International Journal of Medical Science and Clinical Invention (IJMSCI)

The International Journal of Medical Science and Clinical Invention (IJMSCI) is committed to maintaining high standards of editorial independence, scientific integrity, transparency, and publication ethics. The journal publishes scholarly work in the field of medical science, clinical research, healthcare, biomedical sciences, and related disciplines.

All editorial decisions are based on the scientific quality, originality, relevance, methodological soundness, and ethical integrity of submitted manuscripts.

1. Editorial Independence

The Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board are responsible for making independent editorial decisions. Editorial decisions are based on the academic and scientific quality of the manuscript and are not influenced by commercial interests, advertising, sponsorship, institutional affiliations, nationality, race, religion, gender, political beliefs, or personal relationships.

The publisher does not interfere with editorial decisions, peer-review processes, or the acceptance or rejection of manuscripts.

2. Scope and Editorial Responsibility

IJMSCI considers original research articles, review articles, systematic reviews, case reports, short communications, clinical studies, letters to the editor, and other scholarly contributions within the scope of the journal.

The Editor-in-Chief has overall responsibility for the editorial direction, quality, and integrity of the journal. Editors are expected to handle manuscripts fairly, objectively, confidentially, and in a timely manner.

3. Manuscript Submission and Initial Screening

All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial editorial screening before being sent for peer review.

The initial screening may assess:

• Relevance to the journal's scope;

• Originality and scientific contribution;

• Basic methodological quality;

• Ethical approval and informed consent, where applicable;

• Compliance with journal submission requirements;

• Plagiarism and similarity concerns;

• Potential conflicts of interest;

• Research integrity and reporting quality.

Manuscripts that are clearly outside the scope of the journal, scientifically unsuitable, ethically problematic, or insufficiently prepared may be rejected before peer review.

4. Peer Review Policy

IJMSCI follows a peer-review process designed to provide an objective and independent assessment of submitted manuscripts.

Manuscripts that pass the initial editorial screening are normally evaluated by qualified reviewers with relevant expertise. The journal may use a single-blind or double-blind peer-review process depending on the manuscript and editorial circumstances.

Reviewers are expected to:

• Evaluate manuscripts objectively and constructively;

• Maintain confidentiality;

• Identify significant scientific and ethical concerns;

• Disclose any potential conflict of interest;

• Avoid using unpublished information for personal advantage;

• Complete reviews within the agreed timeframe.

The final editorial decision is the responsibility of the Editor-in-Chief or the designated handling editor.

5. Editorial Decisions

Editorial decisions may include:

• Accept;

• Accept subject to minor revisions;

• Major revision required;

• Revise and resubmit;

• Reject.

Acceptance decisions are based on the overall scientific quality, originality, importance, methodological soundness, ethical compliance, and suitability of the manuscript for the journal.

A manuscript may be rejected even if individual reviewers provide positive comments when the Editor determines that the manuscript does not meet the overall standards of the journal.

6. Editorial Decision-Making and Conflicts of Interest

Editors and Editorial Board members must disclose any potential conflict of interest relating to a submitted manuscript.

An editor should not handle a manuscript when:

• The editor is an author or co-author;

• The editor has a personal or professional relationship with an author that may affect impartiality;

• The editor has a financial or other competing interest;

• The editor has another relationship that may compromise independent decision-making.

In such cases, the manuscript will be assigned to an independent editor.

7. Authorship and Contributorship

All individuals listed as authors must have made substantial contributions to the research and manuscript.

Authors should have contributed to the conception or design of the work, data acquisition, analysis, or interpretation; participated in drafting or critically revising the manuscript; approved the final version; and accepted responsibility for the integrity of the work.

All authors must approve the submitted manuscript and agree to be accountable for their contributions.

Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately.

Changes to authorship after submission or acceptance require agreement from all affected authors and may require an explanation to the Editor-in-Chief.

8. Research Ethics and Ethical Approval

Research involving human participants must comply with applicable ethical standards and must receive approval from an appropriate ethics committee or Institutional Review Board (IRB), where required.

Authors must provide information regarding:

• The name of the ethics committee or review board;

• Approval number or reference number, where applicable;

• Informed consent procedures;

• Protection of participant privacy and confidentiality.

Research involving animals must comply with applicable institutional, national, and international ethical standards for the care and use of animals.

The journal may request evidence of ethical approval at any stage of the editorial process.

9. Informed Consent

Informed consent must be obtained from human participants when required by the nature of the research.

For case reports, clinical images, identifiable information, or other material that may reveal the identity of an individual, appropriate consent for publication should be obtained.

Authors must ensure that personally identifiable information is removed or appropriately protected.

10. Clinical Trial Registration

Authors reporting clinical trials are encouraged, and where applicable required, to register trials in a recognized public clinical trial registry.

The trial registration number should be included in the manuscript when available.

Clinical trial registration is intended to improve transparency, reduce selective reporting, and support the integrity of medical research.

11. Research Misconduct

IJMSCI takes allegations of research and publication misconduct seriously.

Research misconduct may include, but is not limited to:

• Fabrication of data;

• Falsification or manipulation of data;

• Plagiarism;

• Duplicate or redundant publication;

• Image manipulation;

• Undisclosed conflicts of interest;

• Unethical research practices;

• Manipulation of the peer-review process;

• Improper authorship or authorship manipulation.

When concerns arise, the journal may investigate the matter and may contact the authors' institution, research organization, funder, or other appropriate authority.

Appropriate action may include rejection, correction, expression of concern, or retraction of a published article.

The journal may follow relevant publication-ethics procedures and guidance when handling allegations of misconduct.

