Publication audit is considered a useful tool to evaluate the progress and plan for the future and we have been doing this exercise for the last couple of years.1-3 A careful look at the statistics for the Year 2014 reveals that there has been an increase in the number of submissions, a trend seen for the last few years consecutively. During the Year 2014, 1577 manuscripts were received from different countries. Table-I. A vast majority of the submissions were from China 524 followed by Turkey 441, Pakistan 255, Islamic Republic of Iran 107 and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 88.
Table I.
Country wise submissions during 2014.
| Country | Total |
|---|---|
| Algeria | 1 |
| Australia | 1 |
| Bangladesh | 8 |
| Brazil | 1 |
| Canada | 1 |
| China | 524 |
| Egypt | 2 |
| Ethiopia | 1 |
| Fiji | 1 |
| France | 3 |
| Germany | 1 |
| India | 24 |
| Indonesia | 2 |
| Iran | 107 |
| Iraq | 6 |
| Italy | 1 |
| Jordan | 2 |
| Korea | 14 |
| Malaysia | 37 |
| Nepal | 1 |
| Nigeria | 17 |
| Oman | 2 |
| Pakistan | 255 |
| Palestine | 1 |
| Poland | 3 |
| Romania | 10 |
| Russia | 1 |
| Saudi Arabia | 88 |
| Serbia | 1 |
| South Arica | 4 |
| Sweden | 1 |
| Taiwan | 2 |
| Tunisia | 1 |
| Turkey | 441 |
| UAE | 2 |
| UK | 1 |
| USA | 9 |
| Total | 1577 |
As regards submissions from Pakistan as expected most of the submissions were from Karachi 97 Lahore 40, Hyderabad and Peshawar 21 each while submissions from Islamabad and Rawalpindi were 18 and 17 respectively. Table-II. A total of three hundred one manuscripts were published during 2014 (acceptance rate of 19.8%) ten were rejected because of plagiarism while thirty manuscripts were withdrawn by the authors for various reasons. Table-III.
Table II.
City wise submissions from Pakistan during 2014.
| City | Total |
|---|---|
| Abbottabad | 4 |
| Azad Kashmir | 1 |
| Bahawalpur | 5 |
| Faisalabad | 5 |
| Gujrat | 2 |
| Hyderabad | 25 |
| Islamabad | 18 |
| Karachi | 97 |
| Khuzdar | 1 |
| Lahore | 40 |
| Malakand | 1 |
| Manshera | 1 |
| Mirpurkhas | 5 |
| Multan | 7 |
| Nawabshah | 1 |
| Peshawar | 21 |
| Quetta | 1 |
| Rawalpindi | 17 |
| Sawat | 1 |
| Sialkot | 1 |
| Toba Tek Singh | 1 |
| Total | 255 |
Table III.
PJMS manuscripts statistics of 2014 at a Glance
| Total Articles Published: | 301 |
| Total Articles Rejected: | 1192 |
| Rejected because of plagiarism: | 10 |
| Articles withdrawn by authors: | 30 |
| Under process: | 44 |
| Total Articles Received: | 1577 |
A vast majority of the published manuscripts during 2014 included original articles 248 followed by case reports 20 and Review articles ten. Table-IV. Among the published manuscripts ninety three were from Pakistan, eighty nine from China, sixty from Turkey and nineteen from Saudi Arabia. Table-V.
Table IV.
Category Wise Manuscript Published in 2014.
| Category | Jan-Feb 2014 | Mar-Apr 2014 | May-Jun 2014 | Jul-Aug 2014 | Sep-Oct 2014 | Nov-Dec 2014 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original Article | 41 | 39 | 36 | 44 | 42 | 46 | 248 |
| Case Report | 1 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 20 |
| Clinical Case Series | – | – | 1 | – | 2 | – | 3 |
| Short Comm. | – | – | 3 | 1 | – | 1 | 5 |
| Special Comm. | – | – | 1 | 1 | 2 | – | 4 |
| Editorial | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 2 |
| Correspondence | 2 | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | 4 |
| Review Article | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | 10 |
| Conference Proceeding | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | 1 |
| View Point | – | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | 3 |
| Leading Article | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
| Total | 49 | 47 | 49 | 52 | 51 | 53 | 301 |
Table V.
