Editor Submission Policy
Editorial independence
All editorial decisions are made by the NZMSJ editorial board. Decisions are based on academic and scientific value, and are not influenced by financial or personal interests.
Editorial board information:
NZMSJ’s Editorial Board comprises volunteers dedicated to the advancement of medical students' presence in academia and research. Those eligible to be part of the Editorial Board includes New Zealand based medical students from both the Auckland and Otago campuses at any stage of study, including those undertaking a gap-year or enrolled in the intercalated medical Honours, PhD or Bachelor of Arts programs. In order to become part of the Editorial Board, you must submit a CV and reason for wanting to join through the journal Expressions of Interest form once a call for volunteers is made near the end of each year. These submissions are reviewed by the current editorial board. While there is no formal qualification or experience required, success of applicants is based on their prior research and editorial experience as well as their dedication to advancement of medical students research. Current members of the Editorial Board anonymously vote for their desired candidate or cast a vote of no confidence. Successful candidates are announced at the NZMSJ Annual General Meeting.
Role of editors:
All members of the NZMSJ Editorial Board are listed on our Editorial Board Page, including their full name, university affiliation, and credentials (where applicable). All members of the editorial board are current MBChB students (including those involved in intercalated study) and are enrolled in a New Zealand Tertiary Institution.
The role of each editorial board member is listed below:
Policy regarding papers authored by editors and editorial board
In NZMSJ, submissions to the journal can be made by the members of the editorial board. Submissions from these authors are not favoured over, and are treated in the same manner as, submissions from non-affiliated authors. That is, they have undergone the same thorough double-blinded peer review processes as described in “Peer Review Processes”, meaning the author/editor does not know who has reviewed the paper. However, submissions from those who are affiliated with NZMSJ are never handled by the author who submitted the work, and are only handled by a separate member of the editorial board not in conflict of interest. If a conflict of interest arises during the review process, this must be disclosed and members must decline the invitation to review or handle the manuscript. If an editorial board member has submitted a piece of work to NZMSJ, their status as an editorial board member must be declared as a conflict of interest during submission on the NZMSJ manuscript cover sheet.
Conflict of interest and funding source policies:
All authors submitting their work to NZMSJ are required to complete and return the NZMSJ manuscript cover sheet. This sheet includes mandatory sections where authors must explicitly declare their funding source/s and all potential conflicts of interest or lack thereof. Conflicts of interest include, but are not limited to: financial relationships, position on boards or committees (including but not limited to those of pharmaceutical companies), employment by medical technology or pharmaceutical companies, personal relationships or rivalries, academic competition, or intellectual beliefs which may influence authors research. This cover sheet is reviewed by members of the editorial board during the review process. If a funding source or conflict of interest is identified as problematic and raises questions about the objectivity of the content, NZMSJ reserves the right to reject the work and/or request additional disclosures. The statements regarding conflicts of interest, as well as funding sources, are published alongside the accompanying manuscript, allowing readers access to complete information.
All editorial decisions are made by the NZMSJ editorial board. Decisions are based on academic and scientific value, and are not influenced by financial or personal interests.
Editorial board information:
NZMSJ’s Editorial Board comprises volunteers dedicated to the advancement of medical students' presence in academia and research. Those eligible to be part of the Editorial Board includes New Zealand based medical students from both the Auckland and Otago campuses at any stage of study, including those undertaking a gap-year or enrolled in the intercalated medical Honours, PhD or Bachelor of Arts programs. In order to become part of the Editorial Board, you must submit a CV and reason for wanting to join through the journal Expressions of Interest form once a call for volunteers is made near the end of each year. These submissions are reviewed by the current editorial board. While there is no formal qualification or experience required, success of applicants is based on their prior research and editorial experience as well as their dedication to advancement of medical students research. Current members of the Editorial Board anonymously vote for their desired candidate or cast a vote of no confidence. Successful candidates are announced at the NZMSJ Annual General Meeting.
Role of editors:
All members of the NZMSJ Editorial Board are listed on our Editorial Board Page, including their full name, university affiliation, and credentials (where applicable). All members of the editorial board are current MBChB students (including those involved in intercalated study) and are enrolled in a New Zealand Tertiary Institution.
The role of each editorial board member is listed below:
- The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for the overall running of all internal and external affairs of the journal. This includes leading production, soliciting articles, reviewing editorials, and conducting meetings with external stakeholders. The Editor-in-Chief, along with the Deputy Editor, screen all submissions and gauge the suitability of the manuscript for the journal.
