Submission and Peer Review Process
Submission
The MSMR welcomes a variety of types of reports for submission. The most frequently published articles in MSMR include full and brief reports summarizing original epidemiologic studies of military health importance, outbreak reports, case reports, “Surveillance Snapshots” (i.e., one page with figure and text), historical perspectives, and scientific notices to readers regarding public health practices. The editorial staff review all submissions according to the MSMR criteria for publication, including appropriateness, quality, originality, and timeliness. All submissions are received with the understanding that the Editor and editorial staff have the right to require revisions in conformity with MSMR standards and style.
Notification of all decisions concerning the status of a submission, including acceptance of the submission by editorial staff, will be sent to the corresponding author. During this correspondence, the editors will request completion of an authorship criteria form, which documents authorship standards of publication ethics defined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors and the World Association of Medical Editors. The editors will also request any documentation related to clearance processes from their respective Services or agencies and from human subject review boards, as appropriate. Authors must initiate the appropriate clearance and approvals prior to submission. See Clearance and Consent for more details.
Peer Review
Submissions that pass an initial editorial screening will be sent for external peer review. In their original submissions to the editor, authors are invited to nominate and provide contact information for one to three external referees. To avoid conflicts of interest, suggested referees should not be employed by the same department or division as any one of the authors. If external referees are not suggested by the authors, MSMR’s editorial staff will identify individuals with appropriate expertise. Each external peer reviewer is provided by MSMR with a uniform reviewer template that directs reviewers to evaluate a manuscript for relevance to: 1) the operational fitness of military members or their and MHS beneficiaries’ health, safety, and well-being; 2) appropriateness of statistical analyses; 3) conclusion validity; and 4) clarity of writing.
Following initial editorial staff and external peer reviews, the editor-in-chief will communicate one of the following decisions to the corresponding author: 1) acceptance of the submission for publication and initiation of the editing and production cycle; 2) tentative acceptance pending revision; 3) return for substantive revision and subsequent consideration; or 4) rejection of the submission. See Submission and Acceptance for more details.
Publication Ethics
Authors submitting to MSMR are expected to adhere to the highest standards of publication ethics prescribed by ICMJE and WAME. Falsification or fabrication of data, plagiarism, misappropriation of work, and ghost writing are all unacceptable. Ethical misconduct is treated seriously, in accordance with ICMJE guidelines. Additional information can be found in the instructions to authors under Ethics and Publication Malpractice.
Authorship
Authorship should be limited to those who have made a substantial contribution to the conception, design, execution, analysis, or interpretation of the reported study. Individuals claiming authorship shall meet all four criteria specified in the ICMJE author guidelines. Upon submission, authors will be asked to sign the MSMR Authorship Criteria Form, specifying each author’s contribution and designating a single corresponding author. All manuscript authors are required to submit written statements of approval indicating their review and approval of the edited manuscript.
Originality
By submitting a manuscript to MSMR, its authors affirm that it is an original manuscript, is unpublished work, and is not under review by another journal. Previous publication of an abstract as part of meeting or conference proceedings does not preclude subsequent submission for publication in MSMR, and publication as an academic thesis or electronic preprint also is not viewed as prior publication. Full disclosure of any prior publication should be made to the MSMR editorial staff at the time of submission.
Conflict of Interest
Authors must notify the MSMR editorial staff of any potential conflicts of interest including, but not limited to, financial (e.g., grants or funding from other sources) and material (e.g., equipment) support for their research. Conflicts of interest do not necessarily disqualify a paper or an author, and early and full disclosure allows informed and reasonable decisions by the MSMR editorial staff. Please contact the editor with any questions about a possible conflict of interest.
Human or Animal Subjects
Compliance statements are required if research involved animal or human subjects, or chemicals, procedures, or equipment with unusual or inherent hazards with use. Authors must initiate clearance processes with their respective human subject review boards, as appropriate. If a report includes data from human subject participants in a study, the editors may request a copy of the approved IRB outcome letter from the author.
Privacy and informed consent
Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscript and figures present no identifiable information stipulated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. If publication of any information could lead to identification of a participant, written informed consent from that participant must be obtained. A statement confirming that informed consent to the publication of identifying information including images must also be included in the publication.
Data access and retention
For reports submitted by authors not affiliated with AFHSD, raw data used for the analysis may be needed for editorial review, and authors should be prepared to provide access to such data, within the limits of a data sharing agreement (if required) and subject to safeguards of personally identifiable information specified by the Privacy Act of 1974, HIPAA, and amendments to these laws. Requests for data used to generate reports within AFHSD should be directed to dha.ncr.health-surv.mbx.afhs-ea-reports@health.mil. A request for Defense Medical Surveillance System data or analysis must be submitted by a military service member or government employee working for a U.S. military organization. Requests for data will be evaluated individually, and those requesting such data may be required to obtain a data sharing agreement with DHA Privacy and Civil Liberties Office.
Corrections, retractions, and editorial expressions of concern
Authors of papers published by MSMR bear sole responsibility for their content and opinions expressed therein. Allegations of possible misconduct will be handled individually. Authors must promptly notify the MSMR of any significant errors or inaccuracies in their published work and cooperate with MSMR’s editorial staff to retract or correct the paper. Allegations related to manuscripts in progress will result in publication cessation while a review determines if the evidence would lead a reasonable person to infer possible misconduct. Published manuscripts will also be reviewed if such allegations are raised, with MSMR editorial staff consequently informing readers, correcting the published literature, or issuing a retraction, as necessitated by the review. Editorial expressions of concern may be directed to the editor.