REFERENCE LIST GUIDELINES

These guidelines are based on the “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals”, developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. You can also read COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines, WAME (World Association of Medical Editors) recomendations, ORI (the Office of Research Integrity), CSE (Council of Science Editors), and EASE (European Association of Science Editors) guidelines.

General guideline

1. References should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals in the order in which they are cited in the text, NOT in alphabetical order.
2. The quantity of cited sources should be limited to 30 in original articles, and 60  – in reviews;
3. Each reference should be cited in the text, tables, or figures in consecutive numerical order by means of Arabic numerals appeared in square brackets.
4. List up ALL the authors or editors in reference list. If there are more than four, list the first three, plus et al. Invert all names –authors, editors, translators, compilers – first & middle initials trailing without periods.
5. The names of journals are set in italics and abbreviated according to the List of NLM Catalog by the National Library of Medicine. If a journal is not indexed for Medline, you should use its full title. It is unacceptable to reduce the name of the article or abbreviate the title of the national journal (if it does not have NLM Title Abbreviation or ISO Abbreviation).
6. A complete print journal reference includes the following: Authors' surnames and initials; Title of article and subtitle, if any; Abbreviated name of journal; Year; Volume number; Issue number; Part or supplement number, when pertinent; Inclusive page numbers.
7. Reference list should be presented in Vancouver as published AMA reference style (AMA style).
8. References to non-Latin sources (Russian, Chinese) should be given in Latin script. If an article has the translated title, you should provide an English translation instead of Latin script transliteration [in square brackets].
9. If a reference source has the Digital Object Identifier -DOI, it should be provided in the end of the reference. To check if DOI is valid, visit http://search.crossref.org/or https://www.citethisforme.com. Example:  

• Zhang M, Holman CD, Price SD. Comorbidity and repeat admission to hospital for adverse drug reactions in older adults: retrospective cohort study. New Engl J Med. 2009;338:a2752. doi: 10.1136/bmj.a2752

Guidelines for presenting references to non-English and non-Latin sources

If an article is presented in Latin script language (German, French, Finnish, Danish, Italian, etc.), it should be cited in original language:

• Ellingsen AE, Wilhelmsen I. Sykdomsangst blant medisin- og jusstudenter. Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen. 2002;122(8):785-787. (In Norwegian).

If an article is presented in non-Latin script – in Cyrillics (Russian), Chinese, etc., you must transliterate the reference into the English alphabet. Transliteration in BSI standard is given in accordance with original stylistic. If an article has the translated title, you should provide an English translation instead of Latin script transliteration [in square brackets]. For journal articles, you need not translate the journal title: give the transliterated title in BSI standard ((if it does not have NLM Title Abbreviation or ISO Abbreviation), then – imprint details: year;volume(issue):pages. In the end, you should indicate the original language of an article (in round brackets), e.g.:  (In Russ.). Afterward, provide DOI, if available. Example:

• Grigoryan OR, Sheremet'eva EV, Andreeva EN, Dedov II. Planirovanie beremennosti u zhenshchin s sakharnym diabetom. Vestnik reproduktivnogo zdorov'ya. 2011;(1):23-31. (In Russ). 
• Belaia ZE, Rozhinskaia LY, Mel'nichenko GA, et al. [The role of prolactin gradient and normalized ACTH/prolactin ratio in the improvement of sensitivity and specificity of selective blood sampling from inferior petrosal sinuses for differential diagnostics of ACTH-dependent hypercorticism.] Problemy endokrinologii. 2013;59(4):3-10. (In Russ). doi: 10.14341/probl20135943-10.

Examples of AMA style citing

Articles in Periodicals

1. Complete Data

• Halpern SD, Ubel PA, Caplan AL. Solid-organ transplantation in HIV-infected patients. New Engl J Med. 2002;347(4):284-287.

2. Group/Corporate Author

• Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Hypertension, insulin, and proinsulin in participants with impaired glucose tolerance. Hypertension. 2002;40(5):679-686.

3. Authors are both individuals and a Group

• Vallancien G, Emberton M, Harving N, van Moorselaar RJ; Alf-One Study Group. Sexual dysfunction in 1,274 European men suffering from lower urinary tract symptoms. J Urol. 2003;169(6):2257-2261.

4. No Author is listed

• 21st century heart solution may have a sting in the tail. BMJ. 2002;325(7357):184.

5. Supplements

• Geraud G, Spierings EL, Keywood C. Tolerability and safety of frovatriptan with short- and long-term use for treatment of migraine and in comparison with sumatriptan. Headache. 2002;42 Suppl 2:S93-99.

6. Special issue or Issue on the topic

• Glauser TA. Integrating clinical trial data into clinical practice. Neurology. 2002;58(12 Suppl 7):S6-12.

7. Parts of a Volume

• Abend SM, Kulish N. The psychoanalytic method from an epistemological viewpoint. Int J Psychoanal. 2002;83(Pt 2):491-495.

8. Parts of an Issue

• Ahrar K, Madoff DC, Gupta S, Wallace MJ, Price RE, Wright KC. Development of a large animal model for lung tumors. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2002;13(9 Pt 1):923-928.

9. Journals without a Volume Number

• Banit DM, Kaufer H, Hartford JM. Intraoperative frozen section analysis in revision total joint arthroplasty. Clinical Orthopaedics. 2002;(401):230-238.

10. Journals without a Volume or an Issue Number

• Outreach: bringing HIV-positive individuals into care. HRSA Careaction. 2002:1-6.

11. Non-Latin page numbers

• Chadwick R, Schuklenk U. The politics of ethical consensus finding. Bioethics. 2002;16(2):III-V.

12. Letters, abstracts, review to an article

• Tor M, Turker H. International approaches to the prescription of long-term oxygen therapy [letter]. Eur Respir J.2002;20(1):242.
• Lofwall MR, Strain EC, Brooner RK, Kindbom KA, Bigelow GE. Characteristics of older methadone maintenance (MM) patients [abstract]. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2002;66 Suppl 1:S105.

13. Corrections

• Mansharamani M, Chilton BS. The reproductive importance of P-type ATPases. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2002;188(1-2):22-52. Corrected and republished from: Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2001;183(1-2):123-126.

14. Commentary

• Malinowski JM, Bolesta S. Rosiglitazone in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus: a critical review. Clinical Therapeutics. 2000;22(10):1151-1168; discussion 1149-1150. Erratum in: Clin Ther. 2001;23(2):309.

Print Books and Monographs

15. One or several Authors are listed (Complete Data)

• Murray PR, Rosenthal KS, Kobayashi GS, Pfaller MA. Medical microbiology. 4th ed. St. Louis: Mosby; 2002.
• Ringsven MK, Bond D. Gerontology and leadership skills for nurses. 2nd ed. Albany, NY: Delmar Publishers; 1996.

16. One or several Editors are listed

• Gilstrap LC 3rd, Cunningham FG, Van Dorsten JP, editors. Operative obstetrics. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2002.
• Norman IJ, Redfern SJ, editors. Mental health care for elderly people. New York: Churchill Livingstone; 1996.

17. Both Authors and Editors are listed

• Breedlove GK, Schorfheide AM. Adolescent pregnancy. 2nd ed. Wieczorek RR, editor. White Plains (NY): March of Dimes Education Services; 2001.

18. Group/Corporate Author

• Advanced Life Support Group. Acute medical emergencies: the practical approach. London: BMJ Books; 2001. 454 p.
• American Occupational Therapy Association, Ad Hoc Committee on Occupational Therapy Manpower. Occupational therapy manpower: a plan for progress. Rockville (MD): The Association; 1985 Apr. 84 p.
• National Lawyer's Guild AIDs Network (US); National Gay Rights Advocates (US). AIDS practice manual: a legal and educational guide. 2nd ed. San Francisco: The Network; 1988.

19. Chapter in a Book

• Meltzer PS, Kallioniemi A, Trent JM. Chromosome alterations in human solid tumors. In: Vogelstein B, Kinzler KW, editors. The genetic basis of human cancer. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2002. p. 93-113.

20. Conference proceedings

• Harnden P, Joffe JK, Jones WG, editors. Germ cell tumours V. Proceedings of the 5th Germ Cell Tumour Conference; 2001 Sep 13-15; Leeds, UK. New York: Springer; 2002.

21. Abstracts in Conference proceedings

• Christensen S, Oppacher F. An analysis of Koza's computational effort statistic for genetic programming. In: Foster JA, Lutton E, Miller J, Ryan C, Tettamanzi AG, editors. Genetic programming. EuroGP 2002: Proceedings of the 5th European Conference on Genetic Programming; 2002 Apr 3-5; Kinsdale, Ireland. Berlin: Springer; 2002. p. 182-91.

22. Scientific or Technical Reports

• Yen GG (Oklahoma State University, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Stillwater, OK). Health monitoring on vibration signatures. Final report. Arlington (VA): Air Force Office of Scientific Research (US), Air Force Research Laboratory; 2002 Feb. Report No.: AFRLSRBLTR020123. Contract No.: F496209810049.
• Russell ML, Goth-Goldstein R, Apte MG, Fisk WJ. Method for measuring the size distribution of airborne Rhinovirus. Berkeley (CA): Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Environmental Energy Technologies Division; 2002 Jan. Report No.: LBNL49574. Contract No.: DEAC0376SF00098. Sponsored by the Department of Energy.

23. Dissertations

• Borkowski MM. Infant sleep and feeding: a telephone survey of Hispanic Americans [dissertation]. Mount Pleasant (MI): Central Michigan University; 2002.

24. Patents

• Pagedas AC, inventor; Ancel Surgical R&D Inc., assignee. Flexible endoscopic grasping and cutting device and positioning tool assembly. United States patent US 20020103498. 2002 Aug 1.

Other Print Materials

25. Newspaper articles

• Tynan T. Medical improvements lower homicide rate: study sees drop in assault rate. The Washington Post. 2002 Aug 12;Sect. A:2 (col. 4).

26. Other Media [Audiotapes, Videotapes, DVDs (Digital Video Disks)]

• Chason KW, Sallustio S. Hospital preparedness for bioterrorism [videocassette]. Secaucus (NJ): Network for Continuing Medical Education; 2002.
• Hormone replacement therapy [audio]. National Public Radio. August 5, 2002. Available at: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1147833. Accessed March 4, 2004.

