Author Instructions

AUTHORS' DETAILS AND AUTHORSHIP POLICIES

Upholding Transparency, Accountability, and Scientific Integrity in Scholarly Publishing

The Insights-Journal of Health and Rehabilitation (IJHR) maintains a rigorous, transparent, and ethically grounded authorship framework that ensures accountability, fairness, and compliance with global scholarly publishing standards. All authors submitting to IJHR must adhere to the principles outlined by:

  • International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)
  • Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
  • World Association of Medical Editors (WAME)
  • Council of Science Editors (CSE)
  • Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA)
  • Vancouver style authorship and referencing principles

These standards ensure that authorship is assigned responsibly, conflicts of interest are fully disclosed, study protocols adhere to ethical guidelines, and the publication process remains transparent, unbiased, and accountable.

This comprehensive section provides detailed guidance on:

  1. Authors’ Details
  2. Author Agreement Form
  3. Article Processing / Publication Fee Policy
  4. Sources of Funding & Submission Process
  5. Contribution and Consent of Each Author
  6. Submission Guidelines & Publication Workflow
  7. Deadlines and Duration of Every Stage
  8. End-to-End Steps From Submission to Publication

 

  1. AUTHORS' DETAILS

Ensuring Accuracy, Transparency, and Accountability in Authorship Information

Upon submission, all manuscripts must include complete and accurate author details. These details must be presented on the Title Page and entered precisely in the submission system. The following information is mandatory for every author:

  1. Full Name of Author
  • Written exactly as the author wishes it to appear in the publication
  • Consistent with the author’s professional academic record
  • Middle names or initials should be included if used in scholarly publications
  1. Institutional Affiliation

Each author must list:

  • Full department name
  • Institution or university name
  • City and country
  • Official designation or academic rank (if applicable)

Affiliations must correspond to the position held at the time of the research or manuscript preparation.

  1. Corresponding Author Details

One author must be designated as the Corresponding Author and must provide:

  • Full postal address
  • Institutional email address (preferred)
  • Phone or WhatsApp number
  • ORCID ID (highly recommended for indexing and citation tracking)

The corresponding author is responsible for all communication during:

  • Submission
  • Peer-review
  • Revision
  • Post-acceptance verification
  • Online publication
  • Correction approvals
  1. ORCID iD Registration

IJHR strongly recommends ORCID identifiers for all authors to:

  • Authenticate author identity
  • Link professional records
  • Ensure authoritative attribution
  • Improve global discoverability
  1. Contribution Details (as per ICMJE / CRediT taxonomy)

Each author must meet all four ICMJE authorship criteria. More details provided in Section 5.

  1. Author Order

The order of authors:

  • Must represent the level of contribution
  • Must be agreed upon by all authors before submission
  • Cannot be modified after acceptance unless approved by the editorial office with written justification from ALL authors

 

  1. AUTHOR AGREEMENT FORM

A Legally Binding Declaration of Originality, Authorship Integrity, and Publishing Rights

Submission to IJHR requires mandatory completion of the Author Agreement Form. This form formalizes critical author responsibilities and protects both contributors and the journal.

Purpose of the Form

It ensures:

  • originality and unpublished status of the manuscript
  • ethical compliance of study and data
  • authorship legitimacy and contribution transparency
  • accuracy of disclosure statements
  • acceptance of copyright terms under journal policy
  • permission for publication under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license

Core Elements of the Author Agreement

  1. Original Work Declaration
    • Manuscript has not been previously published
    • Not under review elsewhere
    • Does not violate intellectual property rights
  2. Authorship Confirmation
    • All listed authors meet ICMJE criteria
    • No contributors have been omitted
    • All authors approve the final version
    • Authorship order is agreed upon unanimously
  3. Copyright Agreement
    • Authors grant IJHR the right to publish and disseminate the article
    • Authors retain copyright under the journal’s Creative Commons license
  4. Conflict of Interest Disclosure
    • All financial or personal conflicts must be declared
  5. Data Accuracy Statement
    • Authors affirm that data is accurate, original, and unmanipulated
  6. Ethical Approval
    • Required for studies involving humans, animals, or sensitive data
    • Must include IRB/ERC approval number
  7. Funding Disclosure
    • All grants and financial support must be listed transparently
  8. Permissions
    • Authors must obtain permission for images, tools, figures, datasets

The form must be signed by every author and uploaded during submission.

 

  1. ARTICLE PROCESSING / PUBLICATION FEE

Transparent, Ethical, and Equitable Open Access Fee Policy

IJHR follows a Golden Open Access publishing model, meaning all articles are freely accessible without subscription charges. To maintain high-quality editorial operations, a modest Article Publication Charge (APC) is applied after acceptance only.

  1. Fee Structure
  • Local Authors (Pakistan): PKR 25,000 per article
  • International Authors: USD 100 per article

There is:

  • No Submission Fee
  • No Fast-Track Fee
  • No Hidden Charges

APC covers:

  • manuscript screening
  • plagiarism check
  • DOI registration
  • editorial management
  • peer-review coordination
  • copyediting and typesetting
  • archiving and indexing services
  1. Waiver Policy

To support global accessibility, IJHR offers partial or full waivers to:

  • low-income authors (as per World Bank list)
  • undergraduate and postgraduate students
  • early-career researchers
  • researchers from conflict zones
  • authors demonstrating financial hardship
  • national award-winning researchers

Waivers require a written request.

  1. Refund Policy
  • APC is charged only after acceptance.
  • Once paid, no refund is issued if:
    • the author withdraws the article
    • misconduct is discovered
    • publication is delayed due to author error
  • Refunds are considered only if rejection occurs after payment due to administrative error.

