Editorial, Legal and Ethical Policies

Journal policies and ethical considerations

Colombian Journal of Anesthesiology adheres all guidelines of the Committee of Publication Ethics (COPE).

 

3.1 Originality

All submitted manuscripts must be the work of the authors identified and must not have been published previously or be under consideration in another journal. Editors will subject manuscripts submitted for publication to a plagiarism detection software test. Manuscripts referring to material that has appeared or is in the process of being published in abridged or preliminary form in other publications will not be considered. Redundant or duplicate publications will be assessed within the context of the indications provided by the ICMJE.

The ICMJE has provided details about what is and is not a duplicate or redundant publication. In case of doubt (in particular, regarding material you have published on a website), we ask you to continue with the process of submitting your manuscript but attaching a copy of the previously published paper or the paper submitted for consideration by other journals. Authors must attach to their article a letter mentioning any paper already published relating to the same patients or subjects to whom the current paper refers.

 

3.2 Authorship and changes in authorship

All individuals designated as authors must meet the ICMJE authorship criteria, and all qualifying authors must be listed. Each author must have participated sufficiently in the paper to assume public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content.

One or more of the authors must assume responsibility for the completeness of the paper, from conception to publication. Credits for authorship should be based on 1) substantial contributions to the conception and design, or data collection or data analysis and interpretation for the paper; 2) writing or critical review to confirm that the intellectual content is important; 3) final approval of the version for publication; and 4) acceptance of responsibility for all aspects of the paper and assurance of having researched and resolved questions related to the accuracy or completeness of any part of the paper. All the conditions described in items 1, 2, 3 and 4 must be met. Per se, funding, data collection or supervision activities of the research group do not justify authorship. All individuals who have contributed to the paper, but not as authors, should be mentioned in the Acknowledgements section.

Any change related to authorship or to contributions such as additions, deletions or reorganization of authors, after submission of the manuscript for consideration, must be approved in writing by all authors (including the added or withdrawn author) and submitted to the Editorial Office for final consideration. Requests for changes in authorship must come directly from the corresponding author and be submitted to the Editorial Office of the Journal.

All requests must state the reason for the name change and refer to the written permission of all authors.

 

3.3. Peer review policy

Peer review is a vital part of the process of publishing a scientific article. It does not only endorse the scientific work but also promotes correctness and improves quality; in fact, it often improves publication odds. The Colombian Journal of Anesthesiology applies a stringent peer review policy.

The Journal uses a double-blind review process. The identities of the authors and thematic and/or methodological reviewers are kept in anonymity throughout the entire review and evaluation process. The editor will usually conduct an initial evaluation of the article to ensure suitability in accordance with the objectives of the Journal and to determine compliance with the requirements for submission.

When the result of this process is positive, the manuscript will then be sent to a minimum of two independent expert thematic reviewers (peer review) to assess the scientific quality of the paper. Peer reviewers are usually local, regional or international experts in the subject matter. This process will take place through the submission platform, leading to communication, as soon as possible, of the decisions made by the editorial team as a consensus of reviewer and editor opinions.

At the end of the submission process, the editorial team, led by the editor, will decide whether to accept or reject the article and will also make a decision regarding suggestions for the authors. Given the above, it is very important to write the first page (also known as page 1) in a separate form, including full information of the authors and their institutional affiliations, as well as all relevant information such as conflict of interest, appreciation and contact information: e-mail, postal address and telephone number. This information is an integral part of the submission described herein for authors. It is understood that, at least during this phase, names of institutions or authors must not be mentioned in the body of the manuscript.

For more information regarding the origin and importance of this process, reading the following articles is recommended:

Miller DR y Donati F. Peer review policies and the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia: an update for authors and readers. Can J Anesth. 2007;54(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03021892

 

3.4 Copyright

The Colombian Society of Anesthesiology and Resuscitation (S.C.A.R.E.) is the copyright holder for the articles published in the Journal.

