JCPSP Postgraduate accepts manuscripts prepared in accordance with the "Uniform Requirements For Manuscripts Submitted to the Biomedical Journals" as approved by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines, published in the British Medical Journal 1991; 302:334-41, printed in the JCPSP, Vol. 3 No. 2, April - June, 1993, updated and reprinted in 2003, 2007, 2008, 2012 and January 2017, Vol. 27(1).
Manuscripts submitted for publication should be sent exclusively to the JCPSP Postgraduate. 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. Multiple or duplicate submissions of the same work to other journals should be avoided as this falls into the category of publication fraud and is liable for disciplinary consequences, including reporting to the Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (PMDC) and Higher Education Commission (HEC). A complete report following the publication of a 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 proceeding or a similar platform, may be submitted. A copy of the published material should be included with a manuscript for editors' consideration.
Authors can submit their manuscripts online via the journal's online submission system at https://www.jcpsppg.pk/oas. Manuscripts must be submitted by the corresponding author of the manuscript, and should not be submitted by anyone on his behalf. A successful electronic submission of a manuscript will be followed by a system-generated acknowledgment to the corresponding author. Any queries therein should be addressed to jcpsp-pg@cpsp.edu.pk
A successful electronic submission of a manuscript will be followed by a system-generated acknowledgment to the corresponding author. Any queries therein should be addressed to jcpsp-pg@cpsp.edu.pk
A duly filled-in author's certification proforma is mandatory for publication (Download ACP Form). The duly signed ACP must be returned to the journal's office as soon as possible. The sequence/ order of the authors on ACP once submitted shall not be changed at any stage. A delay in submitting the ACP will result in a delay in the processing and publication of the manuscript.
It is mandatory to provide the institutional Ethical Review Board (ERB)/committee (ERC) approval/exemption letter with clear number / date on the letterhead for all research articles, at the time of submission of the article. No manuscript shall be entertained if ERB or ERC approval/exemption letter is not submitted, be it a dissertation-based article.
When reporting on human studies, specify whether the following procedures were in line with the ethical standards of the committee responsible for human experiments (institutional or regional) and Helsinki Declaration. For potential studies, relating to human partners, authors are expected to seek the approval of (Regional / National / Institutional or Independent Ethics Committee or Review Board), obtain informed consent from adult research participants, and expression of approval (assent) for children aged over 7years participating in the trial. Ensure the confidentiality of participants by not mentioning participants' names, initials, or hospital numbers, especially in illustrations . When writing experiments on animals, specify that the institution’s or a national research council’s guide for, or a national law on the care and use of laboratory animals’ guide for the care and use of laboratory animals was followed.
The name of the relevant institutional review board and approval number should be disclosed with ethical considerations in the article. The experimental procedure of animals should be as humane as possible and the details of anesthetics and analgesics should be clearly stated. Ethical standards of experiments should be in line with the guidelines provided by the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) and Helsinki and the World Medical Association Declaration on the ethical principles of medical research for the study of experimental animals and humans, respectively. The journal will not consider any paper that is morally unacceptable.
The journal does not entertain articles from non-medical graduates on clinical subjects. All contributing authors must be medical graduates. Moreover, JCPSP Postgraduate allows only one author to act as the first author/corresponding author.
Authors must provide a final list of authors with their contact details such as workplace, telephone/cell numbers, and email addresses on ACP at the time of submission, ensuring the correct sequence of the names of authors, which will not be considered for any addition, deletion or rearrangement after complete submission of the manuscript. Authors must also mention the contribution of each author in the manuscript according to ICMJE criteria as stated in ICMJE recommendations ( http://www.icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf). The ICMJE recommends that authorship must be based on the following 4 criteria:
All the four conditions are to be fulfilled. Practices of ghost and gift authorship are strongly discouraged. Only six authors are allowed in a single institution/discipline study. In a multi-institution/discipline and international collaboration research, the Editorial Board shall guide on an individual case basis.
Submission Fee / Manuscript Processing Fee (Non-refundable):
The submission fee of the manuscript does not guarantee that the submitted manuscript will be published in the journal. The manuscript has to clear the peer review process by the reviewers and the editorial team. The author will be informed about the acceptance of the article by the editorial team.
