Editorial Policy

Editorial Policy

  • The paper submitted to JSHMDC should not have been published in any other journal or be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except publication in the form of an abstract in the proceedings of a conference).
  • Authorship criteria will be according to the ICMJE guidelines.
  • A submitted article will be processed through double-blind peer review by subject experts.
  • Articles with the highest ethical standards will be considered for publication.
  • JSHMDC will accept manuscripts prepared in accordance with ICMJE guidelines.
  • Publication misconduct will be dealt with according to COPE guidelines.
  • The journal also encourages the submission of papers with negative results.
  • The author can publish only one article in an issue.
  • The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors have approved publication.
  • Any change in authorship (such as the addition or deletion of an author, or a change in the sequence of the author list) after submitting an article will be dealt with according to the guidelines mentioned in Changes to Authorship.
  • Authors must disclose any conflict of interest by signing the Conflict-of-Interest Declaration form at the time of manuscript submission.
  • Reviewers must disclose any conflict of interest to the editor before accepting a review assignment
  • Complete archives will be maintained on the JSHMDC website in the archive section.
  • Submission of the article does not guarantee its publication.
  • Self-institutional authorship will not exceed one-fifth (1/5) of the total articles in an issue.
  • Reviewers must be independent of the journal's editorial staff and not affiliated with the journal's publishing institution, Shalamar Medical & Dental College, Lahore, Pakistan

    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:

    1. Contributions by Editorial Board Members must not exceed 10% of the total articles in any issue.
    2. An Editorial Board Member may publish only one article every two years in the journal.
    3. All such manuscripts must undergo independent peer review by qualified international experts who are not affiliated with the journal or the author's institution.
    4. The concerned Editorial Board Member must have no involvement in the peer-review or editorial decision-making process for their manuscript.
    5. Non-compliance with these requirements may result in the manuscript being declined.

    https://www.hec.gov.pk/english/services/faculty/journals/Pages/FAQs.aspx

    https://www.hec.gov.pk/english/services/faculty/journals/Documents/HEC%20Journals%20and%20Publication%20Policy%202024%20v2.0-As%20amended%20wef%2005-11-2025.pdf