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Author Guidelines

AUTHOR GUIDELINES

Journal of University Physicians & Surgeons Pakistan (JUPSP)

The Journal of University Physicians & Surgeons Pakistan (JUPSP) is a peer-reviewed, open-access biomedical journal that publishes original research in clinical medicine, surgery, medical education, and allied health sciences. Authors are requested to carefully read and comply with the following guidelines before submitting their manuscript.

Required Submission Documents (Downloadable Templates)

Before starting your submission, please download and complete the following mandatory documents:

All documents must be completed and uploaded during the submission process. Submissions missing any required document will be returned without review.

1. Scope of the Journal

JUPSP considers manuscripts in the following areas:

  • Clinical Medicine

  • Surgery and Allied Specialties

  • Medical Education

  • Public Health

  • Biomedical and Translational Research

Submissions outside the scope may be rejected without peer review.

2. Article Types & Word Limits

  • Original Articles: ≤ 3,500 words

  • Review Articles: ≤ 4,000 words

  • Case Reports / Case Series: ≤ 2,000 words

  • Short Communications: ≤ 1,500 words

  • Editorials: By invitation only

Word count excludes abstract, references, tables, and figures.

3. Manuscript Preparation & Formatting

  • File format: MS Word (.doc or .docx)

  • Font: Times New Roman, size 12

  • Line spacing: Double-spaced throughout

  • Margins: 1 inch on all sides

  • Page numbers and continuous line numbers are mandatory

  • Main headings: Bold

  • Subheadings: Italic

  • Avoid underlining and excessive capitalization

Scientific names and statistical symbols (e.g., p values) should be italicized where appropriate.

4. Manuscript Structure

Manuscripts should be arranged in the following order:

  • Title

  • Abstract

  • Keywords

  • Introduction

  • Methodology

  • Results

  • Discussion

  • Conclusion

  • References

  • Tables and Figures

5. Abstract & Keywords

  • Original Articles must include a structured abstract with the following headings:
    Background, Methods, Results, Conclusion

  • Other article types may use an unstructured abstract where appropriate.

  • Abstracts must not contain references or author-identifying information.

  • Provide 3–6 keywords, preferably using MeSH (Medical Subject Headings).

6. Double-Blind Peer Review

JUPSP follows a double-blind peer review process.

  • The Title Page must be uploaded as a separate file, containing:

    • Full manuscript title

    • Author names and affiliations

    • Corresponding author details

    • Funding information

    • Conflict of interest declaration

  • The main manuscript file must be fully anonymized and must not contain author names, affiliations, acknowledgments, or institutional identifiers.

7. Tables & Figures

  • Tables and figures must be cited sequentially in the text.

  • Table titles should be placed above tables.

  • Figure captions should be placed below figures.

  • Images must be anonymized. Identifiable images require written informed consent.

8. References

  • References must follow Vancouver style.

  • Citations should appear in the text using square brackets [1].

  • References must be numbered consecutively in order of appearance.

  • Journal titles should be abbreviated according to Index Medicus.

  • At least 80% of references should be from the last 5 years, unless citation of landmark studies is justified.

9. Ethical Requirements

  • Ethical approval from an Institutional Review Board / Ethics Committee is mandatory for studies involving human participants, patient data, or interventions.

  • The name of the approving authority and reference number must be stated in the manuscript.

  • Informed consent is required for case reports, case series, identifiable patient data, or images.

10. Authorship & Contributor Roles

  • Authorship must comply with ICMJE authorship criteria.

  • JUPSP adopts the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy). Authors are required to specify individual contributions (e.g., conceptualization, methodology, data analysis, writing, supervision).

11. Conflict of Interest & Funding

  • All authors must disclose potential conflicts of interest.

  • Sources of funding must be declared, or explicitly stated as “None”.

12. Plagiarism Policy

  • Manuscripts must have a similarity index ≤ 19%, excluding references.

  • Submissions exceeding this threshold may be returned or rejected.

13. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use Policy

AI tools may only be used for language editing and clarity enhancement. AI must not be used for data generation, analysis, interpretation, or authorship. Any permitted use of AI must be disclosed in accordance with COPE guidance on AI tools.

14. Submission Process

All manuscripts must be submitted online through the JUPSP Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform. Submissions not complying with these guidelines may be returned without peer review.

Authors are strongly advised to review the Submission Checklist before initiating submission.

