Complaints and Appeals Policy

Who May Raise a Concern

Authors, readers, reviewers, editors, participants, community partners, and other affected individuals may communicate an evidence-based concern about editorial procedure, conflict of interest, article accuracy, privacy, participant rights, or publication ethics.

Making a Complaint or Appeal

The complainant should identify the relevant article or submission, explain the concern clearly, and provide supporting evidence where available. Appeals against a rejection or other editorial decision should distinguish procedural irregularities from ordinary scientific disagreement with a reviewer's assessment.

Contact: JMS Editorial Office via the official journal contact information at JMS Contact page. Before this page is published, JMS should also display a dedicated and tested editorial email address in its Contact page.

Procedure

1. The journal acknowledges receipt and identifies the appropriate editor or publisher representative.
2. An individual without a relevant conflict evaluates the substance and supporting records.
3. Persons directly affected are ordinarily given a reasonable chance to explain or respond.
4. An independent editor or panel may be appointed when the complaint concerns the original handling editor or Editor-in-Chief.
5. The outcome is communicated with proportionate reasons, subject to confidentiality and personal-data restrictions.

The journal does not guarantee that an appeal will reverse the original decision. Retaliation against good-faith reporters or inappropriate disclosure of confidential information is prohibited. Reports indicating serious research misconduct may be referred to the relevant institution and handled in conjunction with the Publication Ethics and Corrections Policy.