Publication Ethics
AIMS Publisher follows the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) across all of its journals.
Ethics and Consent
This policy is applicable to all ethical permissions and approvals for publications arising from research work or study, whether conducted with institutional support or independently, intended for publication in AIMS Journals. Ethics approval for research involving human subjects, human material, or human data must have been performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by an appropriate ethics committee. Where a device or material is indicated in the text, authors must declare that no financial benefit has been taken from the manufacturer/importer of that product. Permission from the hospital's ethical committee should be obtained beforehand for experimental interventions, and all interventional studies must carry an Institutional Ethical & Research Committee approval letter.
Consent for Publication
For all manuscripts that include details, images, or videos relating to individual participants, written informed consent for publication must be obtained from the participants (or their parent/legal guardian in the case of children under 18), and a statement to this effect must appear in the manuscript.
Authorship
AIMS Journals requires a Letter of Authorship duly signed by the corresponding author, authors, and co-authors as a compulsory requirement for publication. Authorship confers credit and carries academic, social, and financial implications, as well as responsibility and accountability for the published work. All those designated as authors must meet all four of the following criteria, and all who meet the criteria must be identified as authors: (1) substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; (2) drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; (3) final approval of the version to be published; (4) agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring questions related to accuracy or integrity are appropriately investigated and resolved. Those who do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged instead.
Conflict of Interest
AIMS Journals requires authors to declare conflicts of interest in relation to their work. All submitted manuscripts must include a 'Conflict of Interests' section at the end of the manuscript, and also in the Letter of Authorship, listing all competing interests (financial and non-financial) duly signed by all authors.
Plagiarism Policy
AIMS Journals is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of integrity and ethics in scholarly publishing, in accordance with the guidelines of ICMJE and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Plagiarism — defined as taking and using the thoughts, writings, and inventions of another person as one's own — undermines the credit, recognition, and integrity of research. This policy creates awareness, defines the forms plagiarism can take, presents a methodology of investigation, and provides for punitive action proportional to the extent of the offense, while also guarding against false or spurious complaints.
Anti-Plagiarism Code of Conduct
Researchers are expected to: ensure observance of the universal moral principles of research; abide by all research policies, rules, regulations, and guidelines; follow local and international applicable research practices; avoid immoral research practices; apply suitable and relevant research methods; conclude on the basis of critical analysis of evidence; report research findings completely and correctly; keep clear, complete, and accurate records of all research; acknowledge individuals who contributed to the research; obtain informed consent from respondents, including a declaration of confidentiality and the right to withdraw prior to data collection; maintain privacy and secrecy when reviewing others' work; and avoid plagiarism of all kinds.
Duty to Report
All community members have an implicit duty to report to the relevant authorities, in good faith and without fear, any suspected research misconduct such as fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism, or any incident indicating a possible code or policy violation.
Policy on AI Usage by Authors
AIMS Journals follows the ethics and authorship guidelines recommended by ICMJE and COPE, including their rules on the use of Artificial Intelligence. Per the updated ICMJE Recommendations (January 2024): all work conducted with the assistance of artificial intelligence technology must be acknowledged, and the use of artificial intelligence in the review process must be disclosed. Full recommendations are available at https://www.icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf.
Peer Review System
AIMS Journals follows a double-blind peer review process in which neither authors nor reviewers know each other's identities. Submitted manuscripts are reviewed for originality, scientific significance, and adequacy of documentation. Manuscripts are peer-reviewed by two external reviewers in the relevant subject specialty. The editorial team then decides to: accept after editorial revisions; reject but invite resubmission after further work; or reject outright for lack of novelty, insufficient conceptual advance, or major technical/interpretational problems. In case of disagreement between reviewers, the manuscript is sent to a third reviewer. Reviewer identities are kept strictly confidential. After an initial plagiarism check and editorial screening, manuscripts are sent to a statistician and two subject specialists; an initial four-week review timeline is given, extendable by two weeks if needed. The Editor's decision, informed by reviewer recommendations, is final.
Correction, Retraction & Editorial Expressions of Concern
AIMS Journals is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and accuracy in published content. Corrections are issued for errors such as typographical mistakes or omissions that do not compromise the overall validity of the work. Retractions apply to content with substantial errors, misleading information, ethical concerns, plagiarism, or other serious issues affecting validity and reliability; authors may request a retraction with a detailed justification. Editorial Expressions of Concern are issued when concerns are raised about the integrity or reliability of published content pending further investigation. All actions are published prominently in the journal with a clear explanation, and authors are given the opportunity to respond.
Appeals and Complaints Policy
AIMS Journals is committed to a fair and transparent editorial process. Authors may submit appeals related to editorial decisions, and reviewers may appeal regarding their involvement in the peer-review process; appeals should be submitted in writing to the editorial office promptly after the decision, with supporting documentation. Readers may submit complaints regarding published content, ethical concerns, or perceived violations of editorial standards, in writing or by email to editor-jahs@aimsjournals.com. All appeals and complaints are handled confidentially and reviewed by the editorial board, which may seek input from external experts in complex cases, and a written response is provided within a reasonable timeframe.
Withdrawal Policy
Under AIMS Journals' copyright policy, copyright belongs to the journal upon submission of the manuscript, and it is considered unethical to submit the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously. Authors wishing to withdraw a manuscript during processing must email the editor stating their intention, complete and return the required documentation, and await a final withdrawal letter from the editorial office. Electronic signatures are not accepted, and a manuscript is not considered withdrawn without this formal letter; using it elsewhere without one is considered ethical misconduct.
Open Access Policy
AIMS Journals provides open access and unrestricted online availability to all articles, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits free use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium provided the original authors and source are credited. Articles may be downloaded, read, and cited without prior permission or fee. Responsibility for obtaining permission for any non-open-access or copyrighted material included in a manuscript rests with the author(s); the copyright holder must be acknowledged in the manuscript.