A Guide to Academic Publishing in Pakistan Journals

A Guide to Academic Publishing in Pakistan Journals

Academic publishing is the cornerstone of disseminating scientific knowledge and research work. The publishing of research work ensures that it will gain visibility recognition and deliver its impact within the scientific community.

Within Pakistan, The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) is the central government organization that has played an essential role in the advancement of research output and in elevating Pakistan’s position in the international research landscape.  As a result, many papers from Pakistan have been published in international journals with significant citations.

To help Pakistani researchers and scholars, The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan has launched a platform known as the HEC Journal Recognition System (HJRS). This platform indexes and ranks both national and international journals. This allows researchers to choose the right journal for publication and avoid fake and fraudulent journals. HJRS observes strict criteria to ensure the credibility and reputation of the journal that is willing to be indexed.

HEC has also provided ethical guidelines for authors, editors, reviewers, and national journals. This is done to ensure the quality of national journals recognized by HEC and the quality of research papers.

This article discusses the publication process in Pakistan, its basic requirements, ethical guidelines by HEC, the HEC journal recognition system (HJRS), and a curated list of HJRS-indexed national and international journals.

The Importance of Publishing Research Papers

Publishing research work is central to scientific development. It promotes the new scientific research findings in the academic community. It also ensures the maximum visibility and recognition of the new findings. The recognition makes the research work more credible and aims to communicate new scientific discoveries and innovations. This also sets a stage for other scientists and researchers to base their research on, identify gaps, and get new research directions.

Journals are the platforms that publish research work from researchers around the world. The right journal will ensure the new research findings reach the right audience. Reputable journals will have more readerships, and the research published in these journals will have a more significant impact. Platforms such as HJRS and Clarivate journal citation report (JCR) can be used to identify quality journals.

 

Overview of research publication in Pakistan

Pakistan has seen a growing recognition of the significance of academic publishing. Efforts are being made at the government level to promote scientific research and publication. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has been the key to strengthening the research output.  This government body, HEC, has taken considerable steps in the process, such as an attempt to increase the number of Ph.D. graduates by providing international scholarship opportunities. Despite criticism over the quality of research and many other challenges, HEC has been striving hard to overcome the hurdles.

 The HEC journal recognition system (HJRS) has provided a gateway to Pakistani researchers who wish to publish their research work. HJRS enables researchers to choose a reputable journal to publish their research findings and to avoid fraudulent or fake journals. As a result, many research papers from Pakistan have been successfully published in international journals with significant citations and recognition.

With more awareness, more institutes recognise the need to promote research culture. Efforts are needed to address the challenges, such as limited mentorship and equipping students with necessary knowledge related to research while refraining from generalizing the issue of unethical practice in research publications. Pakistan can elevate its position in the international scientific landscape with proper research infrastructure and equip aspiring researchers and scholars with the necessary knowledge.

Guidelines for Research Publication

As discussed before, academic publishing is very important, so now the main question arises: How do you publish a research paper? Publishing a research paper has a pretty standard procedure. After writing the manuscript, the first step is to choose the right journal and shortlist the journals that align with your research scope. Also, factors such as impact factors, peer review process, and journal guidelines for manuscript submission should be considered.

Usually, the journals require the manuscript to be in a specific format. This includes guidelines for manuscript length, font style, size, spacing, margins, headings, and reference styles. Also, before submitting the manuscript, consider showing it to peers, colleagues, and mentors to seek feedback on the clarity and coherence of your research because, after submission, the manuscript will undergo the peer review process by the journal, where experts evaluate the manuscript.

Additionally, before choosing a research topic or writing a paper, consider understanding the existing literature. This will help to identify the gaps and to decide the research area or topic.  Following these basic guidelines will increase the chances of your manuscript being accepted for publication.

Publication ethics guidelines by HEC.

It is a joint effort of authors, editors, reviewers, and publishers to adhere to ethical guidelines to maintain the credibility of scientific research. Considering the importance of publication ethics, the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) has provided ethical guidelines that describe the responsibility of authors, editors, and reviewers. This is to ensure the credibility and professionalism of scientific research.

Ethical Guidelines for Authors

·       An author should not provide fake or inaccurate information to the manuscript.

·       The author should submit original work with due credit and proper citations and avoid plagiarism.

·       Authorship should be credited to those who have made significant contributions in research work.

·       No data of human participants obtained during research work should be made public without consent.

·       Authors should comply with the journal's manuscript preparation guidelines.

These guidelines should be considered when writing a research paper for publication.

HEC Journal Categories and Rankings

        The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) launched a general recognition system called the HEC Journal Recognition System (HJRS). HJRS indexes and ranks both national and international journals. The primary purpose of HJRS is to index quality journals to ensure the quality and credibility of published research.

HEC journal categories

·       The HEC journal recognition system recognizes and classifies journals into three categories, namely "W", "X", AND "Y" based on their quality. "W" is the highest, and "Y" is the lowest quality. For journals to be able to index in HJRS some criteria are to be fulfilled by the journal. Some of the points are:

·       The journal must have an online website, and the aims, objectives, and scope of publication should be clearly stated.

·       The Journal should have an ISSN no., title, and URL.

