Editorial Policies
The Journal of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (JMID) is committed to maintaining high standards of editorial independence, peer review, research integrity, transparency, and responsible scholarly publishing. The journal's editorial policies are designed to ensure that manuscripts are evaluated fairly, objectively, and consistently, and that published content meets appropriate standards of scientific quality and ethical conduct.
JMID's editorial practices are guided by recognized principles of responsible publishing, including the Core Practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and other relevant international standards.
1. Editorial Independence
JMID maintains editorial independence in all decisions concerning the evaluation, revision, acceptance, rejection, and publication of manuscripts.
Editorial decisions are based on the scientific quality, originality, relevance, methodological soundness, and significance of the submitted work and are not influenced by authors' nationality, ethnicity, gender, institutional affiliation, academic status, political or commercial interests, or other non-scientific considerations.
The publisher respects the independence of the Editor-in-Chief and editorial team and does not interfere with editorial decisions concerning the scientific content of the journal.
Editors and Editorial Board Members are expected to identify and appropriately manage any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest.
2. Editorial Decision-Making
All submitted manuscripts are subject to an initial editorial assessment to determine whether they are appropriate for the journal's scope and meet the journal's basic requirements.
Manuscripts that are outside the scope of JMID, fail to meet essential scientific or ethical requirements, or are otherwise unsuitable for consideration may be rejected without external peer review.
Manuscripts considered suitable for further evaluation are assigned to appropriate editors and, where applicable, external peer reviewers.
Final editorial decisions are made by the Editor-in-Chief or an appropriately designated editor based on the available scholarly and peer-review evidence. The Editor-in-Chief retains overall responsibility for the quality and integrity of the journal's published content.
3. Peer Review
JMID uses a double-blind peer-review process for research articles and other manuscripts requiring external peer review.
Under the double-blind model, the identities of both authors and reviewers are concealed throughout the peer-review process. Reviewers are not informed of the identities of the authors, and authors are not informed of the identities of the reviewers.
Primary research articles published by JMID undergo external peer review by qualified experts with appropriate subject-matter expertise.
Peer reviewers are expected to:
evaluate manuscripts objectively and constructively;
maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts;
disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest;
avoid using unpublished information obtained through peer review for personal or professional advantage;
identify relevant scientific, ethical, methodological, or reporting concerns; and
provide reviews that are supported by appropriate scientific reasoning.
JMID takes reasonable measures to protect the anonymity of authors and reviewers throughout the peer-review process.
The journal aims to provide authors with timely editorial and peer-review decisions while maintaining the rigor and quality of the evaluation process.
Further details are provided in the Peer Review Policy.
4. Research Integrity and Publication Ethics
JMID expects authors, editors, reviewers, and Editorial Board Members to uphold the highest standards of research and publication integrity.
The journal addresses concerns including, but not limited to:
plagiarism and inappropriate text reuse;
fabrication and falsification of data;
manipulation or inappropriate alteration of images;
duplicate or redundant publication;
inappropriate authorship;
undisclosed conflicts of interest;
unethical research practices;
manipulation of the peer-review process; and
other forms of research or publication misconduct.
JMID follows the principles and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) when addressing publication-ethics concerns.
5. Authorship and Contributorship
Authorship must reflect substantial intellectual contributions to the conception or design of the work, acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data, together with meaningful participation in drafting or critically revising the manuscript and approval of the final version.
All listed authors must approve the submitted manuscript and accept responsibility for their contributions to the work.
Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be appropriately acknowledged.
JMID does not support guest, gift, honorary, or ghost authorship.
Changes to authorship after submission require appropriate justification and agreement from all affected authors and may be subject to editorial review.
Further requirements are provided in the Authorship and Contributorship Policy.
6. Conflicts of Interest
Authors, reviewers, editors, and Editorial Board Members must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that could influence the interpretation, evaluation, or editorial handling of a manuscript.
Conflicts may arise from financial, personal, professional, institutional, academic, or other relationships.
Editors and reviewers with a relevant conflict of interest must not participate in the evaluation or editorial decision-making process for the affected manuscript.
Further details are provided in the Conflict of Interest Policy.
7. Plagiarism and Similarity Screening
JMID screens submitted manuscripts using appropriate similarity-detection software and editorial assessment to identify plagiarism, substantial inappropriate text overlap, duplicate publication, and other forms of inappropriate reuse.
Similarity-detection results are considered as part of the editorial assessment and are not, by themselves, conclusive evidence of plagiarism or research misconduct.
Where concerns are identified, the journal may request clarification from authors, reject the manuscript, or initiate an appropriate investigation in accordance with the journal's publication-ethics procedures.
