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Peer
Review Process
The
IP peer reviews all the material it receives with the understanding that
it has been submitted
exclusively to Indian Pediatrics and has not been published, simultaneously
submitted, or already accepted for publication elsewhere. This does
not preclude consideration of a manuscript that has been rejected by another
journal or of a complete report that follows publication of preliminary findings
elsewhere, usually in the form of an abstract. Copies of any possible duplicative
published material should be submitted with the manuscript that is being
sent for consideration.
About
one-tenth of the manuscripts are rejected after review in house. The
usual reasons for rejections
at this stage are insufficient originality, serious scientific flaws
or the absence of a message that is important for the target audience.
We aim to reach a decision
on such papers within two weeks. The remaining articles are
sent to two or more referees in a "masked fashion". Indian
Pediatrics finally publishes
about four of ten submitted articles.
Submission of Manuscript
All
manuscripts should be submitted exclusively to IP. Three copies of the manuscript
enclosed in heavy paper envelope should be mailed/submitted to the Editorial
Office, typed double space on white bond paper, 20.3 x 26.7 cm or 21.6
x 27.9 cm (8" x 10" or 8½" x 11") with margins at
least 2.5 cm (1"). Place photographs
and transparencies in a separate heavy paper envelope (enclosed in cardboard
if needed, to prevent bending during mail handling). The manuscript should
be accompanied by a covering letter with a statement signed by all authors
that they have read and approved the contents of the manuscript and consent
for transfer of copyright to Indian Pediatrics. The journal also accepts manuscripts
in electronic version as MS Word attachments. We
will acknowledge receipt of all submitted manuscripts. In the event of rejection
of the manuscript, copies will be retained for three months to answer
any queries, followed by
shredding.
Authorship
The
uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to medical journals state
that authorship credit
should be based only on substantial contribution to (a) concept and
design, or analysis and interpretation of data; and to (b) drafting the
article or revising it
critically for important intellectual content; and on(c) final approval
of the version
to be published. Conditions (a), (b) and (c) must all be met.
Participation solely
in the acquisition of funding or the collection of data does not justify
authorship (1,2). The
corresponding author(s) should assure that all the authors included in the
manuscript fulfill the criteria of authorship outlined above and that no
one else who fulfils the
criteria for authorship has be excluded (2). The contribution of each
author must be clearly indicated in the title page, which will be
printed if the article is
accepted for publication. Indian Pediatrics reserves the right to
satisfy itself regarding the
specific role of each listed author to justify authorship. All authors
must give signed consent to publication. No change in authorship will be permitted
after the manuscript has been submitted to the journal without the consent
of the Editor-in-Chief.
Contributorship/Acknowledgements
There
may be persons who do not fulfill the authorship criteria listed above.
They might have contributed in various stages of planning, conduction of
the study (such as data collection) and reporting the work. Such
individuals can be
acknowledged by listing them at the end of the manuscript as
contributors giving details of their contribution to the study. Authors
are responsible for obtaining written permission from everyone
acknowledged by name because readers may infer their endorsement of the
data and conclusions.
Declaration
of Competing Interest
A
competing interest exists when professional judgment concerning a
primary interest (such as patients' welfare) may be influenced by
a secondary interest (such as financial gain or personal rivalry). If
any of the authors have accepted reimbursement for attending symposium,
a fee for speaking, fee for organizing educational activities, funds for
research, funds for a member of the staff or consultation fees from an
organization that may in any way gain or lose financially from the
results of the study, review, editorial or letter, a competing interest
would be deemed to exist. If any of the authors had been employed by an
organization that may in any way gain or lose financially from the
publication, or if any of them hold stocks or shares in such an
organization, competing interest would be deemed to exist. If competing
interest exists, the author(s) must disclose them while submitting the
manuscript.
Original
Articles
Original Articles should report original research relevant to clinical
pediatrics. The format for Original Articles is provided below.
Title
page.
