• Overview

COLOMBIA MÉDICA abides by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)  Code of Conduct and aims to adhere to its Best Practice Guidelines.

Authors, editors, and reviewers are expected to be aware of and comply with best practices in publication ethics.

• Authors are expected to be aware of and comply with, best practices in publication ethics, including but not limited to those pertaining to authorship (for example, avoidance of ghost or guest authorship), dual submission, attribution, plagiarism, image integrity, and figure preparation, and competing interests. Authors must also comply with COLOMBIA MÉDICA policies on research ethics (human subjects research, animal research, global research). Details are provided below or in linked documents.
• Reviewers and editors are required to treat manuscripts fairly and in confidence and to declare any competing interests. 

We encourage readers to discuss the scientific contents of COLOMBIA MÉDICA articles directly with corresponding authors, either by emailing the corresponding author or posting a comment on the article’s COLOMBIA MÉDICA webpage (see here for information about posting comments). Authors can request formal corrections to their COLOMBIA MÉDICA publications by emailing the journal office.

If you have concerns about potential errors, research or publication ethics, misconduct, or other issues pertaining to the integrity, validity, or reliability of a COLOMBIA MÉDICA article or submission, don't hesitate to get in touch with COLOMBIA MÉDICA directly. To do so, email the COLOMBIA MÉDICA journal office. Do not rely solely on posts to blogs, social media, or other third-party websites to make us aware of concerns. When notifying COLOMBIA MÉDICA of concerns, provide the full citation and DOI of the article in question, details as to your specific concerns, and a declaration of any potential competing interests you have with regard to the authors, funders and/or sponsors of the article(s) in question.

COLOMBIA MÉDICA will investigate concerns raised about COLOMBIA MÉDICA submissions or publications regardless of the time since publication or study completion and regardless of whether issues are raised internally, by authors, or by anonymous, pseudonymous, or named third parties. We will take steps to correct or clarify the scientific record if necessary, which may include issuing a correction, expression of concern, or retraction. If we anticipate a delayed or prolonged follow-up period, COLOMBIA MÉDICA may post an interim notice on the article(s) in question to make readers aware of the issues raised.

While COLOMBIA MÉDICA values transparency in scientific communications, we also protect the confidentiality of those who raise publication ethics or research integrity concerns, where possible, so as to minimize personal and professional risks to those individuals. We consider information and materials received in ethics case follow-up discussions as confidential, but we reserve the right to share relevant information with others involved in the case (e.g. editors, reviewers, other journals, affected data repositories), discuss the case at a COPE forum, and/or contact authors’ institutions, funders or regulatory bodies, in accordance with COPE guidelines. We cooperate with institutions looking into issues that pertain to COLOMBIA MÉDICA content, and in doing so we share information as needed to support the institution’s proceedings.

 

• Plagiarism

Plagiarism is not acceptable in COLOMBIA MÉDICA submissions. Plagiarized content will not be considered for publication. If plagiarism is identified, we will follow COPE guidelines.

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

• Directly copying text from other sources without attribution
• Copying ideas, images, or data from other sources without attribution
• Reusing text from your own previous publications without attribution or agreement of the editor (see the COPE guidelines on text recycling and the text recycling guidance released by the Text Recycling Research Project)
• Exception: Reusing text from the Methods section in the author’s previous publications, with attribution to the source, is acceptable
• Using an idea from another source with slightly modified language without attribution

COLOMBIA MÉDICA uses Turnitin to screen submitted content for originality. Each journal screens a proportion of manuscripts. We will do a follow-up investigation if the software raises any concerns.

The manuscript may be rejected if plagiarism is detected during the peer review process. If plagiarism is detected after publication, we may issue a correction or retract the paper as appropriate. We reserve the right to inform authors' institutions about plagiarism detected before or after publication. 

We expect that editors and reviewers will be vigilant in evaluating COLOMBIA MÉDICA submissions and will notify the journal about any plagiarism identified.

• Confidentiality

We are committed to ensuring the integrity of the peer review process in accordance with COPE guidelines. All submitted material should be treated as strictly confidential until published.

The peer review process is confidential to all parties. Correspondence as part of the review process must also be treated confidentially by all parties, including authors.

Authors may provide basic details about the nature of the research presented in manuscripts currently under review.

Editors and reviewers are required to treat all submitted manuscripts in strict confidence and should not share information about submissions with any other parties unless previously agreed with the editor. The involvement of a third party in the review must be declared at the time of the review submission.

We expect editors and reviewers will not use any material or take advantage of any information they gain through the peer review process.

We will follow up on any and all breaches of confidentiality. If there are any concerns about misconduct during the review process, we will follow COPE guidelines in investigating them.

• Anonymity

Reviewers may identify themselves by signing their names when reviews are submitted.

• Submission and Publication of Related Studies

Author requirements

Upon submitting a manuscript, authors must indicate whether any related manuscripts are under consideration or published elsewhere. If related work has been submitted or published elsewhere, authors must include a copy of it with their submission and describe its relation to the submitted work.

Prior publication of research as a thesis, presentation at medical or scientific conferences, or posting on preprint servers will not preclude consideration of your manuscript.

COLOMBIA MÉDICA supports the public disclosure of all clinical trial results, as mandated, for example, by the 2007 FDA Amendments Act. Prior disclosure of results on a clinical trial registry site will not affect consideration.

Editor and reviewer requirements

Reviewers and editors should evaluate any related content and notify the journal of overlap. Editors and reviewers should alert the journal if they identify duplicate submissions or publications during the review process.

Policy enforcement

If related content is too similar to the COLOMBIA MÉDICA submission, or if a duplicate submission is discovered, we will reject the manuscript.

Duplicate content discovered after publication will be addressed depending on the overlap. The journal may issue a correction or a retraction as appropriate.

• Concerns About Data or Figures

When preparing figures, images should not be manipulated or adjusted in any way that could lead to misinterpretation of the information in the original raw image data.

When concerns are raised about reported results, COLOMBIA MÉDICA requests the original underlying data for the experiment(s). If the original data are unavailable or not provided in a timely manner, we may take editorial action on the article based on our review of the materials.

We recognize that some institutions and funding agencies only require the retention of research data for a finite period after a project’s completion or publication. However, no such limits are specified within the COLOMBIA MÉDICA Data Availability Policy. Furthermore, in cases involving image issues or other data concerns, the original underlying data are instrumental in clarifying the issues raised and the reliability of the reported results. The unavailability of original data in such cases may impact editorial outcomes.

• Biosecurity and Dual Use Research of Concern

COLOMBIA MÉDICA staff and Editorial Boards are committed to the widespread dissemination of research while being sensitive to the issues of responsible publication standards. In this context, we assess the risks and benefits of publishing the research. If the risks outweigh the benefits, we will not publish it.

Author requirements

Authors are obligated to disclose potential bioethics/dual-use concerns to the journal office at the time of initial submission.

Editor and reviewer requirements

Editors and reviewers are expected to evaluate potential risks and alert the journal with any concerns.

Policy enforcement

We follow standards set by national and public agencies and may refer concerns to the COLOMBIA MÉDICA Dual Use Committee to assess the publication's potential risks versus benefits.

Manuscripts are checked at submission for any potential risks. Issues identified at submission may lead to the rejection of the manuscript.

If risks are identified after the publication of an article, we will take steps to minimize that risk in accordance with prevailing guidelines. We may follow up with the authors’ institutions depending on the severity of the issues.