International Journal of Contemporary Microbiology is a double blind peer reviewed international journal which has commenced its publication from January 2015. The journal is half yearly in frequency. The journal covers all aspects of pathology practice and research. The journal has been assigned ISSN 2394-9473 (Print Version) and ISSN - 2395-1796 (Online Version). The journal is indexed in many international data bases like Google scholar, EBSCO, Pro Quest etc.

This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.

Aim and scope of Journal

1. The journal intend to publish articles related to research in Microbiology 
2. Case reports, original articles and review articles are welcome.
3. The research regarding new concepts is encouraged.
4. We encourage research from developing countries.
5. The journal is open access.

Important Information

1. Manuscript Submission fee - There is no fee for manuscript submission. Manuscript can be submitted any time. Submission is always open
2. Manuscript Processing Charges- We charge for manuscript processing from authors.  Authors must pay charges only if the article is accepted for publication. The charges are per article. If some author does not want to pay, he can withdraw his article.

The charges are as follows
1. India and SAARC countries- Indian Rupees 1000/
2. Rest of world - US $ 100

1. Rebate / waiver policy -

Editor can give rebate/ wave off charges depending on author’s status like student, no funding from any source, research from developing  countries or research of exceptional status. Please write to Editor giving justification for rebate. Editor‘s decision is final and binding.

1. Digital archiving Policy- the issues of the journal are archived into PKP PN (Public Knowledge Project), LOCKSS and CLOCKSS
2. Review Policy for articles- The journal follows double blind peer review policy for all articles. Once the article is received, it is forwarded to our two reviewers after removing names of authors and their affiliations. Authors are also not informed names of reviewers. Reviewers send their comments in due course of time and these comments/ queries are forwarded to authors to make corrections or offer explanations. Once the reviewers are satisfied with corrections in manuscripts or explanations given by authors, authors are conveyed the decision of acceptance of article. If author/s refuses to make corrections as suggested by reviewers, manuscript is rejected for publication. 
3. Plagiarism checking policy- The journal has zero tolerance policy for plagiarism. We regularly use software Dupli checker for detection of plagiarism.
4. Licensing Policy
   Articles in International Journal of Contemporary Microbiology are Open Access articles which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work and source is properly cited.
5. Copyright Policy Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:-
   1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication.
   2.Authors continue to retain publishing rights to the article without restrictions.

 

 PUBLICATION ETHICS AND MALPRACTICE STATEMENT

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY MICROBIOLOGY is a peer reviewed journal committed to ensuring the highest standards of publication ethics. To maintain the standard of ethical behaviour everyone involved in the act of publishing (the publisher, editors, reviewers and the authors)have to agree upon the publication guidelines. Our ethics and malpractice statement are based on COPE's Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors

Editors Duties

• Publication decisions

The editors are responsible for maintaining highest possible standards in evaluating contribution to the INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY MICROBIOLOGY, as well as for maintaining the integrity of the journal. Editors select a manuscript for publication solely based on the scientific merit of the work and relevance to the scope of the journal without regard to the author's race, gender, nationality, religion or institutional affiliation. The editor of the journal is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published. The editor may be guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The editor may confer with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.

• Confidentiality

The editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.

• Disclosure and conflicts of interest

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor's own research without the written consent of the author. Editor has to take reasonable responsive measures when ethical complaints are presented concerning a submitted published manuscript. In cases of suspected misconduct, they follow the COPE guidelines.

Reviewers Responsibility

• Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and through the editorial communications with the corresponding author may also assist the author in improving the paper.

• Promptness

Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse himself from the review process.

• Confidentiality

Any manuscript received for review must be treated as confidential document. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.

• Standards of Objectivity

Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

• Acknowledgement of Sources

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. A reviewer should also call to the editor's attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

• Disclosure and Conflict of Interest

Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers. Reviewers can help prevent ethical breaches by identifying plagiarism, research fraud and other problems due to familiarity with the subject.

 

Authors Responsibility

• Reporting standards

Authors of reports of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

• Data Access and Retention

Authors are asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review, and should be prepared to provide public access to such data (consistent with the ALPSP-STM Statement on Data and Databases), if practicable, and should in any event be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.

• Originality and Plagiarism

Authors submitting their work in INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY MICROBIOLOGY for publication as original article confirm that the submitted work represent their own contribution and have not been copied or plagiarized in whole or in part from other works without clearly citing the source. Authors should cite publication that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work. Plagiarism in all forms constitute unethical publishing behaviour and is unacceptable.

• Multiple, Redundant or Concurrent Publication

An author should not publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.

• Acknowledgement of Sources

Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.

• Authorship of the Paper

Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.

• Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.

• Fundamental errors in published works

When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author's obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.

 

Publisher's Responsibility
As publisher of INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY MICROBIOLOGY, the responsibility lies in providing full practical support to the editor and executive editorial board of INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY MICROBIOLOGY so that they can follow the COPE code of conduct for the journal.

Research Misconduct
In case of research misconduct and editors not being able to take any action within two weeks of knowledge of this incident, the internal committee comprising of other editors and the publisher will be constituted to evaluate the case and recommend corrective action which should be taken immediately. The article affected by research misconduct shall be retracted immediately.