Editorial Process

Pakistan Journal of Translational and Applied Medicine (PJTAM)

At PJTAM, we are committed to a transparent, ethical, and scientifically rigorous editorial process. Every manuscript submitted to the journal undergoes a comprehensive review to ensure it meets our standards of research excellence, ethical compliance, and translational relevance. The editorial workflow outlined below guides each submission from initial receipt to final publication.

1. Manuscript Submission

All manuscripts must be submitted through the official PJTAM online portal:
https://scholarclub.org/index.php/PJTAM
Submissions must fully adhere to the journal’s formatting, ethical, and technical guidelines, as specified in the author instructions.

2. Initial Screening and Plagiarism Check

Upon submission, the editorial office conducts a preliminary review to ensure that the manuscript:

  • Falls within the journal's scope

  • Meets ethical standards (including institutional review board approval if applicable)

  • Passes plagiarism detection software (e.g., Turnitin)

Manuscripts with a similarity index exceeding 10% may be returned or rejected.

3. Assignment to Section Editor

If the manuscript passes initial checks, it is assigned to a Section Editor or Associate Editor with subject-matter expertise. The editor evaluates its scientific quality, originality, and relevance to translational medicine.

4. Double-Blind Peer Review

Qualifying manuscripts are sent for double-blind peer review. The identities of both authors and reviewers remain confidential. At least two independent reviewers assess each manuscript based on:

  • Originality and contribution to knowledge

  • Research design and methodological soundness

  • Clinical or public health significance

  • Data integrity and statistical analysis

  • Ethical compliance

5. Reviewer Recommendations

After thorough evaluation, reviewers provide one of the following recommendations:

  • Accept without revisions

  • Accept with minor revisions

  • Major revisions required (revise and resubmit)

  • Reject

6. Editorial Decision

Based on reviewers’ comments and recommendations, the Section Editor (in consultation with the Editor-in-Chief, when necessary) makes a final editorial decision. The corresponding author is notified via a formal decision letter that includes anonymized reviewer feedback and revision instructions.

7. Author Revisions

Authors are expected to submit revised manuscripts within the given timeframe. Revisions must be accompanied by a detailed response letter addressing each reviewer comment. Depending on the nature of the revisions:

  • The manuscript may be re-reviewed by the original reviewers

  • Or assessed directly by the editorial team

8. Final Acceptance

Once all revisions are deemed satisfactory, the manuscript is formally accepted by the editorial board and proceeds to the production stage.

9. Copyediting and Proofreading

Accepted manuscripts undergo professional copyediting to ensure clarity, grammatical precision, and formatting consistency. Authors receive the final proof for approval prior to publication.

10. Online Publication

The final article is published in the upcoming issue of PJTAM and made immediately accessible online as open access under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

11. Post-Publication Promotion

PJTAM actively promotes all published articles through:

  • Indexing in academic and healthcare databases

  • Distribution across medical and scientific communities

  • Email newsletters and targeted communications

  • Academic collaborations and citation networks

Authors are encouraged to share their articles widely to increase visibility and scholarly impact.