Editorial Policies

The editorial policy of International journal of Medical Science (IJMSCI) follows guidelines and requirements recommended by:

COPE - Committee on Publication Ethics

ICMJE - International Committee of Medical Journal Editors

STM - International Association of Scientific, Technical & Medical Publishers

WAME – World Association of Medical Editors

Authorship:

Author(s) should have significant contribution to the development of a manuscript. ICMJE recommends that authorship be based on the following four criteria:

Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND

Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND

Final approval of the version to be published; AND

Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Acknowledgement:

Individuals who participated in the development of a manuscript but do not qualify as an author should be acknowledged. Organizations that provided support in terms of funding and/or other resources should also be acknowledged.

Changes in authorship:

Whenever there is a need to make changes in the authorship of a manuscript or a published article, the changes will be implemented according to COPE specification. Only corresponding authors can make request for a change in authorship. Request should be made to the editor using the Changes in Authorship Form.

Further authors can read guidelines:

ICMJE - Defining the Role of Authors and Contributors

COPE – flowcharts on Changes in Authorship

Submission of Manuscript:

Authors should read the “Author Guidelines” available in journal home page before making a submission. Manuscript should be prepared according to the “Article Preparation Guidelines” and journal policy.

Authors listed on the manuscript should have met the requirements for Authorship specified above. Possibly, specify the contribution of each of the authors.

All authors should approve the final version of the manuscript prior to submission. Once a manuscript is submitted, it is therefore assumed that all authors have read and given their approval for the submission of the manuscript.
Contact information of all authors should be stated on the manuscript. Surname/Other names, affiliation, emails, and phone/fax numbers.
Declaration of Conflicts of Interest should be stated in the manuscript.

Human and Animal Rights Policy:

The ethical standards in medical and pharmacological studies are based on the Helsinki declaration (1964, amended in 1975, 1983, 1989, 1996, 2000 and 2013) of the World Medical Association and the Publication Ethics Policies for Medical Journals of the World Association of Medical Journals (WAME).

Permissions:

Figures, tables, or text contents that have already been published elsewhere are required to obtain permission from the copyright owner(s). Author(s) should submit the permission grant documents in printed and online format to the editorial office during submission of the article.

Plagiarism or Similarity:

As plagiarism is globally considered as an unethical act, therefore author(s) should be careful about similarity Index before submission to the journal. IJMSCI allows similarity Index up to 20% including references. The journal prefers leading plagiarism checking tools that are recognized globally for accuracy and precision (Examples-i-thenticate, Turnitin, Drillbit etc).

Conflict of interest:

“Conflict of interest (COI) exists when there is a disagreement between an individual’s secluded interests (competing interests) and his or her responsibilities to scientific and publishing activities such that a reasonable observer might wonder if the individual’s behavior or judgment was motivated by considerations of his or her competing interests” WAME.

Authors should disclose all financial/relevant interest that may have influenced the development of the manuscript.

Reviewers should disclose any conflict of interest and if necessary, decline the review of any manuscript they perceive to have a conflict of interest.

Editors should also decline from considering any manuscript that may have conflict of interest. Such manuscripts will be re-assigned to other editors.

For further information, please go through:

COPE - flowcharts on Conflict of Interest

ICMJE - Conflicts of Interest

STM – International Ethical Principles for Scholarly Publication

WAME - Conflict of Interest in Peer-Reviewed Medical Journals

Confidentiality:

A submitted manuscript is a confidential material. The Journal will not disclose submitted manuscript to anyone except individuals who partake in the processing and preparation of the manuscript for publication (if accepted). These individuals include editorial staff, corresponding authors, potential reviewers, actual reviewers, and editors.  However, in suspected cases of misconduct, a manuscript may be revealed to members of Academic Journals’ ethics committee and institutions/organizations that may require it for the resolution of the misconduct. Academic Journals shall follow the appropriate COPE flowcharts wherever necessary.

Correction Policy:

After publication, any type of correction request from author(s) will be assessed by the editorial team headed by editor-in-chief. Editors will measure the level of corrections, whether it’s a minor correction or a major correction. For major changes, editor-in-chief, associated editors and reviewers will be consulted for the decision. However, in all aforesaid cases, journal may charge necessary fee to amend correction in published work.

 Retraction Policy:

Retractions of article may occur when there is clear evidence of ethical violation, misconduct and unlawful findings. The decision is taken by the Editor-in-chief in consultation with editors and associated reviewers. Retraction takes place if:

- The findings have previously been published elsewhere without proper referencing, permission or justification.

- If the work is plagiarized

- If the work reports unethical research

- legal infringement

In aforesaid cases, journal may issue a notice to author(s) and communicate the same to their Institution/ Organization. Finally, the journal has authority to suspend all authors from publication.

However, if author(s) requests for retraction then author(s) should submit justified and lawful reason for the retraction. The request may be approved or rejected based on editorial decision. However, journal can charge author(s) for retraction of published article. However, retraction of articles will be done according to COPE retraction guidelines

Misconduct:

Misconduct includes violation of editorial policy, journal policies, publication ethics, or any applicable guidelines/policies specified by COPE, WAME, ICMJE, and STM. Any other activities that threaten/compromise the integrity of the research/publication process are probable misconducts. Suspected incidences of misconduct will be investigated according to COPE guidelines