27. Legislative Materials

• Veterans Hearing Loss Compensation Act of 2002, Pub. L. No. 107-9, 115 Stat. 11 (May 24, 2001).
• Healthy Children Learn Act, S. 1012, 107th Cong., 1st Sess. (2001).
• Cardiopulmonary Bypass Intracardiac Suction Control, 21 C.F.R. Sect. 870.4430 (2002).
• Arsenic in Drinking Water: An Update on the Science, Benefits and Cost: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Environment, Technology and Standards of the House Comm. on Science, 107th Cong., 1st Sess. (Oct. 4, 2001).

28. Maps

• Pratt B, Flick P, Vynne C, cartographers. Biodiversity hotspots [map]. Washington: Conservation International; 2000.

29. Dictionaries and reference materials

• Dorland's illustrated medical dictionary. 29th ed. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders; 2000. Filamin; p. 675.

Unpublished Material

30. Articles in press

• Tian D, Araki H, Stahl E, Bergelson J, Kreitman M. Signature of balancing selection in Arabidopsis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. Forthcoming 2002.

Electronic References

31. CD-ROM

• Anderson SC, Poulsen KB. Anderson's electronic atlas of hematology [CD-ROM]. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2002.

32. Online Journals

• Abood S. Quality improvement initiative in nursing homes: the ANA acts in an advisory role. Am J Nurs [Internet]. 2002 Jun [cited 2002 Aug 12];102(6):[about 1 p.]. Available from: http://www.nursingworld.org/AJN/2002/june/Wawatch.htmArticle
• Abood S. Quality improvement initiative in nursing homes: the ANA acts in an advisory role. Am J Nurs. 2002 Jun [cited 2002 Aug 12];102(6):[about 1 p.]. Available from:  http://www.nursingworld.org/AJN/2002/june/Wawatch.htmArticle

References with Digital Object Identifier - DOI:

• Zhang M, Holman CD, Price SD, Sanfilippo FM, Preen DB, Bulsara MK. Comorbidity and repeat admission to hospital for adverse drug reactions in older adults: retrospective cohort study. BMJ. 2009;338:a2752. doi: 10.1136/bmj.a2752.

33. Monographs published online

• Foley KM, Gelband H, editors. Improving palliative care for cancer [Internet]. Washington: National Academy Press; 2001 [cited 2002 Jul 9]. Available from: http://www.nap.edu/books/0309074029/html/.

34. Internet pages

• Cancer-Pain.org [Internet]. New York: Association of Cancer Online Resources, Inc.; c2000-01 [updated 2002 May 16; cited 2002 Jul 9]. Available from: http://www.cancer-pain.org/.

35. Page screen

• American Medical Association [Internet]. Chicago: The Association; c1995-2002 [updated 2001 Aug 23; cited 2002 Aug 12]. AMA Office of Group Practice Liaison; [about 2 screens]. Available from: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/1736.html

36. Databases

• Open access:          
  Who's Certified [Internet]. Evanston (IL): The American Board of Medical Specialists. c2000 -   [cited 2001 Mar 8]. Available from: http://www.abms.org/newsearch.asp
• By subscription:          
  Jablonski S. Online Multiple Congenital Anomaly/Mental Retardation (MCA/MR) Syndromes [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US); c1999 [updated 2001 Nov 20; cited 2002 Aug 12]. Available from: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/archive//20061212/mesh/jablonski/syndrome_title.html

37. Page from database

• MeSH Browser [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US); 2002. Meta-analysis [cited 2008 Jul 24]; [about 2 p.]. Available from: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/cgi/mesh/2008/MB_cgi?mode=&index=16408&view=concept MeSH Unique ID: D017418.

38. Blog

• Holt M. The Health Care Blog [Internet]. San Francisco: Matthew Holt. 2003 Oct -   [cited 2009 Feb 13]. Available from: http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/.
• KidneyNotes.com [Internet]. New York: KidneyNotes. c2006 -   [cited 2009 Feb 13]. Available from: http://www.kidneynotes.com/.
• Wall Street Journal. HEALTH BLOG: WSJ's blog on health and the business of health [Internet]. Hensley S, editor. New York: Dow Jones & Company, Inc. c2007 -   [cited 2009 Feb 13]. Available from: http://blogs.wsj.com/health/ .

39. Blog post

• Mantone J. Head trauma haunts many, researchers say. 2008 Jan 29 [cited 2009 Feb 13]. In: Wall Street Journal. HEALTH BLOG [Internet]. New York: Dow Jones & Company, Inc. c2008 -   . [about 1 screen]. Available from:http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/01/29/head-trauma-haunts-many-researchers-say/.
• Campbell A. Diabetes and alcohol: do the two mix? (Part 2). 2008 Jan 28 [cited 2009 Feb 13]. In: Diabetes Self-Management Blog [Internet]. New York: Diabetes Self-Management. [2006 Aug 14]. - 2 p. Available from:   
  http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/blog/Amy_Campbell/Diabetes_and_Alcohol_Do_the_Two_Mix_Part_2
• Reider J. Docnotes: Health, Technology, Family Medicine and other observations [Internet]. [place unknown]: Jacob Reider. 1999 -   . CRP again ...; 2004 Apr 2 [cited 2009 Feb 13]; [about 1 screen]. Available from: http://www.docnotes.com/2004/04/crp-again.html

Publishing Ethics

The Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement of the journal  “Russian Medical and Social Journal” are based on the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Code of Conduct guidelines available at www.publicationethics.org,  and requirements for peer-reviewed medical journals ((http://health.elsevier.ru/attachments/editor/file/ethical_code_final.pdf), elaborated by the "Elsevier" Publishing House (in accordance with international ethical rules of scientific publications) 

1. Introduction

1.1. The publication in a peer reviewed learned journal, serves many purposes outside of simple communication. It is a building block in the development of a coherent and respected network of knowledge. For all these reasons and more it is important to lay down standards of expected ethical behaviour by all parties involved in the act of publishing: the author, the journal editor, the peer reviewer, the publisher and the society for society-owned or sponsored journal: “Russian Medical and Social Journal”.

1.2.Publisher has a supporting, investing and nurturing role in the scholarly communication process but is also ultimately responsible for ensuring that best practice is followed in its publications.

1.3. Publisher takes its duties of guardianship over the scholarly record extremely seriously. Our journal programmes record «the minutes of science» and we recognise our responsibilities as the keeper of those «minutes» in all our policies not least the ethical guidelines that we have here adopted.

2. Duties of Editors

2.1.Publication decision – The Editor of a learned “Russian Medical and Social Journal” is solely and independently responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published, often working on conjunction with the relevant society (for society-owned or sponsored journals). The validation of the work in question and its importance to researchers and readers must always underwrite such decisions. The Editor may be guided by the policies of the “Russian Medical and Social Journal” journal’s editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The editor may confer with other editors or reviewers (or society officers) in making this decision.

2.2.Fair play – An editor should evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.

2.3.Confidentiality – The editor and any editorial staff of “Russian Medical and Social Journal” must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.

2.4.Disclosure and Conflicts of interest

2.4.1. Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor’s 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.

2.4.2. Editors should recuse themselves (i.e. should ask a co-editor, associate editor 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.

2.5.Vigilance over published record – An editor presented with convincing evidence that the substance or conclusions of a published paper are erroneous should coordinate with the publisher (and/or society) to promote the prompt publication of a correction, retraction, expression of concern, or other note, as may be relevant.

2.6.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.

3. Duties of Reviewers

3.1.Contribution to Editorial Decisions – Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and through the editorial communications with the author may also assist the author in improving the paper. Peer review is an essential component of formal scholarly communication, and lies at the heart of the scientific method. Publisher shares the view of many that all scholars who wish to contribute to publications have an obligation to do a fair share of reviewing.

3.2.Promptness – Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor of “Russian Medical and Social Journal” and excuse himself from the review process.

3.3.Confidentiality – Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorised by the editor.

3.4.Standard and objectivity – Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

3.5.Acknowledgement of Sources – Reviewers  should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. A reviewer should also call to the editor’s attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

3.6.Disclosure and Conflict of Interest

3.6.1.Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in a reviewer’s 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.

3.6.2. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

4. Duties of Authors

4.1.Reporting standards

4.1.1. Authors of reports of original research 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 paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behaviour and are unacceptable.

4.1.2. Review and professional publication articles should also be accurate and objective, and editorial 'opinion’ works should be clearly identified as such.

4.2.Data Access and Retention – Authors may be asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review, and should be prepared to provide public access to such data (consistent with the ALPSP-STM Statement on Data and Databases), if practicable, and should in any event be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.

4.3.Originality and Plagiarism

4.3.1. The authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others, this has been appropriately cited or quoted.

4.3.2. Plagiarism takes many forms, from ‘passing off’ another’s paper as the author’s own paper, to copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another’s paper (without attribution), to claiming results from research conducted by others. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behaviour and is unacceptable.

4.4.Multiple, Redundant or Concurrent Publication

4.4.1. An author should not in general publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal of primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behaviour and is unacceptable.

4.4.2. In general, an author should not submit for consideration in another journal a previously published paper.

4.4.3. Publication of some kinds of articles (eg, clinical guidelines, translations) in more than one journal is sometimes justifiable, provided certain conditions are met. The authors and editors of the journals concerned must agree to the secondary publication, which must reflect the same data and interpretation of the primary document. The primary reference must be cited in the secondary publication. Further detail on acceptable forms of secondary publication can be found at www.icmje.org.

4.5.Acknowledgement of Sources – Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work. Information obtained privately, as in conversation, correspondence, or discussion with third parties, must not be used or reported without explicit, written permission from the source. Information obtained in the course of confidential services, such as refereeing manuscripts or grant applications, must not be used without the explicit written permission of the author of the work involved in these services.

4.6.Authorship of the Paper

4.6.1. Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors.

4.6.2. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.

4.7.Hazards and Human or Animal Subjects

4.7.1. If the work involves chemicals, procedures or equipment that have any unusual hazards inherent in their use, the author must clearly identify these in the manuscript.

