Human subject research

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General Guidelines

All submissions involving human participants will be checked by ScienceBank to ensure that the requirements outlined in this policy are met.

Checklist for Authors

  • Obtain approval for human subjects research by an institutional review board (IRB) or an equivalent body before the commencement of studies.

  • Ensure the appropriate consent was obtained from participants to take part in the research. Separately, Authors need to get written permission from participants who are identified in the research, so that this information can be used in the manuscript

  • Ensure clinical trials are entered into a publicly accessible registry approved by the WHO or ICMJE.

  • Authors will be required to report the details of how this consent was obtained. If no consent was obtained, the Authors need to explain why this was not required.

  • Identifying information about study participants is redacted from the approval document before it is submitted to ScienceBank.

  • Authors will be asked to provide the following during or after the peer-review process:

    • Submit documentation from IRB and or ethics committee confirming approval of the research
    • Submit evidence of consent from participants and how it was obtained
    • For clinical trials, provide trial registration details, the study protocol, and CONSORT documentation

Clinical Trials

Authors are required to review the CONSORT statement, complete the checklist and flow diagram, and provide these at the time of submission The recommended trial flow diagram may be presented as a figure. For non-randomized trials, Authors are recommended to follow TREND guidelines.

Clinical trials should be registered in accordance with the criteria outlined by the ICMJE. Authors should provide the trial registration number in the acknowledgments section. All clinical trials must be entered into a publicly accessible registry approved by the WHO (list) or ICMJE.

ScienceBank will review these criteria before determining whether the submission should be reviewed. Trials that do not conform to the CONSORT or TREND guidelines may be returned to the Authors for revision before formal review.

Authors must avoid providing identifying information unless the individual has provided written consent for the use of that information, which must be provided upon submission. Submissions that include identifying patient information without appropriate patient consent will not be considered for publication.