Author Instructions

AUTHORS’ DETAILS AND SUBMISSION POLICIES

Ghurki Journal of Medical and Health Sciences (GJMHS)

 

  1. INTRODUCTION

The Ghurki Journal of Medical and Health Sciences (GJMHS) places authorship transparency, ethical accountability, and procedural clarity at the core of its scholarly publishing framework. Recognizing that authors are the primary contributors to scientific advancement, GJMHS has established robust policies governing author responsibilities, financial disclosures, submission processes, and publication workflows.

These policies are designed to:

  • Protect the integrity of the scientific record
  • Ensure fairness and accountability in authorship
  • Promote transparency in funding and contributions
  • Provide authors with clear, predictable, and efficient submission and publication pathways

All policies outlined in this section adhere to internationally accepted guidelines issued by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and related global standards.

 

  1. AUTHORS’ DETAILS

2.1 Author Identification and Accountability

GJMHS requires accurate, complete, and verifiable author information for every submission. This ensures accountability, transparency, and proper attribution of scholarly work.

Each author must provide:

  • Full legal name (as preferred for publication)
  • Institutional affiliation(s) at the time the research was conducted
  • Department, institution, city, and country
  • Valid email address
  • ORCID iD (strongly encouraged)

Authors are responsible for ensuring that names and affiliations are correct at the time of submission, as post-publication changes are permitted only under exceptional circumstances.

 

  1. AUTHOR AGREEMENT FORM

3.1 Purpose of the Author Agreement

The Author Agreement Form is a mandatory document that formalizes the relationship between the authors and GJMHS. It ensures that all authors understand and accept their ethical, legal, and scholarly responsibilities.

 

3.2 Mandatory Components of the Author Agreement

By signing the Author Agreement Form, authors confirm that:

  • The manuscript is original and has not been published elsewhere
  • The manuscript is not under consideration by another journal
  • All listed authors meet ICMJE authorship criteria
  • All authors approve the final version of the manuscript
  • Ethical approvals and informed consent (where applicable) have been obtained
  • All conflicts of interest and funding sources have been disclosed
  • The manuscript complies with GJMHS policies and ethical standards

 

3.3 Authorship Confirmation

The agreement must be:

  • Signed by all authors
  • Submitted at the time of initial submission or upon editorial request
  • Updated only if permitted changes in authorship are approved by the editorial office

Unsigned or incomplete agreement forms may result in administrative delay or rejection.

 

  1. ARTICLE PROCESSING AND PUBLICATION FEE

4.1 Fee Transparency Policy

GJMHS is committed to transparent, ethical, and equitable publication fees. No fees are charged for:

  • Manuscript submission
  • Peer review
  • Editorial evaluation

Publication fees apply only after manuscript acceptance.

 

4.2 Publication Fee Structure

Upon acceptance, authors are informed of the applicable publication fee, which supports:

  • Editorial processing
  • DOI registration
  • Copyediting and formatting
  • Online hosting and archiving
  • Long-term digital preservation

The exact fee structure is published on the journal website and communicated clearly to authors before payment.

Publication Charges: 10000PKR/50USD

 

4.3 Waiver and Discount Policy

GJMHS recognizes financial constraints and offers:

  • Full or partial fee waivers
  • Case-by-case consideration
  • Priority to early-career researchers and authors from resource-limited settings

Waiver requests must be submitted before or immediately after acceptance, accompanied by a justification.

 

4.4 Ethical Safeguards

  • Ability or inability to pay does not influence editorial decisions
  • Editors and reviewers have no access to fee-related information during peer review
  • Financial transactions are handled independently from editorial decision-making

 

  1. SOURCES OF FUNDING AND SUBMISSION PROCESS

5.1 Funding Disclosure Requirements

All authors must disclose:

  • Sources of financial support
  • Grant numbers (if applicable)
  • Institutional or organizational backing
  • In-kind contributions (equipment, software, facilities)

If no funding was received, authors must declare:

“This research received no external funding.”

