Editorial Policies

The Journal is following of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and endorses the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals as well as the GPP3 guidelines regarding authorship.

Submission of a manuscript to the journal implies that all authors have read and agreed to its content and that the manuscript conforms to the journal’s policies.

The journal does not accept adverts from third parties.

Affiliations

You and your co-authors must list all relevant affiliations to attribute where the research or scholarly work was approved and/or supported and/or conducted.

For non-research articles, you must list your current institutional affiliation.
If you moved to a different institution before the article has been published, you should list the affiliation where the work was conducted and include a note to state your current affiliation.
If you do not have a current relevant institutional affiliation, you should state your independent status.

Appeals and complaints

The journal complies with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines standards concerning appeals against editorial decisions and issues related to the management of the peer review process. We welcome valid appeals to decisions made by editors; however, you must present compelling evidence or new data/information in response to the feedback from the editor and reviewers.

Acknowledgment

Anyone who has contributed to the article in capacities such as general supervision, funding acquisition, study design, data collection, data analysis, technical support, writing assistance related to formatting, or scholarly discussions that significantly aided in developing the article, but does not qualify for authorship, should be named along with their affiliations in the ‘Acknowledgments’ section. Authors are responsible for informing and obtaining consent from those they intend to mention here. This process should involve sharing the article with them to ensure they can confirm the context of their contributions.

Groups of individuals who have made significant contributions to the article, yet do not meet the criteria for authorship, can be recognized under headings like “clinical investigators” or “participating investigators.” Their specific roles or contributions should be detailed, such as “served as scientific advisors,” “critically reviewed the study proposal,” “collected data,” or “provided and cared for study patients.” As readers might interpret their acknowledgment as an endorsement of the study’s data and conclusions, it is essential to obtain written consent from these individuals to include them in the acknowledgments.

Any use of AI tools for content generation, such as large language models, or similar technical tools that contribute to the creation of article content, must be explicitly acknowledged within the article. Authors are responsible for ensuring the validity, originality, and integrity of the content they submit. It is expected that authors will use these tools responsibly, adhering to our editorial policies regarding authorship and the principles of publishing ethics.

Authorship

Listing authors' names on an article is crucial for acknowledging those who have made substantial contributions to the work and ensuring transparency regarding those responsible for the content's integrity. Authors included in an article must satisfy all of the following criteria:

They must have made a significant contribution to the work reported, whether in the conception, study design, execution, data acquisition, analysis, interpretation, or in all these areas.
They should have drafted, written, substantially revised, or critically reviewed the article.
They must have agreed on the journal to which the article is submitted.
They need to have reviewed and agreed on all versions of the article prior to submission, during revisions, in the final version accepted for publication, and any major changes introduced at the proofing stage.
They must agree to take responsibility and be accountable for the article's contents and share the responsibility for addressing any questions regarding the accuracy or integrity of the published work.

Any alterations to authorship, whether before or after publication, must be unanimously agreed upon by all authors, including those being added or removed. The corresponding author is responsible for securing confirmation from all co-authors and providing a comprehensive explanation of the reasons for the change. If authorship changes are required after the article has been published, these adjustments will be reflected through a post-publication notice. Such changes must adhere to our authorship criteria, and requests for significant modifications to the authorship list after the article's acceptance may be denied if clear justifications and evidence of each author's contributions are not provided.

Authorship Criteria

Authorship credit should be granted based solely on significant contributions to the following three components:

The conception and design of the study, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data.
Drafting the article or critically revising it for important intellectual content.
Final approval of the version to be published.

Simply participating in funding acquisition or data collection does not qualify for authorship. Likewise, general supervision of a research group is insufficient for authorship. Each contributor must have participated sufficiently in the work to publicly take responsibility for appropriate sections of the manuscript's content. The order of contributors should reflect their relative contributions to the study and manuscript preparation. Once submitted, the order of authors cannot be altered without the written consent of all contributors. The journal sets a maximum number of authors for manuscripts based on the type of manuscript, its scope, and the number of institutions involved. If the number of authors exceeds these limits, a justification must be provided.

