Publishing Policies
Responsibilities of the Editorial Board and Editors
The Editorial Board of “Dermatology and Venereology” (D&V) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and research integrity. The journal follows the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and the principles of the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME). Adherence to these standards by all participants in the publication process ensures transparency, protects authors’ rights, promotes research integrity, and strengthens the credibility of the journal within the international scientific community.
In addition, D&V adheres to international standards of research communication and transparency. We support the principles of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), which emphasize that research should be evaluated primarily on its quality, novelty, and significance rather than on journal-based metrics. Accordingly, the editorial process focuses on the content of submitted manuscripts and their contribution to scientific progress.
D&V also follows the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) for research information and data.
Publication Decision
Publication decisions are based on the validity of the submitted data, the scientific quality of the work, and its importance to researchers and readers. The Editor-in-Chief must not participate in a decision concerning a manuscript in which they have a conflict of interest.
The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for the final decision on which submitted manuscripts are accepted for publication or rejected. In making this decision, the Editor-in-Chief follows the journal’s editorial policies and applicable legal requirements, including those concerning libel, plagiarism, and copyright infringement. The Editor-in-Chief may consult members of the Editorial Board and reviewers.
Fair Play
Submitted manuscripts are evaluated solely on their academic and scientific merit, regardless of the authors’ race or ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, nationality, citizenship, or political views.
Confidentiality
The Editor-in-Chief and members of the Editorial Board must not disclose information about submitted manuscripts to anyone other than the authors, prospective or assigned reviewers, and other persons directly involved in the editorial process.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
Unpublished information contained in submitted manuscripts must not be used by the Editor-in-Chief or members of the Editorial Board for personal advantage or disclosed to third parties without the authors’ written permission.
The Editorial Board will not approve publication where there are sufficient grounds to believe that plagiarism is involved. Once accepted for publication, articles are made openly accessible and copyright remains with the authors.
Dealing with Complaints
The Editor-in-Chief will not leave substantiated complaints concerning submitted manuscripts or published materials unanswered. When misconduct or an error is identified, the Editorial Board will take reasonable steps to restore violated rights and, where appropriate, publish corrections or retractions.
Every reported case of publication misconduct will be investigated, even when it is discovered years after publication.
Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions
The journal follows COPE recommendations and is committed to correcting errors in published articles and, where necessary, retracting articles in order to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.
Minor errors that do not invalidate the results of the research may be addressed by publishing a correction notice.
Articles may be retracted where there is clear evidence that their findings are unreliable as a result of misconduct, plagiarism, duplicate publication, unethical research practices, or other serious breaches of publication ethics.
If an article is retracted, the journal will publish a retraction notice explaining the reasons for the decision and will update the relevant information in databases indexing the journal. The original article will remain accessible in order to preserve the scholarly record but will be clearly identified as retracted.
An expression of concern may be issued while an investigation is ongoing.
Responsibilities of Reviewers
Contribution to Editorial Decisions
Peer review assists editors in making publication decisions and, through editorial communication with authors, may also contribute to improving the manuscript.
Reviewers retain copyright in their reviews. Editorial bodies and institutions retain ownership of official correspondence and materials generated in the electronic submission system.
Promptness
Any reviewer who feels insufficiently qualified to review a manuscript or knows that a timely review will not be possible should notify the editor and decline the review invitation.
Confidentiality
Every manuscript received for review must be treated as a confidential document. It must not be shown to or discussed with anyone other than persons authorized by the editor.
Standards of Objectivity
Reviews should be conducted objectively and impartially. Personal criticism of the author is unacceptable. Review comments should be clearly expressed, supported by appropriate arguments, and focused on the content of the work.
Acknowledgement of Sources
Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, conclusion, or argument has been previously reported should be accompanied by an appropriate reference.
Reviewers should also notify the editor of any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and another published work of which they are aware.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
Unpublished information disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in a reviewer’s own work without the authors’ written permission. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must remain confidential and must not be used for personal advantage.
Reviewers should not consider manuscripts where they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any of the authors or organizations connected to the work.
Responsibilities of Authors
Authors are personally responsible for the content of the manuscripts they submit.
The relationship between authors and the journal with regard to publication rights is governed by the journal’s applicable licensing terms.
Reporting Standards
Authors of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed, reliable results, and an objective discussion of their significance. The manuscript should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to reproduce the work. Fraudulent, knowingly inaccurate, distorted, or falsified statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.
Informed Consent
The journal requires that all research involving human participants be conducted in accordance with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki and relevant national regulations.
Authors must confirm that informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study. For participants who are unable to provide consent themselves, informed consent must be obtained from a legally authorized representative.
When a manuscript contains identifiable personal information, images, or clinical details, authors must obtain explicit written consent for publication from the participant or their legal representative. Such information should not be published unless it is scientifically necessary and appropriate consent has been obtained.
A statement confirming informed consent should be included in the appropriate section of the manuscript. The Editorial Board reserves the right to request documentation confirming informed consent where necessary.
Data Access and Retention
Authors may be asked to provide the raw data underlying their study for editorial or expert assessment and should be prepared to make such data available whenever practicable, subject to ethical, legal, and confidentiality requirements. Research data should be retained for a reasonable period after publication.
