AQCH is committed to maintaining the highest standards of research integrity, publication ethics, and professional conduct. The journal follows internationally recognized ethical principles and best practices in scholarly publishing and expects authors, reviewers, editors, and publishers to adhere to these standards throughout the publication process.

The journal's ethical policies are guided by the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and internationally accepted standards for responsible research and publication.

Research Integrity

Authors are expected to conduct and report research honestly, accurately, and transparently.

Research submitted to AQCH must:

• Be original and scientifically sound.
• Be based on accurate data and appropriate methodology.
• Present results honestly without fabrication, falsification, or manipulation.
• Provide sufficient detail to allow verification and reproducibility where appropriate.
• Properly acknowledge the work of others through accurate citation and referencing.

Any attempt to misrepresent research findings is considered a serious breach of publication ethics.

Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions to the work.

Authors should have:

• Contributed significantly to the conception, design, data collection, analysis, or interpretation of the study.
• Participated in drafting or critically revising the manuscript.
• Approved the final version of the manuscript.
• Agreed to be accountable for the accuracy and integrity of the work.

Individuals who contributed to the research but do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately.

Gift authorship, guest authorship, and ghost authorship are unacceptable.

Originality and Plagiarism

Authors must ensure that submitted manuscripts are original and have not been plagiarized from previously published or unpublished work.

The journal does not tolerate:

• Direct plagiarism
• Self-plagiarism
• Mosaic plagiarism
• Improper paraphrasing
• Unattributed use of text, figures, tables, or data

All submissions may be screened using plagiarism detection tools.

Manuscripts containing significant plagiarism may be rejected immediately.

Duplicate Submission and Redundant Publication

Authors must not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to multiple journals.

Manuscripts submitted to AQCH must not:

• Be under consideration elsewhere.
• Have been previously published in substantially similar form.
• Contain redundant or duplicate publication of previously reported data without appropriate justification and citation.

Data Integrity and Availability

Authors are responsible for maintaining accurate records of research data.

The journal may request:

• Raw data
• Original images
• Statistical analyses
• Supplementary materials

Authors should retain research data for a reasonable period after publication and provide access when requested by the editors.

Image Integrity

Images submitted for publication must accurately represent the original data.

The following practices are prohibited:

• Selective enhancement or removal of features
• Misleading image manipulation
• Fabrication of image data

Adjustments to brightness, contrast, or color balance are acceptable only when applied uniformly and when they do not alter the scientific meaning of the image.

Editors may request original image files for verification.

 Human Subjects Research

Research involving human participants must comply with recognized ethical standards and applicable regulations.

Authors must provide:

• Approval from an appropriate Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board (IRB)
• Confirmation that informed consent was obtained from participants when required
• Assurance that participant privacy and confidentiality were protected

Patient-identifying information must not be published without explicit written consent.

Animal Research

Studies involving animals must be conducted in accordance with institutional, national, and international guidelines for animal welfare.

Authors must indicate:

• Ethical approval from the appropriate committee
• Compliance with relevant animal care regulations
• Measures taken to minimize animal suffering

Clinical Trials

Clinical trials should be registered in a publicly accessible trial registry before participant enrollment whenever applicable.

Authors should provide:

• Trial registration number
• Name of the registry
• Ethical approval information

Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial, professional, institutional, or personal relationships that could influence the research or publication process.

Examples include:

• Employment
• Consultancy
• Grants or funding
• Stock ownership
• Personal relationships
• Academic competition

All disclosed conflicts will be evaluated by the editorial office.

Funding Disclosure

Authors must clearly identify all sources of financial support for the research and publication of the manuscript.

The role of the funding organization in:

• Study design
• Data collection
• Data analysis
• Manuscript preparation
• Publication decisions

must be disclosed.

If no funding was received, authors should state: “The authors received no specific funding for this work.”

Peer Review Ethics

AQCH employs a double-blind peer review process.

Reviewers are expected to:

• Maintain confidentiality
• Provide objective and constructive evaluations
• Declare conflicts of interest
• Refrain from using unpublished information for personal benefit
• Report suspected ethical concerns to the editor

Editorial Responsibilities

Editors are responsible for:

• Ensuring a fair and unbiased review process
• Maintaining confidentiality
• Managing conflicts of interest
• Evaluating manuscripts solely on scientific merit
• Addressing ethical concerns promptly and fairly

Editorial decisions are independent of commercial, institutional, or personal influences.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools

Authors who use artificial intelligence or generative AI tools during manuscript preparation must disclose such use in the manuscript.

AI tools:

• Cannot be listed as authors.
• Do not assume responsibility for published content.
• Must not replace author accountability.

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of their work.

Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

AQCH is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record.

When necessary, the journal may publish:

• Corrections (Errata)
• Corrigenda
• Expressions of Concern
• Retractions

These actions will be taken when significant errors, ethical concerns, or research misconduct are identified.

Handling Allegations of Misconduct

The journal will investigate allegations of:

• Plagiarism
• Data fabrication or falsification
• Image manipulation
• Authorship disputes
• Duplicate publication
• Ethical approval violations

Investigations will be conducted confidentially and fairly, following established ethical procedures.

Appropriate corrective actions may include manuscript rejection, publication correction, retraction, or notification of relevant institutions.

Ethical Compliance

Submission of a manuscript to AQCH signifies that all authors:

• Agree with the contents of the manuscript.
• Have complied with applicable ethical standards.
• Accept responsibility for the integrity of the work.
• Consent to the journal's editorial and ethical policies.

AQCH is dedicated to promoting responsible research practices, transparency, scientific integrity, and ethical publishing for the benefit of the global scientific community.