Perspectives in Clinical Research

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About the Journal 

Perspectives in Clinical Research is an official publication of the Indian Society for Clinical Research. This Journal will be published quarterly (January, April, July, October), as a forum for articles related to all aspects of clinical research.

The journal's full text is available online at http://www.picronline.org. The journal allows free access (Open Access) to its contents and permits authors to self-archive final accepted version of the articles on any OAI-compliant institutional / subject-based repository. The journal does not charge for submission, processing or publication of manuscripts.

The broad themes for articles are:

  • Clinical Research Methodology
  • Regulatory aspects of clinical research
  • Research Sites
  • Research Ethics
  • Clinical Research Management
  • Clinical Data Management
  • Biostatistics
  • Medical Writing
  • Training of Clinical Research professionals

The Journal is in agreement with instructions of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors for manuscript preparation (www.icmje.org). All articles submitted to the journal are subject to peer review.

  • Editorials and Review Articles will generally be by invitation. Contributors who wish to submit uninvited reviews may discuss details by e-mail with the editor prior to submission. Authors should be working in the area being reviewed and have sufficient expertise to critically evaluate the relevant literature.
  • Original Articles should be less than 3000 words in length and usually have up to 5 tables and figures taken together.
  • A case study is a column in which cases covering issues impacting clinical research conduct are discussed. These may contain up to 1500 words, and maximum of 10 references.
  • Letters to the Editor of around 500 words, discussing material published recently in the Journal or of relevance to clinical research, may be submitted.

Scope the Journal 

This peer review quarterly journal is positioned to build a learning clinical research community in India. This scientific journal will have a broad coverage of topics across clinical research disciplines including clinical research methodology, research ethics, clinical data management, training, data management, biostatistics, regulatory and will include original articles, reviews, news and views, perspectives, and other interesting sections. PICR will offer all clinical research stakeholders in India – academicians, ethics committees, regulators, and industry professionals -a forum for exchange of ideas, information and opinions.

Manuscript Submission

Manuscripts are to be submitted to Perspectives in Clinical Research as MS word file and sent to the editorial office at: editor @ iscr . org

Editorial process

All manuscripts submitted to the Journal will undergo an initial screening to exclude articles that do not conform to the Journal's instructions, are outside the Journal's scope, or are much below its threshold. The manuscripts are peer reviewed by experts in relevant disciplines. The Editorial Board reserves the right to revise or modify articles to conform to the Journal's style. The views expressed in the articles will, however, remain the opinion of the authors; the editorial board and the publishers accept no responsibility for these. Articles which do not strictly abide by the Instructions mentioned here are likely to be rejected without further review. After an article is published online, further changes can be made only as an Erratum, which will be hyperlinked to the article. Ethical violations may lead to a published retraction of the printed article by the Journal. Accepted manuscripts become the permanent property of the Journal and may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without the written permission of the editor.

Conflict Of Interest And Ethical Standards

Conflict of interest

When an author or the institution of the author has a relationship, financial or otherwise, with individuals or organizations that could influence the author's work inappropriately, a conflict of interest may exist. All authors must disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest. The Journal may publish such disclosures if judged to be important to readers.

Ethical standards –Informed consent

Manuscripts containing the results of experimental studies on human participants must disclose in the Methods section whether informed consent was obtained from patients in the study after the nature of the procedure had been fully explained to them. In addition, a statement affirming approval of the IEC should be included.

Protection of Patients' Right to Privacy 
Identifying information should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, sonograms, CT scans, etc., and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian, wherever applicable) gives informed consent for publication. Authors should remove patients' names from figures unless they have obtained informed consent from the patients. The journal abides by ICMJE guidelines:

1)     Authors, not the journals nor the publisher, need to obtain the patient consent form before the publication and have the form properly archived. The consent forms are not to be uploaded with the cover letter or sent through email to editorial or publisher offices.
2)   If the manuscript contains patient images that preclude anonymity, or a description that has obvious indication to the identity of the patient, a statement about obtaining informed patient consent should be indicated in the manuscript.

Manuscript Prepration

Title Page should include:

  • A concise and informative title
  • Name(s) of author(s
  • Affiliation(s) and address(es) of the author(s)
  • E-mail address, telephone and fax numbers of the corresponding author. Telephone / fax numbers should include country code and city code.

Abstract
For original research articles, please provide a structured abstract of up to 250 words which should be divided into the following sections: Purpose/Aim (stating the main purposes and research question), Methods, Results, and Conclusion. Reviews should have a nonstructured abstract of up to 250 words. The abstract should not contain any undefined abbreviations or references. The first time an abbreviated term is used, spell it out in full and follow with the abbreviation in parentheses – for example: informed consent form (ICF).

Key words

Please provide 4 to 6 key words which can be used for indexing purposes.

Text
For original articles, organize the text into an introductory section that conveys the background and purpose of the report, and then into sections titled “Materials and Methods," “Results," and “Discussion."

Text Formatting

  • Articles should be formatted as Rich Text Format (.rtf) documents using Microsoft Word or equivalent software.
  • Use 12-point Times Roman font for text.
  • Use italics for emphasis.
  • Use the page numbering function to number the pages.
  • Use tab stops or other commands for indents, not the space bar.
  • Use the table function, not spreadsheets, to make tables.
  • Do not insert figures in the text.

