RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PUBLISHER
Publication ethics
The Publisher will take all reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of articles where misconduct has occurred in either the execution of the research or the writing of the manuscript, as detailed below. Where it suspects or is made aware of any potential misconduct, the Publisher will deal with allegations appropriately, such as by publishing corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies as required.
Any issues or complaints regarding the journal should be brought to the attention of the Publisher and/or the Editors.
Copyright and access
Once accepted for publication, articles are edited, typeset (where applicable) and approved by the author. On approval for publication by the author, copyright is transferred to the Publisher, although the author maintains rights to distribute the article, in any medium or format, for non-commercial purposes.
All articles accepted and published in the journal are available to read and download for free.
Responsibility of the Editor(s) and Editorial Board
The principal responsibility of the Editor and the Editorial Board is to determine whether submissions to the journal are appropriate to be published. While ultimate responsibility for publishing lies with the journal Publisher, the Editors have the right to refuse publication of any manuscript, with the ultimate decision left to the Editors. The Editors must ensure that decisions are made based on the manuscript’s merit alone and that the identity, race, gender, religious or political beliefs,
ethnicity, or citizenship of the author are not considered.
PEER REVIEW
All content submissions undergo peer by reviewers with expertise in the topic, recruited either from the journal’s Editorial Board or externally. Manuscripts are reviewed in a double-blind fashion, with author and reviewer identities kept anonymous.
RESPONSIBILITY OF REVIEWERS
Purpose of peer review
The peer review process is a crucial component in helping the Publisher and/or Editorial Board reach editorial or publishing decisions, and may also serve the author in improving the quality of the submission. Articles are assessed for both scientific validity and clinical relevance to the journal’s readership, as outlined in the journal’s Aims and scope.
Suitability and conflicts of interest
A reviewer should withdraw from the review process if they feel unqualified to assess the manuscript, or if they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships/connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers. Manuscripts are reviewed in a double-blind fashion, with author and reviewer identities kept anonymous.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Manuscripts are considered confidential documents. Information concerning the manuscripts should not be discussed with others without the approval of the Publisher, who should seek permission from the author. Editors and editorial board members will not use unpublished information disclosed in a submitted manuscript for their own research purposes without the authors’ explicit, written consent.
RESPONSIBILITY OF THE AUTHOR
Originality, plagiarism, and acknowledgment of sources
Authors should submit only entirely original works and should appropriately cite or quote the work of others. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.
Multiple or concurrent publication
Articles should not be submitted if they have been published or are under consideration for publication in another journal.
Authorship
Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the writing of the article or execution of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its publication.
ETHICAL APPROVAL AND INFORMED CONSENT
All novel research should be conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the 2013 Declaration of Helsinki. All articles reporting on novel research conducted in human participants should contain a statement that all procedures were performed in compliance with relevant laws and institutional guidelines, and that the work was approved by the appropriate institutional committee(s). No participant-identifying information should be published in the journal, unless with the participant’s written, informed consent.
DISCLOSURE AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
All sources of financial support for the article or study should be disclosed. Where the authors feel there may be a financial or other conflict of interest that could influence the study results or writing of the article, these should be disclosed when submitting the manuscript.
CORRECTIONS AND RETRACTIONS
If an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, it is the author’s responsibility to promptly notify the journal editor or Publisher, and to cooperate with the editorial team to correct the error or retract the publication. Where the Publisher identifies such an error, the author should cooperate with the editorial team to correct the error or retract the publication.
SUITABILITY AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
A reviewer will withdraw from the review process if they feel unqualified to assess the manuscript, or if they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships/connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Manuscripts are considered confidential documents. Information concerning the manuscripts will not be discussed with others without the approval of the Publisher, who will seek permission from the author. Editors and Editorial Board members will not use unpublished information disclosed in a submitted manuscript for their own research purposes without the authors’ explicit, written consent.
COPYRIGHT AND LICENSING
Once accepted for publication, articles are edited, typeset (where applicable) and approved by the Author. By approving for publication, the Author assigns to the Publisher all copyright in and to the Article, and all rights therein, including but not limited to the right to publish, republish, transmit, distribute and otherwise use the Article, in whole or in part, in electronic and print editions of the journal and in derivative works, and to license or permit others to do so.
Retained rights
Notwithstanding the above, the Author retains all proprietary rights other than copyright, such as patent rights, in any process, procedure or article of manufacture described in the Article.
Permitted uses by author
The Publisher hereby licenses back to the Author the following rights with respect to the final published (PDF or HTML) version of the Article:
The Author may use and share the Article, in any medium or format, for non-commercial purposes. A citation to the journal, including the journal name, volume and page number (if assigned), is required. Links to the article on the journal website are encouraged where appropriate.
Institutional repositories: The Author is permitted to upload the published (PDF) version to their institutional repositories. An appropriate acknowledgement must be displayed along with a link to the article on the journal website.
FUNDING AND ACCESS
All content published in Wounds UK is available to read and download for free. The content is editorially independent and the costs of its publication are borne by the Publisher. No publication fees are charged to authors.
To enable us to provide our content free of charge, we receive funding from industry for certain activities, which may include advertising (on the Wounds UK website, within the journal and within email communications from the journal), supplements and advertorials. Any funding and/or sponsorship is clearly and prominently declared on these activities. All editorial decision making, including article commissioning and acceptance for publication, is conducted entirely independently of advertising
