Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing

International Journal of Surgery and Medicine (IJSM) is dedicated to publishing high quality work and giving exceptional services while adhering to highest ethical principles of scholarly publishing.  IJSM follows the "Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing" given jointly by The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).

Principles of Transparency and Best Practice followed by IJSM:

Website: International Journal of Surgery and Medicine has a modern, easy to navigate website. An 'Aims & Scope' statement is separately included. Criteria for publication followed by the journal is given. ISSN is clearly displayed in the left upper corner.

- All papers are checked for completeness before being submitted to the Crossref Similarity Check (powered by iThenticate) plagiarism detection system;

- Papers are peer reviewed, with a minimum of two sets of peer reviewers' comments;

- The  Editor-in-Chief reviews the peer reviewers' comments along with the submitted manuscript;

- For the manuscripts that need to be revised and resubmitted, the Editor-in-Chief will review the revisions and the authors' point-by-point response to the referees' comments;

- The paper is typeset and proofread by professional native English speaking proofreaders who identify any typographical errors and highlight any inconsistencies;

- All our authors receive typeset proofs and the paper is published only after each author has signed their approval.

Name of journal: IJSM has an unique name.  Prior to launching the Journal thorough checks are made to ensure no journal of a similar name already exists.

Peer review process: All manuscripts submitted to IJSM undergo single blind peer review. Peer review process and policies are clearly described on the journal's website.

Ownership and management: The “About publisher” webpage outlines the ownership of the International Journal of Surgery and Medicine.

Governing body: The full names and affiliations of members of the Editorial Board are displayed on the Editorial bBoard tab of the IJSM.

Editorial team/contact information: The full names and affiliations of the journal’s editors are displayed on the Editorial Board tab of the IJSM, and the contact information for the editorial office is on the Contact page.

Copyright and Licensing: The policy for copyright is stated in the “Author’s Rights and Obligations” tab. The name of the copyright holder is given in all published articles. Licensing information is also clearly described on the website. The licensing terms are indicated in the bottom of all website pages.

Author fees: All processing charges required for manuscript processing in the journal are clearly stated in such a way that it is easy for potential authors to find this information prior to submitting their manuscripts for review. Author fees can be clearly found on the Journal, we call them "Publishing Fees". They are also shown in the Author Guidelines.

Process for identification of and dealing with allegations of research misconduct: International Journal of Surgery and Medicine is vigilant to identify and prevent the publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred, including plagiarism, citation manipulation, and data falsification / fabrication, among others. The journal has a clearly stated policy for research misconduct and its investigation. The publisher and editor follow COPE guidelines in dealing with allegations of research misconduct.

Publication Ethics: Journals have clear policies on publication ethics which are described in details on the journal website.

Publishing schedule: The periodicity of publication of the journal is clearly indicated on 'About Journal' page.

Access: The way(s) in which the journal and individual articles are available to readers is stated on the journal website.

Archiving: A journal’s plan for electronic backup and preservation of access to the journal content is clearly indicated in Ethics and Policies.

Revenue sources: Business models and revenue sources are clearly stated on the journal’s website. The ability to pay the processing charges or waiver status does not influence editorial decision making.

Advertising: Journals advertising policy is sated on the journal website.

Direct marketing: The direct marketing activities, if undertaken by the journal are appropriate, well targeted, and unobtrusive.