Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The Journal of Research & Innovation in Health (RIIS) adheres to the principles and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME). This statement applies to authors, reviewers, editorial team members and the publisher.

1. Editorial independence

Editorial decisions are based solely on the scientific merit of the manuscript, its fit with the aims and scope of the journal and its compliance with ethical and methodological standards. No decision is influenced by the nationality, institutional affiliation, gender, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs of the authors, nor by commercial interests of the publisher.

2. Author responsibilities

Originality: the manuscript is original, has not been previously published and is not under simultaneous consideration elsewhere.
Authorship (ICMJE criteria): authorship requires all four criteria to be met: substantial contribution to the conception or design of the work, or to the acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data; drafting or critically revising the intellectual content; approval of the final version; accountability for all aspects of the work. Contributors who do not meet all four criteria must be listed in the Acknowledgements.
Changes in authorship: any change in the order, addition or removal of authors after submission requires a written request signed by all authors, including the person affected, with a justification. After publication, the correction procedure applies.
Conflicts of interest: all authors must disclose, at submission, any financial or non-financial relationships that could influence the work. The absence of conflicts must likewise be declared.
Funding: all funding sources and the role of the funder in the design, conduct, analysis and decision to publish must be stated.
Data integrity: authors warrant the accuracy of the data presented and undertake to make it available to the journal on request. Fabrication, falsification or selective manipulation of data or images constitutes serious misconduct.
Errors: upon identifying a significant error in published work, authors must promptly notify the journal and cooperate in issuing a correction or retraction.

3. Research involving humans and animals

Studies involving human participants must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki and must state, in the methods section, the ethics committee that approved the protocol and the corresponding approval number. A statement confirming informed consent and, where applicable, consent for publication of identifiable data or images is mandatory. Animal studies must declare compliance with applicable national and European legislation. Prospective registration of clinical trials and registration of systematic review protocols in PROSPERO are strongly encouraged.

4. Plagiarism and redundant publication

All manuscripts are screened with similarity detection software (Turnitin) before peer review. High similarity indices or substantive textual overlap with uncited sources are assessed case by case by the editorial team. Where plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate publication or undue fragmentation of results is confirmed, the manuscript is rejected and, if already published, retracted, with notification to the authors' institutions.

5. Reviewer responsibilities

Maintain strict confidentiality of the manuscript and neither use, disclose nor reproduce it by any means.
Declare conflicts of interest and decline the review whenever a personal, institutional, financial or competing relationship exists with the authors or the subject of the study.
Provide objective, evidence-based and constructive reports, free from personal criticism.
Alert the editor to substantial overlap with published work or to suspected misconduct.

6. Editor responsibilities

Ensure the confidentiality of manuscripts, authors and reviewers throughout the process.
Decide on merit, ensuring at least two independent reviews per manuscript.
Refrain from handling manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest.
Investigate all allegations of misconduct, including those concerning published articles, and act in accordance with COPE flowcharts.

7. Submissions by editorial team members

Manuscripts submitted by members of the editorial team, the Editorial Board, or by authors affiliated with the publisher are handled by an independent editor, with the author's access to the editorial workflow blocked on the platform. Such manuscripts are subject to the same assessment criteria, without preferential treatment.

8. Misconduct: procedure and sanctions

Any allegation of misconduct may be reported to riis@essnortecvp.pt. The journal acknowledges receipt within 10 working days, seeks clarification from the authors, assesses the evidence and applies the relevant COPE flowchart. Measures may include correction, expression of concern, retraction, rejection of the manuscript, notification of the authors' institutions and a ban on future submissions. The identity of the person reporting the concern is treated confidentially.

9. Artificial intelligence

The use of generative artificial intelligence tools is governed by the Generative Artificial Intelligence Policy.

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement