Confidentiality and Ethics

Editors of the Annals of Dermatological Research (ADR) bear a profound responsibility to maintain confidentiality, fairness, and ethical conduct throughout the editorial process. These principles are essential to protect the trust of authors, reviewers, and the academic community, in line with COPE, ICMJE, and WAME recommendations.

Editors must ensure that all submitted manuscripts are handled with the utmost confidentiality, impartiality, and ethical integrity.

Confidentiality Obligations

  • Editors must treat all manuscripts as confidential documents, accessible only to editorial staff and assigned reviewers.
  • Manuscripts and related communications must not be shared with unauthorized individuals or used for personal research gain.
  • Information obtained during the editorial process must not be exploited for competitive advantage.

Handling of Reviewer Identities

In ADR’s double-blind peer review system, editors must safeguard the anonymity of reviewers and authors. Reviewer identities may not be disclosed without explicit consent.

Conflict of Interest Management

  • Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where personal, financial, or institutional conflicts of interest exist.
  • Editors may not manage manuscripts submitted by colleagues from their own institutions or collaborators with whom they have recent joint publications.
  • Any potential conflicts must be transparently disclosed to the editorial board.

Ethical Integrity

Editors are responsible for ensuring that editorial decisions are guided solely by scholarly merit and the journal’s scope. They must resist external pressures from sponsors, institutions, or stakeholders that could compromise impartiality.

Misconduct Handling

Editors must handle allegations of research or publishing misconduct (e.g., plagiarism, data fabrication, ethical breaches) according to COPE flowcharts and ADR’s Publication Ethics Policy.

Data Protection and Privacy

Editors must comply with international data protection regulations such as GDPR and HIPAA when handling sensitive author, reviewer, or patient information.

Transparency in Editorial Decisions

  • Editors must provide clear and documented reasons for acceptance, revision, or rejection of manuscripts.
  • Appeals must be handled fairly, with oversight from independent editorial members when necessary.

Training and Professional Development

ADR encourages editors to participate in continuous training programs offered by COPE, ICMJE, and WAME to enhance awareness of evolving ethical standards in publishing.

FAQs

What happens if confidentiality is breached?

Any breach will be investigated by the editorial board, with possible reassignment of duties or dismissal of the editor involved.

Can editors disclose reviewer comments?

Reviewer reports may only be shared with authors and co-reviewers in anonymized form.

How should editors handle external pressure?

Editors must report undue external influence to the Editor-in-Chief and maintain independent editorial judgment.