Editorial Policies

Focus and Scope

JIM is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal published biannually (March and September) by the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Maulana Malik Ibrahim State Islamic University (UIN) Malang. JIM serves as a scholarly platform for researchers, academics, clinicians, and healthcare professionals to disseminate high-quality research in the fields of medicine and health sciences.

JIM publishes original research articles, review articles, and case reports in the following areas:

  • Basic Medical Sciences
  • Clinical Medicine
  • Public Health and Community Medicine
  • Medical and Health Professions Education
  • Hajj and Umrah Medicine
  • Islamic Medicine and Bioethics
  • Interdisciplinary Health Sciences

JIM welcomes manuscripts that present original research findings, critical reviews, and innovative approaches that advance evidence-based medicine, improve healthcare practice, and foster the integration of Islamic values with contemporary medicine and health sciences.

 

Section Policies

Articles

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Checked Peer Reviewed
 

Peer Review Process

JIM employs a double-blind peer review process starting with Vol. 10 No. 1 (2026), in which the identities of both authors and reviewers will remain anonymous throughout the review process.

All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial editorial screening to assess their suitability for the journal's scope, scientific quality, originality, compliance with the journal's formatting requirements, and adherence to ethical standards. Manuscripts that do not meet these criteria may be rejected without external peer review.

Manuscripts that successfully pass the initial screening are evaluated by at least two independent reviewers with relevant expertise in the subject area. Based on the reviewers' recommendations, the Editor makes the final decision regarding acceptance, revision, or rejection of the manuscript.

Peer Review Workflow:

  • Manuscript submission.
  • Initial editorial screening.
  • Double-blind peer review.
  • Editorial decision.
  • Author revision (if required).
  • Final decision and publication.

 

Publication Frequency

This journal is published twice a year, with issues released in March and September. Articles are published collectively as part of each scheduled issue after completing the editorial and peer-review process.

 

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

All articles published in this journal are immediately and permanently free to read and download. We continuously work with our author community to ensure the best licensing options. Currently, this journal uses the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

 

Archiving

This journal utilizes the LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) system to support the long-term preservation and continued accessibility of its published content. LOCKSS creates a distributed archiving system among participating libraries, allowing them to maintain permanent archives of the journal for preservation and restoration purposes.

The LOCKSS Publisher Manifest page for this journal is available at: https://ejournal.uin-malang.ac.id/index.php/jim/gateway/lockss

All published issues and articles of this journal are electronically archived and openly accessible through the Archives page.

 

Publication Ethics Statement

Journal of islamic Medicine adheres strictly to the publication ethics established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). We uphold integrity, transparency, fairness, and accountability at every stage to ensure responsible contributions to Islamic cultural studies. All authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher must comply with these standards. Below is a summary of our core principles; full guidance is available at COPE Core Practices.  

1. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship Criteria

Each listed author must meet all four of the following criteria:

  • Make substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data.
  • Draft the manuscript or critically revise it for important intellectual content.
  • Provide final approval of the version to be published.
  • Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Contributorship and CRediT Taxonomy

Individuals who contribute to a study but do not meet all four authorship criteria, such as those providing funding alone, general supervision, or administrative or technical support, must not be listed as authors. Their contributions should instead be acknowledged in the Acknowledgments section, with their permission. Authors are encouraged to specify individual contributions using the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT).

Prohibition of Inappropriate Authorship

Ghost authorship, guest or gift authorship, and the designation of artificial intelligence (AI) tools as co-authors are strictly prohibited. All listed authors must have made qualifying contributions and meet the established authorship criteria.

Authorship Disputes

Requests to add, remove, or rearrange authors' names before or after publication must be supported by written consent from all listed authors. Such disputes will be handled in accordance with the relevant COPE guidelines and flowcharts.

2. Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest, also referred to as a competing interest, arises when financial, personal, academic, or institutional relationships could influence, or be perceived to influence, professional judgment and objectivity.

