Editor's Guidelines

Introduction

Editors play a central role in maintaining the academic integrity and reputation of the Journal of Clinical Intensive Care and Medicine (JCICM). These guidelines outline responsibilities, ethical considerations, and best practices for editors to ensure a fair, transparent, and rigorous editorial process.

Core Responsibilities

  • Oversee the peer review process with impartiality and fairness.
  • Ensure manuscripts are evaluated solely on academic merit without discrimination.
  • Maintain confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts and reviewer identities.
  • Provide timely communication with authors and reviewers.
  • Enforce compliance with COPE, ICMJE, and JCICM ethical standards.

Editorial Decision-Making

Editorial decisions should be guided by:

  • Originality and significance of the research.
  • Scientific rigor and methodological soundness.
  • Ethical compliance (human/animal research approvals, informed consent).
  • Relevance to the scope of JCICM.

Conflict of Interest

Editors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest, including:

  • Financial or institutional affiliations that may bias decisions.
  • Personal or professional relationships with authors.
  • Prior involvement with submitted manuscripts.

Editors with conflicts must recuse themselves and delegate handling to an alternate editor.

Reviewer Management

  • Select qualified reviewers with expertise in the subject area.
  • Avoid assigning reviewers with potential conflicts of interest.
  • Ensure reviewers maintain confidentiality and adhere to ethical standards.
  • Provide guidance to reviewers regarding evaluation criteria.

Communication with Authors

Editors must:

  • Provide clear feedback to authors regarding decisions (accept, revise, reject).
  • Explain major reasons for rejection to promote constructive improvement.
  • Ensure revisions are assessed fairly and consistently.

Ethical Oversight

  • Investigate suspected ethical misconduct (plagiarism, data fabrication, duplicate submissions).
  • Collaborate with COPE guidelines for retractions and corrections when necessary.
  • Protect whistleblowers and maintain integrity of investigations.

Transparency and Accountability

Editors should maintain transparent editorial records and document decision-making processes for auditing and accountability.

Continuous Professional Development

Editors are encouraged to stay updated on best practices in scholarly publishing by engaging with organizations like COPE, WAME, DOAJ, and ICMJE.

FAQs

Can editors publish in JCICM? Yes, but their manuscripts are handled by independent editors to avoid bias.

How should editors handle author complaints? Complaints must be documented, reviewed transparently, and escalated when necessary.

Can editors reject a manuscript without review? Yes, if the manuscript is outside scope or fails to meet basic quality standards.