Publication Ethics

A. Authorship and Author Contributions

The policy of Oral Sciences Reports is that only ONE corresponding author is accepted. Where there is any uncertainty regarding authorship, the editor of the journal reserves the right to contact the corresponding author of the study for further information. Authors must acknowledge that the manuscript has been read and approved by all authors and that all authors agree to the submission of the manuscript to the journal. Authors are required to identify the contributions for which they are responsible. Author will be asked to provide CRediT Contributions as well as their degree of contribution at the time of the original submission. CRediT Contribution is a high-level classification of the diverse roles performed in the work leading to a published research output in the sciences. Its purpose to provide transparency in contributions to scholarly published work, to enable improved systems of attribution, credit, and accountability.

Authors are expected to carefully consider the list and order of authors before submitting their manuscript and provide the definitive list of authors at the time of the original submission. Any addition, deletion, or rearrangement of author names in the authorship list should be made only before the manuscript has been accepted and only if approved by the editor of the journal. To request such a change, the editor must receive the following from the corresponding author:

(a) The reason for the change in the author list
(b) Written confirmation (e-mail, letter) from all authors that they agree with the addition, removal, or rearrangement.

In case of addition or removal of authors, these must be confirmed from the author being added or removed. Please be informed that changes of the authorship cannot be made in any circumstances after the manuscript has been accepted.

B. Duties of Editors

1. The editors are responsible for assessing the quality of papers submitted to publication.

2. The editors must not reveal the identity of the author(s) and the reviewers to others during the assessment processes.

3. The editors must arrive at a decision about which paper to be published based on its intellectual contents that are in accordance with the policies of the journal.

4. The editors must not publish any paper that has been previously published elsewhere.

5. The editors must not reject any paper simply because they have doubts or uncertainties about any part of the submitted paper. They must find concrete evidence to resolve doubts or uncertainties.

6. The editors must not defend or act in their interest or the interest of the author(s), reviewers, and administrative board.

7. The editors must make sure no plagiarism is committed, using reliable plagiarism detection programs/tools.

8. In case plagiarism is discovered, the editors must stop assessing the submitted paper and contact the corresponding author immediately seeking an explanation for any part of the paper deemed plagiarized before deciding whether the paper is “accepted” or “rejected.”

C. Duties of the Reviewers

1. The reviewers must keep all the information of the submitted paper confidential and must not reveal any part of the submitted paper to anyone other than those involved in the reviewing processes.

2. After receiving a paper, reviewers may discover that they have a vested interest in the submitted paper in that they are co-authors, and know the author(s) personally. In such cases, they should inform the editors of this occurrence and should disqualify themselves from being reviewers.

3. Reviewers should evaluate submitted papers in disciplines in which they specialize, taking into account the intellectual contents of the paper, its data analysis, and the substantive contents of the research article. They must refrain from using their own groundless, personal judgment to evaluate submitted papers.

4. In the evaluation processes, the reviewers must point out significant studies that are significantly related to the submitted paper but the author fails to include or mention in his or her submitted paper. The reviewers are encouraged to inform the editors of any similarities between the submitted paper and other papers/studies.

D. Ethical Considerations

All studies using human or animal subjects should include an explicit statement in the Material and Methods section identifying the review and ethics committee’s approval for each study. Experimentation involving human subjects will only be published if such research has been conducted in full accordance with the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki (version 2008) and the additional requirements or with ethical principles of the country where the research has been carried out. Manuscripts must be accompanied by a statement that the experiments were undertaken with the understanding and written consent of each subject and according to the above-mentioned principles.

Experimentation involving animal subjects should be carried out in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the National Institute of Health (NIH) in the USA or with the European Communities Council Directive of 24 November 1986 (86/609/EEC) and in accordance with local laws and regulations. Editors reserve the right to reject papers if there is doubt as to whether appropriate procedures have been used.

E. Ethical Considerations for Clinical Trials

All clinical trials must register in any of the following public clinical trials registries:

• Thai Clinical Trials Registry (TCTR)
• NIH Clinical Trials Database
• EU Clinical Trials Register
• ISRCTN Registry

The clinical trial registration number and name of the trial register should be included in Materials and Methods of the manuscript. For epidemiological observational trials, authors of epidemiological human observations studies are required to review and submit a 'strengthening the reporting of observational studies in Epidemiology' (STROBE) checklist and statement. Compliance with this must be detailed in Materials and Methods.

