Editorial policies

The editorial office of the BSMMU Journal adheres to a structure similar to that of many other academic journals. Comprising a team of experienced professionals, the editorial office is committed to providing a unified service for both authors and reviewers. Its primary responsibilities encompass the following:

1. Facilitating the peer review process to ensure a smooth progression of manuscripts through the review phase. This involves furnishing reviewers with comprehensive information to ensure authors receive constructive feedback that enhances the quality of their submissions.

2. Compiling journal issues and ensuring their timely delivery while maintaining the highest standards of presentation.

3. Engaging in tasks such as editing, proofreading, and reformatting manuscripts to guarantee a superior quality of content that adheres to the journal's established style.

4. Assisting with submissions and addressing queries and issues that may arise during the publication process.

The editorial office keeps abreast of online trends and frequently conducts data analysis of citation levels, usage patterns, and author submission behavior. This analysis aids in identifying content that can enhance readership, while also balancing commercial goals with editorial integrity, direction, and policies.

In terms of publishing and ethical standards, the BSMMU Journal adheres to the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals issued by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Additionally, the journal follows the Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors issued by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). These guidelines serve as a benchmark to ensure ethical and professional conduct throughout the publication process.

Publication ethics policies

As an internationally active open access journal, our paramount objective is to foster best practices within the academic community and uphold integrity in all aspects of our publishing endeavors. We diligently adhere to the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals issued by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), as well as the Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors issued by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Our publishing activities are guided by a set of core ethical principles, which are as follows:

1. Authorship and Contributorship: All authors and co-authors must meet specific criteria for authorship, ensuring that appropriate credit is attributed to each contributor in their manuscript. Authors are encouraged to explicitly state their individual contributions to the work.

2. Originality: Authors must guarantee that the submitted manuscript represents their own original work. It should not have been previously published elsewhere, nor should it be under consideration for publication elsewhere. When incorporating the work and ideas of others, proper citation and quotation must be employed.

3. Data Access and Citation: Authors may be asked to provide the raw data related to their paper for editorial review, and they should be willing to make such data publicly accessible. Data must be cited in the same manner as other scholarly references, and authors are required to include data citations in their reference list.

4. Acknowledgment of Sources: Proper acknowledgment should be given to any work contributed by others in the manuscript.

5. Declaration and Conflicts of Interest: All submissions must include a disclosure of any relationships or affiliations that could potentially be viewed as presenting a conflict of interest.

6. Reporting Standards: Authors of original research papers must present an accurate account of their work and provide an objective discussion of its significance.

7. Human and Animal Rights: Research involving experiments on human subjects must include a statement of compliance, demonstrating that ethical standards were followed as per the guidelines of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national). For research involving animal experiments, authors should indicate whether they followed institutional and/or national guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals.

8. Research Ethics: The research we publish must have received approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB), and when applicable, informed consent must have been obtained. Clinical trials must be registered in clinical trial registries, adhering to both local and international standards.

9. Authors' Ethical Statement: Authors are responsible for all aspects of their work, including data access, data integrity, and the accuracy of data analysis. Any concerns regarding the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work must be appropriately investigated and resolved by the authors.

By adhering to these ethical principles, we strive to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity and contribute to the advancement of knowledge within the scholarly community.

Research ethics policies

BJMR maintain the prerogative to reject any manuscript that exhibits unethical conduct in either human or animal studies.

Human Research: Regarding research involving human experiments, the manuscript must incorporate a statement confirming the acquisition of ethical approval (or an explanation of why ethical approval was not necessary), which should include details of the ethics committee(s) or institutional review board(s), the corresponding approval number(s) or ID(s), and an assertion that participants provided informed consent prior to their involvement (or an explanation of why consent was not required). Authors should also declare that the study adhered to the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki (revised in Edinburgh 2000). The Declaration of Helsinki can be accessed at the following link: https://www.wma.net/what-we-do/medical-ethics/declaration-of-helsinki/doh-oct2000.

