PUBLICATION MISCONDUCT POLICY

The Al-Najam Journal of Medical and Life Sciences (ANJMLS) is committed to maintaining the integrity, reliability, transparency, and ethical quality of the scientific record.

Scope & Editorial Oversight

ANJMLS follows internationally recognized principles of responsible research and publication and considers allegations of research or publication misconduct seriously. All submitted manuscripts undergo editorial assessment before and, where necessary, during peer review. Concerns may relate to research conduct, data integrity, ethical approval, informed consent, authorship, plagiarism, duplicate publication, image manipulation, citation practices, conflicts of interest, or other aspects of publication ethics.

When a concern is identified, the handling editor may consult the Editor-in-Chief, relevant members of the Editorial Board, subject experts, or an appropriate ethics adviser. Authors may be contacted and provided with an opportunity to respond and supply supporting documentation. Where concerns cannot be satisfactorily resolved, ANJMLS may reject the manuscript, suspend the editorial process, or initiate further investigation in accordance with applicable publication-ethics procedures.

Reviewer Responsibilities

Reviewers play an important role in protecting the integrity of the peer-review process. Reviewers should promptly notify the handling editor if they identify credible concerns involving possible fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, duplicate publication, inappropriate image manipulation, unethical research conduct, inadequate ethical approval, absence of required informed consent, or other serious concerns.

Confidentiality: Reviewers should not independently investigate allegations by contacting authors, institutions, patients, or other parties. Concerns should be communicated confidentially to the handling editor, who will determine the appropriate editorial response.

Fabrication, Falsification, Image Manipulation & Retraction

Research misconduct may include fabrication of data or results, falsification or inappropriate alteration of research records, deliberate manipulation of images, plagiarism, or other practices that materially misrepresent research findings.

Where substantial integrity concerns arise, ANJMLS may request original datasets, laboratory records, source images, ethical approvals, consent documentation, or other evidence relevant to the investigation. Authors are expected to cooperate with reasonable editorial requests.

Retraction: Where serious misconduct is established after publication, ANJMLS may retract the article or publish another appropriate post-publication notice. Retractions will be clearly identified in the article record, including the online version and PDF where technically applicable. The original scholarly record will remain traceable, with the retraction notice permanently linked to the affected article.

Citation Manipulation

Citation practices must be based on genuine scholarly relevance. Authors, reviewers, and editors must not manipulate citations for the purpose of artificially increasing citation counts, journal metrics, author visibility, or perceived academic impact.

  • • Excessive or unjustified self-citation may be questioned where it appears intended to inflate citation counts.
  • • Reviewers must not require authors to cite the reviewer's own publications unless genuinely necessary for the scientific argument.
  • • Editors and journals must not require unnecessary citation of articles published by the journal as a condition of acceptance.
  • • Suspected citation manipulation may be investigated and may result in corrective editorial action.

Authorship & Attribution

Authorship must accurately reflect substantial intellectual or scholarly contributions to the work. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all listed authors have approved the manuscript, author order, affiliations, contribution statements, and final version submitted for publication.

Honorary, guest, gift, ghost, or coercive authorship is not acceptable. Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet the journal's authorship requirements should be recognized appropriately in the Acknowledgments section. Authorship disputes should be resolved by the authors and, where necessary, their institutions; ANJMLS may request documentary evidence or institutional clarification when an authorship dispute affects the publication process.

Redundant, Duplicate & Fragmented Publication

ANJMLS does not accept manuscripts that substantially duplicate previously published work or that are simultaneously submitted to multiple journals. Authors must disclose manuscripts, preprints, conference publications, reports, datasets, or other outputs that substantially overlap with the submitted work.

Multiple publications arising from a large or complex research program may occasionally be scientifically justified when each manuscript addresses a distinct research question and provides substantial independent scholarly value. In such circumstances, authors must transparently disclose related publications and explain the relationship between the manuscripts. Unjustified fragmentation of results intended primarily to increase publication counts is not acceptable.

Data Sharing & Research Transparency

ANJMLS encourages transparency, reproducibility, and responsible sharing of research data. Authors should make supporting data, analytical methods, protocols, code, or other materials available where ethically, legally, and practically possible.

Where appropriate, authors are encouraged to deposit research data in a recognized disciplinary or general-purpose repository. Examples may include Dryad, Figshare, institutional repositories, or appropriate specialist databases. Authors should provide a persistent identifier or repository reference where available.

Data Availability Statement: Every research article should include an appropriate Data Availability Statement where relevant. If data cannot be publicly shared because of patient confidentiality, ethical restrictions, legal requirements, institutional policies, or proprietary limitations, authors should explain the restriction and indicate how qualified researchers may request access where permitted.

Penalties & Editorial Actions

Where misconduct or serious publication-ethics violations are established, ANJMLS may take proportionate action based on the nature and severity of the concern and its effect on the integrity of the scientific record.

Before Publication Manuscript return, correction request, suspension of processing, or rejection.
After Publication Correction, expression of concern, or retraction where justified.
External Notification Notification of relevant institutions, funders, or authorities where appropriate.

Complaints & Appeals

ANJMLS provides a mechanism for authors, reviewers, readers, and other stakeholders to raise legitimate concerns regarding editorial decisions, peer-review conduct, publication processes, or ethical matters. Complaints should be submitted with sufficient factual information and supporting evidence to allow an objective assessment.

Appeals against editorial decisions should provide a clear scientific or procedural basis for reconsideration. Where appropriate, an editor who was not directly responsible for the original decision may assess the appeal. The journal will seek to ensure that complaints and appeals are handled fairly, confidentially, and without retaliation.

Contact: Complaints and publication-ethics concerns may be submitted through the official ANJMLS Editorial Office contact channel listed on the journal website.

Commitment to Research Integrity

ANJMLS is committed to protecting the reliability of the scholarly record and promoting responsible research practices. All concerns regarding research or publication misconduct are assessed according to the available evidence, with appropriate consideration given to confidentiality, procedural fairness, the rights of authors and other involved parties, and the interests of patients, research participants, readers, and the wider scientific community.