Nepalese Heart Journal

Editors’ responsibilities

1. Editors should be responsible for everything published in their journals.
2. Editors’ decisions to accept or reject a paper for publication should be based only on the paper’s importance, originality, and clarity, and the study’s relevance to the remit of the journal.
3. Editors have complete responsibility and authority to reject/accept and ask for modification of an article.
4. Editors should have no conflict of interest with respect to articles they reject/accept.
5. Editors should accept a paper when reasonably certain.
6. Editors should preserve anonymity of reviewers.
7. Editors should strive to meet the needs of readers and authors.
8. Editors should constantly work to improve the journal.
9. Editors should ensure the quality of the material they publish.
10. Editors should respect the freedom of expression.
11. Editors should maintain the integrity of the academic record. Editors should preclude business needs from compromising intellectual standards.
12. Editors should always be willing to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies when needed.
13. Editors should act in a balanced, objective and fair way while carrying out their expected duties, without discrimination on grounds of gender, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs, ethnic or geographical origin of the authors.
14. Editors should handle submissions for sponsored supplements or special issues in the same way as other submissions, so that articles are considered and accepted solely on their academic merit and without commercial influence.
15. Editors should adopt and follow reasonable procedures in the event of complaints of an ethical or conflict nature, in accordance with the policies and procedures of the journal where appropriate.
16. Editors should give authors a reasonable opportunity to respond to any complaints. All complaints should be investigated no matter when the original publication was approved.
17. Editors should retain document associated with any such complaints. Editors should inform readers about who has funded research and on the role of the funders in the research.
18. Editors should take all reasonable steps to ensure the quality of the material they publish, recognizing that journals and sections within journals will have different aims and standards. A description of peer review processes should be published, and Editors should be ready to justify any important deviation from the described processes. Journals should have a declared mechanism for authors to appeal against Editorial decisions.
19. Editors should publish guidance to authors on everything that is expected of them. This guidance should be regularly updated and should refer or link to this code.
20. Editors should not reverse decisions to accept submissions unless serious problems are identified with the submission. Editors should publish guidance to reviewers on everything that is expected of them. This guidance should be regularly updated and should refer or link to this code.
21. Editors should have systems to ensure that material submitted to their journal remains confidential while under review.

Reviewers’ responsibilities

1. Reviewer should contribute to the decision-making process, and to assist in improving the quality of the published paper by reviewing the manuscript objectively, in a timely manner.
2. Reviewer should maintain the confidentiality of any information supplied by the editor or author.
3. Reviewer should not retain or copy the manuscript.
4. Reviewer should alert the editor to any published or submitted content that is substantially similar to that under review.
5. Reviewer should be aware of any potential conflicts of interest (financial, institutional, collaborative or other relationships between the reviewer and author) and to alert the editor to these, if necessary withdrawing their services for that manuscript.
6. Reviewer judgments should be objective.
7. Reviewers should point out relevant published work which is not yet cited.

Authors’ responsibilities

1. Author should maintain accurate records of data associated with their submitted manuscript, and to supply or provide access to these data, on reasonable request. Where appropriate and where allowed by employer, funding body and others who might have an interest, to deposit data in a suitable repository or storage location, for sharing and further use by others.
2. Author should confirm that the manuscript as submitted is not under consideration or accepted for publication elsewhere. Where portions of the content overlap with published or submitted content, to acknowledge and cite those sources. Additionally, to provide the editor with a copy of any submitted manuscript that might contain overlapping or closely related content.
3. Author should confirm that all the work in the submitted manuscript is original and to acknowledge and cite content reproduced from other sources.
4. Author should obtain permission to reproduce any content from other sources.
5. Authors should ensure that any studies involving human or animal subjects conform to national, local and institutional laws and requirements (e.g. WMA Declaration of Helsinki, NIH Policy on Use of laboratory Animals, EU Directive on Use of Animals) and confirm that approval has been sought and obtained where appropriate.
6. Authors should obtain express permission from human subjects and respect their privacy.
7. Author should declare any potential conflicts of interest (e.g. where the author has a competing interest (real or apparent) that could be considered or viewed as exerting an undue influence on his or her duties at any stage during the publication process).
8. Author should notify promptly the journal editor or publisher if a significant error in their publication is identified. Authors are obliged to participate in peer review process. All authors have significantly contributed to the research.
9. Authors are obliged to provide retractions or corrections of mistakes.

Society responsibilities

Cardiac Society of Nepal shall ensure that good practice is maintained to the standards outlined above. Cardiac Society of Nepal will provide assurance that they subscribe to the principles outlined in ethical standard guideline, or to substantially similar principles, either adopting these formally or producing their own for the attention of their editors and editorial boards.