Health & New Media Research (HNMR) adheres to international standards of ethical scholarship, as endorsed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE, https://publicationethics.org).These standards impose ethical responsibilities on authors, reviewers, and editors/publishers, as outlined below.

In cases where publication ethics policies are not explicitly outlined in these instructions, you can refer to COPE's Guidelines on Good Publication Practice (https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Guidelines ) for guidance.

General Policies

Research Misconduct and Plagiarism

HNMR does not tolerate research misconduct, including plagiarism, duplication, and data fabrication. Any manuscript found to be associated with research misconduct will not be considered for publication.

Duplication and plagiarism will be verified by Crossref Similarity Check (https://www.crossref.org/services/similarity-check/) before the review process. Proper citations should accompany the use of others' work and/or words, and materials obtained from other sources must include written permissions for reproduction obtained from the original publisher.

If the editors become aware of any allegations of research misconduct the manuscript or article will be processed in accordance with the COPE guidelines (https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Flowcharts ).

In cases of serious misconduct or ethical violations, retractions may be considered after a thorough investigation.

Allegation of Misconduct

If the editors become aware of any allegations of research misconduct, the following procedures may be initiated in accordance with COPE guidelines (https://publicationethics.org/guidance )

• Misconduct allegation before publication:

  Editors will collect supporting evidence, and the author(s) will be given an opportunity to respond to the allegations as part of the review process. If the allegations are substantiated, and the author(s) is unable to provide a satisfactory response, the article will not be accepted for publication.

  If the allegations are substantiated, and the author(s) is unable to respond to them in a satisfactory manner, then the article will not be accepted for publication.

• Misconduct allegation after publication:

  A Research Ethics Committee (hereafter referred to as 'the Committee') shall be convened, comprising five professionals, including at least three members from the editorial board of HNMR, with the authority to investigate the case in question. The editor of HNMR appoints the Committee Members and serves as its Chair.

  A complainant may use any means of communication to report unjust research conduct. The committee shall safeguard the complainant's interests and, when necessary, their identity. Until the investigation is concluded, the author(s) and the nature of the complaint will remain confidential. The author(s) will receive written notice of the complaint and the opportunity to respond to all allegations. The Committee should reach a conclusion within two months of commencing the investigation.

  If the allegations are substantiated and upheld by the Committee, HNMR will promptly publish corrections, clarifications, and apologies on their website, and, if necessary, retract the article. HNMR will also notify all indexing and abstracting bodies of these required modifications.

• Complaints and Appeals regarding Misconduct

  A complainant may use any means of communication to report unjust research conduct. The Committee shall protect the complainant’s interests and their identity. Until the investigation is complete, the identity of the author(s) and the nature of the complaint will also be kept confidential.

  The author(s) will receive written notice of the complaint and the opportunity to respond to all allegations. The Committee should reach a conclusion within two months from the start of the investigation.

Peer Review

HNMR follows a rigorous double-blind peer review process and ensures that reviewers and editors maintain the highest ethical standards. Reviewers are expected to declare any conflicts of interest, and the review process is conducted confidentially Authors' names and affiliations are concealed during the peer review).

Complaints & Appeals

HNMR adheres to the principles set forth by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) in addressing complaints and appeals. These principles include fairness, transparency, accountability, and timeliness in the handling of complaints and appeals. This policy outlines the process for submitting and handling complaints and appeals related to editorial and publication decisions.

Submission of Complaints and Appeals

Authors, reviewers, readers, or any other stakeholders can submit complaints or appeals to HNMR by emailing editor@hnmr.org. The complaint or appeal should be submitted within a reasonable timeframe, generally within six months of the alleged issue.

Handling of Complaints and Appeals

Upon receiving a complaint, HNMR will send an acknowledgment to the complainant within 5 business days confirming the receipt of the complaint or appeals.

HNMR will conduct a review of the complaints and appeal, and their editorial or publication decision. If necessary, the Journal will consult with the original handling editor and reviewers. The appellant will be informed of the outcome of the complaints and appeals.

If necessary, such as an allegation of misconduct, HNMR will initiate a thorough investigation on research misconduct. Please see our policy on misconduct allegation above.

Confidentiality

The Journal will treat all complaints and appeals with the utmost confidentiality. Information related to complaints and appeals will only be disclosed to individuals involved in the investigation and resolution process.

Review and Update

This Complaints and Appeals Policy will be periodically reviewed and updated to align with best practices and evolving ethical standards.

Ethical Oversight

HNMR is committed to promoting inclusivity and diversity in our editorial board, peer reviewers, and published content.

Research involving human subjects or animals must comply with relevant ethical guidelines and receive appropriate approvals from institutional review boards and ethics committees.

Statement of Informed Consent

Copies of written informed consents and Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval for clinical research are recommended kept. The editor or reviewers may request copies of these documents to make potential ethical issues clear.

