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Guidelines for Contributors

AIMS AND SCOPE OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL OF KENYA

The Pharmaceutical Journal of Kenya (PJK) is devoted to publish original research articles, reviews and short communications. Edited at the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya National Office, PJK covers all aspects of pharmaceutical and life sciences. PJK provides a platform to all scientists, researchers, academicians, industrialists and readers to share their ideas, knowledge, information and research findings among the people of their own fraternity. PJK also accepts letters to the Editor.

All submissions must be made in English.

EDITORIAL POLICY

The PJK accepts only original communications/articles/write-ups submitted exclusively to the journal. Prior and duplicate publications are not allowed. Publication of abstract under conference proceedings will not be considered as prior publication. It is the duty of the contributors to inform the PJK about all submissions and previous reports that might be considered prior or duplicate. Manuscripts for publication will be considered on their individual merits.

PEER REVIEW PROCESS

All Submissions to the journal are initially reviewed by the editorial team. At this stage manuscripts may be returned to the author for revision, before peer review, if the manuscript does not comply with editorial policies. Thereafter, manuscripts are sent out for peer review, usually to two independent reviewers.

After evaluation, the external reviewers shall choose between the following decisions:

  1. Accept with or without minor revisions;
  2. Propose major revisions that the authors must make, to address specific concerns before a final decision is reached; or
  3. Reject, but indicate to the authors that further work might justify a resubmission.

If the decision is what is classified as ‘Minor Revision’ or ‘Major Revision,’ the author shall have 14 days to resubmit the revised manuscript.

Upon resubmission, and having been satisfied that such revision as may have been initially proposed has been made, the editorial team may choose to send the manuscript back to the reviewers, or may render a decision based on their expertise. The editorial team has the discretion of rejecting a manuscript whose author fails to revise upon such recommendation thereby.

Ordinarily, the contributors may suggest referees working in the same area for manuscript evaluation, but the final choice of reviewers is a preserve of the Editorial Board.

ETHICS

The PJK highly values ethical practices in both human and animal experiments. Evidence of approval by a local Ethics and Research Committee must be supplied by the authors on demand. Animal experimental procedures should be as ethical as possible and the details of anaesthetics and analgesics used should be clearly stated. The ethical standards of experiments must meet the highest internationally accepted standards. The journal will not consider any paper which is ethically unacceptable. A statement on Ethics & Research Committee permission and ethical practices must therefore be included in all research articles under the ‘Materials and Methods’ section.

PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism is the practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own. Plagiarism is a criminal offense and punishable by law. To curb this increasingly dominant menace, PJK advises that all accepted manuscripts must be solely the work of the authors, and in the event that ideas and/or works need to be borrowed, proper citation guidelines must be adhered to.

To help in avoiding plagiarism, the following guidelines shall be strictly followed:

The PJK encourages authors to avoid the representation of the words or ideas of another as one’s own, wherefore the below guidelines must be observed at all times:

  • Original content/work is highly recommended;
  • When material is from another source, the same should be paraphrased or summarized in whole or in part in one’s own words and must be cited properly according to Vancouver referencing method;
  • Every direct quotation must be identified by quotation marks, with footnotes appropriately placed;
  • When using other authors’ ideas as sources in writing a paper, the author shall bear the responsibility to represent others’ ideas accurately.

The editorial panel shall review all papers before publication, and when plagiarized content is discovered, such submitted paper shall be sent back to the author for proper citation.

The consequences of plagiarism are dire including, but not limited to, litigation and readers losing confidence in the journal and the writers as a whole, which is a focal point of dissemination of scientific data and the author is discredited by his/her peers and. The PJK will handle plagiarism discretionally on a case by case basis, and act appropriately as it deems fit whenever plagiarized content is discovered.

COPYRIGHT

Any article accepted for publication/published in the PJK will be the copyright of the Journal. The Journal will have the right to publish the accepted articles in any media (print, electronic or any other) any number of times. The contributors should agree to transfer copyright and sign a declaration to this effect.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

A submission is accepted on the basis that there is no competing interest regarding the publication. Authors are required to disclose all potential conflicts of interest a priori.

The editors strive to ensure that publications are original works and reflect standards set by the PJK, subject to PJK’s anti-plagiarism policy herewith annexed.

INFORMED CONSENT

All prior consent from co-authors of a publication must have been in agreement at the time of submission. The PJK team shall not be held liable if such consent was not obtained.

HUMAN AND ANIMAL RIGHTS

It is mandatory that all research attributed to a publication must be carried out within an appropriate ethical framework. There should be no infringement on human and animal rights. If a new technical advance has been used during research, the author must provide justification for employing such a non-conventional method.

FORMAT AND STYLE OF MANUSCRIPT

Authors should keep their articles simple, explicit and as short as possible. Recent issues of the PJK should be consulted as a guide for the general format adopted in respect to various elements of a paper. Identity of the author(s) must NOT appear anywhere in the manuscript, except on the first page.

 

SUBMISSION OF ARTICLES

Contributors should submit one electronic copy in MS Word as follows;

Formatting of document body;
Font style: Book Antiqua
Font size: 10
Page set up: 1 inch margin on all sides
Pagination: Consecutively (page 1 of x)
Formatting of document Title;
Font style: Book Antiqua
Font size: 14
Lines: Not more than 2
Abbreviations: None

Presentation of Articles:

  1. Article length: 1–12 pages
  2. Authors: Lead author’s name first, surname followed by 2 initials e.g. Njuguna A. K.
  3. Authors’ affiliation (e.g. Institution), complete postal and email addresses.
  4. Abstract: Not exceeding 300 words excluding the title and the key words. No abbreviations. Abstract not required for short communications. Presentation of Abstract to be in the same format as the Format for Article Content below. However, the Title should not have authors’ names or affiliations. The abstract must be concise, clear and informative.
  5. Key words: 3-6 key words to be listed.
  6. Declaration of sources of funding, technical or any other support related to the research/article.

Format for manuscript content:

Abstract

Introduction

Aim/Objective

Methodology

Results/Findings

Discussion/Conclusion and Recommendations

References

References Vancouver style:

References are to be cited in the text by superscripted (or in square brackets) number and should be in the order in which they appear. References cited only in tables or in legends to figures should be numbered in accordance with a sequence established by the first identification in the text of the particular table or illustration. As far as possible, mentioning names of author(s) for reference should be avoided in the text. The number of references should normally be restricted to a maximum of 25 for a full paper, most of them preferably being articles published in the last 5 years. Papers which have been submitted and accepted, but not yet published may be included in the list of references with the name of the journal and indicated as “In press.” Use of abstracts as references should be avoided. The “unpublished observations” and “personal communications” may not be used as references but may be inserted (in parentheses) in the text. The Reference list should begin on a new page and typed double-spaced in the Vancouver style.

RIGHT TO REJECT ARTICLE

The editors reserve the right to reject an article for publication if it does not meet the requirements of the Pharmaceutical Journal of Kenya. If an Article is adjudged suitable and publishable in PJK, the editors will have the final say on the Journal number and Section in which it will appear.


Articles should be submitted to:

The Editor-in-Chief,

Professor Jennifer A. Orwa, PhD, MSc., B.Pharm, FPSK, OGW
Pharmaceutical Journal of Kenya,
P.O. Box 44290 – 00100 GPO,
NAIROBI, KENYA.

Email: journal@psk.or.ke