Allegations of Research Misconduct

JBM takes allegations of research misconduct seriously and handles them in line with the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

1. Scope 

Misconduct includes data fabrication or falsification, plagiarism, duplicate or redundant publication, authorship manipulation, undisclosed conflicts of interest, unethical research involving human subjects, manipulation of peer review, and citation manipulation.

2. Raising a concern 

Concerns about submitted or published articles may be sent to the editorial office at [email address]. Please include the article title, the nature of the concern, and supporting evidence. JBM treats the identity of the person raising a concern as confidential, as far as possible.

3. Procedure

  1. The Editor-in-Chief acknowledges the concern and makes an initial assessment of whether it falls within JBM's scope.
  2. The authors are informed and given the opportunity to respond in writing within a reasonable period.
  3. The editors may consult reviewers, editorial board members, or independent experts, and may request raw data or supporting documents.
  4. Where appropriate, the matter is referred to the authors' institution or other relevant body. JBM does not decide employment or disciplinary matters.
  5. Editorial processing of a submitted manuscript may be suspended during the investigation.

5. Outcomes

 Depending on the findings: no action, a request for clarification, a correction, an expression of concern, a retraction, rejection of the manuscript, and notification of the authors' institution. Decisions follow the Corrections, Retractions and Withdrawals policy. Allegations are investigated even if they are received years after publication.