Information for Authors

The manuscript will be reviewed for possible publication with the understanding that it is being submitted to JPID alone at that point in time and has not been published anywhere, simultaneously submitted or already acceptedfor publication elsewhere. The journal expects that the 'corresponding author' authorised by all the contributors will communicate with the journal for all matters related to the manuscript. The orderof naming contributors should be based on the relative contribution of the contributor towards the study and writing the manuscript. Once submitted the order cannot be changed without written consent of all the contributors. Conflicts of interest/competing interests, if any, must be disclosed.

All manuscripts received will be duly acknowledged. Submitted manuscripts will initially be reviewed by the Editors. Manuscripts with insufficient originality, serious scientific/technical flaws or lack of a significant message are rejected before proceeding for formal review. Manuscripts that are found suitable for publication in JPID are sent to two or more expert reviewers. The selection of these reviewers is at the sole discretion of the Editor. The journal follows a double blind review process, wherein the reviewers and the authors are unaware of each other's identity. Every manuscript will be assigned to a member of the editorial team, who based on the comments from the reviewers takes a final decision on the manuscript. The authors will be asked to modify the manuscript if needed. The comments and suggestions received from the reviewers are conveyed to the corresponding author. The whole process of submission of the manuscript to the final decision and sending and receiving proofs is completed online. Authors should make sure that the plagiarism should not exceed 5%.

Processing Schedule for Manuscripts:

1. Submission of a manuscript
2. Editorial review: initial assessment and assignment of tasks for the reviewing process to sub editor, section editors, or reviewers takes 5 to 7 working days.
3. Within two months of the initial submission date, authors will receive notification about the review process, any comments, or decisions. If a revised submission is made, it must be communicated within a month of the original submission date.
4. The date of the acceptance and the category of submission (original, review, or case reports) will determine the publication of manuscript.
5. Within five to seven working days, the editor will respond to to any queries via email.

Preparation of Manuscripts:
'Manuscripts (single word document file with doc or docx extension without exceeding 4MB file size and 7 pages) typed in British English should be uploaded in our website www.ipskerala.com. Text should be made in MS Word. Size 12 of 'Times New Roman' font with double spacing is recommended for the main text. Title page should contain NAME OF THE ARTICLE, NAME AND DESIGNATIONS OF ALL CONTRIBUTORS, ORCID ID of all authors (if available), and NAME, EMAIL & MOBILE NUMBER OF CORRESPONDING AUTHOR. For Headings, Size 16 and 20 can be used. PLEASE MENTION CLEARLY IN THE TITLE PAGE WHETHER YOUR RESEARCH/ARTICLE IS FUNDED & IF SO WHO HAS FUNDED IT., graphs and tables should be included in the main text. References from articles in journals, books and other monographs should be in the formats used by the NLM in Index Medicus. References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text (not in alphabetic order). Scanned image of signed Copyright transfer statement by corresponding author should be attached as a separate file (jpg, jpeg, or bmp format. Maximum size permitted is 1 MB).

All authors should read JPID Policy