Guidelines for Editors

Editors serve as custodians of academic and scientific quality at ClinMed Nexus: Journal of Clinical and Medical Research (CMN-CMR). Their role encompasses the ethical oversight, critical evaluation, and professional management of submitted manuscripts. The following guidelines outline the principles and duties expected of all editorial board members and associate editors.

1. Editorial Integrity and Independence

Editors are expected to make decisions based on the academic merit, originality, and relevance of each manuscript. All editorial decisions must be free from commercial influence, institutional pressure, or personal relationships. Editors must not allow conflicts of interest or external factors to compromise their judgment.

2. Fair and Unbiased Manuscript Handling

Each manuscript should be evaluated objectively, regardless of the authors’ nationality, institutional affiliation, race, gender, or beliefs. Editors must ensure the double-blind peer review process is followed rigorously to maintain fairness and transparency.

3. Confidentiality and Data Protection

Editors must protect the confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts, reviewers' identities, and editorial discussions. Manuscripts should not be shared or discussed with anyone outside the editorial team and assigned reviewers, unless officially published.

4. Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Editors must recuse themselves from handling a manuscript if a conflict of interest exists — such as personal relationships, financial interest, or competitive rivalry with the authors. All potential conflicts must be disclosed and managed in accordance with COPE guidelines.

5. Reviewer Selection and Oversight

Editors are responsible for selecting reviewers with the appropriate subject-matter expertise, academic credentials, and lack of conflict of interest. They must ensure that reviews are constructive, respectful, and delivered within a reasonable timeframe.

6. Ethical Oversight

Editors must actively identify and address ethical concerns such as plagiarism, duplicate publication, image/data manipulation, or lack of informed consent in clinical studies. Any suspicion of misconduct should be investigated confidentially and thoroughly.

7. Transparency of Editorial Decisions

All editorial decisions should be clearly justified and communicated to authors, along with reviewer feedback. The criteria for acceptance, revision, or rejection must align with the journal’s scope, quality standards, and ethical policies.

8. Timeliness and Responsiveness

Editors must ensure an efficient editorial workflow. Manuscripts should be processed promptly, and communication with authors and reviewers should be courteous and timely to avoid undue delays in publication.

9. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

When errors, ethical breaches, or misconduct are identified in published content, editors must take swift action to issue corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern, in accordance with publishing ethics and COPE recommendations.

10. Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Editors should actively support an inclusive editorial process by promoting diversity in authorship, reviewer selection, and editorial board representation. All contributors should be treated with fairness and respect.

By adhering to these guidelines, editors at CMN-CMR uphold the journal’s mission to advance credible, peer-reviewed medical research while ensuring ethical responsibility and scholarly excellence in every published article.