Advances in Pre-Clinical and Clinical Research (APCCR) is committed to maintaining high standards of editorial integrity, ethical publishing, transparency, and accountability. The policies below define the responsibilities of authors, reviewers, editors, and the journal in ensuring a fair and rigorous publication process.
APCCR follows internationally accepted authorship standards based on the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Authorship is not merely a matter of credit; it also carries responsibility and accountability for the integrity of the published work.
To be listed as an author, an individual must satisfy all of the following criteria:
All authors must have contributed meaningfully to the work and must be willing to accept public responsibility for the content of the manuscript. The journal may request a detailed author contribution statement and may publish this information if required. The order of authorship must be decided collectively by all authors before submission. APCCR strongly discourages any later addition, deletion, or rearrangement of authors after submission, except in exceptional circumstances reviewed by the editorial office.
APCCR accepts original research articles, review articles, educational articles, case reports, and short communications. Submission of a manuscript to APCCR implies that the work is original, has not been published previously, and is not under consideration elsewhere.
Authors must not submit the same manuscript to another journal while it is being reviewed by APCCR. Duplicate submission is considered a serious breach of publication ethics. The journal reserves the right to accept or reject any manuscript based on editorial assessment, reviewer feedback, ethical compliance, and scientific merit.
A manuscript may also be rejected after acceptance if serious problems are later identified in the scientific content, ethical approval, authorship, originality, or compliance with journal policy. For original research articles, approval from the appropriate human ethics committee or animal ethics committee is mandatory before submission.
All manuscripts submitted to APCCR undergo double-blind peer review. This means that the identities of authors and reviewers are concealed from each other to ensure objective evaluation free from personal or institutional influence.
Each manuscript is generally reviewed by two qualified experts in the relevant field. Their reports are considered by the editorial board when deciding whether the manuscript should be accepted, revised, or rejected. The final editorial decision rests with the Editor-in-Chief, who may also consult advisory board members or additional experts when necessary.
If authors provide a reasoned challenge to a negative decision, the editorial board may send the manuscript to another reviewer for further evaluation. In such cases, the final decision will be based on the additional review and the editorial assessment. Direct communication between authors and reviewers is not permitted under any circumstances, except through authorized editorial communication. Any unauthorized contact may result in rejection of the manuscript.
3.1 Initial Submission
After submission, each manuscript is first screened by an Editorial Board member to determine whether it falls within the journal scope and meets basic scientific and technical standards. Manuscripts that are suitable are then forwarded to external reviewers. If related work is under review or in press elsewhere, authors must disclose it and provide copies of the related material.
3.2 Peer Review
During submission, authors may suggest a limited number of reviewers who should not be invited to review the manuscript, provided the reasons are appropriate and the names are clearly stated. Authors may also suggest potential reviewers, but the journal is not obligated to use them. Reviewer identity is kept confidential unless the reviewer chooses otherwise.
3.3 Decision After Review
After review, the editor may take one of four actions:
3.4 Revisions
When revisions are requested, authors must respond within the deadline stated in the editorial decision letter. A revised manuscript must not be resubmitted as a new paper. Instead, it should be accompanied by a detailed, point-by-point response explaining how each reviewer comment was addressed. The manuscript may be returned to the original reviewers or sent to new reviewers depending on the nature of the revision.
3.5 Final Submission and Acceptance
Once all editorial concerns have been resolved, the manuscript is formally accepted. After acceptance, authors receive page proofs for final checking. Only minor corrections are usually allowed at this stage, and changes to the title, author list, or scientific content are permitted only in exceptional circumstances and with editorial approval. All proofs must be reviewed carefully, as the responsibility for accuracy remains with the authors.
APCCR requires all research involving human participants or animals to comply with accepted ethical standards. Studies must be approved by the relevant ethics committee or institutional review board at the institution where the work was performed.
For research involving human beings, authors must clearly state that the study followed ethical standards for human experimentation. This includes adherence to institutional and national principles governing participant safety, privacy, informed consent, and risk minimization.
For animal studies, authors must confirm that the work followed institutional and national guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals. Ethical approval details should be stated clearly in the manuscript.
