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De finition of a
pe e rre vie we d journal
-e ditorial fr-e -e dom
and inte grity
International Committee of
Medical Journal Editors
Definition of a peer-reviewed journal
A pe e r-re vie we d jo urnal is o ne that has submitted mo st o f its published articles fo r review by experts who are no t part o f the edito rial staff. The numb er and kind o f manuscripts sent fo r review, the number o f reviewers, the reviewing pro cedures, and the use made o f the reviewers’ o pinio ns may vary, and therefo re each jo urnal s ho uld p ub lic ly d is c lo s e its p o lic ie s in its instructio ns to autho rs fo r the benefit o f readers and po tential autho rs.
Editorial freedom and integrity
Owne rs and e dito rs o f m e dical jo urnals have a co mmo n endeavo r— the publicatio n o f a reliable and readable jo urnal, pro duced with due respect fo r the stated aims o f the jo urnal and fo r c o sts. The func tio ns o f o wne rs and e d ito rs, ho wever, are different. Owners have the right to ap p o in t an d d is m is s e d ito rs an d to m ake impo rtant business decisio ns in which edito rs sho uld be invo lved to the fullest extent po ssible. Edito rs must have full autho rity fo r determining the edito rial co ntent o f the jo urnal. This co ncept o f e d ito rial fre e d o m s h o u ld b e re s o lu te ly defended by edito rs even to the extent o f their placing their po sitio ns at stake. To secure this freedo m in practice, the edito r sho uld have direct access to the highest level o f o wnership, no t o nly to a delegated manager.
Edito rs o f medical jo urnals sho uld have a co ntract that clearly states the edito r’s rights and duties in additio n to the general terms o f the appo intment and that defines mechanisms fo r
reso lving co nflict.
An independent edito rial adviso ry b o ard may be useful in helping the edito r establish and maintain edito rial po licy.
All edito rs and edito rs’ o rganizatio ns have the o bligatio n to suppo rt the co ncept o f edito rial freedo m and to draw majo r transgressio ns o f such fre e do m to the atte ntio n o f the inte rnatio nal medical co mmunity.
Advertising
Mo st medical jo urnals carry advertising, which generates inco me fo r their publishers, but adve rtising must no t b e allo we d to influe nce e d ito rial d e c is io ns . Ed ito rs m us t have full re sp o nsib ility fo r ad ve rtising p o lic y. Re ad e rs sho uld be able to distinguish readily between ad ve rtis in g an d e d ito rial m ate rial. Th e juxtapo sitio n o f edito rial and advertising material o n the sam e pro ducts o r sub je cts sho uld b e avo ided, and advertising sho uld no t be so ld o n the co nditio n that it will appear in the same issue as a particular article.
Jo urnals s ho uld no t b e d o m inate d b y advertising, but edito rs sho uld be careful abo ut publishing advertisements fro m o nly o ne o r two ad ve rtise rs as re ad e rs m ay p e rc e ive that the edito r has been influenced by these advertisers. Jo urnals sho uld no t carry advertisements fo r pro ducts that have pro ved to be serio usly harmful to health— fo r example, to bacco . Edito rs sho uld ensure that existing standards fo r advertisements are e nfo rce d o r de ve lo p the ir o wn standards. Finally, edito rs sho uld co nsider all criticisms o f advertisements fo r publicatio n.
Supplements
Supplements are co llectio ns o f papers that deal with related issues o r to pics, are published as a separate issue o f the jo urnal o r as a seco nd part o f a regular issue, and are usually funded by s o urc e s o the r than the jo urnal’s p ub lis he r. Su p p le m e n ts c an s e rve u s e fu l p u rp o s e s :
N otes for Authors- I CM J E
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The no tes in this statement are excerpts fro m: Internatio nal Co mmittee o f Medical Jo urnal Edito rs. Unifo rm Requirements fo r Manuscripts Submitted to Bio medical Jo rnals. Ann Intern Med 1 9 9 7 Jan 1 ;1 2 6 (1 ):3 6 -4 7 . Available o n website: http:/ / www.acpo nline.o rg / jo urnals/ 0 1 jan9 7 / unifreg r.htm. This article includes: issues to co nsider befo re submitting a manuscript, requirements fo r submissio n o f manuscripts, sending the manuscript to the jo urnal, and separate declaratio ns.
Inquires and comments should be sent to The Editor at the São Paulo M edical Journal ( Revista Paulista de M edicina) secretariat office, Associação Paulista de M edicina, Rua Brigadeiro Luís Antônio, 278, 7th floor. 01318- 901
Phone + 55 11 232 3141, extension 210; fax:+ 55 11 3107 7979;e- mail: revistas@ apm.org.br
e ducatio n, e xchange o f re se arch info rmatio n, ease o f access to fo cused co ntent, and impro ved co o peratio n b etween academic and co rpo rate e ntitie s. Be cause o f the funding so urce s, the co nte nt o f supple m e nts can re fle ct b iase s in cho ice o f to pics and viewpo ints. Edito rs sho uld therefo re co nsider the fo llo wing principles.
1. Th e j o u rn al e d ito r m u s t take fu ll re spo nsib ility fo r the po licie s, practice s, and co ntent o f supplements. The jo urnal edito r must appro ve the appo intment o f any edito r o f the supplement and retain the autho rity to reject papers.
2. The so urces o f funding fo r the research, meeting, and publicatio n sho uld be clearly stated and p ro m ine ntly lo c ate d in the sup p le m e nt, pre fe rab ly o n e ach page . Whe ne ve r po ssib le , funding sho uld co me fro m mo re than o ne spo nso r. 3. Advertising in supplements sho uld fo llo w the same po licies as tho se o f the rest o f the jo urnal. 4. Ed ito rs s h o u ld e n ab le re ad e rs to
distinguish readily b etween o rdinary edito rial pages and supplement pages.
5. Ed iting b y the fund ing o rganizatio n sho uld no t be permitted.
6. Jo urnal edito rs and supplement edito rs sho uld no t accept perso nal favo rs o r excessive co mpensatio n fro m spo nso rs o f supplements.
7. Seco ndary publicatio n in supplements sho uld be clearly identified by the citatio n o f the o riginal paper. Redundant publicatio n sho uld be avo ided.
The role of the correspondence column
All bio medical jo urnals sho uld have a sectio n carrying co mments, questio ns, o r criticisms abo ut articles they have published and where the o riginal autho rs can respo nd. Usually, but no t necessarily, this may take the fo rm o f a co rrespo ndence co lumn. The lack o f such a sectio n denies readers the po ssibility o f respo nding to articles in the same jo urnal that published the o riginal wo rk.
