Ethical framework
The Medhira Ethical Framework.
Medhira is a research mentorship practice built on one non-negotiable principle: the student is the sole author of their own work. We guide topic selection, teach methodology and statistics, structure manuscripts, give line-level editorial feedback, and prepare students for ethics submission and journal selection. We never write papers, fabricate or analyse data as the author, complete graded assignments, sit as a ghost author, or guarantee publication. We measure success by your competence and the integrity of your authorship — never by a shortcut. This protects your name, your university’s standards, and the patients your future research will serve.
The ICMJE authorship test
The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) defines authorship by four criteria. To qualify as an author, a contributor must meet all four:
- 01 Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work.
- 02 Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content.
- 03 Final approval of the version to be published.
- 04 Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring questions about its accuracy or integrity are appropriately investigated and resolved.
A mentor who teaches methodology, reviews drafts, and offers structural feedback — without drafting the manuscript, taking final responsibility for it, or being accountable for its claims — does not meet all four criteria. By ICMJE’s own definition, that mentor is correctly non-authorial. That is exactly Medhira’s role, by design: editing and mentoring alone do not, and should not, qualify for authorship.
Institutional & IRB disclaimer
Medhira provides independent educational mentorship and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any university, hospital, or health authority. All ethics/IRB approvals are the sole responsibility of the student and must be obtained through the student’s own institution. Medhira does not submit applications on a student’s behalf, does not assume authorship, and does not guarantee acceptance, approval, or publication. Students remain bound by their institution’s academic-integrity and research-conduct policies.