SDN Review upholds the standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability in publishing. Authors are expected to submit original work, provide proper attribution, and disclose conflicts of interest. Editors and reviewers act impartially, maintaining confidentiality and fairness in the peer review process. Errors are corrected promptly in accordance with our Corrections Policy, and all content is published free of undue commercial or institutional influence.
1. Foundational Principles
SDN Review and the Health Professional Student Association (HPSA) are committed to:
- Integrity: Upholding honesty and accuracy in all submissions, editorial work, and communications.
- Professionalism: Treating colleagues, reviewers, authors, and readers with dignity and respect.
- Accountability: Ensuring transparency in authorship, conflicts of interest, and corrections.
- Independence: Editorial decisions are made free of undue commercial or institutional influence.
2. Standards for Authors
- Original Work: Submissions must be the author’s own and not previously published elsewhere.
- Attribution: All sources must be cited accurately; permissions must be obtained for any reused figures, data, or content.
- Authorship Integrity: Only individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions should be listed as authors.
- Disclosure: All financial, corporate, or institutional conflicts of interest must be disclosed upon submission.
3. Peer Review Standards
- Confidentiality: Manuscripts are treated as confidential documents.
- Impartiality: Reviewers must avoid conflicts of interest and recuse themselves when necessary.
- Constructive Feedback: Reviews should be respectful, timely, and designed to improve quality.
- Consistency: Reviews are based solely on academic merit and relevance to the journal.
4. Editorial Responsibilities
- Fairness: Editors evaluate submissions based on content quality and relevance.
- Transparency: Editorial practices and policies are publicly available and applied consistently.
- Responsiveness: Allegations of error, plagiarism, or misconduct are investigated promptly, following COPE guidance. Learn about our actionable feedback policy.
- Record Integrity: Corrections and retractions are issued when necessary to maintain the scholarly record.
5. Community Conduct
- Professional Interaction: Readers, commenters, and contributors are expected to engage respectfully.
- Accuracy in Dialogue: Feedback and commentary should be fact-based and provided in good faith.
- Reporting Concerns: Readers may report errors, ethical issues, or misconduct to the editorial office for investigation.
6. Accountability
- Corrections and Retractions: Addressed according to the Corrections Policy.
- Sanctions: Violations of this Ethics Policy may result in removal of content, retraction, or restrictions on future contributions.
- Corporate Responsibility: HPSA ensures all editorial and corporate practices align with applicable laws and ethical standards for nonprofit organizations.
7. Contact
For concerns about ethics or professional conduct, contact the editor at [email protected]. All inquiries are handled confidentially.