Postgraduate Medical Journal of Ghana
Journal / Postgraduate Medical Journal of Ghana / Submissions

 

1.0 Submission

Manuscripts written in English and typed double-spaced in single column format, preferably in font size no. 12 should be uploaded to this site together with a cover letter via a registered account.

1.1 Cover Letter

All submissions should be accompanied by a cover letter which must include statements on the following points:

1. All authors have made significant contributions to the methods and findings in the paper.
2. All authors have read and approved the final draft.
3. Financial or commercial interests must be acknowledged.
4. The work has not already been published and has not been submitted simultaneously to any other journal.
5. The corresponding author takes on the above responsibilities with his/her signature and also assigns copyright to the Journal.
6. The authors assign copyright to the Journal.

1.2 Charges/Fees

The PMJG charges no fee for the reception, processing and publication of submissions.

All manuscripts are subject to peer review and are received with the explicit understanding that they are not under simultaneous consideration for publication in any other journal. This fact must be clearly stated in the cover letter.

1.3 Arrangement

The order of the text should be as follows: title page, abstract (structured) of no more than 250 words with 2-8 key words (MeSH terms) at the bottom. The main text must be divided into the following sections: introduction, subjects (or materials) and methods, results, discussion, conclusion, acknowledgements, references, tables, legends to figures and figures. Each section should begin on a new page and all pages must be numbered consecutively, beginning with the title page.

Title Page: The first page should include the title, names of authors, centre where the work was carried out and a short running title. The full postal address of the corresponding author, with postal code, phone numbers, fax numbers and e-mail address must also be provided on the title page.

Abstract: A structured abstract (no more than 250 words) is required for original articles and must provide an overview of the entire paper, with succinct statements on objectives, design, subjects, interventions, outcome measures, results and conclusions. For other types of manuscript, a short summary may be adequate.

Tables: Tables must be typed on separate pages in word format and numbered consecutively. Each must have a brief heading describing the contents. Tables must be referred to in the text and information in them not duplicated in the text. The maximum number of tables allowed for each article is four (4). Additional tables will have to be converted to text. In some cases, certain reasons will prove sufficient to allow for more than the number stated, however, this will be decided by the Chief Editor after authors have stated said reasons in the cover letter.

Illustrations: Photographs, photomicrographs, electron micrographs and imaging figures must be of high quality and submitted in three original copies. A size of 235 x 264 mm is advised and the figure number should appear on the back of each, together with an arrow indicating the top edge. For photomicrographs, details of stains and a scale bar should be provided. Where patient’s identity is not concealed in a photograph, a written consent from the patient must be submitted. If any tables, illustrations or photomicrographs have been published elsewhere, a written consent for reproduction is required from the copyright holder and the author(s). Charts and drawings must be done professionally. When charts are submitted, the numerical data on which they were based should be supplied.

Abbreviations: Abbreviations should be defined on first use and then applied consistently subsequently. Non-standard abbreviations or those used less than three times in the text are not permitted.

Numbers and Units: Measurements must be reported in metric units only. Temperatures should be given in degrees Celsius. Blood pressure should be expressed in mm Hg. and haematological and biochemical measurements in SI (Systeme Internationale) units. Decimal points must be used appropriately and not commas.

Trade Names: Non-proprietary (generic) names of products should be used. If a brand name for a drug is used, the British or International nonproprietary (approved) name should be given. The source of any new or experimental preparation should also be given.

References: References should be limited to those relating directly to contents of the paper. References should be cited in sequence and numbered by Arabic numerals in superscript. The list of references at the end of the article should be numbered in the order in which they appear in the text. They should give the names and initials of all authors; in cases where the number of authors exceed 5, the abbreviation “et al” should be used to represent remaining authors after the fifth is cited. The authors’ names must be followed by the title of the article, the title of the journal, abbreviated in the style of the Index Medicus and italicized, the year of publication, the volume number and the first and last page numbers. References of books should give the title of the book, followed by the place of publication, the year and the relevant pages. References for websites should state the name of author(s), title of article, website publisher, date of publication and the URL to the article.  