Submission Preparation Checklist

By initiating a submission to the Journal of University Physicians & Surgeons Pakistan (JUPSP), the author confirms that:

✔️ This manuscript is original, has not been published previously, and is not under consideration by any other journal.

✔️ The Title Page, containing author names, affiliations, corresponding author details, funding information, and conflict of interest declaration, has been uploaded as a separate file to ensure double-blind peer review.

✔️ The main manuscript file is fully anonymized and does not contain author names, institutional identifiers, acknowledgments, or metadata that could reveal author identity.

✔️ The manuscript has been prepared in accordance with the JUPSP Author Guidelines, including formatting, page numbers, continuous line numbers, headings, tables, figures, and reference style.

✔️ References are formatted according to Vancouver style, cited in the text using square brackets [1], include the year of publication, and at least 80% of references are from the last 5 years, unless citation of landmark studies is scientifically justified.

✔️ All tables and figures are numbered and cited in the text; table titles are placed above tables and figure captions are placed below figures.

✔️ Ethical approval from an Institutional Review Board / Ethics Committee has been obtained where applicable and is clearly stated in the manuscript, or a valid exemption is explicitly declared.

✔️ Written informed consent has been obtained for case reports, case series, identifiable patient data, or clinical images, where applicable.

✔️ All authors meet ICMJE authorship criteria, and individual contributions have been defined in accordance with the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy).

✔️ All authors have disclosed conflicts of interest and sources of funding, or explicitly declared none.

✔️ The manuscript has a similarity index ≤ 19%, excluding references.

✔️ Any use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools was limited strictly to language editing and clarity enhancement, did not contribute to scientific content, data analysis, interpretation, or authorship, and has been transparently disclosed in accordance with COPE guidance on AI tools

✔️ All listed authors have read, approved, and agreed to the submission of the final version of the manuscript.

Original Articles

Original Articles include full-length reports of clinical, surgical, public health, or biomedical research. Manuscripts must follow the IMRaD format (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion) and adhere to appropriate reporting guidelines such as CONSORT (clinical trials), STROBE (observational studies), PRISMA (systematic reviews/meta-analyses), or CARE (case reports) where applicable. All submissions undergo a rigorous double-blind peer-review process.

Review Articles

Review Articles include narrative reviews, scoping reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses addressing contemporary issues in medicine, surgery, or public health. Authors must clearly describe the search strategy, inclusion criteria, and synthesis methods. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses must follow PRISMA guidelines. All submissions undergo double-blind peer review.

Case Reports

Case Reports describe unique, rare, or clinically important cases that offer valuable learning points for clinicians and learners. Submissions should follow the CARE guidelines and include the following sections: Abstract, Introduction, Case Presentation, Discussion, and Conclusion. High-quality images and relevant investigations may be included. All submissions are double-blind peer-reviewed.

Short Communications

Short Communications are concise reports of preliminary data, small-scale studies, audits, or rapid communications of emerging findings. Manuscripts are limited to 1,500–2,000 words and should follow a brief IMRaD format. All submissions undergo double-blind peer review.

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor include scholarly comments on recently published articles, brief scientific opinions, clinical observations, or constructive criticisms. Letters should be concise (up to 600 words) and may contain up to 5 references. These submissions undergo editorial review and may be sent for peer review when necessary.

Copyright Notice

Authors who submit manuscripts to the Journal of University Physicians & Surgeons Pakistan (JUPSP) agree to the following terms:

  1. Copyright Ownership
    Authors retain the copyright of their work and grant JUPSP the right of first publication.

  2. Open Access Policy
    All articles published in JUPSP are made available under an open-access model, allowing free and unrestricted access to the published content.

  3. License to Publish
    By submitting their manuscript, authors grant JUPSP a non-exclusive license to publish, reproduce, distribute, and display the work in all forms and media, including electronic and print formats.

  4. Author Responsibility
    Authors confirm that the submitted work is original, does not infringe on the rights of others, and that all necessary permissions for reproduced material (tables, figures, images, or data) have been obtained.

  5. Reuse and Distribution
    The published work may be shared, copied, and redistributed for non-commercial purposes, provided that appropriate credit is given to the authors and the journal.

  6. Ethical Compliance
    Authors affirm that the work complies with ethical standards, including research ethics approval, informed consent (where applicable), and disclosure of conflicts of interest.

By completing the submission process, the author confirms acceptance of this copyright notice.

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.