Policies and Practices

Policy Document (PDF)

Frequency of Journal

PJP is a Biannual Research Journal. It publishes two issues per year. The first issue is released on 30th of June of every year and second issue is released 31st of every December.

Authorship

Authorship credit and ‘principal authorship’ should be decided prior to submitting research and only those manuscripts will be considered for publishing which is accompanied by the “Agreement Form” signed by all authors in the agreement of authorship.

Authorship credit should be based on meeting the following criteria:

  1. Substantial contribution to initial research concept or design, data collection and/or analysis and interpretation of data
  2. Manuscript initial drafting and revising and introducing fundamental changes in it
  3. Final drafting and approval of the version to be published

Authorship credit should reflect the individual's contribution to the study. Editors retain the right to request information about the contributions of each person in writing the manuscript. Providing funding or resources, mentorship, or contributing research but not helping with the publication itself do not necessarily qualify for authorship.

Acknowledgements

 Authors should also appropriately recognize the contributions of technical staff and data professionals. All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship (e.g., financial support) should be listed in the section “Acknowledgements” (financial disclosure). It is expected that those being acknowledged have given their permission to be named.

Disclosure and Conflict of Interest

The PJP expects from author(s) to declare all potential conflict of interests of financial or non-financial and professional or personal nature that can arise in relationship to an institution, organization, or another person. Of special importance is that if the original research study reported in the manuscript or the preparation of the manuscript was supported by one or more grants, the title and number of the grant(s) and the name of the institution(s) that provided the grants or financial support to conduct, analyze or write-up the study, must be specified in the manuscript.

Editors of PJP may use information disclosed in conflict-of-interest and financial-support statements as a basis for editorial decisions. Failure to declare conflict of interest prior to publication may result in immediate rejection of the manuscript. Any conflict of interest that comes to light after publication will lead to a disciplinary action following COPE Guidelines.

Ethical Oversight

The PJP requires authors to pay due respect to the well-being and dignity of research participants.

  1. Research involving human participants must have obtained prior approval by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) or equivalent ethics committee(s). Submit, upon request, documentation from the review board or ethics committee confirming approval of the research.  
  2. American Psychological Association’s Ethical Guidelines on Conducting Research with Human Participants must be shown to have been carefully followed.
  3. Authors are requested to avoid the use of sexist language.

 Originality and Plagiarism Policy

 Authors of the manuscript are required to submit Agreement Form duly signed by all the authors that declares originality, not being considered for publication in any other journal, authorship consent and nomination of corresponding author.

Authors must not engage in plagiarism or self-plagiarism. Exercising care for publishing only original research, Editors of PJP are committed to deterring plagiarism and self-plagiarism and may use anti-plagiarism software (Turnitin) to screen submitted manuscripts for similarity to previously published material. The manuscripts may be screened during the whole editorial cycle, including submission process and until the final publication in online or print form.

  1. Authors are required to make reasonable and diligent efforts to cite all sources that have been used in development of the submitted manuscript. Maximum 19% similarity index is allowed as per the mandatory condition of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan.
  2. Authors are responsible for acquiring written permission to publish lengthy quotations, illustrations, etc. for which they do not own copyright.
  3. If tables, illustrations, or photographs, which have already been published are included, a letter of permission for republication should be obtained from the author(s) as well as the editor of the journal where it was previously published.

Duplicate Publication

It is prohibited for an author to submit manuscripts describing essentially the same research to more than one journal of primary publication, unless it is a resubmission of a manuscript rejected for or withdrawn from publication. 

 Open Access Policy

 The PJP provides open access to its content grounded on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. Copyright for manuscripts published in PJP journals are retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the journal.

The PJP is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author’s responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author. All manuscripts published in PJP can be deposited in public and institutional repositories such as research gate, university libraries, personal websites etc.

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered on our site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of our journals and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

Call for Papers

The PJP gives ‘Call for Papers’ inviting submission for manuscript once or twice in a year.

Peer Review Policy

The PJP is a Double-Blind Peer Reviewed Research Journal. All manuscripts submitted to journal are sent to reviewer without the details of author and his institution.

 Correction and Retraction of Research Manuscript

If a manuscript is published on PJP and a mistake is discovered the Pakistan Journal of Psychology publishes corrections when necessary.

The PJP has a retraction policy in cases of evidence of unreliable data or findings, plagiarism, duplicate publication, and unethical research.

Manuscript Withdrawal Policy

Manuscript paper, once reviewed, cannot be withdrawn, provided the Editor / Editorial Board allows upon request of the author/s in some special cases.