Author Disclosures

Authors must disclose all relevant financial and non-financial competing interests at the time of submission using the journal's prescribed disclosure form. Disclosures should include, where applicable, research grants, commercial sponsorships, honoraria, stock ownership, and consultancy roles within the relevant period.

If no competing interests exist, authors must include the following statement:

“The authors declare no conflict of interest.”

Editor and Reviewer Recusal

Editors and reviewers must declare any potential conflicts of interest and withdraw from evaluating manuscripts when personal, financial, academic, or institutional relationships could compromise the impartiality of their assessment.

Undisclosed Conflicts

Suspected undisclosed competing interests identified before or after publication will be investigated in accordance with relevant COPE guidelines and flowcharts. Depending on the findings, corrective action may include a published correction or article retraction.

3. Research Misconduct

JIM maintains a strict policy against research misconduct and unethical publishing practices.

Types of Research Misconduct

  • Data Fabrication: Inventing research data or results and presenting them as genuine.
  • Data Falsification: Manipulating research materials, equipment, processes, or data, including altering or omitting findings in ways that misrepresent the research.
  • Plagiarism: Using another person's ideas, text, data, or intellectual property without appropriate acknowledgment or citation.
  • Citation Manipulation: Including irrelevant or excessive citations primarily to inflate citation counts for particular authors, publications, or journals.

Investigation Procedures

When allegations of research misconduct arise, the Editorial Board will assess the available evidence and may suspend manuscript processing while requesting a formal explanation from the authors. If the response is inadequate or the allegations remain substantiated, JIM may refer the matter to the authors' affiliated institution or relevant regulatory bodies for further investigation, in accordance with applicable COPE recommendations.

Appropriate editorial action will be taken based on the findings of the investigation.

4. Duplicate Publication

Submitted manuscripts must report original, unpublished work and must not be under consideration by another journal simultaneously. Concurrent submission is strictly prohibited.

Redundant Publication and Salami Slicing

Reproducing substantial portions of previously published work without appropriate disclosure, as well as inappropriately dividing a single study or dataset into multiple publications to increase publication output, is prohibited.

Text Recycling and Secondary Data Analysis

Reusing previously published text or conducting secondary analyses of previously published datasets must be transparently disclosed, appropriately justified, and properly cited. Such practices must not mislead readers regarding the originality of the work.

Acceptable Prior Dissemination

The following activities do not necessarily constitute prior publication, provided they are transparently declared at submission and comply with applicable policies:

  • Presenting preliminary findings at academic conferences through abstracts or posters.
  • Registering clinical trial information in public registries.
  • Depositing theses or dissertations in university repositories.
  • Posting preprints on recognized preprint servers.

Authors remain responsible for disclosing any prior dissemination that may affect the assessment of originality.

5. Image Manipulation

Digital images, including micrographs, gel electrophoresis images, and graphical representations of research data, must accurately reflect the original data.

Permissible Image Adjustments

Adjustments to brightness, contrast, or color balance are acceptable only when applied uniformly to the entire image and relevant control samples, provided that the adjustments do not obscure, remove, or misrepresent any information.

Prohibited Image Manipulation

Selective enhancement, removal, addition, or alteration of specific image features is prohibited. Inappropriate practices include undisclosed gel splicing, selective background cleaning, and any manipulation that distorts the original findings.

Availability of Original Images

Authors must be prepared to provide original, unprocessed, high-resolution image files upon request by the Editor or reviewers during editorial evaluation or image-integrity screening.

6. Corrections and Retractions

JIM is committed to preserving the integrity of the scholarly record through timely, transparent, and appropriate post-publication notices.

Corrections (Erratum/Corrigendum)

Corrections are issued when honest errors, such as typographical mistakes, calculation errors, or inaccuracies in author information, are identified and do not invalidate the overall findings or conclusions of the article.

Expressions of Concern

An Expression of Concern may be issued by the Editor-in-Chief when credible allegations of misconduct or other serious concerns arise and the available evidence is inconclusive or an institutional investigation is ongoing.

