EPIDEMIOLOGY AND HEALTH DATA INSIGHTS

Publication Ethics

Epidemiology & Health Data Insights (eISSN 3080-8111) is a medical journal that operates on a double-blind review system and follows the highest ethical standards in publishing. The journal takes all necessary measures to prevent publication misconduct. All parties involved in the publishing process, including the publisher, editorial staff, peer reviewers, and authors, are required to adhere to our guidelines and standards in order to ensure the highest quality of research.

We strictly follow the principles outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (http://publicationethics.org/resources/guidelines), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (www.icmje.org), and the World Association of Medical Editors (www.wame.org).

Authorship and Contributorship

Epidemiology & Health Data Insights adheres to the authorship guidelines established by ICMJE (https://www.icmje.org/). Authorship should only be attributed to individuals who made a substantial contribution to the conception, data collection, study design, analysis, interpretation, or writing of the manuscript. Those who made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. All authors must be actively involved in manuscript development and revision, as well as the final approval of the manuscript, and thus accept responsibility for all aspects of the work. Contributions such as financial support, technical assistance, or other contributions from non-authors, these should be acknowledged in the acknowledgments section.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest

All authors of manuscripts submitted to Epidemiology & Health Data Insights are required to declare any competing interests that may be relevant to their research. These may  include financial, commercial, legal, or professional connections with other organizations or individuals that could influence the research or the interpretation of its findings. A Conflict of Interest form must be completed by all authors. When the article is published, the competing interests will be disclosed in the "Disclosure" section positioned before the reference list.

Funding

Epidemiology & Health Data Insights requires authors to report any funding sources, including financial support received for their research.  Authors are expected to describe the role of any sponsors, if applicable, throughout the research process, from study design to manuscript submission for publication.

Informed consent

It is critical to obtain necessary consents and permissions from the participants in a study in order to ensure compliance with relevant legislation and guidelines.  This consent is required in order to obtain and use personal information about the participants. For individuals unable to provide informed consent independently—such as children, adolescents, or vulnerable populations —written consent must be obtained from a parent or legal guardian. However, signed consent forms should not be submitted to the journal. Instead, authors must include a statement confirming that informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Confidentiality

Protecting the confidentiality of research data is essential, and such information should never be used without explicit permission. Researchers should take all necessary measures to protect the participants' privacy  and prevent any potential risks. Any identifying details related to participants should be removed from manuscripts.

Plagiarism and malpractice

Plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate or multiple publications, fabrication, copyright infringement, fraud, and other unethical practices are prohibited for authors.

Authors should ensure that their submitted manuscripts are original works that comply with ethical standards and applicable laws.

All submissions undergo screening via iThenticate to prevent plagiarism in any form. Plagiarism is unacceptable and constitutes unethical behavior in publishing.

Multiple Submissions

The Epidemiology & Health Data Insights adheres to the principle of single submission policy,allowing manuscripts to be submitted to only one journal at a time.  Resubmissions to other journals are prohibited until a written rejection notice is received. Submitting the same manuscript simultaneously to multiple journals is not allowed.

Data sharing and reproducibility

Articles should include information about whether study data will be accessible to readers, including details about the availability of study procedures and other relevant information will be made available. It should also clarify the timeframe, duration, and under what conditions the data will be accessible. Mendeley Data can be used to share and provide related information.

Complaints and appeals

When selecting articles for publication and handling editorial procedures, editors have significant discretion. Their final selections are based on various factors, such as the significance of the research question, the quality of the presentation, and diversity. If authors have any complaints or appeals regarding the editorial process or decisions, they can direct them to info@australasia.io providing details of the issue and supporting documents. These will be reviewed in accordance with relevant COPE policies and procedures. 

Ethical oversight

All individuals and organisations involved in the publishing process, including editors, reviewers, authors, and publishers, must adhere to strict ethical guidelines and act in accordance with the following COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) statement: "Ethical oversight should include policies on consent to publication, ethical research on vulnerable populations and animals, ethical research involving human subjects, confidential data handling, and ethical marketing practices."

