Author

AUTHORSHIP AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author list must conform to published standards on authorship (see authorship criteria in the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals at www.icmje.org). The manuscript title, name and address (including email) of one author designated as the corresponding author. This author will be responsible for editing proofs and order reprints when applicable. The contribution of each author should also be highlighted in the cover letter.

Authors and contributors

• All authors and all contributors should specify their individual contributions in the authorship form of MARKS Medical Journal. You can find the authorship form here: (…………link……………. ). MMJ has the right not to accept a paper which includes author(s) whose contribution does not appear to be adequate.
• The MMJ will not publish any paper unless the signatures of all authors are there.
• Please include written consent of any cited individual(s) noted in acknowledgments or personal communications

Author’s Responsibility

The Submission Admin’s Role and Responsibilities are to:

• Inform all co-authors of the submission of the manuscript to MMJ (note: each co-author will receive a confirmation email upon submission and will need to confirm their authorship).
• Ensure that the manuscript is in full adherence with all journal policies (including such items as publication ethics, data deposition, materials deposition, etc). Additionally ensure that all co-authors are aware of, and in compliance with, all MMJ policies and procedures.
• Manage all correspondence between MMJ and all co-authors, keeping the full co-author group apprised of the manuscript progress.
• Designate a substitute correspondent for times of unavailability.
• Ensure that by the point of Editorial Acceptance all co-authors have paid publishing plans or assume responsibility for their publication charges (note: authors can pay for a publishing plan at any point up to, and including, Editorial Acceptance).
• The submission must be created (and completed) by one of the co-authors, not by an agency or by some other individual who is not one of the co-authors.
• Ensure the submission is free from spelling errors; grammatical errors; and unclear expression.
• Ensure author names entered online exactly match those listed on your article’s Author Cover Page.
• The manuscript has not been previously published or submitted for consideration elsewhere.
• They have significantly contributed to the work and have given their approval for the final version of the manuscript.
• Their work adheres to the established ethical standards.
• They take full responsibility for all aspects of the work, ensuring that any concerns pertaining to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are duly investigated and resolved.
• They have obtained all necessary permissions to include any figures or tables in the manuscript and are committed to covering the Article Processing Charges (APC), if applicable

Role of the Corresponding Author

One author is assigned as Corresponding Author and acts on behalf of all co-authors and ensures that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately addressed.

The Corresponding Author is responsible for the following requirements:

• Ensuring that all listed authors have approved the manuscript before submission, including the names and order of authors;
• Managing all communication between the Journal and all co-authors, before and after publication;*
• Providing transparency on re-use of material and mention any unpublished material (for example manuscripts in press) included in the manuscript in a cover letter to the Editor;
• Making sure disclosures, declarations and transparency on data statements from all authors are included in the manuscript as appropriate (see above).

Authorship Criteria

All the authors in a manuscript are equally responsible for the technical information communicated to the journal. Thus, it is necessary that all authors must read and approve the final version of the manuscript before submitting it to the journal. All named authors must have made an active contribution to the conception and design and/or analysis and interpretation of the data and/or the drafting of the paper and all must have critically reviewed its content and have approved the final version submitted for publication. Participation solely in the acquisition of funding or the collection of data does not justify authorship.

Authors must have substantial intellectual contribution to the creation of the manuscript and accept public responsibility for it. MARKS Medical Journal follows the definition of authorship given by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). According to ICMJE guidelines (www.icmje.org) all of the following criteria must be met to be considered an author:

• Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
• Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
• Final approval of the version to be published; AND
• Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

We insist that all individuals identified as authors satisfy all four of the aforementioned criteria, and specific contributions of each author must be clearly described in the cover letter. Each author must agree and confirm that the submitted material has not been and will not be submitted to or published in any other journal. The order of authorship should be decided by the agreement of all co-authors, and all authors must approve and justify any change in authorship after initial submission.

Moreover, those who have contributed to certain aspects of the work but do not meet all four criteria should be appropriately acknowledged. The corresponding author is required to obtain written permission from all individuals who are to be acknowledged for their contributions

Guest, gift (honorary), and ghost authorship are unacceptable since they are not in compliance with the definition of authorship. Furthermore, one should also remember that serving as a guest or gift author places the individual at risk for any potential misconduct related to study or any of co-authors . Individuals who are involved in the study but do not meet the authorship criteria described in the ICMJE guidelines may be listed in the acknowledgement section along with their role or contribution.

