Publication Ethics

Research Integrity and Unacceptable Practices

Fabrication and Falsification

Fabricating findings, observations or data, or altering research materials, images, results or records in a misleading manner, is unacceptable. Authors are responsible for presenting their work accurately and distinguishing evidence from interpretation.

Plagiarism and Attribution

Authors must appropriately acknowledge the ideas, words, data and other contributions of others. Substantial unattributed copying, misleading paraphrasing and inappropriate reuse of previously published material may constitute plagiarism or related publication misconduct. Similarity concerns are evaluated in context; a similarity score alone does not establish misconduct.

Simultaneous Submission and Redundant Publication

Authors should not submit substantially the same manuscript to multiple journals for simultaneous consideration without appropriate disclosure and agreement. Prior publication, closely related work, preprints and other relevant dissemination should be disclosed so that editors can assess overlap transparently. Legitimate secondary publication may be considered only when appropriate permissions, attribution and editorial conditions are met.

Authorship and Contributions

Authorship must reflect genuine contributions and accountability. All authors should approve the submitted work and agree to its submission. Detailed requirements, acknowledgements and authorship changes are addressed in the journal's Authorship Policy.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are expected to:

• Present accurate, appropriately supported scholarly work and describe relevant methods clearly for the article type.
• Credit sources and disclose related manuscripts or prior dissemination where relevant.
• Provide applicable ethical approval, informed consent, funding and competing-interest information.
• Protect confidential and identifiable patient or participant information.
• Disclose material use of AI-assisted technologies in manuscript preparation and verify all AI-assisted content. Human authors remain responsible for the final manuscript.
• Respond reasonably to editorial questions and promptly inform the journal of significant errors discovered before or after publication.

Clinical trials and other regulated research must meet the ethical, registration and reporting requirements applicable to their study design. Guidance for authors is provided in the Article Preparation Guidelines.

Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for assessing manuscripts fairly and making publication decisions based on scholarly merit, relevance, ethical considerations and the outcome of editorial and peer review. Decisions must not be influenced by authors' personal characteristics, institutional status, financial arrangements or the purchase of optional services.

Editors and editorial staff must protect confidential manuscript information, disclose relevant conflicts of interest and avoid using unpublished material for personal benefit. Where a conflict could compromise impartiality, editorial handling should be reassigned where practicable.

The journal's publication charges, waiver decisions, manuscript development assistance, podcasts, author webpages and promotional services are separate from scholarly evaluation. Payment for any service does not guarantee acceptance, favorable peer review, indexing, citations or other outcomes.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers should assess manuscripts objectively, constructively and within their areas of competence. Personal criticism is inappropriate. Reviewers should identify relevant overlooked literature, possible substantial overlap and significant ethical or methodological concerns when these are apparent.

Manuscripts and review materials are confidential. Reviewers must not share them, use unpublished ideas for personal advantage or upload confidential content to external AI systems without explicit editorial authorization and appropriate safeguards. Reviewers should disclose conflicts of interest and decline assignments when impartiality cannot be maintained.

Further information is available in the Peer Review Policy.

Ethical Oversight, Consent and Conflicts of Interest

Research involving human participants, patient information or animals must comply with applicable legal, institutional and ethical requirements. Where relevant, authors should report ethics committee approval or an appropriate exemption and provide information about informed consent or consent for publication. Identifiable patient details must not be published without appropriate authorization.

Authors, reviewers and editors should disclose financial, professional, personal or institutional relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing their work or judgment. A disclosed interest does not automatically invalidate a contribution; it allows appropriate assessment and management.

Handling Suspected Misconduct

The GMS takes credible concerns about submitted or published work seriously, including allegations of fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, inappropriate authorship, undisclosed conflicts, manipulated peer review or breaches of research ethics.

Concerns may be raised with the editorial team. The journal will assess the available information proportionately and seek clarification from relevant parties where appropriate. Authors or other individuals concerned should ordinarily have an opportunity to respond before a substantive conclusion is reached. Where necessary, the journal may consult independent experts or contact a relevant institution or authority, subject to confidentiality and applicable requirements.

The journal does not presume misconduct solely because a concern has been raised. Investigations and editorial decisions should be fair, evidence-based and appropriately documented.

Corrections, Retractions and Post-Publication Concerns

If a material error or concern arises after publication, The GMS may assess whether clarification, a correction, an expression of concern or retraction is appropriate, depending on the evidence and the reliability of the published record. These actions are intended to preserve the accuracy and integrity of scholarly literature, not automatically to assign blame.

Authors should promptly notify the editorial team if they identify significant inaccuracies in their published work. Complaints and appeals are addressed through the journal's established editorial processes and relevant policies.

Editorial Independence and Author-Centric Publishing

The GMS welcomes different forms of scholarly expression and does not require all contributions to follow one research template. Flexibility in manuscript presentation does not remove the responsibility to report information accurately, cite sources, obtain relevant permissions and comply with applicable ethical standards.

Submission is free. Applicable publication charges arise only after acceptance. Optional paid assistance or post-publication services are not conditions of submission or acceptance and do not influence editorial decisions.