JoMI Policy - D to L

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The Journal of Medico Informatics (JoMI) is committed to promoting transparency, reproducibility, and the integrity of scientific research. The journal recognizes that access to underlying data, code, and methodological details is essential for validating findings, enabling reuse, and advancing scientific knowledge. In alignment with internationally recognized best practices, including the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and global open science principles, JoMI requires authors to report their research in a manner that supports verification and reproducibility.

Authors are strongly encouraged, and in certain cases required, to make all underlying data, code, and software associated with their study publicly available. Data should be deposited in recognized and reliable repositories such as Zenodo, Dryad, Figshare, and GitHub, as well as discipline-specific repositories including GenBank, PubChem, the Protein Data Bank, and the Protein Model Database, or other appropriate biological and domain-specific databases that ensure long-term preservation and accessibility. Deposited materials must be complete, properly documented, and accessible through persistent identifiers such as a DOI, accession number, or stable URL.

All submissions must include a clearly labeled Data Availability Statement within the manuscript. This statement must specify whether the data and code are publicly available, the name of the repository in which they are deposited, and the corresponding DOI, accession number, or permanent URL. Where access is restricted, authors must clearly describe the conditions under which the data may be accessed and provide a justified reason for such restrictions.

Authors are encouraged, where appropriate, to release datasets, code, and supplementary materials under open licenses such as the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) or equivalent licenses that permit reuse with proper attribution. Open licensing enhances transparency, reproducibility, and the global dissemination of research outputs. However, the selection of a license remains at the discretion of the authors, particularly where ethical, legal, institutional, or third-party constraints apply. Authors must clearly indicate the applicable licensing terms in the Data Availability Statement.

JoMI acknowledges that certain datasets may be subject to ethical, legal, or privacy constraints, especially in studies involving human participants, sensitive information, or proprietary data. In such cases, authors must provide a clear and valid explanation for the restriction and ensure compliance with applicable regulations, institutional policies, and ethical approval requirements. Where possible, authors should provide mechanisms for controlled access by qualified researchers.

Authors are required to provide sufficient methodological detail to enable independent replication of their study. This includes comprehensive descriptions of study design, data collection procedures, analytical methods, statistical analyses, and software tools used, including version details. Any custom scripts, algorithms, computational workflows, and biological data processing pipelines should be shared or described in sufficient detail to allow reproducibility.

Editors and reviewers may evaluate the availability, accessibility, and quality of underlying data and code as part of the peer review process. Manuscripts that do not include a Data Availability Statement or that fail to meet reproducibility standards may be returned for revision, delayed in processing, or rejected. The journal reserves the right to request access to underlying data during review for verification purposes.

Authors are expected to ensure the continued accessibility of shared data and code after publication. Any changes to data availability must be promptly communicated to the journal. Failure to comply with stated data-sharing commitments may result in corrective actions, including the publication of notices or retraction where necessary.

Through this policy, JoMI supports open science practices, enhances the reliability and reproducibility of published research, and promotes responsible data sharing in accordance with international standards and funding agency requirements.

The Journal of Medico Informatics (JoMI) is committed to ensuring the long-term preservation, continued accessibility, and enduring integrity of all published scholarly content. The journal recognizes that robust digital preservation is fundamental to guaranteeing that research outputs remain permanently and reliably available to the global scientific community. In accordance with internationally accepted standards and best practices, including the recommendations of the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing, JoMI adopts a systematic and multi-layered approach to digital archiving and content preservation to safeguard the permanent scholarly record.

All articles published in JoMI are made available online in full open-access format and are hosted on secure, professionally managed publishing platforms equipped with routine backup mechanisms and system redundancy. The journal ensures that all published content remains freely accessible without restriction and is preserved in stable, widely supported digital formats, including PDF and XML, in accordance with international digital preservation standards. Full-text articles, associated metadata, and supplementary materials are maintained in structured, machine-readable formats to support indexing, long-term discoverability, and sustained usability across current and future information systems.

JoMI is actively pursuing formal integration with internationally recognized digital preservation and archiving networks to further strengthen the long-term security and availability of its published content. These include trusted distributed archiving systems such as CLOCKSS (Controlled LOCKSS), LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe), Portico, and equivalent preservation infrastructures that provide permanent, geographically distributed preservation of scholarly outputs.The journal is currently in the process of applying for inclusion in such archival services. This section will be updated transparently once formal integration agreements are confirmed and operational. Upon successful inclusion, full details of archiving partners, content coverage, preservation scope, and access mechanisms will be publicly disclosed on the journal's official website. JoMI is committed to completing this integration in a timely manner and regards third-party archiving as an essential component of its long-term publishing infrastructure.

