Author Guidelines

Publishing Fees:

Pakistan Journal of Rehabilitation do not charge any fees for submission or publication of manuscript.

Revenue Sources:

Pakistan Journal of Rehabilitation (PJR) is owned by Ziauddin University. PJR runs under one of the dominant colleges of Ziauddin University named as Ziauddin College of Rehabilitation Sciences (ZCRS). The team of Pakistan Journal of Rehabilitation (PJR) is collaboratively runs by ORIC department of Ziauddin University and ZCRS team under the supervision of Dr. Zulfiqar Umrani, Director ORIC and Prof. Dr. Sumaira Imran Farooqui, Editor in Chief of PJR and Principal ZCRS. PJR welcomes article submissions from all over the world, authors are highly appreciated to submit their manuscripts in PJR as the journal currently charges no submission or publication fees. In order to run the journal in proficient manner, Ziauddin University makes sure all the expenses of Journal and PJR team solely transacted under their revenue. As the journal is self- financed open access journal and all the expenses are bared by Ziauddin University itself, there is no revenue earning practices of Pakistan Journal of Rehabilitation. All the expenses of PJR including the cost of printing, websites expenses, team member salaries etc… are supported by Ziauddin University.

Author(s) Key Points:

PJR provides pre revisions by Editorial Team and double blind peer review for each article which takes approximately 6 months to 1 year from article receiving till publication. Following key points are expected from each author throughout the tenure of article process:

Manuscript Categories:

Original Article: A research that is based on Experimental or Non Experimental outcomes will be considered an original article. For each experimental study, the Ethical Review Committee number (ERC no.) or Institutional Review Committee number (IRC no.) has to be submitted along with the manuscript.

Reviews: 

PJR requires a completed PRISMA checklist and flow diagram as a condition of submission when reporting findings from a Systematic review or Meta-analysis. Templates for these can be found here or on the (PRISMA website) which also describes several (PRISMA checklist) extensions for different designs and types of data beyond conventional systematic reviews evaluating randomized trials. At a minimum, your article should report the content addressed by each item of the checklist. Meeting these basic reporting requirements will significantly improve the value of your review and may enhance its chances for eventual publication. Narrative Reviews are also appreciated to be submitted in PJR which include explored areas of a particular field and address the gaps for new studies.

Case Report / Case Study:

PJR accepts a detailed medical case report, also known as a case study reporting rare diseases, an unusual presentation of disease, unexpected events, an unusual combination of diseases or conditions, and others aspects that shed new light on a disease or condition.

Letter to the Editor:

Any form of short communication highlighting an innovative idea, concern, or a new area that is open for research can be submitted as LTE.

Checklist of Documents to be uploaded while submission:

  • Cover Letter
  • ERC / IRC number
  • Manuscript document in word file
  • Declaration Form (signed by each author)
  • Authors’ Name
  • Authors’ Designation
  • Authors’ ORCID number
  • Email Address (official email is appreciated)
  • Authors’ Contribution
Manuscript Checklist:
  • Title
  • Abstract
  • MeSH Keywords
  • Introduction
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Conclusion
  • Discussion
  • Disclaimer
  • Conflict of Interest
  • References
  • Figures and Tables (should be appeared in between the article sessions).

How to Prepare Manuscript for Submission?

Following important formatting guidelines for each manuscript that have to be followed before submission:

Format:

The manuscript is only acceptable in MS Word Format (2010 and above version). The manuscript should not contain any author (s) information.

  • Font Style: Times New Roman
  • Font Size: 12 (for text), 14 (for headings), and 16 (for the title).
  • Line and Paragraph Spacing:1.5
  • Figures and Tables: Plain Table 2 (MS Word) Maximum of 6 tables and figures are acceptable.
  • Referencing Style: Vancouver
  • In Text Citation: Vancouver

A separate Excel file is required for each table.

Article Length / Word Count:
  • Letter to the Editor: 600 – 900 words (8-10 references excluding total word count).
  • Original Article: 2500 – 4000 words (25 – 40 references excluding total word count).
  • Systematic Review / Meta Data: 2000 – 3000 words (15 – 25 references excluding total word count).
  • Case Study: 2000 – 3000 words (15 – 25 references excluding total word count).
Maximum No. of Authors:
  • Original Article: 6
  • Reviews: 6
  • Case Report/ Case Study: 6
  • Letter to the Editor: 3
Manuscript Title:

A unique and concise title is required.

Keywords:

6 to 8 MeSH keywords are required. Check keywords through (https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/)

Author (s) details:

The author (s) details must have to be added to OJS Metadata accordingly to their contribution. The following details must be submitted through Authors Details.

The form contains the following details for each author:

  • Author Email Address (institutional preferred).
  • Complete the Author Name (along with the designation title).
  • Author Affiliation (current job designation, organization name, organization address, city, and country).
  • Author ORCID number.
  • Corresponding Author’s contact details.
Research Funding:

If any funding is received by the authors, it must be mentioned in the manuscript along with the proper reference.

