AUTHOR GUIDELINES
1. GENERAL INFORMATION
The Journal of Pediatric Clinical Science publishes English-language manuscripts on general pediatrics, pediatric subspecialties, pediatric surgery, child and adolescent psychiatry, pediatric radiology, and related disciplines focusing on newborns, children, and adolescents.
The journal considers original articles, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, narrative reviews, case reports, and letters to the editor with a clear scientific, clinical, or educational contribution.
Submit manuscripts through the journal’s DergiPark submission system. All authors must approve the submission. Manuscripts must not be under consideration elsewhere. Disclose related publications, preprints, thesis-derived work, and previous conference presentations in the cover letter.
Authors must read these guidelines together with the journal’s Ethical Principles and Publication Policy.
2. EDITORIAL ASSESSMENT AND PEER REVIEW
Submissions are initially assessed for scope, originality, methodological quality, ethical suitability, and compliance with these guidelines. Manuscripts may be declined without external review.
Manuscripts proceeding to external review are evaluated by at least two independent reviewers. The journal uses double-anonymous peer review. Reviewers are selected with attention to subject expertise, institutional diversity, and potential conflicts of interest.
When reviewer recommendations differ, the editor may seek an additional review or make a reasoned decision based on the available assessments. The final decision rests with the editor.
Submissions involving editors or editorial board members are handled independently, without participation by the author concerned in reviewer selection or editorial decisions.
3. GENERAL FORMAT AND ANONYMIZATION
Submit an editable Microsoft Word document using 12-point Times New Roman, double spacing, 2.5 cm margins, consecutive page numbers, and continuous line numbering.
Use clear English and consistent terminology. Define abbreviations at first use in both the abstract and main text. Use generic drug names and standard units of measurement.
Remove author names, affiliations, identifying acknowledgments, file-property information, comments, and tracked changes from the clean manuscript. Use “[blinded for peer review]” where necessary. Cite previous work neutrally without identifying it as the authors’ own.
Funding, Conflicts of Interest, Author Contributions, and Acknowledgments must be provided on the separate title page during submission and revision. They will appear at the end of the final published article.
4. SUBMISSION FILES
Required files:
• Separate title page.
• Anonymized main manuscript.
• Cover letter.
• Completed journal copyright/publication agreement form.
Additional files, where applicable:
• Figures.
• Supplementary material.
• Reporting guideline checklists and flow diagrams.
• Ethics approval or exemption documentation, supplied confidentially to the editorial office.
Do not include confidential administrative documents or identifiable consent forms in files intended for reviewers or public supplementary material.
5. TITLE PAGE
Provide:
• Full manuscript title and article type.
• Running title of no more than 50 characters, including spaces.
• Full author names and institutional affiliations, including department, institution, city, and country.
• ORCID iDs for all authors.
• Corresponding author’s postal and email addresses.
• Abstract and main-text word counts.
• Numbers of tables and figures.
• Details of previous presentations, preprints, or thesis origin, where applicable.
• Complete ethics approval information when anonymized in the main manuscript.
Include the following separate declarations:
Funding
Identify financial and material support, grant numbers where applicable, and the funder’s role in study design, data collection, analysis, writing, and the decision to submit. Explicitly state when no funding was received.
Conflicts of Interest
Disclose relevant financial and non-financial relationships for all authors. Explicitly state when no conflicts exist.
Author Contributions
Identify each author’s substantive contribution. CRediT roles may be used. The statement must clearly describe individual responsibilities; listing a contribution does not, by itself, establish eligibility for authorship.
Acknowledgments
Recognize contributions that do not qualify for authorship. Obtain permission from named individuals. State “None” when not applicable.
6. ARTICLE TYPES AND LIMITS
Original Articles
Main text: up to 3,500 words.
Abstract: up to 250 words, structured as Objective, Methods, Results, and Conclusion.
References: up to 40.
Tables and figures: up to six combined.
Main sections: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion.
Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses
Main text: up to 5,000 words.