 

3.5 Open Access Creative Commons License

The Journal is of open access and all articles can be read, downloaded, and shared on a free basis upon publication. Open access is the practice of providing unrestricted web access to peer-reviewed academic research. Open access journals grant “gold” open access, which means immediate open access to all its article on the editor website. The Journal complies with all the Open Access Journal practices and with the DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals) definition of open access.

 

All articles are published under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.es). This license allows the material to be shared, copied, distributed, provided:

  • Proper credit is given to the source, indicating if any change was made.
  • The material is not used for commercial ends.
  • No material that has been transformed or created from the original is distributed.

 

3.6 Content ownership, plagiarism, and authorizations

All figures presented must be the exclusive property of authors. In the case of figures that do not meet this requirement, authors must request direct authorization. Authors are responsible for obtaining this authorization. Credits must be included in the key of all authorized printed figures.

These requirements apply in the following cases:

  • Previously published materials, such as adapted figures and tables or direct citations of over 50 words, require the permission of the copyright holder (usually the original publisher).
  • Unpublished data (i.e., from a conversation or manuscript in preparation) require the authorization of the relevant researcher.
  • Photographs showing unmasked faces require authorization from the study subject shown in the photograph. If it is not possible to obtain the consent of the subject or patient, the photographs must be masked.

 

The Journal uses plagiarism detection software during the initial assessment of submitted manuscripts. Authors are responsible for obtaining and uploading any needed permissions and for clearly and completely identifying any overlapping material and/or quoted or paraphrased passages with proper attribution in the text to avoid plagiarism (including self-plagiarism).

 

3.7 Retractions and list of errors

The Journal shall proceed with retractions or removal of articles based on information from the authors or editors due to errors or lack of data to support the results or poor reproducibility thereof. Retraction notices shall be published in citable form and will appear as an article of the Journal itself.

The list of errors is used to correct or add text or information appearing in any place of a previously published article. The list of errors shall be labelled and published in citable form and will appear as an article of the Journal itself as correction of published material.

 

3.8 Legal content repository

The Colombian legislation requires that all written materials developed in Colombia must be in compliance with the Legal Repository Law and that a copy of the published materials be forwarded to the Colombian National Library. All of the material derived from this Journal  is forwarded to the Colombian National Library for preservation and assurance of public access to cultural heritage.

 

3.9 Galleys, corrections, and publication in advance (Online first)

Authors are notified by email when text corrections to their PDF (Portable Document Format) articles are available. The Journal then launches an online first version which is completely citable, and authors are urged to meticulously review text corrections, correct inaccuracies, and answer all editorial questions as soon as possible.

Only the most critical changes to the accuracy of the content will be incorporated. No changes of form or modifications of previously accepted material will be accepted. At this stage of the process, it is not possible to rewrite sections of the text, adapt tables and figures, or add or remove references. Corrections or approval must be delivered to the production editor within 48 hours; a message summarizing the corrections may be sent by e-mail.

 

3.10 Citation of the Journal

To cite articles from the Journal, it should be noted that the name "Colombian Journal of Anesthesiology" will be used. Also, only the English title of the article will be used. The abbreviated name is Colomb. J. Anesthesiol.

For example: Oliveros H, García H, Rubio C, Navarrete J. Perioperative use of levosimendan in patients undergoing cardiac surgery: systematic review and meta-analysis. Colombian Journal of Anesthesiology. 2019;47:142-53. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/CJ9.0000000000000121

 

3.11 Article processing charges

The Colombian Society of Anesthesiology and Resuscitation (S.C.A.R.E.) covers all the expenses associated with the editorial process of the Colombian Journal of Anesthesiology. Therefore, authors are not charged any fees for submission and/or publication of the proposed articles.

 

Additional editorial, legal, and ethical policies

Duplicate Publication, Plagiarism and Fabrication

Manuscripts containing original material are accepted for consideration if neither the article nor any part of its essential substance, tables, or figures has been or will be published or submitted elsewhere before appearing in the Journal (in part or in full, in other words or in the same words, in English or in another language), and will not be submitted elsewhere unless rejected by the Journal or withdrawn by the author. (This restriction is exclusive of abstracts of the work submitted for presentation to learned societies and scholarly forums).

