Submissions

Author Guidelines

EDITORIAL POLICY

The Journal takes great care to secure the confidentiality and integrity of the peer-review process; it is considered a violation of this confidentiality for authors to identify or attempt to communicate directly with peer reviewers or journal editors regarding their manuscript. All editorial communications should be directed through the Editorial Office at pakjpathol@hotmail.com.

In general, the manuscript should not already have been formally published in any journal or in any other citable form. In any case where there is the potential for overlap or duplication we require that authors are transparent. Authors should declare any potentially overlapping publications on submission.

 Authorship

Submission of a manuscript to a PJP implies that all authors have read and agreed to its content and that the manuscript conforms to the journal’s policies. Only six authors are allowed in a single institution / single discipline study.  In a multi-institution / multi-disciplinary and international collaboration research, Editorial Board shall guide on an individual case basis. Each author is expected to have made substantial contributions to the conception OR design of the work; OR the acquisition, analysis, OR interpretation of data; OR the creation of new software used in the work; OR have drafted the work or substantively revised it. Contributors who do not meet the above criteria for authorship, but helped in the study, may be listed in the acknowledgment section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help or writing assistance, or a department chair who provided only general support.

When submitting a manuscript to the PJP, the corresponding author takes responsibility on behalf of all authors for the authorship, authenticity, and integrity of the research being reported. The corresponding author should be available throughout the submission and peer review process to respond to editorial queries in a timely way, and should be available after publication to respond to critiques of the work and cooperate with any requests from the journal for data or additional information should questions about the paper arise after publication.

A current and functional email address needs to be provided for each author at submission. Authors added at revision also need an email address provided in the system. Any change made to the list of authors (addition, removal, change in order) after manuscript acceptance requires consent of all authors and editorial approval.

Statements describing detailed contributions made by each author are required at the time of submission of the manuscript.

 Clinical trial

PJP considers the publication of results of all randomized control trials (RCT) if the ICMJE recommendations are followed (http://www.icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf). A registration number will have to be provided with the manuscript and should be noted after the end of the abstract. The ICMJE uses the World Health Organization (WHO) definition of a clinical trial, which is "any research study that prospectively assigns human participants or groups of humans to one or more health-related interventions to evaluate the effects on health outcomes". This definition includes phase I to IV trials. The ICMJE defines health-related interventions as "any intervention used to modify a biomedical or health-related outcome" and health-related outcomes as "any biomedical or health-related measures obtained in patients or participants". Authors who are unsure whether their trial needs registering should consult the ICMJE FAQs for further information. (www.who.int/ictrp/network/primary/en/index.html).

The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) also provides approval and trial numbers for clinical trials involving drugs or appliances (http://www.dra.gov.pk/)

 Conflict of interest

A sample definition by World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) states that conflict of interest “exists when a participant in the publication process (author, peer reviewer, or editor) has a competing interest that could unduly influence (or be reasonably seen to do so) his or her responsibilities in the publication process."

Any conflict of interest should be declared by all authors. This may include grants or honorarium, credits and promotions, memberships or any personal or professional relationships which may appear to influence the manuscript. Such competing interests are not unethical but should be declared.

Authors should state the conflict of interest clearly in the submission statement form. This statement should also appear at the end of the text before the references. If there are no conflicts of interests, the authors should state, “none to declare.”

 Copyright policy

All the authors of manuscripts submitted to and published in the PJP agree to transfer all copyright ownership of the manuscript to the PJP. After publication, such manuscripts can only be re-produced after permission from the editorial board and the publisher.

All authors are required to sign the copyright policy statement which is found on the submission form and send it in with the manuscript.

In case the manuscript is rejected, the copyright transfers back to the authors.

 Ethical approval of research

Research involving human subjects, human material, or human data, must have been performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and must have been approved by an appropriate ethics committee. A statement detailing this, including the name of the ethics committee and the reference number where appropriate, must appear in all manuscripts reporting such research. If a study has been granted an exemption from requiring ethics approval, this should also be detailed in the manuscript (including the name of the ethics committee that granted the exemption). Further information and documentation to support this should be made available to the Editor on request. Manuscripts may be rejected if the Editor considers that the research has not been carried out within an appropriate ethical framework. In rare cases, the Editor may contact the ethics committee for further information.

If a study has not been granted ethics committee approval prior to commencing, retrospective ethics approval usually cannot be obtained and it may not be possible to consider the manuscript for peer review. The decision on whether to proceed to peer review in such cases is at the Editor's discretion.

 Animal-or plant-based studies

Animal-or plant-based studies, or research will not be considered for processing or publication in the PJP.

 Consent to participate

For all research involving human subjects, informed consent to participate in the study should be obtained from participants (or their parent or legal guardian in the case of children under 16) and a statement to this effect should appear in the manuscript. For manuscript reporting studies involving vulnerable groups (for example unconscious patients) where there is the potential for coercion (for example prisoners) or where consent may not have been fully informed, manuscripts will be considered at the editors discretion. In the case of articles describing human transplantation studies, authors must include a statement declaring that no organs/tissues were obtained from prisoners and must also name the institution(s)/clinic(s)/department(s) via which organs/tissues were obtained.

