SHAHEED ZIAUR RAHMAN MEDICAL COLLEGE

Ethical Standards

The SHAHEED ZIAUR RAHMAN MEDICAL COLLEGE (SZMCJ) is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics. We follow the guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and expect all parties involved in the publication process—authors, reviewers, and editors—to adhere to these ethical standards.

Responsibilities of Authors

• Originality: Authors must ensure that their work is entirely original. Any work or words of others must be appropriately cited and referenced.
• No Plagiarism: Plagiarism in any form, including self-plagiarism, is unacceptable. All submissions are screened using plagiarism detection software.
• Single Submission: Manuscripts should not be submitted to more than one journal simultaneously.
• Authorship: All listed authors must have made significant contributions to the research. Ghost authorship or guest authorship is prohibited.
• Conflicts of Interest: Authors must disclose any financial or personal relationships that could influence their work.
• Data Integrity: Authors should present accurate data and be willing to provide data upon request for verification purposes.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

• Confidentiality: Reviewers must treat manuscripts as confidential documents and not share any information about them.
• Objectivity: Reviews should be conducted objectively, with constructive criticism and without personal attacks.
• Conflicts of Interest: Reviewers should decline to review manuscripts where they have conflicts of interest.
• Timeliness: Reviewers should complete reviews within agreed timeframes or notify the editor if unable to do so.

Responsibilities of Editors

• Fair Evaluation: Manuscripts are evaluated solely on their intellectual merit, regardless of the authors' background.
• Confidentiality: Editors maintain confidentiality about submitted manuscripts and do not use unpublished information for personal gain.
• Conflicts of Interest: Editors recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where they have conflicts.

Ethical Clearance

Studies must obtain clearance from an ethical review committee.

Informed Consent

All participants must provide informed written consent before being included in a study.

Compliance

The journal evaluates ethical aspects based on the Helsinki Declaration of 1975 (as revised in 1983).

Review Process

Ethical aspects are evaluated by the editorial board during the review of the article.

Data Availability Statement

Authors are required to keep both hard and soft copies of their data for reference. Relevant information, clinical examination, and investigation findings are recorded in predesigned questionnaires or case record forms for analysis.

Handling Misconduct

If misconduct is suspected or identified, SZMCJ will take appropriate action following COPE guidelines:

1. Investigation of the allegations
2. Communication with the author(s) involved
3. Possible rejection of the manuscript
4. Notification to the author's institution
5. Retraction of published articles if necessary
6. Ban on future submissions