Publication Ethics Policy

Quest Press Limited / Macau Sino-Foreign Medical Publishing Limited (MSFMP)

Preamble

As a global open-access publisher, Quest Press Limited / Macau Sino-Foreign Medical Publishing Limited (MSFMP) is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of integrity in scholarly communication. We recognize the critical role ethical conduct plays in building trust in published research and advancing knowledge. This policy formalizes our commitment and outlines the responsibilities of all stakeholders—authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher—in accordance with internationally recognized best practices, including the guidelines set forth by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

1. Authorship and Contributorship

• Authorship Criteria: All listed authors must meet the ICMJE criteria for authorship, having made substantial contributions to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported work. All authors must approve the final manuscript and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

• Contributorship Statement: A Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) statement or a detailed description of individual contributions is required for all manuscripts. Individuals who do not meet authorship criteria but provided significant support should be acknowledged appropriately.

2. Originality and Duplicate Publication

• Authors must warrant that the submitted work is original, has not been published previously in any form (except as an abstract or thesis), and is not under consideration elsewhere.

• Proper citation and referencing of others' work is mandatory. Plagiarism in any form (text, ideas, data) constitutes unethical publishing behavior.

3. Data Access and Citation

• Authors are encouraged to share the data underlying their results in a public repository where ethically and legally possible.

• Data Citation: Datasets should be cited in the reference list with a unique persistent identifier (e.g., DOI), according to established data citation standards.

4. Acknowledgments

• All sources of funding and significant non-author contributions (e.g., technical assistance, writing aid, general supervision) must be disclosed in an Acknowledgments section.

5. Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

• All authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest—financial, personal, professional, or political—that could influence the work's presentation or evaluation. This information will be published with the article or kept confidential, as deemed appropriate.

6. Reporting Standards

• Authors of original research must present an accurate account of the work performed and an objective discussion of its significance. The manuscript should contain sufficient detail and references to permit replication.

• Adherence to relevant community-agreed reporting standards (e.g., CONSORT for trials, PRISMA for reviews, ARRIVE for animal studies) is required, and completed checklists must be submitted.

7. Ethical Oversight of Human and Animal Subjects

• Human Subjects: Manuscripts reporting studies involving human participants must include a statement confirming approval by an appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Committee, along with the approval number/ID. A statement confirming that informed consent was obtained from all participants is required.

• Animal Subjects: Studies involving animals must include a statement of approval from an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) or equivalent, and confirm adherence to recognized guidelines (e.g., the NIH Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals).

• Clinical Trial Registration: All clinical trials must be registered in a public trials registry (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov) before participant enrollment begins. The trial registration number must be provided.

8. Authors' Fundamental Responsibilities

• Authors bear ultimate responsibility for the integrity of their work, including the validity of the data, the accuracy of the analysis, and the soundness of the conclusions. They must cooperate with investigations into potential errors or misconduct.

9. Allegations of Misconduct

• The publisher and editors will take all allegations of misconduct seriously, following COPE flowcharts for comprehensive investigation. This includes but is not limited to data fabrication/falsification, plagiarism, image manipulation, and unethical research.

• All parties involved will be given the opportunity to respond to allegations.

10. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

• Corrections (Erratum): Will be issued for significant errors that affect the scientific interpretation but do not invalidate the entire paper.

• Retractions: Will be issued for articles with pervasive errors, fraudulent data, or findings that are no longer reliable. The retracted article will remain online but will be prominently watermarked as "Retracted."

• Expressions of Concern: May be issued while an investigation is ongoing, to alert readers to potential serious issues.

11. Advertising Ethics

• All advertising and sponsored content is subject to prior review and approval by the publisher or journal editor.

• A strict separation between editorial content and commercial promotion will be maintained. Advertising does not imply endorsement by the journal or publisher.

Implementation and Governance

This policy is actively implemented and monitored by the editorial boards and management of Quest Press Limited / MSFMP. We are committed to continuous improvement and education in publication ethics. Concerns or queries regarding this policy should be directed to the relevant journal's editorial office.

