Nexus of Integrated Clinical Science (NICS) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of research integrity, publication ethics, transparency, and editorial independence.
The journal follows internationally recognized principles and guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and other relevant international standards.
This policy applies to authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher. NICS takes concerns regarding research integrity and publication ethics seriously and will investigate suspected misconduct in accordance with established ethical procedures.
NICS follows the principles and relevant guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
The journal maintains procedures for handling allegations and concerns involving research and publication misconduct, including plagiarism, redundant or duplicate publication, fabrication, falsification, inappropriate authorship, citation manipulation, conflicts of interest, unethical research, peer-review manipulation, and other forms of publication malpractice.
Where appropriate, NICS may use COPE flowcharts, guidance, and other recognized publication-ethics resources when investigating concerns.
The journal does not tolerate intentional manipulation of the scientific or peer-review record.
Authors are responsible for ensuring that submitted manuscripts:
represent original work;
have not been published elsewhere, except where permitted under the journal's preprint policy;
are not simultaneously under consideration by another journal;
accurately report the methods, results, and interpretation of the research;
appropriately acknowledge all sources and contributions;
comply with applicable ethical and regulatory requirements;
disclose relevant conflicts of interest and funding;
provide accurate authorship and contributor information; and
contain no fabricated, falsified, manipulated, or misleading data.
Authors must cooperate with the Editorial Office in responding to questions concerning research integrity, ethics approval, data, authorship, or other aspects of the submitted work.
Authorship should comply with the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).
All listed authors should have made substantial contributions to the work, participated sufficiently in drafting or critically revising the manuscript, approved the final version, and agreed to be accountable for the work.
The CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) is strongly encouraged to provide transparent information about individual contributions.
Gift, guest, honorary, and ghost authorship are not acceptable.
Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately where applicable.
Any request to add, remove, or reorder authors after submission must be justified and agreed upon by all affected authors. The journal may request additional documentation before approving an authorship change.
Authorship disputes may be referred to the relevant institution or organization when appropriate.
All authors, editors, and reviewers must disclose relevant financial and non-financial conflicts of interest that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research, interpretation of findings, editorial decision, or peer-review process.
Potential conflicts may include, but are not limited to:
employment or consultancy;
research funding;
financial relationships;
patents or intellectual property;
personal or professional relationships;
academic competition; and
other interests that could reasonably affect objectivity.
Conflicts of interest should be disclosed at submission and updated if relevant circumstances change during the editorial process.
Editors and reviewers must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where a significant conflict of interest exists.
All sources of financial support must be disclosed.
Authors should provide relevant grant numbers or funding identifiers where applicable.
Where a sponsor was involved in the study, authors should disclose the sponsor's role in:
study design;
data collection;
data analysis;
interpretation of findings;
manuscript preparation;
the decision to submit the manuscript; and
the decision to publish.
If the sponsor had no role in these activities, this should be stated where appropriate.
Research involving human participants, human tissues, identifiable human data, or other human-derived materials must comply with applicable ethical and regulatory requirements.
Where required, studies must receive approval from an appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB), Research Ethics Committee, or equivalent independent ethics body before the research is conducted.
The manuscript should identify:
the approving ethics committee or institution;
the ethics approval or reference number, where applicable; and
relevant information concerning ethical oversight.
If formal ethical approval was not required, authors should provide an appropriate explanation or exemption statement.
Research involving vulnerable populations requires appropriate additional ethical safeguards.
Appropriate informed consent should be obtained from human research participants in accordance with applicable ethical standards, unless an authorized ethics committee has approved a waiver.
For publication of identifiable information, clinical photographs, imaging, videos, or case details, authors must obtain appropriate consent for publication where required.
Authors must take reasonable measures to protect participant privacy and confidentiality.
Identifying information should be removed or appropriately anonymized whenever possible.
For clinical images, radiological examinations, pathology images, photographs, or other visual material, authors must ensure that information capable of directly identifying a patient is removed or appropriately masked.
Anonymization should include, where applicable:
patient names;
medical record or hospital numbers;
dates of birth;
addresses;
facial or other recognizable features;
embedded metadata; and
other directly identifying information.
The responsibility for appropriate anonymization and consent rests with the authors.
Research involving animals must comply with applicable national and institutional regulations and internationally recognized standards for the ethical treatment and welfare of laboratory animals.
Where applicable, authors should provide:
the name of the approving ethics or animal welfare committee;
the approval or protocol number;
information regarding applicable welfare standards; and
sufficient methodological information concerning animal care and experimental procedures.
NICS does not accept research involving unnecessary or unjustified animal harm.
