Human & Animal Research Ethics Policy
Human & Animal Research Ethics Policy
Research involving people, their data or animals must have been approved by a competent ethics committee before it began. Approval obtained afterwards is not approval, and a study without it cannot be published here.
Last reviewed August 2026 · Applies to all submissions to JMVRA (ISSN 2984-8911)
Research ethics is not paperwork. It exists because studies involving people and animals can cause real harm, and because participants agree to take part on the strength of what they were told. JMVRA requires evidence that those safeguards were in place before data collection started — not a statement written to satisfy a journal afterwards.
Research Involving Human Participants
- Ethics approval from an Institutional Review Board, Institutional Ethics Committee or equivalent, obtained before the study began. State the committee’s full name, the approval number and the date in the manuscript.
- Declaration of Helsinki. The study must comply with its principles, and the manuscript must say so.
- Informed consent from every participant — freely given, in a language they understand, after being told the purpose, procedures, risks and their right to withdraw at any time without consequence.
- Written consent wherever practicable. Where consent was verbal, explain why and say how it was documented and witnessed.
- Vulnerable participants — children, prisoners, people unable to consent for themselves — require consent from a legal guardian, plus the participant’s own assent where they are able to give it.
- Anonymity. No participant may be identifiable from the text, tables, images or supplementary files unless they have given separate, explicit written consent to be identified.
- Withdrawal. Data from a participant who withdrew must be removed unless they agreed otherwise in writing.
Case Reports, Images and Identifiable Data
Required
- Separate written consent for publication of any case report
- Consent to publish photographs, scans or recordings
- Removal of names, ID numbers, dates and place names
- A statement in the manuscript that consent was obtained
- Consent from the next of kin where the patient has died
Not Sufficient
- A black bar across the eyes — this does not de-identify
- Consent to treatment, which is not consent to publish
- Verbal assurance with nothing on file
- “The patient cannot be traced” as a substitute for consent
- Blurring an image that still shows identifying features
Research Involving Animals
- Approval from an Institutional Animal Ethics Committee (in India, CPCSEA registration) or the equivalent national body, with the approval number stated in the manuscript.
- The 3Rs — Replacement, Reduction, Refinement — must have been applied, and the manuscript should say how.
- Full reporting: species, strain, sex, age, weight, source, housing conditions, feeding and light cycle.
- Anaesthesia, analgesia and euthanasia methods stated explicitly, including agents and doses.
- Humane endpoints defined in advance, with the criteria described.
- ARRIVE guidelines followed for reporting; the checklist may be requested during review.
- Field studies require the relevant permits, and studies on protected species require the specific licence, cited by number.
Other Categories
| Type of Study | What Is Required |
|---|---|
| Clinical trials | Prospective registration in a public registry before enrolment — see the Clinical Trial Registration Policy. |
| Surveys & interviews | Ethics approval where required by your institution, plus informed consent and an explanation of how responses are stored and anonymised. |
| Secondary data | Confirmation that the original collection was ethically approved and that your use is within its consent and licence terms. |
| Social media data | A statement addressing consent, expectation of privacy and terms of service. Public availability is not the same as consent to research use. |
| Human biological samples | Approval covering collection, storage and the specific analyses performed, plus consent for the intended use. |
| Genetic & identifiable data | Explicit consent covering genetic analysis and data sharing, and a plan for handling incidental findings. |
Papers found after publication to have lacked required approval or consent are handled under the Retraction Policy, and the authors’ institution is informed.
Where the Human & Animal Ethics Policy Applies
The stages of a paper’s journey this policy governs are highlighted.
Applies at: Prepare · Submit · Review
Human & Animal Ethics Policy in Brief
Research involving people, their data or animals must be approved by a competent ethics committee before it begins. Approval obtained afterwards is not approval, and a study without it cannot be published.
Human studies must follow the Declaration of Helsinki and obtain informed consent, including consent to publish identifiable images or case details. Animal studies should follow the ARRIVE reporting guidelines. The approving committee and approval number must be stated in the manuscript.
