Research Ethics

Research Ethics Policy

Human Subject Research

Ethical Approval

For any study involving human participants, human biological materials, or identifiable human data, authors must provide an Ethical Approval statement in the Declarations section of their manuscript. The statement should confirm that the research has been reviewed and approved by an appropriate institutional ethics committee or Institutional Review Board (IRB), where required, and that the study was conducted in accordance with applicable ethical standards and the approved research protocol.

For medical research involving human participants, authors should ensure that the research is conducted in accordance with internationally recognized ethical principles, including the Declaration of Helsinki.

Researchers are responsible for conducting their studies according to the approved protocol, applicable regulations, and accepted standards of responsible research.

Consent to Participate

For studies involving human participants, authors must obtain written informed consent to participate where required by applicable ethical standards and regulations.

Authors should include an appropriate statement confirming that informed consent was obtained from participants and that the consent documentation has been securely retained. Consent documentation should be made available to the journal or appropriate authorities if legitimately requested, subject to applicable privacy and confidentiality requirements.

Consent to Publication

For manuscripts containing information that may identify individual participants, including identifiable photographs, images, videos, clinical details, case information, or other personal information, authors must obtain appropriate written consent for publication from the individual concerned or their legally authorized representative, where required.

Authors should provide a statement confirming that the necessary consent for publication has been obtained and appropriately retained. Any published information should be limited to what is necessary for the scholarly purpose of the article, while respecting participant privacy and confidentiality.

Clinical Trials Registration

IJRDO Journal follows internationally recognized principles for the registration and reporting of clinical trials, including the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

The journal requires applicable clinical trials to be registered in a publicly accessible clinical trial registry before enrollment of the first participant, in accordance with applicable registration requirements.

For the purposes of this policy, clinical trials include research projects that prospectively assign individuals or groups to one or more health-related interventions, with or without comparison or control groups, to investigate the relationship between an intervention and a health outcome.

Such interventions may include, but are not limited to:

  • Drugs or medicinal products
  • Surgical procedures
  • Medical devices
  • Behavioral interventions
  • Educational interventions
  • Dietary interventions
  • Quality-improvement interventions
  • Changes in healthcare or care-delivery processes

Authors submitting manuscripts reporting registered clinical trials must provide the unique trial registration number and the name of the trial registry in the manuscript, preferably within the abstract where appropriate.

IJRDO Journal encourages authors to use clinical trial registries that are publicly accessible, searchable, and maintained according to recognized standards for registration transparency and data integrity.

Examples of recognized clinical trial registries include:

Authors should ensure that the registration information is accurate, complete, and consistent with the clinical trial described in the manuscript.

Reporting of Randomized Clinical Trials

Authors reporting randomized clinical trials are expected to follow the applicable CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) guidelines or other appropriate reporting standards relevant to their study design.

Where applicable, authors should submit the recommended CONSORT checklist together with the manuscript and include an appropriate participant flow diagram as a figure.

These requirements are intended to promote transparency, completeness, reproducibility, and accurate reporting of clinical trial research.

Animal Research

Any research involving animals must be conducted in accordance with applicable ethical standards, institutional requirements, and relevant national or international regulations governing animal research.

Where required, animal studies must receive prior approval from an appropriate Animal Care and Use Committee, Institutional Animal Ethics Committee, or equivalent competent authority. Authors must conduct the research according to the approved protocol and accepted standards for the humane and responsible use of animals in research.

Authors should include an Animal Ethics Statement in their manuscript indicating the name of the relevant ethics committee or approving authority and, where applicable, the approval or protocol number.

Authors are expected to take appropriate measures to minimize animal suffering, distress, and unnecessary use of animals and should use scientifically and ethically justified procedures throughout the research.

Where applicable, authors should follow relevant internationally recognized standards and guidelines for animal experimentation, including the principles reflected in applicable national regulations and recognized frameworks such as EU Directive 2010/63/EU.

IJRDO Journal may request evidence of ethical approval, informed consent, trial registration, or other relevant documentation during the editorial and peer-review process. Failure to provide appropriate ethical documentation may result in the manuscript being returned for clarification or declined for publication.