For all manuscripts that include details, images, or videos relating to an individual person, written informed consent for the publication of these details must be obtained from that person (or their parent or legal guardian in the case of children under 18). If the person has died, consent for publication must be obtained from their next of kin. The manuscript must include a statement that written informed consent for publication was obtained. The consent form must state that the details/images/videos will be freely available on the internet and may be seen by the general public. The consent form must be made available to the Editor if requested, and will be treated confidentially.

 In cases where images are entirely unidentifiable and there are no details on individuals reported within the manuscript, consent for publication of images may not be required. The final decision on whether consent to publish is required lies with the Editor.

 MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORS

 Pakistan Journal of Pathology (PJP) is the official journal of Pakistan association of Pathologists. Acceptance criteria for all research papers and review articles are based on the quality and originality of the research and its clinical and scientific significance to our readership.

Manuscript Submission

• Go to the Pak J Pathol official website: https://www.pakjpath.com/
• Click â€˜make a submission’tab on Pak J Pathol website.
• Please read checklist and make sure that no point in the checklist is missing
• Click â€˜register’if you are submitting to Pak J Pathol for the first time. If you are already registered with Pak J Pathol then click ‘login’.
• A new page will open once you click ‘register’. Enter the required information in the given fields. Pakistan Journal of Pathology requests all its authors to register themselves with Pak J Pathol as reviewerby clicking ‘Yes, request the reviewer role’ available at the bottom of ‘registration’ page. After clicking on ‘register’ a new page will open.
• Please click â€˜make a new submission’on this page
• A new page will open, with 5 tabs on the top.
• Start,
• Upload submission,
• Enter metadata,
• Confirmation,
• Next steps. You will be in ‘start’ tab.
• In ‘Section’ dropdown list, select the appropriate option. Please make sure that all the ‘submission requirements’ are fulfilled. Tick the checkbox against each requirement. Note:if any of the requirement is not fulfilled, and you put a tick mark against it, you still will be able to proceed and complete your submission process but the submission will be declined automatically by the system. In ‘comments for the editor’ area you can write your comments, however, it is optional. Under ‘Acknowledge the copyright statement’ tick the checkboxes against both the options. Click ‘save and continue’
• Now you will be in ‘upload submission’ tab. A dialogue box will open and here you can upload all your files (article text, title page, ERC/IRB approval letter, undertaking, processing fee) one by one. Click ‘save and continue’.
• Now you will be in ‘enter metadata’ tab. You may leave ‘prefix’ field blank. Write title of the article in ‘title’ field. Write running/short title in ‘subtitle’ field (you may leave it blank). Copy/paste abstract in abstract area. In ‘list of contributors’ sections, click ‘add contributor’ (if you have other authors with you). A new dialogue box will open. Please fill in details of each contributor (author). Please do give affiliationof each contributor. Additional details about the contributor can be given in the text box below. For ‘contributor’s role’ please click ‘author’. Please tick the check box ‘Principal contact for editorial correspondence’ for corresponding author only. Lower checkbox ‘Include this contributor in browse lists?’ will remain ticked for all the authors. Click ‘save’ and repeat the same process for all the authors one by one. Please add all the authors as per the pre-decided sequence. Please fill the ‘languages’, ‘subjects’, ‘discipline’ and ‘key words’ fields appropriately. These fields are essential. Each key word MUST be added SEPARATELY one by one instead of 'copy/paste' all the key words together. Please click ‘save and continue’.
• You are now in ‘confirmation’ tab. Please click ‘finish submission’. Congratulations, you have successfully completed your submission to Pak J Pathol.
• You can track the status/progress of your article through editorial process any time by logging into your account

Undertaking

The undertaking must be signed by all authors and must contain following statements

• The material submitted for publication is, original and has not been submitted for publication
• Co-authors qualify authorship and share the responsibility of contents in manuscript.
• The research has been approved by ethical committee, and there is no conflict of interest.

Article categories
The following types of manuscripts are accepted at PJP

1. Format requirements of original article

A. Title page

The title page of the manuscript should include:

(1) Title: Should be concise and self-descriptive.

(2) Authors: First, middle and last name of each author in sequence of authorship merit

(3) Affiliation for each author, with the name of department and institution.

(4) Corresponding address, cell number, and e mail address of any of first three authors.

(5) A short running head or foot line of no more than 40 characters

B. Abstract: Abstract should not be of more than 250 words, it must be structured in headings as objective, material and methods, results and conclusion. Also include 3-5 key words relating to the article subject as abbreviated in the Index -Medicus.

C. Material and Methods: Describe the type, duration and place of study. Summarize the demographic data of the subjects. Provide brief descriptions for methods along-with references. Identify all drugs and chemicals used, including generic name, dose and route of administration. Reports of randomized clinical trials should present information on all major study elements and protocols. Describe statistical methods used and specify computer program employed for this purpose.

D. Results: Present results in logical sequence in the text, tables, and illustrations. Do not repeat text data in the tables or illustrations.

