Research & Publication Ethics

The International Journal of Physical Therapy Research & Practice (IJOPRP) is committed to upholding the highest standards of ethics in both research and publication. Our policies follow the principles outlined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the World Medical Association’s Declaration of Helsinki, the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS) guidelines, and the World Health Organization (WHO) trial registration standards.

1.     Research Ethics

Human Research

  • Studies involving human participants must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki and receive prior approval from an accredited ethics review board.
  • Informed consent must be obtained from all participants and clearly documented in the manuscript.
  • Patient confidentiality and data privacy must always be maintained.

Clinical Trials

  • All clinical trials must be registered in a WHO-recognized trial registry (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov).
  • Reporting must follow recognized standards such as CONSORT.

Animal Research

  • Studies involving animals must comply with international and institutional ethical guidelines.
  • Authors must provide details of approval from the relevant ethics committee.

Vulnerable Populations

  • Research involving children, persons with disabilities, or other vulnerable groups must follow CIOMS International Guidelines, ensuring additional protections.

2.     Publication Ethics

Authorship & Contributorship

  • Authorship should be based on substantial intellectual contributions in line with ICMJE criteria(conception/design, data acquisition, data analysis/interpretation, manuscript drafting/revision, and final approval).
  • All authors must approve the submitted version and agree to be accountable for the work.
  • Contributions not meeting authorship criteria should be acknowledged.

Conflict of Interest

  • Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose all financial and non-financial conflicts of interest using the ICMJE Uniform Disclosure Form.

Integrity of Scholary Record

  • IJOPTRP strictly prohibits plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, duplicate or redundant submission, and inappropriate image manipulation.
  • Editors will act in accordance with COPE Core Practices to investigate suspected misconduct.

Peer Review

  • Manuscripts undergo double-blind peer review.
  • Reviewers are expected to provide fair, constructive, and unbiased evaluations, maintain confidentiality, and declare conflicts of interest.

Editorial Independence

Editorial Process

  • Editorial decisions are made solely on academic merit, originality, and relevance to the scope of physical therapy research and practice.
  • Commercial or institutional influence will not affect editorial outcomes.

Correction & Retraction

  • In cases of confirmed errors, research misconduct, or ethical violations, IJOPTRP will publish corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions following COPE guidelines.

3.     Data Sharing & Transparency

  • Authors must provide accurate and transparent reporting of methods and results.
  • Where appropriate, data, protocols, and analysis codes should be made available for verification and reproducibility.
  • IJOPTRP encourages open data practices in line with ICMJE recommendations.

References

  1. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals. Updated 2024. Available from: http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/
  2. World Medical Association. Declaration of Helsinki: Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects. JAMA. 2013;310(20):2191–2194. Available from: https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medical-research-involving-human-subjects/
  3. Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). COPE Core Practices. Available from: https://publicationethics.org/core-practices
  4. World Health Organization (WHO). International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP). Available from: https://www.who.int/clinical-trials-registry-platform
  5. Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS). International Ethical Guidelines for Health-related Research Involving Humans. 2016. Available from: https://cioms.ch/publications/product/international-ethical-guidelines-for-health-related-research-involving-humans/