Information For Authors

CONSORT 2010—Checklist of information to include when reporting a randomised trial

ICMJE Recommendations - for the conduct, reporting, editing and publication of scholarly work in Medical Journals

Important Note:

  • Articles and all editorial correspondence should be sent to Editor Office, Pak J Pathol, C/O Armed Forces Institute of Pathology Rawalpindi.
  • All such articles should aim for development of medical concepts rather than mere recording of facts. Incomplete, descriptive observational studies will be discouraged.
  • The study done on the small number of populations with restricted outcome and setting can only be submitted as short communication
  • Clinical Trials: All Clinical Trials submitted for publication must be registered in a registry, provide registration proof and all RCTs must be based on CONSORT statement.

Randomized Control trials (Trial Registration Number mandatory): It contains the studies in which groups are randomly allocated to carry out a clinical intervention.

Non- Randomized Trial: A study where participants have been assigned to the treatment, procedure or intervention alternatives by a method that is not random. The investigator defines and manages the alternatives. They are QUASI EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES. There is NO Control Group and NO Random assignment of participants

  • A study more than 5 years old at the time of submission will not be accepted for submission.
  • Commercial/Brand-names of medicines are not permitted. Author should use generic names of the medicines in manuscript.
  • Study should not have any comparison among the civil and army personal/setup or rule regulations
  • KAP studies, that is research articles conducted on knowledge and awareness surveys, will not be considered for processing or publication in the Pak J Pathol.
  • Attach all the references manually at the end of the manuscript if the Citation / Reference Manager were used. Cross-check all the references and correct their sequence before submission.
  • POST ORIGINAL COPY OF THE DRAFT OF THE PROCESSING AND PUBLICATION FEES WITH MANUSCRIPT NUMBER AS REFERENCE TO THE EDITOR OFFICE, PAK J PATHOL, ARMED FORCES INSTITUTE OF PATHOLOGY, RAWALPINDI

 

 

Copy Right Statement

Any article submitted to Pak J Pathol must not be previously submitted to any other journal and must not be published in part or total. The authors will be requested to sign an agreement to give copyright to the publishers. The authors will also be requested to assist the editors in final proof reading of their articles before publication.

  • On submitting article to Pak J Pathol we agree that all copyright ownership is transferred to the Pak J Pathol even the article can be declined after the acceptance as per decision of the Editorial Board.
  • All the content available on Pak J Pathol website is the property of Pak J Pathol if created by Pak J Pathol, or of the person or entity who or which owned it prior to submission to Pak J Pathol. 

 

GUIDLINES FOR AUTHORS

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

  1. Editorial Policy

The Journal will publish research material of interest to the researchers, scientists and medical practitioners. The Journal   publishes peer-reviewed original   papers, reviews, case reports, and editorials concerned with clinical practice and research in the fields of pathology. Manuscripts should   follow the style of the Vancouver agreement detailed in the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors’. In preparing manuscripts, authors should follow the "Uniform Requirements for Manuscript Submitted to Biomedical Journals updated October 2008, available at www.icmje.org" and specific author instructions detailed below.

  1. Manuscript Submission
  • Go to the Pak J Pathol official website: https://www.pakjpath.com/
  • Click ‘make a submission’tab on Pak J Pathol website.
  • Please read checklist and make sure that no point in the checklist is missing
  • Click ‘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 ‘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.

 

  1. 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.

 

  1. Format requirements of original article
  2. 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.

 

  1. Abstract: Abstract should not be of more than 250 words, it must be structured in headings as objective, material & methods, results, and conclusion. Also include 3-5 key words relating to the article subject as abbreviated in the Index -Medicus.
  2. Material and Methods: Describe the type, duration & 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.
  3. Results: Present results in logical sequence in the text, tables, and illustrations. Do not repeat text data in the tables or illustrations.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.

  1. Tables & Figures: 3–5 figures and or tables are allowed (each table, complete with legends and footnotes, should be merged in the manuscript). Tables and figures should be embedded and not supplied separately. Table/figure should be written with a capital T and capital F with a hyphen between the word and number e.g., Table-1.

Note: Kindly design table/graph on MS Word/MS Excel. Do not attach table/graph in the form of pictures

  1. 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.
  2. Letter from Institutional Review Board / Ethical Review Committee: Authors are required to send approval letter from Institutional Review Board / Ethical Review Committee along with Original articles and Case reports.
  3. 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.

  1. 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)

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

 

Open Access Policy 

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. As per Open Access policy of Pak J Pathol, copyright holder of a scholarly work grants usage rights to others using an open license (Creative Commons or equivalent) allowing for immediate free access to the work and permitting any user to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose.

 

LICENSE TERMS

The Pakistan Journal Pathology follows "CC BY NC" creative commons licensing. 

 

ETHICAL GUIDELINES
Ethical guidelines for journal publication

When reporting experiments on human subjects, authors must indicate that the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. If doubt exists whether the research was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration, the authors must explain the rationale for their approach and demonstrate that the institutional review body explicitly approved the doubtful aspects of the study. In case of a study involving a clinical trial, taking of an informed consent of the patients is mandatory. Whenever editorial committee of Pak J Pathol feels necessary, the research paper will be referred to the ethical committee, for its evaluation and approval.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Conflict of interest exists when the author (or the author’s institution), reviewer, or editor has financial or personal relationships that inappropriately influence (bias) his or her actions (such relationship are also known as dual commitments, competing interests, or competing loyalties).

However, conflicts can occur for other reasons, such as personal relationships, academic competition, and intellectual passion. Increasingly, individual studies receive funding from commercial firms, private foundations, and government. The conditions of this funding have the potential to bias and otherwise discredit the research.

When authors submit a manuscript, whether an article or a letter, they are responsible for disclosing all financial and personal relationships that might bias their work. To prevent ambiguity, authors must state explicitly whether potential conflicts do or do not exist.

It is the discretion of editorial committee of Pak J Pathol to resolve any conflict of interest between the author(s) and reviewers. Editors may choose not to consider an article for publication if they feel that the research is biased by the sponsors funding the research project.

 

PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and representing them as one’s own original work. Within the academia, a researcher is considered an academic fraud and the offenders are subjected to academic censure. Plagiarism can be unintentional or intentional reproducing academic material without appropriate citation. Similarly, self-plagiarism is the re-use of significant, identical or near identical portions of one’s own work without citing the original work. This is also known as ―Recycling fraud‖. Worst form of plagiarism is to steal the whole article from some journal and publish it under one's own name in another journal.
Lately the use of internet has made it easier to plagiarize, by copying the electronic tests and using them as the original work. All articles are checked for plagiarism and any article found to have a similarity index of more than 19% is not processed further.

It is the policy of editorial committee of Pak J Pathol to blacklist any author found to be guilty of plagiarism. The name of author(s) committing plagiarism will also be disseminated to editors of other medical journals, PM&DC /PMC and HEC.