JoMI employs multiple layers of data protection to prevent loss, corruption, or unauthorized alteration of published content. These measures include server-level automated backups, geographically distributed redundancy systems, encrypted data storage, and secure hosting environments that comply with internationally recognized information security standards. Regular system maintenance, integrity audits, and performance monitoring are conducted to ensure the continuous availability and authenticity of all digital content hosted by the journal.

All articles published in JoMI are assigned Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) through a recognized registration agency to ensure permanent accessibility, reliable citation, and long-term bibliographic traceability. The journal ensures that all metadata associated with published content, including author information, abstracts, keywords, funding details, and licensing terms, is fully preserved, regularly updated, and maintained in formats compatible with major indexing services, bibliographic databases, and digital repositories. Metadata standards comply with internationally recognized schemas, including Dublin Core and JATS (Journal Article Tag Suite), where applicable.

In the event of technical failure, prolonged service interruption, platform migration, or discontinuation of journal operations, JoMI is committed to ensuring uninterrupted access to its complete archive of published content. This commitment will be fulfilled through established archival partnerships and distributed preservation systems. Once third-party archiving integration is fully operational, all published content will be securely preserved in distributed systems designed to guarantee long-term availability independently of the journal's primary hosting platform. Authors, readers, and institutions can be assured that the accessibility of published research will not be compromised under any foreseeable operational circumstance.

JoMI's digital preservation practices are designed to comply with the archiving and long-term access requirements stipulated by major indexing agencies, open access directories, and research funding bodies. This includes adherence to the preservation expectations of DOAJ, PubMed Central (PMC), and relevant national and international funding agencies that mandate sustainable access to publicly funded research outputs. The journal will keep its preservation practices aligned with any evolving requirements issued by these bodies.

JoMI remains dedicated to the continuous improvement of its digital preservation infrastructure through the adoption of globally recognized standards, technologies, and best practices. The journal will conduct regular reviews of its archiving policies and technical systems to ensure ongoing alignment with advancements in digital preservation science and the evolving requirements of indexing agencies, funding bodies, and the broader scholarly community. Any material changes to the journal's preservation arrangements will be communicated transparently through the journal's official website. This policy reflects JoMI's unwavering commitment to maintaining a permanent, reliable, and universally accessible scholarly record, ensuring that all published research remains available and citable for current and future generations of researchers, clinicians, and practitioners worldwide.

The Journal of Medico Informatics (JoMI) is committed to fostering an inclusive, respectful, and equitable scholarly publishing environment. The journal upholds the principles of fairness, diversity, equity, and non-discrimination across all aspects of its editorial and publishing processes. JoMI adheres to internationally recognized ethical standards, including the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing jointly established by COPE, the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), and is committed to promoting equal opportunity, representation, and inclusion within the global research community.

JoMI strictly prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, colour, ethnicity, national origin, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, religion or belief, disability, marital or family status, socioeconomic background, language, institutional affiliation, career stage, or any other personal characteristic unrelated to academic merit. This prohibition applies to all individuals involved in the publication process, including authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members. All editorial decisions are made solely on the basis of the scientific quality, originality, methodological rigor, and relevance of the submitted work, in accordance with the journal's stated aims and scope.

JoMI is committed to ensuring that the editorial and peer review process is conducted in a fair, transparent, unbiased, and respectful manner at all stages. Editors and reviewers are expected to evaluate manuscripts objectively, without prejudice, favoritism, or bias of any kind. Any form of discriminatory language, behavior, or assessment, whether in written reviews, editorial communications, or decisions, is strictly unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Confirmed instances of discriminatory conduct may result in immediate removal from editorial or reviewer responsibilities and, where appropriate, notification of the individual's affiliated institution.

JoMI actively promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion in its Editorial Board, reviewer pool, and author community. The journal is committed to recruiting and retaining editors and reviewers from a wide range of geographic regions, including low- and middle-income countries, academic disciplines, career stages, genders, and cultural backgrounds. This approach is intended to ensure balanced perspectives, minimize systemic bias, and promote genuinely inclusive representation in all editorial decision-making processes. The composition of the Editorial Board is reviewed periodically to assess and improve its diversity and representativeness.

