Ethical Principles and Publication Policy

At Impact Surgery, we uphold the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability in all aspects of research and publishing. Our ethical policies align with international best practices, including those recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

  1. Scope of Ethical Oversight

All submitted manuscripts must comply with accepted ethical standards for research, authorship, peer review, and publication. Authors submitting to Impact Surgery confirm that their work meets these requirements in full.

  1. Human Research Ethics

Research involving human participants must be approved by a recognised institutional ethics committee or review board. Submissions must state the name of the approving body, provide the approval reference, and confirm that informed consent was obtained from all participants. Manuscripts failing to meet these criteria will not be considered.

  1. No Animal Research Accepted

Impact Surgery does not publish any research involving animals. Our focus is strictly on human health, surgical systems, and outcomes. Submissions including animal studies will be desk rejected.

  1. Authorship and Contributor Responsibility

All authors must meet the criteria set out by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Authorship should reflect substantial contributions to the work, approval of the final version, and accountability for all aspects. Names must be presented in the format “First name Last name,” without titles or initials.

  1. Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence

Any use of AI tools in manuscript preparation or data analysis must be clearly described in the Methods section. Authors must include the following reference:

GAIT 2024 Collaborative Group. Generative Artificial Intelligence Transparency in scientific writing: the GAIT 2024 guidance. Impact Surgery. 2025 Jan. 29;2(1):6–11.

  1. Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure

All manuscripts must include a Conflict of Interest Statement and a Funding Statement, placed on the first page of the manuscript. Authors must declare all relevant financial and non-financial relationships or state explicitly if no conflict exists.

  1. Research Integrity and Misconduct

Impact Surgery adheres to COPE’s guidance on research misconduct. We investigate and act on allegations of:

  • Plagiarism
  • Data fabrication or falsification
  • Duplicate or redundant publication
  • Unethical research practices

Confirmed breaches will lead to rejection or retraction, and may be reported to the authors’ institutions.  See our separate Plagiarism Policy section for more detail.

  1. Editorial and Peer Review Process

All submissions undergo single-blind peer review. Review is based on scientific quality, methodological rigour, relevance to our journal’s scope, and compliance with ethical standards. Review reports and revisions are archived for editorial accountability.

  1. Data Availability and Reproducibility

Authors must ensure that data are accurate, complete, and available upon reasonable request. Clinical trials must be registered in an internationally recognised database (e.g. ClinicalTrials.gov or ISRCTN) before enrolment of participants.

  1. Corrections, Retractions, and Editorial Accountability

We maintain clear procedures for:

  • Corrections to address factual errors
  • Retractions for work found to be unethical or invalid
  • Editorial expressions of concern where necessary

Editors and reviewers must declare any potential conflicts of interest and recuse themselves as appropriate.

  1. COPE Principles and Editorial Ethics

Impact Surgery fully supports and applies the COPE Core Practices. Editorial decisions are made independently and transparently. Ethical concerns regarding submissions, authorship, or peer review will be handled following COPE’s established flowcharts and guidance. For more on COPE’s standards, visit publicationethics.org.