Guidelines for Authors
Proceedings, official journal of Shaikh Zayed Medical Complex, Lahore Pakistan is an open access medical journal which publishes research articles in all disciplines of medical sciences. All papers accepted for publication will appear in both print and online.
Type of articles
Original research, Case series, Case reports, Meta-analysis, Letters to editor, Short communications, Clinical Practice Points and Review articles.
Editor may also invite experts in a relevant field for Special Invited Papers.
Submission and Publication Fees
Proceedings does not charge author(s) any submission or publication fee.
Provision of printed copies to author(s)
One complimentary copy is provided to each author of articles published in Proceedings. Additional copies or reprints are available on payment of charges applicable at the time of request.
Manuscript Organization
Manuscript length should not exceed 2500 words for original research, 3000 words for review articles and meta-analysis, 1500 words for case series and clinical practice points, 500 words for case reports and short communications and 400 words for letter to editor.
Every manuscript should be typed using Microsoft Word using Arial or Calibri font size 12 double spaced on A4 size paper. Each section of manuscript as outlined below should be placed on a separate page.
a. Title page
Title should be limited to 50 words.
Author names and affiliations (affiliation may be omitted if not associated with any institution or organization at the time of submission). Authors are allowed to enter ORCID iDs.
Corresponding author name and address (include complete postal and an email address, telephone and cellular number including country and area code)
b. Abstract
For original research articles this section should be structured in to Introduction, Aims and Objectives, Place and Duration of study, Material and Methods, Results and Conclusions.
Maximum length of abstract should not exceed 500 words.
At least 3 MeSH terms should be identified at the end of abstract as keywords. This applies to all types of articles.
For all submissions other than original research articles a non-structured abstract not exceeding 250 words with key words should be provided.
c. Main Structure of Research Article
Introduction: This section supplies sufficient background information for the reader to understand the topic of research and its importance. Only the most salient features with limited references should be included here without exhaustive review of the literature. Research hypothesis and aims and objectives should appear at the end of this section as sub-headings.
Material and Methods: Headings are usually not needed for the following details but if needed author can use them.
- Study design: Mention clearly type of design
- Study setting/place & duration
- Study population
- Inclusion and exclusion criteria
- Sample size (input criteria for calculation, non-response rate included or not)
- Sampling technique and procedure
- Variables of the study
- Data collection tool/ questionnaire (validated or self-constructed, If self-constructed then mention the validity of your tool)
- Data Collection procedure
- Pilot testing (if done)
- Actual data collection
- Data analysis (mention the version of software used)…. For details check the detailed guidelines
d. Ethical issues considered and clearance obtained (Ethics Committee, Institutional Review Board approval number/ ID and certificate on demand of the editor).
e. Statistical Analysis:
Tests used for representation of data and statistical analysis along with the significance level and software used (if any) should be identified in this section.
f. Results:
This section should include results of the research or experiment presented in text, tabular or graphic format in a logical sequence. Do not present interpretation of results here. Do not repeat data in text if it has been presented I tables or illustrations and vice versa.
g. Discussion:
This section should focus on interpretation of the results of the experiment with reference to the reported literature identifying similarities and differences as well as new aspects uncovered with repetition of results.
h. Conclusions:
Research paper should conclude with the inferences gained from the research.
i. References:
All references should be in Vancouver style.
Maximum number of references for each type of manuscript are outlined below
Original research = 30
Review Article, Meta-Analysis and Clinical Practice = 40
Case reports and case Series = 10
Short communications and letters to editor=6
j. Tables
Illustrations and Graphs: These should appear on separate pages after references and numbered with Roman numerals (Figure I, Table 1 and so on). Tables should have a title placed at the top while titles for graphs/illustrations should be placed below the respective figure. All digital images should be at least 300 dpi and submitted as JPEG or TIFF format. At the moment only gray scale images are accepted as color printing entails higher costs. Legends if required should be placed below the caption of figures/illustrations. Maximum width for a one column figure is 8.7cms and for a 2 column figure is 17.8cms. Maximum height including captions is 22cms.
k. Units of measurement:
Only SI units should be used.
Authorship
Proceedings follows the recommendation of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals available http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html.
For a person to be considered an author all four following conditions must be met
- Substantial contribution in conception, designing, acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data.
- Manuscript drafting and/or revision for intellectual content
- Final approval of manuscript
- Acceptance of accountability for all aspects of research or any questions/queries that might be raised.
Individuals who do not meet all the above 4 criteria but have contributed in the form of funding; general supervision of a research group or general administrative support; and proofreading should be acknowledged at the end of manuscript before the references section either individually or collectively.
Manuscripts submitted should clearly document in tabulated form identifying each author and their contribution. This is the Author Contribution Statement and must be signed by all authors.
Sequence of author names that has been submitted with the manuscript cannot be changed subsequently.
Proceedings requires corresponding author whose name appears on the title page to communicate with the journal on behalf of the remaining authors during submission, review, publication and post publication queries.
Conflicts of interest Disclosure
All authors are required to submit ICMJE coi_disclosure form while uploading the manuscript.
Other Resources for manuscript preparation:
Many free resources are available on internet for language and grammar. Few examples given to help authors;
https://www.grammarly.com, https://www.grammarcheck.net/editor/
Article writing resources:
- How to Write Articles that Get Published?
Jha, K. N. (2014). How to Write Articles that Get Published. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research?: JCDR, 8(9), XG01–XG03. http://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2014/8107.4855
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4225960/
- 11 steps to structuring a science paper editors will take seriously
A seasoned editor gives advice to get your work published in an international journal, by Angel Borja, PhD. https://www.elsevier.com/connect/11-steps-to-structuring-a-science-paper-editors-will-take-seriously
Reporting of Trials:
As of January 2015, Proceedings requires that all trials should be registered with an International RCT Registry. Lists of acceptable trial registries may be accessed at http://www.icmje.org. Manuscripts reporting results of Randomized Control Trials are required to include CONSORT flow diagram available at http://www.consort-statement. org/consort-statement/flow-diagram. Take help of reporting guidelines/ checklists/ flow charts developed for different study designs; examples include, CONSORT for randomized trials, STROBE for observational studies, PRISMA for systematic reviews and meta-analyses, STARD for studies of diagnostic accuracy.
Editorial correspondence:
All editorial correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Saadia Shahzad Alam Professor of Pharmacology, Shaikh Zayed Postgraduate Medical Institute, Lahore- 54590, Pakistan. For online Journal submission, inquiries and e-mail addresses visit the webpage of Proceedings at:
www.proceedings-szmc.org.pk
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