Allegations of Misconduct

Universal Journal of Pharmaceutical Research (UJPR) follows the recommendations and core practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics COPE regarding ethical policies and dealing with misconduct. Misconduct includes falsifying data, plagiarizing others' works, and breaching of confidentiality. Each case will be considered by the publisher and Editor-in-Chief, and in all cases the author (or reviewer) will be contacted directly. However, the publisher reserves the right to speak directly to the author's or reviewer's institution or other appropriate organization if severe misconduct is suspected.

Please take note that the manuscript will be withheld until any issues have been handled if misbehavior is suspected during the review process. Should any misbehavior be verified throughout the review process, the work will be rejected right away. Should misbehavior be demonstrated subsequent to publication, the article will be withdrawn. When there is suspicion of misconduct, the editors and editorial board will apply COPE best practices to help them resolve the allegation and deal with the wrongdoing in a fair manner. This will involve looking into the editors' complaint. If such misbehavior is discovered in a submitted manuscript, it will be rejected. A retraction that includes a link to the original article may be issued in cases where a published study is discovered to have such misconduct.

If there is a likelihood of scientific misconduct or other significant anomalies in the research, the corresponding author is informed of the allegations and asked to respond in detail on behalf of all the coauthors. Additional review and expert engagement (e.g., statistical reviewers) may be engaged after the response has been received and assessed. In situations where it is improbable that any misbehavior has taken place, letters to the editor published with explanations, further analysis, or both, often accompanied by a correction notice and an update to the original article will suffice.  Institutions are expected to conduct an appropriate and thorough investigation of allegations of scientific misconduct. Ultimately, authors, journals, and institutions have an important obligation to ensure the accuracy of the scientific record. By responding appropriately to concerns about scientific misconduct, and taking necessary actions based on evaluation of these concerns, such as corrections, retractions with replacement, and retractions, journal will continue to fulfill the responsibilities of ensuring the validity and integrity of the scientific record.