Contribution Details

Contributors should detail their individual contributions to the manuscript, categorized as follows: concept, design, definition of intellectual content, literature search, clinical studies, experimental studies, data acquisition, data analysis, statistical analysis, manuscript preparation, manuscript editing, and manuscript review. These contributions will be published alongside the article. Additionally, one or more authors should assume responsibility for the overall integrity of the work from inception to publication, and these individuals should be identified as 'guarantors'.

Citations

Both research and non-research articles should reference relevant, current, and verified literature, preferably peer-reviewed, to substantiate any claims made in the article. Authors must avoid excessive or inappropriate self-citation, as well as any prearranged agreements among author groups to cite each other's work improperly, as these practices can be considered citation manipulation. For guidance, authors can refer to the COPE guidelines on citation manipulation. In non-research articles, such as Reviews or Opinions, authors should ensure that their references are pertinent and present a fair and balanced view of the current state of research on the topic, avoiding undue bias towards a specific research group, organization, or journal. If there is any uncertainty about whether to cite a particular source, authors are encouraged to seek advice from the journal's editorial office.

Conflicts of Interest/ Competing interests

You and your co-authors are required to disclose any competing interests that are relevant or could be perceived as relevant to the article.

A competing interest may arise if you, or your employer, sponsor, or family and friends, have a financial, commercial, legal, or professional relationship with other organizations or individuals that could potentially influence the research or its interpretation.
Competing interests may be financial or non-financial. To maintain transparency, you should also declare any associations that others might perceive as a competing interest.

Corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions

At times, it may be necessary to update a published article.
Any such modifications are made after thorough evaluation by the Editor to ensure compliance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines.
Changes will be documented with a post-publication notice that remains permanently linked to the original article. These notices can take the form of a Correction, an Expression of Concern, a Retraction, or, in rare instances, a Removal. This approach ensures that adjustments are made transparently and permanently, thereby protecting the integrity of the scholarly record.

Confidentiality

A submitted manuscript is considered confidential material. SQULSJ ensure that these manuscripts are not disclosed to anyone outside of those involved in the processing and preparation for potential publication. This includes editorial staff, corresponding authors, potential reviewers, actual reviewers, and editors. However, if there is suspicion of misconduct, the manuscript may be shared with the Academic Journals’ ethics committees and relevant institutions or organizations necessary for addressing the issue. SQULSJ commit to following the appropriate COPE flowcharts when required to handle such situations.

Copyright Policy

Who Can Submit?

Anyone can submit an original manuscript for consideration in SQULSJ, provided they hold the copyright to the work or have authorization from the copyright owner(s) to submit it. Typically, authors are the initial copyright holders of their works prior to publication. However, an exception might occur outside the academic realm if authors have agreed to transfer copyright to their employer as a condition of their employment.

User Rights

SQULSJ is an Open Access journal, allowing users the rights to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles. These rights are granted under the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which can be reviewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. A copyright statement is provided here and is embedded within each published article to ensure clarity and transparency regarding usage rights.

Open Access Policy

The journal operates as an Open Access journal, providing users with the rights to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles under the conditions of the CC BY 4.0 license. This license permits readers to copy, distribute, and transmit the work, as well as to modify, transform, or build upon it, including for commercial purposes, provided that appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) and the source. For complete details, please refer to the full license at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0.

Author Rights

Sultan Qaboos University will hold the copyright, as well as the publishing and distribution rights, for works submitted by authors.

Data falsification/fabrication

Deliberate manipulation or fabrication of data is regarded as a severe form of misconduct, intended to mislead and undermine the integrity of the scholarly record, with broad and lasting consequences.
Authors submitting a manuscript to the journal must ensure that all data presented is accurate and faithfully represents their work.
To support the journal's evaluation process, authors are also expected to retain all raw data associated with their manuscripts. If the original data cannot be provided upon request, the manuscript may be rejected, or an already published paper may be retracted

Data sharing policy

Research Data Policy

The journal advocates for the sharing of research data to enhance transparency, reproducibility, and the progression of knowledge within the academic community. We acknowledge the significance of making data available to other researchers while adhering to ethical and legal constraints. To support this goal, we have established the following guidelines for including research data statements in submitted manuscripts:

Data Sharing Expectations:

Authors are encouraged to publicly share their data whenever feasible, except in situations where privacy, confidentiality, or legal restrictions are applicable. The data should be shared in a way that enables others to verify the results and reuse the data for additional research.