F. Ethical Considerations for Systematic Review

The abstract and main body of the systematic review should be reported using the PRISMA for Abstract and PRISMA guidelines respectively. Authors submitting a systematic review should register the protocol in one of the readily-accessible sources/databases at the time of project inception and not retrospectively (e.g. PROSPERO database, OSF registries). The protocol registration number, name of the database or journal reference should be provided at the submission stage in Materials and Methods. A PRISMA checklist and flow diagram (as a Figure) should also be included in the submission material.

G. Conflict of Interest

Conflicts of interest in scientific research can arise when financial or personal interests influence the research findings or their interpretation. To ensure the integrity of the research published in the Oral Sciences Reports, authors must follow these policies regarding conflicts of interest:

1. Authors must disclose any financial or personal relationships that may have influenced the research, including but not limited to employment, consulting, honoraria, stock ownership, or patents.
2. Authors must disclose any funding sources that have supported the research and their role in the design, conduct, and reporting of the research.
3. Authors must disclose any relationships with entities that have a vested interest in the research, such as pharmaceutical or medical device companies.
4. The editorial board of Oral Sciences Reports will review disclosures of conflicts of interest and may ask authors to clarify or provide additional information as necessary.
5. Oral Sciences Reports reserves the right to reject any article that contains conflicts of interest that are not properly disclosed or managed.
6. If a potential conflict of interest is identified after publication, Oral Sciences Reports may issue a correction or retraction, depending on the severity and impact of the conflict.

These policies will ensure that authors submitting articles to Oral Sciences Reports adhere to ethical standards related to conflicts of interest in scientific research and contribute to the promotion of research integrity. The authors may also consult the recommendations for the Disclosure of Financial and Non-Financial Relationships and Activities, and Conflicts of Interest.

H. Submission Declaration and Verification

Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract, a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, including electronically without the written consent of the copyright-holder. The conference proceedings are allowed to be part of the article if the contents do not exceed 70% of the article. The author of a submitted manuscript must also declare the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology in the acknowledgments section of the manuscript and the methods section if applicable.

I. Copyright

As an author, you have certain rights to reuse your work. Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles including abstracts for internal circulation within their institutions. Permission of the Publisher is required for resale or distribution outside the institution and for all other derivative works, including compilations and translations. If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included, the author(s) must credit the source(s) in the article. The authors may also consult the recommendations of Elsevier Policies for Copyright.

Peer Review Policy

Peer Review Process

All submitted manuscripts undergo a rigorous double-blind review by three reviewers. The full detials of the peer review process can be found here.

Data Sharing Policies

Data sharing is an important aspect of scientific research that promotes transparency, reproducibility, and collaboration. To ensure that authors submitting articles to the Oral Sciences Reports adhere to ethical standards related to data sharing, authors must follow these policies:

1. Authors must make their data available upon reasonable request, including any raw data or analysis code used in the research for any scientist wishing to use them for non-commercial purposes, without breaching participant confidentiality.
2. Authors should deposit their data in a public repository (where available and appropriate) or presented in the main manuscript or additional supporting files, in machine-readable format (such as spreadsheets rather than PDFs) whenever possible.
3. Authors must provide a clear and detailed description of the data collected and analyzed in the article, including any data preprocessing or cleaning steps.
4. Authors must provide a clear and detailed description of the data sharing process, including the location of the data repository and any access restrictions or embargo periods.
5. Authors must ensure that their data is de-identified to protect the privacy and confidentiality of research participants.
6. Oral Sciences Reports reserves the right to reject any article that does not meet ethical standards related to data sharing.
7. If authors cannot share their data due to legal or ethical restrictions, they must provide a clear and detailed explanation in the article submitted to Oral Sciences Reports. Please follow the guidance for data availability statements.

These policies will ensure that authors submitting articles to Oral Sciences Reports adhere to ethical standards related to data sharing and contribute to the promotion of transparency and reproducibility in scientific research.

