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Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement
Publication Ethics
The ethics policies of the AJGG follow standard codes of conduct and COPE’s ‘Core Practices’.
Role of the Societies
The AJGG is a joint official publication of the Hong Kong Geriatrics Society and the Hong Kong Association of Gerontology.
Journal Management
The HKGS and HKAG play no part in the editorial policy of the journal, and the Editorial Board is allowed complete editorial freedom.
Funding
The AJGG is primarily funded by the Hong Kong Geriatrics Society and the Hong Kong Association of Gerontology. The AJGG also receives income from advertising and direct subscriptions. Some advertising revenue is derived from commercial sources, but advertisers have no influence on editorial decisions.
Role of the Editorial Board
Membership
The Editorial Board members are appointed by the Chief Editor(s). Editorial Board members serve for 2 years; this term may be extended after review by the Chief Editor(s)
Publication Decisions
The Editorial Board is responsible for deciding which of the manuscripts submitted to the journal should be published. The Editor-in-Chief's decision to accept or reject a paper for publication is based on its importance, originality, clarity, and its relevance to the scope of the journal.
Fair Play
The Editorial Board and the reviewers evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to the author’s race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, citizenship, or political ideology.
Confidentiality
The Editorial Board must ensure that all material submitted to the journal remains confidential while under review. The Editorial Board and the editorial staff must not disclose any information about the submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
Unpublished materials disclosed in the submitted manuscript must not be used by the Editorial Board in their own research without the express written consent of the author. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Editors should recuse themselves (i.e. should ask a Co-Chief Editor, Editors or other member of the editorial board instead to review and consider) from considering manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or (possibly) institutions connected to the papers. Editors should require all contributors to disclose relevant competing interests and publish corrections if competing interests are revealed after publication. If needed, other appropriate action should be taken, such as the publication of a retraction or expression of concern.
Involvement and Cooperation in Investigations
An editor should take reasonably responsive measures when ethical complaints have been presented concerning a submitted manuscript or published paper, in conjunction with the publisher (or society). Such measures will generally include contacting the author of the manuscript or paper and giving due consideration of the respective complaint or claims made, but may also include further communications to the relevant institutions and research bodies, and if the complaint is upheld, the publication of a correction, retraction, expression of concern, or other note, as may be relevant. Every reported act of unethical publishing behaviour must be looked into, even if it is discovered years after publication.
Role of Reviewers
Contribution to Editorial Decisions
The peer review process assists the Editorial Board in making editorial decisions and helps the author to improve their manuscript.
Promptness
Any reviewer who feels unqualified to review the manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should contact the Editorial Board so as to excuse himself from the review process.
Confidentiality
Any manuscripts received for review should be treated with strict confidentiality. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except when authorised by the Editor-in-Chief.
Standards of Objectivity
Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Reviewers should express their views clearly, with supporting arguments.
Acknowledgement of Sources
Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the author. Any similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper should be reported to the Editor-in-Chief.
Disclosure and Conflict of Interest
Privileged information or ideas obtained through the peer review process must be kept confidential and must not be used for personal advantage. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other connection with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the manuscript.
Role of Authors
Authorship of the Paper
The AJGG follows the ICMJE Recommendations for defining authorship, using the following four criteria:
• Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
• Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
• Final approval of the version to be published; AND
• Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.All individuals meeting these requirements should be included as authors. Individuals who contributed substantially to the study but do not meet these requirements should be acknowledged.
In the event of any requests for changes to authorship or disputes over authorship, the relevant COPE Flowchart is followed.
Reporting Standards
The authors of manuscripts should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the manuscript. The manuscript should contain sufficient details and references to permit others to replicate the study. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behaviour and are unacceptable.
Ethical policies and procedures
The AJGG follows the advice and Flowcharts of COPE (https://publicationethics.org/) to recognise and resolve any ethical issues.
Data Access and Retention
The authors may be asked to provide the raw data of their investigations for editorial review, and should be prepared to provide public access to such data for a reasonable period of time after the publication of their paper.
Fundamental Errors in Published Works
When the author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the journal as well as to cooperate with the Editor-in-Chief to retract or correct the paper.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed. Examples of potential conflicts of interest which should be disclosed include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. Potential conflicts of interest should be disclosed at the earliest stage possible.
Plagiarism and fabrication
All manuscripts are assessed for plagiarism using VeriGuide (http://www.veriguide.org/) before being sent for peer review.
Duplicate submission and redundant publication
Manuscripts are considered on the understanding that they are submitted solely to AJGG and have not been published previously, either in print or electronically, and are not under consideration elsewhere.
Redundant publication is publication of a paper that overlaps substantially with one already published. When submitting a paper, authors should make a full statement to the Editor-in-Chief about all submissions and previous reports that might be regarded as a redundant publication of the same or similar work. If in doubt, submit copies of any material that has been previously published or that is being considered elsewhere at the time of manuscript submission. If redundant publication is attempted without such notification, authors should expect editorial action to be taken; at the least, rejection of the manuscript.
Image manipulation
If the Journal is made aware of suspected image manipulation in any published articles, the relevant COPE flowchart on Image Manipulation in a Published Article is followed.
Appeals
If authors wish to appeal a decision, they should contact the Editorial Office (ajgg@ajgg.org), stating clearly the reason(s) for appeal and how the manuscript could be revised or clarified to address limitations identified by the editor(s) or reviewer(s).
If the Editorial Board considers that the appeal is with merit, authors will be invited to submit a revised manuscript. Invitation to submit a revised version after appeal is not a guarantee of acceptance. The manuscript will enter a new round of peer review.
Allegations of Misconduct
The Publisher and the AJGG Editorial Board take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred, including plagiarism, citation manipulation, and data falsification/fabrication. In the event that AJGG is made aware of any allegation of research misconduct relating to a published article, the COPE ‘Retraction guidelines’ guide decisions on whether retraction, correction, or other action is appropriate. Allegations of misconduct should be reported to the Chief Editor(s) (ajgg@ajgg.org). If the alleged misconduct involves any of the Editors, the Publisher should be contacted (hkampress@hkam.org.hk).