aids) may be used in the scholarly workflow. However, the journal upholds that human authors and reviewers remain fully responsible for the intellectual content, ethical integrity, and scholarly validity of all published and reviewed materials.

AI Disclosure for Authors

Authors may use AI-assisted tools solely to support language refinement, readability, or formatting, provided that such use does not replace critical scientific reasoning, data interpretation, methodological design, or original intellectual contribution.

Accordingly, authors are required to:

  • Clearly disclose the use of AI tools in the manuscript (e.g., in a dedicated AI Disclosure or Acknowledgmentsection), including the name of the tool and its general purpose.

  • Ensure that AI tools are not listed as authors or co-authors, as AI systems do not meet authorship criteria.

  • Take full responsibility for the accuracy, originality, ethical compliance, and integrity of the manuscript content, including any text assisted by AI.

  • Guarantee that AI tools were not used to fabricate data, manipulate results, generate misleading interpretations, or circumvent plagiarism detection.

Failure to disclose AI usage, or misuse of AI in a way that compromises scientific integrity, may result in manuscript rejection or post-publication corrective actions.