AIM AND SCOPE
BUMJ is a multidisciplinary journal, published by the Babcock Medical Society, that provides rapid publication of peer-reviewed new human research findings in all the specialties of basic health sciences, basic clinical sciences, and clinical sciences with a strong emphasis on community health. We are keen on disseminating evidence-based pragmatic insights into health issues in Africa.
The journal seeks to publish original manuscripts of new human research findings, review articles, and commentaries on topical issues. Brief reports, case reports, and letters to the editor will also be considered.
OPEN ACCESS
All articles published in BUMJ are made freely and perpetually available online upon publication. Authors of articles published in the journal hold the copyright to their articles and grant to any third party the right to use, reproduce, and disseminate the articles following global best practices. All published articles can be accessed here
BUMJ (print copy) was initially published quarterly in March, June, September, and December in the first three years of its existence but since January 2020, it is being published bi-annually in June and December. However, accepted manuscripts are published immediately online, ahead of print. The print copy attracts a subscription fee of ₦6,000 per annum or ₦3,500 per edition or U.S. Dollars equivalents.
ISSN
Print: 2465-6666
Online: 2756-4657
ARTICLE-PROCESSING CHARGES
If accepted, each manuscript published will attract a processing fee of $100 for international lead authors or ₦45,000 for Nigerian lead authors. This is necessary since the journal does not receive any external funding.
EDITORIAL POLICY
BUMJ's editorial board complies strictly with the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics(COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICJME) -http://www.icmje.org/. All submissions to the Journal are based on the understanding and commitment that such is not being submitted, under processing, or already accepted by any other Journal. Also, no substantial portion of the data that forms the basis of the submission should have been previously published.
PEER-REVIEW POLICY AND PROCESS
Peer review is the process used to evaluate manuscripts before they are published. Independent reviewers in the relevant disciplines appraise all submitted manuscripts for authenticity, soundness, and significance to help the Editors ascertain the suitability of the manuscript for publication in the journal.
All submissions will first undergo a mandatory editorial assessment that will form the basis for the decision to subject manuscripts to further peer review or immediate rejection. Manuscripts that successfully scale this initial check will undergo a double-blind peer review by at least two theme experts. Their counsel will guide editorial decisions. The editorial decision would be to either accept, reject or request a review. The BUMJ would usually provide an editorial decision to authors within seven weeks of complete submission. Authors who do not receive a decision within this period should seek clarification from the Editor-in-Chief. The Journal expects authors to respond to reviewers comments within four weeks of receiving them. Revised manuscripts may either be reviewed in-house or subjected to another round of peer-review, depending on the extent of the reviews required.Â
It is within the rights of the Journal's editorial board to edit the accepted manuscript to meet its style and language. The Journal publishes both in print and online.
ACADEMIC FRAUD
The Journal maintains an absolute ZERO tolerance for data and submission duplication, data falsification, and fabrication, and the editorial board will act according to international best practices (as highlighted by the ICJME) to curb such misdemeanors. Likewise, we stand against plagiarism in all of its forms. All submissions are subjected to scrutiny using the Turnitin software. Authors who engage in academic fraud will be blacklisted and reported to their institutions, while their manuscripts will be rejected or retracted, as the case may be.
APPEALS AND COMPLAINTS
Authors who wish to contest a rejection or make a complaint should write a detailed email to the editor at editor.bumj@babcock.edu.ng, attaching all relevant documentation. All complaints will be properly investigated and will receive a decision within a reasonable period. The Editor's decision is final.
INDEXING SERVICE
The articles published in BUMJ are included in Google Scholar, Crossref, African Index Medicus, DOAJ, JGate, ScienceOpen, and Scilit.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST (COI) POLICY
The BUMJ COI policy aligns with those elucidated by the ICMJE. Conflicts of interest are not uncommon, and may sometimes be unavoidable. COI are secondary interests (eg personal, commercial, political, academic or financial) that may influence judgments on a primary decision, in this case, what is published Financial conflict of interests may arise from employers, funders, sponsors, shareholders, or in situations like consultancies, payments for services, etc.
The journal opines that all possible COI should be detected and disclosed. While in extreme cases, COI may lead to refusal to publish manuscripts, most cases of COI of interests are manageable. The journal will manage COI in the following ways
- The author's COI
The Journal requests authors to declare all possible COI in writing based on the Author's guidelines:
Competing interests: Authors must declare all financial and non-financial competing interests Kindly use author initials to describe each author. If the authors do not have any competing interests, please state that “The authors declare that they have no competing interests" in this section.
- The reviewer's COI
The Journal editors will work hard to eliminate potential COI during the process of selecting reviewers. Within the limits of reason, the author's requests for the exclusion of reviewers will be honored. All potential reviewers must disclose COI both before accepting to undertake reviews and at any point during the process when they identify any COI. They should decline to participate or ask to be recused from further participation when it becomes appropriate to do so. Conflict of interest would include but are not limited to,
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- Co-authorship with any of the authors in the preceding three years
- D. supervisor or supervisee
- Personal relationship
- Professional/personal compensation for the review
- Financial interest
- The editorial Board Member COI
Editorial Board member's submissions receive the same treatment as other similar manuscripts. A different Editor or a Guest Editor will be appointed to oversee the review process.
- The editor's COI
From January 2020, the serving editors cannot make submissions to the Journal. Editors will recuse themselves from editorial decisions when they have COI. If in doubt, Editors should discuss with the Editor-in-Chief, who will arbitrate accordingly.
DIGITAL ARCHIVING POLICY
The journal archives all its online manuscripts in LOCKSS and CLOCKSS systems, using the Open Journal System (OJS). Also, all the online articles are assigned Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) and registered with CrossRef to ensure perpetual access.
REPOSITORY POLICY
The journal permits the authors to deposit all versions (including submitted, accepted, and published) of their articles in institutional and other repositories of their choice without an embargo.
COPYRIGHT
All materials published in the Babcock University Medical Journal (BUMJ) are protected by the Copyrights Laws of Nigeria. The Authors reserves copyright of their published articles but give all the users (Authors, Readers, and Researchers) free access to all materials published online under the provisions of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License. However, permissions are granted to copy, use, and distribute the contents only for non-commercial but academic and scientific purposes with the proviso that the source of the content is appropriately cited and credited.