Processing Manuscript

Acceptance of Manuscript

The JCPSP agrees to accept manuscripts prepared in accordance with the “Uniform Requirements submitted to the Biomedical Journals” as approved by ICMJE –International Committee of Medical Journals Editors – guidelines, published in the British Medical Journal 1991; 302:334-41, printed in the JCPSP, Vol. 3 No. 2, April-June, 1993, and updated again in December 2008, Vol. 18 (12).

JCPSP Review Process

Initial Assessment

Once the manuscript is received in the JCPSP office, acknowledgement letter is sent to the corresponding author along with authors’ certification proforma. The ACP should be duly filled-in and signed by all authors and returned to the JCPSP office.

All manuscripts received are initially assessed by the in-house members of the editorial staff for worth of its publication. It is ensured that manuscript is prepared in accordance with the uniform requirements submitted to bio-medical journal as approved by ICMJE guidelines. It is also assessed to see that it is written in accordance with the JCPSP format and technically correct. The manuscript is also assessed for statistical analysis by the Journal’s statistician.. Deficiencies found by editor and statistician are communicated to author for redressing the article at the initial stage.

Peer Review Process

Once the redressed article is received from the author, the manuscript is sent to two independent peer reviewers of the specialty the article belongs to. A sufficient time of 3 weeks are given to the reviewers to return their comments on a proforma or on additional papers/sheets. If reviewers fail to send back their feedback in the stipulated time, reminders are sent. Comments from two reviewers are mandatory for review of a manuscript. These reviewers are paid honoraria. About 40 percent of articles are sent abroad for review in the developed countries. Once the reviewed manuscript is received from both the reviewers, their comments/suggestions are communicated to the author for revision.

The revised version received from author is re- assessed by editor. It is further checked for correctness of bibliographic references and verified that manuscript is free from plagiarism by journal’s bibliographer. If found fit, is sent for editing which is done by the specialized editor. Edited manuscript is sent to language editor for editing and proofreading of text for correct grammar, spelling and medical terminology, ensuring incorporation of all the necessary/relevant minutest details in the article. Editor, Assistant Editor, Language Editor and Editorial Assistant are involved during the whole process.

The assessment, external review process and editorial decision on a manuscript are usually longer.

Once all articles are corrected, pages are numbered, datelines, short titles and authors’ names are inserted on each page, finally content page is made. The final proofs are e-mailed to corresponding authors for verification/approval of correctness of manuscript. Three days are given to author to return their feedback on a separate covering letter identifying any discrepancy. If authors fail to respond in the stipulated time the manuscript is processed as final. The Managing Editor checks final proofs at the dummy stage before sending them for printing.

General Requirements of JCPSP

• Manuscript must be written in British English. Authors should seek assistance of English speaking medical editors
• Manuscript should be typed on A-4 size paper (8.5 x 11 inches or 21.6 x27 cm) white paper with a margin of 1.5 inches (4 cm)
• Type on one side of the paper with double spacing
• All sections to begin on separate page with the order; title page abstract, introduction, methodology, results, discussion, references, tables, figures and legends
• All pages should be numbered on the lower right hand side of manuscript
• Manuscript should be submitted with a covering letter signed by all authors
• Author's certification proforma must be fully filled- in and signed by all authors
• Sequence of authors once signed and submitted on ACP can not be changed
• Authorship criteria and contribution of all authors must be in accordance with the ICMJE guidelines
• Manuscript should clearly identify name of corresponding author, his e-mail address, telephone/mobile number.Journal would correspond with corresponding author only
• Authors should provide declaration of conflict of interest and funding information with regard to the research.
• Authors must also submit a copy of ethical permission letter from the institution head where the research study was conducted.

Format Requirements of JCPSP

• An original article must be of 2000-2500 word count, excluding structured abstract of 250 words, 3-10 key words and 20-25 references with 3 tables or figures. It should have Introduction of 150 words with citation of 8-10 references, Methodology, Results, Discussion and Conclusion.
• A Review article in JCPSP should have a maximum of 2000-3000 words excluding a non-structured abstract of 150 words with no more than 5 tables or figures and 40-60 references
• Clinical practice article, Audit report, Current Practices, Survey report and Short articles should have a word count of 1500-1600 words excluding structured abstract of 150 words with 3-10 key words, and 15-20 references in the order of introduction, methodology, results and conclusion
• Evidence based report should have 10 cases and word count of 1000-1200 words with non-structured abstract of 150 words with 10-12 references
• Case report should have a maximum of 1200-1250 word count excluding a non- structured abstract of 100-150 words, 3-10 key words and maximum of 10 references in the order of abstract, introduction, case report, discussion and references with two photographs/figures
• A short communication should have a maximum of 1000 word count excluding a non-structured abstract of 100-150 words with 3-10 key words, and one table. Text should be a plain write up with no headings and 5-6 references.
• A letter to the editor should be of 400 words with 4-5 references and one figure or table
• An editorial in JCPSP should have a word count of 1000-1200 words with 8-10 references

JCPSP provides free service to the researchers/authors. There is absolutely no processing fee or charges for publication of articles in JCPSP