Research Ethics and Informed Consent Policy

1. Purpose and Scope

The International Journal of Multidisciplinary Inquiry (IJMI) is committed to promoting responsible research practices that respect the dignity, rights, safety, privacy, and welfare of individuals and communities involved in scholarly research.

This policy establishes the journal's requirements concerning research ethics approval, informed consent, participant protection, confidentiality, ethical reporting, and responsible conduct in studies involving human participants or animals.

The policy applies to Original Research Articles and Review Articles submitted to IJMI across its multidisciplinary scope, including medical sciences, nursing and allied health, social sciences, education, language and linguistics, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

IJMI recognizes that ethical requirements differ according to research design, disciplinary practices, institutional regulations, national legislation, and the level of risk associated with a study.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their research complies with applicable ethical standards, institutional requirements, and relevant laws governing the location and nature of the research.

2. General Principles of Research Ethics

Research submitted to IJMI must be conducted with appropriate regard for scientific and scholarly integrity, participant welfare, informed decision-making, fairness, and the responsible management of research information.

Studies involving human participants should respect individual autonomy, dignity, privacy, and the right to decline or discontinue participation, subject to the circumstances and applicable ethical arrangements of the research.

Researchers must seek to minimize foreseeable risks and avoid exposing participants to unnecessary physical, psychological, social, professional, or legal harm.

Research involving vulnerable individuals or communities requires particular attention to the potential consequences of participation and the adequacy of protective measures.

Ethical considerations should be integrated into the research design, data collection, analysis, reporting, and dissemination processes.

Authors must accurately describe the ethical procedures undertaken and must not claim approvals, permissions, or consent arrangements that were not obtained.

3. Institutional Ethics Approval

Research involving human participants, identifiable personal information, clinical interventions, biological materials, or other ethically sensitive activities may require prior review and approval by an appropriate institutional ethics committee, research ethics board, or equivalent authorized body.

Where ethics approval was required and obtained, authors must provide the name of the approving institution or committee and the approval reference number, where one was issued.

Approval must ordinarily be obtained before the relevant research activities begin.

Where an institution or authorized ethics body has formally determined that a study is exempt from ethics review, authors should describe the exemption and identify the responsible authority where applicable.

IJMI recognizes that some forms of research, including certain documentary, archival, conceptual, or publicly available secondary-data studies, may not require formal ethics committee approval.

Where formal approval was not required, authors must provide an appropriate explanation based on the nature of the research and the applicable institutional or regulatory framework.

The absence of a formal ethics approval requirement does not remove the author's responsibility to conduct research ethically.

IJMI may request supporting documentation or clarification where questions arise regarding the ethical authorization of a study.

4. Informed Consent for Research Participation

Researchers conducting studies involving human participants must obtain informed consent where required by the nature of the study and applicable ethical or legal standards.

Consent procedures should provide participants with sufficient information to understand the purpose of the research, the nature of their involvement, foreseeable risks and benefits, confidentiality arrangements, and any relevant limitations on the use of collected information.

Participation should be voluntary and free from inappropriate coercion, deception, or undue influence.

Consent may be documented in written, electronic, or other ethically appropriate forms, depending on the research context and applicable institutional requirements.

In certain low-risk research settings, an authorized ethics body may approve alternative consent arrangements or a waiver of consent where justified and legally permissible.

Authors must ensure that the consent procedures used are appropriate to the participants, research design, and circumstances of data collection.

Where applicable, manuscripts should include a statement explaining how informed consent was obtained or why a formally authorized alternative arrangement applied.

5. Protection of Vulnerable Participants

Research involving children, patients, individuals with impaired decision-making capacity, displaced populations, persons experiencing social or economic vulnerability, or other groups requiring additional protection must incorporate appropriate ethical safeguards.

Researchers should consider whether participants can freely understand and consent to participation and whether their circumstances create additional risks.

Where required, permission must be obtained from a parent, legal guardian, or other legally authorized representative. The participant's own assent should also be sought where appropriate to their capacity and circumstances.

Consent provided by an authorized representative does not eliminate the responsibility to respect the dignity, welfare, and expressed preferences of the individual concerned.

Authors must avoid unnecessary disclosure of sensitive information that could expose vulnerable participants to identification, discrimination, stigma, or other harm.

The journal may request clarification concerning participant protection measures where the research involves heightened ethical risks.

6. Confidentiality, Privacy, and Personal Data Protection

Authors are responsible for protecting confidential information and personal data obtained during research.

Information that directly or indirectly identifies research participants must be handled in accordance with relevant consent arrangements, institutional requirements, and applicable data protection laws.

Where appropriate, identifying details should be removed, anonymized, pseudonymized, or otherwise protected before findings are presented for publication.

Authors must recognize that removing names alone may not prevent identification, particularly where contextual information, professional roles, institutional affiliations, or distinctive personal circumstances are disclosed.

Interview transcripts, clinical records, confidential documents, and other sensitive research materials must not be made publicly available where disclosure would violate legitimate ethical or legal obligations.

IJMI does not require unrestricted public access to confidential research data as a condition of publication.

Research data sharing and availability declarations must comply with the journal's Data Availability and Research Transparency Policy.

7. Ethical Requirements for Qualitative Research

IJMI recognizes the importance of qualitative research methods, including interviews, focus groups, participant observation, fieldwork, and documentary analysis, across the social sciences, education, health sciences, and other disciplines.

Authors conducting qualitative research should explain the ethical arrangements relevant to participant recruitment, consent, confidentiality, data collection, and the presentation of findings.