Save your file in two formats: doc and rtf. The journal does not accept docx files.

  • Heading levels, numbering Please use no more than three levels of displayed headings.

Abbreviations And Acronyms

  • Abbreviations should be defined at first mention and used consistently thereafter.

Terminology

  • Generic names of drugs and chemicals are preferred; if trade names are used, the generic name should be given at first mention.

Acknowledgments to individuals (other than authors) should be placed in a separate section before the reference list. The acknowledged individuals should have extended their direct help to the reported study. Names of funding organizations should be written in full. Authors are advised to obtain consent of those acknowledged.

Tables

  • All tables should numbered using Arabic numerals.
  • Tables should always be cited in text in consecutive numerical order.
  • For each table, please supply a table heading. The table title should explain clearly and in brief all components of the table.
  • Identify any previously published material by providing the original source in the form of a reference at the end of the table heading.
  • Footnotes to tables should be indicated by superscript lower-case letters (or asterisks for significance values and other statistical data) and included beneath the table body.

Figures

  • All figures should numbered using Arabic numerals.
  • Figure parts should be denoted by lowercase letters.
  • Figures should always be cited in text in consecutive numerical order.
  • For each figure, please supply a figure caption.
  • Make sure to identify all elements found in the figure in the caption.
  • Identify any previously published material by giving the original source in the form of a reference at the end of the caption.

​References

The list of References should only include works that are cited in the text and that have been published or accepted for publication. Personal communications and unpublished works should only be mentioned as such in parentheses in the text. Do not use footnotes or endnotes as a substitute for a reference list. Citations in the text should be identified by numbers in superscript font, after the punctuation mark. Reference list entries should be numbered consecutively. Please include the names of all authors if up to six; if the number is more than 6, the first three authors' names should be listed, followed by et al.

Journal Article:

In references to journal articles, please include (1) surname and initials (without periods) of the first six authors, and if the number is more than 6, please list the first three authors' names, followed by et al, (2) article title, (3) abbreviated journal name, (4) year, (5) volume number, and (6) inclusive page numbers, in that order. An example follows:

Potkar CN, Abraham P, Shah M, Suvarna V, Bowalekar S. A survey of perceptions about clinical research science and ethics J Ind Society for Clin Res 2009; 1:23-28.

Complete Book:

In references to books, please include (1) surname and initials (without periods) of the first three authors and et al for all others, (2) chapter title, if any, (3) editor(s), if any, (4) title of book, (5) city of publication, (6) publisher, (7) year, and (8) inclusive page numbers. Volume and edition numbers, and name of translator should be included when appropriate. Example follows:

1. Steinbrook R. The Gelsinger Case in Emanuel E (ed) The Oxford Textbook of Clinical Research Ethics New York Oxford,2008 ; pp 110-120.

Online Document:

Doe J (1999) Title of subordinate document. In: The dictionary of substances and their effects. Royal Society of Chemistry. Available via DIALOG. http://www.rsc.org/ dose/title of subordinate document. Accessed 15 Jan 1999 Note: Always use the standard abbreviation of a journal's name according to the ISSN List of Title Word Abbreviations, see http://www.issn.org/2-22661-LTWAonline.php

After Acceptance

Upon acceptance of an article, the text will be edited, typeset and sent to the corresponding author for final approval.

Reprints

Reprints order and payment for reprints must be placed at the time of approval of proofs. The Journal does not supply any free reprints. Correspondence related to publication and other matters concerning the Journal should be addressed to the Editor by email at editor @ iscr . org

Legal Requirements

Submission of a manuscript implies: that the work described has not been published before; that it is not under consideration for publication anywhere else; that its publication has been approved by all co-authors, if any, as well as by the responsible authorities – tacitly or explicitly – at the institution where the work has been carried out. The Journal or the publisher will not be held legally responsible should there be any claims for compensation. Authors wishing to include figures, tables, or text passages that have already been published elsewhere are required to obtain permission from the copyright owner(s) and to include evidence that such permission has been granted when submitting their papers. Any material received without such evidence will be assumed to originate from the authors. Authors will be asked to transfer copyright of the article to the Society (or grant the Publisher exclusive publication and dissemination rights). This will ensure the widest possible protection and dissemination of information under copyright laws. Authors should also state that they have full control of all primary data and that they agree to allow the journal to review their data if requested. Therefore the manuscript must be accompanied by the “Copyright Transfer Form". Submissions received without the signed Authors' Declaration will not be processed.

Contributors' form .

Click here to download instructions

These ready to use templates are made to help the contributors write as per the requirements of the Journal.

Save the templates on your computer and use them with a word processor program. 
Click open the file and save as the manuscript file.

In the program keep 'Document Map' and 'Comments' on from 'View' menu to navigate through the file. 


Download Template for Original Articles/ABSTRACT Reports. (.DOT file)

Download Template for Case Reports.  (.DOT file)

Download Template for Review Articles.  (.DOT file)

Download Template for Letter to the Editor.  (.DOT file)​