Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

1. General Statement

Miracle Journal of Public Health (MJPH) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, transparency, accountability, and ethical conduct throughout the scholarly publication process. This Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement applies to all parties involved in the publication process, including the publisher, editors, editorial board members, reviewers, authors, and readers.

The journal follows the guidance and core practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing. The journal is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record and addressing allegations of research or publication misconduct fairly, confidentially, objectively, and in accordance with established ethical procedures.

Editorial decisions are based exclusively on the scholarly merit, originality, methodological quality, relevance to the journal’s aims and scope, clarity of presentation, and ethical integrity of the manuscript. Editorial decisions shall not be influenced by the authors’ nationality, ethnicity, race, gender, religion, political beliefs, institutional affiliation, disability, seniority, or other personal characteristics.

This policy applies to all research articles and other scholarly content published by Miracle Journal of Public Health, including articles published in regular issues, special issues, supplements, or other journal sections.

2. Editorial Independence

The publisher respects and protects the editorial independence of Miracle Journal of Public Health. The publisher shall not interfere with decisions concerning manuscript acceptance, rejection, revision, correction, expression of concern, or retraction.

The Editor-in-Chief has full authority over the editorial content of the journal and is responsible for ensuring that editorial decisions are made independently, objectively, and in accordance with the journal’s policies. Commercial considerations, institutional relationships, author fees, sponsorship, or advertising shall not influence editorial decisions.

The journal separates editorial evaluation from financial administration. The payment or waiver of an Article Processing Charge shall not influence whether a manuscript is accepted, rejected, or subjected to peer review.

3. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for ensuring the quality, integrity, and confidentiality of the editorial and peer-review process. Their responsibilities include:

conducting an initial assessment of submitted manuscripts to determine their relevance to the journal’s aims and scope, originality, methodological quality, ethical compliance, and adherence to the Author Guidelines;
ensuring that manuscripts passing the initial assessment are evaluated through a fair and objective peer-review process;
selecting reviewers who possess appropriate expertise and have no known conflicts of interest with the authors, institutions, research topic, or funding bodies;
ensuring that each research manuscript is reviewed by at least two independent reviewers who are not members of the manuscript’s author group and are not directly involved in the research;
maintaining the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts, reviewer identities, reviewer reports, editorial correspondence, and other privileged information;
evaluating manuscripts without discrimination based on the personal characteristics, institutional affiliation, nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender, political views, or professional status of the authors;
providing authors with editorial decisions supported by appropriate reasons and relevant reviewer comments;
protecting reviewers from inappropriate pressure or influence from authors, institutions, publishers, sponsors, or other parties;
identifying and managing potential conflicts of interest involving editors, reviewers, authors, or other parties;
taking appropriate action when concerns arise regarding plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, duplicate publication, authorship disputes, ethical approval, image manipulation, peer-review manipulation, citation manipulation, or other forms of misconduct;
maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record through corrections, expressions of concern, retractions, or other appropriate post-publication actions; and
providing authors and other parties with access to a fair complaints and appeals process.

An editor who has a personal, professional, academic, financial, or institutional conflict of interest concerning a submitted manuscript shall not participate in its evaluation or decision-making. The manuscript shall be assigned to another qualified editor who has no relevant conflict of interest.

When an editor or editorial board member submits a manuscript to the journal, that individual shall have no involvement in the peer-review process or final decision. The manuscript shall be handled independently by another editor, and this arrangement shall be disclosed in the published article where appropriate.

4. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Peer reviewers play an essential role in maintaining the scholarly quality and integrity of the journal. Reviewers are expected to:

evaluate manuscripts objectively, constructively, respectfully, and within the agreed period;
assess the originality, scientific relevance, methodological quality, validity of analysis, clarity of presentation, and appropriateness of conclusions;
provide clear and evidence-based recommendations to assist editors in reaching an informed decision and authors in improving their manuscripts;
maintain strict confidentiality and refrain from sharing, discussing, copying, storing, or distributing any part of the manuscript without editorial permission;
refrain from using unpublished data, ideas, methods, arguments, or other information obtained through peer review for personal, institutional, professional, or commercial advantage;
disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest before accepting a review assignment;
decline the review assignment if they lack sufficient expertise, cannot complete the review within the required period, or have a conflict of interest;
identify relevant published work that has not been appropriately cited;
notify the editor of suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication, data falsification, unethical research, image manipulation, citation manipulation, or other potential misconduct;
avoid personal criticism, discriminatory comments, offensive language, unsupported accusations, or requests for unnecessary citations; and
not delegate the review to another individual without prior written permission from the editor.

Reviewers must not contact authors directly concerning the manuscript. All communication related to the peer-review process must be conducted through the journal’s editorial system or editorial office.

5. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and ethical compliance of their submitted work. Authors must:

submit original work that has not been previously published and is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal;
present research methods, results, analyses, and interpretations accurately, transparently, and honestly;
provide sufficient methodological detail to enable readers and other researchers to understand, evaluate, and, where applicable, reproduce the research;
appropriately acknowledge and cite all sources, ideas, data, methods, instruments, and publications used in the manuscript;
obtain permission to reproduce copyrighted tables, figures, photographs, instruments, questionnaires, or other third-party materials where required;
ensure that all individuals listed as authors meet the journal’s authorship criteria;
disclose all relevant financial and non-financial conflicts of interest;
identify all sources of research funding and explain the role of the funder in the design, implementation, analysis, interpretation, writing, or publication of the research;
provide information regarding ethical approval, informed consent, research registration, or institutional permission where applicable;
retain original research data and provide relevant data or documentation to the editors when reasonably requested for editorial evaluation or investigation;
promptly inform the journal if a significant error or inaccuracy is identified before or after publication;
cooperate with editorial investigations into concerns regarding the manuscript or published article; and
comply with the journal’s copyright, licensing, peer-review, research ethics, and data policies.

Authors shall not knowingly make false, misleading, or unsupported statements. Authors are responsible for all content submitted under their names.

6. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship shall be limited to individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the conception or design of the study; acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; drafting or critically revising the manuscript; and approval of the final version to be published.

All authors must:

make a substantial contribution to the work;
participate in drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content;
approve the final version of the manuscript; and
agree to be accountable for the accuracy and integrity of the work.

Individuals who contribute to the research but do not meet all authorship criteria should be acknowledged in the Acknowledgements section, subject to their permission.

Miracle Journal of Public Health does not permit:

ghost authorship, in which a substantial contributor is omitted from the author list;
guest authorship, in which an individual is included despite having made no meaningful contribution;
gift or honorary authorship based solely on seniority, position, supervision, institutional authority, or personal relationships; or
the sale, purchase, transfer, or inappropriate assignment of authorship.

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all listed authors have approved the submission, author order, manuscript content, declarations, and final published version.

Requests to add, remove, or rearrange authors after submission must be supported by a written explanation and written consent from all authors. After acceptance or publication, changes in authorship will only be considered in exceptional circumstances and may require the publication of a correction.

The journal encourages authors to describe individual contributions using the CRediT Contributor Roles Taxonomy or another transparent contributorship statement.

7. Originality, Plagiarism, and Proper Attribution

All submitted manuscripts must be original. Authors must appropriately cite or quote the work and words of others. Plagiarism includes copying text, ideas, images, data, tables, figures, methods, or other intellectual content without appropriate acknowledgment.

The journal screens submitted manuscripts using plagiarism-detection software. A similarity report is used as an editorial screening tool and is not interpreted automatically as proof of plagiarism. Editors evaluate the nature, source, extent, and context of textual similarity before making a decision.

Manuscripts containing substantial plagiarism, unattributed copying, fabricated references, inappropriate paraphrasing, or other serious originality concerns may be rejected. If plagiarism is identified after publication, the journal may issue a correction, expression of concern, or retraction, depending on the severity of the case.

