EDITORIAL POLICY
The Journal of Sharif Medical & Dental College (JSMDC) publishes original scholarly work in accordance with the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME). The journal is committed to maintaining the highest standards of editorial integrity, transparency, and publication ethics. All manuscripts must be submitted through the journal's online submission system.
AUTHORSHIP CRITERIA:
• Authors should meet all four criteria for authorship as recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). The ICMJE recommends that authorship is based on:
• 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.
• Each author must sign a statement attesting that he or she fulfills the authorship criteria of the uniform requirements. Up to six authors are allowed in a single-institution study. In a multi-institution and international collaborative research, the Editorial Board shall guide on an individual case basis.
• JSMDC strongly discourages gift authorship.
• Any request for changes in authorship (addition, removal, or change in author order) after manuscript submission must be supported by a written justification and the signed consent of all authors. Such requests will be considered in accordance with ICMJE and COPE recommendations.
• The author's certification proforma should be filled and submitted along with the manuscript available at: https://www.jsmdc.pk/authors-certification-performa.
Corresponding Author: The authors must assign a corresponding author. The corresponding author is responsible for manuscript corrections, revisions, proofreading & resubmission of revised manuscripts till the acceptance of the manuscript.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
• Individuals who participated in the development of a manuscript but do not qualify as an author should be acknowledged.
• Organizations/departments that provided support in terms of funding and/or other resources should also be acknowledged.
ETHICAL/LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS:
The research should be prepared under strict observation of research and publication ethics guidelines recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).
• A submitted manuscript must be an original contribution not previously published (except as an abstract or preliminary report), must not be under consideration for publication elsewhere, and if accepted, it must not be published elsewhere in a similar form.
• Each person listed as an author is expected to have participated in the study according to the ICMJE authorship criteria. Although the editors and reviewers make every effort to ensure the quality and integrity of published manuscripts, the final responsibility for the content rests with the authors, not with the Journal, its editors, or the publisher.
• Any study involving human participants or human data must be reviewed and approved by the responsible Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Review Committee before the commencement of the study. Where applicable, informed consent should be obtained from all participants in accordance with ethical standards.
• If the author wishes to publish a paper from his/her dissertation, besides synopsis approval from the CPSP/University, IRB approval is also mandatory.
• Animal experiments should be reviewed and approved by an appropriate committee (IACUC: Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee) for the care and use of animals. JSMDC follows the WMA statement on animal use in biomedical research, and the International Association of Veterinary Editors' Consensus Author Guidelines on Animal Ethics and Welfare.
• Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) should be registered in a recognized clinical trial registry, and the trial registration number must be provided in the manuscript.
• Authors must submit written permission from the copyright owner to reproduce direct quotations, tables, figures, or illustrations that have previously appeared in copyrighted material, along with complete details of the original source.
• JSMDC is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and follows the recommendations of COPE in handling ethical issues, including plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication or falsification, authorship disputes, conflicts of interest, and other forms of publication misconduct.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST:
• JSMDC follows the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) regarding disclosure and management of conflicts of interest.
• The authors must provide a formal statement including any potential conflict of interest at the time of submitting the article.
• In case of any conflict of interest, the author must submit an ICMJE form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest available at: http://www.jsmdc.pk.
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE:
• Each author warrants that he or she has no commercial associations (e.g., consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangements, etc.) that might post a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article, except as disclosed in a separate attachment.
• Any funding received for the study must be disclosed at the time of manuscript submission. The role of the funding agency, if any, should also be clearly stated.
PATIENT ANONYMITY AND INFORMED CONSENT:
It is the author's responsibility to ensure that a patient's anonymity is carefully protected and to verify that any experimental investigation with human subjects reported in the manuscript was performed with informed written consent and following all the guidelines for experimental investigation with human subjects required by the institution(s) with which all the authors are affiliated. Informed written consent must be obtained for publication of any identifiable patient information or images.
PUBLICATION MISCONDUCT:
• Plagiarism and other publication misconduct, fabrication (picture as well), falsification, duplicate submission, redundant publication, multiple submissions, selective and misleading reporting, selective and misleading referencing are liable to strict action.
• All allegations of publication misconduct are investigated fairly, confidentially, and in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Authors will be given an opportunity to respond before any editorial decision is made.
• In case of non-response or unsatisfactory response from the authors, the manuscript is rejected if unpublished and retracted if published.
• Due notice of retraction will be given in print and on the website.
• The authors will be blacklisted for further submissions and considerations at the journal.
• The authors' Institutional Head will also be informed of the misconduct and relevant action in such a case.
MANUSCRIPT PROCESSING POLICY
• The average time from manuscript submission to the first editorial decision is approximately 4–6 weeks. Subject to satisfactory revisions and completion of the editorial process, accepted manuscripts are generally published within 6–8 weeks.
• The steps of manuscript processing are:
STEP 1: Initial Screening
• Initially assessed by the members of the editorial board for the worth of its publication
• All the submitted manuscripts are checked for potential plagiarism by "TURNITIN" software
• The bibliographer reviews and authenticates the references
• The manuscript is also assessed for statistical analysis by the Journal's statistician
• Initial screening of the manuscript is shared with the author
STEP 2: Reassessment
• The corrected article is reassessed by the editorial board
STEP 3: Peer Review Process
• The corrected manuscript is sent to two external reviewers for peer review
• The reviewer is given two weeks to submit their review. If the reviewer doesn't submit the review within the initial two weeks, a reminder is sent. After sending the reminder, the reviewer is given an additional week to respond. If there's still no response after the additional grace period, the manuscript is forwarded to another reviewer for evaluation
• Comments/Suggestions of the reviewers are communicated to the author for corrections
• Where necessary, the revised manuscript may be returned to the original reviewers for a second round of peer review before a final editorial decision is made.
STEP 4: Acceptance of Manuscript
• The final decision regarding article acceptance/rejection is made by the editor
STEP 5: Final Processing
• The final proofs are given to the corresponding authors for verification/approval
• The Editorial Board checks final proofs at the dummy stage before sending them for printing
EDITORIAL INDEPENDENCE
Editorial decisions are made independently by the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board solely on the basis of the scientific quality, originality, ethical standards, and relevance of the manuscript. Editorial decisions are free from commercial, institutional, or personal influence and are guided by the recommendations of COPE and ICMJE.
CONFIDENTIALITY
All submitted manuscripts are treated as confidential documents. Editors, reviewers, and editorial staff shall not disclose or discuss the contents of a manuscript with anyone other than those directly involved in the editorial and peer-review process.