Guidelines for Editing Biomedical Journals: Recommended by Academy of Medical Sciences of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Background: Enormous number of medical journals published around the globe requires standardization of editing practice. Objective: The aim of this article was to enlist main principles of editing biomedical scientific journals adopted at annual meeting of Academy of Medical Sciences of Bosnia & Herzegovina (AMSB&H). Methods: The evidence for writing this Guideline was systematically searched for during September 2020 in the PUBMED and GOOGLE SCHOLAR databases. The inclusion criteria were: original studies, systematic reviews, invited expert opinions, guidelines and editorials. The exclusion criteria were narrative reviews and uninvited opinion articles. The retrieved evidence was analyzed by members of the AMSB&H, then discussed at 2020 annual meeting of the AMSB&H and adopted by nominal group technique. Results: In total 14 recommendations were made, based on A to C class of evidence. The editors should educate potential authors and instruct them how to structure their manuscript, how to write every segment of the manuscript, and take care about correct use of statistical tests. Plagiarism detection softwares should be used regularly, and statistical and technical editing should be rigorous and thorough. International standards of reporting specific types of studies should be followed, and principles of ethical and responsible behavior of editors, reviewers and authors should be published on the journal’s web site. The editors should insist on registration of clinical studies before submission, and check whether non-essential personal information is removed from the articles; when essential personal information has to be included, an article should not be published without signed informed consent by the patient to whom these information relate. Conclusions: Principles of editing biomedical scientific journals recommended in this guideline should serve as one of the means of improving medical journals’ quality.

Predatory Journals and Publishers - Dilemmas: How to Assess it and How to Avoid it?

“…From then until today, I have published several articles on this issue ( 10 - 20 ), but also organized several scientific conferences in this area ( 21 , 22 ). Finally, with a group of like-minded people and fellow editors of biomedical journals in the Balkans, we have prepared several strategic documents ( 23 , 24 ) to try to prevent and reduce the problems in editing and publishing journals to a minimum, because these problems cannot be eradicated by any known methods and mechanisms. And there are many reasons for that.…”

On the Occasion of the Symposium "Scientometry, Citation, Plagiarism and Predatory in Scientific Publishing", Sarajevo, 2021

“…BOMRAD Form for editing and preparing articles for publishing in biomedical journals mentioned in Guidelines established by AMNuBiH members are accepted in scientific practice, also. Additionally, the "Sarajevo Declaration on Integrity and Visibility of Scholarly Journal", proposed by AMNuBiH members, is already accepted as standard in more than 50 journals ( 6 , 7 ). An important discussion was about the use of the EASE Quick-Check Table for Submissions, adopted in 2020, and other improvements explained by Sylwia Ufnalska ( 1 , 25 , 26 ).…”

Instead of the Letter to the Editor–Dilemma: Is a New Form of Blackmail Emerging in the World of Scientific Journals Publishing?

“…The author of this text is one of the most distinguished and influential scientists in the world in the field of scientific editing, with experience in editing since the student days of 1975/1976 (founder and editor of a scientific journal for 15 medical faculties in the former Yugoslavia), Editor-in-Chief of 5 indexed biomedical journals, former member of the Council of the European Association of Science Editors (EASE), author of numerous books and papers ( 1 - 37 ), especially in the field of scientific editing. One of these is the book edited by Mohammadali M. Shoja, Anastasia Arynchyna, Marios Loukas, Anthony V. D’antony, Sandra M. Buerger and asociates (A Guide to the Scientific Career - Virtues Communication, Research, and Academic Writing, Wiley Blackwell, London, 2019, 792 pages) ( 3 ), in which Chapter 19 is authored by Izet Masic (Plagiarism and How to Avoid it) and Chapter 41 is authored by Jeffrey Beall (Sholarly Open-Access Publishing) and we both know each other perfectly and know who is who in science editing.…”