Retractions

Articles may be retracted in accordance with COPE retraction guidelines when their findings are unreliable because of major errors, data fabrication, data falsification, serious plagiarism, duplicate publication, or other substantial breaches of publication ethics.

Retraction notices will clearly explain the reasons for retraction and be prominently linked to the original article. Retraction notices will remain freely accessible to readers.

7. Complaints and Appeals

JIM provides a transparent, fair, and impartial process for handling editorial appeals and complaints.

Appeals Against Editorial Decisions

Authors may submit a formal written appeal to the Editorial Office if they believe an editorial decision resulted from a factual misunderstanding, procedural irregularity, or potential reviewer bias. Appeals must include clear supporting evidence or a detailed scientific rebuttal.

The Editor-in-Chief, or an appropriately designated independent editor, will review the appeal. The decision following the appeal will be final.

Complaints Regarding Editorial Governance

Complaints concerning journal staff, editorial procedures, review delays, or publication ethics may be submitted to the Editorial Office. Such complaints will be assessed fairly and independently in accordance with the journal's policies and relevant COPE guidance.

8. Post-Publication Discussion

JIM encourages constructive academic debate and scholarly dialogue following publication to support the critical evaluation and advancement of knowledge.

Letters to the Editor

Readers may submit letters containing constructive commentary, critical assessments, or scientific questions concerning articles published in JIM. Submissions must be evidence-based, relevant, and respectful of academic standards.

Author's Right of Reply

Authors of the original article will be given an opportunity to respond to substantive criticisms through a formal Author's Response. Where appropriate, the response and the original commentary may be published together to facilitate balanced scholarly discussion.

Ethical Escalation

If post-publication discussions reveal substantial scientific errors, ethical violations, or concerns regarding research integrity, JIM will investigate the matter in accordance with its editorial policies and relevant COPE guidelines. Appropriate action may include publishing a correction, issuing an Expression of Concern, or retracting the article, depending on the findings.

JIM is committed to ensuring that all editorial and post-publication actions are conducted transparently, fairly, and in the interest of maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record.

 

Open Access Policy

 This journal provides immediate open access to all published content, based on the principle that unrestricted access to research promotes the global exchange of knowledge and advances scientific progress.

All articles published in this journal are made freely available online immediately upon publication and may be accessed, read, downloaded, and shared without subscription fees or access charges.

This journal publishes all articles under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Internasional License (CC BY-SA 4.0)

 

Plagiarism Policy

This journal accepts only original manuscripts that have not been previously published and are not under consideration for publication elsewhere. All submitted manuscripts will be screened for plagiarism using Turnitin before proceeding to the peer-review process. Manuscripts with a similarity index exceeding 20% may be returned to the authors for revision or rejected at the discretion of the Editor.

 

Journal's Contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

JIM supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly:

  • SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-being: By promoting high-quality research that advances disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment, public health, and the quality of healthcare services.
  • SDG 4 – Quality Education: By publishing research in medical and health professions education that enhances teaching, learning, curriculum development, and professional competency.
  • SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals: By fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and facilitating knowledge exchange among researchers, healthcare professionals, academic institutions, and policymakers at both national and international levels.

 

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) Policy

JIM allows limited use of GenAI and other assistive technologies. Their use must follow the principles of academic integrity and human responsibility.

Authors
GenAI may only be used for English language editing and reference checking. Authors must disclose any use of these tools. The statement should include the name of the tool and its purpose. GenAI cannot be listed as an author. Authors remain fully responsible for the content of the manuscript.

Editors
Editors must protect the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts. They must not upload manuscripts or confidential editorial information to public GenAI platforms. Editorial decisions must be made by human editors.

Reviewers
Reviewers must protect manuscript confidentiality. They must not upload manuscripts or other confidential content to GenAI systems. GenAI must not be used to conduct or assist peer review. Reviewers remain responsible for their evaluation and review reports.