Authors must accurately cite primary and relevant sources. Citation manipulation, including excessive self-citation, coercive citation, citation cartels, or the addition of irrelevant references solely to increase citation counts, is prohibited.

8. Duplicate Publication and Simultaneous Submission

Authors must not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously. A manuscript that substantially overlaps with a previously published or concurrently submitted work must clearly disclose the related work and explain the differences.

Duplicate publication, redundant publication, salami publication, and undisclosed reuse of substantially similar data are not permitted.

Secondary publication may be considered only when it is justified, transparently disclosed, appropriately cited, permitted by the original publisher, and consistent with accepted scholarly publishing standards.

Preprints are not normally considered prior publication. Authors must disclose the existence and location of any preprint at the time of submission and update the preprint record with a reference to the final published article where possible.

9. Research Involving Human Participants

Research involving human participants, identifiable human data, human biological materials, medical records, or community-based interventions must comply with internationally accepted ethical principles, including the Declaration of Helsinki, and applicable national and institutional regulations.

Where ethical approval is required, authors must provide:

the full name of the research ethics committee or institutional review board;
the ethics approval number;
the date of approval, where applicable; and
a statement confirming that the research was conducted in accordance with the approved protocol.

If a study was exempted from ethical review, authors must identify the authority granting the exemption and provide the reason for the exemption.

Ethical approval must normally be obtained before participant recruitment or data collection begins. Retrospective ethical approval is generally not acceptable unless a competent ethics committee has formally reviewed the circumstances and provided written confirmation.

Editors may request copies of ethics approval documents, informed consent forms, research protocols, or related documentation when necessary.

10. Informed Consent and Participant Privacy

Authors must obtain voluntary and informed consent from research participants or their legally authorised representatives where required.

For minors or participants who cannot provide informed consent, permission must be obtained from a parent, guardian, or legally authorised representative, together with participant assent where appropriate.

Authors must protect the privacy, dignity, confidentiality, and anonymity of participants. Names, initials, identification numbers, photographs, videos, pedigrees, clinical descriptions, or other identifiable information must not be published without explicit written consent for publication.

Consent for participation in research is not automatically equivalent to consent for publication. Authors must obtain specific consent for publication whenever identifiable information is included.

Unnecessary identifying details should be removed. Information must not be altered or falsified solely to achieve anonymity.

11. Research Involving Animals

Research involving animals must comply with applicable national and international standards for the ethical care and use of animals.

Authors must state:

the name of the institutional animal ethics or animal care committee;
the approval number;
the relevant ethical or welfare guidelines followed; and
the measures taken to minimise pain, distress, and unnecessary use of animals.

Editors may request supporting documentation and may reject research that does not demonstrate appropriate ethical oversight or animal welfare standards.

12. Clinical Trial Registration

Prospective clinical trials should be registered in a publicly accessible and recognised clinical trial registry before the enrolment of the first participant, in accordance with applicable international standards.

The registry name, registration number, and registration date must be included in the manuscript.

Any discrepancy between the registered protocol and the submitted manuscript must be transparently explained. Authors should disclose protocol changes, changes to primary or secondary outcomes, and the reasons for such changes.

13. Conflicts of Interest and Funding Disclosure

A conflict of interest exists when personal, financial, professional, institutional, academic, political, religious, or other interests could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the research or publication process.

Authors must disclose all relevant conflicts of interest at the time of submission. These may include:

employment or leadership positions;
consultancies;
grants and research funding;
honoraria or speaker fees;
stock ownership or financial interests;
patents and intellectual property;
paid expert testimony;
personal or professional relationships; and
institutional or ideological interests.

Authors must also state when no conflict of interest exists.

Reviewers and editors must disclose any conflict that could affect their objectivity. Reviewers or editors with a significant conflict of interest shall not participate in the evaluation or decision concerning the manuscript.

All funding sources must be disclosed. Authors must explain whether the funder had any role in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.

Failure to disclose a significant conflict of interest may result in rejection, correction, expression of concern, or retraction, depending on its effect on the reliability and interpretation of the work.

