title: [Does impact factor influence the ethics of the instructions provided to journal authors?].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Verify whether a journal's impact factor is a mechanism that modifies the ethical requirements described in the instructions provided to authors of articles published in Brazilian medical journals.
  
  
  METHODS
  48 selected journals were divided into two groups: impact-factor (n=24), and no-impact-factor (n=24). The number of ethical requirements was compared between both groups based on a specific research protocol, ranging from zero to six points, analyzing the presence of an approval by a research ethics committee; reference to the fact that the research follows the precepts of the Declaration of Helsinki and the rules of Resolution 196/96; use of an informed consent; information about the authors' conflicts of interest; and a request for registration of clinical trials in the Brazilian Clinical Trials Registry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average score of the impact-factor group was significantly higher than that of the no-impact-factor group (3.12 ± 1.03 vs. 2.08 ± 1.64, p=0.0121). When each ethical requirement was compared between the groups, there was significant difference only between the requirement of an informed consent and the disclosure of conflicts of interest (p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The impact factor is a determinant factor on the ethics included in the instructions to authors of articles in scientific journals, showing that higher-quality journals seek better-designed articles that are conscientious at the beginning of the research.
authors.affiliation: Universidade do Estado do Pará UEPA, Belém, PA, Brasil. renankleberc@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Renan Kleber Costa
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Teixeira
authors.forename: Vitor Nagai
authors.initials: VN
authors.lastname: Yamaki
authors.forename: Thiago Barbosa
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.forename: Nara Macedo
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Botelho
authors.forename: José Antonio Cordero da
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Silva
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000941:ethics*; D001938:Brazil; D016265:Conflict of Interest; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D030881:Disclosure / Q000941:ethics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D035081:Editorial Policies; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent; D055811:Journal Impact Factor; D010506:Periodicals as Topic / Q000941:ethics / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011643:Publishing / Q000941:ethics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data