Abstract: up to 250 words, structured as Objective, Methods, Results, and Conclusion.
References: up to 80.
Tables and figures: up to eight combined.
Main sections: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion.
Report the protocol and registration status, databases searched, complete search strategies, search dates, eligibility criteria, selection process, risk-of-bias assessment, and synthesis methods. Explain deviations from a registered protocol.
Narrative Reviews
Main text: up to 5,000 words.
Abstract: an unstructured paragraph of up to 250 words.
References: up to 80.
Tables and figures: up to six combined.
Use informative section headings and describe how the relevant literature was identified and selected.
Case Reports
Main text: up to 1,500 words.
Abstract: up to 150 words, structured as Background, Case Presentation, and Conclusion.
References: up to 15.
Tables and figures: up to four combined.
Main sections: Introduction, Case Presentation, Discussion, and Conclusion.
Describe the clinical course, diagnostic reasoning, interventions, follow-up, and principal learning points. Include a timeline where useful and a consent-for-publication statement.
Main-text limits exclude abstracts, references, tables, figure legends, and declarations. Justified exceptions may be considered by the editor.
Letters to the Editor
Main text: up to 750 words.
Abstract: not required.
Keywords: three to six.
References: up to 10.
Tables and figures: up to one combined.
Authors: up to five.
Letters may comment on articles published in the journal or discuss a focused issue relevant to its scope. They should present a concise, evidence-based argument and maintain a constructive and professional tone. A descriptive title is required; structured main-text headings are not necessary.
Letters concerning a published article should normally be submitted within six months of its publication and must cite the article discussed. The original authors may be invited to provide a response.
Letters are subject to editorial assessment and, when considered for publication, external peer review under the journal’s review policy. Letters must not be used to bypass the requirements for original research or case reports. Applicable ethics, consent, and disclosure requirements remain in effect.
7. ABSTRACTS AND KEYWORDS
Provide an informative English title and three to six keywords for all manuscript types. An English abstract is required for original articles, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, narrative reviews, and case reports. Letters to the Editor do not require an abstract. Prefer Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) for keywords where suitable.
The abstract in DergiPark must match the manuscript. State the principal findings accurately and avoid conclusions unsupported by the results. Do not include references, tables, or figures in the abstract.
8. REPORTING GUIDELINES AND STATISTICS
Use the current reporting guideline and relevant extensions appropriate to the study design:
• CONSORT: randomized trials.
• STROBE: observational studies.
• PRISMA: systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
• CARE: case reports.
• STARD: diagnostic accuracy studies.
• TRIPOD: prediction model studies.
• ARRIVE: animal research, where relevant to the journal’s scope.
Submit completed checklists and applicable flow diagrams. Reporting resources are available through the EQUATOR Network.
Describe study design, setting, recruitment dates, eligibility criteria, outcomes, sample-size rationale, and statistical methods sufficiently to permit appraisal and replication. Explain missing-data handling, confounder selection, and relevant model assumptions.
Report effect estimates and confidence intervals where appropriate. Provide exact p values, using p < 0.001 for smaller values. Distinguish prespecified analyses from exploratory analyses and statistical significance from clinical importance. Identify software and version numbers.
9. RESEARCH ETHICS AND CONSENT
Authors must affirm compliance with research and publication ethics. Human research must follow the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and applicable institutional and national requirements.
Research requiring ethics review must have appropriate approval before the research begins. Retrospective design does not automatically remove the need for review. When approval or consent is waived, identify the responsible authority and explain the basis of the waiver. Supply supporting documentation confidentially when requested.
During peer review, include an anonymized ethics statement in the Methods section and full committee details on the title page. In the final publication, the committee name, approval date, and reference number must appear in the Methods section and in an ethics declaration on the first or final pages.
For pediatric research, explain parental or legal guardian permission and age- and capacity-appropriate assent where applicable.
Case reports require written informed consent for publication. Include a statement confirming that consent was obtained. Consent to treatment or research participation does not automatically cover publication.
