Scope
The International Journal of Pharmacy Education and Practice (IJPEP) exclusively uses the electronic environment for publishing. The IJPEP is a peer-reviewed electronic (Internet) journal which emphasizes scholarly publication and communication among pharmacists, researchers, students and other health care professionals. The focus of this journal is multi-dimensional, i.e., international pharmacy issues, pharmacy education, clinical practice, pharmaceutical sciences, drug information, commentaries and editorials.

General Guidelines
Manuscripts and other communications should be relevant to the broad area of pharmacy and submitted in English. All articles that are submitted, except editorials and guest articles, are subject to the peer-review process and should include appropriate references. Editorials are subject to be approved by the editor. Manuscripts are accepted with the understanding that they have not been published in other journals or publication media and they are not concurrently under review elsewhere.

Note: Beginning in June 2008, all published articles will only be available to be viewed in a pdf format within each issue. That is, an html format for viewing will not be available. Currently both html and pdf are available for viewing.

Pharmacy students are highly encouraged to submit manuscripts as a result of senior projects, research papers resulting from clinical rotations or courses, etc. However, these manuscripts will be reviewed as any other submitted manuscript for peer-review processing and judged by the same standards. Students are particularly encouraged to team with an experienced faculty member or other pharmacist to assistance them through the peer-review process. Senior faculty members' guidance can be invaluable.

Manuscript Format
Manuscripts must be submitted in either Microsoft Word or WordPerfect and will be peer-reviewed in the format submitted. If either of these formats are not possible, please contact the editor. Do not submit manuscripts as a pdf (Acrobat Reader) format. Please read carefully the Manuscript Preparation section below. If a submitted manuscript does not comply with the prescribed below format, no action will be taken and the corresponding author will be notified.

Manuscript Submissions
Manuscripts are to be submitted via electronic format, i.e., either by email or diskette. If either of these is not possible, contact the editor. The author(s) should retain an original copy in case file transfer becomes corrupted. The author that submitted the article will be considered the corresponding author, and will supply their full name, mailing address, institution, phone, fax number, and email address, within the body of the email; and then, "attach" the manuscript to the email. Receipt of initial manuscript submission from the corresponding author will be acknowledged by the editor. Do not place the manuscript within the body of the email. Manuscripts should be sent to:

Robert H. Schrimsher, Ed.D., Editor
The International Journal of Pharmacy Education and Practice
email: rhschrim@samford.edu

If email is not available, mail diskette to:

Robert H. Schrimsher, Ed.D., Editor
The International Journal of Pharmacy Education and Practice
Samford University
McWhorter School of Pharmacy
800 Lakeshore Dr.
Birmingham, AL 35229-7027

Phone 205-726-2161

Review Process and Notification
Manuscripts are examined by the editorial staff and generally by two reviewers. Decisions regarding publication are made by the editor and are final. All materials associated with the manuscript accepted for publication are subject to copyediting. Authors are fully responsible for the accuracy of their manuscripts, including references, proper credit for use of the work of others (i.e. freedom from plagiarism), figures, tables, etc. Neither the editor, nor the editorial staff, reviewers, or publisher, is responsible for inaccurate or misleading data, conclusions or statements.

Rejected manuscripts will not be returned. Corrections and/or recommended changes to manuscripts will be accomplished as much as possible via email and phone after the review process is complete. The corresponding author of accepted manuscripts will be notified via email, then followed by a formal letter from the editor.

Manuscript Preparation
Deviations from the below manuscript preparations will cause the manuscript to be returned without action.

• Margins, Type and Font: Set the word processor pages for 1" margins (top/bottom, left/right) and font to Arial, size 10. Double-space the type except when dividing sections within the body. Number the title page as one (1), then consecutively throughout the article. Indent at the beginning of each new paragraph. Set your word process to left-hand justified (or align left). Do not fully justify your manuscript.

• Title Page: The title page (page 1) should include: the title of the article; full name(s) of the author(s) with degree(s), affiliations (job title, department, institution, city, and state, or country) where the work was done, and acknowledgments of any grant in support of the work.

• Abstract and Key Words: Page 2 should include the title of the article followed by the abstract, which should be about 200 words. The abstract should summarize the main points of the article. Immediately following the abstract, list five key words for indexing.

• Limitations Section: For original research articles, a section must be included regarding study limitations. Place this section prior to the Conclusions Section.

• References: Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors, 10th ed, 2007. Begin the references on a new page at the end of the article and title the page "References." Single space within the individual references, but double space between the completed references. References are to be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. Place the citation number in superscrip where appropriate. Also, for referencing/citation development, do not use Endnote or other similar software. These types of software often make editing and file conversion to pdf extremely difficult. If these or similar programs are used, the manuscript will be returned for correction. A quick reference guide that has illustrations and examples of different types of citations according to the AMA Manual of Style is available here.

• Tables: Each table will have a brief title and be numbered as they are cited in the text. Define all abbreviations and indicate the units of measurement for all values. If table data are from another source, cite the source at the bottom of the table and also in the Reference Section. Place the table in the body of the text in the sequence that the author desires it to be read. Tables may also have to be slightly resized due to conversion to pdf. If a table has been previously published, acknowledge the original source and obtain written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material. Also, when developing tables, the table function within the word processor must be used. A graphic produced table is unacceptable.

• Figures: Most figures will also be converted to a pdf format and linked to the figure from within the HTML article. Place the figure in the body of the text in the sequence that the author desires it to be read. Figures may also have to be slightly resized due to conversion and spacing. Figure captions are to be placed at the bottom of the figure and numbered consecutively as they are cited in the text. If a figure has been previously published, acknowledge the original source and obtain written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material.

• Drug Names: Generic names should be used. When proprietary brand names are used, include the brand name in parentheses following the generic name and capitalize the drug name. Registered symbols (®) do not have to be used with brand names.

• Numbers: Use numerals for all units of measure and time. Numbers should be used to express numbers in most circumstances; exceptions are numbers beginning a sentence, title, subtitle, or heading, which are spelled out. Ordinals first through ninth are also to be spelled out. For guidance, the AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors, 10th ed. should be consulted.

• Abbreviations: The first time an abbreviation appears it should be spelled out, then followed by the abbreviation listed in parentheses.

• Acknowledgments: In the acknowledgment section, the authors should note all funding sources (corporate, academic, and institutional associations). The authors should disclose all financial, institutional, or consultant sponsorship that is related to the submission and any association that might pose a conflict of interest with the submitted manuscript.

• Institutional Review Board (IRB): For all manuscripts reporting data from studies involving human participants (or animals) approval must be granted from a formal IRB. Manuscripts must mention this approval in the Methods section.

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May 13, 2008