Author Rights and Responsibilities

This policy applies to all submitting and publishing authors of the Tobruk University Journal of Medical Sciences (TUJMS).

Rights of Authors

Copyright and Licensing
Authors retain copyright of their work and grant TUJMS a non-exclusive licence to publish and distribute the article. All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0), permitting reuse for non-commercial purposes with appropriate attribution.

Archiving and Preprints
Authors may deposit preprint (pre-peer review), accepted manuscript (postprint), and the final published version (version of record) in personal, institutional, or subject-specific repositories. Any preprint must be disclosed at submission and may be cited in the manuscript. All archived versions must comply with the journal’s licensing and citation requirements.

Reuse and Attribution
Authors may reuse figures, tables, or text in future works or presentations, provided proper citation of the TUJMS publication is given.

Corrections, Retractions, and Appeals
Authors may request corrections or retractions for substantive errors. An appeal process is available for contested editorial decisions.

Recognition of Contributions
Authors must complete the TUJMS Authorship and Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form to ensure transparency of contributions and potential conflicts.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authorship Criteria
Each author must meet all of the following:

  • Significant contribution to conception, design, data collection, analysis, or interpretation
  • Drafting or critically revising the manuscript
  • Approval of the final version
  • Accountability for all aspects of the work

Contributors who do not meet these criteria must be acknowledged.

Authorship and Conflict of Interest Declaration
Authors must submit a completed and signed Authorship and Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form with the manuscript.

Corresponding Author Responsibilities
The corresponding author is responsible for:

  • Managing submission and revisions
  • Confirming that all authors approve the manuscript
  • Handling post-publication communication

Originality and Permissions
Manuscripts must be original and not under consideration elsewhere. Permission must be obtained and cited for any reused material.

Funding and Conflict of Interest Disclosure
Authors must disclose all funding sources and report any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest from the past three years.

Ethical Compliance
Ethics approval and informed consent documentation are required where applicable. Studies must comply with recognised ethical standards.

Data Transparency
A Data Availability Statement is required. Authors should deposit relevant data and code in recognised repositories or clearly justify any restrictions.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • AI tools may only be used for language editing or formatting support
  • AI-assisted content must not exceed 20% of the manuscript
  • All AI use must be clearly disclosed at submission and within the manuscript
  • AI tools must not be listed as authors
  • Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy and integrity of all content

Preprints
TUJMS accepts submissions that have been previously posted as preprints. Authors must disclose any preprint DOI at submission.

Post-Publication Responsibility
Authors must notify the journal of any errors identified after publication and cooperate with corrections or retractions.

Peer Review Integrity
Authors may suggest potential reviewers but must not contact them directly or attempt to influence the peer-review process.

ORCID iD (Recommended)
Providing an ORCID iD is recommended to support accurate author identification and transparency.

Author Submission Checklist

Before submission, authors confirm that:

  • All authors meet authorship criteria and approve submission
  • Authorship and Conflict of Interest forms are completed and signed
  • Ethics approval and consent documents are provided where applicable
  • Funding sources and conflicts of interest are fully disclosed
  • A Data Availability Statement is included
  • AI use is disclosed and within permitted limits (≤20%)
  • Preprint DOI is disclosed where applicable
  • The manuscript is not under consideration elsewhere