Editorial Policies

About the Journal/Overview[Back to Top]

The Journal of Islamabad Medical & Dental College (JIMDC) is an official journal of Islamabad Medical & Dental College, Islamabad. JIMDC started its biannual publication in 2012 and was upgraded to quarterly publishing in 2015.
ISSN (Print):2227-3875
ISSN (Online):2707-0484
Editorial Board of JIMDC consist of well reputed national and international researchers who are actively contributing in the journal by promoting it at different forums both nationally and internationally.
Recognized by:

  • Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) (IP 0070)
  • Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan – “Y” category

Indexed in:

  • Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE), Germany
  • Netmedics (Cambridge International Academics UK)
  • Pakmedinet
  • CrossRef (doi)
  • Asian Digital Library
  • Index Copernicus International
  • Index for the Eastern Mediterranean Region (IMEMR)

Frequency:
JIMDC is published quarterly and is also available on JIMDC Website.

Journal of Islamabad Medical and Dental College (JIMDC) publishes research papers, in the form of original articles, case reports, review articles, viewpoint, systematic analysis and meta-analysis on important topics related to Medical/ Health Sciences, dentistry and allied health sciences.

The journal aims to promote research culture in medical community. It strives to stimulate debate and disseminate latest and innovative advancements in the field of medical/health Sciences and healthcare practices. It invites and encourages scholars to write short reviews and invited editorials on emerging issues. We particularly aim to promote health standards of developing countries by providing a platform for publishing good quality research.

Study types include randomized controlled trials, qualitative studies, case-control studies, cohort studies, diagnostic test studies, economic evaluations, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, secondary analyses of databases, study pre-protocols, protocols, pilot studies, cross-sectional studies and surveys.

 JIMDC considers research papers addressing research questions in clinical medicine, public health, epidemiology, dentistry and allied health sciences. We also welcome studies in health services research, health economics, surgery, qualitative research, research methods, medical education, medical publishing and any other field that directly addresses patient outcomes or the practice and delivery of healthcare.

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  • 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

  • Acknowledgement of Contributions

Contributions from personnel who helped in research and do not meet authorship criteria should be mentioned in acknowledgments. These may include the individuals who assisted in:

  • general administrative support
  • designing the study
  • reviewing the manuscript like technical/ language editing and proof reading.
  • statistical analysis
  • acquisition of funding
  • laboratory procedures

These may be individuals, departments, institutions, pharmaceutical companies and laboratories.

  • Changes in list of Authors

Once submitted JIMDC will not entertain any changes in the names of the authors (deletions or additions).

  • Corresponding Authors

Corresponding author has the primary responsibility of communication with the journal. They must be available throughout the submission and processing and should respond timely to the editorial queries. The corresponding author will also provide the journal all the relevant data (data sheets/SPSS data etc.) in support of their results and additional information anytime during the processing of the manuscript or even after publication.

  • Deceased Authors

A death dagger should be included next to the deceased author’s name along with date of death in the foot note.

JIMDC uses “double blind” reviews in which reviewers and authors are unknown to each other during the whole process. The papers selected by staff editors will be sent to two reviewers. The reviewers are requested to review and respond within two weeks of receiving the manuscript. In case of noncompliance, they are replaced by other suitable reviewer/s to avoid delay in the processing. In case of contradictory reviews by the reviewers, further expert opinion is sought.

JIMDC follows the ICMJE guidelines for authorship that can be retrieved from this link:  http://www.icmje.org/.
For plagiarism the journal follows the guidelines of HEC that can be seen at this link:
http://www.hec.gov.pk/english/services/faculty/Documents/Plagiarism/Plagiarism%20Policy.pdf

  • All submitted manuscripts are screened for similarity index (SI) on Turnitin software. SI should be less than 19% and 5% from a single source as outlined by HEC.  The corresponding author of the manuscripts with SI equal to or more than 19% will be informed regarding the plagiarized material and is required to give an explanation within 15 days. The manuscript processing will not resume until the matter is resolved. In case of an acceptable explanation by the corresponding author, the review process is resumed after necessary changes are made in the manuscript. If the author does not respond within 15 days or the explanation is unsatisfactory, a decision will be taken in editorial board meeting. Depending on the case the manuscript is either accepted after necessary changes or rejected and authors debarred from further publishing in JIMDC.
  • Self-plagiarism

JIMDC will not tolerate self-plagiarism i.e. recycling/reusing one’s own specific words from previously published work. It is not true theft; however, it can create problems in research publishing world.
It also refers to duplicate publication; publication of identical papers at two places. The best practice is to cite your previous work even if one is revisiting an old idea or observation.

  • Articles extracted from thesis/project

Articles extracted from MPhil or PhD thesis/projects must declare the following:

  • Title of thesis
  • Name of supervisor
  • Name of department and university
  • Year of submission
  • Detailed plagiarism report with SI of thesis/ dissertation

All articles published by JIMDC are freely available for worldwide readership immediately upon publication under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0). This means that: Everyone has free and unlimited access to the full content of all articles published in JIMDC 

The Journal does not charge any fees for any reader to download articles for their own scholarly use. 

Benefits of open access for authors, include:

  • Free access for all users worldwide
  • Increased visibility and readership
  • Rapid publication
  • No spatial constraint

Submission of IRB form with manuscript is mandatory. Strict adherence to ethical standards should be observed while dealing with subjects.

  • Animal studies

 Manuscripts of animal studies should clearly indicate that National Research Council guidelines on care & use of laboratory animals were followed. The guidelines on animal research ethics is available from;
http://veteditors.org/ethicsconsensusguideline.html

  • Human studies

Studies on human subjects must indicate explicitly that the procedures followed were in line with the revised “Helsinki Declaration” of 1983. Detailed guidelines are available from the following link:
https://www.wma.net/what-we-do/medical-ethics/declaration-of-helsinki/doh-oct1983/

  • Patient Consent Informed and Written

Authors should refer to Helsinki Declaration and ICMJE guidelines for Patient’s rights.

  • Any identifying information (names, initials, hospital medical record numbers) should not be given in the manuscripts text, photographs or pedigrees.
  • If the information is essential for scientific purposes, written informed consent from the patient (parent or guardian) must be obtained.
  • In case of doubt that anonymity can be maintained, informed consent must be obtained. In such case, authors should disclose to the patient that potential identification information might be available online or in print after publication.
  •  Editor can ask for any such patient consent during processing.
  • Therefore, manuscripts must include a statement that informed consent has been obtained from the patient regarding participation in the study as well as inclusion of potentially identifiable information in publication.
  • Copyright Policy

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.

Three copies of the JIMDC will be sent to the corresponding author.

  • 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. Authors should not submit the revised manuscript at this moment.

JIMDC intends to follows guidelines of Committee on Publication Ethics (SCOPE), World Association of Medical Editors (WAME). JIMDC discourages falsification of data, plagiarism, misappropriation of ideas of others, improprieties of authorship and violation of generally accepted research practices. Strict action will be taken in case of any of the above is proved.