4.7.2. If the work involves the use of animal or human subjects, the author should ensure that the manuscript contains a statement that all procedures were performed in compliance with relevant laws and institutional guidelines and that the appropriate institutional committee(s) have approved them. Authors should include a statement in the manuscript that informed consent was obtained for experimentation with human subjects. The privacy rights of human subjects must always be observed.

4.8. Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

4.8.1. 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.

4.8.2. 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 possible stage.

4.9. Fundamental errors in published works – When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in a published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the editor of “Russian Medical and Social Journal” journal and cooperate with Publisher to retract or correct the paper, If the editor or the publisher learn from a third party that a published work contains a significant error, it is the obligation of the author to promptly retract or correct the paper.

5. Duties of the Publisher (and if relevant, Society)

5.1. Publisher should adopt policies and procedures that support editors, reviewers and authors of “Russian Medical and Social Journal” in performing their ethical duties under these ethics guidelines. The publisher should ensure that the potential for advertising or reprint revenue has no impact or influence on editorial decisions.

5.2. The publisher should support “Russian Medical and Social Journal” journal editors in the review of complaints raised concerning ethical issues and help communications with other journals and/or publishers where this is useful to editors.

5.3. Publisher should develop codes of practice and inculcate industry standards for best practice on ethical matters, errors and retractions.

5.4. Publisher should provide specialised legal review and counsel if necessary.

The section is prepared according to the files (http://health.elsevier.ru/attachments/editor/file/ethical_code_final.pdf) of Elsevier publisher (https://www.elsevier.com/) and files (http://publicationethics.org/resources) from Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE - http://publicationethics.org/). 

Reviewing

Every scientific article submitted to “Russian Medical and Social Journal” is subject to double blind review (reviewers are not informed of manuscript authors’ names, authors are not informed of reviewers’ names).

1. Articles are reviewed by editorial board members and invited reviewers – leading specialists in relevant fields of medicine, highly proficient and experienced in the field of interest which is close to the thematic focus of the manuscript. All the reviewers are acknowledged experts in the subject matter of reviewed materials and have a number of publications on the subject matter of the reviewed article over the last three years.

2. The decision on choosing a particular reviewer for reviewing the article is made by the editor-in-chief or the deputy editor-in-chief. The reviewing takes 2 to 4 weeks but can be extended if required by the reviewer.

3. The review procedure is confidential. Reviewers are notified that manuscripts submitted for their review are their authors’ intellectual property and should be treated as information that is not subject to disclosure. Reviewers are not allowed to make copies of manuscripts for their personal needs. Breach of confidentiality is allowed only in case the material is declared to be invalid or falsified. The author of the reviewed work is given the opportunity to read the text of the review.

4. Each reviewer is entitled to refuse to perform the reviewing in case any explicit conflict of interests exists impacting his/her perception or interpretation of manuscript materials. Besides, he/she can ask the editor-in-chief to suspend him/her from the reviewing in case of insufficient expertise for reviewing this manuscript or shortage of time for performing this work in time.

5. The review must contain expert evaluation of the manuscript against the following parameters: correspondence between content of the article and its title; urgency of the study; scientific novelty of the results, reasonability of publishing the article considering the thematic scope of the journal and literature on this subject matter published earlier; material presentation (language, style, used categories and expressions), accuracy in factual data descriptions.

6. As a result, each reviewer gives his/her recommendations on further dealing with the article (each reviewer’s decision is to be justified):
• the article is recommended for publication as it is;
• the article is recommended for publication after the faults discovered by the reviewer are eliminated;
• the article requires further reviewing by another expert;
• the article is not recommended for publication in the journal.

7. If the review contains recommendations to correct or improve the article the editorial board of the journal provides the author with the text of the review suggesting to take them into account when a new version of the article is prepared or to refute them (partially or in full) in a well-argued manner. Article improvement cannot take longer than 2 weeks starting from the moment of an e-mail to its authors notifying them of amendments required. The article improved by the author is subject to reviewing again.

8. If the authors refuse to amend the materials they must notify the editorial board in written or verbally of their refusal to have the article published. If the authors do not return an amended version within 3 months after the review is sent to them even if the authors do not explicitly refuse to amend the article the editing board strikes it off the list. In such cases authors are notified accordingly of their manuscripts being stroke off the list due to expiry of time meant for amendments.

9. If the author and the reviewer have faced any irreconcilable differences regarding the manuscript the editorial board is entitled to submit the manuscript for further reviewing. In conflict situations the decision is made by the editor-in-chief at the editorial board meeting.

10. The decision on refusal to publish a manuscript is made at the editorial board meeting with reviewers’ recommendations taken into account. The article not recommended for publication according to the editorial board’s decision is not reaccepted. The author is provided with a notice of publication refusal and a copy of the review by e-mail.

11. After the editorial board of the journal decides to accept an article for publication the editors office notifies the author accordingly and informs him/her of the issue date.

12. A positive review does not guarantee publication of the article. The final decision is made by the editorial board. In conflict situations the decision is made by the editor-in-chief.

13. The following materials are not accepted for publication:
• articles which are not executed in accordance with the article submission guidelines and the authors of which refuse to adjust them accordingly.
• articles the authors of which do not take reviewers’ meaningful comments into account or do not refute them in a well-argued manner.

14. The editors office sends copies of reviews to the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation upon request.

15. Original reviews are kept in the editors office for 5 years.

 

The Editorial Board constantly monitors the quality of peer review using the Russian version of the Review Quality Instrument questionnaire (Version 3.2), van Rooyen S., Black N., Godlee F. J Clin Epidemiol 1999;52:625-9.

 

The Editorial Board of the journal “Russian Medical and Social Journal” expects that the review process will help to:

• prevent publishing poor-quality articles and reject the studies that have not been designed and conducted properly;
• make sure that the data reported in the article are accurate, sufficient, and, where applicable, are presented in compliance with the current international standards CONSORT, STROBE, PRISMA, CARE, STARD (http://www.equator-network.org);
• check whether the previous key studies in the corresponding field of science have been cited;
• make sure that the authors have properly interpreted the data and drawn substantiated conclusions;

and, hence:

• make a decision whether to publish an article or not and offer suggestions to the authors on how to improve the article (where necessary).

Policy on retraction or correction of articles

Journal editors should consider retracting a publication if:

• they have clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, either as a result of misconduct (e.g. data fabrication) or honest error (e.g. miscalculation or experimental error)
• the findings have previously been published elsewhere without proper cross-referencing, permission or justification (i.e. cases of redundant publication)
• it constitutes plagiarism
• it reports unethical research

Journal editors should consider issuing an expression of concern if:

• they receive inconclusive evidence of research or publication misconduct by the authors
• there is evidence that the findings are unreliable, but the authors’ institution will not investigate the case
• they believe that an investigation into alleged misconduct related to the publication either has not been, or would not be, fair and impartial or conclusive
• an investigation is underway, but a judgement will not be available for a considerable time

Journal editors should consider issuing a correction if:

• a small portion of an otherwise reliable publication proves to be misleading (especially because of honest error)
• the author / contributor list is incorrect (i.e. a deserving author has been omitted or somebody who does not meet authorship criteria has been included)

Retractions are not usually appropriate if:

• a change of authorship is required but there is no reason to doubt the validity of the findings

Notices of retraction should:

• be linked to the retracted article wherever possible (i.e. in all electronic versions) •clearly identify the retracted article (e.g. by including the title and authors in the retraction heading)
• be clearly identified as a retraction (i.e. distinct from other types of correction or comment)
• be published promptly to minimize harmful effects from misleading publications
• be freely available to all readers (i.e. not behind access barriers or available only to subscribers)
• state who is retracting the article
• state the reason(s) for retraction (to distinguish misconduct from honest error)
• avoid statements that are potentially defamatory or libelous

The purpose of retraction

Retraction is a mechanism for correcting the literature and alerting readers to publications that contain such seriously flawed or erroneous data that their findings and conclusions cannot be relied upon. Unreliable data may result from honest error or from research misconduct.

Retractions are also used to alert readers to cases of redundant publication (i.e. when authors present the same data in several publications), plagiarism, and failure to disclose a major competing interest likely to influence interpretations or recommendations. 
The main purpose of retractions is to correct the literature and ensure its integrity rather than to punish authors who misbehave.

What form should a retraction take?

Notices of retraction should mention the reasons and basis for the retraction, to distinguish cases of misconduct from those of honest error; they should also specify who is retracting the article. They should be published in all versions of the journal (i.e. print and/or electronic). It is helpful to include the authors and title of the retracted article in the retraction heading.

Retracted articles should be clearly identified as such in all electronic sources (e.g. on the journal website and any bibliographic databases). Editors are responsible for ensuring that retractions are labelled in such a way that they are identified by bibliographic databases (which should also include a link to the retracted article). The retraction should appear on all electronic searches for the retracted publication. Journals and publishers should ensure that retracted articles are clearly marked on their own websites. 
Retracted articles should not be removed from printed copies of the journal (e.g. in libraries) nor from electronic archives but their retracted status should be indicated as clearly as possible.

Which publications should be retracted?

If only a small part of an article reports flawed data, and especially if this is the result of genuine error, then the problem is best rectified by a correction or erratum. (The term erratum usually refers to a production error, caused by the journal. The term corrigendum (or correction) usually refers to an author error.) Partial retractions are not helpful because they make it difficult for readers to determine the status of the article and which parts may be relied upon. 
Similarly, if only a small section of an article (e.g. a few sentences in the discussion) is plagiarized, editors should consider whether readers (and the plagiarized author) would be best served by a correction (which could note the fact that text was used without appropriate acknowledgement) rather than retracting the entire article which may contain sound, original data in other parts. Retraction should usually be reserved for publications that are so seriously flawed (for whatever reason) that their findings or conclusions should not be relied upon.

If redundant publication has occurred (i.e. authors have published the same data or article in more than one journal without appropriate justification, permission or cross-referencing) the journal that first published the article may issue a notice of redundant publication but should not retract the article unless the findings are unreliable. Any journals that subsequently publish a redundant article should retract it and state the reason for the retraction. 
If an article is submitted to more than one journal simultaneously and is accepted and published in both journals (either electronically or in print) at the same time, precedence may be determined by the date on which a license to publish or a copyright transfer agreement was signed by the authors.