E. Discussion: Justify result findings sequentially one by one. While justifying the findings, cite references that support or negate the findings of your study in a logical way. Compare your findings with other similar studies carried out locally and internationally. In this section limitation of study, recommendations, and conclusions drawn must be clearly mentioned.

F. References: References should be cited in consecutive numerical order at first mentioned in the text and designated by the reference number in parenthesis. The references must be written in Vancouver style. A few examples are given below:

(1) For journal articles, list the first six authors only and add, et al. for the others. For example:  Guilarde AO, Turchi MD, Siqueira JBJr, Mochan DP, Tersi NL, Mouchan L, et al. Dengue hemorrhagic fever in adults: clinical outcome related to the serotypes. J Infect Dis. 2012; 197: 817-24.

(2) For books and book chapters, follow as: DeGroot IJ. Evaluation of adrenal function and adrenal disease. In: DeGroot L, Stanbury J B, eds. The thyroid and its diseases. 5th ed. New York: Wiley, 1985, pp 199-258.

(3) Publications in press follow as:  Benner AI. Molecular mechanisms of alcohol in addiction. N Engl J Med. In press 1999.

(4) Journal article in electronic form, follow as: Cosby AI. Factors in the - emergence of communicable diseases. Emerg Infect Dis [serial online] 1995 Jan-Mar [cited 2000 July 5], Computerized Educational Systems, 2000.

(5) Monograph in electronic form, follow as: CDI, clinical dermatology illustrated [monographs on CD-ROM] Reeves JRT, Maibach H. CMEA Multimedia group, producers 2nd ed. Version 2.0. San Diego: CMEA, 1995.

(6) Conference proceedings follow as: Kimura J, Shibasaki H, editors. Recent advances in clinical neurophysiology. Proceedings of the 10th International Congress of EKG and Clinical Neurophysiology, 2000 Oct 19-25, Kyoto, Japan. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1996.

(7) Dissertation, follow as: Webster SJ. Post-hospital general health care the elderly's access and utilization [Thesis]. St. Louis (MO): Washington Univ., 1995.

(8) Volume with supplement, follow as: Lolti HM, Chong AR. Risk assessment of Codmium carcinogenicity and occupational skin cancer. Global Health Perspect, 1999; 102 Suppl 1:274-94.

G.  Tables

Type each table double-spaced on a separate page. Tables should be self-explanatory and should supplement, not duplicate the text. Each table must be cited in consecutive numerical order in the text.

 H. Illustrations and legends

Illustrations should clarify and augment the text. Submit two complete sets of glossy illustrations. No hand drawn art will be accepted. Each illustration must be numbered and cited in consecutive order in the text. Legends for illustrations should be concise and should not repeat the text. Legends should be typed double-spaced. Each figure should be cited in consecutive numerical order in the text. Give the figures a number following the word Figure. Use letters to designate parts of illustrations (e.g, A, B, C) and describe each part clearly in the legend. Any letter designations or arrows appearing on the illustration should be identified and described fully.

I. Letter from Institutional Review Board / Ethical Review Committee 

Authors are required to send letter from Institutional Review Board / Ethical Review Committee along with Original articles and Case reports.

J. Permission Letter from Med Dte GHQ (Only for Army Serving Doctors)

Med Dte GHQ permission letter is mandatory for all army serving doctors at the time of article/ case / report submission

K. Processing / Publication Fee

The processing fee of Rs. 3000/- (non-refundable) is to be paid at the time of submission of the article through demand/bank draft payable in the favor of Commandant AFIP account. It is further intimated that authors` will have to pay Rs. 5,000/- as publication charges/ fee, if the article is accepted for publication. The publication charges for case report and short communication will be half of the above charges. Research Protocol will be published with the same publication charges as that of case report. (Payable before issuance of acceptance letter).

L. Processing / Publication Fee

• Single Issue: Rs. 1000/-
• Annual Subscription Rs. 3500/-

2. Review Articles
A review article should consist of critical overview/analysis of a topic of interest providing the background and recent developments with reference to original literature. It should not exceed 4000 words with maximum 50 references and should have an abstract of no more than 250 words with 3 – 6 key words.

3. Case Reports
PJP accepts academic and unusual reports of clinical cases. Case reports should not exceed 1800 words with 10 -15 references and maximum five tables / figures / photomicrographs. Case reports should be prepare in accordance to the CARE checklist (https://www.care-statement.org/resources/checklist) and attach the filled checklist with case reports.

4. Case Series

“A group or series of case reports involving patients who were given similar treatment. Reports of case series usually contain detailed information about the individual patients. This includes demographic information (for example, age, gender, ethnic origin) and information on diagnosis, treatment, response to treatment, and follow-up after treatment.”

5. Short Communication/ Short Report

These are written communications in which a manuscript explains the study done on the small number of population with restricted outcome and setting. Similar to short communication short reports are brief reports in which a manuscript explains the study done on the small number of population with restricted outcomes and settings. Short communication should be complete work, not merely a preliminary report. It should not exceed more than 2000 words with maximum two figures / tables with an abstract of no more than 200 words and 12-15 references

6. Letters to the Editor
A letter sent to the editor to address an area of concern or reporting early results of a new research.