Simultaneous submissions of the same article to multiple journals are prohibited. If an author violates this requirement or engages in similar misconduct, The Journal Editorial Board may reject the manuscript or impose a moratorium on acceptance of new manuscripts from the author. If it deems the misconduct sufficiently serious, the Editorial Board can refer the matter for investigation to the author's academic institution or hospital or to the appropriate state or local disciplinary body. A letter of permission is required for any and all material that has been published previously or is "in press" by another journal. It is the responsibility of the author to request permission from the publisher for any material that is being reproduced. This requirement applies to text, illustrations, and tables.

The Journal online submission system employs an automated plagiarism/duplicate publication software. As such, we use this program strategically to help us discover instances of misconduct at the earliest stages of manuscript submission. Plagiarism is when an author passes off the work of someone else as his or her own. This can also include self-plagiarism, which happens when an author reuses portions of his or her previously published work without the proper references. Manuscripts containing plagiarized content will not be considered for publication in The Journal. All authors need to take responsibility for their manuscripts. If your name is on a manuscript, make sure all of the material in the paper either is original or is properly cited and has proper permission to be reproduced. If you have a question about the originality of any part of a manuscript, verify it with your coauthors. Senior authors should pay special attention to what the junior authors are doing and where they are sending their manuscripts.

If you realize you have made an error of dual publication or plagiarism inadvertently, proactively contact the editorial office. It is much better to come forward of your own volition than to have an accusation made against you.

If the Journal learns of a case of plagiarism after publication, The Journal will conduct an investigation. If plagiarism is found, the author, the author's institution and funding agencies, and the original publication will be notified. A statement noting the plagiarism, providing a reference to the plagiarized material, and linking to the original to the original paper may follow. Depending on the extent of the plagiarism, the paper may also be formally retracted.

Image Integrity. Illustrations, figures, and tables should be labeled clearly, arranged symmetrically, in either “portrait” or “landscape” orientation, and numbered sequentially in the text. Photographs should be identical in terms of size, position, and lighting. Figures must be accompanied by legends attached at the end of the manuscript. Graphics altering programs can be used to assemble multi-panel images, clean up dust specs from scanning in originals, and cropping. However, these programs should not be used improperly to attempt to modify results.

Conflict of Interest. All sources of funds supporting the work and a statement of financial interest, if any, must be included for each author of a manuscript, along with a list of all products, devices, drugs, etc. used in the manuscript. All manuscripts must have this information. Each author is required at the time of submission to disclose any commercial associations or financial disclosures that might pose or create a conflict of interest with information presented in any submitted manuscript. Such associations include any of the following: consultancies, stock ownership, or other equity interest, patent licensing arrangements, payments for conduction or publicizing a study described in the manuscript, royalty recipient, grant recipient, employee, board member and review panel member.

Correction and Retraction Policy. The Journal takes full responsibility to correct errors as they occur. Content that is published online or in an issue is considered the final published record and must be preserved; therefore all changes to articles must be made as a formal correction. Corrections will be published online and in the next available issue and will be bi-directionally linked to the original article. These corrections will then be transmitted to indexing services and other aggregating databases.

Corrections will be reviewed and considered if they affect the publication record, the scientific integrity of the paper, or the reputation of the authors, or of the Journal. Corrections that do not significantly affect the paper may not be approved (i.e. a spelling error).

Retractions will be considered if results are invalid or ethical guidelines have been violated (i.e. applicable cases of plagiarism or ghostwriting). All coauthors must sign a retraction detailing the error and how the conclusions were affected.

All decisions about corrections or retractions are made by the Editor. Author consultation may be required. In situations where coauthors disagree about a correction, the Editors will consult with independent peer-reviewers before applying the appropriate correction. The dissenting author(s) position will be noted on the correction.

Archive. The Journal belongs to the CLOCKSS and Portico digital archiving programs.