In cases of partial overlap (i.e. when authors present some new findings in an article that also contains a substantial amount of previously published information) editors need to consider whether readers are best served if the entire article is retracted or whether it would be best to issue a notice of redundant publication clarifying which aspects had been published previously and providing appropriate cross-references to the earlier work. This will depend on the amount of overlap. Editors should bear in mind that the main purpose of retractions is to correct the literature and ensure its integrity rather than to punish authors who misbehave. 
Only published items can be retracted. Guidelines on dealing with redundant publications identified in submitted manuscripts can be found in the relevant COPE flowchart [http://publicationethics.org/files/u2/01A_Redundant_Submitted.pdf ]. Posting a final version on a website constitutes publication even if an article has not appeared (or will not appear) in print. If an article is retracted before it appears in the print version of a journal, the electronic version should be retained on the journal’s website with a clear notice of retraction and it should be included on bibliographic databases (e.g. with a digital object identifier [DOI] or other permanent citation that will locate it) even if it does not appear in the printed journal and therefore does not receive a page allocation. This is because electronic versions may already have been accessed and cited by researchers who need to be alerted to the fact that the article has been retracted.

Who should issue the retraction?

Articles may be retracted by their author(s) or by the journal editor. In some cases, retractions are issued jointly or on behalf of the journal’s owner (e.g. a learned society or publisher). However, since responsibility for the journal’s content rests with the editor s/he should always have the final decision about retracting material. Journal editors may retract publications (or issue expressions of concern) even if all or some of the authors refuse to retract the publication themselves.

When should a publication be retracted?

Publications should be retracted as soon as possible after the journal editor is convinced that the publication is seriously flawed and misleading (or is redundant or plagiarized). Prompt retraction should minimize the number of researchers who cite the erroneous work, act on its findings or draw incorrect conclusions, such as from ‘double counting’ redundant publications in meta-analyses or similar instances. If editors have convincing evidence that a retraction is required, they should not delay retraction simply because the authors are not cooperative. However, if an allegation of misconduct related to a potential retraction results in a disciplinary hearing or institutional investigation, it is normally appropriate to wait for the outcome of this before issuing a retraction (but an expression of concern may be published to alert readers in the interim – see below).

What should editors do in the face of inconclusive evidence about a publication’s reliability?

If conclusive evidence about the reliability of a publication cannot be obtained (e.g. if authors produce conflicting accounts of the case, authors’ institutions refuse to investigate alleged misconduct or to release the findings of such investigations, or if investigations appear not to have been carried out fairly or are taking an unreasonably long time to reach a conclusion) editors should issue an expression of concern rather than retracting the publication immediately. Such expressions of concern, like retraction notices, should be clearly linked to the original publication (i.e. in electronic databases and by including the author and title of the original publication as a heading) and should state the reasons for the concern. If more conclusive evidence about the publication’s reliability becomes available later, the expression of concern should be replaced by a notice of retraction (if the article is shown to be unreliable) or by an exonerating statement linked to the expression of concern (if the article is shown to be reliable and the author exonerated).

Should retraction be applied in cases of disputed authorship?

Authors sometimes request that articles are retracted when authorship is disputed after publication. If there is no reason to doubt the validity of the findings or the reliability of the data it is not appropriate to retract a publication solely on the grounds of an authorship dispute. In such cases, the journal editor should inform those involved in the dispute that s/he cannot adjudicate in such cases but will be willing to publish a correction to the author/contributor list if the authors/contributors (or their institutions) provide appropriate proof that such a change is justified. 
(For authorship disputes occurring before publication, see the relevant COPE flowcharts. http://publicationethics.org/files/u2/04A_Author_Add_Submitted.pdf and http://publicationethics.org/files/u2/04B_Author_Remove_Submitted.pdf)

Can authors dissociate themselves from a retracted publication?

If retraction is due to the actions of some, but not all, authors of a publication, the notice of retraction should mention this. However, most editors consider that authorship entails some degree of joint responsibility for the integrity of the reported research, so it is not appropriate for authors to dissociate themselves from a retracted publication even if they were not directly culpable of any misconduct.

Are there grounds for legal proceedings if an author sues a journal for retracting, or refusing to retract, a publication?

Authors who disagree with a retraction (or whose request to retract a publication is refused) sometimes threaten journal editors with legal action. Concern over litigation can make editors reluctant to retract articles, especially in the face of opposition from authors. 
Journals’ instructions for authors should explain the retraction procedure and describe the circumstances under which articles might be retracted. This information should be incorporated (e.g. by references) into any publishing agreements and brought to the authors’ attention. However, even if the publishing agreement or journal instructions do not set out specific conditions for retraction, authors usually would not have grounds for taking legal action against a journal over the act of retraction if it follows a suitable investigation and proper procedures.

However, legal advice may be helpful to determine appropriate wording for a notice of retraction or expression of concern to ensure that these are not defamatory or libelous. Nevertheless, retraction notices should always mention the reason(s) for retraction to distinguish honest error from misconduct.

Whenever possible, editors should negotiate with authors and attempt to agree a form of wording that is clear and informative to readers and acceptable to all parties. If authors consent to the wording of a retraction statement, this provides defense against a libel claim. However, prolonged negotiations about wording should not be allowed to delay the publication of a retraction unreasonably and editors should publish retractions even if consensus cannot be reached.

The Policy based on:
WagerE., Barbour V., Yentis S., Kleinert S. on behalf of COPE Council. Retractions: Guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Electronic resource [https://publicationethics.org/files/u661/Retractions_COPE_gline_final_3_Sept_09__2_.pdf].

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Dlya polucheniya ekzemplyara pechatnogo nomera zhurnala neobhodimo:

- osuschestvit' zakaz po e-mail: info@rmsj.ru s ukazaniem nomera zhurnala; kolichestva ekzemplyarov, sposoba polucheniya zhurnala i kontaktnymi dannymi  s ukazaniem v teme pis'ma: «Zakaz zhurnala»;

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- poluchit' zakazannye nomera v sootvetstvii s usloviyami polucheniya zakaza.

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Author fees

Publication in “Russian Medical and Social Journal” is free of charge for all the authors.

The journal doesn't have any Arcticle processing charges.

The journal doesn't have any Article submission charges.

Open Access Policy

It is an open access journal. All articles are made freely available to readers immediatly upon publication.

Our open access policy is in accordance with the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) definition - it means that articles have free availability on the public internet, permitting any users to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without financial, legal, or technical barriers other than those inseparable from gaining access to the internet itself.

For more information please read BOAI statement.

 

Disclosure and Conflict of Interest

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in a reviewer’s 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.

Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

Plagiarism detection

“Russian Medical and Social Journal” use native russian-language plagiarism detection software to screen the submissions. If plagiarism is identified, the COPE guidelines on plagiarism will be followed.

Preprint and postprint Policy

Prior to acceptance and publication in “Russian Medical and Social Journal”, authors may make their submissions available as preprints on personal or public websites.

As part of submission process, authors are required to confirm that the submission has not been previously published, nor has been submitted. After a manuscript has been published in “Russian Medical and Social Journal” we suggest that the link to the article on journal's website is used when the article is shared on personal or public websites.

Glossary (by SHERPA)

Preprint - In the context of Open Access, a preprint is a draft of an academic article or other publication before it has been submitted for peer-review or other quality assurance procedure as part of the publication process. Preprints cover initial and successive drafts of articles, working papers or draft conference papers.

Postprint - The final version of an academic article or other publication - after it has been peer-reviewed and revised into its final form by the author. As a general term this covers both the author's final version and the version as published, with formatting and copy-editing changes in place.

Copyright Notice

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

• Authors grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
• Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
• Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).

The position in relation to the authorship

Based on ICMJE recommendations and [McNutt et al., Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, Feb 2018, 201715374; DOI: 10.1073 / pnas.1715374115; licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0]

All members of the group of authors should meet all four criteria of authorship set forth in the ICMJE recommendations: 
1) concept and design development or data analysis and interpretation
2) manuscript justification or verification of critical intellectual content
3) final approval for publication of the manuscript
4) consent to be responsible for all aspects of the work and assume that issues relating to the thoroughness and diligent execution of all parts of the study submitted are duly investigated and resolved (even ones in which the author was not personally involved).
Contributors do not meet all four authorship criteria could be mentioned in the Acknowledgements section. Their functions may be: funding, general management of the research team, general administrative support, participation in writing, technical revision of the text, scientific revision of the text, correction and proofreading. Their contribution to the work must be defined in writing (as example, scientific consultant, medical writer, critical data analysis, data collection, etc.)

The journal does not require all authors of a manuscript to sign the letter of submission, nor do they impose an order on the list of authors. Submission to the journal is taken by the journal to mean that all the listed authors have agreed all of the contents, including the author list and author contribution statements. The corresponding author is responsible for having ensured that this agreement has been reached that all authors have agreed to be so listed, and have approved the manuscript submission to the journal, and for managing all communication between the journal and all co-authors, before and after publication. The corresponding author is also responsible for submitting a competing interests' statement on behalf of all authors of the paper.

It is expected that the corresponding author will be responsible for the following with respect to data:
• ensuring that data comply with transparency and reproducibility standards;
• ensuring that original data upon which the submitted manuscript is based are preserved following best practices in the field so that they are used for reanalysis;
• confirming that data presentation accurately reflects the original;
• foreseeing and minimizing obstacles to the sharing of data described in the work
• ensuring that all authors (or group leaders in multi-center collaborations) have certified the author list and author contributions

At submission, the corresponding author must include written permission from the authors of the work concerned for mention of any unpublished material cited in the manuscript (for example others' data in press manuscripts; personal communications or work in preparation). The corresponding author also must clearly identify at submission any material within the manuscript (such as figures) that has been published previously elsewhere and provide written permission from authors of the prior work and/or publishers, as appropriate, for the re-use of such material.

