Publication Ethics and Malpractice

The Libyan Open University Journal of Medical Sciences and Sustainability (LOUJMSS) is committed to maintaining the highest ethical standards in scholarly publishing. This policy outlines the duties and responsibilities of all parties involved to ensure the integrity of the journal and the research it publishes.

• Authors' Responsibilities

  • Originality: Authors must ensure their submissions are original, unpublished work and that all data is genuine.

  • Plagiarism: The journal strictly prohibits plagiarism, including self-plagiarism and the use of others' ideas or words without proper citation.

  • Authorship: All individuals listed as authors must have made a significant contribution to the research and approved the final manuscript.

  • Conflict of Interest: Authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest.

  • Corrections: If authors discover significant errors in their published work, they have an obligation to notify the journal promptly.

• Reviewers' Responsibilities

  • Confidentiality: Reviewers must treat all manuscripts as confidential documents.

  • Objectivity: Reviews should be objective and based solely on the scientific merit of the manuscript.

  • Conflicts: Reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest and should decline to review a manuscript if one exists.

  • Timeliness: Reviewers should provide their feedback in a timely manner.

• Editors' Responsibilities

  • Fair Play: Editors must evaluate manuscripts based on their intellectual content, without regard to the authors' race, gender, religion, or institutional affiliation.

  • Confidentiality: Editors must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the authors and reviewers.

  • Handling Misconduct: When ethical concerns are raised, editors are responsible for taking appropriate action, which may include investigations, corrections, or retractions.

The journal would have a zero-tolerance policy for academic misconduct. Any violation of this policy may result in the rejection of a manuscript or retraction of a published article.