- The Deputy Editor works closely alongside the Editor-in-Chief to manage other members of the Editorial Board, ensuring all needs and requirements are met in order for tasks to be completed. Along with the Editor-in-Chief, the Deputy Editor is also involved in journal production.
- The Academic Editor and Academic Sub-Editor are responsible for all academic articles published in the NZMSJ. This includes review articles, case reports, and original research articles. The Academic Editor and Academic Sub-Editor are also responsible for ensuring the peer review process takes place in a timely manner. After screening of articles by the Editor-in-Chief and/or the Deptury editor, the Academic Editor and Academic Sub-Editor will review the articles and send them, as appropriate, for student peer-review. They are also responsible for identifying and contacting a suitable expert reviewer for each manuscript, and communicating feedback to the manuscript author.
- The Features Editor and Features Sub-Editor are responsible for feature articles published in the NZMSJ, including elective/selective reports, conference reports, opinion pieces, reflective essays, and educational articles. The Features Editor and Features Sub-Editor receive feature articles screened by the Editor-in-Chief and Deputy-Editor for review. They then, as appropriate, are responsible for ensuring timely peer review of these features. The Features Editor and Features Sub-Editor accept, reject, or accept with revisions all feature articles.
- The Blog Editor is responsible for management of all blog submissions and content. This includes features, written interviews related to careers, and guides/tips related to medical school and research. They receive blog post submissions and allocate blog post manuscripts to peer reviewers, ensuring this is completed in a timely manner. The Blog Editor is ultimately responsible for publishing manuscripts onto the NZMSJ Blog.
- The Web Editor is responsible for keeping the NZMSJ website up to date. They are responsible for ensuring journal issues are and articles are published and visible on our website, and indexed by Google Scholar. They work closely with the Blog Editor when publishing blog posts. The Website Editor is also responsible for electronic distribution of published journals to our Stakeholders.
- The Academic Events Officers are involved in planning and organising academic events to promote NZMSJ within the Auckland and Otago university campuses. Events include club days, forums, launch events for latest issues, seminars, and workshops. Academic Events Officers are also responsible for fundraising for these events, and designing new events.
- The Social Media Manager is responsible for the communication and dissemination of research published in the NZMSJ. They update our social media platforms, including Facebook, X, Instagram, and LinkedIn. They work closely with our Academic Events Officers to advertise events and ensure effective communication of our calls for abstracts.
- The Indexing Manager is responsible for liaising with Google Scholar, CrossRef, Scholastica, Web of Science, DOAJ, and Informit to ensure our articles are visible and searchable on these databases. The Indexing Manager is also responsible for active searching for and communication with companies and service providers who aid in indexing to ensure maximum visibility of our content.
- The Podcast Editor is responsible for organising and producing NZMSJ podcasts, including contacting those to feature on podcast episodes.
Policy regarding papers authored by editors and editorial board
In NZMSJ, submissions to the journal can be made by the members of the editorial board. Submissions from these authors are not favoured over, and are treated in the same manner as, submissions from non-affiliated authors. That is, they have undergone the same thorough double-blinded peer review processes as described in “Peer Review Processes”, meaning the author/editor does not know who has reviewed the paper. However, submissions from those who are affiliated with NZMSJ are never handled by the author who submitted the work, and are only handled by a separate member of the editorial board not in conflict of interest. If a conflict of interest arises during the review process, this must be disclosed and members must decline the invitation to review or handle the manuscript. If an editorial board member has submitted a piece of work to NZMSJ, their status as an editorial board member must be declared as a conflict of interest during submission on the NZMSJ manuscript cover sheet.
Conflict of interest and funding source policies:
All authors submitting their work to NZMSJ are required to complete and return the NZMSJ manuscript cover sheet. This sheet includes mandatory sections where authors must explicitly declare their funding source/s and all potential conflicts of interest or lack thereof. Conflicts of interest include, but are not limited to: financial relationships, position on boards or committees (including but not limited to those of pharmaceutical companies), employment by medical technology or pharmaceutical companies, personal relationships or rivalries, academic competition, or intellectual beliefs which may influence authors research. This cover sheet is reviewed by members of the editorial board during the review process. If a funding source or conflict of interest is identified as problematic and raises questions about the objectivity of the content, NZMSJ reserves the right to reject the work and/or request additional disclosures. The statements regarding conflicts of interest, as well as funding sources, are published alongside the accompanying manuscript, allowing readers access to complete information.
