The author (s) of a scientific article should have contributed to a research article in a meaningful and substantive way. A person who contributes to the research but whose name is excluded from the authors’ list is known as a ghost author. Whereas a guest author doesn’t contribute in a meaningful way to the research and preparation of the manuscript, however, appears on the author's byline. Often, guest authors are influential persons invited by the principal author to get favours later. (...) Gift authorship often involves mutual authorship among the articles of colleagues and vice-versa. The Inclusion of ghost authors, guests, or gift authors is common in the district town’s journal of Noakhali. This article was written to express my ten years of experience regarding the malpractices of authorship of a medical journal as an editor of a medical journal. It is a common phenomenon that after a few days of submitting an article to the editor’s office, the principal author requests to insert another author or to change the order of the author’s position. Members of the editorial board and reviewer of the article insert their names as authors violating the ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors) guidelines. Course on authorship should be almost important to change the trend of our current culture in publishing articles, especially district medical college Journals. (shrink)

Peer review has been adopted by most journals to evaluate the quality of submitted manuscripts, for which peer reviewers aim to provide a critical, independent and unbiased assessment. Peer review is ever evolving, with no single peer review system being perfect currently. This review article aims to give a broad overview of the various types of peer review, their advantages, pitfalls, and some related controversies.

Authorship is a significant aspect of scientific research publications, serving as a primary means of acknowledging the intellectual contributions of individuals and shaping career trajectories. However, determining authorship ethically and fairly in health science research remains a complex and multifaceted issue. This scoping review aims to explore the existing literature surrounding ethical considerations associated with authorship determination in health science research publications. A scoping review methodology was employed to search relevant databases (PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science) for studies published (...) between 1989 and 2023. A total of 25 studies met the inclusion criteria. The findings revealed that ethical authorship practices in health science research are complex and multifaceted. This review emphasized how crucial it is to have precise rules and guidelines for deciding who is the author in academic journals, research institutes, and societies. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) has published several ethical principles to address the difficulties associated with authorship determination. Still, there are differences and disagreements in how these rules are interpreted and applied, which could present moral enigmas. The review also examines new ethical issues arising from multidisciplinary and collaborative research, such as the responsibilities of industry collaborations and funding, shared authorship, and acknowledging the contributions of other groups. Maintaining the integrity of health science research and encouraging responsible collaboration requires making sure that authorship determination is transparent, equitable, and accountable. According to the common census, key ethical considerations include: Authorship should be based on substantial contributions to the research project. Authors should be transparent about their contributions and accountable for the content of the publication. Ghost authorship, where individuals who have made significant contributions are not listed as authors, and gift authorship, where individuals who have not made significant contributions are included as authors, are unethical practices. Authors should disclose any conflicts of interest that could influence their judgment or interpretation of the research findings. (shrink)

Bangladesh experiences unique challenges in publishing medical research in peer reviewed and high-impact international and national journals. These hurdles come from a combination of factors, including lack of healthcare professional to meet healthcare demand of large number of populations, limited research funding, inadequate research training, and a lack of mentorship for aspiring researchers. Additionally, the language barrier, particularly with English as the predominant language of scientific communication, poses a significant obstacle. Consequently, Bangladeshi researchers often struggle to meet the rigorous standards (...) and competitive landscape of international journals. TMSS Medical College Journal (TMCJ) has also been experiencing some challenges since it has been started in July 2013. Therefore, based on the TMCJ own experience, this study was designed to explore the challenges of medical journal publication. The aim of this study was to explore the challenges of medical journal publication of a medical college in Northern Bangladesh. This qualitative study was conducted in Bogura, Northern Bangladesh. Study participants were journal editors, advisors and editorial board members and authors of TMCJ. The journal and participants were selected purposively. An interview guideline was used to collect in-depth data from eleven providers. This study found lack of quality research papers for publishing each and every issue of the journal. Quality research paper includes well written methodology, analysis, findings, proper citation and language. One of the journal editors (KII-01) mentioned that “We are not receiving a sufficient number of manuscripts, and those we do receive are not publishable.” Associated factors of receiving less paper for publications were more emphasis given on serving patients and students, lack of interest in research, limited research funding, inadequate research training, and a lack of mentorship for young researchers. The potential interventions for removing barriers were enhance research funding, strengthen research training programs, promoting English language proficiency and foster mentorship opportunities. Lack of quality research papers is one of the major challenges for publishing medical journal. By overcoming these barriers, Bangladesh can enhance its contribution to the global body of medical knowledge and improve healthcare outcomes for its population. (shrink)

Plagiarism defines as the act of using another person work or ideas without giving proper crediton, is a widespread problem in both academic and professional settings. This abstract investigates the many facets of plagiarism, including its numerous ramifications and the potential preventative steps. Plagiarism can manifest itself in a variety of ways, including the outright copying of content or the paraphrasing the text without correct or lack of referencing. Plagiarism brings about a wide range of consequences from academic penalties such (...) as failing grades to legal repercussions in professional contexts. In addition to this, it is detrimental to the principles of intellectual honesty and stifles the development of skills in critical thinking. Lack of awareness about citation procedures is one of the cause. Both employers and educational institutions have a responsibility to adopt preventative actions in order to solve this problem. implementation of instructional programs on appropriate ways of citation, the cultivation of a culture of academic integrity, and the utilization of systems that detect instances of plagiarism are the solution. (shrink)