Journal Policies

This page outlines the journal-specific policies that govern manuscript evaluation, peer review, publication ethics, research integrity, medical and health professions education research, educational intervention reporting, learner protection, data transparency and post-publication responsibilities.

These policies should be read together with ZENTIME's publisher-level Editorial Policies, Publishing Policies, and Open Access, Fees and Licensing policies. Where journal-specific requirements supplement publisher-level policies, the requirements stated on this journal website apply.

As a journal publishing research in medical and health professions education, the journal welcomes work addressing basic science education, clinical science education, residency education, learning theory, curriculum development, faculty development, professionalism and related educational scholarship. The journal also considers research involving assessment, simulation, digital learning, interprofessional education, continuing professional development and other educational approaches where they contribute meaningfully to the education and training of healthcare professionals.

The journal expects authors, editors, reviewers and editorial board members to follow internationally recognized standards of responsible scholarly publishing, including relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and the EQUATOR Network, where applicable.

The journal operates a transparent peer review process to ensure the quality, integrity, educational relevance and scholarly value of published content.

All submitted manuscripts are first assessed by the editorial office or a handling editor for completeness, relevance to the journal's aims and scope, ethical compliance, reporting quality and suitability for further evaluation. Manuscripts that are outside the journal's scope, do not meet basic reporting standards, lack sufficient originality or raise significant ethical, privacy or methodological concerns may be declined before external peer review.

The journal uses a single-anonymous peer review model, in which reviewers remain anonymous to authors. Research articles, systematic reviews, qualitative studies, mixed-methods studies, survey studies, basic science education studies, clinical science education studies, residency education studies, learning theory studies, curriculum evaluations, assessment studies, simulation studies and other scholarly manuscripts requiring external review are normally assessed by at least two independent reviewers with relevant expertise.

For manuscripts involving basic science education, clinical science education, residency education, learning theory, curriculum development, faculty development, professionalism, assessment, simulation, digital learning, interprofessional education or continuing professional development, editors may invite reviewers with relevant educational, clinical, methodological or subject-specific expertise as appropriate.

Reviewer comments are advisory. Final editorial decisions are made by the Editor-in-Chief or designated handling editor based on editorial assessment, reviewer comments, methodological rigor, originality, ethical compliance, educational relevance and suitability for the journal.

Editorials, commentaries, letters, corrections and invited content may be reviewed internally or externally at the editors' discretion, according to the nature of the content.

The journal maintains editorial independence in all editorial decisions. Decisions on individual manuscripts are made by the Editor-in-Chief, handling editors or designated editorial decision-making team in accordance with the journal's policies.

Editorial decisions are based on scholarly merit, originality, methodological quality, relevance to the journal's aims and scope, ethical integrity, educational significance and contribution to medical education scholarship, practice or policy. Decisions are not influenced by commercial interests, advertising, sponsorship, institutional affiliation, political considerations or the financial interests of ZENTIME, journal owners, editors, editorial board members, educational institutions, healthcare organizations, training organizations, professional societies, technology providers or any third party.

Editors and editorial board members must maintain confidentiality, declare conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where impartiality may be compromised. Manuscripts submitted by editors, editorial board members or journal staff will be handled independently by an editor without conflict of interest and will undergo the same editorial assessment and peer review standards as other submissions.

The journal is committed to maintaining high standards of publication ethics and research integrity. Authors, editors and reviewers are expected to act with honesty, transparency and accountability throughout the submission, review and publication process.

The journal does not tolerate plagiarism, redundant publication, duplicate submission, data fabrication, data falsification, image manipulation, citation manipulation, authorship manipulation, peer review manipulation, paper mills or other forms of research or publication misconduct.

For medical education research, authors must not misrepresent participant responses, qualitative quotations, learner performance data, assessment scores, validity evidence, survey results, teaching outcomes, curriculum implementation, residency performance, faculty development outcomes, professionalism assessments, simulation performance, educational intervention effects, institutional data or sponsor involvement.

Suspected misconduct will be assessed according to the journal's procedures and ZENTIME’s publisher-level policies. Depending on the circumstances, outcomes may include a request for clarification, manuscript rejection, correction, expression of concern, retraction, article removal or notification of relevant institutions or authorities.

