The Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Surgery (JPAS) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics, following the latest recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) 2025 guidelines and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). The following editorial policies govern the submission, review, publication, and post-publication processes of JPAS.

Editorial Policy	Open Access Policy	Peer Review Policy
Digital Archiving Policy	Public Identifier Policy	Copyright Policy
Licensing Policy	Disclaimer	Conflict of Interest Declaration Policy
Source of Support Declaration Policy	Ethical Approval and Informed Consent	Authorship Policy
Language of Publication Policy	Editorial Membership Policy	Article Metrics Policy
Article Fulltext Policy	Plagiarism Screening Policy	Malpractice Management Policy
Content Deposit Policy	Correction and Retraction Policy	Publication Fee
Advertising Policy	AI tools Chatbot Policy	Data Sharing and Reproducibility
Clinical Trial Registration	Preprints and Prior Publication

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1. Editorial Policy  

The Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Surgery upholds the guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which can be accessed at http://www.icmje.org. Our main objective is to publish high-quality peer-reviewed research in the field of Pediatric and Adolescent Surgery. As a specialized surgical discipline, we believe that quality research in this area can significantly enhance surgical outcomes and patient care in children and adolescents. We welcome submissions from authors of all genders, countries, races, ethnicities, and religions from anywhere in the world. The editorial board is committed to eliminating all forms of discrimination.

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2. Open Access Policy

The Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Surgery provides free and open access to its published content for authors and readers worldwide. The journal believes that open access to research promotes greater knowledge exchange globally. All published scholarly articles, in any category, are available for download and distribution. You can access every manuscript published since the inception of the Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Surgery without a subscription on our website.

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3. Peer Review Policy

JPAS follows a double-blind peer review system. Manuscripts are reviewed by at least two independent experts.

Reviewers must:

• Provide objective, constructive, and timely feedback;

• Maintain confidentiality of the manuscript;

• Declare any conflicts of interest;

• Refrain from using manuscript content for personal gain.

Authors must:

• Respond to reviewers' comments clearly and completely;

• Revise manuscripts professionally and ethically;

• Avoid submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously;

• Ensure that revisions address concerns raised during the review process.

Editors must:

• Ensure fairness, impartiality, and confidentiality;

• Make publication decisions based on merit and journal scope;

• Avoid conflicts of interest by recusing themselves where necessary;

• Act promptly to address ethical issues or complaints.

All reviewers are provided with COPE’s Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers to support ethical and constructive evaluations.

JPAS is committed to ensuring that the peer review process remains robust, transparent, and fair.

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4. Digital Archiving Policy

This journal utilizes the LOCKSS system to create a distributed archiving system among participating libraries and permits those libraries to create permanent archives of the journal for purposes of preservation and restoration. This is done through an automated process using the PKP PLN plugin in the Open Journal System.

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5. Public Identifier Policy

The journal publishes unique DOIs (Digital Object Identifiers) using the Crossref DOI service for every published manuscript, irrespective of the category. Every manuscript is also assigned a unique publisher ID for internal identification. The publisher ID consists of the journal’s initials and the manuscript number.

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6. Copyright Policy

In the Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Surgery, authors hold the copyright to their published manuscripts. The manuscript’s landing page and full-text files contain a statement of copyright ownership. However, authors must grant the right of first publication to the Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Surgery at the time of manuscript submission. Duplicate submissions, manuscripts already published, or under review by other journals will not be accepted. These aspects must be declared in the cover letter submitted with the manuscript. A submission checklist is presented to authors that includes a statement on these requirements, which authors must agree to before proceeding with submission.

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7. Licensing Policy

The Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Surgery uses the Creative Commons License (CC-BY) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which allows the reuse of content for educational purposes by acknowledging the author and journal. According to this license, you are free to:

• Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format

• Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially

Under these terms:

• Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

• No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

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8. Disclaimer

The authors of manuscripts published in the Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Surgery are responsible for the originality and integrity of their research. However, the journal cannot be held responsible for any harm or adverse events that may occur as a result of using the information presented. Therefore, it is recommended that information from the journal be considered alongside other reliable sources. Scientific knowledge is constantly evolving, and research findings valid today may not remain relevant in the future.

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9. Conflict of Interest Declaration

Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest, including financial relationships, affiliations, or personal beliefs that could influence the manuscript. JPAS uses the ICMJE Disclosure Form for this purpose. Full transparency is essential for maintaining trust in the peer review process and the scientific record. These disclosures will be published in the article.

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10. Source of Support Declaration

Authors must disclose any funding or support during submission. This statement will be published alongside the manuscript. The statement should be included on both the Title page and the ICMJE conflict of interest form. If no funding was received, "Source of Support: Nil" will be published. If funding is received, details must be provided to the editorial office.

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11. Ethical Approval and Informed Consent

All research involving human participants must have approval from a recognized ethics review board. Informed consent must be obtained from all participants or their legal guardians. For studies involving minors, assent and parental consent must both be obtained when appropriate. Animal studies must comply with institutional and national guidelines on animal welfare and include the name of the ethics committee that approved the protocol.

All human studies must comply with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 2013 revision of the Declaration of Helsinki.

Authors must provide a statement on informed consent if their manuscript includes a clinical figure. To record the consent of the patient's legal caretakers, a "Consent Form" can be downloaded from the Submission page. 

When authors submit a manuscript, they must agree to the following terms. Firstly, they confirm that they have obtained informed consent from patients, parents, or caretakers for the publication of any clinical material related to the patient. The Consent Form must also be submitted along with the manuscript. Secondly, the authors must ensure that they have obtained permission from the relevant authorities for any copyrighted material used in the manuscript.

