Submissions

Author Guidelines

Instructions to Authors

ARTICLE PUBLISHING AND JOURNAL SUBSCRIPTION CHARGES:

• JSMDC is an open-access journal and levies an article processing fee of PKR. 5000/- for the original research article/review article/case report/photo essay.
• The journal will charge an article publishing fee of PKR. 10000/- for the original research article upon acceptance of the submitted article.
• A non-refundable bank draft in favor of Sharif Medical & Dental College A/C No. 15800002100303, HBL SECT branch should be sent via TCS to the editor JSMDC.
• Annual subscription charges of JSMDC are PKR. 2000/-.

AUTHORSHIP CRITERIA:

• Authors should meet all four criteria for authorship as recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). The ICMJE recommends that authorship is based on:
• Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
• Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
• Final approval of the version to be published; AND
• Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
• Each author must sign a statement attesting that he or she fulfills the authorship criteria of the uniform requirements. Up to six authors are allowed in a single-institution study. In a multi-institution and international collaborative research, the Editorial Board shall guide on an individual case basis.
• JSMDC strongly discourages gift authorship.
• The author’s certification proforma should be filled and submitted along with the manuscript (embed this link https://www.jsmdc.pk/authors-certification-performa).

Corresponding Author: The authors must assign a corresponding author. The corresponding author is responsible for manuscript corrections, revisions, proofreading & resubmission of revised manuscripts till the acceptance of the manuscript.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: 

• Individuals who participated in the development of a manuscript but do not qualify as an author should be acknowledged.
• Organizations/departments that provided support in terms of funding and/or other resources should also be acknowledged.

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

ORIGINAL ARTICLES: Original articles should report original research of relevance to clinical medicine. The article should not exceed 4500 words in length (excluding title page, abstract, tables, figures, and references). The original article should follow the basic structure of abstract, introduction, methodology, statistical analysis, results, discussion, conclusion, limitations &, recommendations of the study, and references.

Abstract: It should contain a structured abstract of about 250 words. The abstract must have four sections: objectives, methodology, results, and conclusion. Three to five keywords should be given as per Medical Subject Heading (MeSH).

Introduction: The introduction should clearly describe the topic with a brief literature review. All abbreviations used should be first preceded by the word for which it stands. At the end of the introduction, mention the rationale or scientific significance of the study.

Methodology: The methodology should include the study design, place of the study conducted, sample size, sampling technique, ethical consideration, consent, and method & equipment used for research work.

Statistical Analysis: Mention the software used for data analysis and the statistical tests applied.

Results: Text, tables, and figures should be used for illustration of results. Figures and tables should be numbered in order of appearance in the text. Legends for the tables and figures should be typed double-spaced and should include a description of the features shown. All numbers and percentages should be triple-checked. Previously published material and figures should include permission to reproduce from the original publication and original author. Photographs with faces should be accompanied by permission to publish from the subject of the photograph or by a parent in case of a minor. Colored photographs should be submitted in JPEG format.

Discussion: The results of the study should be interpreted with reference to other latest studies.

Conclusion: The conclusion should be clear and concise.

Limitations of the study

Recommendations of the study

References: References must be numbered consecutively according to their appearance in the text. References should be cited in the correct “Vancouver style” with a DOI number. List all authors if the total number of authors is six or less and for more than six authors use et al. after six. Journal names should be abbreviated according to the Index Medicus/MEDLINE. The date of access should be provided for online citations. References should not be older than the last five years.

CLINICAL CASE REPORTS: Must be of academic & educational value and provide relevance to the disease being reported as unusual. It should have a non-structured abstract of about 100-150 words (case-specific) with around 6-8 references and 3 keywords.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR (LTE): It is usually a type of short communication that can be written on any topic that attracts the attention of the reader. There are different types of letters to the editor. If the purpose of the LTE is to comment on a published article, the first sentence of the LTE should include the name of the published article’s first author along with the title of the published article and then the comments. If the LTE is a reply to a previously submitted LTE, the first sentence should include the name of the letter’s author and cite the letter as a reference. The previously published article should then be referenced as well either in the body of the text or at the end of the response to the LTE.

PHOTO ESSAYS: The journal accepts manuscripts for consideration as photo essays. These essays include the visual presentation of material where the prime emphasis is on the images. These images can include colored images, angiograms, optical coherence tomography, histologic sections, x-rays, ultrasounds, and other studies. The images can be an outstanding presentation of classic findings, atypical findings, or new findings. These are not case reports, but rather a visual presentation of material as a teaching tool. The images need to be of the highest quality. The accompanying manuscript should be limited to a total of 300 words. A maximum of 6-10 separate images and 6 references can be included.

REVIEW ARTICLE: This should consist of a critical overview/analysis of some relatively narrow topic providing background and the recent development with reference to the original literature. It should incorporate the author's original work on the same subject. The review article should be 2500 to 3000 words in length. It should have a non-structured abstract of 150 words with a minimum of 3 keywords. An author can write a review article only if he/she has written a minimum of three original research articles.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW ARTICLE: It should consist of a well-defined research question and should provide a detailed review of a specific topic based on the existing literature. It should include the collection and analysis of data from all the relevant research in support of the research question being asked. The text should be 2500-3000 words. It should have a structured abstract with a minimum of three keywords.

META-ANALYSIS: It should comprise a statistical analysis of the combined results of numerous scientific studies addressing the same research question. Meta-analysis is a quantitative and epidemiological study design that should critically analyze the results of previous scientific research, mostly randomized controlled trials.

OTHER SECTIONS: The journal also accepts manuscripts for other sections such as diagnostic & therapeutic challenges, clinicopathological correlations, surgical techniques, and new instruments. Diagnostic & therapeutic challenges require no abstract and have no limit for figures and references. Surgical techniques and clinicopathological correlations are treated as a full manuscript and require an abstract. All correspondence and new instruments should have a standard title page with a full-length title, running title, and author information. Keywords anti summary statement should be on the second page. An abstract is not required by the journal for correspondence and new instruments. A summary statement of 50 words is necessary for publication and indexing and must be included at the time of submission. All pages must be numbered starting with the title page being page one. Each figure must be submitted separately.