Group Authorship

• When authors meet our Authorship Criteria, they should be named individually in the byline.
• The formal group that the authors are representing must be named last in the author list.
• When individual members of the group were active in the study work but did not meet our Authorship Criteria, they should be named in the Acknowledgements section
• A paper with cooperate (collective) authorship must specify the key person responsible for the article; others contributing to the work should be recognized separately. The order of authorship should be a joint decision of the co-authors. Number of authors for an article should be limited to ……………

Author Contributions

This section is specifically required for original articles, review articles, systematic reviews, and meta-analysis articles. It elucidates the individual contributions made by each author to the manuscript. The assignment of authorship credit should be based on the following criteria:

• Significantly contributing to the conception and design of the study, the data acquisition, or the analysis and interpretation of the data;
• Significantly contributing to the conception and design of the study, the data acquisition, or the analysis and interpretation of the data;
• Involvement in drafting the article or engaging in critical revisions to enrich it with important intellectual content; and
• Granting final approval for the version of the manuscript to be published.

Authors must satisfy all three of these conditions to qualify for authorship.

The ‘Author contributions’ section in manuscript should be presented as follows:

1. Conception and design: [initials of the author name……….]
2. Acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data: [initials of the author name……]
3. Manuscript drafting and revising it critically: [initials of the author name……]
4. Approval of the final version of the manuscript: [initials of the author name…….]
5. Guarantor of accuracy and integrity of the work: [initials of the author name………]

Acknowledgments

All  contributors  who  do  not  meet  the  criteria  for  authorship  should  be  listed  in  an Acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, writing assistance or a department chair who provided only general support. Financial and material support should also be acknowledged. Groups of persons who have contributed materially to the paper but whose contributions do not justify authorship may be listed under a heading such as “clinical investigators” or “participating investigators”, and their function of contribution should be described clearly – for example, “served as scientific advisors”, “critically reviewed the study proposal”, “collected data” or “provided and cared for study patients”. . All acknowledgments should be included at the very end of the paper before the references and may include supporting grants, presentations, and so forth.

Modifications to Authorship or Contributorship Policy

MMJ understands that an author might need to change their name for a variety of reasons. For some, including trans people, legal name changes might not be available, and it might not be appropriate to perpetuate a previous name. Therefore, we are happy to change an author’s name on request, with as few barriers as we can. We do not require a reason or any proof of a legal name change.

In the event of any alterations to the authorship and/or contributorship after the initial submission, explicit approval from all authors must be obtained. This pertains to any additions, deletions, changes in the sequence of authors, or alterations to the attribution of contributions. A detailed explanation of the reasons for the change must be provided to the Editor. In such cases, the Editor reserves the right to verify with any of the authors/contributors whether they have indeed consented to the proposed changes. Names will be changed in MMJ publications both online and in PDFs and the publication(s) will be republished. The DOI will remain unchanged and the updated metadata will be transmitted to our indexing partner(s) with the intent that future citations will be associated with the correct name.

We suggest (but do not require) that the requestor inform their co-authors of the change to ensure that they update the way they cite the article. MMJ can do this on their behalf (if requested) but will not contact the co-authors unless specifically asked to do so. Neither will we post any notice of the change on the article.

To request a name change, please …………………………….. in confidence and we will do our best to implement the change as quickly and seamlessly as we can. The request should come from the author themself. If a third party is making a request on behalf of an author, we must be able to confirm that it is with the knowledge, and at the request, of the author involved.

MMJ will endeavor to follow the prevailing best practices in these matters, as recommended by COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics).

Author Number Limits

• Up to two authors can be designated Corresponding Authors.
• Up to two authors can be designated Submission Admins (responsible for the submission and liaising with the journal).
• Up to two authors can be designated Equal first authors, for e.g. first and the second author

MANUSCRIPT CATEGORIES

Manuscripts submitted to the MMJ must fall into one of the following categories. The journal will consider the following article types;

• Original Research – reports of new research findings or conceptual analyses that make a significant contribution to knowledge (3500 word limit).
• Scholarly Review – critical reviews of the literature, including systematic reviews and meta-analyses (5000 word limit).
• Clinical Research Update
• Case Reports
• Letter to the Editor – are welcomed (1000 word limit).
• Invited Article