Author Guidelines

Type of Article:

Number of Words (max):

Figures (max)

Tables

References (max)

Original Article

4000

7

4

60

Abstracts/Brief Report

1000

4

2

40

Case Report

500

            2 Total

10

*Word count applies to body text only; does not include titles, figures, tables or references.

General Font and Guidelines:

  1. Font
    • All Font should be Times New Roman size 12 font double-spaced.
    • HEADINGS should be bold upper-case.
    • Subheadings should be simply bold.
    • Manuscript Titles should be bold underlined and included on every submission as the first line of the blinded manuscript and on the cover page.
  2. General Format
    • Margins are 1” on all sides. These settings and the font settings should be the default settings.
    • Number all lines of the manuscript. Each manuscript should be consecutively numbered using the Line Number feature in the document. Do NOT number the lines manually.
    • All pages should be numbered
  3. The main manuscript file text does not have any author names or identifiers to ensure an unbiased blind review.
  4. All figures and all tables should include relevant captions and titles. Tables and figures should be numbered separately using Arabic numbering.
  5. Provide a legend of all tables and figures at the end of the submission text (after references). Figures and tables should also be submitted as separate file types.
  6. References are listed in NLM format at the bottom of the submission. They are incorporated sequentially throughout the submission using a superscript as they appear.
  7. Use abbreviations sparsely and only if well-known. Spell out the full term at first mention. Subsequent lines may then use the abbreviation.
  8. Use generic names of drugs.
  9. Be sure to list any conflicts of interest or any external funding when submitting.
  10. The methods section should mention if the study was approved by the IRB or if IRB approval was unnecessary.

*Any submission that does not abide by these guidelines will immediately be sent back to the author without review.

Authorship:

  1. Please ensure the authors are not only listed on the cover page attached to each submission, but also entered into the website when submitting. Please ensure that the order is correct on the website and cover page. Authorship order will not be changed/added after a manuscript is submitted to PSJM (effective May 15, 2020).
  2. Only authors that contributed to writing the manuscript or developing figures can be included as authors. Read more.
  3. Maximum Number of Authors:
    1. Original Article – Maximum of 10 Authors
    2. Abstract/Brief Report – Maximum of 5 Authors
    3. Case Report – Maximum of 5 Authors
  4. If additional individuals contributed to data collection they can be acknowledged on the separate title page under a separate acknowledgement section.

Separate Title Page:

  1. All submissions (case reports, brief reports, and original articles) must include a separate title page.
  2. This should include
    1. Title
    2. All authors with their affiliate organizations and degrees
    3. Corresponding author name and contact (phone and email)
    4. Any disclosures or conflict of interest. If none then please write (No authors have any disclosures or conflicts of interest at this time)

Original Article:

*Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses, the abstract and text should be structured as an Original Article.

  1.  Length
    • Word Count: 4000 words (max)
    • Figures: 7 (max)
    • Tables: 4 (max)
    • References: 60 (max)
  2. Abstract:
    • Purpose: One or 2 sentences that simply state the purpose with no background information or hypothesis. 
    • Methods: Provide, with sufficient detail, the methods of the study including selection criteria. 
    • Results: Provide results, with data, P values, and standard deviation of mean or 95% confidence intervals. Present most important findings first. Please provide exact P values (not P <) and numbers to support your methods findings. 
    • Conclusions: State only what your study found; do not include extraneous information not backed up by the results.  
    • Original Articles: abstracts should be a maximum of 300 words and structured to include the following sections:
  3. Introduction
    • The introduction of an Original Article should succinctly state the problem or controversy that led you to undertake the study, including a concise review of only the most relevant literature. Conclude the introduction by stating the purpose of the study and your hypothesis. The purpose in the Introduction should match that of the Abstract.
  4. Methods
    • Describe the study design (prospective or retrospective, inclusion and exclusion criteria, duration). If prospective study, the number of enrolled subjects is reported in Methods. If retrospective, the study population (numbers, demographics, length of follow-up) should be in Results.
    • Include IRB and animal studies information. IRB approval is required for all human studies except retrospective and cadaver studies
    • The statistics that you have used to analyze the data should be described in detail. Use of the word significant requires your reporting an exact P value. Confidence intervals of 95% are required whenever the results of survivorship analysis are given in the text, tables, or figures. Use of the word correlation requires you to report the correlation coefficient.
  5. Results
    • Describe in detail the data obtained during the study following the order of the Methods to include final number of subjects, demographics, length of follow-up (mean and range). In general, scientific studies will not be accepted for publication without meeting this criterion. All data in the text must be consistent with the rest of the manuscript, including data in tables, figures, and legends. Present comparison data in tables and present as mean ± standard error of the mean with confidence intervals.
  6. Discussion
    • Be concise. The Discussion should start with the most important findings of your study. Is your hypothesis affirmed or refuted? Compare and contrast your study with others in the most relevant world literature, particularly the recent literature. A complete literature review is unnecessary.
    • At the end of the Discussion, under the subheading "Limitations," review the limitations of your study.
  7. Conclusions
    • Briefly state your new (or verified) view of the problem you outlined in the Introduction. Take special care to draw your conclusions only from your results and verify that your conclusions are firmly supported by your data. Most importantly, do not make concluding statements that are not supported by your data, lie beyond the scope of your study, or are unnecessary. The conclusions in the text must match those in the abstract.
  8. Tables and Figures
    • Must be included in relevant areas of text with appropriate title and figure legend.
    • These should be in the blinded manuscript and NOT as a separate attachment.
    • They should be titled with numbers in sequential order as they appear in text
  9. References
    • They should be listed in numerical order in NLM format and incorporated in the text throughout the manuscript.

