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The Journal of Collegiate Emergency Medical Services Editorial Policies & Practices can be viewed here. Information can also be identified online at CollegeEMS.com. Any questions can be directed to the Editor at JCEMS@JCEMS.org.
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JCEMS publishes all content open access, without charging authors submission or article processing fees. To cover the costs of reviewing, publishing, and distributing content, JCEMS relies on the support of our partners and supporters. By submitting an article, you agree to have advertisements placed within, or next to, your article or other content, regardless of publication in print or electronic.
Placement of an advertisement in print or electronic media does not imply endorsement by JCEMS, the National Collegiate Emergency Medical Services Foundation, or any representatives, agents, or licensors. JCEMS may employ third-party services that place advertisements on our website. Neither JCEMS, the National Collegiate Emergency Medical Services Foundation, nor any representatives, agents, or licensors accepts responsibility or liability for the content of third-party advertisers. Advertising does not influence editorial decisions.
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
JCEMS is committed to encouraging diversity, equity, and inclusivity among our Editors, Editorial Board Members, Reviewers, and Authors. Our aim is for our journal to be truly representative of the diverse community of collegiate EMS and the patients that they serve. All editorial decisions are based solely on the manuscript’s relevance to the aims and scope of JCEMS, its integrity, merit, quality, and ethical compliance. JCEMS does not tolerate discrimination and harassment against an individual on the basis of age, gender, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, political affiliation, medical condition, genetic information, physical or mental disability, religion, or other categories protected by law.
Integrity
All manuscripts are reviewed, and editorial decisions are made based on the manuscript’s relevance to JCEMS’ scope & aims, originality, ethical adherence, quality, and contribution to the existing literature. No editorial decisions should be influenced by commercial interests, personal relationships, advertisements, or personal agendas. JCEMS does not exclude articles with findings that are not statistically significant or have inconclusive findings from publication.
Corrections
Errors are a part of science. Errors must be edited when identified. Debate and evolving science can be addressed in a Letters to the Editor manuscript. Requests to make corrections in an article should be submitted by the corresponding author in writing (electronic or print) to the Editor-in-Chief. If the article is already published, a correction notice and updated version of the article, noting the change, will be published immediately.
Errors severe enough to invalidate a scientific article’s results may be retracted and republished, provided that the errors are judged to be unintentional, the underlying methods remain valid, and the updated manuscript is approved through the review process. If the errors are found to fail to meet the aforementioned criteria, the article will be retracted with no republication.
Appeals
JCEMS welcomes appeals to the Editor’s decisions. Any appeals can be submitted via an appeal letter to JCEMS@JCEMS.org. The letter must be written on a Word document, attached to the e-mail, and signed by all Authors involved in the manuscript. The letter must address why the author disagrees with the decision and any evidence to support their claim. Please note that a decision to reject may be due to publication priority, which cannot be changed through an appeal. The Editors may reject, invite a resubmission, or invite a revision of the article because of the appeal. Only one appeal is allowed per article.
Complaints
JCEMS is committed to improving its processes. Complaints may be submitted to the Editor-in-Chief at JCEMS@JCEMS.org, with the complaint written as a Word document attached to the email. Any complaints or concerns regarding an Editor or Reviewer will be handled through a rigorous review process to investigate the concern. The Editor-in-Chief may oversee the investigation, and any additional party, who is not being investigated, that they deem fit, may conduct the investigation. The conflict-of-interest policies apply to investigations, and parties may be recused from the decision-making process. The Editorial Board and, in some cases, the Publisher may conduct the investigation.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
JCEMS requires all Editors and Reviewers to declare whether they used AI tools in producing their manuscript, including for developing language, content, and images. Reviewers and Editors are reminded that AI may produce biased, incorrect, or incomplete information; therefore, any information obtained must be reviewed and validated by a human. Editors and Reviewers should not use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to assist in their review and/or editing process. AI may not be confidential; therefore, the confidentiality of the manuscript cannot be assured when using these tools.
Conflicts of Interest for Editors & Editorial Board
JCEMS requests that authors who serve on the Editorial Board or in a staff role for JCEMS disclose their position. If an individual in such a position submits an article to JCEMS, all listed JCEMS Editorial Polices & Practices will strictly apply. The author will not be permitted to be involved in the decision to accept or reject the article for publication. As an exception, the Editor-in-Chief may accept an article for publication for which they are an author, provided the article is published explicitly as an “Editorial”.
Editors who make decisions about manuscripts must recuse themselves from editorial decisions if they have relationships, personal agendas, or other activities that could create conflicts of interest related to the article under review. Purposeful failure to report conflicts of interest will be handled as misconduct.
Confidentiality For Editors
Manuscripts and correspondence about manuscripts are confidential. Editors must not disclose information about manuscripts to anyone other than the reviewers, authors, and other Editors involved in the review of the manuscript. Editors cannot appropriate the authors’ ideas. When a manuscript is rejected, JCEMS will delete copies of it. When a manuscript is accepted and published, copies of the original submission, revised versions, the final version, and correspondence about the manuscript will be maintained for a minimum of three years. The preservation period may vary depending on regulations.
Timeline & Communication
JCEMS will conduct reviews in a timely manner, to the best of its ability, with the resources and personnel available. All members of the JCEMS team are volunteers, including Reviewers; therefore, it may take several weeks for a review to be completed. If a planned delay occurs, the Authors will be notified as soon as it is identified. JCEMS will respond promptly to requests about a manuscript’s status, even when there are no new updates. If Authors wish to withdraw a manuscript from review, in good faith, the receipt of the withdrawal indicates the withdrawal of the manuscript, even if no communication is received in return.
Editorial Freedom
To ensure rigor and independence in the editorial process, the JCEMS Editorial Board maintains editorial autonomy as defined by the World Association of Medical Editors (https://wame.org/editorial-independence). The National Collegiate Emergency Medical Services Foundation Board of Directors has no authority to determine the content to be published in JCEMS, nor to evaluate, edit, or schedule the publication of articles. The Editor-in-Chief has ultimate authority over the editorial content of JCEMS and its scheduling, the advertisements and sponsorships the journal will present, and the use of the journal brand and content.
Members of the NCEMSF Board of Directors are not eligible to serve on the JCEMS Editorial Board. Members of the NCEMSF Board of Directors may be invited to serve as peer reviewers, in accordance with the JCEMS standard peer review protocols. Individuals affiliated with NCEMSF, who do not serve on the Board of Directors, may be invited to serve on the JCEMS Editorial Board or as reviewers.
Special Editions
The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for all content, including special editions. A Guest Editor may be recruited to oversee a special edition, as advised by the Editor-in-Chief. The Guest Editor must have their credentials reviewed and approved. The Editor-in-Chief or a designated Editorial Board member will oversee the Guest Editor. The same editorial oversight and review processes will be followed for special editions as for regular submitted manuscripts.