After acceptance, the corresponding author is responsible for the accuracy of all content in the proof, including the names of coauthors, addresses and affiliations.

After publication, the corresponding author is the point of contact for queries about the published paper. It is his/her responsibility to inform all co-authors of any matters arising in relation to the published paper and to ensure such matters are dealt with promptly. Authors of published material have a responsibility to inform the journal immediately if they become aware of any aspects that requires correction.

Any changes to the author list after submission, such as a change in the order of the authors or the deletion or addition of authors, must be approved by every author. The journal editors are not in a position to investigate or adjudicate authorship disputes before or after publication. Such disagreements, if they cannot be resolved amongst authors, should be directed to the relevant institutional authority.

Consortia authorship

If a consortium is listed as a collective of authors, all members of the consortium are considered authors and must be listed in the published article as such. If not all members of the consortium agree to the responsibilities of authorship, the members that are authors will be listed separately from those who are not. To facilitate submission of manuscripts with large author lists, please consult the journal editor before submission.

Author contribution statements

The journal encourage transparency by publishing author contribution statements. Authors are required to include a statement of contribution in the manuscript, that specifies the contribution of every author. It’also allow to specify as each author having contributed equally to the work or having jointly supervised the work. Corresponding authors having specific responsibilities (described above) usually one.

Author identification

As part of efforts to improve transparency and unambiguous attribution of scholarly contributions, authors of manuscripts must provide their 
Web of Science ResearcherID, Open Researcher and Contributor Identifier (ORCID), Scopus ID, RCSI spin-code (if any).

Clinical trials data sharing policy

According to the latest recommendations of the ICMJE, when submitting an article containing data on a clinical study, the authors should submit a separate document "Statement on data sharing".

In accordance with statement of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, as of July 1, 2018, manuscripts submitted to the journal that report the results of clinical trials must contain a data sharing statement. Clinical trials that begin enrolling participants on or after January 1, 2019, must include a data sharing plan in the trial's registration. The ICMJE's policy regarding trial registration is explained at http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/publishing-and-editorial-issues/clinical-trial-registration.html. If the data sharing plan changes after registration, this should be reflected in the statement submitted and published with the manuscript and updated in the registry record.

Please see below examples of data sharing statements that fulfill the ICMJE requirements

 

Archiving and preservation policy

Archiving and preservation can be seen as the set of processes and activities that ensure information which now exists mainly in digital formats is backed up and distributed to guarantee continued access for the long term. The digital content of the journal is extremely valuable and measures are in place to ensure both its current accessibility and long-term preservation. The preservation policy includes the following measures:

Content archiving

All of our electronic content is stored on two different sources. Content on one server is online and accessible to the readers. The copy of the same content is kept as a backup on other source. In case of failure of one server, the other source can be made online and website expected to be accessible within less than 24 hours.

Abstracting/Indexing services and full text access

Our journal’s abstracting/Indexing services store many essential information about the articles. Additionally, National Electronic Library (elibrary.ru) and cyberleninka.ru archive not only the metadata about the article, but the full texts, as well. Therefore, copies of the articles are available to the scientific community through their systems as an alternative to the journals own. Printed versions of all issues of the the journal are available in Russian State Library (RSL).

Self-archiving

Authors may archive the final published version of their articles in personal or institutional repositories immediately after publication.

If the journal stops publishing

We intend and expect to continue to publish our journal for a very long time. If, due to some circumstances, we are forced to stop publishing the journal, the manuscripts published in the journal will be kept online and accessible to the readers for at least 10 more years. Also the content will be accessible through National Electronic Library (elibrary.ru).

Privacy Statement

Specified when registering the names and addresses will be used solely for technical purposes of a contact with the Author or reviewers (editors) when preparing the article for publication. Private data will not be shared with other individuals and organizations.

REFERENCE LIST GUIDELINES

These guidelines are based on the “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals”, developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. You can also read COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines, WAME (World Association of Medical Editors) recomendations, ORI (the Office of Research Integrity), CSE (Council of Science Editors), and EASE (European Association of Science Editors) guidelines.

General guideline

1. References should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals in the order in which they are cited in the text, NOT in alphabetical order.
2. The quantity of cited sources should be limited to 30 in original articles, and 60  – in reviews;
3. Each reference should be cited in the text, tables, or figures in consecutive numerical order by means of Arabic numerals appeared in square brackets.
4. List up ALL the authors or editors in reference list. If there are more than four, list the first three, plus et al. Invert all names –authors, editors, translators, compilers – first & middle initials trailing without periods.
5. The names of journals are set in italics and abbreviated according to the List of NLM Catalog by the National Library of Medicine. If a journal is not indexed for Medline, you should use its full title. It is unacceptable to reduce the name of the article or abbreviate the title of the national journal (if it does not have NLM Title Abbreviation or ISO Abbreviation).
6. A complete print journal reference includes the following: Authors' surnames and initials; Title of article and subtitle, if any; Abbreviated name of journal; Year; Volume number; Issue number; Part or supplement number, when pertinent; Inclusive page numbers.
7. Reference list should be presented in Vancouver as published AMA reference style (AMA style).
8. References to non-Latin sources (Russian, Chinese) should be given in Latin script. If an article has the translated title, you should provide an English translation instead of Latin script transliteration [in square brackets].
9. If a reference source has the Digital Object Identifier -DOI, it should be provided in the end of the reference. To check if DOI is valid, visit http://search.crossref.org/or https://www.citethisforme.com. Example:  

• Zhang M, Holman CD, Price SD. Comorbidity and repeat admission to hospital for adverse drug reactions in older adults: retrospective cohort study. New Engl J Med. 2009;338:a2752. doi: 10.1136/bmj.a2752

Guidelines for presenting references to non-English and non-Latin sources

If an article is presented in Latin script language (German, French, Finnish, Danish, Italian, etc.), it should be cited in original language:

• Ellingsen AE, Wilhelmsen I. Sykdomsangst blant medisin- og jusstudenter. Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen. 2002;122(8):785-787. (In Norwegian).

If an article is presented in non-Latin script – in Cyrillics (Russian), Chinese, etc., you must transliterate the reference into the English alphabet. Transliteration in BSI standard is given in accordance with original stylistic. If an article has the translated title, you should provide an English translation instead of Latin script transliteration [in square brackets]. For journal articles, you need not translate the journal title: give the transliterated title in BSI standard ((if it does not have NLM Title Abbreviation or ISO Abbreviation), then – imprint details: year;volume(issue):pages. In the end, you should indicate the original language of an article (in round brackets), e.g.:  (In Russ.). Afterward, provide DOI, if available. Example:

• Grigoryan OR, Sheremet'eva EV, Andreeva EN, Dedov II. Planirovanie beremennosti u zhenshchin s sakharnym diabetom. Vestnik reproduktivnogo zdorov'ya. 2011;(1):23-31. (In Russ). 
• Belaia ZE, Rozhinskaia LY, Mel'nichenko GA, et al. [The role of prolactin gradient and normalized ACTH/prolactin ratio in the improvement of sensitivity and specificity of selective blood sampling from inferior petrosal sinuses for differential diagnostics of ACTH-dependent hypercorticism.] Problemy endokrinologii. 2013;59(4):3-10. (In Russ). doi: 10.14341/probl20135943-10.

Examples of AMA style citing

Articles in Periodicals

1. Complete Data

• Halpern SD, Ubel PA, Caplan AL. Solid-organ transplantation in HIV-infected patients. New Engl J Med. 2002;347(4):284-287.

2. Group/Corporate Author

• Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Hypertension, insulin, and proinsulin in participants with impaired glucose tolerance. Hypertension. 2002;40(5):679-686.

3. Authors are both individuals and a Group

• Vallancien G, Emberton M, Harving N, van Moorselaar RJ; Alf-One Study Group. Sexual dysfunction in 1,274 European men suffering from lower urinary tract symptoms. J Urol. 2003;169(6):2257-2261.

4. No Author is listed

• 21st century heart solution may have a sting in the tail. BMJ. 2002;325(7357):184.

5. Supplements

• Geraud G, Spierings EL, Keywood C. Tolerability and safety of frovatriptan with short- and long-term use for treatment of migraine and in comparison with sumatriptan. Headache. 2002;42 Suppl 2:S93-99.

6. Special issue or Issue on the topic

• Glauser TA. Integrating clinical trial data into clinical practice. Neurology. 2002;58(12 Suppl 7):S6-12.

7. Parts of a Volume

• Abend SM, Kulish N. The psychoanalytic method from an epistemological viewpoint. Int J Psychoanal. 2002;83(Pt 2):491-495.

8. Parts of an Issue

• Ahrar K, Madoff DC, Gupta S, Wallace MJ, Price RE, Wright KC. Development of a large animal model for lung tumors. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2002;13(9 Pt 1):923-928.

9. Journals without a Volume Number

• Banit DM, Kaufer H, Hartford JM. Intraoperative frozen section analysis in revision total joint arthroplasty. Clinical Orthopaedics. 2002;(401):230-238.

10. Journals without a Volume or an Issue Number

• Outreach: bringing HIV-positive individuals into care. HRSA Careaction. 2002:1-6.

11. Non-Latin page numbers

• Chadwick R, Schuklenk U. The politics of ethical consensus finding. Bioethics. 2002;16(2):III-V.

12. Letters, abstracts, review to an article

• Tor M, Turker H. International approaches to the prescription of long-term oxygen therapy [letter]. Eur Respir J.2002;20(1):242.
• Lofwall MR, Strain EC, Brooner RK, Kindbom KA, Bigelow GE. Characteristics of older methadone maintenance (MM) patients [abstract]. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2002;66 Suppl 1:S105.

13. Corrections

• Mansharamani M, Chilton BS. The reproductive importance of P-type ATPases. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2002;188(1-2):22-52. Corrected and republished from: Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2001;183(1-2):123-126.

14. Commentary

• Malinowski JM, Bolesta S. Rosiglitazone in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus: a critical review. Clinical Therapeutics. 2000;22(10):1151-1168; discussion 1149-1150. Erratum in: Clin Ther. 2001;23(2):309.