Human and Animal Research Policies

Human Research Policies

These are the following policies for authors who want to submit their articles to the Oral Sciences Reports with a focus on human rights:

1. Authors must ensure that any human research included in their article is conducted ethically and in compliance with relevant guidelines and regulations, such as the Declaration of Helsinki, the Belmont Report, and the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences.
2. Authors must obtain informed consent from participants before conducting research, including obtaining consent from legally authorized representatives for vulnerable populations, such as children or mentally incapacitated individuals.
3. Authors must ensure that participants' identities are protected and that their data is kept confidential.
4. Authors must ensure that the research design and methods used do not harm participants physically, mentally, socially, or economically.
5. Authors must ensure that participants have the right to withdraw from the research at any time without any negative consequences.
6. Authors must ensure that the recruitment of participants is done ethically and without coercion.
7. Authors must ensure that any compensation or incentives provided to participants are fair and do not influence their decision to participate.
8. Authors must provide a detailed description of the research conducted, including the number of participants and any exclusion criteria used.
9. Authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest, including any financial or other interests that may influence the research.
10. Oral Sciences Reports reserves the right to reject any article that does not meet ethical standards related to human research.

These policies will ensure that authors submitting articles to OSR adhere to ethical standards related to human research and contribute to the promotion of human rights in scientific research.

Animal Research Policies

Animal welfare is a critical consideration in scientific research. Animals used in research should be treated humanely and with the utmost care to minimize their pain and suffering. Based on the guidelines set forth by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Oral Sciences Reports suggests the following policies for animal rights in scientific research:

1. Minimizing animal use: Researchers should use the minimum number of animals necessary to achieve scientific objectives. This approach ensures that animals are not subjected to unnecessary pain and suffering.
2. Alternatives to animal use: Researchers should explore alternative methods to animal research, such as computer modeling or in vitro cell culture, whenever possible.
3. Animal care and housing: Animals used in research should be provided with appropriate housing, food, and water. The animals' care should be overseen by a qualified veterinarian or animal care specialist, and their environment should be enriched with toys, bedding, or other items to reduce stress.
4. Pain and distress management: Researchers should minimize pain and distress to animals used in research by using appropriate anesthesia, analgesics, or other medications. The use of non-invasive techniques should be prioritized over invasive techniques.
5. Ethical considerations: Researchers must obtain ethical approval from an institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC) before beginning any animal research. The IACUC will review the proposed research to ensure that it meets ethical standards.
6. Reporting and transparency: Researchers must report their animal research findings accurately and transparently, including the number and types of animals used, procedures performed, and any adverse events. They should also share their findings with the broader scientific community.
7. Post-research care: After the research is complete, animals should be given appropriate care, including veterinary care, socialization, or retirement to a sanctuary.

These policies will ensure that animals used in scientific research are treated humanely and that their welfare is a top priority.

The following policies for authors who want to submit their articles to the Oral Sciences Reports must be followed:

1. Authors must ensure that any animal research included in their article is conducted ethically and in compliance with relevant guidelines and regulations.
2. Authors should provide a detailed description of the animal research conducted, including the number and species of animals used, and the procedures performed.
3. Authors must provide evidence of ethical approval from an institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC) or equivalent ethical review board, including the IACUC protocol number.
4. Authors must provide details of the measures taken to minimize pain and suffering to animals used in research, including the use of anesthesia, analgesics, or other medications.
5. Authors must report any adverse events or unexpected outcomes related to animal research in their article.
6. Authors must ensure that any images or videos of animals used in research are obtained ethically and that the animals' identities are protected.
7. Authors must ensure that any alternative methods to animal research have been explored and considered before using animals in their research.
8. Authors must ensure that the reporting of their research accurately and transparently represents the use of animals and the procedures performed.
9. Authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest, including any financial or other interests that may influence the research.
10. Oral Sciences Reports reserves the right to reject any article that does not meet ethical standards related to animal research.

These policies will ensure that authors submitting articles to Oral Sciences Reports adhere to ethical standards related to animal research and contribute to the promotion of animal welfare in scientific research.

Editorial Policies

Editorial Team: Oral Sciences Reports will have an editorial board consisting of experts in various fields related to dentistry and oral health. The editorial team will be responsible for ensuring the quality and integrity of the published articles. They will also be responsible for the final decision on acceptance or rejection of manuscripts.

Open Access: Oral Sciences Reports is an open access journal, meaning that all articles will be freely available to readers without any subscription fees. Authors will be required to pay an article processing charge to cover the cost of publication.

Correction, Retraction, and Removal Policy: Oral Sciences Reports may correct, retract, or remove articles when necessary to maintain the accuracy and integrity of the published record. The authors may also consult the Article Correction, Retraction and Removal Policy.