Journal of Muhammad Medical College (J Muhammad Med Coll) is a peer-reviewed journal committed to ensuring the highest standards of publication ethics. All parties involved in the act of publishing (editors, authors, reviewers and the publisher) have to agree upon standards of ethical behaviour.

We state the following principles of Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement based on the Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors of the Committee on Publication Ethics – COPE (available at http://publicationethics.org/).

 RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE EDITOR AND EDITORIAL BOARD OF JMMC.

The editor and the executive editorial board of JMMC are responsible for

• Deciding which of the manuscripts submitted to the journal should be published. In making these decisions, they are guided by the policies of the journal (RCCS Guidelines for Submission and Publication of Manuscripts, available at  https://jmmc.mmc.edu.pk/index.php/JMMC/about/submissions. and by legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism;
• Providing guidance to guest editors, authors and reviewers on everything that is expected of them and also a description of peer review processes.
• Providing new editorial board members with guidelines on everything that is expected of them and keeping existing members updated on new policies and developments.
• Evaluating manuscripts exclusively on the basis of their academic and intellectual merit, without regard to the author(s)’ race, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, ethnic origin, religious belief, citizenship, political orientation or social class.
• Ensuring a fair and unbiased double-blind peer review of the manuscripts and that all information related to them is kept confidential. They also ensure that both authors’ and peer reviewers’ identities are protected.
• Ensuring that appropriate reviewers are selected.
• Developing and maintaining a database of suitable reviewers and updating it on the basis of reviewer performance.
• Ensuring that unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript are not used in an editor’s own research without the express written consent of the author(s).
• Taking reasonable responsive measures when ethical complaints are presented concerning a submitted or published manuscript. In cases of suspected misconduct, they follow the COPE flowcharts, available at http://publicationethics.org/files/Full%20set%20of%20flowcharts.pdf;
• Publishing corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies on web site of JMMC, whenever needed.

Guest Editors’ Responsibilities.

Guest editors are responsible for

• Defining the subject matter and role of every article in a thematic issue.
• Providing clear guidelines to authors regarding the topic and boundaries of their contributions and the overall design of the issue.
• Ensuring, in collaboration with the executive editorial board, that appropriate reviewers are selected for all the articles (whether they have been commissioned or submitted as a result of a call for papers).
• Establishing a timeline for draft paper submission, peer review, revision and final paper submission with the executive editorial board, and ensuring that all deadlines are met;

Authors’ Responsibilities

• Authors of reports of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the manuscript. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behaviour and are unacceptable;
• Authors should not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one publication at a time. This constitutes unethical publishing behaviour and is unacceptable.
• Authors must ensure that they have written original works and that any work or words of others authors, contributors or sources have been appropriately credited and referenced.
• Authors submitting their works to JMMC for publication as original articles confirm that the submitted works represent their own contributions and have not been copied or plagiarized in whole or in part from other works without clearly citing the source. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.
• Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behaviour and is unacceptable.
• Authors must ensure that the manuscript has not been published elsewhere.
• Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project should be acknowledged or listed as contributors.
• The corresponding author with the journal should ensure that all appropriate co-authors are included in the author list of the manuscript, and that there is a full consensus of all co-authors in approving the final version of the paper and its submission for publication.
• Authors should disclose financial or other conflict of interest that might influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support should be disclosed.
• When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the journal editors and cooperate with them to retract or correct the manuscript. 

Reviewers’ Responsibilities

• Peer review assists the editor and executive editorial board of JMMC in making editorial decisions and, through the editorial communication with the author, may also assist the author in improving the manuscript.
• Any invited referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its timely review will be impossible should immediately notify the editor so that alternative reviewers can be contacted.
• Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents.
• Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.
• Reviewers must report to the editor of JMMC if they are aware of copyright infringement and plagiarism on the author’s part.
• Reviews should be conducted objectively, and observations should be formulated clearly with supporting arguments, so that authors can use them for improving the paper.
• Reviewers evaluate manuscripts based on content without regard to the authors’ race, age, gender, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, citizenship, political orientation or social class.
• Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

Publisher’s Responsibilities

As publisher of JMMC, the Muhammad Foundation Trust

• Provides practical support to the editor and executive editorial board of JMMC so that they can follow the COPE Code of Conduct for Journal.
• Ensures the autonomy of editorial decisions.
• Protects intellectual property and copyright.
• Ensures that good practice is maintained to the standards defined above.