Print Books and Monographs

15. One or several Authors are listed (Complete Data)

• Murray PR, Rosenthal KS, Kobayashi GS, Pfaller MA. Medical microbiology. 4th ed. St. Louis: Mosby; 2002.
• Ringsven MK, Bond D. Gerontology and leadership skills for nurses. 2nd ed. Albany, NY: Delmar Publishers; 1996.

16. One or several Editors are listed

• Gilstrap LC 3rd, Cunningham FG, Van Dorsten JP, editors. Operative obstetrics. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2002.
• Norman IJ, Redfern SJ, editors. Mental health care for elderly people. New York: Churchill Livingstone; 1996.

17. Both Authors and Editors are listed

• Breedlove GK, Schorfheide AM. Adolescent pregnancy. 2nd ed. Wieczorek RR, editor. White Plains (NY): March of Dimes Education Services; 2001.

18. Group/Corporate Author

• Advanced Life Support Group. Acute medical emergencies: the practical approach. London: BMJ Books; 2001. 454 p.
• American Occupational Therapy Association, Ad Hoc Committee on Occupational Therapy Manpower. Occupational therapy manpower: a plan for progress. Rockville (MD): The Association; 1985 Apr. 84 p.
• National Lawyer's Guild AIDs Network (US); National Gay Rights Advocates (US). AIDS practice manual: a legal and educational guide. 2nd ed. San Francisco: The Network; 1988.

19. Chapter in a Book

• Meltzer PS, Kallioniemi A, Trent JM. Chromosome alterations in human solid tumors. In: Vogelstein B, Kinzler KW, editors. The genetic basis of human cancer. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2002. p. 93-113.

20. Conference proceedings

• Harnden P, Joffe JK, Jones WG, editors. Germ cell tumours V. Proceedings of the 5th Germ Cell Tumour Conference; 2001 Sep 13-15; Leeds, UK. New York: Springer; 2002.

21. Abstracts in Conference proceedings

• Christensen S, Oppacher F. An analysis of Koza's computational effort statistic for genetic programming. In: Foster JA, Lutton E, Miller J, Ryan C, Tettamanzi AG, editors. Genetic programming. EuroGP 2002: Proceedings of the 5th European Conference on Genetic Programming; 2002 Apr 3-5; Kinsdale, Ireland. Berlin: Springer; 2002. p. 182-91.

22. Scientific or Technical Reports

• Yen GG (Oklahoma State University, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Stillwater, OK). Health monitoring on vibration signatures. Final report. Arlington (VA): Air Force Office of Scientific Research (US), Air Force Research Laboratory; 2002 Feb. Report No.: AFRLSRBLTR020123. Contract No.: F496209810049.
• Russell ML, Goth-Goldstein R, Apte MG, Fisk WJ. Method for measuring the size distribution of airborne Rhinovirus. Berkeley (CA): Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Environmental Energy Technologies Division; 2002 Jan. Report No.: LBNL49574. Contract No.: DEAC0376SF00098. Sponsored by the Department of Energy.

23. Dissertations

• Borkowski MM. Infant sleep and feeding: a telephone survey of Hispanic Americans [dissertation]. Mount Pleasant (MI): Central Michigan University; 2002.

24. Patents

• Pagedas AC, inventor; Ancel Surgical R&D Inc., assignee. Flexible endoscopic grasping and cutting device and positioning tool assembly. United States patent US 20020103498. 2002 Aug 1.

Other Print Materials

25. Newspaper articles

• Tynan T. Medical improvements lower homicide rate: study sees drop in assault rate. The Washington Post. 2002 Aug 12;Sect. A:2 (col. 4).

26. Other Media [Audiotapes, Videotapes, DVDs (Digital Video Disks)]

• Chason KW, Sallustio S. Hospital preparedness for bioterrorism [videocassette]. Secaucus (NJ): Network for Continuing Medical Education; 2002.
• Hormone replacement therapy [audio]. National Public Radio. August 5, 2002. Available at: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1147833. Accessed March 4, 2004.

27. Legislative Materials

• Veterans Hearing Loss Compensation Act of 2002, Pub. L. No. 107-9, 115 Stat. 11 (May 24, 2001).
• Healthy Children Learn Act, S. 1012, 107th Cong., 1st Sess. (2001).
• Cardiopulmonary Bypass Intracardiac Suction Control, 21 C.F.R. Sect. 870.4430 (2002).
• Arsenic in Drinking Water: An Update on the Science, Benefits and Cost: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Environment, Technology and Standards of the House Comm. on Science, 107th Cong., 1st Sess. (Oct. 4, 2001).

28. Maps

• Pratt B, Flick P, Vynne C, cartographers. Biodiversity hotspots [map]. Washington: Conservation International; 2000.

29. Dictionaries and reference materials

• Dorland's illustrated medical dictionary. 29th ed. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders; 2000. Filamin; p. 675.

Unpublished Material

30. Articles in press

• Tian D, Araki H, Stahl E, Bergelson J, Kreitman M. Signature of balancing selection in Arabidopsis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. Forthcoming 2002.

Electronic References

31. CD-ROM

• Anderson SC, Poulsen KB. Anderson's electronic atlas of hematology [CD-ROM]. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2002.

32. Online Journals

• Abood S. Quality improvement initiative in nursing homes: the ANA acts in an advisory role. Am J Nurs [Internet]. 2002 Jun [cited 2002 Aug 12];102(6):[about 1 p.]. Available from: http://www.nursingworld.org/AJN/2002/june/Wawatch.htmArticle
• Abood S. Quality improvement initiative in nursing homes: the ANA acts in an advisory role. Am J Nurs. 2002 Jun [cited 2002 Aug 12];102(6):[about 1 p.]. Available from:  http://www.nursingworld.org/AJN/2002/june/Wawatch.htmArticle

References with Digital Object Identifier - DOI:

• Zhang M, Holman CD, Price SD, Sanfilippo FM, Preen DB, Bulsara MK. Comorbidity and repeat admission to hospital for adverse drug reactions in older adults: retrospective cohort study. BMJ. 2009;338:a2752. doi: 10.1136/bmj.a2752.

33. Monographs published online

• Foley KM, Gelband H, editors. Improving palliative care for cancer [Internet]. Washington: National Academy Press; 2001 [cited 2002 Jul 9]. Available from: http://www.nap.edu/books/0309074029/html/.

34. Internet pages

• Cancer-Pain.org [Internet]. New York: Association of Cancer Online Resources, Inc.; c2000-01 [updated 2002 May 16; cited 2002 Jul 9]. Available from: http://www.cancer-pain.org/.

35. Page screen

• American Medical Association [Internet]. Chicago: The Association; c1995-2002 [updated 2001 Aug 23; cited 2002 Aug 12]. AMA Office of Group Practice Liaison; [about 2 screens]. Available from: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/1736.html

36. Databases

• Open access:          
  Who's Certified [Internet]. Evanston (IL): The American Board of Medical Specialists. c2000 -   [cited 2001 Mar 8]. Available from: http://www.abms.org/newsearch.asp
• By subscription:          
  Jablonski S. Online Multiple Congenital Anomaly/Mental Retardation (MCA/MR) Syndromes [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US); c1999 [updated 2001 Nov 20; cited 2002 Aug 12]. Available from: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/archive//20061212/mesh/jablonski/syndrome_title.html

37. Page from database

• MeSH Browser [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US); 2002. Meta-analysis [cited 2008 Jul 24]; [about 2 p.]. Available from: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/cgi/mesh/2008/MB_cgi?mode=&index=16408&view=concept MeSH Unique ID: D017418.

38. Blog

• Holt M. The Health Care Blog [Internet]. San Francisco: Matthew Holt. 2003 Oct -   [cited 2009 Feb 13]. Available from: http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/.
• KidneyNotes.com [Internet]. New York: KidneyNotes. c2006 -   [cited 2009 Feb 13]. Available from: http://www.kidneynotes.com/.
• Wall Street Journal. HEALTH BLOG: WSJ's blog on health and the business of health [Internet]. Hensley S, editor. New York: Dow Jones & Company, Inc. c2007 -   [cited 2009 Feb 13]. Available from: http://blogs.wsj.com/health/ .

39. Blog post

• Mantone J. Head trauma haunts many, researchers say. 2008 Jan 29 [cited 2009 Feb 13]. In: Wall Street Journal. HEALTH BLOG [Internet]. New York: Dow Jones & Company, Inc. c2008 -   . [about 1 screen]. Available from:http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/01/29/head-trauma-haunts-many-researchers-say/.
• Campbell A. Diabetes and alcohol: do the two mix? (Part 2). 2008 Jan 28 [cited 2009 Feb 13]. In: Diabetes Self-Management Blog [Internet]. New York: Diabetes Self-Management. [2006 Aug 14]. - 2 p. Available from:   
  http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/blog/Amy_Campbell/Diabetes_and_Alcohol_Do_the_Two_Mix_Part_2
• Reider J. Docnotes: Health, Technology, Family Medicine and other observations [Internet]. [place unknown]: Jacob Reider. 1999 -   . CRP again ...; 2004 Apr 2 [cited 2009 Feb 13]; [about 1 screen]. Available from: http://www.docnotes.com/2004/04/crp-again.html

Publishing Ethics

The Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement of the journal  “Russian Medical and Social Journal” are based on the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Code of Conduct guidelines available at www.publicationethics.org,  and requirements for peer-reviewed medical journals ((http://health.elsevier.ru/attachments/editor/file/ethical_code_final.pdf), elaborated by the "Elsevier" Publishing House (in accordance with international ethical rules of scientific publications) 

1. Introduction

1.1. The publication in a peer reviewed learned journal, serves many purposes outside of simple communication. It is a building block in the development of a coherent and respected network of knowledge. For all these reasons and more it is important to lay down standards of expected ethical behaviour by all parties involved in the act of publishing: the author, the journal editor, the peer reviewer, the publisher and the society for society-owned or sponsored journal: “Russian Medical and Social Journal”.

1.2.Publisher has a supporting, investing and nurturing role in the scholarly communication process but is also ultimately responsible for ensuring that best practice is followed in its publications.

1.3. Publisher takes its duties of guardianship over the scholarly record extremely seriously. Our journal programmes record «the minutes of science» and we recognise our responsibilities as the keeper of those «minutes» in all our policies not least the ethical guidelines that we have here adopted.

