Editorial Policies
The rules governing peer review, editorial independence, research integrity and the scholarly record at JMNS.
Rigorous, independent and transparent publishing.
JMNS policies are designed in alignment with COPE Core Practices and applicable ICMJE and EQUATOR guidance. This statement describes the standards JMNS adopts and does not imply organizational membership, endorsement or indexing status.
Editorial independence and competing interests
Decisions are based on scientific quality, methodological rigor, ethics and relevance to scope. Authors, editors and reviewers must disclose financial, professional, personal, institutional or other relationships that could reasonably be perceived to influence the work or its evaluation.
Editors and reviewers recuse themselves when independence cannot reasonably be maintained. Manuscripts submitted by a future publisher, Editor-in-Chief, editors or Editorial Board members are assigned to an independent, non-conflicted editor. The submitting individual does not select reviewers, manage peer review or participate in the final decision.
Peer review
JMNS uses single-anonymized peer review. Submissions first undergo editorial screening; manuscripts considered for publication are then sent for independent external review.
A peer-reviewed JMNS article cannot be accepted until at least two independent external review reports have been obtained and any relevant conflict-of-interest assessment has been resolved. Reviewer selection, reports, conflicts, revisions and editorial decisions are retained in a confidential editorial audit trail. The final decision remains with a human academic editor.
Confidentiality
Manuscripts, reviewer reports and editorial correspondence are confidential. Editors and reviewers must not use unpublished information for personal or professional advantage or upload confidential material to external systems in ways that compromise privacy, intellectual property or peer-review integrity.
Editorial records and retention
JMNS applies a defined retention schedule to editorial records, preserving published scholarly and peer-review records where integrity requires it while limiting routine and unpublished material. Retention actions are controlled, auditable and subject to legal holds; unattended automatic purge is not used.
Special issues and guest editors
Special Issues and guest-edited collections follow the same authorship, ethics, reporting and external peer-review standards as regular content. Conflicted submissions are reassigned to an independent editor; inclusion in a collection never guarantees acceptance.
Research ethics and consent
Human and animal research must report appropriate approval, oversight and consent. Clinical trials must be registered in an appropriate public registry at or before first participant consent for enrollment. Identifiable participant images, video or other potentially identifying material require appropriate consent for publication.
Authorship and contributorship
Authorship should meet accepted ICMJE-style biomedical criteria and reflects both substantial scholarly contribution and accountability. All authors should approve the submitted and published versions and be accountable for their contributions. JMNS uses CRediT to describe individual contributions; a CRediT role alone does not establish authorship.
Authorship changes after submission require a clear explanation and may require agreement from all affected authors and editorial review.
Artificial intelligence
AI systems cannot be authors, reviewers or decision-making editors. Authors should disclose material use of generative or AI-assisted technologies at submission and describe the tool and purpose in the manuscript when the use affects text, analysis, code, images or reproducibility. Human authors remain fully responsible for accuracy, originality, attribution and interpretation.
Reviewers and editors must not upload confidential manuscripts, unpublished data or identifiable participant information to external AI systems when doing so could compromise confidentiality, privacy, intellectual property or peer-review integrity.
Image and data integrity
Fabrication, falsification, selective data alteration and image manipulation that changes or obscures scientific interpretation are not permitted. Adjustments to images or signals must be applied appropriately and must not selectively create, remove or conceal features. JMNS may request original images, signal files, data, code or other supporting documentation when integrity questions arise.
Data, code and secondary-data repository governance
Original Research requires a Data Availability Statement; a Code Availability Statement is required when custom analytical or processing code materially supports the work. Legitimate restrictions on sensitive or controlled-access data must be explained.
Secondary analyses may use datasets discovered through the JMNS Verified Dataset Library or independently. The same scientific and editorial standards apply. The authoritative repository or provider remains controlling for licences, access conditions, Data Use Agreements, consent, ethics, attribution and applicable law.
JMNS verification is a curation check, not peer review of the original study, and does not certify methodological quality or fitness for a specific research question.
Use of a dataset listed or verified by JMNS does not require the resulting manuscript to be submitted to JMNS. Researchers remain free to choose an appropriate publication venue, subject to the authoritative repository and dataset terms.
Research integrity and misconduct
Fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, undisclosed duplicate or redundant publication, inappropriate manipulation, authorship abuse and peer-review manipulation are not permitted. JMNS may request underlying documentation, seek clarification, pause editorial processing or contact relevant institutions when credible integrity concerns arise.
Duplicate submission and prior dissemination
A manuscript must not be under consideration by another journal at the same time. Preprints, conference abstracts and theses do not automatically preclude consideration when disclosed and compatible with applicable rights.
Corrections, retractions and Expressions of Concern
JMNS may issue a correction, retraction or Expression of Concern when required to protect the scholarly record. Notices remain permanently accessible and are linked reciprocally with the affected Version of Record; material changes are not hidden through silent replacement.
Appeals and complaints
Authors may appeal a decision when they identify a substantive scientific or procedural error. Complaints about editorial conduct or journal procedures are handled independently of the person or decision concerned whenever feasible. Appeals and complaints do not guarantee reconsideration or acceptance.