Editorial Ethics and Scope
Authors, reviewers, and editors share responsibility for an accurate, ethical, and trustworthy record. Requirements apply from submission through post-publication review and are interpreted in light of the study design, applicable oversight, evidence, and the need for fair process.
Originality and Research Integrity
Submissions must be original, accurately reported, and not under consideration elsewhere. Plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, duplicate or redundant publication, inappropriate text recycling, salami publication, citation manipulation, undisclosed conflicts, and inappropriate authorship are not acceptable.
Authors must preserve the integrity of data, analyses, clinical claims, references, and conclusions and respond accurately to editorial questions.
Similarity and Integrity Screening
Manuscripts may be screened for textual similarity, duplicate or redundant publication, inappropriate text recycling, citation manipulation, and fabricated or manipulated content at submission, during editorial assessment or peer review, before publication, or after a concern is raised.
A similarity percentage alone does not determine plagiarism. Editors consider the nature, extent, context, and source of overlap.
Image Integrity
Images must not be manipulated in a way that misrepresents findings. Adjustments should be applied consistently and must not selectively enhance, remove, obscure, or introduce features in a misleading manner. This applies, where relevant, to microscopy, gels, western blots, pathology and radiology images, clinical photographs, electrophoresis, and other research images.
Authors should retain original data where reasonably necessary and explain legitimate composites or adjustments where required.
Data, Results, and Citation Integrity
Fabrication and falsification include inventing or altering participants, observations, procedures, measurements, images, analyses, adverse events, or results. Selective omission that creates a misleading account is also unacceptable.
References must support the claims for which they are cited. Coercive, irrelevant, reciprocal, or metric-driven citation practices must not be used to manipulate the record.
Authorship, Disclosures, and Conduct
Authors must provide responsible authorship, contributorship, funding, conflict-of-interest, ethics, consent, and data statements as applicable. Editors and reviewers must act impartially, disclose relevant conflicts, protect confidentiality, and avoid using privileged information.
Allegations, Investigations, and Editorial Action
Credible concerns are assessed fairly, confidentially where appropriate, and with attention to evidence and an opportunity for relevant parties to respond. Editors may request original data, approvals, consent documentation, images, contributor records, or other supporting material.
The Curette may pause review, reject a manuscript, correct or retract an article, publish an Expression of Concern, or take another proportionate action. Where appropriate and lawful, the publisher may cooperate with an author’s institution or another responsible body; the journal does not claim powers belonging to employers, institutions, regulators, or courts.
Editorial Independence, Complaints, and Appeals
Decisions are based on scholarly merit, journal scope, integrity, and policy. Commercial considerations, including payment, do not determine acceptance. Authors may submit a reasoned appeal or complaint to the editorial office; review does not guarantee reversal.