Prospective interventional clinical trials should be registered in a publicly accessible clinical trial registry before enrollment of the first participant, in accordance with applicable international standards.
Acceptable registries may include registries recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) or ICMJE, such as:
ClinicalTrials.gov
Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT)
WHO ICTRP–linked registries
Other recognized primary clinical trial registries
The registry name and unique registration number should be reported in the manuscript.
Authors should not conceal the prospective or retrospective status of trial registration.
NICS expects authors to maintain accurate and complete research records and to preserve the underlying data and materials necessary to support the reported findings.
Authors must not fabricate, falsify, selectively manipulate, or knowingly misrepresent research data.
Where ethically, legally, and practically feasible, authors are encouraged to make relevant de-identified datasets, analysis code, statistical workflows, or other supporting materials available through appropriate repositories.
All manuscripts must include a Data Availability Statement describing the availability of data supporting the reported findings or explaining applicable restrictions.
Data sharing must comply with participant confidentiality, privacy, institutional requirements, intellectual property rights, and applicable laws and regulations.
Images submitted for publication must accurately represent the underlying data.
Authors must not selectively manipulate, fabricate, remove, introduce, or obscure specific features of an image in a manner that could mislead readers.
For diagnostic, radiological, pathological, microscopic, photographic, or other scientific images:
adjustments to brightness or contrast may be acceptable when applied uniformly and appropriately;
any adjustment must not obscure, introduce, or misrepresent relevant findings;
selective enhancement or removal of specific features is not permitted when it changes the scientific interpretation;
image splicing or composite images must be clearly identified where applicable; and
original or minimally processed image data should be retained by the authors.
The Editorial Office may request original images, raw files, DICOM files, source data, or analytical materials when necessary to assess image or data integrity.
NICS considers plagiarism, duplicate publication, and inappropriate redundant publication to be serious violations of publication ethics.
Plagiarism includes presenting another person's ideas, words, data, figures, or other intellectual material as one's own without appropriate attribution.
Manuscripts may be screened using plagiarism-detection or text-similarity software.
The journal may also investigate:
substantial overlap with previously published work;
duplicate submission;
salami publication;
inappropriate reuse of previously published data;
undisclosed translations or republication; and
inappropriate self-plagiarism.
Legitimate reuse of previously published material must be transparently disclosed and appropriately cited.
Authors must cite relevant sources accurately and appropriately.
Citation manipulation is not permitted.
Authors, reviewers, and editors must not request citations solely to increase citation counts, journal metrics, author metrics, or the visibility of a particular publication.
References should directly support the statements for which they are cited.
Fabricated, inaccurate, or unverifiable references are considered research-integrity concerns.
NICS uses a double-blind peer-review process as described in the journal's Peer Review Policy.
Reviewers must:
maintain confidentiality;
provide objective and constructive evaluations;
disclose relevant conflicts of interest;
assess manuscripts independently;
avoid using unpublished information for personal or professional advantage; and
identify potential ethical or methodological concerns when appropriate.
Reviewers must not contact authors directly about a manuscript under review unless authorized by the Editorial Office.
Reviewers must not use submitted manuscripts or confidential information obtained through peer review for personal research, competitive purposes, or other unauthorized activities.
Reviewers must not upload confidential manuscripts, reviewer reports, or other unpublished material into generative AI systems when doing so could compromise confidentiality, intellectual property, or privacy.
If AI-assisted technologies are permitted for limited administrative or language-support purposes, reviewers remain fully responsible for the content, confidentiality, and scientific judgment of their review.
Editorial decisions should be based on the scientific, methodological, ethical, and editorial merits of a manuscript.
Editorial decisions must not be influenced by:
commercial interests;
advertising;
sponsorship;
political considerations;
personal relationships;
institutional pressure;
authors' nationality, gender, ethnicity, religion, or institutional affiliation; or
the potential commercial value of a manuscript.
Editors must disclose and manage conflicts of interest and should recuse themselves from manuscripts where they have a significant competing interest.
The Editor-in-Chief retains ultimate editorial responsibility for the journal while ensuring that editorial decisions are made independently of commercial considerations.
NICS provides mechanisms for authors, reviewers, readers, and other stakeholders to raise legitimate concerns regarding the journal, its editorial processes, publication ethics, or published content.
Complaints should be submitted to the Editorial Office and should provide sufficient information to allow the concern to be evaluated.
Authors may appeal an editorial decision when they believe that a significant factual, methodological, or procedural error materially affected the decision.
Appeals should provide a clear, evidence-based explanation addressing the relevant editorial or reviewer concerns.
