Journal of Muhammad Medical College (JMMC) is committed to the highest standards of publication ethics. All parties involved in publishing, editors, authors, reviewers, and the publisher, are expected to meet clear standards of ethical conduct. These principles are based on the Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), available at http://publicationethics.org/, and JMMC also follows the Publication Ethics guidelines issued by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan for its approved journals, available here.

 

Responsibilities of the Editor and Editorial Board

• Deciding which submitted manuscripts are published, guided by JMMC's editorial policies and by legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism
• Providing guidance to authors and reviewers on what is expected of them, including a clear description of the peer review process
• Providing new editorial board members with guidance on their role, and keeping existing members updated on policy developments
• Evaluating manuscripts solely on academic and intellectual merit, without regard to the authors' race, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, ethnic origin, religious belief, citizenship, political orientation, or social class
• Ensuring fair, unbiased double-blind peer review, with all related information kept confidential and both author and reviewer identities protected
• Selecting appropriate reviewers, and maintaining a reviewer database updated on the basis of performance
• Ensuring that unpublished material disclosed in a submitted manuscript is never used in an editor's own research without the express written consent of the author(s)
• Taking reasonable responsive action when ethical complaints are raised about a submitted or published manuscript, following COPE's guidance in cases of suspected misconduct
• Publishing corrections, clarifications, retractions, and apologies on the JMMC website whenever needed

 

Guest Editors' Responsibilities:

• Defining the subject matter and role of each article in a thematic issue
• Providing clear guidelines to authors on the topic, boundaries, and overall design of the issue
• Working with the editorial board to ensure appropriate reviewers are selected for all articles, whether commissioned or submitted via a call for papers
• Establishing and holding to a timeline for draft submission, peer review, revision, and final submission]

 

Authors' Responsibilities

• Presenting an accurate account of the work performed, with an objective discussion of its significance, and representing underlying data accurately; fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements are unacceptable
• Not submitting the same manuscript to more than one publication at a time
• Ensuring the work is original, with the words and work of others properly credited and cited, and citing publications that were influential in shaping the reported work
• Ensuring the manuscript has not been published elsewhere
• Limiting authorship to those who made a significant contribution to the study's conception, design, execution, or interpretation, with all such contributors listed as co-authors and other participants acknowledged appropriately
• As corresponding author, ensuring all appropriate co-authors are included and that all co-authors have approved the final version and its submission
• Disclosing any financial or other conflict of interest that might influence the results or their interpretation, and disclosing all sources of financial support
• Promptly notifying the editors and cooperating on a correction or retraction if a significant error is later discovered in one's own published work

 

Reviewers' Responsibilities

• Notifying the editor immediately if unqualified to review a manuscript, or if a timely review isn't possible, so an alternative reviewer can be found
• Treating all manuscripts received for review as confidential documents
• Keeping privileged information or ideas obtained through review confidential, and never using them for personal advantage
• Reporting to the editor any awareness of copyright infringement or plagiarism on the author's part
• Conducting reviews objectively, with observations formulated clearly and supported by argument, so authors can act on them
• Evaluating manuscripts on content alone, without regard to the authors' race, age, gender, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, citizenship, political orientation, or social class
• Declining to review manuscripts where a conflict of interest exists from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with the authors, their companies, or institutions

 

Publisher's Responsibilities
As publisher of JMMC, Muhammad Foundation Trust:

• Provides practical support to the editor and editorial board in following COPE's Code of Conduct
• Ensures the autonomy of editorial decisions
• Protects intellectual property and copyright
• Ensures the standards defined above are upheld

 

Human Research
For research involving human participants, manuscripts must include a statement that ethics committee or institutional review board approval was obtained, naming the committee, the approval number, and the date of approval, or, where approval was not required, an explanation of why. Manuscripts must also state that informed consent was obtained from all participants, or explain why consent was not required. Studies should conform to the current Declaration of Helsinki. Clinical trials should be prospectively registered before participant enrollment, with the registration number included in the manuscript.

Patient identities must be protected throughout. Where identifiable images are used, signed patient consent for publication is required, and images must be cropped or masked sufficiently to prevent recognition.

 

Animal Research
For research involving animals, manuscripts must indicate the ethical review and licenses obtained, and the institutional or national guidelines followed for the care and use of animals. The editorial office reserves the right to request additional information regarding animal experiments featured in a manuscript.

 

Hazardous Materials and Procedures
Where a study involves chemicals, procedures, or equipment carrying unusual inherent hazards, authors must clearly identify these in the manuscript.