Data Availability Statements

Authors must include a Data Availability Statement in their manuscripts. This statement should clearly specify where the data supporting the study's findings can be accessed or provide an explanation if the data cannot be shared. Here are examples of acceptable Data Availability Statements:

Data Available in a Public Repository:
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available in the [NAME] repository, [PERSISTENT LINK TO DATASETS].
Data Available on Request:
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
No Data Available:
No datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.
Data Available in a Public Repository:
The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available in the [NAME] repository, accessible via [PERSISTENT LINK TO DATASETS].
Data Available on Request:
The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
No Data Available:
No datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.

Desk rejection policy

The topic or scope of the study is not aligned with the Journal's field of interest.
There are issues related to publication ethics, non-compliance with international standard guidelines, and plagiarism, with a similarity index exceeding 25 percent.
The topic lacks sufficient impact and does not adequately contribute new knowledge to the field.
There are deficiencies in the study design.
The study's objective is not clearly articulated.
The organization of the study is problematic and/or some components are missing.
There are issues with writing or significant grammatical errors.
The manuscript does not adhere to the Journal's submission guidelines.

Duplicate submission/publication

Authors must declare upon submission that the manuscript is not being considered by another publication. If a duplicate submission or publication is detected, it is generally viewed as a deliberate action. This rule applies to articles previously published in another language as well. For acceptable forms of secondary submission or publication, such as translating an article into English, authors should follow ICMJE guidance by obtaining permission from the publisher and copyright holder of the original article. Additionally, they must inform the Editor of the receiving journal about the original article's history. It should also be clearly indicated to readers that the article is a translation, with a citation to the original article provided.

Ethics Policies

The SQULSJ journal and its editorial board are fully committed to following the policies and principles set forth by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Ethics for Editors

Editors are tasked with making publication decisions based on the intellectual merit of the manuscripts, ensuring these decisions are free from biases related to gender, nationality, race, or any form of discrimination.
Editors must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts, disclosing information only when necessary, such as during the review process. They must also avoid any conflicts of interest by not using unpublished materials for personal gain.
Editors should foster a transparent and ethical relationship with authors, ensuring that all communications are clear and uphold the journal's ethical standards.
Editors are responsible for guiding reviewers to adhere to publication ethics, ensuring they provide a scientific and unbiased critique of manuscripts.
Editors must ensure that all published articles meet the journal's high standards for quality and ethical research practices.

Ethics for Reviewers

Reviewers play a crucial role in editorial decisions by providing detailed, objective, and constructive feedback on manuscripts.
Reviewers should assess manuscripts only if they feel qualified to do so, ensuring they have the necessary expertise to provide an informed evaluation.
Reviewers must treat all manuscripts as confidential documents, refraining from discussing or exploiting the content for personal use.
Reviewers should identify any relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors and report any potential plagiarism or ethical concerns to the editor.

Ethics for Authors

Authors are responsible for presenting their research clearly and accurately, adhering to the journal's reporting standards to ensure the integrity and quality of their work.
Authors must ensure the originality of their work, properly cite all sources, and avoid submitting the same research to multiple publications concurrently.
Authors should disclose any financial or personal conflicts of interest that could influence their research and its interpretation.
Authorship should be limited to those who have made significant contributions to the study, and all contributors should be appropriately credited.
If authors discover significant errors in their published work, they are obliged to promptly notify the journal and cooperate in correcting or retracting the paper.

Funding

The journal mandates that authors disclose all sources of funding, including financial support, in their manuscript. Authors should detail the role of the sponsor(s), if any, during any stage of the research, from study design to the submission of the manuscript for publication. If the sponsor(s) had no involvement, this should also be clearly stated. Please ensure that this information is precise and complies with your funder's requirements.

Images and figures

Authors should include images and figures in their articles only if they are relevant and add value to the work being reported. It is important to avoid adding content that is purely illustrative and does not enhance the scholarly work. As part of the Journal Author Publishing Agreement, authors must obtain written permission to include any material in their articles that is owned and copyrighted by a third party. This includes, but is not limited to, proprietary text, illustrations, tables, or other materials such as data, audio, video, film stills, screenshots, musical notation, and any supplementary materials.

