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Peer Review & Ethics Policy – Zamzam Medical Journal

Peer Review Process

Zamzam Medical Journal (ZMJ) uses a double-blind peer review process. Both authors and reviewers remain anonymous to each other throughout the review.

Review Steps

  1. Initial Editorial Assessment: The Editor-in-Chief or an Associate Editor checks the manuscript for scope, ethical compliance, and minimum quality standards (typically within 1–2 weeks).
  2. Assignment to Reviewers: Manuscripts passing initial assessment are assigned to at least two independent expert reviewers.
  3. Review Period: Reviewers are asked to provide their evaluation within 3–4 weeks.
  4. Editorial Decision: Based on reviewer reports, the Editor-in-Chief issues one of the following decisions: Accept; Minor Revision; Major Revision; Reject.
  5. Revision: Authors are given a defined deadline to submit a point-by-point response and revised manuscript.
  6. Final Decision: The revised manuscript is re-evaluated, and a final decision issued.

Publication Ethics

ZMJ adheres to the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and expects all parties — authors, editors, and reviewers — to uphold the highest ethical standards.

Authors’ Responsibilities

  • Originality: Submitted manuscripts must be original and must not be under consideration elsewhere simultaneously.
  • Plagiarism: All text must be the authors’ own. Excessive similarity to published work without proper citation constitutes plagiarism and will result in immediate rejection.
  • Authorship: All listed authors must have made a substantial contribution to conception, design, data collection, analysis, or interpretation, and must have approved the final manuscript. Gift or ghost authorship is not permitted.
  • Data integrity: Raw data must be available for review if requested. Fabrication or falsification of data is grounds for rejection and will be reported to institutions.
  • Conflict of Interest: All potential conflicts of interest (financial, personal, or professional) must be disclosed in the cover letter and manuscript.
  • Informed Consent and Ethics Approval: Human studies require documented IRB/ethics approval and participant informed consent. Case reports require written patient consent.
  • Clinical Trial Registration: Prospective clinical trials must be registered prior to patient enrolment.

Reviewers’ Responsibilities

  • Reviewers must maintain confidentiality of manuscripts and not use unpublished data for their own purposes.
  • Reviewers must declare any conflict of interest and recuse themselves if one exists.
  • Reviews must be objective, constructive, and completed within the agreed timeframe.

Editors’ Responsibilities

  • Editors evaluate manuscripts solely on academic merit, without regard to authors’ nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, or institutional affiliation.
  • Editors must not disclose information about submitted manuscripts to anyone other than the authors and reviewers.

Corrections and Retractions

  • Erratum: A correction to an error introduced by the publisher is issued as an erratum notice in the subsequent issue.
  • Corrigendum: A correction to an author error is issued as a corrigendum in the subsequent issue.
  • Retraction: Articles may be retracted if serious ethical violations are confirmed (fabrication, plagiarism, duplicate publication). A retraction notice is published, and the original article is marked as retracted.

Contact for Ethics Concerns

Concerns regarding publication ethics should be addressed to the Editorial Office: zmj@zamzam.edu.sd