14. Data Integrity, Availability, and Reproducibility

Authors are responsible for the accuracy and integrity of all data presented in their manuscripts. Data fabrication, data falsification, inappropriate data manipulation, selective reporting, misleading statistical analysis, and manipulation of images or figures are prohibited.

Adjustments to images are permitted only when they improve clarity and do not obscure, eliminate, introduce, or misrepresent information. Any substantive image adjustment must be disclosed.

Authors should retain original research data for an appropriate period in accordance with institutional, ethical, legal, and disciplinary requirements.

Where ethically and legally possible, authors are encouraged to make research data, analytical code, instruments, protocols, and other supporting materials available through an appropriate repository.

Manuscripts should include a Data Availability Statement explaining:

where the supporting data can be accessed;
whether access restrictions apply;
how qualified researchers may request access; or
why the data cannot be shared.

Restrictions based on participant confidentiality, informed consent, data protection, cultural sensitivity, national security, contractual obligations, or other legitimate considerations must be clearly stated.

15. Use of Artificial Intelligence and Automated Tools

Artificial intelligence tools, large language models, chatbots, and other automated systems cannot be listed as authors because they cannot take responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, originality, and accountability of scholarly work.

Authors remain fully responsible for all content produced or revised with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools.

The use of generative artificial intelligence for substantive writing, translation, data analysis, image creation, coding, or other material contributions must be transparently disclosed in the manuscript, including the name of the tool, the purpose of use, and the extent of human verification.

Artificial intelligence must not be used to fabricate data, references, quotations, results, participants, images, or other research materials.

Reviewers and editors must not upload confidential manuscripts, reviewer reports, personal data, or unpublished information into external artificial intelligence systems where confidentiality, data protection, or intellectual property cannot be guaranteed.

16. Allegations of Research and Publication Misconduct

Miracle Journal of Public Health takes all allegations of research and publication misconduct seriously, whether they concern a submitted manuscript or a published article.

Misconduct may include, but is not limited to:

plagiarism;
data fabrication or falsification;
image manipulation;
duplicate or redundant publication;
simultaneous submission;
undisclosed conflicts of interest;
authorship manipulation;
peer-review manipulation;
citation manipulation;
unethical research;
breach of participant confidentiality;
fabricated ethical approval;
paper mill activity;
falsified reviewer identities;
misuse of confidential material; or
interference with the editorial process.

Concerns may be reported to the editorial office at:

miraclejournalofpublichealth@gmail.com

Reports should contain sufficient information and, where possible, supporting evidence. Anonymous allegations may be considered when they provide specific and verifiable information.

The journal will conduct an initial assessment to determine whether the concern falls within its responsibility and whether further investigation is warranted. The individuals concerned will normally be given an opportunity to respond.

The journal may request original data, ethics documents, authorship agreements, institutional records, or other supporting material. Where necessary, the journal may contact the authors’ institution, ethics committee, research funder, employer, or another competent authority.

The journal will avoid making definitive findings concerning matters that require formal institutional or legal investigation. However, it will take appropriate editorial action to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

Potential actions include:

rejection of a manuscript;
suspension of the review or publication process;
request for clarification or correction;
publication of a correction;
publication of an expression of concern;
retraction of the article;
notification of relevant institutions or authorities; or
other action consistent with applicable ethical guidance.

All allegations shall be handled as confidentially, fairly, consistently, and promptly as reasonably possible.

17. Corrections

The journal will issue a correction when a published article contains an error or omission that affects the accuracy, clarity, interpretation, attribution, or scholarly record but does not invalidate the article’s principal findings.

Corrections may address errors made by authors or errors introduced during editorial or production processes.

A correction notice shall:

clearly identify the article being corrected;
explain the nature of the error;
provide the corrected information;
be freely accessible;
have its own publication date and persistent identifier where applicable; and
be electronically linked to the original article.

The original article will also be linked to the correction notice. Silent or undocumented changes to substantive published content are not permitted.

