Editorial Policy

MediCo Life Science Journal (ISSN 0000-0000, e-ISSN 0000-0000) is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal of medical and life sciences committed to academic excellence, ethical publishing, editorial independence and transparency. All published research is made freely available to clinicians, researchers, educators and the wider scientific community.

Our editorial and ethical framework follows the guidance of internationally recognised bodies, including the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) principles of transparency and best practice in scholarly publishing.

Authorship is defined according to the ICMJE recommendations and carries academic responsibility, scientific accountability and ethical integrity. An author is someone who has made a significant intellectual contribution to the work and accepts responsibility for its accuracy and validity. Authorship cannot be claimed on the basis of institutional position, financial contribution, seniority or administrative authority.

Every listed author must meet all four ICMJE conditions: substantial contribution to the conception or design of the work, or to the acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data; drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content; final approval of the version to be published; and agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Contributors who do not meet all four criteria — such as those providing technical help, data collection, administrative support, language editing or general supervision — must not be listed as authors but may be acknowledged with their permission.

Guest, gift, honorary, ghost and purchased authorship are strictly prohibited. The journal follows COPE guidance on authorship misconduct and may reject manuscripts or notify institutions where unethical authorship practices are detected.

Requests to add, remove or rearrange authors after submission must be made in writing, signed by all authors. No authorship change is permitted after acceptance except for compelling ethical or academic reasons.

For group or multi-centre collaborations, group authorship is acceptable when each listed member meets the full ICMJE criteria and the group's role is clearly described in the manuscript.

The journal is committed to maintaining the integrity and long-term accuracy of its published record. Every article receives a unique Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for permanent citability, and our update metadata allows readers to verify at any time whether the version they are reading is current.

When a published article requires a correction, a published notice of correction is issued and linked directly to the original DOI. Where the validity of an article is called into question because of ethical concerns, analytical errors, data inaccuracies or misconduct, the journal may publish an Expression of Concern or a Retraction in line with internationally accepted guidelines. All such notices remain permanently linked to the article record.

If no update notice is displayed for an article, readers can trust that the article is the version of record and has not been modified since publication.

Every submitted manuscript is screened with recognised similarity-detection software (such as Turnitin or iThenticate) before peer review. As a general rule, an overall similarity index of 19% or below may be considered acceptable, provided that matched text is properly cited, quoted, or falls within standard methodology, references or common terminology.

In addition to the overall threshold, we apply a single-source overlap limit: no single external source should account for a disproportionate share of matching text, even when the total similarity remains within limits. Excessive borrowing from one source will lead to revision requests or rejection.

Authors must declare at submission that the work is original, is not under consideration elsewhere, and that any reuse of previously published material — including their own — is properly cited. If a violation is found after publication, the journal may issue a correction or retraction and apply sanctions such as a submission ban or institutional notification.

The journal operates a strict double-blind peer review process in which the identities of both authors and reviewers are concealed from each other. This protects academic neutrality and ensures that manuscripts are judged solely on scientific merit.

Each submission is first screened by the editorial office for scope, formatting and similarity, then assigned to at least two independent reviewers with relevant subject expertise. Reviewers evaluate originality, methodology, statistical soundness, ethical compliance and the significance of the findings.

Based on the reviewers' reports, the editorial team decides to accept, request minor or major revision, or reject the manuscript. Reviewer identities are never disclosed to authors, and authors must ensure their manuscripts are fully anonymised before submission.

Every author accepts full responsibility for the integrity of the entire work: the accuracy of data, transparent reporting of methods, confirmation that ethical approvals and participant consents were obtained, and compliance with ethical and scientific standards.

The journal may refuse publication or retract a published article if any author is unwilling to uphold these responsibilities, and will act on credible concerns raised before or after publication in accordance with COPE flowcharts.