The publication fee is payable when the manuscript is accepted by the editorial team and ready for publication.
Authors should submit the manuscript typed in MS Word. Sentences should not start with a number or figure. Components of the manuscript should be in the following sequence: A title page (containing names of authors, their postal and email addresses, and phone numbers, including the mobile phone number of the corresponding author), abstract, key words, text, references, tables (each table, complete with title and footnotes) and legends for illustrations and photographs. All illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end. The manuscript should be typed in double spacing as a single column with 12-point font. British spellings must be used throughout the text. Subheadings should not be used in any section of the script except in the abstract.
The material submitted for publication should be in the form of Original research (Randomised controlled trial (RCT), Quasi-experimental study, Case-Control study, Cohort study, Observational Study, etc. with statistical support). Any study ending three years prior to the date of submission is judged by the Editorial Board for its suitability as many changes take place over the time, subject to the area of the study. In exceptional cases, if the Editorial Board is of the view that data is important, an extension of one year may be granted. JCPCP Postgraduate does not accept multiple studies/multiple end publications gathered/ derived from a single research project or data (wholly or in part) known as 'salami slices'. KAP (Knowledge, Attitude, Practices) studies are no longer accepted. The journal discourages submission of more than one article dealing with related aspects of the same study. Non-English language articles are not entertained. Citing of the same references is also discouraged.
Original Articles (OAs) should normally report original research of relevance to clinical medicine. A manuscript will be considered in the OA category, if it is a RCT or an Observational Study. RCT should be registered with the International RCT Registry (Trial Registration Number is mandatory).
The original paper should be of about 2,000-2,500 words excluding the abstract and references. It should contain a structured abstract of about 250 words. Three to 10 keywords should be given as per MeSH (Medical Subject Headings). The key words should be placed after abstract. There should be no more than three tables or illustrations. The data should be supported with 20 to 25 references, which should include local as well as international references. More than 50% of the references should be from the last five years from the date of submission.
Manuscripts submitted to the journal should be divided into the following sections.
The title of the article should be specific, descriptive, concise, and comprehensible to readers outside the field and must not be more than 10-12 words in length.
Authors should avoid the use of non-standard abbreviations and question marks in titles.
Titles should be written in the title case.
Authors should also provide a short 'running title' with no more than 100 characters stating the topic of the study.
The title page should have full names (First name, Middle name, and Last name/surname) of all authors with affiliations (departments, university, or organisational affiliation and its location, including city, state/province (if applicable), and country).
In the end, details of the corresponding author, i.e., full names, complete affiliation/postal address, along with phone and email, should be given.
The abstract of an original article should be in a structured format with the following subheadings:
i. Objective, ii. Study design, iii. Place & duration of the study, iv. Methodology, v. Results, and vi. Conclusion.
Four elements should be addressed: why was the study done, what was done, what was found, and what did it mean? Why was the purpose of the study is the objective. What was done constitutes the methodology and should include patients or other participants, interventions, and outcome measures. What was found is the results, and what did it mean constitutes the conclusion. Label each section clearly with the appropriate subheadings. The background is not needed in an abstract. The total word count of an abstract should not be more than 250 words.
A minimum of 3 key words as per MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) should be given after the abstract.
Authors must submit a unique image that accurately depicts the work reported in the paper. A visually appealing graphical abstract boosts the article's readership by grabbing the reader's attention. It also provides a concise overview of the work presented in the paper. It has been generally observed that an article's viewership and citations improve when it has a graphical abstract.
The illustration of the graphical abstract should have a clear beginning and conclusion for ease of browsing, preferably "reading" from top to bottom or left to right. As much as possible, try to eliminate distracting and cluttered aspects. Along with the illustration, include a title and a brief description of no more than 40 words. This helps to summarise the contents of the paper in a concise, pictorial manner. It is designed to assist readers in focusing on the substance of the articles by making it easier to skim through them quickly. It should be noted that the graphical abstract must be original and unpublished. It should ideally not be similar to the paper's Figure or simply a superposition of numerous subfigures.