Misconduct

The journal treats all forms of misconduct with utmost seriousness and will take all necessary actions, following COPE guidelines, to safeguard the integrity of the scholarly record.

Examples of misconduct include (but are not limited to):

Misrepresentation of affiliation
Breaches of copyright or use of third-party material without proper permissions
Citation manipulation
Duplicate submission or publication
"Ethics dumping"
Manipulation or fabrication of images or data
Manipulation of the peer review process
Plagiarism
Text recycling or self-plagiarism
Undisclosed competing interests
Conducting unethical research

Duplicate Submission

Manuscripts identified as having been published elsewhere or currently under review elsewhere will face sanctions for duplicate submission or publication. If authors have used their own previously published work or work that is currently under review as a foundation for a submitted manuscript, they must cite the previous work and clearly indicate how their submitted manuscript provides novel contributions beyond those of the prior work.

Citation Manipulation

Submitted manuscripts that are found to include citations whose primary purpose is to increase the number of citations to a given author’s work, or to articles published in a particular journal, will incur citation manipulation sanctions.

Data Fabrication and Falsification

Manuscripts that contain fabricated or falsified experimental results, including manipulated images, will face sanctions for data fabrication and falsification.

Improper Author Contribution or Attribution

All listed authors must have made a significant scientific contribution to the research in the manuscript and approved all its claims. It is important to list everyone who made a significant scientific contribution, including students and laboratory technicians.

Redundant Publications

Redundant publications occur when the results of a study are inappropriately split into multiple articles.

Image manipulation

eliberate manipulation or fabrication of an image constitutes a serious form of misconduct as it is intended to mislead others and undermine the integrity of the scholarly record, leading to wide-reaching and long-term consequences. The journal mandates that all images within manuscripts must be accurate and free from manipulation. Specific features in an image must not be enhanced, obscured, moved, removed, or introduced without clearly indicating the nature of the alteration. Adjustments to brightness, contrast, or color balance are permissible as long as they do not obscure, eliminate, or misrepresent information present in the original image. When images from different sections of gels, western blots, or microscope images are grouped, this must be clearly indicated in the figure arrangement or the figure legend text. If the original, unedited images cannot be provided upon request, the manuscript or paper may be declined or retracted.

Peer review process

All manuscripts undergo peer review and are expected to meet high standards of academic excellence. If approved by the editor, submissions are evaluated by peer reviewers under a double-blind process, where the identities of both authors and reviewers remain anonymous to each other. The editorial board is responsible for the final decision on the acceptance or rejection of a manuscript, guided by the reviewers' recommendations.
Occasionally, our Research Integrity team may seek guidance beyond the standard peer review, particularly for submissions with significant ethical, security, biosecurity, or societal concerns. In such cases, we might consult with experts and the academic editor to determine appropriate actions, which could include recruiting reviewers with specific expertise, involving additional editors in the assessment, or choosing not to further consider a submission.

Plagiarism

The journal maintains a strict policy against plagiarism and does not tolerate the use of others’ ideas, words, or work without proper acknowledgment. Submissions found to contain plagiarism, whether in part or in full, as well as duplicate or redundant publications, including self-plagiarism (in the same or a different language), will be rejected. However, posting in a preprint archive is not considered duplicate publication. The corresponding author bears responsibility for the manuscript throughout the evaluation and publication process and has the authority to act on behalf of all co-authors. All submitted manuscripts undergo plagiarism screening using professional software. Manuscripts with an unacceptable similarity index due to plagiarism are immediately rejected.

Preprints policy

Authors are free to share their preprints at any time and in any location. If their work is accepted for publication, we encourage authors to link their preprint to the formal publication using its Digital Object Identifier (DOI). Additionally, authors can update their preprints on platforms like arXiv or RePEc with the version of their accepted manuscript.

Special Issues

Special Issue topics are determined by the editorial team of SQULSJ . Special Issue submissions follow the same process and author guidelines as any issue submission. Potential authors are encouraged to review all submission guidelines and follow the process as outlined. Special issue topics are determined by the editorial team and a call for submissions for special issues is typically included in the current year's special issue release.