Brief Report:

Similar to an original article, but more concise.

  1. Length
    • Word Count: 1000 words (max)
    • Figures: 4 (max)
    • Tables: 2 (max)
    • References: 40 (max)
  2. Abstract
    • No need for full structured abstract as in the original article. Rather a brief paragraph that includes goal of the study, methods used, results found and main takeaway conclusion. In less than 100 words.
  3. Introduction
    • The introduction of a brief report should succinctly state the problem or controversy that led you to undertake the study, including a concise review of only the most relevant literature. Conclude the introduction by stating the purpose of the study and your hypothesis. The purpose in the Introduction should match that of the Abstract.
  4. Methods
    • Describe the study design (prospective or retrospective, inclusion and exclusion criteria, duration). If prospective or a cadaver study, the number of enrolled subjects is reported in Methods. If retrospective, the study population (numbers, demographics, length of follow-up) should be in Results.
    • Include IRB and animal studies information. IRB approval is required for all human studies except retrospective and cadaver studies
    • The statistics that you have used to analyze the data should be described in detail. Use of the word significant requires your reporting an exact P value. Confidence intervals of 95% are required whenever the results of survivorship analysis are given in the text, tables, or figures. Use of the word correlation requires you to report the correlation coefficient.
  5. Results
    • Describe in detail the data obtained during the study following the order of the Methods to include final number of subjects, demographics, length of follow-up (mean and range). In general, scientific studies will not be accepted for publication without meeting this criterion. All data in the text must be consistent with the rest of the manuscript, including data in tables, figures, and legends. Present comparison data in tables and present as mean ± standard error of the mean with confidence intervals.
  6. Discussion
    • Be concise. The Discussion should start with the most important findings of your study. Is your hypothesis affirmed or refuted? Compare and contrast your study with others in the most relevant world literature, particularly the recent literature. A complete literature review is unnecessary.
    • At the end of the Discussion, under the subheading "Limitations," review the limitations of your study.
  7. Conclusions
    • Briefly state your new (or verified) view of the problem you outlined in the Introduction. Take special care to draw your conclusions only from your results and verify that your conclusions are firmly supported by your data. Most importantly, do not make concluding statements that are not supported by your data, lie beyond the scope of your study, or are unnecessary. The conclusions in the text must match those in the abstract.
  8. Tables and Figures
    • Must be included in relevant areas of text with appropriate title and figure legend.
    • These should be in the blinded manuscript and NOT as a separate attachment.
    • They should be titled with numbers in sequential order as they appear in text
  9. References
    • They should be listed in numerical order in NLM format and incorporated in the text throughout the manuscript.

Case Report:

  1.  Length
    • Word Count: 500 words (max)
    • Figures and Tables: 2 total (max)
    • References: 10 (max)
  2. Learning Objectives
    • List three learning objectives that will be conveyed from the case presentation and the subsequent discussion. These objectives will outline the knowledge that the reader can expect to acquire from reading the report.
  3. Case Description
    • Briefly describe the case with all relevant information including brief history, physical exam and diagnostic data in a well-organized manner. The order of the presentation should be similar to that of a clinical presentation. Include original presentation, pertinent findings, diagnosis and treatment.
  4. Discussion/Conclusion
    • Use recent peer-reviewed literature and your case to put forth a learning opportunity that can be applied to a wider population. The educational takeaway must be clearly defined in this section. In addition, summarize the key learning objectives in a few short sentences.
  5. Tables and Figures
    • Must be included in relevant areas of text with appropriate title and figure legend.
    • These should be in the blinded manuscript and NOT as a separate attachment.
    • They should be titled with numbers in sequential order as they appear in text
  6. References
    • They should be listed in numerical order in NLM format and incorporated in the text throughout the manuscript in superscript format

 

All authors must submit signed advisor acceptance form in order to considered for publication! The form can be found here. Only the corresponding author needs to upload the form.