Remove identifying information from text, images, radiological labels, pedigrees, and supplementary files. Retain consent records securely.
Animal studies must report relevant ethical approval and animal welfare measures.
10. TRIAL REGISTRATION AND DATA AVAILABILITY
Clinical trials must be registered in an appropriate public registry before enrollment of the first participant. Include the registry name and registration number in the abstract and manuscript. Explain any registration delay transparently.
Include a Data Availability statement before the references. State what data are available, where and under which access conditions, or why sharing is restricted or not applicable. Clinical trial reports must describe their data-sharing arrangements.
Do not promise access that conflicts with consent, confidentiality, or applicable restrictions. Anonymize identifying repository details during review where necessary and restore them before publication.
11. AUTHORSHIP AND ORIGINALITY
All authors must meet the ICMJE authorship criteria, approve the final version, and accept accountability for the work. Guest, honorary, and ghost authorship are unacceptable.
Authorship changes require a reasoned request, agreement from all affected authors, and editorial approval.
Plagiarism, fabricated or falsified data, deceptive image manipulation, duplicate publication, and citation manipulation are unacceptable. Textual similarity is assessed in context rather than through a numerical threshold alone. Authors may be asked to provide original data or images to resolve concerns.
12. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
AI tools cannot be listed as authors. Disclose generative AI use in the cover letter and in an appropriate manuscript statement, identifying the tool and its purpose. Research-related use must be described reproducibly in the Methods section.
Authors remain responsible for accuracy, originality, references, and confidentiality. AI-generated material must not be presented as authentic patient data, clinical images, or experimental findings.
13. REFERENCES
Use Vancouver style, following NLM conventions. Number references by first appearance in the text and cite them using Arabic numerals in parentheses. References first cited in tables or figure legends must follow the same sequence.
List the first six authors followed by “et al.” when there are more than six. Use standard journal abbreviations. Include DOIs where available. References must use Latin script; provide transliteration where necessary.
Journal article:
Author surname Initials. Article title. Abbreviated Journal Title. Year;volume(issue):pages or article number. doi:DOI.
Book:
Author surname Initials. Book title. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; Year.
Book chapter:
Chapter author surname Initials. Chapter title. In: Editor surname Initials, editor(s). Book title. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; Year. p. page range.
Website:
Author or organization. Page title [Internet]. Publication date [updated date, if available; cited access date]. Available from: URL.
Verify all references against their original sources. Identify preprints as preprints. Avoid unnecessary self-citation and do not cite retracted work without explicitly discussing its retracted status.
14. TABLES, FIGURES, AND SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL
Number tables and figures separately in citation order. Give each table a descriptive title and explain abbreviations in footnotes. Submit tables as editable text after the references.
Upload figures separately in TIFF, JPEG, or PNG format. Photographs should normally have a resolution of at least 300 dpi at the intended publication size; line drawings require higher resolution. Ensure labels remain legible.
Place figure legends at the end of the manuscript. Explain symbols, panel labels, and relevant imaging or staining details. Include scale bars where appropriate.
Obtain permission for reused material when required and acknowledge its source.
Label supplementary files clearly, cite them in the manuscript, and provide descriptive captions. Remove confidential and identifying information from files intended for publication.
15. REVISIONS AND FINAL PUBLICATION
Provide a point-by-point response, a marked revised manuscript, and a clean revised manuscript. Maintain anonymity in all reviewer-facing files.
After acceptance, restore identifying information as directed by the editorial office. Funding, Conflicts of Interest, Author Contributions, and Acknowledgments supplied on the title page will be incorporated at the end of the published article.
Authors must check proofs for accuracy, including names, affiliations, ORCID iDs, ethics information, and declarations. Substantive changes at proof stage require editorial approval.
Requests for withdrawal, appeals, and concerns about published work must be submitted through the journal’s official contact channel with the manuscript or article details and a clear explanation. These are handled under the journal’s Ethical Principles and Publication Policy.