·       The journal's website should be easy to navigate and include an archive of previous issues.

·       The submission guidelines, article processing fee (APC), and funding source should be publicly available on the journal website.

·       The journal must be owned by a registered entity such as a university or research institute.

Additionally, the journal fulfilling the following criteria will be automatically recognized:

International: All international journals indexed in either Web of Science or Scopus will be recognized by HJRS. Those international journals dropped or placed on the list by the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) or the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) will also be dropped/ not recognized by HJRS.

National: All national journals indexed in either Web of Science or Scopus will be automatically recognized by HJRS. Those journals blacklisted by DOAJ or ABDC will also be dropped or not recognized by HJRS. However, national journals not recognized by either Web of Science or Scopus and want to get recognized in the Y category by HJRS will be facilitated if they fulfil the registration criteria.

This characterization of national and international journals helps Pakistani researchers and scholars to choose reputed journals and avoid fraudulent and fake journals.

Challenges and responses in the publication process in Pakistan

The pressure to publish and its impact has become a prominent issue in academic communities. The number of publications and metrics have become indicators of academic success. HEC has also linked publications with career promotion. This led to researchers and scholars to publish in predatory journals, thus undermining research development.

In response to this, HEC has taken measures by providing guidelines for authors, editors, and publishers and also publishing a list of fake journals and websites along with disqualifying fraudulent journals

According to the latest data, 371 Pakistani journals are indexed by HEC in various disciplines. In terms of ranking, Pakistani journals are in the infancy stage, with only a small percentage of journals indexed in Scopus and Web of Science. This indicates limited visibility of Pakistani journals on the international stage.

HEC-approved international journals

HEC journal recognition system (HJRS) is a digital database maintained by HEC. This database has all the international journals recognized by HEC. These international journals are classified into any of the three categories, i.e. W, X, and Y, on the basis of the journal's Journal Prestige Index (JPI). This way, Pakistani researchers and scholars will be able to recognize reputable journals. These journals can easily be searched on the HJRS website using the ISSN number. Some international journals on the HJRS website are:

·       Journal of Experimental Medicine

·       Nature Reviews Immunology

·       Academy of Management Journal

·       Journal of Marketing

·       Nature Microbiology

·       IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence    

·       ACM Computing Surveys

·       Journal of Econometrics

·       Political Psychology

Understanding Pakistan Journals

In terms of academic journals, Pakistan has a diverse range of journals that cover various fields such as management, business, economics, and biological sciences. etc. some Pakistani journals are:

Pakistan Journal of Botany

·       ISSN: 0556-3321

·        Pakistan Journal of Botany is a journal that publishes papers with research work related to plant sciences. This journal has a JPI score of 45 and is included in the “X” category by the HJRS. It covers areas of plant sciences such as ecology, conservation biology and biodiversity, forest biology and management, cell and molecular biology, mycology and pathology, and reproductive biology and genetics.

·       This journal is indexed in both Web of Science and Scopus.

Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Science

·       ISSN: 1997-8553, 2309-8619

·       Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences (PJCSS) is an open-access journal that accepts submissions three times annually. It has a JPI of 26 and falls in the "X" category, according to HJRS. It covers disciplines such as commerce, business, and economics.

·       This journal is only indexed in Scopus.

 

Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences

·       ISSN: 1682-024X, 1681-715X

·       Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences is a Web of Science and Scopus-indexed journal. It has a JPI of 53 and falls in the "X" category, according to HJRS.

·       This journal covers the discipline of medicine.

Pakistan Journal of Statistics

·       ISSN: 1012-9367

·       Pakistan Journal of Statistics covers the field of mathematics. It has a JPI of 12 and falls in the "Y" category of HJRS.

·       Pakistan Journal of Statistics is only indexed in Scopus.

JPMA- The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association

·       ISSN: 0030-9982

·       JPMA is primarily a medical journal and focuses on fields such as health and medicinal education. This includes epidemiological studies, clinical trials, medical genetics, etc.

·        It is indexed in both Scopus and Web of Science. It has a JPI score of 35 and is included in the "X" category according to HJRS.

Conclusion

In Pakistan, the government is making efforts to advance scientific research. The government body that plays a significant role in advancing research and publication is the HEC. HEC has attempted to increase the number of Ph.D. graduates by providing scholarships abroad.

The HEC journal recognition system (HJRS) has been launched to facilitate research and scholarship. HJRS indexes reputable national and international journals that fulfil the criteria set by HEC. HJRS helps researchers and scholars to distinguish between recognized and fraudulent journals.  Fake or fraudulent journals don't have a specific peer review system and thus reduce the credibility of published research. In order to increase the impact and recognition of research work, the research must be published in a reputable journal to increase its visibility and readership at the international level.

Publishing in a Pakistani journal follows the standard procedure. The first step is to choose the right journal according to your field and submit the manuscript, which then goes through a rigorous peer-review process and then is published. Moreover, journal guidelines for formatting, i.e. referencing styles, should be kept in mind before submission to increase the chances of acceptance. In short, while addressing the challenges and slowly advancing in the field of research, Pakistan will definitely elevate its position in global research and the scientific landscape.