POST-PUBLICATION DISCUSSION POLICY
POST-PUBLICATION DISCUSSION POLICY
- Purpose and Scope
The journal encourages scholarly discussion after publication to improve understanding, support critical appraisal, and identify issues requiring clarification or editorial action.
Discussion may address methods, findings, interpretation, limitations, practical implications, or publication integrity. For community service articles, comments may also concern programme implementation, evaluation, community participation, and evidence supporting reported outcomes.
- Submitting Comments
Readers should send correspondence to the official email listed on the journal’s Contact page, using the subject line “Post-Publication Discussion: [Article Title or DOI]”.
Submissions should include:
- The article title, DOI, or URL.
- A clear explanation of the issue and the relevant passage, table, or figure.
- Supporting evidence or references, where applicable.
- The contributor’s name, affiliation if applicable, contact details, and relevant competing interests.
Confidential integrity concerns may be submitted separately. Anonymous reports will be considered when sufficiently specific and verifiable, although publication as signed correspondence requires author identification.
- Editorial Assessment
Editors assess correspondence for scientific relevance, clarity, evidential support, and suitability for publication. They may request clarification, supporting documents, revisions, or independent expert advice.
Personal attacks, discriminatory language, unsupported accusations, promotional material, and disclosures of confidential personal information are not acceptable. Reasoned criticism will not be rejected solely because it challenges the original article or the journal.
- Authors’ Responses
Authors will be invited to respond to substantive criticisms and explain their position or provide relevant evidence. The response deadline will be communicated by the editor, and reasonable extension requests may be considered.
A lack of response does not automatically establish wrongdoing or prevent publication of a justified critique. Where relevant, the journal may state that a response was requested but not received.
- Publication and Moderation
Selected contributions may be published as “Correspondence,” “Comment,” or “Author Response” and linked to the original article. These are post-publication discussion items, distinct from regular research and review articles.
Editors may edit contributions for clarity, length, and style without changing their substantive meaning. Substantive edits will be referred to contributors for approval. Discussion items undergo editorial assessment; external peer review may be requested when necessary, and its use will be indicated.
Published discussion will remain openly accessible. Submission does not guarantee publication.
- Integrity Concerns and Corrections
Concerns about possible errors or misconduct are assessed under the journal’s relevant policies. Substantial published amendments will be documented through linked notices rather than silent changes.
Scholarly disagreement alone does not establish misconduct. Conversely, closing a discussion does not prevent further examination of credible integrity concerns.
- External Discussion and Independence
Relevant concerns raised on external scholarly platforms may be considered when brought to the journal’s attention. Editorial action depends on assessment of the evidence.
Editors with competing interests must withdraw from handling the discussion. Concerns involving an editor’s own article or conduct will be assigned to an independent responsible person.
- Closure, Appeals, and Implementation
Editors may close repetitive discussion that presents no material new evidence, while considering subsequent information that could affect publication integrity.
Contributors may request reconsideration by explaining an alleged procedural error or supplying new evidence. Requests are assessed without conflicts of interest.
This policy takes effect on the date announced by the journal and is reviewed periodically.
