Ethics Statement

Andean Journals is committed to the integrity of the scientific publication process and adopts the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). All authors, editors, and reviewers are expected to adhere to the highest ethical standards.

Ethical Considerations for Authors

1. Originality, Plagiarism, and Simultaneous Submission. All submitted manuscripts must be original and must not have been previously published in any form. Every manuscript received is verified using plagiarism detection software. The acceptable similarity threshold is 10%, excluding references, standard methodologies, and appropriate citations. The following are considered infractions: direct plagiarism (verbatim copying without attribution), idea plagiarism (paraphrasing without acknowledging the source), self-plagiarism (substantial reuse of previously published work without proper reference), duplicate publication (same content submitted to multiple journals), and fragmented publication or salami slicing (artificial division of a single study into multiple articles). Simultaneous submission of the same manuscript to more than one journal is not accepted.

2. Authorship. Only those who meet all four criteria based on the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines should be listed as authors: substantial contribution to the conception or design of the work, or acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; participation in drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content; final approval of the version to be published; and agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors have read and approved the final version prior to submission.

3. Conflicts of Interest. Authors must disclose any financial, institutional, or personal conflict of interest that could influence the results or their interpretation, including research funding from entities with commercial interests, employment or consultancy related to the topic, ownership of shares or patents, and fees or compensation linked to the work. If no conflict exists, the following statement must be included: "The authors declare no conflict of interest".

4. Data Availability and Reproducibility. All articles published in Andean Journals must include a Data Availability Statement indicating where the data supporting the reported results can be found. This statement is mandatory even when no new data were generated or when data are unavailable due to privacy or ethical restrictions. Accepted statement examples:

5. Ethical Approval in Studies Involving Humans. Studies involving human participants must have approval from the relevant institutional ethics committee (IRB/IEC), informed consent from all participants, protection of identity and confidentiality, and compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Names, initials, or medical record numbers that could identify participants must not be included. The ethics approval number must be stated in the Materials and Methods section of the manuscript.

6. Animal Experimentation. Studies involving animals must have approval from the relevant institutional ethics committee (IACUC), follow the principles of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement), comply with the ARRIVE guidelines, and describe the measures taken to minimize animal suffering. The approval number must be stated in the Materials and Methods section.

7. Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence. The use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools in writing, analysis, or data generation must be explicitly declared in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript. The use of GenAI exclusively for spelling or grammar correction does not require declaration. GenAI tools cannot be listed as authors. Authors bear full responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of all content generated with the assistance of GenAI.

8. Image Manipulation. Images and figures may only be adjusted for brightness or contrast if the adjustment is applied uniformly across the entire image and is explicitly declared. The removal or addition of elements, selective manipulation that distorts results, and duplication of bands in gels or blots are not permitted.

Ethical Considerations for Editors

1. Impartiality. Editors must be fair and objective in their decisions and must not discriminate against authors on the basis of nationality, gender, institutional affiliation, or any other factor unrelated to the scientific quality of the work.

2. Confidentiality. Editors must keep all information regarding submitted manuscripts confidential and must not disclose any data to individuals outside the editorial process.

3. Conflict of Interest. Editors must recuse themselves from editorial decisions whenever a conflict of interest exists with the authors or the content of the manuscript.

4. Editorial Transparency. Editors must provide clear guidelines for authors regarding the submission, review, and decision process, and must act consistently in applying the journal's policies.

Ethical Considerations for Reviewers

1. Objectivity and Impartiality. Reviewers must provide an honest, constructive, and impartial evaluation of the manuscript. Personal biases must not influence the review.

2. Confidentiality. Reviewers must keep the content of the manuscript confidential and must not share any information with third parties without the editor's permission, nor cite the work prior to its official publication.

3. Timeliness. Reviewers must complete the review within the agreed deadline. If they are unable to do so, they must notify the editor in advance so that a timely solution can be arranged.

4. Expertise. Reviewers must notify the editor if they consider that they lack the necessary expertise to evaluate any section of the manuscript, indicating which aspects could not be assessed with sufficient depth.

5. Conflict of Interest. Reviewers must decline the review if any conflict of interest exists with the authors, the institution, or the content of the manuscript, including recent collaboration, shared institutional affiliation, financial conflict, or personal bias.

Infractions and Consequences

The author will be held responsible if any ethical violation is detected in the submission or in a published article. Serious infractions may result in:

To report an ethical concern: editorial.ajes@andeanjournals.org