18. Expressions of Concern

The journal may publish an Expression of Concern when serious questions have been raised regarding the reliability, ethics, authorship, legality, or integrity of an article, but the available evidence is inconclusive or an investigation has not been completed.

The Expression of Concern shall be clearly labelled, publicly accessible, and linked to the article concerned.

When the investigation is concluded, the journal will replace or supplement the Expression of Concern with an appropriate correction, retraction, or notice confirming that no further action is required.

19. Retractions

The journal may retract an article when there is reliable evidence that its findings are unreliable or its publication seriously violates research or publication ethics.

Reasons for retraction may include:

data fabrication or falsification;
major analytical or methodological errors that invalidate the findings;
plagiarism;
unethical research;
duplicate publication;
manipulated peer review;
serious authorship misconduct;
copyright infringement;
unauthorised disclosure of confidential information; or
failure to disclose a major conflict of interest that materially affects the interpretation of the work.

A retraction notice shall:

clearly identify the retracted article;
explain the reason for the retraction;
identify who is retracting the article;
distinguish honest error from misconduct where possible;
be freely accessible;
be linked to the original article; and
avoid defamatory, speculative, or unnecessarily personal language.

The original article will normally remain available to preserve the scholarly record but will be clearly marked as retracted. Removal of the full text will only be considered in exceptional circumstances involving legal requirements, serious privacy violations, public safety risks, or other compelling reasons.

20. Complaints and Appeals

Authors, reviewers, readers, and other parties may submit complaints concerning editorial procedures, reviewer conduct, conflicts of interest, confidentiality, publication ethics, administrative handling, corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions.

Complaints should be submitted in writing to:

miraclejournalofpublichealth@gmail.com

The complaint should clearly describe the issue and provide supporting evidence where available.

Complaints will be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief or another editor who was not directly involved in the matter. If the complaint concerns the Editor-in-Chief, it shall be referred to an independent member of the editorial board or an appropriate representative of the publisher.

Authors may appeal an editorial decision when they believe that a significant factual error, procedural error, misunderstanding, conflict of interest, or inappropriate interpretation affected the decision.

An appeal must:

be submitted within 30 calendar days of the editorial decision;
clearly state the grounds for appeal;
respond specifically to the reasons for rejection or reviewer concerns; and
provide relevant evidence supporting reconsideration.

An appeal is not a guarantee that the manuscript will be reconsidered or accepted. The appeal will be assessed by an editor who was not substantially involved in the original decision whenever possible.

The outcome of the appeal shall be communicated in writing. Normally, only one appeal will be considered for each manuscript, and the decision following the appeal shall be final.

21. Post-Publication Discussion

Miracle Journal of Public Health welcomes responsible scholarly discussion concerning published articles.

Readers may submit well-supported comments, concerns, or requests for clarification to the editorial office. Comments must be evidence-based, relevant, respectful, and free from defamatory, discriminatory, abusive, or personal language.

Where appropriate, authors will be invited to respond. The journal may publish a letter to the editor, author response, correction, expression of concern, or other notice when this contributes to the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record.

Concerns involving possible misconduct will be handled under the journal’s misconduct procedures rather than through informal public debate.

22. Confidentiality and Intellectual Property

Editors, editorial staff, and reviewers must treat submitted manuscripts and associated information as confidential documents.

Unpublished data, ideas, arguments, methods, images, or other materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used for personal research, publication, institutional benefit, financial advantage, or any other purpose without explicit written permission from the authors.

The journal protects the intellectual property rights of authors and third parties. Authors must ensure that submitted materials do not infringe copyright, privacy, confidentiality, trademark, patent, contractual, or other legal rights.

23. Policy Review

Miracle Journal of Public Health may periodically review and update this Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement to reflect developments in scholarly publishing standards, research ethics, publication technology, and applicable regulations.

The policy applicable to a manuscript or published article will be interpreted in accordance with the version available on the journal website and the ethical standards relevant at the time the matter is considered.