Policies

• Open Acess & Copyright policy

All research articles published in Pakistan Medical and Dental Journal (PMDJ) are fully open access: freely available to read, download, and share. Copyrights of all articles published in JSMDC are retained by the authors. First publication rights are granted to PMDJ. Journal allows authors to only retain the rights to: - use the substance of the article in future works, including lectures and books; - reproduce the article for one's own purposes, provided that copies are not offered for sale; - self-archive the article.

• Attribution: — you must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
• No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

• Peer Review Policy

Submitted manuscripts are reviewed for originality, significance, adequacy of documentation, reader interest and composition. Manuscript not submitted according to instructions will be returned to the author for correction prior to beginning the peer review/process. Revised manuscripts are judged on the adequacy of responses to suggestions and criticisms made during the initial review. Each manuscript will be check for technical, epidemiological, statistical, ethical and language corrections.

All parts of accepted manuscripts are subject to editing for scientific accuracy and clarity by the office of the Editor. The editorial board of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Journal (PMDJ) holds the right to a final decision of accepting or rejecting any article from publication in the journal, at all stages including the editorial review.

• Plagiarism Policy

The editors are committed to observing zero tolerance for unethical practices and plagiarism. The PMDJ follows the guidelines of ICMJE (www.icmje.org) and the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (www.hec.gov.pk). All the manuscripts submitted for publication will be screened for similarity index through Turnitin software and immediately rejected in case of plagiarism. In case of any complaint regarding plagiarism in the published article, a notice will be served to the authors demanding an explanation on the matter in the stipulated time duration. In case of an unsatisfactory response, the published article will be retracted, and the retraction will be published on the journal website.

• Privacy Policy

The names and email addresses entered in Pakistan Medical and Dental Journal (PMDJ) will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

• Ethical/Legal Considerations

The research should be prepared under strict observation of research and publication ethics guidelines recommended by the Council of Science Editors, International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, and World Association of Medical Editors. 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 PMDJ criteria. Although the editors and referees make every effort to ensure the validity of published manuscripts, the final responsibility rests with the authors, not with the Journal, its editors, or the publisher. Any study including human subjects or human data must be reviewed and approved by the responsible Institutional Review Board (IRB). Animal experiments should also be reviewed by an appropriate committee (IACUC: Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee) for the care and use of animals. Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) should be registered and the trial registration number is mandatory.

• Conflict of Interest

The authors must provide a formal statement including any potential conflict of interest at the time of submitting the article. PMDJ follows the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors guidelines available at www.icmje.org. 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.PMDJonline.com).

• 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 on a separate attachment. All funding sources supporting the work and all institutional or corporate affiliations of the authors are acknowledged in a footnote in the work.

• Fee Waiver Policy:

When an author requests that due to financial difficulties, he/she is unable to pay publication fee due to financial difficulties then 25-50% reduction is granted. Occasionally (rarely) no fee is charged. Each case is decided on merit.

• Authorship Criteria:

The ICMJE recommends that authorship is based on the following 4 criteria: a) substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work, b) drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content, c) final approval of the version to be published, d) 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 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. The journal discourages the submission of more than one article dealing with related aspects of the same study. The author’s certification proforma (available on the website) should be filled and submitted along with the manuscript.

• Publication Misconduct:

Plagiarism and other publication misconduct, fabrication (picture as well), falsification, a duplicate submission, redundant publication, multiple submission, selective and misleading reporting, selective and misleading referencing are liable to strict action. All publication misconducts are dealt with first asking for an explanation from the corresponding author and then from all other authors. 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.