Scientific Misconduct

We take all possible measures as per the COPE instructions to avoid misconduct. Articles submitted to the journal are first internally evaluated by the editorial team and if any such article appears for which the editors have a concern, that the submitted paper has material that is indicative of misconduct in research, publication and that may affect the journal policies on ethical grounds. The assigned editor is recommended to discuss the case with the board members and other associates of the ethical committee upon the Chief Editor’s recommendation. Even after discussion within the team and also with the author, if the issue is not resolved and the author fails to justify it. It may result in the rejection of the specific manuscript.

At any instance, during the review process, if the reviewer finds out regarding data fabrication, duplicate publication, or ethical concerns regarding a manuscript may it be regarding the ethical approval or patient consent, etc., it will be directed by the reviewer to the handling Editor. The case will be investigated by the handling Editor. If the claim proves appropriate and no satisfactory explanation is received from the authors, the manuscript will be rejected immediately without any further notice.

Data Fabrication, Falsification & Retraction: It includes data fabrication; data falsification, deceptive manipulation of images; and plagiarism. When scientific misconduct is suspected or concerns are raised about the integrity of work described in submitted or published papers, the editor initiates appropriate procedures according to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines. The procedure involves an investigation of the authors. If then scientific misconduct is proven through the investigation, the retraction process is followed.  Expressions of concern and retracted articles would prominently be labeled in all its forms (abstract, full text, PDF).  Retracted articles would remain in the public domain. The validity of previous work by the author of a fraudulent paper cannot be assumed.

Citation Manipulation: Behaviors intended to inflate the number of citations for personal gain, for instance, self-citation, excessive citation of articles from the journal in which the author is publishing a research article, and honorary citations are considered manipulative citations, which are investigated as per the COPE guidelines. Submitted manuscripts that are found to include citations whose primary purpose is to increase the number of citations to a given author’s work or to articles published in a particular journal, will incur a citation manipulation penalty.

Improper Author Contribution or Attribution: We expect that the corresponding author mentions the names of all other authors and contributors in the manuscript and if not so by the time of acceptance the final copy-proof is circulated between all the co-authors. So, those who made a contribution to the study are listed appropriately, and also the authorship sequence is re-checked to avoid all sorts of errors.   

Redundant Publications: To increase the publication number, authors tend to divide the study results into several small segments, which are then used in various studies. However, in case of vast data and several parameters being adopted that cannot be summarized in one paper, then such activity can be justifiable, but the study demographics are still considered to be plagiarized, and such results are not publishable. Pakistan Heart Journal strictly discourages redundant publications.

Penalty: For any of the proven misconducts, the Pakistan Heart Journal immediately rejects or retracts the article. 

Complaints & Appeals: Although Pakistan Heart Journal does not place appeals to high priority, we do respect your opinion and a valuable appeal may lead to reconsideration. Complaints & Appeal regarding editorial decision and/or against Journal Competence (rejection; time taken to review & researcher's author's, or reviewer's conduct) must be registered via email at pakheartj@gmail.com describing your concerns, which will be further investigated as per the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Guidelines and will be discussed in the editorial board meeting.