Editorial policies

1. Peer review process

Every manuscript first undergoes an initial editorial screening, in which the editorial team checks that the work fits the journal's scope and complies with the submission guidelines. Manuscripts that pass this stage are sent to at least two external reviewers under a double-blind model: neither authors nor reviewers know each other's identity.

Reviewers may recommend acceptance, acceptance with minor revisions, major revisions or rejection. The final decision rests with the editor-in-chief. The expected time to first decision is [8 to 12] weeks.

2. Open access policy

JSI provides immediate open access to all of its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. Articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license: anyone may share and adapt the material, provided the authors and the original publication in JSI are credited.

3. Copyright

Authors retain copyright of their work and grant the journal the right of first publication under the CC BY 4.0 license.

4. Publication charges

JSI does not charge authors for submission, review or publication.

5. Publication ethics

JSI follows the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Authors, reviewers and editors are expected to act with integrity, disclose any conflict of interest and respect the confidentiality of the editorial process.

  • Research involving humans or animals: must have been approved by an ethics committee and, where appropriate, informed consent must have been obtained.
  • Competing interests: all authors must declare them in the manuscript.
  • Authorship: must be based on the ICMJE criteria.
  • Misconduct: suspected plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification is handled according to the COPE flowcharts and may lead to retraction.

6. Plagiarism screening

All manuscripts are checked with a similarity-detection tool [NAME OF THE TOOL] before being sent for review. Manuscripts with unjustified similarity are returned to the authors or rejected.

7. Use of artificial intelligence

Generative AI tools cannot be listed as authors. If authors used such tools for writing, data analysis or creating figures, they must disclose it in the Methods or Acknowledgements section, stating which tool was used and for what purpose. Authors remain fully responsible for the content.

8. Digital preservation and self-archiving

Authors may deposit the published version in institutional or subject repositories, provided the original publication in JSI is cited. Content is preserved through [PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN) — ACTIVATION TO BE CONFIRMED].

9. Privacy

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.