Editorial Policies

Who is an Author?

ICMJE criteria for authorship [Back to top]

The journal follows the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors ICMJE criteria for authorship which are as follows:

  • 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.

All authors should fulfill these four criteria.
For detailed ICMJE guidelines see this link:
http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html

Acknowledgment of Contributions [Back to top]

Contributions from personnel who helped in the research and do not meet authorship criteria should be mentioned in acknowledgments. These may include the individuals who assisted in:

  • General administrative support
  • Designing the study
  • Reviewing the manuscript like technical/ language editing and proofreading.
  • Statistical analysis
  • Acquisition of funding
  • Laboratory procedures

These may be individuals, departments, institutions, pharmaceutical companies, and laboratories.

Changes in the list of Authors [Back to top]

Once submitted JPPA will not entertain any changes in the names of the authors (deletions or additions).

Corresponding Authors [Back to top]

The corresponding author has the primary responsibility of communication with the journal. They must be available throughout the submission and processing and should respond timely to the editorial queries. The corresponding author will also provide the journal all the relevant data (datasheets/SPSS data etc.) in support of their results and additional information anytime during the processing of the manuscript or even after publication.

Deceased Authors [Back to top]

A death dagger should be included next to the deceased author’s name along with the date of death in the footnote.

Peer Review Policy [Back to top]

JPPA uses “double-blind” reviews in which reviewers and authors are unknown to each other during the whole process. The papers selected by staff editors will be sent to two reviewers. The reviewers are requested to review and respond within two weeks of receiving the manuscript. In case of noncompliance, they are replaced by other suitable reviewer/s to avoid delay in the processing. In case of contradictory reviews by the reviewers, further expert opinion is sought.

Plagiarism Policy [Back to top]

JPPA follows the ICMJE guidelines for authorship that can be retrieved from this link:  http://www.icmje.org/.
For plagiarism the journal follows the guidelines of HEC that can be seen at this link:
http://www.hec.gov.pk/english/services/faculty/Documents/Plagiarism/Plagiarism%20Policy.pdf

  • All submitted manuscripts are screened for similarity index (SI) on Turnitin software. SI should be less than 19% and 5% from a single source as outlined by HEC.  The corresponding author of the manuscripts with SI equal to or more than 19% will be informed regarding the plagiarized material and is required to give an explanation within 15 days. The manuscript processing will not resume until the matter is resolved. In case of an acceptable explanation by the corresponding author, the review process is resumed after necessary changes are made in the manuscript. If the author does not respond within 15 days or the explanation is unsatisfactory, a decision will be taken in editorial board meeting. Depending on the case the manuscript is either accepted after necessary changes or rejected and authors debarred from further publishing in JPPA.
  • Self-plagiarism: JPPA will not tolerate self-plagiarism i.e. recycling/reusing one’s own specific words from previously published work. It is not true theft; however, it can create problems in the research publishing world. It also refers to duplicate publication; publication of identical papers at two places. The best practice is to cite your previous work even if one is revisiting an old idea or observation.

Articles extracted from thesis/project

Articles extracted from MPhil or PhD thesis/projects must declare the following:

  • Title of thesis
  • Name of supervisor
  • Name of department and university
  • Year of submission
  • Detailed plagiarism report with SI of thesis/ dissertation

Open Access Publications [Back to top]

All articles published by JPPA are freely available for worldwide readership immediately upon publication under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0). This means that: Everyone has free and unlimited access to the full content of all articles published in JIMDC 

The Journal does not charge any fees for any reader to download articles for their own scholarly use. 

Benefits of open access for authors include:

  • Free access for all users worldwide
  • Increased visibility and readership
  • Rapid publication
  • No spatial constraint

Ethical Approval of Research [Back to top]

Submission of IRB form with the manuscript is mandatory. Strict adherence to ethical standards should be observed while dealing with subjects.

Animal studies

 Manuscripts of animal studies should clearly indicate that National Research Council guidelines on care & use of laboratory animals were followed. The guidelines on animal research ethics are available from;
http://veteditors.org/ethicsconsensusguideline.html

Human studies

Studies on human subjects must indicate explicitly that the procedures followed were in line with the revised “Helsinki Declaration” of 1983. Detailed guidelines are available from the following link:
https://www.wma.net/what-we-do/medical-ethics/declaration-of-helsinki/doh-oct1983/

Patient Consent Informed and Written

Authors should refer to Helsinki Declaration and ICMJE guidelines for Patients’ rights.

  • Any identifying information (names, initials, hospital medical record numbers) should not be given in the manuscript's text, photographs, or pedigrees.
  • If the information is essential for scientific purposes, written informed consent from the patient (parent or guardian) must be obtained.
  • In case of doubt that anonymity can be maintained, informed consent must be obtained. In such a case, authors should disclose to the patient that potential identification information might be available online or in print after publication.
  • The editor can ask for any such patient consent during processing.
  • Therefore, manuscripts must include a statement that informed consent has been obtained from the patient regarding participation in the study as well as the inclusion of potentially identifiable information in the publication.

Once an article is published the copyright owner of the article is transferred to the Journal Pakistan Prosthodontics Association. Copy right statement policy is given in the author’s submission form and it should be duly signed by all the authors. In case of rejection of the manuscript, copyrights are transferred back to the author automatically. Material printed in JPPA will not be reproduced without the permission of the editors and publishers.

Reprints

Once the journal comes in print than, three copies of the JPPA will be sent to the corresponding author.

Manuscript Retraction Policy [Back to top]

In case the author wants to retract the manuscript during processing, they should email the editor in chief stating the reason of the withdrawal. The manuscript will not be considered withdrawn unless all authors receive a formal letter of withdrawal from the editor-in-chief.

Appeals and Complaints [Back to top]

Authors have the right to appeal against a rejected article. They will do so through a letter addressing the editor in chief/ managing editor giving a detailed explanation. A decision will be taken after an internal review of the request. Authors should not submit the revised manuscript at this moment.

Scientific Misconduct [Back to top]

JPPA intends to follows guidelines of Committee on Publication Ethics (SCOPE), World Association of Medical Editors (WAME). JPPA discourages falsification of data, plagiarism, misappropriation of ideas of others, improprieties of authorship, and violation of generally accepted research practices. Strict action will be taken in case any of the above is proved.