 

  1. SOURCES OF FUNDING AND SUBMISSION PROCESS

Ensuring Financial Transparency and Scientific Credibility

IJHR requires authors to clearly disclose all sources of funding to ensure academic transparency. This includes:

  • research grants
  • institutional support
  • scholarships
  • equipment donations
  • corporate or industry sponsorship
  • government or NGO funding

Every manuscript must include a Funding Statement such as:

  • “This research received no external funding.”
  • “This research was funded by XYZ University Grant #123.”
  • “Equipment support was provided by ABC Laboratory.”

This information is essential for:

  • ethical transparency
  • identifying potential conflicts
  • ensuring unbiased interpretation of findings

 

  1. CONTRIBUTION AND CONSENTS OF EACH AUTHOR

Ensuring Accountability Through CRediT and ICMJE Authorship Criteria

Every author listed must fulfill all four ICMJE criteria:

  1. Substantial contribution to conception/design/acquisition/analysis/interpretation
  2. Drafting or critically revising the manuscript
  3. Final approval of the version to be published
  4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work

Contributions should be labeled using the CRediT taxonomy, including but not limited to:

  • Conceptualization
  • Methodology
  • Data curation
  • Formal analysis
  • Investigation
  • Supervision
  • Project administration
  • Resources
  • Writing—Original Draft
  • Writing—Review & Editing
  • Visualization
  • Funding acquisition

Consent Requirements

All authors must:

  • consent to authorship
  • approve final submission
  • approve subsequent revisions
  • agree to journal policies

Failure to obtain consent from any co-author constitutes publication malpractice.

 

  1. SUBMISSION GUIDELINE & PROCESS

A Clear, Modern, Internationally Aligned Submission System

  1. Submission Platform

All manuscripts must be submitted exclusively through the IJHR online submission system.

No submissions via email or hard copy are accepted.

  1. Manuscript Format Requirements

Authors must ensure:

  • 12-pt Times New Roman
  • Single spacing
  • 1-inch margins
  • Page numbers bottom-right
  • Tables/figures embedded within the text
  • Vancouver referencing style
  • Originality < 15% (Turnitin report mandatory)
  1. Mandatory Files During Submission
  1. Manuscript file (without author details for blind review)
  2. Title page (with author details)
  3. Author Agreement Form
  4. Ethical Approval Certificate
  5. Conflict of Interest Form
  6. Funding Statement
  7. Plagiarism Verification Report
  8. Tables/Figures (if additional files needed)

Manuscripts missing any required file will be returned for completion.

 

  1. DEADLINES AND DURATION OF ALL PROCESSES

Predictable, transparent timelines for authors

  1. Duration of Full Process

Stage

Expected Duration

Initial Screening

3–7 days

Plagiarism Check

1–3 days

Editor Allocation

1–5 days

Peer Review (Double-blind)

2–6 weeks

First Decision

4–8 weeks

Revision Round(s)

1–4 weeks

Final Decision

1–2 weeks

Copyediting/Layout

1–2 weeks

Author Proofs

3–5 days

Online Publication

Within 1 week after approval
  1. Annual Publication Timelines
  • 2023–2024: Biannual (July, December)
  • 2025 onward: Monthly (Final week of each month)

 

  1. STEPS FROM RECEIPT OF ARTICLE TO PUBLICATION

A complete, transparent editorial and production workflow

This section outlines each step following international publishing standards.

 

Step 1: Submission Received

  • Author uploads all required documents
  • System generates automatic acknowledgment email

 

Step 2: Pre-Editorial Screening

Editorial team evaluates:

  • scope suitability
  • formatting compliance
  • originality and plagiarism check
  • completeness of submitted files
  • ethical approval
  • authorship validity

Manuscripts failing initial checks are returned for correction.

 

Step 3: Editor-in-Chief Assignment

The Editor-in-Chief assigns:

  • a Handling Editor (Subject Editor)
  • or desk rejects the manuscript (if unsuitable)

 

Step 4: Peer Reviewer Selection

Handling Editor selects two or more reviewers from:

  • internal reviewer pool
  • external scholarly networks
  • domain-specific experts

Conflict-of-interest checks are performed.

 

Step 5: Double-Blind Peer Review

Reviewers evaluate according to:

  • scientific rigor
  • methodological quality
  • ethical compliance
  • originality
  • clarity and contribution to the field
  • referencing accuracy

Reviewers provide:

  • detailed comments
  • revision recommendations
  • acceptance or rejection suggestions

 

Step 6: Editorial Decision

Editor makes a decision:

  • Accept
  • Minor revision
  • Major revision
  • Resubmit
  • Reject

Decision letter includes reviewer comments.

 

Step 7: Revision Stage

Authors:

  • address each comment
  • prepare a “Response to Reviewers” document
  • upload revised manuscript

Multiple revision rounds may occur.

 

Step 8: Final Editorial Evaluation

Editor verifies:

  • All comments resolved appropriately
  • Manuscript now meets journal standards

 

Step 9: Acceptance Decision

Authors receive acceptance confirmation.

APC invoice is issued.

 

Step 10: Production Stage

Involves:

  • professional copyediting
  • proofreading
  • reference verification
  • pagination
  • DOI assignment
  • layout and formatting

 

Step 11: Author Proofing

Author verifies:

  • accuracy
  • formatting
  • corrections
  • final approval

 

Step 12: Final Online Publication

Upon approval:

  • article is published on the journal website
  • metadata is deposited to indexing services
  • DOI becomes active
  • article promoted via digital platforms