All listed authors must have made substantial scholarly contributions to the work, approved the submitted version and agreed to its submission. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that authorship, author order, corresponding author details and required declarations have been agreed by all authors before submission.

The journal requires an author contribution statement and encourages the use of the CRediT taxonomy where appropriate. Contributors who do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged with their permission.

Authors must disclose all financial and non-financial competing interests that could influence, or be perceived to influence, the work. For medical education research, relevant disclosures may include employment, consultancy, advisory roles, honoraria, leadership roles, grants, institutional affiliations, commercial education programs, ownership of educational products, patents, licensing agreements, paid workshops, training platforms, learning management systems, simulation products, assessment tools, software, writing assistance, statistical support or other relationships with universities, hospitals, professional societies, education companies, technology providers, publishers, accreditors, funders or sponsors.

All funding sources, grant numbers and institutional support should be disclosed. Authors should state the role of funders, sponsors, educational institutions or technology providers in study design, curriculum or intervention development, participant recruitment, data collection, data access, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation and the decision to submit for publication.

Authors should state whether they had full access to the study data and whether the sponsor, funder, institution or service provider had any role in approving or restricting publication.

Changes to authorship after submission require a clear explanation, written agreement from all authors and editorial approval.

Research involving students, residents, fellows, faculty members, healthcare professionals, patients, standardized patients, simulated patients, human participants, educational records, assessment data, workplace performance data, learning analytics or identifiable personal information must have appropriate ethics approval or exemption. Authors should state the name of the ethics committee or institutional review board, approval number or reference, and any relevant exemption information in the manuscript.

Medical education research may involve power relationships between teachers and learners, supervisors and trainees, assessors and candidates, or employers and staff. Authors should describe safeguards to minimize coercion, undue influence, perceived obligation to participate, consequences for non-participation and conflicts between educational assessment and research participation.

Informed consent should be obtained where required. Written consent for publication is required for identifiable participant information, clinical images, teaching videos, simulation videos, audio recordings, interview quotations, reflective writing, assessment materials, workplace observations, case details, screenshots, learning analytics or other personal information.

Learner, patient, faculty and staff privacy must be protected. Identifying information should not be published unless essential and properly consented. Authors should take particular care when reporting small cohorts, rare training pathways, identifiable institutions, examination results, remediation data, professionalism concerns, sensitive narratives, workplace incidents or qualitative quotations that may allow direct or indirect identification.

Research involving patients or clinical teaching materials must also comply with applicable patient privacy and informed consent requirements.

Manuscripts addressing basic science education, clinical science education, residency education, learning theory, curriculum development, faculty development and professionalism should clearly describe the educational context, theoretical or conceptual foundation and relevance to healthcare professional education. Manuscripts reporting medical education studies should provide sufficient information to support evaluation, interpretation and replication.

Where applicable, authors should describe:

•  educational context, institution type and setting;

•  learner group, faculty group, professional level and eligibility criteria;

•  curriculum, course, teaching session, assessment, simulation or educational intervention;

•  theoretical framework, conceptual model or educational rationale;

•  learning objectives and intended outcomes;

•  intervention components, duration, frequency, delivery mode and resources;

•  facilitator qualifications, training and role;

•  comparator, usual teaching, control condition or historical comparison;

•  implementation process, fidelity, adaptation and feasibility;

•  assessment methods, scoring procedures and assessor training;

•  validity evidence, reliability or generalizability evidence where relevant;

•  learner, faculty, patient or system-level outcomes;

•  adverse or unintended educational consequences where applicable.

For assessment studies, authors should describe the assessment purpose, construct, blueprint, scoring method, standard setting, rater training, reliability, validity evidence, fairness considerations and consequences of assessment use.

For simulation studies, authors should describe the simulation modality, scenario design, fidelity, facilitator training, debriefing approach, assessment method, learner preparation and limitations in transferability to clinical practice.

For faculty development, continuing professional development or interprofessional education studies, authors should describe participant roles, professional background, educational needs, program design, evaluation strategy and contextual factors affecting implementation.