This section should include the purpose of the article after giving a brief literature review strictly related to the objective of the study. The rationale for the study or observation should be summarised in a paragraph just before the objective. Only strictly pertinent references should be cited and the subject should not be extensively reviewed. It is preferable not to cite more than 10 references in this segment. Pertinent use of references to augment support from literature is warranted, which means, not more than 2 to 3 references be used for an observation. Data, methodology, or conclusion from the work being reported should not be presented in this section. It should end with a statement of the study objective.
Study design and sampling methods should be mentioned. 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 must be described in sufficient detail to allow other workers to reproduce the results. References to established methods may be given, including statistical methods. References and brief descriptions for methods that have been published but are not well-known should be provided; only new or substantially modified methods should be described in detail, giving reasons for using them, and evaluating their limitations. All drugs and chemicals used should be identified precisely, including generic name (s), dose (s), and route (s) of administration.
For statistical analysis, the specific test used should be named, preferably with a reference for an uncommon test. Exact p-values and 95% confidence interval (CI) limits must be mentioned instead of only stating greater or less than the level of significance. All percentages must be accompanied by absolute numbers. The SPSS output sheet must be attached to the manuscript to clarify results (p-values).
These should be presented in a logical sequence in the text, tables, and illustrations. All the data in the tables or illustrations should not be repeated in the text; only important observations should be emphasised or summarised with a due statement of demographic details. No opinion/interpretation should be given in this part of the text. Statistics should be given in an ascending or descending order.
This section should include the authors' comments/interpretation of the results, supported with contemporary references, including arguments and analysis of identical work done by other workers. Study limitations should also be mentioned. A summary is not required.
The conclusion should be provided under a separate heading and highlight new aspects arising from the study. It should be in accordance with the objective of the study. No recommendations are needed under this heading.
Authors should clearly state in the manuscript under separate headings the name of the approval committee, highlighting that administrative and ethical approvals are obtained prior to initiation of the research work carried out on the subject, and that the experiments were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations. Also, it is mandatory to provide the institutional ERB/ERC approval letter/exemption for all research articles, at the time of submission of the article.
Authors must state that the consent of the patients/guardians was taken prior to the writing of the manuscript if applicable.
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.
If there are no conflicts of interest, authors should still include this heading and write “none to declare” or “Authors declared no conflict of interest”.
Nonmonetary disclosures regarding being part of a thesis or dissertation, a pilot project, or an ongoing study should be made explicitly at the time of submission.
The contribution of each author must be mentioned.
Any company or institution that has financially contributed to the study must be identified.
Acknowledgments are only printed for the financing of a study or for acknowledging a previously linked work.
References must be written in the Vancouver Style only. All references should be numbered sequentially as superscripts in the text and listed in the same numerical order in the references section.
Few examples of references listed in the Vancouver Style can be seen below.
Journal Reference:
Liu SJ, Liu JW, Cong JZ, Tong L, Zhang Y, Li XM, et al. Preparation of Neogambogic Acid Nanoliposomes and its Pharmacokinetics in Rats. J Coll Physicians Surg Pak 2018; 28(12):937-40.
Book Reference:
Katzung BG. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Basic and clinical pharmacology. ed. 10th, San Francisco: McGraw Hill; 2006.
Book Chapter Reference:
Lal G, Clark OH. Thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal. In: Brunicardi FC, Andersen DK, Billiar TR, Dunn DL, Hunter JG, Matthews JB, Eds. Schwartz's Principles of Surgery. ed.10th, New York; Mc-Graw Hill; 2015: p.1521-96.
URL (WebPage):
Iridogoniodysgenesis, Type 1. University of Arizona College of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Science.
http://disorders.eyes.arizona.edu/disorders/iridogoniodysgene sis-type-1. (Accessed on 3/22/2016).
E-citations:
Citations for articles/material published exclusively online or in open access (free-to-view), must contain the accurate Web addresses (URLs) at the end of the reference(s), except those posted on an author's Web site (unless editorially essential), e.g. 'Reference: Available from URL'.
Echocardiographic features of dilated cardiomyopathy [Internet]. Available from: https://123sonography.com/node/ 983 [cited 27 November 2016].
