At the Journal of Occupational Health, Risk Management and Safety (JOHRMS), we are committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and to preventing malpractice in scholarly publishing. This statement is based on the guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and is binding for all parties involved: authors, reviewers, editors, and publishers.

1. Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

• Originality: Authors must ensure that their work is original and properly cited. Plagiarism, duplication, or data fabrication is strictly prohibited.
• Multiple Submissions: Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal at the same time is considered unethical.
• Authorship: Only individuals who have made significant contributions should be listed as authors. All co-authors must approve the final version and consent to submission.
• Conflict of Interest: Authors must disclose any financial or personal relationships that could influence their research.
• Ethical Approvals: Research involving humans or animals must include a statement of ethical approval from a recognized institution.

2. Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewes

• Confidentiality: Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents.
• Objectivity: Reviews should be objective, constructive, and free from personal criticism.
• Timeliness: Reviewers must respond promptly and complete reviews within the agreed timeframe.
• Conflict of Interest: Reviewers must recuse themselves if they have conflicts of interest with the author(s) or the subject matter.

 3. Ethical Responsibilities of Editors

• Fairness: Editors will evaluate manuscripts based solely on academic merit and relevance to the journal's scope.
• Confidentiality: Editors must not disclose information about submitted manuscripts to anyone except the editorial team and reviewers.
• Decision-Making: Editors are responsible for the final decision on acceptance or rejection and must not be influenced by commercial or personal interests.
• Handling Misconduct: The editorial board will take appropriate action if any ethical violations or publication malpractices are identified, including retractions or corrections.

4. Publication Malpractice and Misconduct

JOHRMS defines malpractice as including, but not limited to:

• Plagiarism
• Data fabrication or falsification
• Redundant publication
• Undisclosed conflicts of interest
• Inappropriate authorship
• Citation manipulation
• Peer review manipulation

When misconduct is suspected:

• The manuscript or article may be suspended from publication.
• An investigation will be conducted in line with COPE flowcharts.
• In confirmed cases, appropriate sanctions (e.g., retraction, author blacklisting) will be applied.

 5. Correction and Retraction Policy

JOHRMS will correct or retract articles when necessary. Corrections will be issued for honest errors, while retractions will be made for serious breaches such as plagiarism, fraudulent data, or ethical violations.

For questions or concerns related to ethics or publication malpractice, please contact the editorial office at:
info@johrms-unical.com.ng