To publish an article in a research journal, the author(s) are requested to get the ethical permission from their institute. In this permission, the authors will agree upon standard ethical behavior.

• "Ethical Approval Code" is required for all studies on people, medical records, and human samples.
• This code must be linked to a webpage showing the details of approval.
• The code must be approved by the authors' local authorities. For example, the national center of ethics or ethics department of universities.

How can I receive the "Ethical Approval Code"?

Before you plan to start a research, project involving human participants or personal data, you must apply for an “ethical approval” for that from one of the University’s research ethics committees. The information requested by your local committee will depend on your discipline and the type of research that you intend to undertake.

Examples of local ethics authorities in different universities:

• https://www.ed.ac.uk/education/rke/research-support/ethical-approval
• https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/rs/code/ethical
• https://www2.le.ac.uk/institution/ethics/approval
• http://ethics.research.ac.ir/

Which type of manuscripts are required to declare "Ethical Approval Code"?

The below table describes the requirement of approval code in different types of manuscripts.

Table notes:

• * : Veterinary clinical cases: For studies using client-owned animals, a high standard (best practice) of veterinary care and an informed client consent statement should be included in the Materials and Methods section.
• * : Animal Studies: The ethical review committee approval, and the international, national, and/or institutional guidelines followed regarding the animal's welfare is strongly required in these types of studies.
• ** : In vitro studies on human or animal tissues are obliged to show "ethical approval code".
• *** :  Case reports are not obliged to show “Ethical Approval Code”. But it is strongly recommended to obtain written and signed informed consent from patients/ guardians for publishing the case report. 

Which type of manuscripts does not need ethical approval code?

• studies involving the collection or analysis of data
• studies involving information freely available in the public domain (e.g. published biographies, newspaper accounts)
• review articles
• letter or editorial

• Link to the main ethics page: Ethics in Publishing Policy.
• Link to Informed Consent Form