Author Guidelines

AUTHOR GUIDELINES

 The Pakistan Journal of Medical & Health Sciences (PJMHS) is a monthly journal that publishes scholarly material (original paper, reviews, case reports, short communication, letter to editors, and editorial) based on the author's opinion and does not reflect official policy. All rights reserved. Reproduction or transmission without permission is strictly prohibited.
All material submitted for publication should be sent exclusively to the Pakistan Journal of Medical & Health Sciences. Work that has already been reported in a published paper or is described in a paper sent or accepted elsewhere for publication should not be submitted. However, a complete report is following publication of the preliminary report, usually in the form of an abstract, or a paper that has been presented at a scientific meeting. If not published in full in a proceedings or similar publication, may be submitted. Press reports of meetings will not be considered as breach of this rule, but such reports should not be amplified by additional data or copies of tables and illustrations. In case of doubt, a copy of the published material should be included with a manuscript to help the editors decide how to deal with the matter.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Ethical considerations in research are a set of principles that guide your research designs and practices. Scientists and researchers must always adhere to a certain code of conduct when collecting data from people.
The goals of human research often include understanding real-life phenomena, studying effective treatments, investigating behaviors, and improving lives in other ways. What you decide to research and how you conduct that research involve key ethical considerations.
These considerations work to

  • Protect the rights of research participants
  • Enhance research validity
  • Maintain scientific or academic integrity

If tables, illustrations or photographs, which have already been published, are included, a letter of permission for republication should be obtained from author(s) as well as the editor of the journal where it was previously published. Written permission to reproduce photographs of patients, whose identity is not disguised, should be sent with the manuscript, otherwise the eyes will be blackened out.

 ARTICLE TYPES FOR SUBMISSION
Research Articles describe significant, original, and complete findings in medical and allied health sciences. A Research Article consists of an Abstract of no more than 250 words, Text of no more than 4,000 words (including Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, and Discussion, and conclusion), no more than 40 References, and illustrations that are limited to 6 items (figures and tables).
Reviews are invited by the Editor. They discuss the most recent and important developments in the field. A review must have an abstract that is no longer than 150 words, a body of text that is no longer than 5,000 words, no more than 60 references, and a maximum of three images (tables and figures).
Short Communications describe important, original, and urgent observations that are narrower in scope than those described in Research Articles. A Short Communication consists of an Abstract of no more than 200 words, Text of no more than 2,000 words (including Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion), no more than 20 References, and illustrations that are limited to 4 items (figures and tables).
Letters to the Editor are critiques of articles published in PJMHS in the last 12 months. It can also address an urgent topic, a significant case report or case series. A Letter should not exceed 750 words and contain no more than 12 references and 2 items (figure or table).
For all clinical and allied studies, the manuscript should state clearly the approval of institutional review boards, the study design, sampling strategy, the inclusion criteria of subjects, a summary of the key clinical and allied data of the study groups.
Except for short communications and guest editorials, manuscripts should include the following sections:
Title Page: The title page includes the manuscript's title, authors' qualifications, department, and email address, correspondence, and funding source, number of figures, tables, word count, and page count.
Abstract: This should be an accurate summary of the complete work that includes statements about the problem, the research methods, the findings, and the conclusions. The abstract can only be 250 words long.
Keywords: Supply a list of three to six key words (it is okay to repeat words in the title), pertinent to the article, which will appear below the abstract and will be included in the index at the end of the volume.
Review articles or Case report: Authors of case reports or review articles must include summary, methods for data collection, databases searched, and time period, along with a brief abstract, and manuscript.
Introduction: The manuscript introduction should provide a concise summary of the study's purpose and rationale, without extensive review or data or conclusions.
Method: The methodology section should include the exact method, design, Obsolete terms such as retrospective studies should not be used. The selection of the observational or experimental subjects (patients or experimental animals, including controls) should be described clearly. The methods and the apparatus used should be identified (with the manufacturer’s name and address in parentheses), and procedures described in sufficient detail to allow other workers to reproduce the results. The population, sampling, sample size, instrument reliability and validity, data collection procedure, consent form should be clear. All drugs and chemicals used should be identified precisely, including generic names(s) dose(s) and route(s) of administration. Ethics Committee/Institutional Review Board approval number with date.
Results: The manuscript should include interpretation of the results, tables, and, graphs or figures, with table numbers and sub-headings for clarity. The authors should add frequencies distribution, descriptive statistics, and inferential statistics with details. Additional materials and technical details can be placed in an appendix, accessible in the electronic version. Table and Illustrations: Tables and illustrations should be merged within the text of the paper and legends to illustrations should be typed on the same sheet. Tables should be simple and should supplement rather than duplicate information in the text; tables repeating information will be omitted. Each table should have a little and be typed in double space w=without horizontal  and vertical lines on the paper. Tables should be numbered consecutively with Roman Numerals in the order they are mentioned in the text. Page number should be in the upper right corner. If abbreviations are used, they should be explained in footnotes and when they first appear in text,. When graphs, scattergrams, or histograms are submitted, the numerical data on which they are based should be supplied. All graphs should be made with MS Excel and be sent as a separate Excel title even if merged in the manuscript. For scanned photographs highest resolution should be used. Figures and Photographs: Figures and photographs should only be sent when data can not be expressed in any other form. They must be unmounted, glossy prints in sharp focus. They may be in black and white or in colour. Negatives, transparencies, and x-ray films should not be submitted. The number of the figure, the name of the author(s) should be printed on the back of each figure/photograph. The top of the figure must be identified by the author. These figures and photographs must be cited in the text in consecutive order. Legends must be typed on the same paper. Legends for photomicrographs should indicate the magnification, internal scale and the method of staining. Photographs in published articles will not be returned.
Discussion: The focus here should be on the current findings as well as any differences or overlaps with earlier work in the field by other researchers. Don't bring up specific information again in the discussion. Draw attention to the study's novel and significant elements and the conclusions that flow from them. It must be stated whether the article's hypothesis is accurate, incorrect, or whether no conclusions can be drawn.
Conclusion & Recommendations: The author should conclude properly, as the base of the findings and the study should meet the research objectives. The recommendations should be added properly.
References: Authors should type references in superscript. Maximum references: original investigation 40, reviews 40, short communication 20, case reports, letter to editors, editorial board 10. These citations need to be noted in the text as well. By conducting a thorough literature search, the author should make sure to cite any locally published studies. The editor and reviewers might not be able to verify the validity of all reference citations in Vancouver style. The authors should follows the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) authorship guidelines
These references should also be marked in the text. The author should ensure reference to locally published studies by doing proper literature search. It may not be possible for the editor and reviewers to check the accuracy of all reference citations. To minimize such errors author should verify references against the original documents. The References should be written in Vancouver style as per "Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly work in medical journals. Updated Dec. 2015. Available at: http://icmje.org/recommendations/". List all authors when there are six or fewer. If there are seven or more list the first six followed by ”et al” Reference should provide the following information: Author’s name with initials, full title of cited article, name of the journal in which the article appeared (in abbreviated form), Year of Publication, Journal’s Volume, Number and finally first & the last page numbers. Write Page No. like this 120-126. Add DOI number of those references where it is available. Example:--