For studies addressing professionalism, authors should clearly define the educational or professional construct being examined, describe the assessment or evaluation methods used, and report relevant contextual, ethical and confidentiality considerations. Where professionalism concerns involve individual learners or trainees, appropriate safeguards should be used to protect privacy and minimize potential educational or professional consequences.

For residency and postgraduate medical education studies, authors should describe the training stage, specialty, program structure, competency expectations, supervision arrangements, assessment methods and relevant educational outcomes where applicable.

For basic science education and clinical science education studies, authors should describe the educational content, learner level, instructional approach, learning objectives, teaching context, assessment methods and educational outcomes where applicable.

Clinical trials, randomized educational interventions and other interventional studies should be registered in a publicly accessible registry before participant recruitment begins where applicable. The registry name and registration number should be included in the manuscript when relevant.

Manuscripts reporting interventional studies should include a data sharing statement where required by applicable standards or journal policy. The statement should indicate whether de-identified participant-level data will be shared, what data will be shared, whether related documents such as the study protocol, statistical analysis plan, curriculum materials or assessment instruments will be available, when and for how long the data will be available, and the conditions for access.

Authors should follow appropriate reporting guidelines according to study design. Relevant guidelines may include CONSORT for randomized trials, PRISMA for systematic reviews and meta-analyses, STROBE for observational studies, SPIRIT for trial protocols, COREQ or SRQR for qualitative research, SQUIRE for quality improvement studies, TIDieR for intervention description, GREET for educational interventions and teaching, CHERRIES for web-based surveys, GRIPP2 for patient and public involvement, and other EQUATOR Network resources.

For surveys, authors should describe sampling, recruitment, instrument development or adaptation, pilot testing, validity evidence, response rate, missing data, non-response bias and limitations.

For qualitative studies, authors should describe the research paradigm, sampling strategy, data collection method, interviewer or facilitator role, data analysis approach, reflexivity, credibility strategies and use of participant quotations.

For mixed-methods studies, authors should describe the design, rationale for mixing methods, timing and integration of qualitative and quantitative components, and how integration informed interpretation.

Reporting checklists and flow diagrams should be submitted where required by the journal or relevant reporting guideline.

Authors should include a Data Availability Statement where applicable, describing where the data supporting the findings can be accessed or explaining why data cannot be shared.

Data, protocols, curriculum materials, teaching resources, assessment instruments, scoring rubrics, interview guides, survey instruments, codebooks, de-identified datasets, analytic code and supplementary materials should be made available in suitable repositories where possible and appropriate.

Restrictions due to privacy, ethics, legal, commercial, intellectual property, institutional confidentiality, examination security, participant re-identification risks or educational sensitivity should be clearly explained.

For educational and qualitative studies, authors should ensure that shared data are appropriately de-identified and consistent with ethics approval, informed consent and applicable data protection requirements. Special caution is required for interview transcripts, reflective writing, examination results, remediation records, professionalism concerns, workplace assessments, small cohorts and institution-specific data.

Assessment items, examination materials and confidential educational resources should not be shared where disclosure would compromise assessment security, institutional obligations or participant privacy. In such cases, authors should provide sufficient methodological description to allow critical appraisal.

Supplementary materials should support the main article and should not replace essential methods, results, intervention details, assessment methods, validity evidence or data needed to evaluate the work.

AI tools and large language models cannot be listed as authors. Authors remain responsible for the accuracy, originality and integrity of all submitted content, including any content generated or assisted by AI tools.

Use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies beyond basic language editing should be disclosed in the manuscript according to the journal's requirements. AI tools must not be used to fabricate, falsify or manipulate data, images, references, learner responses, qualitative quotations, assessment scores, feedback, survey responses, educational outcomes or conclusions.

For manuscripts involving AI-enabled education tools, adaptive learning systems, automated feedback, learning analytics, virtual patients, simulation platforms, digital assessment, e-portfolios, chatbots or clinical decision support used for education, authors should describe the intended use, system version, development and validation methods, datasets, performance metrics, educational workflow, human oversight, limitations, potential risks and safeguards where applicable.

Authors should clearly distinguish between human-generated content, AI-generated content, simulated content and real learner, patient, faculty or staff data. Use of synthetic data, simulated cases or generated educational materials should be disclosed and justified.

