Authorship and Contributors policy
An "author" is generally considered to be someone who has made substantive intellectual contributions to a study.
All those designated as authors should meet all four criteria for authorship, as recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). All who meet the four criteria should be identified as authors
Authorship credit should be based on:
- 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, ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. This includes cooperating with any request from the editorial office for underlying data, as described in the journal's Data Sharing Policy.
Authorship of large multi-author group:
When submitting a manuscript by a large multi-author group, the corresponding author should specify the group name if one exists, and clearly identify the group members who can take credit and responsibility for the work as authors.
The corresponding author must provide a final list of authors with their current affiliations, designation, contact numbers, and e-mail addresses on the authorship form available on the website at the time of submission, ensuring the correct names and sequence of author names.
Non-Author Contributors: Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet all four of the above criteria should be listed in the acknowledgments section rather than as authors. These individuals provided only funding, general supervision, guidance, technical support, or data collection without substantive intellectual contribution. Any editorial or writing assistance must be disclosed in the manuscript.
Contributorship Statement:
Authors are encouraged to provide a brief statement describing each author's specific contribution to the work according to ICMJE authorship criteria. (e.g., A.K.: Substantial contributions to the conception of the work, data analysis, drafting the work, approval of the final version, and being accountable for all aspects of the work)
Disclosure of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Assisted Technology Use:
1. At submission, the JSHMDC requires authors to disclose, as per ICMJE guidelines whether they used artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technologies (such as Large Language Models [LLMs], chatbots, or image creators) in the production of submitted work.
2. Authors who use such technology should describe, in both the cover letter and the submitted work in the appropriate section, if applicable, how they used it. For example, if AI was used for writing assistance, describe this in the acknowledgment section.
3. If AI was used for data collection, analysis, or figure generation, authors should describe this use in the methods.
4. Chatbots (such as ChatGPT) should not be listed as authors because they cannot be responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the work, and these responsibilities are required for authorship.
5. Therefore, humans are responsible for any submitted material that includes the use of AI-assisted technologies. Authors should carefully review and edit the results because AI can generate authoritative-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete, or biased.
6. Authors should not list AI and AI-assisted technologies as an author or co-author, nor cite AI as an author.
7. Authors should be able to state that there is no plagiarism in their paper, including in-text and images produced by the AI. Humans must ensure there is appropriate attribution of all quoted material, including full citations.
Prohibited Practices: Ghost authorship (the omission of an individual who has made a substantive contribution meeting the above criteria) and guest or gift authorship (the inclusion of an individual who does not meet all four criteria, whether based on seniority, institutional position, or personal relationship) are not permitted.
Changes to Authorship: Resolve any authorship disputes among the authors before submission. A request to add, remove, or rearrange the order of authors after submission of the manuscript must be submitted in writing to the editorial office and must be signed by all listed authors, including any author being added or removed. The request must include a written explanation for the change. The Editorial Board will review such requests in accordance with COPE guidance, and approval is not guaranteed. Requests for authorship changes after acceptance or publication will be handled in accordance with the COPE guidance.
Publication by Editorial Board Members (As per HEC Guidelines)
No. Editorial Board Members are generally not permitted to publish in the journal to which they are affiliated.
Limited exceptions may apply to journals publishing exclusively in regional languages of Pakistan and to National Strategic Journals, subject to the following conditions:
- Contributions by Editorial Board Members must not exceed 10% of the total articles in any issue.
- An Editorial Board Member may publish only one article every two years in the journal.
- All such manuscripts must undergo independent peer review by qualified international experts who are not affiliated with the journal or the author's institution.
- The concerned Editorial Board Member must have no involvement in the peer-review or editorial decision-making process for their manuscript.
- Non-compliance with these requirements may result in the manuscript being declined.
https://www.hec.gov.pk/english/services/faculty/journals/Pages/FAQs.aspx
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