Authors are required to use respectful, inclusive, and non-discriminatory language throughout their manuscripts. This includes the use of person-first or identity-first language where appropriate, gender-neutral terminology, and culturally sensitive framing of research findings and discussions. Manuscripts containing discriminatory, offensive, stereotyping, or otherwise inappropriate language or perspectives will not be considered for publication and will be returned to authors with guidance for revision. The journal endorses the use of terminology that reflects current standards of diversity, equity, and inclusion in scientific and medical communication, including guidance from relevant international bodies such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the ICMJE.

JoMI is committed to supporting equitable access to publishing opportunities for researchers from diverse, underrepresented, and resource-limited regions and communities. The journal promotes open access dissemination, in accordance with DOAJ principles, to ensure that scientific knowledge is freely accessible to all, regardless of institutional resources or geographic location. Where applicable, the journal will consider supporting authors from low- and middle-income countries through fee waivers or reduced publication charges, subject to the journal's financial sustainability policies.

Any individual who experiences or witnesses discrimination, bias, harassment, or inequitable treatment during the editorial or peer review process is encouraged to report such concerns to the editorial office in writing. JoMI will investigate all reported concerns in a timely, confidential, and impartial manner, in accordance with COPE guidelines for handling complaints and allegations. Appropriate corrective actions will be taken where concerns are substantiated, including but not limited to reassignment of manuscripts, removal of individuals from editorial roles, and notification of relevant institutions where warranted. The identity of individuals raising concerns will be protected to the extent possible throughout the investigation process.

JoMI is committed to ongoing monitoring and evaluation of its diversity and inclusion practices. The journal will periodically review the demographic composition of its editorial board, reviewer pool, and author community, and will publish transparency reports where feasible to demonstrate accountability. Any identified disparities will be addressed through targeted outreach, policy revision, or structural changes to editorial processes. This commitment reflects the journal's recognition that diversity and inclusion require active and sustained effort, not merely formal policy statements.

Through this policy, JoMI reaffirms its dedication to creating a scholarly publishing environment that values diversity, promotes inclusion, and ensures equal opportunity for all contributors, regardless of background, identity, or geographic origin. This commitment strengthens the integrity, credibility, and global relevance of the research published in the journal and reflects JoMI's broader responsibility as a participant in the international scholarly communication ecosystem.

Manuscripts submitted to JoMI must be original and must not be under consideration elsewhere. Submitting the same work, or substantially overlapping work, to more than one journal at the same time is a breach of publication ethics.

Redundant publication occurs where a study is divided into several papers reporting the same data without adequate cross-reference, or where previously published findings are re-presented as new. Authors must disclose at submission any related manuscript published, in press or under consideration, and supply copies where the editorial office asks.

Secondary publication, such as a translation for a different readership, is acceptable where both editors agree in advance, the secondary version cites the primary publication in full, and the secondary version states clearly that it is a secondary publication. It must not be presented as original research.

Undisclosed duplicate or redundant publication discovered after acceptance leads to rejection; discovered after publication, it leads to retraction and notification of the authors' institutions.

Editorial decisions are based solely on the scholarly quality, validity, originality, ethical soundness and relevance of the work, and on its fit with the scope of the journal. They are not influenced by the authors' nationality, institution, seniority, gender, ethnicity, citizenship, political or religious belief, or ability to pay.

The Editor-in-Chief has full authority over the editorial content of the journal and over the timing of publication. The publisher, its owners, advertisers, sponsors and commercial partners have no influence over editorial decisions, over individual manuscripts, or over the composition of the editorial board on scholarly grounds.

Editors do not handle manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest, including submissions authored by themselves, by close collaborators within the previous three years, by members of their own institution, or by persons with whom they have a personal or financial relationship. Such manuscripts are reassigned to an independent editor with no access to the handling record.

Manuscripts authored by members of the editorial board are subject to the same peer review as any other submission and are handled independently of the author. The journal monitors the proportion of articles authored by its own editorial board and keeps it within the limits expected of an independent journal.

Editors respect the confidentiality of submitted work and do not use information obtained through the editorial process for their own advantage.

The Journal of Medico Informatics (JoMI) is committed to upholding the highest standards of ethical conduct in biomedical, clinical, and informatics research. All research involving human participants, animals, human tissues, or sensitive biological materials must comply with applicable ethical guidelines, institutional requirements, and national and international regulations. The journal adheres to globally recognized ethical frameworks, including the Committee on Publication Ethics, and requires strict compliance with ethical approval and reporting standards.