When using copyrighted material, a statement must be included as a caption indicating that permission has been obtained. This permission document can be submitted as supplementary material during the submission process.

If the manuscript includes clinical figures and the authors have obtained consent, the following statement will be published alongside the full text of the manuscript: "The author(s) have obtained informed written consent for the publication of clinical photographs/material (if any used), from the legal guardian of the patient. Every effort has been made to conceal the identity of the patient, but we cannot guarantee complete anonymity." 

If no clinical figures are used in the manuscript, the following statement will be published: "No clinical figures are used in this manuscript."

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12. Authorship Policy

JPAS follows the ICMJE 2025 criteria for authorship. An author should meet all the following conditions:

• Substantial contributions to the conception, design, data acquisition, or analysis and interpretation of data;

• Drafting the work or critically revising it for important intellectual content;

• Final approval of the version to be published;

• Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part are appropriately investigated and resolved.

All contributors who do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged. Any changes in authorship (additions, deletions, or rearrangements) after submission must be approved by all authors and justified in writing. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring all listed authors meet these criteria and that no legitimate author has been omitted.

JPAS recommends the use of the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) to clearly outline each author's contributions. This information will be published alongside the article.

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13. Language of Publication

The journal publishes in English, preferably US English. Manuscripts may be submitted in either US or UK English, but consistency is required throughout.

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14. Editorial Membership Policy

The Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Surgery appreciates the dedication of its editorial board, including the Editor-in-Chief, Executive Editor/Managing Editor, Editorial Consultants, and Assistant Editors (trainee positions). Assistant Editors gain experience managing the Open Journal System workflows, preparing them for future editorial roles, and contributing to the pediatric surgical community.

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15. Article Metrics

The journal website displays full-text article counts for published manuscripts on their landing pages. Authors can request full abstract view reports.

JPAS transparently reports journal metrics such as acceptance rate, review timelines, and article-level usage statistics annually. We are committed to improving our visibility and quality through inclusion in indexing and abstracting databases.

JPAS is actively working toward inclusion in leading indexing databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed Central. Annual reports on journal performance are made publicly available on the journal’s website.

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16. Article Full Text

The Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Surgery publishes full-text manuscripts in PDF and HTML/XML formats.

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17. Plagiarism Screening Policy

The journal uses Turnitin to screen manuscripts. Plagiarism is strongly discouraged and considered unethical. Manuscripts should have similarity scores below 17%, with those above 30% rejected.

Manuscripts with significant plagiarism, duplicate publication, or data fabrication will be rejected. Cases of suspected misconduct will be handled according to COPE guidelines. Authors are expected to properly cite prior work and clearly distinguish their contributions. The editorial office reserves the right to notify authors’ institutions if misconduct is confirmed.

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18. Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

JPAS upholds the highest ethical standards throughout its editorial process. Responsibilities are shared among authors, editors, and reviewers as follows:

Authors are expected to:

• Submit only original work that is free from plagiarism;

• Disclose all relevant conflicts of interest and funding sources;

• Accurately report methods, data, and findings;

• Adhere to ethical guidelines for human and animal research;

• Promptly notify the editor of significant errors in published work;

• Avoid gift or ghost authorship and ensure all authors meet authorship criteria;

• Cooperate with editors during review, revision, and post-publication processes;

• Acknowledge all contributors and institutions appropriately;

• Retain raw data for at least five years and provide it upon request.

Editors are responsible for:

• Ensuring fair and unbiased review and publication decisions;

• Protecting the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts;

• Managing conflicts of interest in editorial decisions;

• Handling allegations of misconduct in a timely and transparent manner;

• Upholding the integrity of the academic record;

• Guiding authors and reviewers on ethical issues and expectations;

• Taking corrective action when misconduct is confirmed;

• Encouraging responsible reporting and replicability.

Reviewers must:

• Conduct reviews objectively and confidentially;

• Avoid personal criticism and focus on scientific merit;

• Disclose any conflicts of interest;

• Refrain from misusing privileged information;

• Notify the editor of any suspected plagiarism, duplication, or ethical issues.

• Submit reviews promptly and communicate delays promptly.

JPAS is committed to taking appropriate measures to prevent and respond to publication malpractice. All allegations are handled seriously, and due process is followed following COPE and ICMJE standards. Suspected violations may be investigated with the cooperation of the authors’ institutions and relevant bodies.

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19. Content Deposit Policy

The Journal allows authors to freely self-archive and share their accepted and published manuscripts on any website, repository, or social media group without any restrictions. The information can be seen on Sherpa Romeo, https://v2.sherpa.ac.uk/id/publication/22916.   

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20. Correction and Retraction Policy

JPAS will issue corrections for errors that do not invalidate the work. Retractions will be published for fraudulent data, plagiarism, or severe ethical breaches. Expressions of concern may be published when investigations are ongoing. The editorial team will follow COPE’s Retraction Guidelines to determine the appropriate course of action. 

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21. Article Processing/Publishing Charges

The Journal does not charge authors for article submission/processing/publishing fees. 

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22. Advertising Policy

JPAS does not accept advertising. This ensures editorial independence and avoids potential conflicts of interest.

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23. AI tools/Chatbot Policy

The editorial board endorses the WAME recommendations on the use of chatbots and AI tools. Authors must disclose the use of any artificial intelligence (AI) tools (e.g., ChatGPT, image generation software) in the development of their manuscript. These tools must not be listed as authors, and their use should be acknowledged in the Methods or Acknowledgments section. The corresponding author is fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of content generated using such tools.

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