Ethical Review Committee / Institution Review Board Number:

ERC /IRB number and letter have to attach to OJS Metadata.

Abstract (Structured):

The abstract should contain 200 words. All the manuscripts must contain the following information:

  • Purpose
  • Design /Methodology
  • Results
  • Limitations and Future Implications
  • Originality
  • Conclusion

No abstract for Letter to the Editor is required.

Article Type:

While submitting an article on (Open Journal System), authors are required to select one option related to the Article Type. Select an appropriate article type before submitting your manuscript.

References:

Vancouver Referencing Style. For Example:

Javed S, Sultan AJ, Khan MU, Rahim M. Frequency of work-related low back pain among physical therapists. Pakistan Journal of Rehabilitation. 2013;2(2): pp 38-44.

Language:

English

Similarity:

Should not exceed 12% and one source must be less than 5%.

Cross Check your Manuscript before submission:

  • Authors are advised to check their manuscript is appropriate, complete, and grammatically/ typographically correct.
  • Authors are advised to check (Aims and Scope) of the journal and check whether it falls under PJR Aims and Scope or not. PJR will decline the manuscript without peer review if the manuscript does not fall under the scope of the journal.
  • Authors are advised to check whether the manuscript contains any information which discloses their identity. This could breach the blind review process.

Submission Process:

  • The corresponding author is required to create an account on (Open Journal System).
  • ORCID number is necessary to add while submitting the manuscript.
  • If you do not have an ORCID account, spare a few moments and get register at the (ORCID) identifier.

Following are the documents that are necessary to upload while submitting the manuscript on OJS:

  • Title page (Author(s) information)
  • Blind Manuscript MS Word File
  • Tables and Figures Excel File
  • Author Details Form
  • ERC letter copy (if applicable)
  • Third-party data/ questionnaire letter (if applicable)
  • Author(s) Decleration Form
  • Author(s) Contribution Form

Review and Decision Process:

  • Pre-review process is done by Editorial Team. At this stage, they checked whether the article falls under PJR Aims and Scope or not. Moreover, they check the originality of the article and if it is properly formatted or not.
  • The editorial team has complete rights to decline the manuscript at any stage if they feel it any lacking in the manuscript.
  • Each response time will take 60 to 90 days. Authors are advised to check their current status and updates on OJS.
  • Authors are appreciated to suggest reviewers for PJR under its scope.
  • For any queries, authors can contact us at ([email protected]).
  • Submission and publication time will take 50 weeks.

Submission Acceptance:

  • Cover letter, author(s) declaration, and contribution form is a prerequisite for manuscript submission. Author(s) must submit the completed forms along with the blind manuscript.
  • The author is required to get signed by each author and submit a scanned copy on OJS.
  • (Upon receipt of the cover letter, blind manuscript, author(s) declaration form and contribution form PJR will promptly initiate the editorial review (pre-review) process for the manuscript).

New to OJS:

  • Open (http://ojs.zu.edu.pk/ojs/)
  • Click on “Register” at the top right of the page.
  • Fill in the required information available in the form.
  • For login emails, an official institutional email is appreciated.
  • Select “Reader” in the registration area for the Pakistan Journal of Rehabilitation.
  • After registration, click on “Continue Browsing”.
  • At the top right, where your profile name is mentioned, click over it and then click “View Profile”.
  • In your Profile area click the “Role” page and activate your Role as an “Author”.
  • Click “Submission” available at the left bar.
  • Start submitting your article by filling out the form.
  • In Section, select your article type.
  • Fill out the submission requirements.
  • Upload the manuscript and other required documents in Metadata.
  • Add authors’ details. (ORCID number is mandatory).
  • Click on the next page for confirmation and then click on “Final Submission”.
  • If you face any queries, contact us at [email protected].

Other Information:

  • Each author must have their ORCID number for publication. Moreover, the ORCID account must contain complete, updated, and appropriate information.
  • Each author is accountable for his/ her work that they have submitted through OJS.
  • The manuscript must contain genuine work according to the guidelines of research ethics Ethical Guidelines.
  • The conversation between the journal’s editorial team and the author(s) must be kept confidential.
  • The author(s) contribution have be submitted along with the manuscript. It must be separated from the original manuscript and have to be filled through (Author(s) contribution form).
  • Before submitting the manuscript author (s) are advised to review (Ethical Guidelines).
  • In case of using any secondary data/ adopted questionnaires, the author(s) are advised to submit a permission letter from the owner.
  • Before submitting the article to PJR, the author(s) are advised to receive permission from a third party if they are using and reproducing any material in their manuscript.
  • PJR follows gold open-access publishing paths. Moreover, the articles will be published with (Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 user License).
  • PJR endorses Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) Guidelines for better and transparent research practices.