 

5.2 Role of Funders

Authors must explicitly state whether funders had any role in:

  • Study design
  • Data collection
  • Analysis or interpretation
  • Manuscript preparation
  • Decision to publish

GJMHS does not permit funders to influence editorial outcomes.

 

  1. CONTRIBUTION AND CONSENTS OF EACH AUTHOR

6.1 Authorship Criteria

GJMHS follows ICMJE authorship criteria, requiring that each author must have:

  1. Made substantial contributions to the study
  2. Drafted or critically revised the manuscript
  3. Approved the final version
  4. Agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work

All four criteria must be met.

 

6.2 Author Contribution Statement

Each submission must include a detailed contribution statement, specifying roles such as:

  • Conceptualization
  • Methodology
  • Data collection
  • Statistical analysis
  • Writing – original draft
  • Writing – review and editing
  • Supervision

This promotes transparency and prevents honorary or ghost authorship.

 

6.3 Author Consent and Responsibility

All authors must:

  • Consent to authorship
  • Approve the final manuscript
  • Accept responsibility for ethical compliance
  • Cooperate with post-publication queries or corrections

The corresponding author acts as the primary liaison but does not assume sole responsibility.

 

  1. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES AND PROCESS

7.1 Overview of Submission System

GJMHS uses an online submission system (OJS) to ensure:

  • Secure handling of manuscripts
  • Transparent tracking of progress
  • Efficient communication between authors and editors

Submissions via email are not accepted.

 

7.2 Pre-Submission Requirements

Before submission, authors must ensure:

  • Manuscript aligns with journal scope
  • Ethical approvals are obtained
  • Informed consent statements are included
  • Formatting guidelines are followed
  • Figures and tables are correctly labeled
  • References are complete and accurate

 

7.3 Steps in the Submission Process

Step 1: Online Submission

  • Upload anonymized manuscript
  • Enter author metadata
  • Upload supplementary files
  • Submit declarations and forms

Step 2: Initial Editorial Screening

  • Scope and quality check
  • Formatting compliance
  • Ethical documentation review
  • Plagiarism screening

Manuscripts failing this stage may be desk-rejected.

 

  1. DEADLINES AND DURATION OF ALL PROCESSES

8.1 Submission Timeline

  • Submission open throughout the year

8.2 Peer Review Timeline

  • Initial screening: 5–7 days
  • Peer review: 3–4 weeks
  • Reviewer extensions granted only when justified

8.3 Revision Timeline

  • Minor revisions: 1–2 weeks
  • Major revisions: 4–6 weeks

8.4 Final Decision

  • Typically within 6–8 weeks from submission

 

  1. STEPS FROM RECEIPT TO PUBLICATION

9.1 Complete Publication Workflow

  1. Manuscript submission
  2. Editorial screening
  3. Ethics and plagiarism checks
  4. Double-blind peer review
  5. Editorial decision
  6. Author revision
  7. Final acceptance
  8. Copyediting and proofreading
  9. DOI assignment
  10. Online publication

 

9.2 Post-Acceptance Responsibilities

Authors must:

  • Review proofs carefully
  • Respond promptly to editorial queries
  • Complete fee processing
  • Approve final publication version

 

  1. POST-PUBLICATION RESPONSIBILITIES

Authors remain responsible for:

  • Responding to reader correspondence
  • Cooperating with corrections or retractions
  • Maintaining transparency regarding errors or updates

 

  1. COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT

Failure to comply with these policies may result in:

  • Manuscript rejection
  • Publication delay
  • Retraction of published articles
  • Notification to institutions in cases of serious misconduct

 

CONCLUSION

Through these Authors’ Details and Submission Policies, the Ghurki Journal of Medical and Health Sciences demonstrates its commitment to:

  • Ethical authorship
  • Transparent funding disclosure
  • Rigorous peer review
  • Clear and efficient publication workflows

These policies ensure that GJMHS remains a credible, internationally aligned, and ethically robust platform for advancing medical and health sciences research.