Patient privacy is a fundamental ethical requirement. Identifying information such as names, initials, hospital numbers, dates of birth, or recognizable images should not appear in the manuscript unless absolutely necessary and legally consented to.
If a patient can be identified from text, tables, figures, or clinical images, written informed consent must be obtained and submitted to the journal. Even when consent is obtained, authors should minimize the inclusion of unnecessary identifying details. Patient data must not be altered in any way that could misrepresent the findings or compromise scientific accuracy.
APCCR uses AWS-based archiving to preserve journal content permanently. This ensures that published material remains available for long-term access, restoration, and record retention. Archiving supports continuity of the scholarly record and protects published content from accidental loss or technical failure.
APCCR is a double-blind peer-reviewed journal that adheres to strict publication ethics. The journal expects all authors to submit work that is honest, original, and ethically sound. Any form of misconduct, including plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, duplicate publication, or unethical research practice, may result in rejection, correction, retraction, or notification to institutional authorities.
The journal reserves the right to screen all submissions using plagiarism-detection software. Ethical concerns may be investigated at any stage of the editorial process, including after publication. If misconduct is discovered, APCCR may take corrective action in line with accepted publishing standards. The integrity of the scientific record remains the highest priority.
Each author is expected to meet the journal’s authorship requirements and to take responsibility for the accuracy of the work they helped produce. The primary affiliation listed for each author should be the institution where most of the work was done. If the author has since moved to another institution, the current address may also be included.
The corresponding author has the main responsibility for communication with APCCR during submission, peer review, revision, and after publication. This author must ensure that all co-authors are included properly, that the author order has been agreed upon by everyone, and that all co-authors know the manuscript has been submitted.
After acceptance, the corresponding author is responsible for checking the proof carefully, especially the spelling of author names, affiliations, and contact details. The corresponding author also serves as the main contact point for post-publication communication and must keep all co-authors informed of relevant editorial matters.
All communication with the journal, reviewers, and editorial team must be treated as confidential. Authors must not disclose or post confidential correspondence, reviewer reports, or editorial comments without prior permission.
Authors must also ensure that their manuscript:
APCCR requires online submission only. Simultaneous submission to more than one journal is a serious violation of publication ethics.
APCCR follows the ICMJE framework for determining authorship. Authorship should be reserved for individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions and who are willing to accept accountability for the published work.
The journal expects that every author listed on a manuscript has:
Authors must sign an undertaking confirming their responsibility for the manuscript. The journal may request author contribution details and may publish them where appropriate. The author order must be agreed upon before submission. APCCR strongly discourages post-submission changes in authorship except in justified and carefully reviewed cases.
APCCR follows the ethical principles and best-practice guidance of COPE and WAME. These standards support responsible editorial decision-making, publication integrity, and ethical management of disputes or misconduct.
The journal expects research to be conducted responsibly and in accordance with all relevant laws and ethical requirements. Data must be reported honestly and transparently, with no fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate manipulation. Methods must be described clearly enough to allow replication and verification. Originality, proper attribution, and disclosure of funding and conflicts of interest are all mandatory.
The manuscript review process remains confidential, and editorial decisions are made independently. The journal also seeks to minimize conflicts of interest between authors, editors, and reviewers.
APCCR considers manuscripts reporting well-conducted clinical trials. Such trials must comply with ICH-GCP standards and must be registered in CTRI, the Clinical Trial Registry of India.
The registration number and date of registration must be included in the manuscript and will be published with the article. The trial protocol must also be submitted as a separate document. This policy helps ensure transparency, supports trial accountability, and allows readers to verify that the trial was prospectively registered and ethically conducted.
All manuscripts reporting meta-analyses must be accompanied by a completed PRISMA checklist and flow diagram. This helps authors demonstrate that the review and synthesis process was systematic, transparent, and reproducible. The PRISMA documents should be uploaded together with the manuscript when submitting systematic review or meta-analysis work.
Reviewers play a central role in maintaining scientific quality. They are expected to complete reviews promptly, provide constructive comments, and help authors improve the manuscript. If a reviewer cannot complete the task in time, the editor should be informed as soon as possible.