Country Wise Manuscript Published in 2014.
| Country | Jan-Feb 2014 | Mar-Apr 2014 | May-Jun 2014 | Jul-Aug 2014 | Sep-Oct 2014 | Nov-Dec 2014 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pakistan | 19 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 11 | 17 | 93 |
| Iran | – | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 14 |
| Turkey | 12 | 8 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 60 |
| China | 14 | 12 | 13 | 18 | 18 | 14 | 89 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 19 |
| Romania | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
| Malaysia | 1 | 2 | – | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| Bangladesh | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | 1 |
| Iraq | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | 1 |
| South Africa | – | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | 2 |
| USA | 1 | – | 2 | 1 | – | – | 4 |
| Korea | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 2 |
| Palestine | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 |
| Bahrain | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
| Poland | – | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | 2 |
| Nigeria | – | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Total | 49 | 47 | 49 | 52 | 51 | 53 | 301 |
The number of submissions increased to 1577 in 2014 from 1023 in 2012 and 1091 in the Year 2013. Most of the submissions during 2012 and 2013 were also from Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and China and this has seen a continuous increase in the number of submissions from these countries over the years. It not only shows the popularity of the Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences in these countries but also reflects that the authors are also satisfied with the processing and peer review system practiced by us. The biggest increase in submissions was witnessed from Peoples Republic of China starting from 189 in the Year 2012 to 325 in 2013 and 524 in the Year 2014. However, after pee review only 34 manuscripts from China were published during the Year 2012 and it increased to eighty in 2013 and eighty nine in the Year 2014. According to reports, China is the second biggest contributor to medical literature after United States of America which shows the tremendous research work being done by the Chinese research scientists and the recognition of research accomplishments by the Chinese Government. Similarly the number of manuscripts published from Turkey increased from thirty seven in 2012 to thirty eight in 2013 and eighty nine in 2014. The number of manuscripts accepted for publication after peer review from Saudi Arabia has also increased from sixteen in 2012 to seventeen in 2013 to nineteen in 2014. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has also made lot of investment in the health sector and has established many new medical schools and tertiary healthcare facilities and the researcher’s contribution to medical literature is recognized and appreciated while making selection and academic promotions which has resulted in promotion of research culture in the Kingdom.
However, the number of submissions and manuscripts published after peer review from Islamic Republic of Iran has been constantly decreasing over the years. The number of published manuscripts from Iran in 2012 was sixty three which slightly increased in 2013 to seventy but decreased in the Year 2014 to just fourteen. It is because of the fact that now we are very selective and the authors from Iran are encouraged to publish their research work in their own biomedical journals. The number of medical journals published from Iran has increased from ninety in 2004 to 437 in 2014. Hence, the authors from Iran also find it more convenient to publish their research work in their own journals while it also saves them the publication charges since most of the journals published from Iran are run and managed by the medical universities and most of them do not charge any publication fee.
In view of the past experience and the reported developments we are now also very selective as regards accepting case reports, Reviews and Meta Analysis. Only very rare case reports are accepted while Reviews and Meta analysis also remains a very low priority with us and the authors are advised to get it published in their own country. Another reason for decreased submissions and publication of manuscripts from Iran is that many of the manuscripts which include KAP studies, Surveys, routine me too studies or those which just have local relevance are not accepted for further processing and the authors are advised to submit it to their local journals.
On the whole, over the years we are quite satisfied with the progress which we have made and now as per Scopus the well known international database, Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences is included in the top Ten Biomedical Journals published from the Eastern Mediterranean Region. The other three medical journals from Pakistan included in this list are Journal of College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (JCPSP), Journal of Pakistan Medical Association (JPMA) and Journal of Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad. (JAMC). Table-VI. While the other three Pakistani medical journals included in this list has backing and are affiliated with leading medical institutions and organizations, inclusion of Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences in this list is a significant achievement considering the fact that it is a humble individual private effort. We are determined to further improve the quality of manuscripts accepted for publication, enhance the standard of the journal while every effort will also be made to reduce the processing and publication time remaining within our limited financial and human resources. However, at times the law and order situation in Karachi does affect the working which is something beyond our control. As the law and order situation improves, the processing and peer review process will be accelerated so that the authors do not have to wait for too long as regards processing of their manuscripts.
Table-VI.
Top 10 Medical Journals published from the Eastern Mediterranean Region
| No. | Journal Title | Country | H-index | Citation/paper | SJR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saudi Medical Journal | Saudia | 30 | 0.66 | 0.269 |
| 2 | Archives of Iranian Medicine | Iran | 25 | 1.25 | 0.369 |
| 3 | Journal of Pakistan medical association | Pakistan | 25 | 0.51 | 0.220 |
| 4 | Journal of college of Physicians & Surgeons Pakistan | Pakistan | 21 | 0.48 | 0.218 |
| 5 | Current Aging Science | UAE | 18 | 2.34 | 0.882 |
| 6 | Pakistan Journal of Nutrition | Pakistan | 17 | 0.37 | 0.249 |
| 7 | Egyptian Society of Parasitology | Egypt | 17 | 0.38 | 0.205 |
| 8 | Journal of Ayub Medical College | Pakistan | 16 | 0.11 | 0.161 |
| 9 | Anti-Infective Agents | UAE | 16 | 0.59 | 0.190 |
| 10 | Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences | Pakistan | 15 | 0.14 | 0.134 |
Source: SCOPUS.
REFERENCES
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