Ethical Guidelines

1) Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

1.1 Originality and Proper Citation

Authors must submit original work and properly cite all sources. Any reused text, ideas, tables, figures, or instruments must be clearly acknowledged with appropriate citations and permissions when required.

1.2 Authorship and Contribution

Authorship must reflect substantial contributions. All authors must approve the final manuscript and agree to be accountable for their contributions. Any authorship changes after submission require written agreement from all authors and editorial approval.

1.3 Research Ethics (Human Studies)

For research involving human participants, authors must:

  • provide ethics approval information (committee/institution, approval number/date) when applicable

  • describe informed consent procedures

  • protect participant privacy and confidentiality
    For clinical photographs or case details, identifiable information must be removed and consent obtained when required.

1.4 Data Integrity and Transparency

Authors must not fabricate, falsify, or manipulate data inappropriately. Authors should retain data/materials and provide them for verification if requested by the editors. A Data Availability Statement is encouraged.

1.5 Conflicts of Interest and Funding

Authors must disclose financial and non-financial conflicts of interest and clearly state funding sources and the role of funders (or state “no funding”).

1.6 Use of AI/Automated Tools

If AI tools are used (e.g., language editing, summarization), authors must disclose how they were used. AI tools cannot be listed as authors. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and ethical compliance of the manuscript.

2) Ethical Responsibilities of Editors

2.1 Fair and Unbiased Decisions

Editors evaluate manuscripts based on academic merit, methodological quality, relevance to scope, and ethical compliance—without discrimination.

2.2 Confidentiality

Editors must keep all submissions, reviewer reports, and editorial communications confidential.

2.3 Conflict of Interest

Editors must avoid handling manuscripts where a conflict exists (e.g., same institution, recent collaboration, personal relationship, financial interest). Another editor will be assigned.

2.4 Handling Misconduct

Editors will act on suspected misconduct (plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication, authorship disputes) through a documented, fair, and confidential procedure.

3) Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must:

  • provide objective, constructive, and timely feedback

  • treat the manuscript as confidential and not share it with others

  • disclose conflicts of interest and decline review when conflicts exist

  • not use information from the manuscript for personal or professional advantage

  • report ethical concerns (e.g., plagiarism, duplicate publication, data issues) to the editor

4) Publication Integrity and Post-Publication Actions

To maintain the integrity of the scholarly record, CSNJ may publish:

  • Corrections for honest errors

  • Retractions for major errors or confirmed misconduct

  • Expressions of Concern when serious concerns exist and investigation is ongoing

Notices will be linked to the original article and clearly describe the reasons for the action.

5) Complaints and Appeals

CSNJ provides a procedure for:

  • appeals of editorial decisions, and

  • complaints regarding editorial process, peer review integrity, or publication ethics.
    All cases will be handled fairly, confidentially, and transparently.