Authorship & Publication Integrity Policy

Editorial Policies on Authorship & Publication Integrity

World Nutrition upholds the highest standards of authorship integrity, transparency, and accountability. These editorial policies are designed to protect the credibility of the scholarly record and align with international best practices, including guidance from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Authorship Criteria

Authorship should reflect substantial intellectual contribution to the work. World Nutrition follows the ICMJE authorship criteria. To qualify as an author, individuals must meet ALL of the following conditions:

  1. Made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data;
  2. Drafted the manuscript or critically revised it for important intellectual content;
  3. Approved the final version to be published; and
  4. Agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work and to ensure that questions related to accuracy or integrity are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet all authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately.

The corresponding author is responsible for:

  • Ensuring that all listed authors meet authorship criteria
  • Confirming that no eligible contributors have been omitted
  • Managing all communication with the journal

Requests for changes to authorship after submission must be justified in writing and approved by all authors.

Data Sharing Policy

World Nutrition supports responsible data sharing to promote transparency, reproducibility, and public trust in research.

Authors are expected to:

  • Include a Data Availability Statement in their manuscript
  • Indicate whether data are publicly available, available upon reasonable request, or restricted due to ethical or legal considerations

When data cannot be shared, authors must clearly state the reasons (e.g., participant confidentiality, legal restrictions).

The journal does not require mandatory public data deposition but strongly encourages it where ethically and legally feasible.

Correction Policy

World Nutrition is committed to maintaining the accuracy of the published record.

Corrections may be issued when:

  • Errors are identified that affect the clarity, accuracy, or integrity of the publication
  • Honest mistakes are discovered post-publication

Corrections will be:

  • Clearly labeled and linked to the original article
  • Published promptly
  • Indexed and freely accessible

Minor errors that do not affect the scientific conclusions may be corrected without issuing a formal notice.

Duplicate and Redundant Publication Policy

Manuscripts submitted to World Nutrition must not be under consideration elsewhere and must not have been previously published in substantially similar form.

The journal considers the following unacceptable:

  • Duplicate publication of the same data or analysis
  • Redundant publication with minimal new information
  • Salami slicing of research findings across multiple publications

Authors must disclose any related manuscripts or prior dissemination (e.g., preprints, conference abstracts) at submission. Legitimate secondary publications (e.g., translations) may be considered with full transparency and appropriate permissions.

Retraction and Withdrawal Policy

World Nutrition follows COPE retraction guidelines to address serious breaches of publication ethics.

Retraction

Retractions may be issued in cases of:

  • Plagiarism or data fabrication/falsification
  • Serious methodological or ethical errors
  • Undisclosed conflicts of interest that compromise the validity of the work
  • Duplicate or redundant publication

Retraction notices will:

  • Clearly state the reason for retraction
  • Be linked to the retracted article
  • Remain permanently accessible

Withdrawal

Manuscripts may be withdrawn:

  • By authors prior to acceptance, with written justification
  • By the journal if ethical concerns arise during review

Post-acceptance withdrawals are permitted only under exceptional circumstances and at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief.

Policy Alignment

These editorial policies align with:

World Nutrition is committed to safeguarding authorship integrity and the reliability of the scholarly record.