Improving submission quality: the PAMJ moves for a stricter adherence to existing writing guidelines

In its effort to improve manuscript quality, the PAMJ will take a stricter approach to ensure adherence to existing publishing guidelines such as the STROBE statement and CARE guideline. Guidelines exist to standardize and improve the writing quality of manuscripts but are not instruments to evaluate the quality of research. From June 2021, all PAMJ Journals will require authors to include as an annex to their manuscript, a completed checklist of the relevant guidelines. Manuscripts not adhering to this new instruction will simply be rejected.

The PAMJ has adopted the STROBE statement for reporting observational studies and the CARE guideline for reporting case reports. These instruments have been translated into French and are available in the PAMJ instructions for authors. The journal will continue to organize seminars and workshops to publicize the use of the tools and build capacity for their, particularly among junior researchers.