EXAMPLES

Article

McLendon WW. A historical perspective as a compass for the future of Pathology. Arch Pathol Lab Med 1986; 110: 284-288.

Book

Talbot CH. Medicine in Medieval England. Oldbourne, London. 1926 p 120-136.

Book Chapter

Philips SJ, Whisnan JP. Hypertension and stroke. In: Laragh JH, Bremner BM, editors, Hypertension: pathophysiology, diagnosis and management. 2nd Ed. New York: Raven Press, 1995, p465-478. 

Website 

Doe J, Phils MR. A client’s guide to rational emotive behaviour therapy. Conseil. 2017: https://www.conseil.com/

Special identification items like digital object identifiers (DOI) will be allowed inclusion to end text references, aside this, all references should be arranged as stated in the instructions.

1.4 Review Process

The PMJG will review all the material it receives using the double-blind peer review process, consequently, authors are required to submit two papers in relation to the study for which publication is being sought for. The first should contain only the title and its content without names of authors, authors’ email details, institution(s) of affiliation, headers and footers and acknowledgements. The content of the second paper should be reserved for the aforesaid excluded items. The Editorial office shall not revise submitted articles to suit this requirement and hereby insist strongly on authors' adherence. Authors who fail to comply to these specifications shall have their manuscript returned to them for it to be revised accordingly.

Generally, manuscripts will be peer reviewed by two experts in the field pertinent to the study; additional review(s) shall be conducted by another (other) expert(s) should the conclusion of the initial two reviews warrant it, and this will be determined by the Chief Editor. In studies that contain quantitative data and statistical inferences, the Editor may request that a statistician reviews them. For studies based on questionnaires, authors are required to attach the questionnaire to the manuscript, in order to facilitate the review process.

1.5 Appeals

Authors who disagree with a review conclusion can submit an appeal to the Editorial Office. The merits of the appeal will be screened against the conclusion by another expert and the conclusion of this process will be relayed to the Chief Editor for a final decision.

1.6 Proofs

Proofs will be sent to the corresponding author, preferably as an attachment to an e-mail. Corrected proofs should be returned with the least possible delay. Alterations made to the proofs other than the correction of editors' errors are charged to the author.

1.7 Corrections

Request for corrections to a published article shall be reviewed and if approved by the Chief Editor, will be immediately published.  

2.0 Ethical Policy

Where human investigations or animal experiments are part of the study, the journal assumes that the study design has been approved by an appropriate ethical committee. Where an appropriate ethical committee is not readily available, the principles of the Helsinki Declaration as amended should be followed strictly.

Authors are required in their submission of articles to provide a copy of ethical approval letter(s) for their study. The contents of this copy should correspond to its reference in the article in that there should be no discrepancies with regard to the approving institution and the reference number of the approval letter(s).

2.1 Conflict of Interest

Explicit disclosure is expected from authors and guest editors on the nature of their affiliation – be it financial or otherwise – to a sponsoring organization and the interests that said organization represents. The PMJG deems it essential for authors and guest editors to adhere to this requirement.

2.2 Scientific Misconduct

PMJG takes exception to articles with plagiarised content, and claims that are unsubstantiated due to miscalculation, experimental error, fabrication or falsification.  As previously stated, submissions are received with the explicit understanding that they are not under simultaneous consideration for publication in any other journal. Any submission that is found to be contrary to this requirement will be deemed unsuitable for publication. Authors are thus charged to submit original articles not published elsewhere and provide proper attribution and citations for references as recommended by the submission guidelines.

Where there are ample grounds for suspicion of infractions of publication ethics, to the extent to warrant an investigation, the PMJG shall proceed as recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Articles will be retracted if they are found to be in violation of publication ethics as outlined by COPE.

2.3. Reporting a Misconduct

Allegations of misconduct and/or unethical behaviour by authors and even those experienced at the hand of PMJG staff can be reported by mail to rector@gcps.edu.gh for redress.