2. Duties of Editors

2.1.Publication decision – The Editor of a learned “Russian Medical and Social Journal” is solely and independently responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published, often working on conjunction with the relevant society (for society-owned or sponsored journals). The validation of the work in question and its importance to researchers and readers must always underwrite such decisions. The Editor may be guided by the policies of the “Russian Medical and Social Journal” journal’s editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The editor may confer with other editors or reviewers (or society officers) in making this decision.

2.2.Fair play – An editor should evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.

2.3.Confidentiality – The editor and any editorial staff of “Russian Medical and Social Journal” must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.

2.4.Disclosure and Conflicts of interest

2.4.1. Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor’s 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.

2.4.2. Editors should recuse themselves (i.e. should ask a co-editor, associate editor 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.

2.5.Vigilance over published record – An editor presented with convincing evidence that the substance or conclusions of a published paper are erroneous should coordinate with the publisher (and/or society) to promote the prompt publication of a correction, retraction, expression of concern, or other note, as may be relevant.

2.6.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.

3. Duties of Reviewers

3.1.Contribution to Editorial Decisions – Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and through the editorial communications with the author may also assist the author in improving the paper. Peer review is an essential component of formal scholarly communication, and lies at the heart of the scientific method. Publisher shares the view of many that all scholars who wish to contribute to publications have an obligation to do a fair share of reviewing.

3.2.Promptness – Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor of “Russian Medical and Social Journal” and excuse himself from the review process.

3.3.Confidentiality – Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorised by the editor.

3.4.Standard and objectivity – Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

3.5.Acknowledgement of Sources – Reviewers  should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. A reviewer should also call to the editor’s attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

3.6.Disclosure and Conflict of Interest

3.6.1.Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in a reviewer’s 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.

3.6.2. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

4. Duties of Authors

4.1.Reporting standards

4.1.1. Authors of reports of original research 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 paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behaviour and are unacceptable.

4.1.2. Review and professional publication articles should also be accurate and objective, and editorial 'opinion’ works should be clearly identified as such.

4.2.Data Access and Retention – Authors may be asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review, and should be prepared to provide public access to such data (consistent with the ALPSP-STM Statement on Data and Databases), if practicable, and should in any event be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.

4.3.Originality and Plagiarism

4.3.1. The authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others, this has been appropriately cited or quoted.

4.3.2. Plagiarism takes many forms, from ‘passing off’ another’s paper as the author’s own paper, to copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another’s paper (without attribution), to claiming results from research conducted by others. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behaviour and is unacceptable.

4.4.Multiple, Redundant or Concurrent Publication

4.4.1. An author should not in general publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal of primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behaviour and is unacceptable.

4.4.2. In general, an author should not submit for consideration in another journal a previously published paper.

4.4.3. Publication of some kinds of articles (eg, clinical guidelines, translations) in more than one journal is sometimes justifiable, provided certain conditions are met. The authors and editors of the journals concerned must agree to the secondary publication, which must reflect the same data and interpretation of the primary document. The primary reference must be cited in the secondary publication. Further detail on acceptable forms of secondary publication can be found at www.icmje.org.

4.5.Acknowledgement of Sources – Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work. Information obtained privately, as in conversation, correspondence, or discussion with third parties, must not be used or reported without explicit, written permission from the source. Information obtained in the course of confidential services, such as refereeing manuscripts or grant applications, must not be used without the explicit written permission of the author of the work involved in these services.

4.6.Authorship of the Paper

4.6.1. Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors.

4.6.2. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.

4.7.Hazards and Human or Animal Subjects

4.7.1. If the work involves chemicals, procedures or equipment that have any unusual hazards inherent in their use, the author must clearly identify these in the manuscript.

4.7.2. If the work involves the use of animal or human subjects, the author should ensure that the manuscript contains a statement that all procedures were performed in compliance with relevant laws and institutional guidelines and that the appropriate institutional committee(s) have approved them. Authors should include a statement in the manuscript that informed consent was obtained for experimentation with human subjects. The privacy rights of human subjects must always be observed.

4.8. Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

4.8.1. 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.

4.8.2. 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 possible stage.

4.9. Fundamental errors in published works – When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in a published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the editor of “Russian Medical and Social Journal” journal and cooperate with Publisher to retract or correct the paper, If the editor or the publisher learn from a third party that a published work contains a significant error, it is the obligation of the author to promptly retract or correct the paper.

5. Duties of the Publisher (and if relevant, Society)

5.1. Publisher should adopt policies and procedures that support editors, reviewers and authors of “Russian Medical and Social Journal” in performing their ethical duties under these ethics guidelines. The publisher should ensure that the potential for advertising or reprint revenue has no impact or influence on editorial decisions.

5.2. The publisher should support “Russian Medical and Social Journal” journal editors in the review of complaints raised concerning ethical issues and help communications with other journals and/or publishers where this is useful to editors.

5.3. Publisher should develop codes of practice and inculcate industry standards for best practice on ethical matters, errors and retractions.

5.4. Publisher should provide specialised legal review and counsel if necessary.

The section is prepared according to the files (http://health.elsevier.ru/attachments/editor/file/ethical_code_final.pdf) of Elsevier publisher (https://www.elsevier.com/) and files (http://publicationethics.org/resources) from Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE - http://publicationethics.org/). 

Reviewing

Every scientific article submitted to “Russian Medical and Social Journal” is subject to double blind review (reviewers are not informed of manuscript authors’ names, authors are not informed of reviewers’ names).

1. Articles are reviewed by editorial board members and invited reviewers – leading specialists in relevant fields of medicine, highly proficient and experienced in the field of interest which is close to the thematic focus of the manuscript. All the reviewers are acknowledged experts in the subject matter of reviewed materials and have a number of publications on the subject matter of the reviewed article over the last three years.

2. The decision on choosing a particular reviewer for reviewing the article is made by the editor-in-chief or the deputy editor-in-chief. The reviewing takes 2 to 4 weeks but can be extended if required by the reviewer.

3. The review procedure is confidential. Reviewers are notified that manuscripts submitted for their review are their authors’ intellectual property and should be treated as information that is not subject to disclosure. Reviewers are not allowed to make copies of manuscripts for their personal needs. Breach of confidentiality is allowed only in case the material is declared to be invalid or falsified. The author of the reviewed work is given the opportunity to read the text of the review.

4. Each reviewer is entitled to refuse to perform the reviewing in case any explicit conflict of interests exists impacting his/her perception or interpretation of manuscript materials. Besides, he/she can ask the editor-in-chief to suspend him/her from the reviewing in case of insufficient expertise for reviewing this manuscript or shortage of time for performing this work in time.

5. The review must contain expert evaluation of the manuscript against the following parameters: correspondence between content of the article and its title; urgency of the study; scientific novelty of the results, reasonability of publishing the article considering the thematic scope of the journal and literature on this subject matter published earlier; material presentation (language, style, used categories and expressions), accuracy in factual data descriptions.

6. As a result, each reviewer gives his/her recommendations on further dealing with the article (each reviewer’s decision is to be justified):
• the article is recommended for publication as it is;
• the article is recommended for publication after the faults discovered by the reviewer are eliminated;
• the article requires further reviewing by another expert;
• the article is not recommended for publication in the journal.

7. If the review contains recommendations to correct or improve the article the editorial board of the journal provides the author with the text of the review suggesting to take them into account when a new version of the article is prepared or to refute them (partially or in full) in a well-argued manner. Article improvement cannot take longer than 2 weeks starting from the moment of an e-mail to its authors notifying them of amendments required. The article improved by the author is subject to reviewing again.

8. If the authors refuse to amend the materials they must notify the editorial board in written or verbally of their refusal to have the article published. If the authors do not return an amended version within 3 months after the review is sent to them even if the authors do not explicitly refuse to amend the article the editing board strikes it off the list. In such cases authors are notified accordingly of their manuscripts being stroke off the list due to expiry of time meant for amendments.

9. If the author and the reviewer have faced any irreconcilable differences regarding the manuscript the editorial board is entitled to submit the manuscript for further reviewing. In conflict situations the decision is made by the editor-in-chief at the editorial board meeting.

10. The decision on refusal to publish a manuscript is made at the editorial board meeting with reviewers’ recommendations taken into account. The article not recommended for publication according to the editorial board’s decision is not reaccepted. The author is provided with a notice of publication refusal and a copy of the review by e-mail.

11. After the editorial board of the journal decides to accept an article for publication the editors office notifies the author accordingly and informs him/her of the issue date.

12. A positive review does not guarantee publication of the article. The final decision is made by the editorial board. In conflict situations the decision is made by the editor-in-chief.

13. The following materials are not accepted for publication:
• articles which are not executed in accordance with the article submission guidelines and the authors of which refuse to adjust them accordingly.
• articles the authors of which do not take reviewers’ meaningful comments into account or do not refute them in a well-argued manner.

14. The editors office sends copies of reviews to the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation upon request.

15. Original reviews are kept in the editors office for 5 years.

 

The Editorial Board constantly monitors the quality of peer review using the Russian version of the Review Quality Instrument questionnaire (Version 3.2), van Rooyen S., Black N., Godlee F. J Clin Epidemiol 1999;52:625-9.

 

The Editorial Board of the journal “Russian Medical and Social Journal” expects that the review process will help to:

• prevent publishing poor-quality articles and reject the studies that have not been designed and conducted properly;
• make sure that the data reported in the article are accurate, sufficient, and, where applicable, are presented in compliance with the current international standards CONSORT, STROBE, PRISMA, CARE, STARD (http://www.equator-network.org);
• check whether the previous key studies in the corresponding field of science have been cited;
• make sure that the authors have properly interpreted the data and drawn substantiated conclusions;

and, hence:

• make a decision whether to publish an article or not and offer suggestions to the authors on how to improve the article (where necessary).

