Publication Ethics

Anesthesiology (AOJ) is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and research integrity, in line with the guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

Authorship

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made a significant intellectual contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study, consistent with ICMJE's authorship criteria. All listed authors must agree to the final version of the manuscript and accept accountability for its content. Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet full authorship criteria — including anesthetic or perioperative assistance without intellectual contribution to the study design — should be appropriately acknowledged rather than listed as authors.

Originality and Plagiarism

Submitted manuscripts must represent original work that has not been previously published and is not under consideration elsewhere. All submissions are screened for textual overlap using iThenticate plagiarism-detection software (see Plagiarism Policy). Plagiarism, including self-plagiarism and improper paraphrasing without attribution, is treated as a serious breach of publication ethics.

Data Integrity

Authors are expected to present an accurate account of their research and results, including a truthful representation of underlying physiological, clinical, and outcomes data (see Data Sharing Policy). Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or findings is considered a serious form of research misconduct and will result in manuscript rejection or, if discovered post-publication, retraction (see Corrections & Retractions).

Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors are required to disclose any financial, professional, or personal relationships that could be perceived as influencing the objectivity of the submitted work or the review process, including relationships with anesthetic drug or medical device manufacturers (see Conflict of Interest Policy).

Human and Animal Research

Studies involving human participants — including perioperative and anesthetic outcome studies — must have been conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and must include documentation of institutional ethics approval and informed consent. Studies involving animal subjects — including anesthetic technique validation in animal models — must demonstrate compliance with applicable guidelines, consistent with the ARRIVE guidelines for reporting animal research (see Ethical Approvals & Human/Animal Rights).

Research Misconduct

Allegations of research misconduct — including data fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, or authorship disputes — are investigated in accordance with COPE's guidance and flowcharts (see Research Misconduct & Sanctions). Where misconduct is confirmed, the journal may take actions including correction, retraction, or notification of the author's institution.

Corrections and Retractions

The journal is committed to correcting the scientific record where necessary, in accordance with COPE's retraction guidelines (see Corrections & Retractions).

Generative AI

Use of generative AI tools in manuscript preparation must be disclosed in accordance with the journal's GenAI Policy. AI tools cannot be listed as an author.