Publication Ethics Policy
The Annals of Clinical Hypertension upholds rigorous ethical standards across all stages of publishing. Our policy is grounded in the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidance and applies equally to editors, reviewers, and authors to ensure transparent, fair, and responsible scholarship.
Our ethics and malpractice statement follows COPE principles. We expect unbiased editorial decisions, confidential handling of manuscripts, timely and constructive reviews, and author commitments to originality, accurate reporting, and appropriate citation.
Roles & Responsibilities
Make unbiased decisions; follow legal/ethical requirements (copyright, defamation, plagiarism); maintain confidentiality; provide constructive feedback.
Assist the peer-review process promptly; keep manuscripts confidential; identify overlap/plagiarism; offer objective, non-personal critiques.
Submit original, accurate work with sufficient detail; retain raw data for verification; avoid duplicate/parallel submissions; cite sources properly; promptly report errors.
Peer Review: The journal uses a Double-Blind peer review model. Authors submit a separate title page (author details) and an anonymized manuscript. Decisions may be: accept, minor revision, major revision, or reject.
Plagiarism & Misconduct Screening
All submissions are screened with iThenticate. If plagiarism is detected at any stage, authors are asked to revise and cite appropriately; manuscripts with substantial overlap (e.g., ~20–25%) can be rejected. Quotes, bibliographies, common phrases, formulae, and institutional names are excluded from similarity checks.
| Aspect | Policy Summary |
|---|---|
| Open Access & Licensing | Articles are Open Access under CC BY 4.0; authors retain copyright; free sharing and reuse with proper attribution. |
| Authorship & Data | Only contributors meeting authorship criteria should be listed; authors should retain raw data and provide it upon request. |
| Duplicate/Parallel Submission | Submitting the same work to multiple journals is prohibited; translated works require identification and permissions. |
| Corrections, Retractions & Withdrawal | Errors or ethical breaches may lead to corrections, retractions, or—while in press—withdrawals. In-press withdrawals may incur tiered fees based on processing stage. |
| Confidentiality | Editors/reviewers must not disclose manuscript content beyond those involved in evaluation. |
Open Access Use—Do’s & Don’ts
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Permitted: read, download, copy, distribute, transmit, and reuse (including commercial) with attribution under CC BY 4.0.
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Not permitted: removing/altering copyright or attribution notices; systematic redistribution for paid services without permission.
Appeals, Complaints & Grievances
Ethics concerns, appeals, or grievances will be investigated in line with the journal’s policies and COPE guidance. Authors/readers may contact the editorial office using the emails below.
Editorial contact: [email protected] | [email protected] | [email protected]