Editorial Policy

Instructions for Contributors

The Journal of Free and Open Source Medical Computing (JFOSMC) is an electronic forum for disseminating information on free and open source medical computing. Scholarly work on any aspect of free and open source medical computing will be considered for peer-reviewed publication including but not limited to: Law, Economics, Security and Design. In addition to articles, JFOSMC provides a repository for resources such as links, curricula, data sets, syllabi, software, and instructional material developers wish to make available to the free and open source community. JOSMC also posts informational notices and summaries of conferences and other events of interest to the free and open source community.

JFOSMC publishes three general categories of articles:

Feature Articles include articles discussing issues of general interest to the open source community. These include (but are not limited to) presenting perspectives as well as reviews and commentary of the literature on a specific topic. With the exception of invited articles and editorials, feature articles are peer-reviewed.

Research Articles present high quality completed research or evaluation studies. Research articles are peer-reviewed.

Trend Articles present new ideas as well as studies or descriptions of programs in the early stages of development. Trend articles are envisioned as a means of quickly disseminating innovative ideas, descriptions of new programs and preliminary results from research and evaluation studies. Manuscripts submitted to this section are peer-reviewed. The preliminary nature of the material submitted will be taken into account in the review process.

In addition to articles, JOSMC contains several other types of material:

Links/Resources Section

The Links/Resources Section provides links and a repository for resources such as software, documentation, data sets, curricula and syllabi as well as instructional materials developers wish to make available to the free and open source community. Any type of material that can be stored in a standard computer file format will be considered for inclusion in the Links/Resources Section. Submissions are reviewed by the editor for general relevance to free and open source medical software.

Book Review Section

The Book Review Section contains reviews of newly published books relevant to free and open source software .  Authors or publishers are encouraged to submit relevant books for review along with suggestions for reviewers.

Submission Procedures

Electronic submissions are required, submissions should be sent to:

or on floppy disk to:

Journal of Open Source Medical Computing
2425 Holly Hall, B42
Houston, Tx 77054
USA

Peer-Reviewed Articles

Authors should use electronic mail for submissions and other written correspondence with JOSMC. A cover letter should be included with all submissions that states that all of the authors have approved the manuscript as submitted. The lead author must also sign an Electronic Publication Agreement before final publication.

Authors are responsible for all statements made in their manuscripts and for obtaining permission for the use of copyrighted materials. Manuscripts submitted to JOSMC should be prepared in accordance with the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals, (JAMA 1993;269:2282-6 or later version). Include an abstract that is approximately 150 words long. Also provide four to six key words or phrases that would be useful for indexing the article.

Manuscripts and other submissions sent to JOSMC electronically should be send as an attachment to the cover letter. Submissions sent via regular mail should be contained on a 3.5 inch formatted diskette.  or CD-RW We prefer manuscripts in StarOffice, but can convert many other formats. 

Statement on Duplicate Publication

Articles distributed through JOSMC are considered published material. JOSMC strongly discourages duplicate or simultaneous publication of manuscripts in either print or electronic media. Please note the following statement by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.*

Electronic Publication

* International Committee of Medical Journal Editors Ann Int Med 1992;116:1030.

Book Review Section

Authors and publishers are encouraged to submit recently published health education books for review along with suggestions for potential reviewers.  The author or publisher requesting a review should contact the Journal's editor via electronic mail at Editor@JOSMC.org for further information.

Posting Section

Contributors are encouraged to submit their postings onto the site using the 'post article' link on the main page. Include the name of a contact person and their electronic mail address. Postings announcing events will be removed after the date of the event.

Links/Resources Section

Contributors submitting material for inclusion in the Links/Resource Section do so with the understanding these materials will be freely distributed by JOSMC upon request. Two options exist for contributors wishing to distribute material through the JOSMC Links/Resource Section.  If the material is currently available on another server, we will simply link the description of the material to your server address (URL).   Contributors also are welcome to store material on JOSMC's server.

If you wish to store your material on JOSMC's server, an Electronic Publication Agreement should be signed by the lead developer and returned to JOSMC.

A cover letter should be included with submissions to the Links/Resource Section that states all authors have approved the material being submitted and understand that the material is being freely distributed through JOSMC's web site. Provide a brief description of the material being submitted and how it would be useful to open source medical computing. This will be used to provide JOSMC readers with a description of the material in the Links/Resource Section. A more detailed description of the material and/or instructions for use can be enclosed in the distribution package. It is strongly suggested that material consisting of multiple files be archived. If needed, we can provide assistance in creating these archives.

JOSMC requires submissions in electronic format. Submissions via the mail should be contained on a 3.5 inch diskette(s)or CD-RW. If a submission is greater than 5 Megabytes and you cannot burn a CD-RW, please send an e-mail and we will discuss arrangements for transmission.

Please contact us if you have questions concerning the submissions to the Links/Resource Section of JOSMC. We will try to be as flexible as possible and work with you to make your material available through JOSMC.

Copyright Policy

It is the policy of the Journal to distribute scholarly material in the field of open source medical computing. While contributors retain copyright in their contributions, the Journal acquires sufficient rights to permit it to accomplish its purpose. These rights include the right to distribute contributions online, to incorporate contributions into other media for off-line distribution, to add appropriate hyperlinks or otherwise integrate contributions into the larger body of relevant literature. Consistent with this policy, the Journal generally permits and encourages further dissemination of the material in the open source community on a nonprofit basis. Other uses, such as repackaging and sale are not permitted without the permission of the copyright owner, who will, in most cases be the author.

Policy for Handling Complaints

If the Journal receives a complaint that any contribution to the Journal infringes copyright or other intellectual property rights or contains material inaccuracies, libelous materials or otherwise unlawful materials, the Journal will notify the author and a legal counsel and begin to investigate the complaint. Investigation may include a request that the parties involved substantiate their claims. The Journal, in coordination with legal counsel, will make a good faith determination whether to remove the allegedly wrongful material. A decision not to remove material should represent the Journal's and legal counsel's reasonable belief that the complaint is without sufficient foundation, or if well-founded, that a legal defense or exemption may apply, such as fair use in the case of copyright infringement or truthfulness of a statement in the case of libel. Journal should document its investigation and decision.