a. Moosa Y, Bacha SH, Raza SA, Zia MH, Fatima A, Shaikh AA. Role of Artificial Intelligence in Periodontology. Pakistan Journal of Medical & Health Sciences. 2023 Jul 11;17(05):363-. doi: https://doi.org/10.53350/pjmhs2023175363
b. Reference from the books should have Authors name and initials, full title of cited article, complete title of book, Name of Editors, address (city) the publisher, first and last page numbers and finally the year of publication, such as:-
Haroon TS. How to plan a scientific study, ‘Medical Writing’ (second edition), Jawaid SA, Jafary MH & Zuberi SJ (Eds), Pakistan Medical Journalists Association, Karachi, Pakistan. 1993;pp 1-13.
c. In case of multicentre study or trial, the reference should be given as Name of the Group or of study, exact title of the study, full results or partial results, Name of the Journal, Volume and Number, pages and the year. For example:-
TIMI Study Group: Comparison of invasive and conservative strategies after treatment with intravenous tissue plasminogen activator in acute myocardial infarction. Results of the TIMI Phase-II trail. N Eng J Med. 1989;320:618-627.
d. Newspaper articles: Malik Mahmood A, autonomous hospitals, “Pulse” International, Karachi, Pakistan, 2000. January 15-31, Page 1 & 2.
e. Citation of personal communications and unpublished observations should be strictly limited and given in brackets in the text. These should not appear in the list of references. A paper may not be cited as “Under Publication or in Press” unless it has been accepted for publication & the name of the Journal is given.
Letter of Undertaking: Manuscripts must be accompanied by letter of undertaking signed by all the authors. Scanned copy of Letter of Undertaking should also be uploaded at our online editorial system.
Note: Peer Review may take four to five months.

SUBMISSION
The authors must make sure the manuscript is accurate and full before submitting it. The manuscript cannot be retracted after receiving a "accept" decision. Any requests for withdrawals made after acceptance must have a compelling reason, and the Editor-in-Chief and publisher will evaluate them.

All manuscripts should be submitted electronically via the Open Journal System (OJS). You may check the status of your submission at any time by logging on to submission.For technical help with the submission system, please review our contact editorialassistant@pjmhsonline.com or nayyar_salam@yahoo.com

 Format submission
Before you submit, you will need to follow these instructions for your manuscript:

 Plagiarism: Using software called Turnitin, manuscripts are checked for plagiarism, and those who are found guilty or who engage in publication misconduct risk being blacklisted. 

 Copy Right: Material printed in this journal is the copyright of the PJMHS and may not be reproduced without the permission of the editors or publishers.

  1. The manuscript should be an editable file with text, figures, and tables, including sections like abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion and conclusions. Tables and Figures should be high-resolution and have legends. References can be submitted in Vancouver style or format. Supporting information should be submitted separately. Difficult manuscripts may require revision due to poor English language quality.
  2. Author should must add an ORCID ID, freely available at https://orcid.org

The title page of the manuscript, including:

  1. Your co-author details, including affiliation and email address. 

 Statements relating to our ethics and integrity policies, which may include any of the following:

 Data availability statement

  • Funding statement
  • Conflict of interest disclosure
  • Ethics approval statement
  • Patient consent statement
  • Permission to reproduce material from other sources
  • Clinical trial registration

 General Requirements: Manuscript must be written in ‘British English’. Non-native English speakers must seek the assistance of experienced, English-speaking medical editors if in doubt. Taking feedback from your colleagues also makes the manuscript writing more productive, versatile and simple for the readers.

  • Type the manuscript on A4 size.
  • Type on one side of the paper, double spacing every page.
  • Begin each section on separate page and in the following order: title page, abstract, introduction, materials / subjects / patients and methods, results, discussion, acknowledgements, references, tables and figures with legends.
  • Sentences should be properly structured instead of giving brackets within a sentence.

 Special Instructions: The editorial board of Pakistan Journal of Medical & Health Sciences appreciates the efforts of The EQUATOR (Enhancing the Quality and Transparency of Health Research) Network for promoting good reporting of research. It has played a pivotal role in development, dissemination and implementation of reporting guidelines throughout the world.

To submit, login at Open Journal System (OJS) and create a new submission. Follow the submission steps as required and submit the manuscript.