All manuscripts submitted to AJPRS undergo an internal and/or external review process. Original research articles authored by a member of the journal's editorial team are independently peer reviewed, ensuring that the editor has no influence or input in the peer review process or publication decision for their own article. Editorials and obituaries written by the journal's editor do not undergo external peer review. The editor acknowledges the valuable guidance provided by the ICMJE and BMJ guidelines and editorial policies. Peer Review Process: Manuscripts submitted to the journal are initially reviewed by the editor or editorial board. If deemed suitable for publication, they are assigned for internal and external review by experts in the relevant field. Manuscripts clearly unsuitable for publication may be rejected at this initial stage. The journal follows a double-blind peer review process, with two reviewers assigned for leading articles, original articles, reviews, and perspectives, and one reviewer for case reports and invited reviews. Statistical review is conducted as necessary. AJPRS aims to provide a first response within 6 weeks from submission following editorial and peer review. Authors have the option to specify two reviewers or units to which they prefer their manuscript not to be sent for peer review.
Responsibilities of the Editor and Editorial Board:
(a) Ensure quality and high publication standards for the journal.
(b) Maintain transparency, competency, and fairness while avoiding conflicts of interest in all matters related to manuscript publication. (c) Decide on the acceptance of manuscripts for publication based on their relevance to the journal's scope, originality, scientific merit, and adherence to legal aspects such as libel, copyright, and plagiarism.
(d) Be open to revising decisions and issuing corrections (erratum) if a publication is found to be incorrect.
(e) Formulate, observe, and update guidelines for authors and reviewers as needed.
(f) Provide annual reports on the journal's progress to the publisher, Sri Lanka Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons.
2. Information about a submitted manuscript will be disclosed only to the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, editorial advisors, and the publisher by the Editor, members of the Editorial Board, and Editorial Office staff, as appropriate.
3. Unpublished material included in a submitted manuscript will not be used by the Editor or Editorial Board members for their own research purposes without the explicit written consent of the author.
4. The Editor and Editorial Board will consider retractions from the journal if there is substantial evidence of unreliable, falsified, or incorrect data, plagiarism, duplicate publication, or unethical research practices.
Ethical Approval of Research:
AJPRS expects authors to adhere to established ethical and moral guidelines for scientific publication. Authors should follow the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects.
When reporting experiments on human subjects, authors should indicate if the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and the Helsinki Declaration of 1964, as revised in 2013. If there is any doubt about the compliance with the Helsinki Declaration, authors must explain their approach and demonstrate explicit approval from the institutional review body for any doubtful aspects of the study. For experiments involving animals, authors should indicate if they followed the institutional and national guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals.
All manuscripts should be submitted with a statement confirming that the study was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the relevant institutional or national ethics committee and the Helsinki Declaration of 1964, as revised in 2013. The reference number provided by the ethics committee should be included. In certain cases, the editorial board may request contact details of the ethics committee for further clarification.
Authors are requested to upload a scanned copy of the ethics review committee (ERC) approval if the manuscript is based on primary research. If unable to upload this document, authors should provide reasons for the inability.
If authors deem it appropriate, they can include further clarifications regarding ethical issues in the covering letter or as a supplementary file during submission.
The editors and reviewers consider several ethical issues during the editorial process, including: - Obtaining informed consent from participants prior to the study - Deviation from current accepted clinical practice - Burden and risks imposed on patients or others - Potential benefits to patients, others, and society - Potential benefits to future patients
If the editorial board identifies a manuscript as unethical, AJPRS will notify the head of the department and/or institution for further necessary action.
Patient Consent and Confidentiality:
AJPRS follows a policy based on medical ethics principles regarding patient consent and confidentiality.
- For any article containing personal medical information about an identifiable living individual, explicit consent from the patient is required before publication. The consent form can be downloaded in English, Sinhala, and Tamil.
2. Provision of an informed consent document obtained at the time of initial patient contact, explicitly granting consent for the use of clinical details and/or illustrations for academic or scientific study/publication.
Copyright and Authors' Rights:
AJPRS allows authors (or their employers) to maintain the copyright of their work. The journal only requires an exclusive license that permits us to publish the article and sub-license the associated rights for exploitation. At the time of submission, the corresponding author should provide the following statement on behalf of all authors: "The Corresponding Author has the right to grant, on behalf of all authors, an exclusive license to AJPRS and its Licensees to publish the article in AJPRS and to exploit all subsidiary rights, as outlined in our license."
Authors' Rights: The license granted to authors allows them to use their own articles for their own purposes without seeking permission from AJPRS. They are required to acknowledge the first publication in the relevant journal and provide a full reference or web link, as appropriate.
Data Sharing: Authors of original research articles are encouraged to include a data sharing statement when submitting their article. This statement should specify the additional unpublished data from the study that is available and provide information on how to obtain it.
Corrections to Published Work: Authors should inform AJPRS of any errors in their submitted manuscripts or published articles. If these errors are deemed relevant and significant, the editorial board will decide to publish an erratum in the next issue. The erratum will be linked to the online version of the journal.
Complaints Procedure: Authors have the ability to lodge complaints regarding any issues related to the publishing of articles, the publishing process, the editorial board/staff, and the editor-in-chief of AJPRS. Complaints can be made via email or letter and should be sent to the following address: Editor, Asian Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery No 6 Independence Avenue, Colombo 07 Email: EditorAJPRS@slapras.com Complaints regarding the Editor of the journal should also be copied to the President of the Sri Lanka Association of Plastic, Reconstructive, and Aesthetic Surgeons.
Responses to Published Work:
AJPRS welcomes reader responses to published articles. These responses should be submitted as "Letters to the Editor" through the Sri Lanka Journals Online website. Letters that relate to or respond to previously published items in the journal will be reviewed by the editor and, when appropriate, shown to the authors of the original article.
Retractions:
Journal editors carefully consider retractions in cases where there is evidence of unreliable data or findings, plagiarism, duplicate publication, or unethical research. If an article is under investigation, an expression of concern notice may be considered. The retraction procedure depends on the publication stage of the article.
For articles published in an issue or a continuous publication journal, a replacement version of the article will be posted with only the metadata, and a retraction note will replace the original text. The PDF will be replaced with a version marked as "Retracted," but the original text will still be accessible. Additionally, a retraction notice will be published in the next available print issue.
In rare cases, the original content may need to be removed for legal reasons. In such instances, the metadata (title and authors) will remain, but the text will be replaced with a note stating that the article has been removed for legal reasons. A retraction notice will also be published online and/or in print.
Privacy:
Publication Embargo:
All content accepted for publication in the AJPRS is subject to an embargo until it is published online. This means that it should not be shared with third parties or discussed with the media until it is officially published, except in cases where research is shared with journalists through an embargoed press release issued by the AJPRS or in consultation with the AJPRS. If the material is part of a submission to a government body or public inquiry before publication, authors should inform the journal upon acceptance and ensure that recipients are aware of the embargo. Authors who have presented their research at a scientific meeting can still publish in the AJPRS. However, it is requested that no additional information is provided to the media before the full article is published in the journal. It is important to provide journalists and readers with access to the complete, peer-reviewed version of the article. The manuscript should acknowledge any prior presentation of the work at a conference. The AJPRS does not accept manuscript submissions that duplicate material already published or submitted elsewhere, including manuscripts published as electronic preprints on publicly accessible servers.
Open Access:
Currently, the AJPRS is an open access journal, and authors are not charged any fees for this service.