Reviewers must maintain confidentiality and must not discuss the manuscript with others. Their assessment should be objective, respectful, and supported by clear reasoning. Personal criticism is not acceptable.
Reviewers should also:
If plagiarism or duplicate publication is suspected during review, the manuscript may be rejected immediately. If misconduct is confirmed after publication, the article may be corrected or removed, and the journal may notify the authors’ institutions or funding agencies if necessary.
Editorial decisions about corrections, amendments, or clarifications are made by APCCR’s in-house editors, sometimes with input from referees, the Editorial Advisory Panel, or the Editorial Board. Authors may be consulted when needed, but the final decision always rests with the editorial office.
If a correction does not materially affect the scientific message or the reader’s understanding, the correction may be noted with a footnote or editorial notice. This ensures transparency while preserving the accuracy of the publication record.
APCCR requires all submitted work to be original. Duplicate publication occurs when authors reuse substantial parts of their own published work without proper citation or submit essentially the same work to more than one journal.
The journal may consider material that has appeared in a thesis, provided it has been published according to the rules of the awarding institution. Meeting abstracts may be acceptable if the full submission includes disclosure of the abstract and the relationship between the two versions.
Conference proceedings may also be considered if the new manuscript substantially extends the original material in terms of data, analysis, or interpretation. In all such cases, the prior work must be cited properly, and permission must be obtained if copyrighted material is reused.
Withdrawal of a manuscript after submission is discouraged because it disrupts the editorial process. Authors must consent to publication before peer review begins. If a manuscript that has already been accepted is to be withdrawn, written consent from all authors and a valid reason are required. The editorial office may review such requests individually.
Authors must be prepared to share supporting data, materials, and methods with editors and reviewers when requested for manuscript evaluation. This requirement supports transparency, verification, and reproducibility.
If the journal is not satisfied that the authors can provide adequate access to the underlying materials or datasets, publication may be refused. Authors should therefore ensure that data availability statements and supporting documents are accurate and complete.
Plagiarism includes unacknowledged copying of text, ideas, data, or other intellectual content. It also includes misattributing the work of others or presenting copied material as original.
Large-scale copying without clear attribution is considered serious misconduct. Reuse of any text, including the author’s own previously published text, requires appropriate citation and disclosure. APCCR reviews each case individually and may respond with rejection, correction, retraction, or institutional notification depending on severity.
All manuscripts are checked for similarity before the publishing process begins. If plagiarism is discovered after publication, the journal may issue a correction or retract the article.
To ensure transparency, authors must disclose any financial or non-financial interests that could influence, or appear to influence, the research or its interpretation.
Financial conflicts may include:
Non-financial conflicts may include unpaid advisory roles, organizational memberships, advocacy positions, or professional relationships that could affect judgment.
The corresponding author is responsible for submitting the conflict of interest statement on behalf of all authors. Reviewers and editors must also declare relevant conflicts and recuse themselves when necessary.
APCCR may retract a published article when serious problems are identified. Retraction is generally considered when there is plagiarism, fraudulent authorship, falsified data, or a major correction that cannot be adequately resolved through a simple erratum.
When a paper is retracted, the PDF will remain accessible but will be clearly marked as “Retracted.” In exceptional legal or ethical situations, the file may be removed or replaced with a notice. APCCR follows COPE guidance when managing retractions.
Before publication, authors receive a proof copy of their manuscript. This proof must be checked carefully for typographical errors, formatting issues, author details, and other minor corrections. Large content changes are generally not permitted at this stage.
Authors should return proofs promptly to avoid publication delays. After publication, original article PDFs may be downloaded from the website, and a copy may also be sent by email.
If a manuscript is found unsuitable for publication based on reviewer comments or journal policy, it will be rejected. The corresponding author will be informed, and reviewer comments may be shared where relevant. Rejected manuscripts are not returned.
Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet full authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately. This may include technical support, statistical assistance, writing assistance, or other non-author contributions. Financial and material support should also be acknowledged in this section.
APCCR does not accept advertising that could influence editorial independence. The journal does not permit commercial or promotional content that might compromise the objectivity of the publication process.
Contact Information
For questions about policy, submissions, or editorial matters, authors should contact the APCCR editorial office through the official journal email: [email protected].