Journal of the Faculty of Medicine Baghdad Self-Citation Policy

Effective Date: Nov. 2025
Approved by: Editorial Board, Journal of the Faculty of Medicine Baghdad
Review Cycle: Annually
Reference: Aligned with COPE, ICMJE, WAME, and major publisher ethical standards (Springer Nature, Elsevier, IEEE, SAGE).

  1. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to ensure integrity and transparency in citation practices within Journal of the Faculty of Medicine Baghdad.
Citations are intended to acknowledge prior work and guide readers to relevant literature. They must not be used to inappropriately increase citation counts or journal impact metrics.

  1. Scope

This policy applies to:

  • Authors submitting manuscripts to the Journal of the Faculty of Medicine Baghdad.
  • Editors and peer reviewers handling submissions.
  • Members of the Editorial Board and related committees.
  1. Acceptable Self-Citation

Authors may cite their own previously published work when it is:

  • Directly relevant to the current study’s hypothesis, data, or methodology.
  • Essential for context, building upon prior research by the same authors.
  • Appropriately proportioned, without dominating the reference list.

Authors should always ensure that self-citations are justified, relevant, and transparent to the reader.

  1. Unacceptable Practices

The following are considered violations of this policy:

  • Excessive self-citation, where more than 20–30% of references are self-citations without clear justification.
  • Irrelevant or coercive citation, where citations are added for purposes other than scientific relevance.
  • Coordinated citation practices, such as citation stacking or reciprocal citation among author groups or journals.
  • Editorial coercion, where editors or reviewers request citations to their own work or to Journal of the Faculty of Medicine Baghdad without necessity.
  1. Editorial Oversight
  • The editorial team will screen all submissions for excessive or unjustified self-citations during the initial review.
  • Authors may be asked to revise or remove inappropriate citations before peer review or acceptance.
  • Cases of suspected citation manipulation will be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief and may be referred to the publisher or COPE.
  1. Sanctions for Non-Compliance

Confirmed breaches of this policy may result in:

  • Rejection of the manuscript or withdrawal of the article post-publication.
  • Reporting to the author’s institution, funder, or ethical oversight body.
  • Temporary or permanent restrictions on future submissions.
  • Public notice of retraction if manipulation affects the scholarly record.
  1. Transparency Declaration

Authors must:

  • Clearly disclose when the submitted work builds on previously published research by the same team.
  • Explain the relationship between the new and prior work in the cover letter.
    Editors and reviewers must declare any conflicts of interest related to citations or self-citation practices.
  1. Policy Review

This policy is reviewed annually by the Editorial Board to remain consistent with current ethical guidelines and best practices in scholarly publishing.

Contact

For questions regarding this policy, please contact:
Editorial Office – Journal of the Faculty of Medicine Baghdad
    [email protected]