Science evolves and is continuously updated by scientifically sound publications. They guide interventions and nurture further research. These publications are increasingly considered as measures or metrics of scholarly performance leading to academic achievement, promotion of designation status, and rewards such as increase in income/payor grant of funds. Such assessment can increase the pressure on clinicians/researchers to utilize untoward manipulation leading to hoax research content. Such hoax research content can lead to wastage of resources spent further on management and research. Ethical issues arising in the publication can be intentional due to the benefits or accidental due to ignorance. Neither of these deems to be a substantial reason for excuse. Similarly, breakthrough research findings or content of great benefit to the society should be made available to the public and research communities the earliest for the greatest benefit.
Study design and ethical approval Definition Good research should be well justified, well planned, appropriately designed, and ethically approved. To conduct research to a lower standard may constitute misconduct.
Action
(1) Laboratory and clinical research should be driven by protocol; pilot studies should have a written rationale.
(2) Research protocols should seek to answer specific questions, rather than just collect data.
(3) Protocols must be carefully agreed by all contributors and collaborators, including, if appropriate, the participants.
(4) The final protocol should form part of the research record.
(5) Early agreement on the precise roles of the contributors and collaborators, and on matters of authorship and publication, is advised.
(6) Statistical issues should be considered early in study design, including power calculations, to ensure there are neither too few nor too many participants.
(7) Formal and documented ethical approval from an appropriately constituted research ethics committee is required for all studies involving people, medical records, and anonymized human tissues.
(8) Use of human tissues in research should conform to the highest ethical standards, such as those recommended by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics.
(9) Fully informed consent should always be sought. It may not always be possible, however, and in such circumstances, an appropriately constituted research ethics committee should decide if this is ethically acceptable.
(10) When participants are unable to give fully informed consent, research should follow international guidelines, such as those of the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS).
(11) Animal experiments require full compliance with local, national, ethical, and regulatory principles, and local licensing arrangements. International standards vary.
(12) Formal supervision, usually the responsibility of the principal investigator, should be provided for all research projects: this must include quality control, and the frequent review and long-term retention (may be up to 15 years) of all records and primary outputs.
Prerequisites for Publication:
Authorship: The Editors of the of Al - Azhar University Journal for Virus Research and Studies adhere to recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors [http://www.icmje.org] regarding criteria for authorship.
Accordingly, each person listed as an author or coauthor for a submitted report (excepting Review Articles) must meet all three criteria. An author or coauthor shall have:
Conceived, planned, and performed the work leading to the report, or interpreted the evidence presented, or both;
Written the report or reviewed successive versions and participated in their revision;
Approved the final version.
Meeting these criteria should provide each author with sufficient knowledge of and participation in the work to allow him or her to accept public responsibility for the report.
Certification: This Certification Form should be signed and submitted with the manuscript. The senior or corresponding author is requested to certify that all listed authors qualify for authorship according to the above three criteria. The author(s) should also certify that: no part of the work described has been published before [except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, thesis, or dissertation.
(appropriately cited)]; that the work is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. If the work was written by an employee within the duration of his or her employment (as “work – made for hire” in the course of employment), the work is owned by the employer. Both the employee and an authorized representative of the employer must sign the Agreement.
Animal and Human Research: Research involving humans must be carried out in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee (institutional or regional) or with the Helsinki Declaration. Studies involving animal experimentation must include a statement of compliance with the guidelines of the author’s institution or the National Research Council’s criteria (NIH No. 86-23).
Conflict of Interest: All authors must disclose any financial or personal relationships that may pose conflict of interest. All disclosures should be inserted by the author in the “Conflict of interest”, which should be placed in a separate section before the reference list. If no conflict of interest is declared, then “None” should be inserted in this section. %20(1)%20(1).png)
Al - Azhar University Center for Virus Studies and Research. Editor-in-Chief: Laila Abou Ghazala.
ISSN: 1687-4218.