Journal Policies

Publication Frequency

Majalah Kedokteran Bandung (MKB) is published quarterly, with four issues released each year in March, June, September, and December.

Open Access Policy

Majalah Kedokteran Bandung provides immediate open access to all published content to support the free exchange and dissemination of scientific knowledge.

Readers may access article abstracts in HTML format and full-text articles in PDF format without subscription or access charges.

Each published article is assigned a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) through Crossref.

Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) . This license permits users to share and adapt the material for noncommercial purposes, provided appropriate credit is given to the original authors and source.

Archiving Policy

Majalah Kedokteran Bandung is committed to the long-term preservation and continued accessibility of its published scholarly content.

The journal maintains regular backups of published articles, metadata, issue information, and related files. Backup copies are maintained separately to reduce the risk of data loss.

The journal may also use institutional repositories, recognized preservation services, or other appropriate digital archiving mechanisms to ensure long-term access to its content.

Authors are permitted to archive the published version of their articles in institutional repositories, academic websites, or other noncommercial scholarly platforms, provided that the original publication is properly cited and the DOI and journal link are included.

Plagiarism Policy

Majalah Kedokteran Bandung does not tolerate plagiarism or other forms of inappropriate text reuse.

Manuscripts may be screened using Turnitin or another appropriate similarity-detection system as part of the editorial process.

The journal applies a maximum similarity threshold of 20%. Manuscripts exceeding this threshold may be returned to the authors for correction and resubmission or may be subject to further editorial assessment.

Similarity results are interpreted by the editorial team and are not used as the sole basis for determining plagiarism.

Subscription

Majalah Kedokteran Bandung is a fully open-access journal. No subscription or payment is required to read, download, or access published articles.

Readers may voluntarily register with the journal to receive notifications regarding new issues, announcements, or other journal updates.

Ownership and Management

Majalah Kedokteran Bandung (MKB) is owned and published by the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia.

The journal is managed by its Editorial Team under the responsibility of the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran. Editorial decisions are made independently by the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board based on the scientific quality, relevance, originality, ethical standards, and peer-review evaluation of submitted manuscripts.

The journal's owner and publisher do not interfere with individual editorial decisions concerning manuscript acceptance, rejection, peer review, correction, or retraction.

Majalah Kedokteran Bandung is committed to maintaining editorial independence, transparency, academic integrity, and responsible scholarly publishing.

Retraction, Withdrawal, and Correction Policy

Majalah Kedokteran Bandung follows the principles and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) in handling retractions, withdrawals, corrections, and related changes to the scholarly record.

Retraction

An article may be retracted when there is clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, whether as a result of misconduct or major error, substantial plagiarism, redundant or duplicate publication, unethical research, or other serious violations of publication ethics.

Retracted articles will normally remain available as part of the published scholarly record, accompanied by a clear retraction notice explaining the reason for the retraction.

Removal of a published article will be considered only in exceptional circumstances, such as serious legal, privacy, or safety concerns.

Withdrawal

Authors may request withdrawal of a manuscript only for compelling and unavoidable reasons. A withdrawal request must be submitted to the Editorial Office and may require a Manuscript Withdrawal Form signed or approved by all authors.

A manuscript is not considered withdrawn until formal confirmation has been issued by the journal.

Erratum

An erratum may be issued to correct an error introduced by the journal or publisher during production that affects scientific meaning, article metadata, authorship, figures, tables, or the reader's understanding of the article.

Minor typographical errors that do not affect the scientific content or interpretation normally do not require a formal erratum.

Corrigendum

A corrigendum may be issued when authors identify an error in the published article that requires formal correction but does not invalidate the overall findings. Authors should contact the Editorial Office and provide details of the requested correction.

The editor will determine whether a formal correction is necessary and the appropriate form of the correction notice.

Publisher's Notes

Publisher's notes may be used to clarify production, formatting, or metadata errors when appropriate. Corrections to the scholarly record will be made transparently.

Data Sharing Policy

Majalah Kedokteran Bandung encourages authors to make research data available whenever appropriate to support transparency, reproducibility, and verification of published findings.

Research data may include raw or processed datasets, software, algorithms, protocols, models, methodological materials, and other information necessary to understand or reproduce the reported research.

Where appropriate, authors are encouraged to deposit relevant data in recognized repositories and provide persistent identifiers or links to the data in the manuscript.

Any data sharing must comply with ethical requirements, participant confidentiality, informed consent, applicable laws, and institutional or funder requirements.

Authors are responsible for obtaining appropriate informed consent from study participants whenever required by applicable ethical standards and regulations.

Manuscripts containing identifiable patient information, photographs, clinical images, case reports, or other information that could reasonably identify an individual must be supported by written consent for publication from the patient or the patient's legal representative.

Authors must take appropriate measures to protect participant confidentiality and privacy.

Written consent documentation should be retained by the authors or their institution in accordance with applicable ethical and institutional requirements.

Failure to provide required informed consent may result in rejection of the manuscript or other editorial action.