In line with the recommendations of the World Health Organization and the Declaration of Helsinki, clinical trials should be registered prospectively before participant enrollment. Authors are obligated to include the registration numbers of clinical trials in all papers reporting on such trials.

If illustrations contain identifiable images of individuals, whether living or deceased, utmost caution must be exercised to ensure that appropriate consent for publication has been obtained. Efforts should be made to preserve patient anonymity. Photographs must be suitably cropped to prevent the recognition of human subjects, and at a minimum, the eyes and eyebrows should be masked using coarse pixilation to render the individual unidentifiable.

Animal Research: For experiments involving animals, the authors must specify the nature of the ethical review permissions obtained, relevant licenses (e.g., Animal [Scientific Procedures] Act 1986), and the national or institutional guidelines governing the care and use of animals during the research.

In certain cases, the Editorial Office retains the right to request supplementary information regarding experiments featured in a manuscript.

Informed consent policy

Patients possess a fundamental right to privacy, which must not be violated unless they provide informed consent. Therefore, identifying information such as names, initials, or hospital numbers should not be disclosed in written descriptions, photographs, or pedigrees, unless such information is indispensable for scientific purposes and the patient (or their parent or guardian) has granted explicit, written informed consent for publication. In obtaining informed consent, it is essential that the identifiable patient is shown the manuscript intended for publication. Authors have an obligation to inform these patients if any potential identifiable material might be accessible through the Internet or in print after publication. Written consent from patients should be appropriately documented and kept on file with the journal, the authors, or both, in accordance with relevant local regulations or laws. Given that applicable laws may vary based on jurisdiction, journals should establish their own policies with guidance from legal experts. Some journals, recognizing that archiving the consent would reveal patient identity, may prefer to have authors maintain the consent documents and provide the journal with a written statement affirming that they have obtained and archived the necessary patient consent.

To safeguard patient privacy, nonessential identifying details should be omitted. In instances where doubt exists about the maintenance of anonymity, informed consent should be obtained. For instance, merely masking the eye region in patient photographs is insufficient to ensure anonymity protection. If identifying characteristics have been de-identified, authors should provide assurance, and editors should duly note, that these modifications do not compromise the scientific meaning of the work.

The requirement for informed consent should be explicitly stated in the journal's instructions for authors. Furthermore, once informed consent has been secured, it should be clearly indicated in the published article.

Conflict of interest

BJMR adheres to the uniform requirements on Conflicts of Interest set forth by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

1. Participants

Conflicts of interest arise when an author (or their affiliated institution), reviewer, editor, or editorial board member has financial or personal associations with other individuals or organizations that may potentially influence their actions in a manner that could introduce bias. It is essential to recognize that the mere existence of such relationships does not necessarily indicate an actual conflict of interest. The potential for conflicts of interest can persist regardless of an individual's belief in whether the relationship impacts their judgment. Financial relationships, such as employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, payment for expert testimony, and patents, are the most easily identifiable conflicts of interest and are likely to undermine the credibility of the journal, the authors, and the scientific value of the research (source: http://www.icmje.org/index.html ).

2. Reporting

Conflicts of InterestEach manuscript submitted to the journal should include a section titled "Conflicts of interest," where a statement regarding any conflicts of interest must be provided. The statement should contain the initials of the author(s) along with details of the conflicts of interest. The following examples illustrate the format in which the Conflicts of Interest statement should be presented in the manuscript:

"Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare."
"Conflicts of Interest: mention properly if there is any."

Data sharing policy

In cases where deemed necessary, we strongly encourage authors to engage in data sharing to support the publication of their studies and establish connections between the data and their published articles. The term "Research data" encompasses the outcomes of observations or experiments that validate research findings, encompassing, but not limited to, raw data, processed data, software, algorithms, protocols, models, methods, and other relevant materials.

To adhere to this policy, authors who have made their study data accessible in a data repository may directly link their articles to the respective dataset.

As a specific requirement, authors must include data sharing statement in their manuscript. For example:

Data availability statement: The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are share upon request/ available within the article as supplementary materials/ openly available in [repository name] at [URL/ DOI].