Complaints & Appeals

Nature and Procedure of Complaints

IJMT is committed to handling all complaints with transparency, fairness, and in full accordance with the guidelines and procedures of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Upon receipt of any formal complaint, IJMT will acknowledge receipt and initiate an appropriate investigation as guided by COPE's written policies and procedures.

IJMT recognizes the following categories of complaint:

1. Allegations of Research or Publication Misconduct Where allegations of misconduct arise — including but not limited to plagiarism, data falsification, or data fabrication — the aggrieved party may submit a formal written complaint directly to the Editor-in-Chief for review and investigation.

2. General Complaints Any individual who wishes to raise a concern regarding IJMT's editorial processes, decisions, or conduct may contact the journal with a detailed written description of the issue, accompanied by any relevant supporting information, at: info@ijmthk.com

Appealing a Publication Decision

The Editor-in-Chief retains full discretion at all stages to determine whether a submitted manuscript is appropriate for consideration in IJMT. However, IJMT's editorial management is firmly committed to the principle that no manuscript shall be rejected without a clear and valid statement of the reasons for that decision being communicated to the author(s).

Rejection decisions are not ordinarily eligible for formal appeal. However, an appeal may be filed under the following specific circumstances:

  • Error in the Review Process: Where author(s) have reasonable grounds to believe that the rejection decision was the result of a demonstrable error in the peer review process, a formal appeal may be submitted to the Editor-in-Chief. The appeal must be accompanied by a detailed written statement clearly describing the nature of the error believed to have occurred and its effect on the review outcome.

  • Publication Ethics Breach: Where author(s) believe that the rejection decision was influenced by a breach of publication ethics, they may contact the Editor-in-Chief with a full written description of the concern and all relevant supporting information.

In all cases, appeals must be submitted in writing and will be reviewed at the sole discretion of the Editor-in-Chief, whose decision shall be considered final.