The journal may seek an independent editorial assessment when appropriate.
Complaints and appeals will be handled as confidentially and impartially as reasonably possible.
NICS investigates credible allegations of research or publication misconduct both before and after publication.
Potential misconduct includes, but is not limited to:
fabrication of data;
falsification of data;
plagiarism;
duplicate or redundant publication;
inappropriate authorship;
undisclosed conflicts of interest;
citation manipulation;
unethical research;
inappropriate image manipulation;
peer-review manipulation;
manipulation of editorial processes;
misuse of confidential information; and
other practices that compromise the integrity of the scientific record.
When appropriate, the journal may request additional information or documentation from authors, institutions, ethics committees, funding bodies, or other relevant parties.
The journal may also notify an author's institution or relevant authority when circumstances warrant such action.
The editorial process will follow applicable COPE guidance when investigating suspected misconduct.
NICS is committed to maintaining the integrity and reliability of the published scientific record.
A correction may be published when a limited error is identified that does not invalidate the overall findings or conclusions of the article.
Corrections may address substantive factual, methodological, authorship, or production errors where appropriate.
An article may be retracted when there is clear evidence that its findings are unreliable or invalid, including circumstances involving serious research misconduct, major errors, plagiarism, duplicate publication, or unethical research.
Retraction notices should clearly identify the affected article and explain the reason for retraction.
The original article and retraction notice should remain appropriately linked to preserve the integrity and transparency of the scholarly record.
An Expression of Concern may be published when credible concerns exist regarding the reliability, integrity, or ethical status of a published article but the available evidence is insufficient to justify immediate correction or retraction, or when an investigation remains ongoing.
Post-publication actions will be determined according to the nature and reliability of the available evidence and relevant COPE guidance.
COPE guidance distinguishes corrections from retractions according to whether the overall reliability of the publication remains intact; retraction is generally appropriate when the findings are unreliable, whereas a correction may be appropriate for a limited error in an otherwise reliable publication.
NICS supports responsible post-publication discussion of published research.
Readers and researchers may raise substantive concerns regarding published articles through appropriate channels provided by the journal.
Post-publication concerns may lead to editorial review and, where appropriate, publication of a correction, clarification, Expression of Concern, or retraction.
The purpose of post-publication review is to improve transparency and protect the integrity of the scientific record.
Copyright, publishing rights, and licensing arrangements are described in the journal's Open Access and Copyright Policy.
Authors are responsible for obtaining appropriate permission for copyrighted material reproduced in their manuscripts.
The use of third-party material must comply with applicable copyright and licensing requirements.
NICS publishes accepted articles under the licensing terms specified by the journal.
NICS recognizes the increasing use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in scholarly communication.
Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and scientific validity of all submitted and published content, regardless of whether AI-assisted technologies were used.
AI systems cannot be listed as authors because they cannot assume responsibility for the work.
Authors should disclose the use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies in manuscript preparation when such use goes beyond routine spelling, grammar, or punctuation correction.
The disclosure should identify:
the AI tool or service;
the model or version, where available;
the purpose of its use; and
the relevant stage of manuscript preparation.
AI tools must not be used to fabricate or falsify data, manipulate research results, generate misleading references, or otherwise compromise research integrity.
Authors must review and verify all AI-assisted output and remain responsible for its accuracy and originality.
The use of AI does not replace the requirement for appropriate citation, attribution, disclosure, and human scientific judgment.
NICS may update this policy as AI technologies and relevant international publishing standards evolve.
Scopus currently recommends that journals maintain a dedicated and transparent GenAI policy.
Manuscripts, reviewer reports, editorial correspondence, unpublished data, and other materials submitted to NICS must be treated as confidential during the editorial and peer-review process.
Editors, reviewers, and editorial staff must not disclose confidential information obtained through the submission or review process except where disclosure is necessary for legitimate editorial, ethical, or legal reasons.
Personal and sensitive information must be handled in accordance with applicable privacy and data-protection requirements.
Advertising, sponsorship, publication fees, or other commercial relationships must not influence editorial decisions.
Where advertising is used, it should be clearly distinguishable from editorial content.
Advertisers and commercial sponsors must not have control over editorial selection, peer review, acceptance decisions, or publication content.
NICS periodically reviews its publication ethics and malpractice policies to ensure continued alignment with recognized international standards and developments in scholarly publishing.
The journal may update this policy when relevant guidance from COPE, ICMJE, WAME, major publishers, regulatory authorities, or other recognized organizations changes.
The most current version of this policy will be made publicly available on the NICS website.