Authorship and Contributorship Policy

Majalah Kedokteran Bandung promotes transparency, accountability, and appropriate recognition of contributions to scholarly work.

To qualify as an author, an individual should:

  • make a substantial contribution to the conception or design of the work, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data;
  • participate in drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content;
  • approve the final version to be published; and
  • agree to be accountable for the accuracy, integrity, and appropriate conduct of the work.

Individuals who contribute to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be appropriately acknowledged.

All authors must approve the submitted manuscript, the order of authorship, and the information provided about each author.

Authors are responsible for the originality of the manuscript, appropriate attribution of contributions, final approval of the work, ethical compliance, required approvals and consent, permissions, supporting documentation, funding disclosures, conflicts of interest, and the overall integrity of the published work.

Contributions that normally do not qualify for authorship may include technical assistance, data collection, statistical support, language editing, administrative assistance, or other forms of support that do not satisfy the authorship criteria.

Any request to add, remove, or rearrange authors after submission must be justified in writing and approved by all authors. Authorship changes after acceptance or publication will be considered only in exceptional circumstances and may require a formal correction notice.

Conflict of Interest and Competing Interests Policy

Majalah Kedokteran Bandung (MKB) requires authors, reviewers, editors, Editorial Board members, and journal staff to disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the research, peer-review process, editorial decisions, or journal operations.

Conflicts of interest may be financial or non-financial and may include personal, professional, institutional, academic, or commercial relationships.

Authors

Authors must disclose all relevant competing interests, including funding, employment, consultancy, honoraria, financial interests, patents, personal relationships, or institutional affiliations.

A Conflict of Interest Statement must be included in the manuscript.

If no conflict exists, authors should state:

“The authors declare no conflicts of interest.”

Reviewers

Reviewers must disclose any potential conflict of interest before accepting a review assignment and should decline the review if their objectivity may be compromised.

If a conflict becomes apparent after accepting the assignment, the reviewer must promptly inform the Editorial Office.

Reviewers must not use confidential manuscript information for personal, professional, academic, or financial advantage.

Editors and Editorial Board Members

Editors and Editorial Board members must disclose any competing interests that may affect their editorial judgment.

Editors must not handle manuscripts where a significant conflict exists. In such cases, the manuscript should be reassigned to another qualified editor without a relevant conflict.

Journal Staff

Journal staff involved in manuscript handling, administration, production, or publication must disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest.

Staff members must maintain confidentiality and must not use unpublished information for personal, professional, institutional, or financial benefit.

When a conflict exists, the relevant task or manuscript should be reassigned.

Editorial Independence

Ownership, institutional relationships, publication fees, sponsorship, or other financial considerations must not influence editorial decisions.

Editorial decisions are based on scientific quality, originality, relevance, ethical compliance, and peer-review evaluation.

Undisclosed Conflicts

If an undisclosed conflict of interest is identified before or after publication, MKB may request clarification and take appropriate editorial action, including reassignment, correction, disclosure, or further investigation.

All participants in the publication process are responsible for identifying and disclosing relevant competing interests as early as possible.

Complaints and Appeals Policy

Majalah Kedokteran Bandung is committed to handling complaints and appeals fairly, transparently, objectively, and in accordance with the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Complaints or appeals may relate to editorial decisions, peer-review procedures, scientific content, publication ethics, editorial management, or other aspects of the journal's publication process.

Complaints and appeals should be submitted in writing to [email protected] and should include sufficient information and supporting documentation to allow the matter to be assessed.

Appeals against rejection should clearly explain the grounds for the appeal and address the scientific, methodological, ethical, or editorial issues raised in the decision.

Complaints and appeals will be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief or an appropriate editorial representative. The journal will endeavor to provide a response within 14 days whenever reasonably possible.

The journal may seek information from authors, reviewers, editors, editorial board members, institutions, or other relevant parties when necessary to evaluate the matter.

The outcome of the review will be communicated to the complainant or appellant. Where appropriate, the journal will follow relevant COPE guidance on appeals.

Revenue Sources, Advertising, and Direct Marketing Policy

Majalah Kedokteran Bandung may receive revenue from author fees, article publication charges, institutional support from the Faculty of Medicine Universitas Padjadjaran, and other legitimate sources of journal support.

Revenue sources do not influence editorial decision-making, peer review, acceptance, rejection, or publication decisions. Payment of a fee does not guarantee acceptance or publication of a manuscript.

Majalah Kedokteran Bandung does not currently publish external commercial advertising. If advertising is introduced in the future, advertisements will be clearly distinguishable from editorial content and will not influence editorial decisions.

Direct marketing activities may include calls for papers, publication announcements, journal updates, academic events, indexing or accreditation information, and other communications related to scholarly publishing.

Such communications will be accurate and not misleading. Personal information obtained through journal activities will be used only for legitimate journal purposes and will not be sold to third parties.

Intellectual Property Policy

Majalah Kedokteran Bandung respects copyright and other intellectual property rights. Authors are responsible for ensuring that all materials submitted for publication comply with applicable intellectual property requirements.