12. Plagiarism and Similarity

All submitted manuscripts may be screened for plagiarism and inappropriate text similarity.

Plagiarism includes presenting another person's words, ideas, data, figures, or work as one's own without appropriate acknowledgment.

The journal may reject manuscripts containing significant plagiarism or unacceptable levels of inappropriate similarity. Where plagiarism is discovered after publication, the journal may take appropriate corrective action, including retraction.

13. Duplicate and Redundant Publication

Manuscripts submitted to IJMSCI must not have been published previously in substantially similar form and must not be under consideration by another journal.

Authors must disclose any related manuscripts, preprints, conference papers, or previous publications that may overlap with the submitted work.

Duplicate or redundant publication may result in rejection or post-publication corrective action.

14. Conflicts of Interest

Authors, editors, reviewers, and Editorial Board members must disclose any financial or non-financial relationships that could influence, or could reasonably be perceived to influence, the work or editorial process.

Potential conflicts may include:

• Employment;

• Consultancy;

• Research funding;

• Grants;

• Personal or professional relationships;

• Patents;

• Financial interests;

• Institutional affiliations.

A conflict of interest does not necessarily prevent publication. However, appropriate disclosure is required to maintain transparency.

15. Funding and Sponsorship

Authors must disclose all sources of financial support for the research.

The role of the funder in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and decision to submit the manuscript should be clearly stated.

If the funder had no role in these activities, this should also be stated where appropriate.

16. Data Availability and Research Transparency

Authors are encouraged to provide appropriate information regarding the availability of data, materials, protocols, and other resources supporting the reported research.

Where appropriate, authors should provide a data availability statement.

Authors should ensure that reported data are accurate, reliable, and available for verification where ethically and legally permissible.

17. Use of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence tools may be used to assist with language improvement, grammar correction, translation, or other appropriate editorial tasks.

AI tools must not be listed as authors.

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and final content of their manuscripts.

Authors should disclose the use of generative AI tools when such tools have made a substantive contribution to the manuscript or its content.

Reviewers and editors must not upload confidential or unpublished manuscripts into external AI systems that may compromise confidentiality.

The use of AI does not remove the responsibility of authors, reviewers, or editors for their work. The journal follows current medical publishing guidance on responsible AI use.

18. Corrections and Post-Publication Changes

If an error is identified after publication, the journal may publish:

• A correction;

• An erratum;

• A corrigendum;

• An expression of concern;

• A retraction, where appropriate.

Corrections will be handled transparently and linked to the original article whenever possible.

The journal may make post-publication changes when necessary to protect the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record.

19. Retraction Policy

An article may be retracted if:

• The findings are unreliable due to major errors;

• Serious research misconduct is confirmed;

• Significant plagiarism or duplicate publication is identified;

• The research was conducted in violation of ethical requirements;

• There are other serious concerns affecting the integrity of the published work.

Retractions are intended to correct the scholarly record and are not intended as a punishment.

20. Appeals and Complaints

Authors may appeal an editorial decision if they believe that a significant error, misunderstanding, or procedural problem affected the decision.

Appeals must provide clear and specific reasons and should address the editorial or peer-review concerns.

Complaints regarding the journal, editorial process, editors, reviewers, or publication procedures will be considered seriously and handled fairly.

The journal will seek to resolve complaints in a transparent and appropriate manner.

21. Confidentiality

All submitted manuscripts are treated as confidential during the editorial and peer-review process.

Editors, reviewers, and editorial staff must not disclose information about submitted manuscripts to unauthorized individuals.

Reviewers must not use unpublished information obtained through peer review for personal or professional advantage.

22. Editorial Board Responsibilities

Editorial Board members are expected to:

• Support the scientific quality of the journal;

• Maintain confidentiality;

• Declare conflicts of interest;

• Participate in peer review when appropriate;

• Promote ethical publishing practices;

• Avoid discrimination and bias;

• Support the integrity and reputation of the journal.

Editorial Board members must not use their position to improperly influence editorial decisions.

23. Reviewer Responsibilities

Reviewers should provide objective, constructive, and timely evaluations.

Reviewers should:

• Assess manuscripts fairly;

• Identify major methodological concerns;

• Point out relevant literature where appropriate;

• Maintain confidentiality;

• Disclose conflicts of interest;

• Avoid personal criticism of authors;

• Not use unpublished information for personal benefit.

Reviewers should decline an invitation if they lack the appropriate expertise or cannot complete the review within the required timeframe.

24. Editorial Independence and Commercial Activities

Commercial activities, advertisements, sponsorships, or publication-related revenue must not influence editorial decisions.

Editorial decisions are based on academic and scientific considerations.

The journal maintains a separation between editorial decision-making and commercial interests.

25. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

IJMSCI is committed to fair and respectful treatment of authors, reviewers, editors, and readers.

Editorial decisions are based on scholarly merit and are not influenced by nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, disability, institutional affiliation, or other irrelevant personal characteristics.

The journal aims to promote an inclusive and respectful scholarly environment.

26. Post-Publication Discussion

The journal welcomes appropriate scholarly discussion regarding published work.

Readers may communicate comments, questions, or concerns regarding published articles through the journal's established communication channels.

Substantive concerns about published research will be reviewed by the editorial team and may lead to appropriate post-publication action.

27. Policy Review

This Editorial Policy may be updated periodically to reflect developments in medical research, scholarly publishing, publication ethics, and international best practices.

The Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board are responsible for reviewing and updating the policy when necessary.

International Journal of Medical Science and Clinical Invention (IJMSCI)