Title page
should contain (i) the title of the article, which should be concise but
informative; (ii) a short running title of not more than 40 characters
(count letters and spaces) placed at the foot end of the title page;
(iii) initials and surname of each author, with the highest academic
degree(s) and designation at the time when the work was done; (iv) list
the contribution of each author; (v) name of department(s) and
institution(s) to which the work should be attributed; (vi) disclaimers,
if any; (vii) name, address, telephone, FAX, E-mail address of the
corresponding author; (viii) name and address of author to whom reprint
requests should be addressed; (ix) the source(s) of support in the form
of grant, equipment, drugs, or all of these.
Abstract
and Key (indexing) Words. Abstract should be structured
(divided into objectives, design, setting, subjects, interventions,
main outcome measures, results and conclusions) in not more than
250 words. A short list of four to five'/ key words to facilitate
indexing should be provided below the abstract. Use terms from the
Medical Subject Headings list from Index Medicus.
Text.
Text should contain sections on introduction, methodology, results,
and discussion.
Introduction:
Must state clearly the purpose of the article. Summarize the rationale
for conducting the study. Give only strictly pertinent references, and
do not review the subject extensively.
Methodology:
It should provide details of subject selection (patients or experimental
animals). The methods, apparatus (manufacturer's name and address in
parentheses) and procedures must be given in sufficient details to
allow other workers to reproduce the results. Give references to
established methods, provide references and brief descriptions of
methods that have been published but not well known; describe new or
substantially modified methods, giving reasons for using them and
evaluate their limitations. The design of study and details of
interventions used must be clearly described. Identify precisely all
drugs and chemicals used, including generic name(s), dosage(s) and
route(s) of administration. Patient identification must be avoided. In
consonance with current international trends, wherever indicated, the
manuscripts will be subjected to detailed epidemiological cum
statistical review. Therefore details of statistical methods used for
analysis must be described in detail. Excellent guidelines on the use of
statistical methods and on the interpretation of statistical material
(3) as well as check list for statisticians have been published (2).
While
reporting randomized controlled trials (RCT), authors must attempt to be
in conformity with the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials
(CONSORT) statement (4). Some of the issues that must be taken note of
while reporting RCTs' include how allocation sequence was generated and
concealed till randomization was done; methods for blinding; pre-study
calculations of sample size; definition of primary and secondary outcome
variables; duration of
post-intervention follow-up; selection of controls; etc.
Results:
Present results in logical sequences in the text, tables and
illustrations; avoid presenting more than 6 tables and two illustrations
per original article.
Discussion:
Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study and conclusions
that follow from them. Do not repeat the detailed data given in the
Results section. Discuss the implications of the findings and their
limitations. Link the conclusions with the goals of the study but avoid
unqualified statements and conclusion not completely supported by your
data. State new hypotheses when warranted, but clearly label them as
such. Recommendations, when appropriate may be included.
Key
Messages.
Important key messages, which the authors feel need highlighting, should
be provided at the end of the manuscript.
Review
Articles
Authoritative and state of the art review articles on topical issues are
also published. The author(s) should consult the Editor-in-Chief before
submitting such articles.
Brief
Reports
Short clinical and
laboratory observations are included as Brief Reports. The text should
contain no more than 1000 words, two illustrations or tables and up to
10 references. An abstract and key words are not required.
Case
Reports
Instructive cases with
a message are published as case reports. Routine syndromes or rare
entities without unusual or new features are invariably rejected. The
text should contain no more than 1000 words, two illustrations or tables
and upto 10 references. The authorship should not exceed 3-4 persons.
Letters
to the Editor
These may relate to
material published in the IP, topic of interest to pediatricians, and/or
unusual clinical observations. A letter should not be more than 300
words, one figure and 3-5 references.
Personal
Viewpoint
Such articles are also
published on topical pediatric issues including sociological aspects.
These should not exceed 2000 words and will be peer reviewed.