Policy on retraction or correction of articles

Journal editors should consider retracting a publication if:

• they have clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, either as a result of misconduct (e.g. data fabrication) or honest error (e.g. miscalculation or experimental error)
• the findings have previously been published elsewhere without proper cross-referencing, permission or justification (i.e. cases of redundant publication)
• it constitutes plagiarism
• it reports unethical research

Journal editors should consider issuing an expression of concern if:

• they receive inconclusive evidence of research or publication misconduct by the authors
• there is evidence that the findings are unreliable, but the authors’ institution will not investigate the case
• they believe that an investigation into alleged misconduct related to the publication either has not been, or would not be, fair and impartial or conclusive
• an investigation is underway, but a judgement will not be available for a considerable time

Journal editors should consider issuing a correction if:

• a small portion of an otherwise reliable publication proves to be misleading (especially because of honest error)
• the author / contributor list is incorrect (i.e. a deserving author has been omitted or somebody who does not meet authorship criteria has been included)

Retractions are not usually appropriate if:

• a change of authorship is required but there is no reason to doubt the validity of the findings

Notices of retraction should:

• be linked to the retracted article wherever possible (i.e. in all electronic versions) •clearly identify the retracted article (e.g. by including the title and authors in the retraction heading)
• be clearly identified as a retraction (i.e. distinct from other types of correction or comment)
• be published promptly to minimize harmful effects from misleading publications
• be freely available to all readers (i.e. not behind access barriers or available only to subscribers)
• state who is retracting the article
• state the reason(s) for retraction (to distinguish misconduct from honest error)
• avoid statements that are potentially defamatory or libelous

The purpose of retraction

Retraction is a mechanism for correcting the literature and alerting readers to publications that contain such seriously flawed or erroneous data that their findings and conclusions cannot be relied upon. Unreliable data may result from honest error or from research misconduct.

Retractions are also used to alert readers to cases of redundant publication (i.e. when authors present the same data in several publications), plagiarism, and failure to disclose a major competing interest likely to influence interpretations or recommendations. 
The main purpose of retractions is to correct the literature and ensure its integrity rather than to punish authors who misbehave.

What form should a retraction take?

Notices of retraction should mention the reasons and basis for the retraction, to distinguish cases of misconduct from those of honest error; they should also specify who is retracting the article. They should be published in all versions of the journal (i.e. print and/or electronic). It is helpful to include the authors and title of the retracted article in the retraction heading.

Retracted articles should be clearly identified as such in all electronic sources (e.g. on the journal website and any bibliographic databases). Editors are responsible for ensuring that retractions are labelled in such a way that they are identified by bibliographic databases (which should also include a link to the retracted article). The retraction should appear on all electronic searches for the retracted publication. Journals and publishers should ensure that retracted articles are clearly marked on their own websites. 
Retracted articles should not be removed from printed copies of the journal (e.g. in libraries) nor from electronic archives but their retracted status should be indicated as clearly as possible.

Which publications should be retracted?

If only a small part of an article reports flawed data, and especially if this is the result of genuine error, then the problem is best rectified by a correction or erratum. (The term erratum usually refers to a production error, caused by the journal. The term corrigendum (or correction) usually refers to an author error.) Partial retractions are not helpful because they make it difficult for readers to determine the status of the article and which parts may be relied upon. 
Similarly, if only a small section of an article (e.g. a few sentences in the discussion) is plagiarized, editors should consider whether readers (and the plagiarized author) would be best served by a correction (which could note the fact that text was used without appropriate acknowledgement) rather than retracting the entire article which may contain sound, original data in other parts. Retraction should usually be reserved for publications that are so seriously flawed (for whatever reason) that their findings or conclusions should not be relied upon.

If redundant publication has occurred (i.e. authors have published the same data or article in more than one journal without appropriate justification, permission or cross-referencing) the journal that first published the article may issue a notice of redundant publication but should not retract the article unless the findings are unreliable. Any journals that subsequently publish a redundant article should retract it and state the reason for the retraction. 
If an article is submitted to more than one journal simultaneously and is accepted and published in both journals (either electronically or in print) at the same time, precedence may be determined by the date on which a license to publish or a copyright transfer agreement was signed by the authors.

In cases of partial overlap (i.e. when authors present some new findings in an article that also contains a substantial amount of previously published information) editors need to consider whether readers are best served if the entire article is retracted or whether it would be best to issue a notice of redundant publication clarifying which aspects had been published previously and providing appropriate cross-references to the earlier work. This will depend on the amount of overlap. Editors should bear in mind that the main purpose of retractions is to correct the literature and ensure its integrity rather than to punish authors who misbehave. 
Only published items can be retracted. Guidelines on dealing with redundant publications identified in submitted manuscripts can be found in the relevant COPE flowchart [http://publicationethics.org/files/u2/01A_Redundant_Submitted.pdf ]. Posting a final version on a website constitutes publication even if an article has not appeared (or will not appear) in print. If an article is retracted before it appears in the print version of a journal, the electronic version should be retained on the journal’s website with a clear notice of retraction and it should be included on bibliographic databases (e.g. with a digital object identifier [DOI] or other permanent citation that will locate it) even if it does not appear in the printed journal and therefore does not receive a page allocation. This is because electronic versions may already have been accessed and cited by researchers who need to be alerted to the fact that the article has been retracted.

Who should issue the retraction?

Articles may be retracted by their author(s) or by the journal editor. In some cases, retractions are issued jointly or on behalf of the journal’s owner (e.g. a learned society or publisher). However, since responsibility for the journal’s content rests with the editor s/he should always have the final decision about retracting material. Journal editors may retract publications (or issue expressions of concern) even if all or some of the authors refuse to retract the publication themselves.

When should a publication be retracted?

Publications should be retracted as soon as possible after the journal editor is convinced that the publication is seriously flawed and misleading (or is redundant or plagiarized). Prompt retraction should minimize the number of researchers who cite the erroneous work, act on its findings or draw incorrect conclusions, such as from ‘double counting’ redundant publications in meta-analyses or similar instances. If editors have convincing evidence that a retraction is required, they should not delay retraction simply because the authors are not cooperative. However, if an allegation of misconduct related to a potential retraction results in a disciplinary hearing or institutional investigation, it is normally appropriate to wait for the outcome of this before issuing a retraction (but an expression of concern may be published to alert readers in the interim – see below).

What should editors do in the face of inconclusive evidence about a publication’s reliability?

If conclusive evidence about the reliability of a publication cannot be obtained (e.g. if authors produce conflicting accounts of the case, authors’ institutions refuse to investigate alleged misconduct or to release the findings of such investigations, or if investigations appear not to have been carried out fairly or are taking an unreasonably long time to reach a conclusion) editors should issue an expression of concern rather than retracting the publication immediately. Such expressions of concern, like retraction notices, should be clearly linked to the original publication (i.e. in electronic databases and by including the author and title of the original publication as a heading) and should state the reasons for the concern. If more conclusive evidence about the publication’s reliability becomes available later, the expression of concern should be replaced by a notice of retraction (if the article is shown to be unreliable) or by an exonerating statement linked to the expression of concern (if the article is shown to be reliable and the author exonerated).

Should retraction be applied in cases of disputed authorship?

Authors sometimes request that articles are retracted when authorship is disputed after publication. If there is no reason to doubt the validity of the findings or the reliability of the data it is not appropriate to retract a publication solely on the grounds of an authorship dispute. In such cases, the journal editor should inform those involved in the dispute that s/he cannot adjudicate in such cases but will be willing to publish a correction to the author/contributor list if the authors/contributors (or their institutions) provide appropriate proof that such a change is justified. 
(For authorship disputes occurring before publication, see the relevant COPE flowcharts. http://publicationethics.org/files/u2/04A_Author_Add_Submitted.pdf and http://publicationethics.org/files/u2/04B_Author_Remove_Submitted.pdf)

Can authors dissociate themselves from a retracted publication?

If retraction is due to the actions of some, but not all, authors of a publication, the notice of retraction should mention this. However, most editors consider that authorship entails some degree of joint responsibility for the integrity of the reported research, so it is not appropriate for authors to dissociate themselves from a retracted publication even if they were not directly culpable of any misconduct.

Are there grounds for legal proceedings if an author sues a journal for retracting, or refusing to retract, a publication?

Authors who disagree with a retraction (or whose request to retract a publication is refused) sometimes threaten journal editors with legal action. Concern over litigation can make editors reluctant to retract articles, especially in the face of opposition from authors. 
Journals’ instructions for authors should explain the retraction procedure and describe the circumstances under which articles might be retracted. This information should be incorporated (e.g. by references) into any publishing agreements and brought to the authors’ attention. However, even if the publishing agreement or journal instructions do not set out specific conditions for retraction, authors usually would not have grounds for taking legal action against a journal over the act of retraction if it follows a suitable investigation and proper procedures.

However, legal advice may be helpful to determine appropriate wording for a notice of retraction or expression of concern to ensure that these are not defamatory or libelous. Nevertheless, retraction notices should always mention the reason(s) for retraction to distinguish honest error from misconduct.

Whenever possible, editors should negotiate with authors and attempt to agree a form of wording that is clear and informative to readers and acceptable to all parties. If authors consent to the wording of a retraction statement, this provides defense against a libel claim. However, prolonged negotiations about wording should not be allowed to delay the publication of a retraction unreasonably and editors should publish retractions even if consensus cannot be reached.

The Policy based on:
WagerE., Barbour V., Yentis S., Kleinert S. on behalf of COPE Council. Retractions: Guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Electronic resource [https://publicationethics.org/files/u661/Retractions_COPE_gline_final_3_Sept_09__2_.pdf].

Author fees

Publication in “Russian Medical and Social Journal” is free of charge for all the authors.

The journal doesn't have any Arcticle processing charges.

The journal doesn't have any Article submission charges.

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- poluchit' po e-mail kvitanciyu na oplatu i proizvesti oplatu;

- napravit' v redakciyu po e-mail skan oplachennoy kvitancii;

- poluchit' zakazannye nomera v sootvetstvii s usloviyami polucheniya zakaza.

Avtorskie ekzemplyary.

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Po zaprosu avtor mozhet besplatno poluchit' pdf-fayl svoey stat'i, libo kupit' pechatnyy nomer zhurnala. Pri peresylke po pochte pochtovye rashody vozlagayutsya na avtora.

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