Editors and reviewers must not upload confidential manuscripts, peer review reports, decision letters or related materials to public AI tools unless explicitly permitted by the journal and consistent with confidentiality and data protection requirements.

The journal considers manuscripts that have been posted as preprints, provided that the work has not been formally published and is not under consideration by another journal at the same time.

Authors must disclose any preprint, conference abstract, thesis, report, trial registry record, curriculum report, education resource, institutional report, evaluation report, white paper or related prior dissemination at submission. Where applicable, authors should provide the preprint server name, DOI or link.

If the manuscript is accepted, authors are encouraged to update the preprint record with a citation and link to the final published article. Duplicate submission and redundant publication are not permitted.

Open Access

The journal is a Gold Open Access journal. All published articles are freely and permanently available online immediately upon publication.

Authors should review the journal's Open Access and Fees page before submission for information on article processing charges, waiver or discount options, copyright, licensing, article sharing and self-archiving.

Copyright

Authors are required to transfer copyright in their accepted manuscript to the journal upon acceptance for publication.

In exceptional circumstances, including where specific institutional or funder requirements apply, authors may contact the editorial office to discuss alternative copyright arrangements.

Licensing

All published articles are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.

The CC BY 4.0 license permits others to share, copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon the work for any purpose, including commercially, provided that appropriate credit is given to the original authors and source, a link to the license is provided, and any changes are indicated.

Article Sharing and Self-Archiving

Authors may share, host and self-archive the published Version of Record in accordance with the CC BY 4.0 license.

Articles may be shared through institutional repositories, personal websites, academic networks and other appropriate platforms, provided that appropriate attribution to the original publication is retained and the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license are respected.

Use of Third-Party and Previously Published Material

Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce or adapt material owned by third parties where permission is required. This includes material previously published by the authors themselves if the copyright is held by another publisher or third party.

Permission may be required for, including but not limited to:

• previously published figures, tables, graphs, charts, schemes, artworks or other content that is reproduced or only slightly modified;

• substantial extracts of text or other material from previously published works;

• photographs, images or other visual materials for which the authors do not hold the necessary rights; and

• the authors' own previously published material where the authors have not retained the relevant copyright or reuse rights.

Authors should obtain all necessary permissions before submitting the manuscript and provide appropriate attribution and permission statements where required.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that the use of third-party material complies with applicable copyright, license and permission requirements. Third-party material may not necessarily be covered by the CC BY 4.0 license applied to the article as a whole.

The journal is committed to maintaining the integrity and transparency of the scholarly record. Post-publication updates may include corrections, expressions of concern, retractions or article removal where appropriate.

Corrections may be issued for significant errors that do not invalidate the article. Retractions may be issued when findings are unreliable, unethical or substantially compromised. Expressions of concern may be issued when serious concerns remain unresolved.

For medical education research, post-publication concerns may include unreliable educational outcome data, fabricated or altered qualitative data, misrepresented assessment results, undisclosed conflicts of interest, privacy breaches, inappropriate use of identifiable learner or patient data, invalid assessment claims, undisclosed AI-generated content or other issues that may affect educational, clinical or policy interpretation.

Authors may appeal an editorial decision or submit a complaint by contacting the Editorial Office. Appeals should identify specific concerns, such as a possible error in the editorial process, a misunderstanding of the manuscript or evidence that relevant information was not adequately considered.

Appeals do not guarantee reconsideration, external review or reversal of the original decision. Repeated appeals without new evidence may not be considered. Complaints regarding editorial conduct, peer review, conflicts of interest, confidentiality or publication ethics will be handled fairly, confidentially and in a timely manner.

Related ZENTIME publisher policies:

• Editorial Policies

•  Publishing Policies

•  Open Access, Fees and Licensing

Related external standards and resources may include:

•  Committee on Publication Ethics

•  World Association of Medical Editors

•  International Committee of Medical Journal Editors

•  EQUATOR Network

•  CONSORT

•  PRISMA

•  STROBE

•  SPIRIT

•  COREQ

•  SRQR

•  SQUIRE

•  TIDieR

•  GREET

•  CHERRIES

•  GRIPP2