The ethical policy of HighTech and Innovation Journal (HIJ) is based on the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines and complies with the International Committee of the HIJ Editorial Board codes of conduct. Readers, authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to follow these ethical policies when working with HIJ. The ethical policy of HIJ determines which research papers or articles submitted to the journal are eligible for publication. For more information on publishing and ethical guidelines, please visit https://publicationethics.org

Principles of Transparency and Publication Ethics
( Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing )

Peer Review Process: HIJ is a double-blind peer-reviewed electronic quarterly publication covering all aspects of Medical Sciences. The peer review process and related policies are clearly described on the journal’s website ( https://hightechjournal.org/index.php/HIJ/about/editorialPolicies#custom-5 ).

Governing Body: HIJ has a strong editorial board consisting of recognized experts in relevant subject areas. Full names and affiliations of editors are provided on the journal’s website ( https://hightechjournal.org/index.php/HIJ/about/editorialTeam ).

Identification of and Dealing with Allegations of Research Misconduct: The Editor-in-Chief takes all reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred, including plagiarism, citation manipulation, and data falsification/fabrication.

Website: The journal’s website ( https://hightechjournal.org/ ) is maintained to ensure high ethical and professional standards.

Contact Information: Contact information for the HIJ editorial office is provided on the journal’s website ( https://hightechjournal.org/index.php/HIJ/about/contact ).

Name of Journal: The title HighTech and Innovation Journal (HIJ) is unique and not easily confused with another journal.

Conflicts of Interest: Authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest while submitting articles to HIJ through the Conflict of Interest Disclosure form ( Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form ).

Declaration of Competing Interests: Editors must not be involved in decisions about papers they have authored themselves, those by family members or colleagues, or those relating to products or services in which they have an interest. Such submissions are subject to the usual peer review process, handled independently, with clear statements regarding any potential competing interests.

Acknowledgments: Contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the ‘Acknowledgments’ section. Examples include technical assistance, writing help, or general support from a department chair.

Disclosure of Funding Sources: Authors must declare any support received to carry out their research. Declaring funding sources acknowledges funders’ contributions, fulfills funding requirements, and promotes transparency.

* Note: HIJ will not consider for publication manuscripts in which any research costs or authors' salaries have been funded, in whole or in part, by a tobacco company.

Duties and Responsibilities of Editors
( Code of Conduct for Journal Editors )

• Editors have the full authority to accept or reject a manuscript.
• Editors must maintain confidentiality of submitted manuscripts until publication.
• The Editor-in-Chief, along with other editors and reviewers, decides on manuscripts’ publication.
• Editors must preserve reviewer anonymity.
• Editors must disclose and avoid conflicts of interest.
• Editors must maintain academic integrity and meet the needs of both readers and authors.
• Editors must investigate issues of plagiarism and fraudulent data, and publish corrections or retractions when needed.
• Editors must judge only the intellectual content.
• Editors must not disclose information about manuscripts to anyone other than those directly involved in the process.
• Unpublished materials in submitted papers may not be used by editors for their own research without the author's explicit written consent.
• Guest editors are responsible for acquiring content and leading review for special issues.
• Associate editors support the editor as subject experts, oversee assigned manuscripts, manage review, assess quality, and make acceptance or rejection recommendations.

Duties and Responsibilities of Reviewers
( Peer Review Guidelines )

• Reviewers assist editors in making publication decisions.
• Reviewers must maintain manuscript confidentiality.
• Reviewers must provide timely, technical, professional, and objective comments.
• Reviewers must not use manuscript content for personal advantage.
• Reviewers must not review manuscripts in cases of conflict of interest with any authors, companies, or institutions.
• Reviewers must disclose and avoid conflicts of interest.

Authors of HighTech and Innovation Journal must confirm the following:

• Manuscripts must be original works of the author(s).
• The submitting corresponding author ensures that all coauthors have approved the manuscript and its submission.
• Only unpublished manuscripts should be submitted.
• All authors agree to allow the corresponding author to serve as correspondent with the editorial office and review edits and proofs.
• Authors must acknowledge sources of data used in the manuscript.
• All listed authors must have made significant scientific contributions and approve all claims.
• Any errors discovered after submission must be promptly communicated to the editor.
• Manuscripts are subject to plagiarism screening. Plagiarism is a serious violation of publication ethics.