Editorial Policies

Editorial Policies

Aim :

  • To promote research in various medical surgical and allied disciplines.
  • To encourage quality research in basic and clinical sciences.
  • To publish research from both qualitative and quantitative paradigm.

Scope:

All branches of clinical, pre- and para-clinical sciences, Critical Care and Emergency Medicine, Dental and Geriatric Medicine, Family Practice, Medical Ethics, Medical Education, Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

  • Who is an Author? [Back to Top]
  • ICMJE Criteria for authorship

The journal follows International Committee of Medical Journal Editors ICMJE criteria for authorship which are as follows:

  • 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 then accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

All authors should fulfill these four criteria.
For detailed ICMJE guidelines see this link:
http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html

Peer Review Policy [Back]

The journal uses "double blind" reviewing, where the reviewer and the author remain anonymous throughout the process. Instructions to the reviewers is also mentioned in the review proforma.

The journal attempts to prevent conflicts of interest by not inviting reviewers from the same institutions as authors. However, previous relationships or places of employment may not be apparent. In our invitation to potential reviewers, we ask that they decline to review if they know, or guess the identity of the author.
The processing time of each manusript is approximately 3-4 months.

Suggesting Two independant Reviewers

The author can suggest the names their designations and details contact information (email and cell no) of two reviewers. One national and one international (optional)

Plagiarism [Back]

Annals of PIMS uses Turnitin plagiarism software to find out any plagiarism in the received manuscripts.

Copy right policy [Back]

Once an article is published the copyright ownership of the article is transferred to the Journal of Islamabad Medical and Dental College. Copy right statement policy is given in the author’s submission form and it should be duly signed by all the authors. In case of rejection of the manuscript, copy rights are transferred back to the author automatically. Material printed in JIMDC will not be reproduced without the permission of the editors and publishers.

Submissions from Members of the Editorial Board [Back]

The member of the Editorial Board do not enjoy any special favors what so ever. Additionally, they have been allowed for the submission of only three articles in one year

Editors have clarified the procedure for handling manuscripts from editorial board members. All editorial board members have been informed that all necessary information (i.e. Authorship declaration, Ethical approval from the IRB board, Conflict of Interest, etc.) regarding the progress of the peer review can be obtained from the editorial office.

Referee reports

Referees are asked to evaluate whether the manuscript:

  • Is original
  • Is methodologically sound
  • Follows appropriate ethical guidelines
  • Has results which are clearly presented and support the conclusions
  • Correctly references previous relevant work

Review Process [Back]

  • The Editor-in-Chief evaluates all manuscripts upon submission. Those rejected before being sent to review have serious scientific flaws, or are outside the aims and scope of the journal. Those that meet the minimum criteria are selected for blind peer review and will send to two independant reviewers. .

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  • There are several possible decisions: to accept or reject the manuscript outright, to request minor or major revisions, and to accept or reject after revision(s). Referees and/or Associate Editors may request more than one revision of a manuscript. This decision will be sent to the author along with any recommendations made by the referees, and may include verbatim comments by the referees.

Manuscript Retraction Policy

In case the author wants to retract the manuscript during processing, they should email the editor in chief stating the reason of the withdrawal. Manuscript will not be considered withdrawn unless all authors receive a formal letter of withdrawal from editor in chief.

Appeals and Complaints

Authors have the right to appeal against a rejected article. They will do so through a letter addressing the editor in chief giving detailed explanation. A decision will be taken after an internal review of the request in the next editorial board meeting. Authors should not submit the revised manuscript at this moment.

Scientific Misconduct [Back to Top]

Annals of PIMS follows the guidelines of Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) and Pakistan Association of Medical Editors (PAME).Annals of PIMS discourages falsification and fabrication of data, plagiarism, misappropriation of ideas of others, improprieties of authorship and violation of generally accepted research practices. Authors involved in scientific misconduct may be  black listed and barred from further submissions.