Protection of Human Rights

Any research involving human subjects must adhere to the Helsinki Declaration of 1975 (revised 2013, available at https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medical-research-involving-human-subjects/ ) and receive approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the institution where the study was conducted. Studies that do not comply with the Helsinki Declaration will not be eligible for publication.

The privacy of human subjects must be safeguarded. Specifically, identifiable information about research participants (e.g., their names, dates of birth, photographs) should not be included in written descriptions or photographs unless it is essential for scientific purposes, and the participant (or their parents or guardian) has provided written informed consent for publication.

Copyright and Licensing

Authors transfer full copyright of their work to the Health & New Media Research Institute and agree to publish it under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0). This license grants the public permission to share and adapt the work with proper attribution. By signing the Copyright Transfer Agreement, authors acknowledge and agree to these terms. The Copyright Transfer Agreement forms are available at https://www.hnmr.org/authors/copyright_transfer_agreement.php.

Ethical Responsibilities on Authors

Authorship and Authorship Responsibilities

Authors must ensure that all listed authors have made a substantial contribution to the research.

All those who have made a significant contribution to the work must be listed as co-authors, while those who have participated in other project-related aspects should be acknowledged. Authorship of the work is limited to those who have significantly contributed to its conception, design, execution, or interpretation.

Conflict of Interest

For the sake of transparency, authors should disclose all relationships, activities, or interests relevant to the content of their manuscript. The term 'relevant' encompasses any affiliations with for-profit or non-profit third parties whose interests could potentially be influenced by the manuscript's content.

All authors should disclose conflicts of interest, including

• financial relationships (such as employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, or paid expert testimony)
• personal relationships, and
• intellectual property

Conflicts of interest should be clearly noted either as a footnote on the title page or within the Acknowledgments section. If an author's disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found to be inaccurate or incomplete during the investigation of the submitted manuscript or after the publication of the article, the manuscript or article will be processed in accordance with the COPE guidelines (https://publicationethics.org/competinginterests).

Originality and Duplicate Publication

All authors confirm that the work is entirely original, has not been previously published in whole or in substantial part, is not currently under consideration by any other journal.

The submission of study including research findings in a thesis, presentation at medical or scientific conferences, or posting on preprint servers will not prevent your manuscript from being considered.

Authors are expected to abstain from fabricating data or research results, engaging in plagiarism (which involves using others' ideas, research content, or results without proper attribution or permission), or any other behavior deemed unacceptable in the academic community at large.

Transparency and Reproducibility

Authors should provide detailed and accurate descriptions of their methods and data to facilitate the reproducibility of their research.

Data sharing and open science practices are encouraged whenever possible.

Corrections and Retractions

Errors and inaccuracies in published work should be promptly corrected with transparency and diligence.

Author(s) further acknowledge responsibility for any errors and pledge to notify promptly the Editor and Managing Editor of HNMR should any significant error be identified and will cooperate with the editor of HNMR to publish corrections or to retract the paper where this is deemed necessary.

Ethical Responsibilities on Reviewers

Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers must disclose any potential conflicts of interest related to the manuscript or authors and decline to review if such conflicts exist.

Impartiality

Reviewers must conduct reviews objectively, balances, comprehensive, constructive and without bias, focusing on the scientific quality and ethical considerations of the manuscript.

Plagiarism and Misconduct

Reviewers have a responsibility to alert the Editor and Manuscript Editor of HNMR of any potential breach of ethics by authors and also to bring to the attention of the Editor and Manuscript Editor relevant published work which is not yet cited.

Reviewer Feedback & Recommendation

Reviewers are expected to provide specific and constructive feedback to authors, which helps improve the quality of the manuscript.

Reviewers may recommend acceptance, revision, or rejection based on their assessment. Their recommendations should be supported by clear justifications.

Ethical Responsibilities on Editors

Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions are made independently of any external influences, including commercial interests and affiliations.

Conflict of Interest

Editors and editorial board members are required to disclose any conflicts of interest that may affect their impartiality.

All manuscripts from editors, employees, or members of the editorial board are processed same to other unsolicited manuscripts. During the review process, submitters will not engage in the decision process. Editors will not handle their own manuscripts although they are commissioned ones.

Impartiality

The Editors and Publishers of HNMR pledge to carry out their duties in a professional manner free from any discrimination on grounds of gender, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs, or ethnic or geographical origin of the authors.

Plagiarism and Misconduct

The Editors of HNMR shall take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred. In no case shall HNMR or its editors encourage such misconduct or knowingly allow such misconduct to take place.

Internal Authorship and Endogeny

We monitor and limit the proportion of articles authored by our editorial team to maintain diverse authorship and uphold ethical standards. In our recent issues, internal authorship remains well below the recommended threshold.

In the latest two issues of Health & New Media Research (Volumes 7(2) and 8(1)), we published a total of 14 articles. Of these, 2 articles (14.29%) were authored by individuals involved in the editorial process, which is below the DOAJ threshold of 25%.