Manuscript Preparation and Submission Guidelines

Print, Length, And Formatting

  1. The manuscript should be typed in MS Word, with a compulsory ‘Abstract’ maximum of 960 characters and spaces, on a separate sheet of paper.
  2. The manuscript should be typed in single spacing on “A4 size paper with 1.5" margins on both sides.
  3. Manuscript should not exceed 5000 words without spaces, including references and notes; excluding tables and figures (although the Editor retains the discretion to publish papers beyond this length).
  4. There should be no more than 30 references.
  5. All sheets must be numbered.
  6. All main/first-level headings (i.e. Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, and References) will be uppercase and bold with 12 Font Size.
  7. All second-level headings (i.e. Participants, Measures, Procedure, and Statistical Analysis) will be sentence case, bold and italic with 11 Font Size.
  8. All third level headings (i.e. Names of Measures) will be sentence case and bold with 11 Font Size.
  9. Manuscript will be submitted via Journal’s website pjpku.com and it should not include any author’s and his institution information or any information that can reveal author’s identity.
  10. A separate ‘Title Page’ must be submitted separately that includes title of the manuscript, author(s)’s full name, Institutional affiliation, mailing address, contact number and email IDs, acknowledgment, details of conflict of interest, disclosures and details of contribution of each author.
  11. Author’s ‘Agreement Form’ must be submitted separately with manuscript and title page.

Sequence

 Manuscript should follow the sequence as Abstract; Introduction; Methodology; Results; Discussion and References (other legends and acknowledgements should be provided in the last).

 Abstract

Abstract should follow the following format, in the form of a paragraph: Objectives; sample description; measures (with references), statistical method, results; and conclusion. It should be not more than 960 characters and spaces.

Introduction

Its main objective is to introduce the purpose of the research. The rationale for the study with appropriate and relevant similar work is included in this section. Literature review on only strictly permanent matters should be cited. Methodology of previous work and data should be avoided, except in the case of logical necessity.

Method

The sample description, sampling technique, design of study, measures used, procedure and statistical method application should be described in this section in detail to allow replication of the study. This section should follow the sequence as

Participants

This section must include detailed information about sample i.e. population of interest, sample size, their demographic characteristics, sampling technique, from where the sample was recruited, and inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Measures

Measures used should be described in this section. The measures should be identified with Author/ publisher’s name and reference. If any sort of permission and consent was taken from an authority it should be clearly mentioned. For each measure, state number of dimensions (sub-scale) as appropriate, number of items, scale of measurement (e.g. Likert scale- how many options and what they were). What low value and high value mean (e.g. higher value indicates higher levels of reported stress). Then reliability coefficient (usually Cronbach’s Alpha).

Procedure

This section must include description of how participants were approached, selected and recruited. What information was given to recruit them (rights to refuse, discontinue, anonymity, confidentiality etc.)? How did they access the questionnaires? How did the inform consent was sought?

Scoring & Statistical Analysis

This section must include description of the scoring procedure and statistical methods used for testing the hypothesis.

Results

Results should be presented in a logical sequence in tables and illustrations.

  1. Tables should be comprehensible without reference to the text, should be typed in single spacing, each on a separate page with self-explanatory title.
  2. This section should include only the presentation of results in table form; interpretation of the results will be reported in discussion section.
  3. Tables should be numbered consecutively in Roman numerical in the order they are mentioned in the text.
  4. Abbreviations should be explained in footnotes. In case of use of graphs, scatter grams and histograms; numerical data on which they are based should be supplied.
  5. Figures can be included at the end of the document or attached as separate files, carefully labeled in initial capital/lower case lettering with symbols in a form consistent with text use.
  6. Unnecessary background patterns, lines and shading should be avoided.

Discussion

It should consist of author’s analysis of results, comments, arguments supported by identical work done by other authors as well as analysis of other similar work and justification of results in Pakistani cultural context. This section should also include a concluding paragraph to bring the whole study together and a paragraph on limitations of the study under investigation.

References

Follow APA Publication Manual (7th ed.) to seek guidance for reference citation in text and in reference list.

References cited in the text must appear in the list at the end of the article in the following style and typed in single spacing:

Ansari, K., & Sadiq, U. (2006). A dimensional model of personality and borderline features: Correlational analysis. Pakistan Journal of Psychology, 37(1), 75-89.

Zelkowitz, P., & Milet, T. H. (1995). Screening for post-partum depression in a Community sample. In E. H. Hagen (1999), The functions of postpartum depression. Evaluation and Human Behavior, 20, 325-359.


Note: For further convenience and understanding see the latest issue of Pakistan Journal of Psychology.