Authors must ensure that text, figures, photographs, tables, questionnaires, datasets, supplementary materials, and other content do not infringe copyright, patent, trademark, privacy, confidentiality, or other proprietary rights.

Where copyrighted or otherwise protected material is reproduced or adapted, authors are responsible for obtaining any required written permission and providing appropriate acknowledgment and citation.

Authors should retain documentation of all permissions and provide such documentation to the journal when requested.

Manuscripts should not contain unauthorized confidential, proprietary, or restricted information.

The journal may reject, withdraw, correct, or retract material when intellectual property infringement or related legal or ethical concerns are identified.

Publication by the journal does not remove the authors' responsibility for compliance with intellectual property requirements.

Allegation of Misconduct Policy

Majalah Kedokteran Bandung is committed to protecting the integrity of the scholarly record and will consider allegations of research or publication misconduct seriously.

Potential misconduct may include, but is not limited to:

  • fabrication or falsification of data;
  • inappropriate manipulation or misrepresentation of results;
  • plagiarism;
  • duplicate or redundant publication;
  • citation manipulation;
  • misleading or inappropriate authorship;
  • undisclosed conflicts of interest;
  • manipulation of the peer-review process;
  • unethical research involving human participants or animals;
  • inappropriate manipulation of images or other research materials; and
  • other serious violations of research or publication ethics.

Concerns may be raised before or after publication. The journal will conduct an initial assessment to determine whether further investigation or clarification is required.

Allegations will be handled as confidentially, fairly, objectively, and promptly as reasonably possible. Individuals whose work or conduct is questioned will normally be given an opportunity to provide an explanation or relevant documentation.

When appropriate, the journal may seek information from coauthors, reviewers, editors, editorial board members, independent experts, institutions, research ethics committees, funders, or other relevant parties.

Cases requiring formal investigation may be referred to the authors' or reviewers' institution or another appropriate authority. The journal does not normally conduct institutional or legal investigations itself but will take appropriate steps to protect the scholarly record.

Depending on the circumstances, editorial actions may include requesting clarification or documentation, requiring revision, suspending editorial processing, rejecting the manuscript, withdrawing a reviewer, publishing a correction or expression of concern, retracting an article, or taking other appropriate action.

Good-faith concerns will be considered fairly. The journal will not tolerate the misuse of misconduct allegations for harassment or other inappropriate purposes.

The primary purpose of this policy is to preserve the reliability and integrity of the published scholarly record.

Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies Policy

Majalah Kedokteran Bandung recognizes the increasing use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies in research and scholarly publishing. Such technologies must be used responsibly, transparently, and ethically and must not compromise the accuracy, originality, confidentiality, integrity, or ethical standards of submitted or published work.

Use of AI by Authors

Authors may use AI-assisted tools for purposes such as language editing, grammar correction, translation, formatting, or improving readability. AI tools must not be listed as authors because authorship requires human responsibility and accountability.

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, validity, and integrity of all content in the manuscript, including content developed or modified with the assistance of AI.

Substantial use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies should be disclosed, preferably in the Acknowledgments or Methods section, as appropriate. The disclosure should identify the tool used, its version when available, the purpose for which it was used, and how the authors reviewed or verified the AI-assisted content.

An example disclosure statement is:

“The authors used [name and version of AI tool] for language editing and grammar correction. All AI-assisted content was reviewed and verified by the authors, who take full responsibility for the final manuscript.”

AI tools must not be used to fabricate, falsify, manipulate, or misrepresent data, images, references, research results, or other scientific content.

AI Screening

The journal may use AI-detection or related screening tools as part of manuscript assessment. The journal-specific expected AI-generated content score is 35% or less.

A manuscript with an AI-generated content score above 35% may be returned to the authors for clarification, revision, or further editorial assessment.

AI-detection results are considered screening indicators and are not treated as definitive evidence of inappropriate AI use. Final assessment is made by human editors based on the manuscript and relevant supporting information.

Failure to disclose substantial AI use when disclosure is required may be considered an issue of publication ethics.

Use of AI by Reviewers

Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of manuscripts and should not upload unpublished or confidential manuscript material to AI systems when privacy, confidentiality, or data protection cannot be assured.

AI tools must not replace independent expert judgment in peer review. Reviewers remain responsible for the content, accuracy, fairness, and integrity of their review.

Substantial use of AI in preparing a peer-review report should be disclosed where appropriate.

Use of AI by Editors

Editors must protect the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and should not upload unpublished or confidential material to AI systems when adequate security and confidentiality cannot be assured.

AI-assisted tools may be used for limited administrative, language, or editorial support but must not replace human editorial judgment.

Decisions concerning manuscript screening, reviewer selection, revision, acceptance, rejection, correction, or retraction remain the responsibility of qualified human editors.

Accountability

Authors, reviewers, and editors remain responsible for their respective contributions and decisions regardless of whether AI-assisted technologies are used.

Suspected unethical or inappropriate use of AI will be evaluated in accordance with the journal's publication ethics and misconduct policies.