Appointment of Guest Editors

Guest Editors for special issues are chosen based on their expertise, academic reputation, and prior editorial experience. They can be nominated by the journal’s editorial board, existing editors, or through self-nomination. These nominations are reviewed by the journal’s editorial board and require approval from the Editor-in-Chief. Guest Editors have several key responsibilities, including defining the scope of the special issue, drafting the call for papers, managing manuscript submissions, overseeing the peer review process, ensuring the quality and originality of the content, and making final decisions on manuscript acceptance in consultation with the Editor-in-Chief.

Setup of Special Issues

To initiate a special issue, a comprehensive proposal must be submitted. This proposal should include the theme, objectives, target audience, potential Guest Editors, and a timeline. The journal’s editorial board and the Editor-in-Chief will review and approve the proposal. Once approved, a call for papers is announced and promoted through various channels. A clear timeline is set for manuscript submission, peer review, and publication to ensure that the special issue aligns with the journal’s regular publication schedule.

Editorial and Review Process

Manuscripts for special issues are submitted through the journal’s online submission system and initially screened by the Guest Editors to ensure they align with the scope and meet basic quality standards. The manuscripts then undergo a double-blind peer review process, with reviewers chosen for their relevant expertise. Authors are required to revise their manuscripts based on reviewer feedback and resubmit them for further review if necessary. The Guest Editors recommend the acceptance or rejection of manuscripts, with the final decision made by the Editor-in-Chief. Accepted manuscripts are then formatted, proofread, and published in accordance with the journal’s guidelines. The special issue is promoted through the journal’s distribution channels, and post-publication metrics and feedback are monitored to guide the planning of future special issues.

What is the review process and what are the guidelines for special issues?

All submissions, including those submitted to special issues follow the same submissions process and author guidelines as any issue of ………….. Potential authors are encouraged to review all submission guidelines and follow the process as outlined. Special issues are reviewed and published in the same manner as every issue of the journal. Special issue topics are determined by the editorial team and a call for submissions for special issues is typically included in the current year's special issue release.

Publication Timing & Review Process

SQULSJ accepts submissions on an ongoing basis. Authors are expected to follow the specified submission types and adhere to the detailed author guidelines outlined here. The journal releases two issues annually, in June and December. Once a submission is ready for publication, it is considered for inclusion in the next available issue, rather than being scheduled based solely on the submission date. All issues of SQULSJ, including special issues, adhere consistently to the same editorial and review processes outlined here. We warmly encourage and welcome your submissions.

Standards of reporting

Research should be communicated in a manner that facilitates verification and reproducibility. Therefore, we encourage authors to provide thorough descriptions of their research rationale, protocol, methodology, and analysis. This comprehensive approach ensures that others can accurately interpret, verify, and replicate the study.

Use of third-party material

Authors must secure the necessary permissions to reuse third-party material in their articles. Generally, the use of short text extracts and certain other types of material is permitted, on a limited basis, for purposes such as criticism and review without requiring formal permission. However, if authors wish to include any material in their paper for which they do not hold copyright, and which is not covered by this informal agreement, they must obtain written permission from the copyright owner before submission. For more information on requesting permission to reproduce copyrighted work, please send an email to the following address:

Use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in writing

Please note that this policy pertains specifically to the writing process and does not apply to the use of AI tools for analyzing and deriving insights from data as part of the research process. Authors who incorporate AI and AI-assisted technologies into their writing process should aim to enhance readability and language, rather than substitute essential authoring tasks, such as generating scientific, pedagogic, or medical insights, drawing scientific conclusions, or offering clinical recommendations. The use of these technologies should always be under human oversight and control, and all work should undergo careful review and editing. AI has the potential to produce content that appears authoritative but may be incorrect, incomplete, or biased. Ultimately, authors are responsible and accountable for the content they produce.

Authors must openly disclose their use of AI and AI-assisted technologies in their manuscripts, and a statement to this effect will be included in the published work. Such transparency fosters trust among authors, readers, reviewers, editors, and contributors and ensures compliance with the terms of use for the relevant tools or technologies.

Authors should refrain from attributing authorship to AI or listing AI as a co-author. Authorship involves responsibilities and tasks that can only be fulfilled by humans. Each author is responsible for addressing inquiries regarding the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work, approving the final version of the work, and consenting to its submission. Authors also have a duty to ensure the originality of the work, confirm that the stated authors meet the criteria for authorship, and ensure that the work does not infringe upon the rights of third parties.