Quest Press Limited
Macau Sino-Foreign Medical Publishing Limited (MSFMP)
November 20, 2025

出版伦理政策

Quest Press Limited / Macau Sino-Foreign Medical Publishing Limited (MSFMP)

前言

作为一家全球性的开放获取出版机构，Quest Press Limited / Macau Sino-Foreign Medical Publishing Limited (MSFMP) 致力于在学术传播中维护最高的诚信标准。我们认识到道德行为在建立对已发表研究的信任和推动知识进步方面所起的关键作用。本政策正式确立我们的承诺，并根据国际公认的最佳实践，包括 出版伦理委员会 (COPE) 和 国际医学期刊编辑委员会 (ICMJE) 制定的指南，概述了所有利益相关者——作者、编辑、审稿人和出版方——的责任。

1. 作者身份与贡献

• 作者标准：所有列出的作者必须满足ICMJE的作者身份标准，对报告工作的构思、设计、实施或解释做出了实质性贡献。所有作者必须批准最终稿件，并同意对工作的所有方面负责。

• 贡献声明：所有稿件必须提供 贡献者角色分类法 (CRediT) 声明或对个人贡献的详细描述。对于不符合作者标准但提供了重要支持的个人，应予以恰当致谢。

2. 原创性与重复发表

• 作者必须保证提交的作品是原创的，之前未以任何形式发表过（摘要或学位论文除外），且未在其他地方接受审稿。

• 必须对他人的工作进行恰当的引用和著录。任何形式的抄袭（文本、思想、数据）均构成不道德的出版行为。

3. 数据获取与引用

• 在伦理和法律允许的情况下，鼓励作者在公共知识库中共享其研究结果的基础数据。

• 数据引用：数据集应根据既定的数据引用标准，在参考文献列表中通过唯一的持久标识符（如 DOI）进行引用。

4. 致谢

• 所有资金来源和重要的非作者贡献（例如，技术支持、写作援助、一般监督）必须在致谢部分予以披露。

5. 利益冲突披露

• 所有作者、审稿人和编辑必须披露任何可能影响工作呈现或评估的潜在利益冲突——无论是财务、个人、专业还是政治方面的。该信息将酌情随文章发表或予以保密。

6. 报告标准

• 原创研究的作者必须准确描述所进行的工作，并对其意义进行客观讨论。稿件应包含足够的细节和参考文献，以便他人能够复现。

• 要求遵守相关的学界公认的报告标准（例如，试验的 CONSORT、综述的 PRISMA、动物研究的 ARRIVE），并且必须提交已完成的核对清单。

7. 人类与动物研究的伦理监督

• 人类受试者：报告涉及人类参与者的研究的稿件，必须包含一份声明，确认获得了适当的机构审查委员会或伦理委员会的批准，并提供批准编号/ID。同时需要一份声明，确认已获得所有参与者的知情同意。

• 动物受试者：涉及动物的研究必须包含一份机构动物护理与使用委员会或同等机构的批准声明，并确认遵循了公认的指南。

• 临床试验注册：所有临床试验必须在受试者入组前在公共试验注册库中注册。必须提供试验注册号。

8. 作者的基本责任

• 作者对其作品的完整性承担最终责任，包括数据的有效性、分析的准确性和结论的可靠性。他们必须配合对潜在错误或不端行为的调查。

9. 对不端行为的指控

• 出版方和编辑将严肃对待所有不端行为指控，遵循 COPE流程图进行全面调查。这包括但不限于数据捏造/篡改、抄袭、图像操纵和不道德的研究。

• 将给予所有相关方对指控进行回应的机会。

10. 更正、撤稿与关注声明

• 更正：对于影响科学解释但不至于使整篇论文无效的重大错误，将发布更正。

• 撤稿：对于存在普遍性错误、欺诈性数据或研究结果不再可靠的论文，将发布撤稿。被撤稿件将保留在线，但会显著标注“已撤稿”水印。

• 关注声明：在调查进行期间，可能会发布关注声明，以提醒读者注意潜在的严重问题。

11. 广告伦理

• 所有广告和赞助内容均需事先经过出版方或期刊编辑的审查和批准。

• 将严格保持编辑内容与商业推广之间的分离。广告不暗示期刊或出版方的认可。

实施与管理

本政策由 Quest Press Limited / MSFMP 的编辑委员会和管理层积极实施和监督。我们致力于在出版伦理方面持续改进和教育。有关本政策的疑虑或疑问应直接联系相关期刊的编辑部。

Quest Press Limited
Macau Sino-Foreign Medical Publishing Limited (MSFMP)
2025年11月20日