Notes
and News
Announcements of
conferences, symposia or meetings may be sent for publication atleast 12
weeks in advance of the meeting date. Details of programs should not be
included.
References
Number references
consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the
text. Identify references in text, tables and legends by Arabic numerals
(in parenthesis). References cited only in tables or in legends to
figures should be numbered in accordance with a sequence established by
the first identification of the particular table or illustration.
The
title of journals should be abbreviated according to the style used in
Index Medicus. The reference style must conform to the style for
international biomedical journals. Do not use abstracts, unpublished
observations and personal communications as references. Such items may
however, be inserted in the text in parentheses. Include among the
references, manuscripts accepted but not yet published; designate the
journal followed by "in press" in parentheses. Information
from manuscripts submitted but not yet accepted should be cited in the
text as "unpublished observations" in parentheses.
Examples
of correct form of references are given below:
Journal
1.
Standard Journal Article (list all authors when six or less. When seven
or more, list only first six and add et al.)
Solomon R, Kuruvilla KA, Job V, Selvakumar R, Jeyaseelan L,
Kanagasapathy AS, et al. Randomized controlled trial of once vs twice
daily gentamycin therapy in newborn. Indian Pediatrics 1999, 36:
133-137.
2.
Corporate Author
Nutrition Subcommittee
of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics. Report of the Convener. Indian
Pediatr 1972; 9:360.
Books and Other
Monographs
3.
Personal Author(s)
Singh M. Care of the
Newborn, 2nd edn. New Delhi, Sagar publications, 1979; pp102-110.
4.
Chapter in Book
Singhi S, Hiranandani M. Shock. In: Principles of Pediatric and Neonatal
Emergencies, 1st edn. Eds. Sachdev HPS, Puri RK, Bagga A, Choudhury P.
Delhi, Jaypee Brothers, 1994; pp 23-44.
Tables
Type each table double space on a separate sheet. Tables should be
simple and should not duplicate information in the text of the
paper. Number tables (Roman numbers) consecutively and supply a
brief title for each. Give each column a short or abbreviated heading.
Place explanatory matter in footnotes, not in he heading. Explain in
footnotes all non-standard abbreviations that are used in each table.
For footnotes, use the following symbols in the sequence: *, N, §,
O, ¶, **, !!,etc. Identify statistical measures of variations,
such as SD and SEM. Cite each table in the text in
consecutive order. If you use data from another published or unpublished
source, obtain permission and acknowledge fully.
Illustrations
Figures
should be professionally drawn and photographed. Roentgenograms and
other material should be submitted as black and white glossy
photographic prints usually 12.7 x 17.3 cm (5"x7") but not
larger than 20.3 x 254.4 cm (8"x10").
Each figure should have a label pasted on its back indicating the
number of the figure, the names of the authors, and the top and left
side of the figure.
Photomicrographs
must have internal scale markers. For illustrations in color, supply
negatives or positive transparencies. If photographs of persons are
used, either the subject must not be identifiable or their pictures must
be accompanied by written permission to use the photograph.
Cite
each figure in the text in consecutive order. If a figure has been
published, acknowledge original source and submit written permission
from the copyright holder to reproduce the material. Permission is
required, regardless of authorship or publisher, except for documents in
the public domain.
Legends
for illustrations must be typed on a separate page and explain each
legend clearly.
Copyright
All
authors transfer copyright to the Indian Pediatrics just before
publication.
Readers may make single copies of articles for their own use, but they
need permission from IP to make multiple copies or to republish partial
parts of the original.
References
-
International
Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Uniform requirements for
manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals. Philadelphia,
PA:ICMJE,1993.
-
Instructions
to authors. Br Med J 1994;308:39-43.
-
Gardner
MJ, Altman DG. Statistics with Confidence. London, BMJ, 1989.
-
Improving
the Quality of Reporting Randomized Controlled Trials: The CONSORT
Statement. JAMA 1996; 276: 637-9
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