Study Ethics and Ethical Clearance Policy

The International Journal of Counseling and Applied Psychology (IJCAP) is committed to upholding the highest ethical standards in research and publication. All studies involving human participants, sensitive data, or vulnerable groups must comply with internationally recognized ethical principles and obtain appropriate ethical clearance.

1. Ethical Standards

Authors must ensure that their research complies with:

  • The Declaration of Helsinki for medical and psychological research involving human subjects.
  • The American Psychological Association (APA) Ethical Principles in research and practice.
  • National and institutional ethical guidelines relevant to counseling, psychology, and education.
  • Ethical codes regarding confidentiality, informed consent, privacy, and participant protection.

2. Ethical Clearance Requirement

  • Manuscripts reporting studies involving human participants must include a statement of ethical approval from an appropriate institutional review board (IRB), research ethics committee (REC), or equivalent authority.
  • For studies involving children, students, or vulnerable populations, authors must clearly indicate procedures to ensure informed consent, parental/guardian consent (if applicable), and participant welfare.
  • When ethical clearance is not legally required (e.g., certain survey studies), authors must explicitly justify compliance with relevant ethical standards.

3. Informed Consent

  • Authors must confirm that informed consent was obtained from all participants (or their legal guardians for minors).
  • Consent forms must include information about the study’s aims, procedures, risks, and participants’ right to withdraw at any time without penalty.
  • Identifiable personal data must not be disclosed unless explicit written consent is obtained.

4. Data Privacy and Confidentiality

  • All personal information collected during research must be kept strictly confidential and used solely for academic purposes.
  • Authors must anonymize data whenever possible to protect participants’ identities.
  • Research involving sensitive populations (e.g., clinical clients, counseling cases, or students) must take extra precautions to maintain confidentiality.

5. Animal Research (if applicable)

If manuscripts involve animal studies (rare in this journal’s scope but possible in applied psychology), authors must comply with international guidelines such as the ARRIVE Guidelines and institutional animal care standards.

6. Editorial Responsibility

  • The editorial board reserves the right to reject manuscripts that do not meet ethical requirements.
  • If ethical misconduct (e.g., lack of approval, falsified consent) is discovered post-publication, the journal will issue a correction, expression of concern, or retraction in accordance with COPE guidelines.