Information for Authors

Journal of Al-Amal College for Specialised Medical Sciences

The Editorial Process

A manuscript will be reviewed for possible publication with the understanding that it is being submitted to Journal of Al-Amal College for Specialised Medical Sciences alone at that point in time and has not been published anywhere, simultaneously submitted, or already accepted for publication elsewhere. The journal expects that authors would authorize one of them to correspond with the Journal for all matters related to the manuscript. All manuscripts received are duly acknowledged. On submission, editors review all submitted manuscripts initially for suitability for formal review. Manuscripts with insufficient originality, serious scientific or technical flaws, or lack of a significant message are rejected before proceeding for formal peer-review. Manuscripts that are unlikely to be of interest to the Journal of Al-Amal College for Specialised Medical Sciences readers are also liable to be rejected at this stage itself.

Manuscripts received from Editorial Board members will be screened by the Editor-in-Chief and sent to external peer reviewers. The editorial board members who are authors will be excluded from publication decisions.

Manuscripts that are found suitable for publication in Journal of Al-Amal College for Specialised Medical Sciences are sent to two or more expert reviewers. During submission, the contributor is requested to provide names of two or three qualified reviewers who have had experience in the subject of the submitted manuscript, but this is not mandatory. The reviewers should not be affiliated with the same institutes as the contributor(s). However, the selection of these reviewers is at the sole discretion of the editor. The journal follows a double-blind review process, wherein the reviewers and authors are unaware of each other's identity. Every manuscript is also assigned to a member of the editorial team, who, based on the comments from the reviewers, takes a final decision on the manuscript. The comments and suggestions (acceptance/rejection/amendments in manuscript) received from reviewers are conveyed to the corresponding author. If required, the author is requested to provide a point-by-point response to reviewers' comments and submit a revised version of the manuscript. This process is repeated until reviewers and editors are satisfied with the manuscript.

Manuscripts accepted for publication are copy edited for grammar, punctuation, print style, and format. Page proofs are sent to the corresponding author. The corresponding author is expected to return the corrected proofs within three days. It may not be possible to incorporate corrections received after that period. The whole process of submission of the manuscript to final decision and sending and receiving proofs is completed online. To achieve faster and greater dissemination of knowledge and information, the journal publishes articles online as 'Ahead of Print' immediately on acceptance.

Appeals Process

Authors have the right to appeal if they believe the editorial board has wrongly rejected their paper. If authors wish to appeal the decision, they should email the editorial office at Journal@alamal.edu.iq, explaining in detail the reason for the appeal. Appeals will be acknowledged and investigated in an unbiased manner. The process typically takes 6–8 weeks. While under appeal, the manuscript should not be submitted to another journal. Final decisions rest with the Editor-in-Chief. Second appeals are not considered.

Anti-Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism includes duplicate publication of an author’s own work in whole or in part without proper citation, or misrepresenting others’ ideas, words, or expressions as one’s own. Journal of Al-Amal College for Specialised Medical Sciences enforces a strict anti-plagiarism policy. All submitted manuscripts undergo plagiarism checks using commercial software. Depending on the degree of similarity, authors may be asked to revise their manuscript. If plagiarism is discovered after publication, the journal will investigate, notify the author's institution and funders, and retract the article if confirmed.
To report plagiarism, contact: Journal@alamal.edu.iq

Authorship Criteria

Authorship credit should be based on substantial contributions to:

1. Concept and design of the study or data acquisition or data interpretation

2. Drafting or critically revising the manuscript for intellectual content

3. Final approval of the version to be published

Funding acquisition or general supervision does not qualify for authorship. All authors should take public responsibility for their contributions. The order of authorship must reflect individual contributions and cannot be changed post-submission without written consent from all authors. A maximum number of authors is prescribed based on the type and scope of the article. Justification is required if this limit is exceeded.

Contribution Details

Authors must clearly describe their individual contributions in categories such as: concept, design, literature search, clinical studies, data acquisition, analysis, statistics, drafting, editing, and final review. One or more authors must be designated as the guarantor(s), responsible for the integrity of the entire work.

Conflict of Interest / Competing Interests

All authors must declare any potential conflicts of interest relating to the manuscript, including institutional affiliations or competing products. Full transparency is required and must be disclosed at the time of submission.