Editorial Policy

EDITORIAL POLICY

Please read these policies in full before submitting your article, to ensure you’ve correctly followed all the requirements.

The Sial Journal of Medical Sciences (SJMS) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and ethical practice in academic publishing.

Affiliations

Authors must list all relevant affiliations to attribute where the research work was approved and/or conducted.

Appeals and complaints

We welcome genuine appeals to editor decisions. However, you will need to provide strong evidence or new data/information in response to the editor’s and reviewers’ comments. Authors wishing to make a complaint should submit their concerns in writing to the Editor-in-Chief at  chiefeditor@sialjournal.com.  However, the Editor-in-Chief’s decision of the appeals will be final and implemented as per the SJMS policies.

Authorship

As per ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors) (https://www.icmje.org/), authorship confers credit and has important academic, social, and financial implications. Moreover, authorship also

implies responsibility and accountability for published work.

The ICMJE recommends that authorship be based on the following 4 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 reviewing 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.

Citations

Articles submitted to SJMS must cite relevant, timely, and verified literature (peer-reviewed, where appropriate) to support any claims made in the article.

Competing interests

All authors must declare any competing interests relevant to, or which can be perceived to be relevant to the article.

Data availability and deposition

Are there data associated with the article you’re submitting to a SJMS? Research data is essentially the underlying evidence upon which the claims made in your publication rely​. 

Designation of territories

SJMS policy is to take a neutral stance in relation to territorial disputes or jurisdictional claims in its published content, including in maps and institutional affiliations.

Editor code of conduct

The SJMS editorial team plays an important role in advancing knowledge within the field of medical science. They do this by:

Maintaining and improving the quality of work the journal publishes and the integrity of its peer review process.

Maintaining and improving the journal’s reputation in collaboration with the journal’s wider editorial team and Sialkot Medical College.

Funding

SJMS require authors to declare all sources of financial support that helped to cover the expenses associated with the research reported in their article.

Images and figures

You should only use images and figures in your article if they are relevant and valuable to the work reported. You must obtain the necessary written permission to include material in your article that is owned and held in copyright by a third party.

Misconduct

SJMS takes all forms of misconduct seriously and will take all necessary action, in accordance with its policy, to protect the integrity of the scholarly record. Examples of misconduct include:

  • Affiliation misrepresentation
  • Breaches in copyright/use of third-party material without appropriate permissions
  • Citation manipulation
  • Duplicate submission/publication
  • Plagiarism
  • Unethical research

Peer review

Articles published in SJMS undergo thorough peer review. A minimum of two independent reviewers is normally required for every research article. But ultimate responsibility for acceptance or rejection lies with the Editor-in-Chief.

Plagiarism

For Taylor & Francis journals, this applies to data, images, words or ideas taken from any materials in electronic or print formats without sufficient attribution. The use of any such material either directly or indirectly should be properly acknowledged in all instances. You should always cite your source.

Research ethics and consent

Prior to starting the study, ethical approval must have been obtained for all protocols from the local Institutional Review Board (IRB) or other appropriate ethics committee to confirm the study meets national and international guidelines for research on humans.

A statement to confirm this ethical approval must be included within the manuscript, which must provide details of the name of the ethics committee and reference/permit numbers where available.

Standards of reporting

Research should be communicated in a way that supports verification and reproducibility, and as such we encourage authors to provide comprehensive descriptions of their research rationale, protocol, methodology, and analysis.

Use of third-party material

You must obtain the necessary permission to reuse third-party material in your article. These materials may include text, illustration, photographs, tables, data, audio, or video.