Intellectual property

Authors should avoid using copyrighted materials in their submitted manuscripts. If such materials are necessary, authors must obtain explicit permission from the copyright holder in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. This permission should be secured under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution License.

Post-publication corrections and retractions

Epidemiology & Health Data Insights strives to ensure that all published articles adhere to the Recommendations for Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publishing of Scholarly Work by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) as well as the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

When such errors are identified, regardless of their cause or origin, they are corrected by posting a notice explaining the changes made to the original publication. Significant errors that undermine the findings and conclusions of the study may result in article retraction. The journal has the right to retract an article if it is found to have serious misconduct, such as plagiarism. In these circumstances, the journal will take appropriate actions in accordance with the ethical standards and  COPE guidelines. 

We aim to maintain the integrity of our academic record and ensure that any inaccurate, misleading, or distorted reports are promptly corrected and prominently acknowledged. In cases where an article is found to be fraudulent, it will be retracted and clearly marked for readers and indexing systems.

Corrections

Errors in published papers may be corrected in the form of a correction or erratum, when the Editor-in-Chief deems it appropriate to notify the journal's readers about a previous mistake and makes a change to the error in the published article. The correction or erratum will be published as a separate article in the journal and will clearly reference the original publication.

Retractions

Retractions are implemented when there are significant errors in an article that invalidates the conclusions. They also occur in cases of publication misconduct, such as plagiarism, duplicate publication, or unethical research.

Epidemiology & Health Data Insights follows best industry practices and COPE guidelines to implement the following procedure if a retraction is confirmed:

1. A retraction notice titled "Retraction: [Article title]" signed by the authors and/or editor is published in a subsequent issue of the journal and included in the table of contents.

2. In the electronic version, there is a link to the original article.

3. The online article is preceded by a screen with a retraction note. This is where the link takes the reader; they can then proceed to the actual article.

4. The original article remains unchanged, except for a watermark in the PDF that indicates on each page that it has been retracted.

Editorial expressions of concern

In cases where significant concerns arise regarding the honesty or integrity of a submitted or published article, the journal's editors may consider issuing a statement of concern. These statements should only be considered if an investigation into the issues related to the article has been inconclusive, and if there is substantial evidence that the concerns raised are valid. In some rare cases, an expression of concern may be issued during an ongoing investigation, even if no final decision has been made.

The statement of concern will be directly linked to the published article in question.

Chatbots, Generative AI, and Scholarly Manuscripts

Epidemiology & Health Data Insights follows the Recommendations on Chatbots and Generative Artificial Intelligence in Relation to Scholarly Publications set by WAME.

At Epidemiology & Health Data Insights, transparency and research integrity are of paramount importance. As such, the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including chatbots (e.g., ChatGPT, Bard), must follow the standards outlined below:

Permissible Use

Authors may use generative AI tools for non-intellectual tasks only, such as:

  • Language editing or improving readability
  • Formatting references
  • Generating summaries of publicly available information (e.g., abstracts)

Prohibited Use

Generative AI tools must not be used for:

  • Data analysis or interpretation of research findings
  • Generating novel hypotheses without author oversight
  • Creating content that constitutes a substantial portion of the manuscript (e.g., entire sections)
  • Writing systematic reviews or clinical guidelines without critical human synthesis

Accountability

  • AI tools cannot be listed as authors.
  • Authors are fully responsible for all content, including that generated with the assistance of AI tools.
  • Any use of AI must be disclosed in the Acknowledgements or Methods section, specifying:

            “This manuscript used [Tool Name] (version, developer) for [brief purpose].”

Verification

The editorial team reserves the right to request detailed explanations of how AI tools were used during manuscript preparation. Manuscripts with undisclosed or inappropriate AI use may be rejected or retracted.