Research Ethics Policy

Compliance with research ethics is essential. The text that presents a high level of similarity with other published texts is analyzed in greater depth, in order to verify whether there was in fact plagiarism of the text or inaccuracies regarding the citation of the original or, even, whether there are signs of an unethical attitude, and in this case, the text is rejected.

Corrections, Retractions and Deletions

The guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Council of Science Editors (CSE) are followed for the correction of documents, as follows:

  • Errata: refers to amendments or changes to parts of the document’s content. Corrections may be in the title of the document, author's name and typographical or layout errors.
  • Retraction: refers to partial corrections to the content of the document due to methodological errors, incorrect data analysis, scientific misconduct, or non-reproducible research. There is also the possibility of removing the document in its entirety from the Revista EDICIC.
  • Expression of concern: refers to the publication of a notice by the Editorial Committee when there is concern about the reliability of a document, but the information is insufficient to justify a retraction.

As defined by the Office of Research Integrity (ORI), plagiarism can include “[...] theft or misappropriation of intellectual property and the substantial unattributed verbatim copying of another person’s work”. Plagiarism occurs clearly when a significant part of a text is cut and presented without correct attribution of authorship.

Reusing parts of text from the author's own previous publication is a form of self-plagiarism and deserves caution. When reusing a text, whether written by yourself or others, correct attribution of citations and sources is necessary.

If a significant problem is identified in a publication, the correction request must be sent to the email: edicic@edicic.org.br. The Editorial Committee will carry out the investigation and, once the allegations have been confirmed, the author will be asked to correct specific errors or mistakes, or the Responsible Editor of the Revista EDICIC will prepare the retraction or exclusion of the document, based on the guidelines of the COPE and CSE.

The Editorial Team may consider retracting a publication when:

  1. Authors refuse to correct errors or mistakes when requested by the Editor Responsible for Revista EDICIC.
  2. Evidence that research findings are unreliable, whether as a result of robust error, fabrication (e.g. of information) or falsification (e.g. image manipulation).
  3. There is plagiarism, self-plagiarism, or redundant publication (except in the case of preprints).
  4. The research findings were previously published elsewhere and there is no citation, communication of the fact to the Editorial Committee, permission to publish again or justification.
  5. Contains information or materials without authorization for use.
  6. Copyright has been infringed or there is some other relevant legal issue (for example, the use of images without permission).
  7. Presents unethical research, in relation to the target population and/or research subjects.
  8. The evaluator did not communicate a relevant conflict of interest, which from the Editorial Committee's perspective would have affected the evaluation process.

The Editorial Team does not consider retracting a publication when:

  1. There is dispute over the authorship of the publication, but there is no reason to doubt the validity of the research findings.
  2. The main research findings are reliable, and an adjustment can correct any inconsistencies.
  3. Has inconclusive evidence to support the retraction or is awaiting additional information, such as that from institutional investigation.
  4. Conflict of interest of the evaluator was communicated to the Responsible Editor of the Revista EDICIC after publication, but from the perspective of the Editorial Committee there was no influence on the evaluation carried out.

The request and correction writing must be made by the author responsible for the document. If there is disagreement between the authors about what is being corrected, the Editorial Committee of the Revista EDICIC becomes responsible for writing the correction. The errata, retraction or expression of concern is published as quickly as possible, with the document remaining on the Journal page with the corresponding indication of correction.

The document that presents a similarity rate above 40% with other published texts is analyzed in more depth, in order to verify whether there were errors regarding the citation of the original or whether there was in fact plagiarism. If there is proof of an unethical attitude, the text is rejected.