For studies involving human participants, authors must confirm that the research was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and relevant national or institutional regulations. Manuscripts must include a clear statement indicating that ethical approval was obtained from an appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB), Ethics Committee, or equivalent body, including the name of the approving institution and the approval/reference number. Authors must also confirm that informed consent was obtained from all participants, or that appropriate consent procedures were followed in accordance with ethical standards. In cases where consent was waived, a justification must be provided along with confirmation that such waiver was approved by the relevant ethics committee. If a study is exempt from ethical approval, authors must clearly state the reason for exemption and provide appropriate justification.

For studies involving human tissues, cadaveric materials, autopsy samples, or case studies based on deceased individuals, authors must ensure that the research complies with applicable ethical, legal, and institutional guidelines governing the use of human biological materials. Ethical approval from an appropriate authority (such as an institutional ethics committee, anatomy board, or equivalent regulatory body) must be obtained where required, and details of such approval must be clearly stated in the manuscript. Authors must confirm that the use of human remains or tissues was conducted with appropriate authorization and respect for donor consent, next-of-kin permission (where applicable), and cultural and legal considerations. Any identifiable information must be anonymized to protect privacy and dignity. For case reports involving deceased individuals, authors must ensure that no identifying details are disclosed unless explicit permission has been obtained in accordance with ethical standards. Where formal ethical approval is not required under local regulations, authors must provide a clear justification and confirm adherence to institutional and national policies.

For studies involving animals, authors must confirm compliance with internationally accepted guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals, including the ARRIVE Guidelines, the Directive 2010/63/EU, or equivalent national regulations. Manuscripts must include a statement confirming that ethical approval was obtained from an appropriate animal ethics committee, including the name of the approving body and the approval number. Authors must also confirm that all procedures were designed to minimize animal suffering and follow principles of humane care.

For studies involving personal data, patient records, or identifiable information, authors must ensure compliance with applicable data protection regulations. Identifiable personal information must not be published unless explicit consent has been obtained. All data must be anonymized where appropriate to protect privacy.

JoMI requires that all manuscripts include a clearly identifiable Ethics Statement within the main text. The editorial office reserves the right to request official documentation of ethical approval at any stage of the submission, review, or publication process. Failure to provide valid documentation upon request may result in rejection of the manuscript.

Manuscripts lacking appropriate ethical approval, incomplete ethics statements, or evidence of non-compliance with ethical standards will not be considered for review or publication. If ethical concerns are identified after publication, the journal may take appropriate corrective actions, including issuing corrections, expressions of concern, or retraction of the article.

This policy ensures that all research published in JoMI adheres to internationally accepted ethical principles, protects the rights, dignity, and welfare of human participants and animals, and maintains the integrity and credibility of the scientific record.

All authors must clearly disclose all sources of financial support for their research at the time of manuscript submission. This includes grants, institutional funding, industry sponsorship, fellowships, equipment support, and any other financial contributions. The funding information must be included in a dedicated "Funding Statement" within the manuscript.

The Funding Statement should include:

► The full name of the funding organization(s)

► Grant or project numbers (if applicable)

► The name(s) of the author(s) who received the funding

► A description of the role of the funder(s) in the research

If the research did not receive any external funding, authors must include the statement:

"This research received no external funding."

Authors must explicitly state the role of the funding body in the study, including involvement in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or decision to publish. If the funder had no role in any aspect of the research, this must be clearly stated. This ensures transparency and allows readers to evaluate potential biases.

JoMI maintains strict editorial independence. Funding sources must not influence the peer review process, editorial decisions, or publication outcomes. All manuscripts are evaluated solely on their scientific merit, originality, and relevance to the journal's scope, regardless of funding status or source.

Funding disclosures are closely linked to conflict of interest declarations. Authors must ensure that all financial relationships are transparently reported in both the Funding Statement and the Conflict of Interest section, where applicable. Any undisclosed funding or financial influence identified during or after publication may result in corrective actions.

Authors are responsible for ensuring compliance with the requirements of their funding agencies, including mandates related to open access, data sharing, and repository deposition. JoMI supports compliance with major funding body policies and encourages authors to provide grant identifiers and repository links where applicable.

The editorial office may request supporting documentation related to funding disclosures at any stage of the submission or review process. Failure to provide accurate and complete funding information may result in delays, rejection, or withdrawal of the manuscript.

All funding information will be published alongside the article to ensure full transparency. If inaccuracies or omissions in funding disclosures are identified after publication, JoMI may issue corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions, depending on the severity of the issue.