8. Research Ethics and Ethical Approval
Research involving human participants, human data, animals, or other ethically sensitive materials must comply with applicable ethical and legal requirements.
Where applicable, manuscripts must include information concerning:
approval by an appropriate research ethics committee or institutional review board;
informed consent from human participants;
consent for publication where required;
ethical approval for animal research;
compliance with relevant animal-welfare requirements; and
appropriate protection of confidential or identifiable information.
Authors are responsible for providing accurate information concerning ethical approval and consent.
9. Data Availability and Reproducibility
JMID supports transparency and reproducibility in research.
Authors are encouraged to make underlying research data, analytical code, protocols, materials, and other relevant resources available where ethically, legally, and practically appropriate.
Where data cannot be made publicly available because of privacy, confidentiality, legal, ethical, or other legitimate restrictions, authors should provide an appropriate explanation and, where possible, indicate how qualified researchers may obtain access.
10. Post-Publication Discussions and Corrections
JMID welcomes substantive scholarly discussion concerning published articles.
Readers and researchers may communicate concerns, comments, or corrections regarding published content through the journal's established communication channels.
Where a published article is found to contain an error or raises concerns regarding research or publication integrity, JMID may publish an appropriate correction, retraction, expression of concern, or other post-publication notice in accordance with the circumstances and applicable publication-ethics standards.
11. Editorial Board Governance
The composition of the JMID Editorial Board is intended to reflect the journal's scope, disciplines, and international scholarly community.
Editorial Board Members are expected to:
contribute to the academic development of the journal;
maintain confidentiality regarding editorial and peer-review matters;
disclose relevant conflicts of interest;
uphold research and publication integrity;
participate appropriately in editorial activities; and
comply with the journal's editorial and ethical policies.
The Editorial Board is periodically reviewed to ensure that its expertise, geographic representation, and level of activity remain appropriate for the journal.
12. Editorial Board Member Removal
An Editorial Board Member may be removed when there are substantiated concerns that materially affect the integrity, quality, or proper functioning of the journal.
Grounds for removal may include:
proven serious research or publication misconduct;
plagiarism or fabrication/falsification;
serious or repeated breaches of confidentiality;
failure to disclose or appropriately manage significant conflicts of interest;
persistent failure to fulfill agreed editorial responsibilities;
serious or repeated violations of journal policies;
misuse of the editorial position for personal, financial, or professional gain;
serious unprofessional conduct that materially compromises the journal's editorial functions; or
substantiated involvement in fraudulent or seriously unethical publishing practices.
Affiliation or association with another journal or publisher, by itself, does not constitute grounds for removal. Any concerns regarding another publishing entity must be assessed on the basis of specific, credible, and substantiated conduct rather than affiliation alone.
Removal Procedure
Concerns regarding an Editorial Board Member may be submitted to the Editor-in-Chief or another designated editorial or publisher representative.
The matter will be assessed initially to determine whether there is a credible basis for further investigation.
Where a formal investigation is warranted, an appropriately independent person or committee may review the available evidence. The Editorial Board Member concerned will normally be given an opportunity to respond to the allegations and provide relevant information.
Individuals with an actual or potential conflict of interest shall not participate in the investigation or decision.
Where the matter concerns the Editor-in-Chief, the investigation and decision will be handled by an appropriately independent senior editorial or publisher-appointed authority.
Depending on the findings and seriousness of the matter, possible outcomes may include no further action, advice or corrective measures, temporary suspension of editorial responsibilities, or removal from the Editorial Board.
Where appropriate and consistent with confidentiality, privacy, and applicable legal requirements, the journal may publish a notice concerning a removal related to serious misconduct.
13. Complaints and Appeals
JMID provides mechanisms for authors, reviewers, Editorial Board Members, and other stakeholders to raise legitimate concerns or appeal editorial decisions.
Complaints and appeals are handled fairly, objectively, and as confidentially as reasonably possible.
Individuals involved in reviewing a complaint or appeal must declare and manage any relevant conflict of interest.
Further information is provided in the Complaints and Appeals Policy.
14. Continuous Review of Editorial Policies
JMID periodically reviews its editorial policies to ensure continued alignment with developments in scholarly publishing, research-integrity standards, and recognized international best practices.
Changes to editorial policies are implemented transparently and communicated through the journal website when appropriate.
Editorial Accountability
The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board are responsible for maintaining the scientific and editorial quality of JMID, while the publisher is responsible for providing the infrastructure and resources necessary for the effective operation of the journal.
JMID is committed to ensuring that its published content, editorial practices, and website information accurately reflect the policies and procedures of the journal.
