Human and Animal Rights

Purpose: The purpose of the GIRT's Human and Animal Rights Policy is to ensure that all research involving human participants and animals published within the journal adheres to the highest ethical standards. This policy outlines the expectations for authors, reviewers, and editors to safeguard the rights and welfare of research subjects.

Scope
This policy applies to all research articles submitted to GIRT that involve human participants, human data, or animals. It is the responsibility of all authors to ensure their research complies with this policy.

Human Participants
Ethical Approval: All studies involving human participants must have been approved by an appropriate institutional review board (IRB) or ethics committee. Authors must include a statement within their manuscript detailing this approval, including the name of the approving entity and the approval reference number.

Informed Consent: For research involving human participants, informed consent must have been obtained from all participants or their legal guardians. Studies must be conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki or other relevant guidelines in the jurisdiction where the research was conducted. Authors should include a statement in their manuscript confirming that informed consent was obtained.

Animal Research
Ethical Standards: Research involving animals must adhere to international, national, and institutional standards for the humane treatment of animals. All studies must have received approval from an appropriate animal care and use committee.
Authors must provide a statement in their manuscript detailing the ethical treatment of animals, including the name of the approving committee and the approval reference number.

Care and Use: Manuscripts should describe the care and use of animals in a manner that allows for replication of the study.
Details regarding housing, feeding, and environmental enrichment should be provided. Efforts to minimize pain, distress, and suffering must be described.

Reporting Standards
Authors are expected to follow internationally recognized reporting guidelines relevant to their research design (e.g., CONSORT for clinical trials, ARRIVE for animal studies).
Manuscripts lacking appropriate ethical approval and informed consent will not be considered for publication.

Compliance and Enforcement
GIRT reserves the right to request documentation related to ethical approvals and informed consent.
Allegations of unethical conduct in research published in GIRT will be investigated in accordance with COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines.
Actions, including corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern, will be taken as deemed necessary based on the outcome of investigations into ethical misconduct.

Policy Review and Updates
This policy will be reviewed periodically and updated as necessary to reflect the evolving ethical standards in human and animal research.