Hello! I think it's important to acknowledge that any human subject research that has not received ethics approval is considered 'unethical', irrespective of the policy of any journal. Applying for ethics review and approval is part of good research practice that should be promoted. I understand that refusing to publish such works creates an ethical dilemma because it may also be perceived as 'using human subjects for nothing'. However, as researchers we must ensure that we undertake our activities in an ethical manner. If there is no ethics committee at your institution, look out for a committee elsewhere. 

Its not fair at all.

As alternative  solution.

You might search for approval from an existing committee of other recognized institution at national or international level.

Best wishes

It is not fair if their institution does not have an ethics committee. However it is a necessary thing to have some form of ethics committee not only to protect ourselves and our work but to ensure approval has been given by our qualitative sample participants. We do not want them to say we misquoted or misrepresented the in our articles as professionals we need an ethics committee to validate that we were responsible enough to ask and get permission and that our sample group were capable of giving consent or approval.Where the sample involves children or elderly can be a grey area we need to know that they full y understand what is being asked or required from them. However where no eti s committee exists the value of the article or piece of work is hampered and possibly may only be seen by a minority audience rather than getting wider exposure. It is sad to think a valuable piece of work could be lost to others through lack of ethical clearance and approval. This varies across countries and around the world.

If the decision was based on the journal's policy and the author knew the policy beforehand, I think that is fair enough. I also believe that it is our responsibility as authors to determine all policies of the journal we intend to submit our paper and to comply with all submission requirements. If we are in disagreement with a particular journal policy or if we know we can not comply with their requirements, it is better not to submit and then just look for another journal. 

Hello! I think it's important to acknowledge that any human subject research that has not received ethics approval is considered 'unethical', irrespective of the policy of any journal. Applying for ethics review and approval is part of good research practice that should be promoted. I understand that refusing to publish such works creates an ethical dilemma because it may also be perceived as 'using human subjects for nothing'. However, as researchers we must ensure that we undertake our activities in an ethical manner. If there is no ethics committee at your institution, look out for a committee elsewhere. 

I think it is better authors read and digest 'instruction for authors' before submitting a manuscript. No matter how good a manuscript is, some journals will stick to the Journal's policy that Ethics Committee approval letter must be attached. In such a case I think there is nothing bad in that.  However, the so-called journals need to understand the prevailing challenges  in developing countries so as not to discourage authors and deny the science world valuable information.

Journals have set the guidelines for authors and it should be the responsibility of said authors to meet the criteria set and respect the standards required for publication.  It seems that what is ethical is for the journal to maintain their standards and authors should not push for a violation because of their unique circumstances. 

This situation where it exists provides an opportunity for authors to indicate to their particular institution what support is required for meeting international publication standards and strive to get those in place . The alternative would be or to move to  journals which will accept without conditionalities which are restrictive to them. It would seem to be unethical to cause variation to accommodate relative decisions.

Any experiments involving human subjects and animals must seek approval before the research may be conducted.  In any instance, lack of ethics approval letter or absence of an ethics reference number will suggest that the research has slipped away without the knowledge of an ethics oversight committee. There is a checklist that authors will need to verify before submitting manuscripts anyway, and ethics approval is one of them.  It is highly necessary for the protection of not only the authors but also the publishers.   The manuscript may be submitted to another ethics committee of another institution for a 'second opinion' if the author feels that he/she has been treated prejudicially by his/her own institutional ethics review board. 

Thank you all for your valuable comments. The essence of research is to pass useful information to the general public for the benefit of mankind. Therefore, I think it is imperative for research to pass through the necessary rudiments. Each research institution should be encouraged to put in place Ethics Committee to give credence to biological experiments emanating from such an institution. This is because I foresee a situation whereby journals that are currently not asking for  Ethics Committee approval letters may be forced to do so.  

Best regards,

A. Yakubu.

The regulation is meant to ensure that human participants or the animals involved in a research are treated ethically. According to Nuremberg code, it is to make sure that the research is well designed to minimize the danger to the participants. Therefore, there is a need to have ethics committee in every institution or at least a vetting body even if it is one's supervisor such as heads of departments etc. If members of an  institution plan to carry out research and publish research results, they should ab initio think seriously of a vetting body. Don't put the publishers in an awkward situation of having to make the decision to reject or accept such a research. 

I don't think any journal can accept a report based on research that has not received ethical approval. If a hospital or school or other venue does not have an ethics committee, I recommend asking whether a regional ethics committee exists. There usually is one. If not, the head of the hospital or school or other venue should read the proposal (prior to the research being started) and provide a letter.

If the would-be researcher works alone, he or she still needs a prior ethics screen by a knowledgeable person before commencing the study. There are many small but potentially important issues that escape attention when one is working solo.