Some important points to remember:
All references must be complete and accurate.
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 title and be typed in double space without horizontal and vertical lines. Tables should be numbered consecutively with Roman numerals in the order mentioned in the text. The page number should be in the upper right corner. If abbreviations are used, they should be explained in footnotes. 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 other Windows/Macintosh compatible software such as SAS and be sent as a separate Excel file, even if merged in the manuscript.
S.I. UNITS
System International (S.I.) units for measurement should be used. Imperial measurement units like inches, feet, etc. are not acceptable.
Photographs, X-rays, CT scans, MRI, and photomicrographs should be sent in a digital format with a minimum resolution of 3.2 megapixels in JPEG/TIFF compression. Photographs must be sharply focused. Most photographs taken with a mobile phone camera do not fulfill the necessary requirements and, therefore, are not acceptable for printing. The background of photographs must be neutral and preferably white. The photographs submitted must be those originally taken as such by a camera without manipulating them digitally. Scanned photographs must have 300 or more dpi resolution. These figures and photographs must be cited in the text in consecutive order. Legends for photomicrographs should indicate the magnification, internal scale, and the method of staining. If photographs of patients are used, either they should not be identifiable or the photographs should be accompanied by written permission to use them.
Authors are advised to write manuscripts in the British English style, in the past tense, and third person indirect form of narration. Manuscripts containing language inconsistencies will not be published. Authors should seek professional assistance for correction of grammatical, scientific, and typographical errors before submission of the revised version of the article for publication.
Except for units of measurement, all abbreviations must be fully spelled out on first use and then only abbreviations should be used.
Generic names should be used. When proprietary brands are used in research, include the brand name and the name of the manufacturer in parentheses after first mentioning the generic name in the Methodology section.
Corresponding authors of the published papers are entitled to receive one complimentary copy of the printed issue in which his/her paper is published.
Every submitted paper is evaluated by at least two staff editors for English, archival, and statistical quality if applicable and may be rejected at this stage. The selected papers will be sent to two external reviewers. The staff bibliographer also examines and authenticates the references and checks for plagiarism.
After the initial assessment, the manuscripts selected are subjected to peer review by two external peer reviewers belonging to the subject specialty as identified by the Editor. The journal follows a double-blind peer-review procedure. An average of two weeks is given to reviewers to review the manuscript. A single manuscript is sent to any one reviewer at a time. In case of conflict or disputed articles, the matter is discussed with the Chief Editor and finally sent to a third reviewer as nominated by him/her. Every reviewer is awarded an honorarium, and the reviewers of OA are awarded 3 AMA PRA Category 1 CME credits by the CME unit of CPSP. The editors generally do not serve as peer reviewers for the journal but the editors reserve the right to edit the accepted article in the house style of the journal.
JCPSP Postgraduate operates under an open-access model where authors retain copyright ownership of their work upon publication. By submitting a manuscript, the author/authors agree to license their work under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly attributed. This approach allows authors to maintain the right to share, modify, and build upon their work while promoting the transparency and wide dissemination of scientific knowledge. The above license, however, restricts commercial use of the published work.
Authors retain significant rights under this model, including the ability to use, reuse, and share their articles in personal and academic spaces, such as institutional repositories, personal websites, and non-commercial academic sharing platforms. The journal also permits authors to self-archive preprint and postprint versions of their manuscripts according to the journal’s self-archiving policy. Authors can republish or distribute their articles in other media, provided proper attribution to JCPSP Postgraduate as the original publisher is given. When using third-party content, such as images, tables, or datasets, authors must secure necessary permissions to align with the selected license, especially if there are any reuse restrictions. JCPSP PG’s open-access model allows all published content to be freely accessed and reused with proper attribution to the original authors and JCPSP PG. Reusers should cite the work in a standard format, including DOI or a permanent link, and refrain from implying endorsement by the original authors or journal without explicit authorization.
