Published online Aug 4, 2016. doi: 10.5492/wjccm.v5.i3.171
Peer-review started: February 14, 2016
First decision: May 19, 2016
Revised: July 4, 2016
Accepted: July 14, 2016
Article in press: July 18, 2016
Published online: August 4, 2016
Processing time: 181 Days and 23.9 Hours
Core tip: Ethical standards in the context of scientific publications are increasingly gaining attention. Recommendations to authors, editors and publishers of journals and research institutions were formulated by The Committee on Publication Ethics with regard to issues of authorship, double publications, plagiarism, and conflicts of interest, with special attention being paid to unethical research behavior and data falsification. As scientific misconduct with data falsification damage patients and society, it is important to ensure that only studies are published that have been carried out with highest integrity according to predefined criteria and that also the peer review process has to be conducted in accordance with the highest possible scientific standards.