Human and Animal Research Ethics

JOECSA mandates that all research involving human participants, human tissues, or medical records must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki and relevant national and institutional ethical guidelines. hsls.libguides+1

Authors must provide documented evidence of Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Committee approval (including the approval number and name of the approving body) in the manuscript's Methods section. For retrospective studies using de-identified data, authors must confirm that the IRB waived the need for informed consent or that the study was exempt from review. hsls.libguides+1

Informed consent must be obtained from all human participants (or their legal guardians) prior to enrollment, unless waived by the IRB for minimal-risk retrospective studies. Authors must state in the manuscript whether informed consent was obtained and, if applicable, include a statement confirming that patient identities are protected (e.g., through anonymization or de-identification). hsls.libguides+1

For animal studies, authors must confirm compliance with the ARRIVE guidelines and relevant institutional or national animal care and use committee approvals. Manuscripts must include details on ethical approval, housing conditions, anesthesia, euthanasia methods, and efforts to minimize animal suffering. hsls.libguides+1

Manuscripts lacking appropriate ethical approval or consent statements will be rejected or returned to authors for clarification. Post-publication discovery of ethical violations may result in retraction in accordance with COPE guidelines. hsls.libguides+2

This policy ensures JOECSA's alignment with PMC, COPE, and international standards for ethical research conduct. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih+2