Where participants provide information in a professional, institutional, or personal capacity, researchers should consider whether disclosure could create risks to their employment, relationships, safety, or reputation.

Interview quotations and participant descriptions must be presented in a manner consistent with the consent obtained and the confidentiality commitments made during data collection.

Where participants are assigned codes or pseudonyms, authors should ensure that other information in the manuscript does not unnecessarily reveal their identities.

Authors should not alter participant statements in ways that materially misrepresent their meaning.

The journal recognizes that the ethical management of qualitative evidence may require restrictions on the disclosure of raw transcripts, field notes, and other supporting materials.

8. Medical, Clinical, and Health-Related Research

Research involving patients, clinical interventions, medical records, biological specimens, or other health-related information must comply with applicable ethical, professional, institutional, and legal requirements.

Authors must obtain appropriate ethics approval and informed consent where required.

Clinical and medical research should be conducted in accordance with relevant internationally recognized ethical principles, including the Declaration of Helsinki where applicable.

For clinical trials, authors must comply with applicable prospective registration requirements and provide relevant trial registration information where required.

Authors must report research procedures, participant selection, interventions, outcomes, and relevant ethical safeguards accurately and transparently.

Identifiable patient information, photographs, clinical details, or case descriptions must not be published without the necessary consent or another appropriate legal and ethical basis.

Where consent for publication is required, it must be distinguished from consent to participate in the underlying research.

IJMI may request additional ethical documentation where necessary to assess compliance with the journal's requirements.

9. Research Involving Animals

Research involving animals must comply with applicable animal welfare legislation, institutional regulations, and recognized standards for humane research practices.

Where required, studies must receive prior approval from an appropriate animal ethics committee or equivalent authorized body.

Authors should provide the name of the approving authority and relevant approval reference where available.

Researchers are expected to apply appropriate principles for minimizing animal use, reducing unnecessary suffering, and considering scientifically valid alternatives.

Where applicable, the principles of Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement should inform research design and conduct.

Manuscripts should describe relevant animal care arrangements, experimental procedures, and measures taken to minimize pain, distress, or unnecessary harm.

IJMI may request additional information where questions arise concerning animal welfare or the ethical authorization of the research.

10. Consent for Publication

Consent to participate in research and consent to publish identifiable personal information are distinct ethical considerations.

Where a manuscript includes identifiable participant information, clinical photographs, personal histories, or other material that could reasonably identify an individual, authors must ensure that appropriate consent for publication has been obtained or that another valid legal and ethical basis applies.

Authors must explain the intended public dissemination of identifiable information where this is relevant to the consent process.

For children or individuals unable to provide legally valid consent, authorization must be obtained in accordance with applicable legal and ethical requirements.

IJMI may request confirmation that appropriate consent for publication has been obtained.

Authors should not submit unnecessary identifying documentation or confidential participant records to the journal unless specifically requested through an appropriate and secure process.

11. Research Ethics Declarations

Authors of empirical studies must provide an appropriate research ethics statement reflecting the actual ethical arrangements of their research.

Where applicable, the statement should identify the ethics committee or approving authority, approval reference, and relevant informed consent procedures.

Where formal ethics approval was not required, authors should provide a concise explanation of the applicable circumstances.

Where a study received an authorized exemption or waiver, this should be accurately disclosed.

For research involving human participants, the manuscript should also indicate how consent was addressed, where relevant.

Statements concerning ethics approval, exemption, consent, and participant protection must be truthful, specific, and consistent with the research activities undertaken.

The following examples may be adapted where appropriate.

Research with institutional ethics approval:

"This study received ethical approval from [name of ethics committee or institution], approval reference [number, where applicable]. Informed consent was obtained from participants in accordance with the approved research procedures."

Research formally exempted from ethics review:

"The study was determined to be exempt from formal ethics review by [name of authorized institution or committee], in accordance with the applicable institutional requirements."

Research not requiring formal ethics approval:

"Formal institutional ethics approval was not required for this study under the applicable institutional and regulatory requirements because [brief explanation]. Relevant ethical principles were observed throughout the research process."

Research based exclusively on publicly available documentary sources:

"This study was based on publicly available documentary materials and did not involve direct recruitment of human participants or access to identifiable private research data. Formal ethics approval was not required under the applicable institutional requirements."

Authors must not use a sample declaration unless it accurately describes their research circumstances.

12. Ethical Concerns and Editorial Assessment

IJMI may assess ethical compliance during initial manuscript screening, peer review, editorial evaluation, or following publication.

Where ethical information is incomplete or unclear, authors may be asked to provide clarification, revise the relevant declaration, or submit supporting documentation.

The journal may seek independent advice where specialized ethical questions arise.

Manuscripts involving serious unresolved ethical concerns may be suspended or rejected.

Where credible ethical concerns arise after publication, IJMI may consider a correction, expression of concern, retraction, or other appropriate action under its established publication ethics procedures.

The journal recognizes that responsibility for investigating certain allegations may rest with the author's institution, an ethics committee, or another competent authority.

Editorial assessment will take account of the seriousness of the concern, available evidence, applicable requirements, and the need for procedural fairness.

13. Policy Administration and Review

The editorial team is responsible for implementing this policy consistently across the journal's multidisciplinary scope.

IJMI may revise its research ethics requirements to reflect developments in scholarly publishing standards, research ethics guidance, applicable legislation, and disciplinary practices.

Authors are responsible for understanding and complying with the ethical requirements relevant to their research before submitting manuscripts to the journal.

This policy should be read alongside IJMI's Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement, Data Availability and Research Transparency Policy, Privacy and Personal Data Protection Policy, and Corrections, Retractions and Complaints Policy.