Editorial Independence

All editors-in-chief, associate editors, and reviewers of Kowsar journals are completely independent from the publisher and free to make decisions without any interference from the owners of their journals or their publisher. We believe that the "CODE OF CONDUCT FOR JOURNAL PUBLISHERS" stated by COPE could help us to make a clear research integrity from the early steps of submission to the publishing of the most effective studies and we commit for applying all parts of this code in our work processes.

Principles of Editorial Independence in Kowsar:

• Editors-in-chief are members of academic universities and their payments are independent of their journal activities. They will not be paid for their journal activities and they are free to choose this extra duty. Therefore, they are completely independent of their role in the journal.
• Because of the EIC independency from Kowsar (as the publisher), any decision making processes of a journal are completely separate from our commercial interests.
• On the other side, we also don't pay any salary to our editors. Therefore, any concern or complaint against our editors will be reflected to the journal owner without any limitation or consideration from our side.
• Just to increase the quality of work, we always recommend or suggest our editors. 

Which items must be declared in Conflict of Interest by editorial Boards?

These items must be declared in the Editorial Board page as a public journal page for each staff editor in the journal.

• Paid Salary: 

• Monetary or in-kind compensation for self or household member from an organization that may in any way gain or lose financially or in any other way from the publication of papers in Kowsar:

• Reimbursement for attending a conference or symposium, Accommodation and travel or Fees for speaking: 
• Fees for organizing education:
• Funds for research or for a member of staff:
• Fees for consulting: 
• Stocks or shares: 
• Other competing interests:

Editorial Responsibilities

In case of proved a misconduct by EIC in the Kowsar second ethical committee we will replace the editor in chief with another person. Read more.

1. Declare Conflict of Interest: Any financial, personal, or other relationships of EIC that might constitute a conflict of interest with the role of EIC must be declared on the journal website.
2. Peer Review Process: The EIC should ensure that all accepted articles have been assessed in line with the Journal’s stated peer review policy with at least 2 reviewers expert for some short articles like editorial or letters.
3. Prohibit any CoI in Peer Review Process: Neither EIC nor any of the editorial board Should not make decisions regarding manuscripts about which they may have a conflict of interest. In such instances, a senior member of the Editorial Board should be assigned to assume responsibility for overseeing peer-review and making decisions regarding acceptance or rejection.
4. Editorial Authorship: EIC must be committed to publishing as less as s/he could in his/her own journal. 
5. Respect Human and Animal Rights in all Publications: The EIC should be satisfied that all research on live humans or live animals that is accepted for publication in the Journal is ethical and complies with the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki. Research should comply with the authors’ national and Institutional Review Board (IRB) requirements for ethics approval and informed consent. In countries where there are no local or national IRBs or established regulations, the EIC should use the standards set out in the Declaration of Helsinki to decide whether there are any ethical concerns about the conduct of the research that would preclude publication. Any research that violates the Declaration of Helsinki should be highlighted to the authors’ institution regardless of whether or not local IRB approval was obtained. The EIC should seek guidance from Kowsar Medical in difficult cases.
6. Respect Ethics in all Publications: The EIC should be satisfied that all research on human or animal tissue that is accepted for publication in the Journal complies with national legislation and local Institutional Review Board requirements on the use of such tissue for research, with particular regard to consent for use of human tissue. In the absence of any national regulations, the EIC should use their discretion when deciding whether there are any ethical concerns about the research that may preclude publication. The EIC should seek advice from Kowsar Medical in difficult cases.
7. Time Considerations and Decrease Authors Waiting Time: The EIC should be responsible to decrease the duration of the review process and acceptance or rejection time. Correspondence should be handled in a timely and respectful manner, and efficient and thorough peer-review carried out. Systems should be in place to ensure editorial staff absences do not result in a reduced service to authors.
8. Ethics in Publications: The EIC should comply with the World Association of Medical Editors' (WAME) statement on geopolitical intrusion on editorial decisions. Besides EIC should practice ethics in the journal based on the Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). The Journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the EIC should follow COPE guidelines and flowcharts when dealing with publication and research ethics issues such as author disputes and misconduct. The EIC may seek advice from Kowsar Medical on how to follow COPE guidelines in difficult situations, but the final course of action should usually be decided and executed by the EIC. Kowsar Medical has ultimate responsibility for ensuring that publication ethics are adhered to in compliance with COPE standards.
9. Approach to Appeals: The EIC should have a written complaints procedure for the journal to cover appeals against decisions and complaints about journal processes. Complaints against the EIC will be referred to an ombudsman in the first instance but maybe referred to COPE if necessary.