Authorship
Being an author
All authors of a single manuscript of Pakistan Journal of Ethics do not require to communicate with the journal editor. The copyright form is sent to the corresponding author. The corresponding author is responsible for all sort of communication between the journal and all other co-authors of the submitted manuscript before and after publication. By signing the copyright statement the authors declare that they have agreed to the current authorship sequence and the affiliations mentioned are correct and approved the manuscript submission to the Pakistan Journal of Ethics. Authors are suggested to report all sorts of alterations before publication. For changes in the authorship sequence, the addition or deletion of authors from the list requires an approval statement from each author including the author to be added or removed.
All appropriate contributors must be included while generating the authorship sequence, keeping in view the level of contribution they made in the submitted manuscript. We expect authors to handle disputes regarding authorship but if they cannot do so the case must be brought to the editors.
Pakistan Journal of Ethics follows Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines for disagreement between the authors before and after publication.
After submission, we undertake that the corresponding author is accountable for the submitted manuscript to assure the data originality, its preservation, and is also responsible to provide all data files for evaluation during the review process.
Author contributions statements
Pakistan Journal of Ethics recommends a set of two to six co-authors mentioned in the authorship list as having equally contributed. We recommend Authors mention a contribution statement in the manuscript. The statement should specify the contribution made by the author in the manuscript preparation. The details may vary according to the manuscript category and the work done individually or in the form of a group.
The corresponding authors should have confidence in the integrity of the contributions of every other co-author. Also, an author must be able to identify which co-author is responsible for the specific part of the work and the corresponding authors should have confidence in the integrity of the contributions of every other co-author.
Pakistan Journal of Ethics includes only one corresponding author per article to avoid all sorts of miscommunication while the rest can be mentioned in the author list.
Corresponding Author - Prepublication responsibilities
Corresponding Author holds the responsibility for all sorts of communication with the journal regarding manuscript submission and publication process as its primary duty.
The corresponding author must ensure that all authors are included in the authors' list before manuscript submission. Also, verify whether all authors are pleased and approving on the current sequence of the authors' list. It must be verified by the corresponding author that all the journal’s administrative requirements are met and the manuscript is not under consideration or already published elsewhere.
Corresponding Author - Responsibilities after acceptance
After the rounds of review and editing the final copy-proof is sent to the corresponding author, it is now his/her responsibility to circulate the copy proof among other co-authors and further correspond with the journal on their behalf. Any request for a change after publication will not be considered, for the mistakes that were previously approved by the authors in the copy proof. The corresponding author is responsible for the accuracy of all the names, correct spellings, addresses and affiliations that are current for all the co-authors.
Corresponding Author - Responsibilities after publication
Consent is required by all Co-authors for any correction. In cases where one or some authors do not agree with the correction statement, the coordinating author must include a statement highlighting correspondence to and from the dissenting author(s).
Pakistan Journal of Ethics follows Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines for disagreement between the authors before and after publication.
Contributorship
According to the Pakistan Journal of Ethics criteria, the contributors of the study whose names are not given in the authors' list should be mentioned in the acknowledgment section at the end of the manuscript with details of the contribution made by the specific person.
Alteration to authorship or contributorship
After submission, any change initially in authors or contributors will be considered including additions, deletions, change of order, but the request must be approved by all authors. The changes must be explained clearly to the editor, who may further contact any of the authors to investigate whether they all agreed to any alteration.
In exceptional circumstances, the Editor considers the request for a change after acceptance of the manuscript. Publication of the respective manuscript will be suspended for a while. If the change is requested after the manuscript has been published Pakistan Journal of Ethics follows COPE guidelines for Changes in authorship.
A confidential process
Pakistan Journal of Ethics preserves the identities of the authors and reviewers. The communication between the authors and the editors is kept confidential. We expect the authors to maintain the confidentiality of the manuscript before publication, the author should avoid publicizing review reports and other relevant material. In case if the documents are publicized without prior permission or notice to the editor may lead to rejection of the manuscript.
Referee suggestions
We respect suggestions for the selective reviewers but the peer-reviewers are selected by the editors only. Although upon request a few may be excluded while making the choice.
Consortia authorship
Pakistan Journal of Ethics allows consortium authorships as well. We recommend highlighting the members of the consortium who agree to the responsibility of the author separately from those who do not.