This policy ensures that all research published in JoMI is supported by transparent and responsibly reported funding sources. By requiring full disclosure and maintaining editorial independence, the journal upholds the highest standards of ethical publishing and fosters trust in the scientific record.

The Journal of Medico Informatics (JoMI) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and ethical practice in the presentation of visual data and scientific imagery. All images, figures, graphs, tables, and illustrations submitted for publication must accurately and faithfully represent the underlying data without misleading alteration, selective enhancement, or inappropriate manipulation. This policy is aligned with internationally recognized standards for image integrity in scholarly publishing, including the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and the Council of Science Editors (CSE), and ensures that all visual materials published in JoMI are authentic, properly attributed, reproducible, and scientifically valid.

All figures, images, diagrams, graphs, and graphical content submitted to JoMI must be original works created by the submitting authors, unless otherwise explicitly disclosed. The journal requires the use of original illustrations, data visualizations, and scientific diagrams that have been specifically prepared for the submitted manuscript and have not been previously published elsewhere. The reuse of previously published figures is not permitted unless the content is essential to the scientific narrative of the manuscript, proper written permission has been obtained from the original copyright holder, and full attribution is provided in accordance with the applicable licensing terms. Authors must clearly indicate the source and licensing status of any reproduced figure both within the manuscript text and in the corresponding figure legend.

Authors bear full and sole responsibility for obtaining all necessary permissions for any third-party images, figures, or graphical materials incorporated into their manuscript prior to submission. Where copyrighted visual material is included, authors must secure written permission from the copyright holder, covering rights for both print and electronic publication, and provide appropriate acknowledgment within the manuscript, including in the relevant figure legend. Figures released under open licenses, such as Creative Commons licenses, must be used strictly in accordance with the applicable license terms, and the license type and original source must be clearly cited. JoMI accepts no responsibility for copyright infringement arising from the unauthorized use of third-party visual materials. Any identified violation may result in rejection of the manuscript, post-publication corrective action, or retraction, in accordance with COPE guidelines.

All submitted figures and images must represent the original data accurately and completely. The following practices constitute serious breaches of scientific integrity and are strictly prohibited:

► Fabrication or falsification of data, including the artificial creation or alteration of images to misrepresent experimental results.

► Selective enhancement, adjustment, or suppression of specific regions of an image in a manner that alters the scientific meaning or interpretation of the data.

► Inappropriate duplication of images, including the reuse of the same figure or image to represent different experimental conditions, datasets, or results.

► Image splicing, compositing, or digital morphing that distorts, conceals, or misrepresents the original findings.

► Removal, addition, or rearrangement of elements within an image, including lanes in gel images or signals in microscopy data, without transparent disclosure.

► Contrast or brightness adjustments applied selectively or non-uniformly to specific regions of an image.

Limited global adjustments, such as uniform changes to brightness, contrast, or color balance applied equally across the entire image, are permitted only when they do not obscure, eliminate, or misrepresent any information present in the original. All such adjustments must be explicitly disclosed in the figure legend or Methods section. Where images from multiple sources are assembled into a single composite figure, panel boundaries must be clearly delineated using visible dividing lines, and the composite nature of the figure must be disclosed in the legend.

Authors must not reuse, duplicate, or republish figures across multiple submissions, manuscripts, or publications without explicit disclosure, appropriate citation of the original source, and, where required, written permission from the original publisher or copyright holder. Any form of image duplication, whether within the same manuscript or across different published works, is considered a breach of publication ethics unless transparently disclosed and properly referenced in accordance with COPE guidelines on redundant publication. The journal employs dedicated image screening tools to detect undisclosed duplication, and confirmed instances will be treated as scientific misconduct subject to formal corrective action.

JoMI does not permit the inclusion of AI-generated images, figures, illustrations, or graphical content in submitted manuscripts, unless the manuscript itself specifically investigates the application of artificial intelligence in image generation or visual data representation. In such cases, all AI-generated content must be clearly identified, fully disclosed, and critically evaluated within the manuscript. AI-generated visual content produced by generative artificial intelligence tools, including but not limited to image synthesis models and large multimodal models, may lack verifiable scientific authenticity, reproducibility, and methodological traceability, and therefore does not meet the evidential standards required for scholarly publication. All visual materials submitted to JoMI must be derived from actual experimental data, empirical observations, or scientifically validated analytical methods, and must be independently reproducible. Graphical abstract can be generated by AI.