Authors are responsible for ensuring that their submissions are original, free of plagiarism, and adhere to the journal’s ethical standards, including obtaining permissions for any copyrighted material used and disclosing conflicts of interest. Any similar prior publications should be fully declared. By submitting, authors agree to JCPSP PG’s Publishing Agreement, confirming the originality of their work, agreeing to the licensing terms, and recognizing that JCPSP PG retains final publication rights and may retract or correct content post-publication if ethical issues arise. In cases where open licensing could present legal or ethical challenges, authors may request a waiver or alternative licensing arrangement before publication. This comprehensive policy supports transparency, accessibility, and respect for authors’ rights while facilitating global access to biomedical research advancements.
Authors, however, need to grant the journal the right of first publication. The manuscript submission is accompanied by an Authors Certification Proforma (ACP) signed by all the authors confirming exclusive submission to the journal and permission to publish it.
The Journal accepts only original material for publication with the understanding that except for abstracts, no part of the data has been published or will be submitted for publication elsewhere before appearing in this journal.
JCPSP Postgraduate follows the ICMJE, PMDC, and HEC guidelines/criteria for all types of plagiarism. The same can be accessed at www.icmje.org, https://pmdc.pk/, and https://www.hec.gov.pk/ All the submitted manuscripts are subjected to plagiarism checking through the software Turnitin (courtesy of HEC). Manuscripts with an overall similarity index of more than 19% and more than 5% from any single source are not processed further unless redressed. It is the authors' responsibility to apprise themselves of plagiarism in any form including paraphrasing and self-plagiarism. Manuscripts submitted to JCPSP PG can be sent to HEC, other medical journals' editors, and international agencies for authentication of originality. The disciplinary committee of JCPSP PG deals with cases of plagiarism and is comprised of the staff, editors, and the Chief Editor or his representative.
For a plagiarized article/multiple submissions, if the article is at the processing stage, the identification of the act will lead to the dropping of the article from further processing/consideration of publication. The corresponding author will be responsible for giving an explanation on demand. In case of an unsatisfactory reply, the matter will be referred to the disciplinary committee that may decide the course of action. For published articles, the allegedly plagiarized article will be temporarily retracted from publication and a notice to the effect will be published in the JCPSP PG. The author will be served an explanation demand. In case of non-response within the stipulated time or an unsatisfactory explanation, the article will be permanently retracted and the author will be blacklisted. HEC, PMDC, and the author's institute will also be notified. In case of multiple submissions, other editors will also be informed. The author(s) will have to provide documentary proof of retraction of publication from another journal/publisher if such a defense is pleaded. Those claiming intellectual /idea or data theft of an article must provide documentary proof in their claim.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) or any digital language tool used for entirely producing a text, editing, and polishing authors' work is strictly not allowed. Any similarity found in the manuscript with AI-generated text will be considered as plagiarised material, and hence subject to rejection by the editorial team.
All publication misconducts are dealt with by first asking the corresponding author for an explanation in view of the available evidence. In case of non-response or unsatisfactory response from the authors, the manuscript is dropped from consideration if unpublished and retracted if published. Due notice of retraction will be given in print and on the website. The authors will be blacklisted for further submissions and considerations at the journal. The authors' institutional Head will also be informed of the action in such a case. The other Editorial Associations may also be informed.
Plagiarism and other publication misconduct, fabrication (pictures as well), falsification, salami slices, duplicate submission, redundant publication, multiple submissions, selective and misleading reporting, and selective and misleading referencing are liable to strict action.
If tables, illustrations, or photographs, which have already been published, are included, a letter of permission for re-publication should be obtained from the 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. If a medicine is used, a generic name should be used. The commercial name may, however, be mentioned only within brackets, only if necessary. In the case of medicine or device or any material indicated in the text, a declaration by the author(s) should be submitted that no monetary benefit has been taken from the manufacturer/importer of that product by any author. In the case of experimental interventions, permission from the ethical committee of the hospital should be taken beforehand. Any other conflict of interest must be disclosed. All interventional studies submitted for publication should carry an Institutional ethical and research committee approval letter.
Ethical consideration regarding the intervention added cost of test, and particularly the management of controls in case-control comparisons of trials should be addressed: multi-centric authors' affiliation will be asked to be authenticated by the provision of permission letters from ethical boards or the heads of the involved institutes.