The journal supports transparency, reproducibility, and openness in scientific research. Authors are encouraged, whenever possible, to make the data underlying their published findings available. The Editorial Board may request additional information regarding data availability during the review process.
Originality and Plagiarism
Authors must ensure that submitted manuscripts are original works. Where the work or statements of others are used, they must be appropriately quoted, cited, or referenced.
Plagiarism in any form, including unattributed quotation, improper paraphrasing, or claiming the results of research conducted by others, constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable. Manuscripts that merely compile previously published materials without an appropriate original contribution will not be accepted for publication.
Self-Citation
Self-citation is not, in itself, considered a breach of academic integrity. Authors should cite their own work only when it is relevant and necessary for continuity of the research or clarification of findings. Excessive or inappropriate self-citation intended to manipulate citation metrics may be treated as a breach of academic integrity and may result in rejection of a manuscript.
Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication
Authors should not publish essentially the same research in more than one primary publication. Concurrent submission of the same manuscript to more than one journal constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
Authors should not submit a manuscript that has already been published in another journal. Secondary publication, such as a translation, may be acceptable only when the relevant requirements are met and the authors and editors have agreed to it. A secondary publication must appropriately reference the primary publication.
Detailed ICMJE recommendations concerning overlapping and secondary publications are available at: ICMJE — Overlapping Publications.
Acknowledgement of Sources
Authors must properly acknowledge the contributions of persons and works that influenced the research. Publications that were important to the study must be appropriately cited.
Information obtained privately, including through conversation, correspondence, or discussion with third parties, must not be used or reported without explicit written permission from the source. Information obtained while providing confidential services, such as peer reviewing manuscripts or grant applications, must likewise not be used without explicit written permission.
Authorship
Authorship should be limited to persons who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the conception, design, execution, analysis, or interpretation of the study.
All persons who have made significant contributions to the work should be listed as co-authors. Other participants who provided technical, writing, editing, or general assistance should be acknowledged where appropriate.
The corresponding author must ensure that all co-authors have reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript and have agreed to its submission for publication. All listed authors are responsible for the content of the work. Persons who did not participate in the research must not be listed as authors.
Potential Hazards and Human or Animal Research
If the work involves chemicals, hazardous procedures, or equipment carrying inherent risks, authors must clearly identify those risks in the manuscript.
If the research involves animals or human participants, authors must state that all procedures were performed in accordance with applicable laws, ethical standards, and institutional requirements, and that the research was approved by the appropriate institutional ethics committee where such approval was required.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
Authors must disclose all sources of research funding and any potential conflicts of interest that could influence the results, their interpretation, or assessment of the manuscript.
Examples of potential conflicts include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications, grants, and other forms of financial support. Potential conflicts of interest should be disclosed as early as possible.
Fundamental Errors in Published Works
When authors discover a significant error or inaccuracy in submitted or published work, they must promptly notify the journal and cooperate with the Editorial Board to correct or, where necessary, retract the publication as soon as possible.
If the Editorial Board learns from a third party that a published work contains a significant error, the authors must promptly provide a correction or evidence supporting the accuracy of the published information.
Data Sharing Policy
The journal encourages authors to share data underlying the results reported in their articles. Authors are encouraged, wherever possible, to deposit datasets in appropriate public repositories and to include a data availability statement in the manuscript.
Plagiarism Detection
The journal is committed to supporting the scientific community in maintaining publication ethics, particularly in cases involving suspected duplicate publication or plagiarism.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use Policy
The journal recognizes that artificial intelligence tools may assist authors in the preparation of manuscripts.
Authors may use AI-based tools for language editing, grammar correction, formatting assistance, literature organization, or similar purposes. However, authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, integrity, originality, and scientific validity of all content submitted to the journal. The use of AI tools does not reduce authors’ responsibility for the manuscript or its conclusions.
AI tools cannot be listed as authors because they cannot assume responsibility for the work, approve the final manuscript, disclose conflicts of interest, or meet the authorship criteria established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).
Authors must disclose the use of generative AI tools, including but not limited to ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, or similar systems. The disclosure should identify the AI tool used and briefly describe how it contributed to manuscript preparation. This information should be included in the Acknowledgements section or another appropriate section of the manuscript.
Example: “The authors used ChatGPT (OpenAI) for language editing and improvement of manuscript readability. All scientific content, interpretation of results, and conclusions were reviewed and approved by the authors.”
AI-generated content must be carefully reviewed, verified, and edited by the authors. The submission of fabricated, inaccurate, misleading, manipulated, or unverifiable information generated by AI is unacceptable and may result in rejection of the manuscript, retraction of the article, or other editorial action.
Reviewers and editors should not upload confidential manuscript content to AI systems if doing so could compromise confidentiality, intellectual property rights, or data protection requirements. Any use of AI tools during editorial or peer-review processes must comply with the journal’s confidentiality obligations and ethical standards.
Advertising Policy
At present, the journal does not carry advertising. If the journal cooperates with advertisers in the future, it will follow relevant ICMJE guidance. Editors will retain full and final authority over the approval of advertising, and sponsors or advertisers will not influence editorial decisions.
Archiving and Preservation
The content of “Dermatology and Venereology” is archived and available without embargo through the following resources:
