The Journal of Health Sciences of Moldova (MJHS) is an open access trimestrial publication that supports scientific research in the field of medical sciences.
The evaluation of articles proposed for publication is done using the double-blind peer review procedure, and to prevent plagiarism, all articles are checked.
The editorial policy and ethical standards of the MJHS are based on international editorial norms and recommendations from Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), as well as those from Publishing Ethics Resource Kit for editors (PERK).
Taking into account the principles of transparency and good practices, all parties involved in the editorial process have a number of responsibilities:
Publishers
Publication decisions and editorial independence
The editor-in-chief of the peer-review is solely responsible for making the decision on the publication or rejection of any article proposed for publication, but based on the results received from the experts who evaluated the scientific work.
The selection of manuscripts is made according to the following criteria: originality, clarity, scientific quality, ethical rigors, and classification in the thematic profile of the journal.
Decisions to publish or reject articles are taken taking into account editorial policy, legal and ethical issues such as libel, the proliferation of xenophobia, copyright infringement, multiple publication of an article and plagiarism.
The editor-in-chief takes full responsibility for the editorial content and decides when it will be published.
The editor-in-chief coordinates the entire editorial process, organizes the editorial board, and appoints the members of the editorial committee.
Objective assessment
The evaluation of the articles is made according to scientific criteria and without discrimination (of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, citizenship, sexual orientations, or political ideology).
Privacy
The editor-in-chief and the editors involved in the evaluation process are obliged not to disclose the names of the authors who proposed texts for publication or the names of the referees or scientific consultants involved in the peer review of these texts.
On the materials, until they are published, the editors keep a full confidentiality.
Publishers are not allowed to disclose articles submitted for publication, except for authors, appraisers, and publishers, if applicable.
Disclosures and conflicts of interest
The members of the editorial board cannot use, in their own works, ideas from the rejected articles. If, however, a publisher wishes to use such information, it must ask, in writing, for the consent of the author(s).
Publishers are obliged to maintain confidentiality regarding the ideas and information in the evaluated articles and are prohibited from being used for personal purposes.
Publishers must refuse articles that generate conflict of interest (competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with authors, companies, or institutions related to the work).
Publishers must ask authors; prior to or after publication, whether they are or have been in a situation that has created a conflict of interest.
If a conflict of interest has occurred, the author must declare this conflict of interest and be resolved.
In connection with the citation of articles from your own magazine
The editor-in-chief and the editors are prohibited from forcing authors to cite articles from the journal they represent, as an implicit or explicit condition of publishing the proposed article.
Bibliographic recommendations, when made, are meant to improve the published material.
Involvement and cooperation in case of ethical investigations
The editor-in-chief and the editors are obliged to take appropriate action in cases where ethical issues are raised in relation to published articles.
The author will be contacted and the case will be analyzed to clarify the situation.
If the complaint is confirmed, a note acknowledging the mistake will be published.
If, several years after publication, a complaint is made about an article, it will proceed as in the previous articles.
Reviewers
Contribution to editorial decisions
The reviewer evaluates the article and prepares the report he sends to the editor, together with his decision.
The reviewer takes part in the evaluation of the article, assists the editor and supports the author, if necessary, in order to improve the article.
Peer review is the essential component underlying the method of scientific evaluation.
Promptitude and fairness
Referees who believe that they are insufficiently qualified to review an article are required to request withdrawal from the evaluation process of that material.
Referees who believe that they cannot respond as promptly as possible to the peer review request must notify the responsible editor or editor-in-chief to be replaced by other specialists.
Privacy
Any material received for evaluation should be treated with strict confidentiality. The article should not be presented or discussed with persons other than those authorized by the responsible publisher.
Standards and objectivity
Evaluations are objective. Referees must express their opinions, clearly, with arguments, only on the text.
Identification of relevant works and sources
Reviewers must identify relevant works that have not been cited by the author and recommend them to the author.
Observations and arguments must be accompanied by relevant citations.
Any similarity between the analyzed material and another published work must be reported to the editor-in-chief.
Disclosure and conflict of interest
The reviewer should not use the information or ideas obtained from the evaluation process for personal use.
Reviewers must only carry out the scientific evaluation of the article and must not follow whether or not the author is in conflict of interest.
Authors
Reporting standards
In the paper, authors must accurately present all the information.
Sufficient details and references must be included in the content of an article.
Fraud and misrepresentation are unethical behaviors and are unacceptable.
Access and keeping of data
Authors may be asked by the journal for the raw data of their investigations for an editorial analysis.
Public access to these data must also be allowed after the publication of the article.
Multiple, redundant, or simultaneous publishing
The author(s) must not propose for publication an article that resumes the same research topic in more than one journal.
Sending the same material to several journals is unethical behavior and is unacceptable.
Source recognition
Authors must accurately cite the publications from which they have been documented for the realization of the work.
Information obtained privately, such as from conversations, correspondence, or discussions with third parties, should not be used without the written permission of the source.
The legal responsibility for plagiarism belongs entirely to the author(s)
Plagiarism is an unacceptable behavior and is a very good reason for rejecting any article.
Fundamental errors in published works
If the author discovers a material error in the published work, it is incumbent on him to promptly inform the editorial staff in order to correct or withdraw the material.
Disclosures and conflict of interest
All authors must specify in their works any conflict of interest (for example: employment, consultancy, paid testimony of experts, applications, or registrations of patent, subsidies or other funding).
Authorship
Authorship should be limited to those who have contributed significantly to the design, design, development, and interpretation of the study.
If more than one author contributed significantly to the work, then they must be mentioned as co-authors or, if they had a smaller contribution, as collaborators.
The author must ensure that all co-authors are listed in the work and that they have seen and approved the final version of the work and have accepted its submission for publication.
Advertising policy
The Moldovan Journal of Health Sciences (MJHS) maintains a strict and transparent advertising policy that aligns with its core values of academic integrity, ethical publishing, and the promotion of credible scientific research.
The journal is open to accepting any advertisement/sponsorship on the journal’s website and URL of the said journal. It is highly appreciated if you send us an e-mail to [email protected]. MJHS reserves the right to place on the website promotional materials related to the activities of the Journal’s partners or the maintenance of sustainable development goals. Revenue from advertising will be used exclusively to cover costs and develop the Journal. Advertising funding does not give the advertiser any preferences or rights to interfere in the editorial process.
Scientific Scholar’s advertising policy follows the principles outlined in the Recommendations on Publication Ethics Policies for Medical Journals issued by the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).
- Independence of Editorial Content. MJHS ensures that editorial content remains entirely independent of commercial or financial influences. The publication process, including peer review and editorial decisions, is not affected by advertising or sponsorship arrangements. The journal does not endorse any product, service, or entity advertised within its publications.
- Prohibitions of Advertising Articles. The editorial board strictly prohibits the consideration or publication of advertising articles, whether submitted on a reimbursable or free basis. This ensures that the journal remains a platform for unbiased and high-quality scientific discourse.
- Prohibited Research Topics for Promotion. As part of its commitment to public health and ethical standards, MJHS does not share or promote research related to the consumption of tobacco or alcohol. Such topics are excluded from all forms of advertisements or sponsored content within the journal.
- Restrictions on Keyword Linking. Authors submitting scientific articles to MJHS are prohibited from including keywords or links that connect to advertisements or promotional content. This policy safeguards the academic integrity of published articles and ensures a clear distinction between scholarly research and commercial content.
- Transparency with Readers. MJHS is committed to maintaining trust with its readers by ensuring that all advertising practices are ethical, transparent, and aligned with the journal’s scholarly objectives. The journal does not allow advertisements to compromise the quality or credibility of its academic content.
- All advertisements should be relevant to academic publishing, scientific research, the target audience and the channel in which they are organized.
- All advertisements and sponsors should be affiliated with research (fields, tools, products, events) and academia (institutions, societies). Non-academic or commercial consumer-grade products are not accepted.
- Any controversial, political or obscene content is prohibited.
- Communication within each advertisement needs to be clear and readable.