Onyiaorah Adaora A, Ezugwu Euzebus C
Bioethics Unit, Institute of Public Health, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Enugu, Nigeria.
Department of Ophthalmology, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.
J Empir Res Hum Res Ethics. 2025 Jul 31:15562646251363203. doi: 10.1177/15562646251363203.
Conformity with publication ethics guidelines by medical journals is vital, especially with increasing pressure to publish and potential for unethical practices that could undermine scientific research integrity and public trust. This study assessed Nigerian medical journals' status concerning conformity with publication ethics guidelines. Cross-sectional survey of Nigerian medical journals using a checklist to obtain information from the journals' websites on journal characteristics and presence of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) 16 principles of 'Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing. Forty journals were studied: 57.5% general medical and 42.5% specialty journals. Mean conformity score, 21.8 ± 5.6 (66.1%). All journals conformed to name uniqueness; 2.5% had data sharing policy. More general medical journals, (43.5%) specified readership than specialty journals, (11.8%). Conformity to COPE principles by Nigerian Medical journals was adequate. However, some deficient areas including data sharing and post-publication discussion policies could negatively impact research integrity. Improved adherence is recommended.
医学期刊遵守出版伦理准则至关重要，尤其是在发表压力不断增加以及存在可能破坏科研诚信和公众信任的不道德行为的情况下。本研究评估了尼日利亚医学期刊在遵守出版伦理准则方面的状况。采用清单对尼日利亚医学期刊进行横断面调查，以从期刊网站获取有关期刊特征以及出版伦理委员会（COPE）“学术出版中的透明度和最佳实践”16项原则的相关信息。共研究了40种期刊：57.5%为综合医学期刊，42.5%为专业期刊。平均符合分数为21.8±5.6（66.1%）。所有期刊都符合名称唯一性；2.5%有数据共享政策。与专业期刊（11.8%）相比，更多的综合医学期刊（43.5%）明确了读者群体。尼日利亚医学期刊对COPE原则的遵守情况尚可。然而，一些存在不足的领域，包括数据共享和发表后讨论政策，可能会对研究诚信产生负面影响。建议提高遵守程度。
