Appeals & Complaints Policy

• Authors whose articles have been rejected by JSHMDC have the right to send a letter of appeal to the editor-in-chief giving detailed explanations. The Editor-in-Chief or Section Editor will consider authors’ argument, the reviewer reports and decides whether, the decision to reject should stand. The complainant is informed of the decision with an explanation if appropriate.
• Complaints about failure of processes such as long delays in handling papers in first instance will be handled by the Editor-in-Chief(s) responsible for the journal and/or the Section Editor who handled the paper. Please approach the publishing contact given on the journal page, if complaint is related to delayed process of publishing.
• Any Complaint about publication ethics (e.g., researcher's author's, or reviewer's conduct) will be addressed by the Editor-in-Chief or Editor handling the manuscript following the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines. The Editor-in-Chief or Handling Editor decides on a course of action and provides feedback to the complainant.

COMPLAINT PROCESS:

The authors, reviewers, or any other person may submit a formal complaint through the journal's official email (jsmdc@sihs.org.pk) regarding any publication misconduct on the part of the author, reviewer or Editor to the Chief Editor. The case will be referred for investigation to the Editorial Board of the journal to give recommendations to the Chief Editor for decision in the light of COPE Guidelines. If the complainant remains dissatisfied with the handling of their complaint, he or she can submit the complaint to the COPE.