All figures submitted to JoMI must meet the technical quality standards required for professional scholarly publication. Specific requirements include the following:

► Resolution: A minimum of 300 dots per inch (DPI) for photographs and color images, and a minimum of 600 DPI for line art and graphical figures, measured at the intended print size.

► File Formats: Accepted formats include TIFF, EPS, PDF, and high-resolution JPEG or PNG files, as specified in the journal's author guidelines.

► Legibility: All text, labels, symbols, scale bars, and annotations within figures must be clearly legible at the intended publication size and must employ terminology consistent with that used in the manuscript body.

► Figure Legends: Each figure must be accompanied by a concise, self-contained legend that clearly describes the content, identifies all components and abbreviations, specifies the source, and states any applicable permissions or licensing information.

► Color and Accessibility: Authors are strongly encouraged to use color-blind-friendly palettes when color is used to convey scientific information. Where color alone distinguishes data categories, an accessible alternative, such as patterns, textures, or direct labels, must also be provided to ensure equitable readability.

All submitted images and figures are subject to mandatory editorial screening and integrity verification, which may include the use of dedicated image analysis software to detect manipulation, duplication, contrast alteration, or other forms of inappropriate post-acquisition processing. The journal reserves the right to request original, unprocessed raw data files or source image files at any stage of the submission, peer review, or post-publication process for independent verification purposes. Authors are required to retain all original data and image files for a minimum of ten years following publication and to make these available upon reasonable request from the editorial office or relevant oversight authorities.

Manuscripts that do not comply with this policy may be rejected at any stage of the submission or peer review process without further consideration. Where image-related concerns, including manipulation, duplication, or misrepresentation, are identified after publication, JoMI will act in full accordance with COPE guidelines and take appropriate corrective measures. These may include issuing formal corrections or errata, publishing expressions of concern, retracting the article, and notifying the authors' affiliated institutions and relevant funding bodies where the nature or severity of the breach warrants such action.

This policy reflects JoMI's unwavering commitment to ensuring that all visual content published in the journal is accurate, transparent, reproducible, and trustworthy. By enforcing rigorous and internationally aligned standards for image preparation, manipulation, attribution, and verification, consistent with the guidelines of COPE, ICMJE, and CSE, the journal upholds the credibility, reliability, and long-term integrity of the published scientific record and contributes to the sustained global effort to maintain trust and accountability in scientific communication.

These are separate requirements. Consent to take part in research does not by itself permit publication of material from which an individual could be identified.

Where a manuscript contains photographs, clinical images, case descriptions, pedigrees, video, audio, genetic information or any other material from which a person could be identified, written consent to publication must be obtained from that person, or from their legal representative where they lack capacity or are a minor. The manuscript must state that consent was obtained.

Identifying details that are not essential to the scientific argument must be omitted. Dates, places, occupations and rare combinations of characteristics can identify a person even where a name is absent. Masking the eye region of a photograph is not adequate anonymisation and is not accepted as a substitute for consent.

Data must not be altered or falsified in order to achieve anonymity.

Authors retain signed consent forms and produce them only if the editorial office requests them. The journal does not routinely collect them, in order to avoid holding identifiable personal data unnecessarily.

Consent must be informed: the individual must have been shown the material to be published, or a fair description of it, and must understand that it will be freely available on the internet under an open licence and cannot subsequently be withdrawn from those who have already accessed it.

All articles published in JoMI are published open access under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0). The licence is identified on the article itself and recorded in the article metadata deposited with Crossref and other services.

Under CC BY 4.0 any person may copy, redistribute, adapt, translate, remix, build upon and commercially exploit the article in any medium or format, provided appropriate credit is given to the authors and the journal, a link to the licence is given, and any changes are indicated.

Authors retain copyright. On acceptance the authors sign the journal's Licence to Publish and Author Agreement, granting the publisher a non-exclusive licence to publish and distribute the article and to deposit it with indexing, discovery and preservation services. Copyright is not transferred to the publisher.

Where an article contains material that cannot be released under CC BY 4.0, that material is identified within the article together with its own copyright and licence terms, and the open licence does not extend to it.

Authors must obtain permission covering commercial reuse and adaptation for any third-party material intended to be distributed under the article's licence. Permission restricted to non-commercial use, or to a single journal or edition, is not sufficient.

CC BY 4.0 cannot be revoked once an article is published. Neither the authors nor the publisher can impose further restrictions on rights already granted to the public under it.