Submission Guidelines

The Quadrant (TQ) strives to be an interactive journal that attempts to provide a blend of scientific and academic information to researchers and budding scholars of every echelon. TQ covers topics that are related to Pediatric & Preventive Dentistry (PPD), Dental Education (DE), and Evidence-Based Dentistry (EBD). TQ is a triannual scientific periodical that is published in the months of April, August, and December.

TQ’s interactive feature is principled in making scientific reading more intriguing. As a result, the journal houses sections in its full electronic version (which can be received upon request made at thequadrant@doped.co.in) that is managed by the editorial team. These sections include:

- VINTAGE: A word cloud of authors who significantly contributed to the foundation of a particular aspect of PPD or EBD.

- BLACK BOX: A list of important highlights from landmark studies on a given topic.

- PEEKABOO QUESTION: Image-based clinical question that is valuable to both academicians and clinicians.

- TIC-TAC-TOE: Each issue will feature an assessment tool for a particular topic related to PPD

- ACADMEMEICS: A light-hearted image that also conveys vital information regarding EBD

- RECOMMENDED READING: Recommendations of books or scientific articles related to PPD or EBD

- DENTAL NEWS: Top 5 headlines in the last four months concerning dentistry with a primary focus on the Indian subcontinent.

- DENTAL QUIZ: Five questions from PPD or EBD where readers can test their knowledge

- COMPILATION: A tabulated compilation of topics surrounding PPD or EB

- CLASSIC AD: Advertisements related to pediatric dentistry that were featured in prominent journals before the 1990s. These fascinating clippings gives the reader an idea of the progress that pediatric dentistry has made over the years.

TQ also encourages novice researchers (dental school undergraduates or recently admitted postgraduates) to experience and commence their research journey young. As a result, the journal houses sections (later detailed in the What to Submit section) wherein they can showcase their potential for scientific and academic writing.

As beginners in research, they can also face rejection decisions made by the editorial team on the grounds of scientific legitimacy, accuracy, and below-par grammatical syntax and semantics. However, by no means should this be a mode of discouragement for them and TQ advises to seek necessary assistance before resubmission.

How to Submit

All submissions made to The Quadrant should be sent through our submission portal.

Manuscripts need to be submitted as one single file comprising the abstract, main body, tables, and images. Further information on manuscript preparation is detailed in the What to Submit section.

Authors are also required to submit a cover letter and a title page in .pdf or .doc format with their main manuscript file (Refer Table 1 below).

Who shall Submit

Submissions can be made by anyone as long as the submitted work focuses on PPD and EBD.

What to Submit

TQ follows the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) for the reporting of scholarly works.

General Principles

1. Abstract

Every submission must have an abstract before the main body of the submitted work.

A structured abstract (under the subheadings – Background, Methods, Results, Conclusion) of no more than 300 words is mandatory for experimental studies, surveys, and systematic reviews). An unstructured abstract of no more than 150 words is mandatory for review articles.

2. Reporting Guidelines

Based on their study design, articles must be drafted as per the recommendations of the Equator-Network. Authors can search for the relevant reporting guidelines before drafting their manuscript here.

3. Language

All submissions to TQ should be in English. Authors are recommended to use grammar editing software before sending their manuscript. Reporting of human participants in experimental studies must be neutral, precise, and respectful. There should be no terminologies within the article that stigmatize participants of a research work. Conversational tones are unacceptable in the submitted work. All submitted works must strictly follow a scientific tone.

4. References

References for all submitted works must be cited in NLM style. Check the style guide here. While it is allowed, web-references must be kept as minimal as possible. Authors should avoid citing articles from predatory or pseudo-indexed journals. References to papers accepted but not yet published should be designated “in press” or “forthcoming.” Information from manuscripts submitted but not accepted should be cited in the text as “unpublished observations” with written permission from the source. The total number of references allowed depending on the type of manuscript is given in Table 2.

5. Style Guides

The permissible word count for each manuscript type is given in Table 2. All manuscripts, title pages, and cover letters must follow these style guides:

Font styles: Times New Roman

Font size: 12

Line Spacing: 1.5

Margins: 1 inch on all sides

Abbreviations cannot be used in the title of the manuscript. The spelled-out abbreviation followed by the abbreviation in parenthesis should be used on the first mention unless the abbreviation is a standard unit of measurement. Units of measurement must follow the metric system or SI units.

6. Tables and Figures

Tables and figures should not be submitted as separate files. They should be placed in suitable areas within the main body of the manuscript. The text that refers to a Table or Figure must not be repetitive of the contents within the table or figure.

Each table or figure must be numbered in Arabic numerals and should be positioned accordingly. A table or figure must be within the margins of the document. Authors are required to mention in the cover letter if any copyrighted images are used. If used, they are required to submit a permission letter obtained from the source. Images of low quality will not be allowed for publication.

TQ does not put any restrictions on the number of tables and figures for a submitted work.

Types of submissions

1. Experimental Studies

Experimental studies are original research that needs to be presented in the IMRD (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion) format.

2. Case Reports

Case reports must be reported as per the CARE guidelines. In cases where the follow-up period is less than 3 months, it is the duty of the authors to scientifically critic and defend their follow-up period.

3. Surveys

TQ accepts surveys only if they are reported as per the CROSS guidelines.

4. Reviews

TQ accepts reviews in various formats. While systematic reviews should follow the PRISMA guidelines, TQ recommends authors report Narrative reviews or Literature reviews guided by the SANRA appraisal tool and recommendations of Green et al., 2006 and Grant et al., 2009.

5. Overviews

Selected sections of TQ promote the imparting of scientific knowledge based on overviews. These are largely non-systematic, thus eliminating the need for reporting a comprehensive search strategy. An overview is usually presented as a chronological review of literature, a conceptual understanding of literature, or a thematic synthesis of literature. Presentation of overviews is narrative with tabular features embedded whenever possible. Compared to the latter, overviews are succinct and fundamental explanations that provide a summary of available literature.

Authors are recommended to follow the 6S strategy of scientific writing for reporting overviews: Simple, Short, Structured, Strong, Specific, and Sequential.

6. Commentary

This section allows ardent readers (academicians, clinicians, or researchers) to constructively critique a peer-reviewed article in the field of PPD, EBD, or dental education.

7. Dental Photography

Photographs relevant to PPD will be accepted for publication. The photograph must convey a novel feature or have some educative value. Blurred images will be subject to rejection.

TQ allows submissions wherein the photograph is edited to depict an internal scale, symbols, arrows, or letters. However, these must contrast with the background.

A brief legend must accompany the photograph, explaining the message it wants to convey. This legend must not exceed 50 words.

Submissions are accepted in .jpg or .png format.

Authors are requested to go through the authorship and editorial policies of TQ as presented here: https://doped.co.in/the-quadrant-policy-info

Last update: July 2024

ARTICLE PROCESSING CHARGES (APC)

The Quadrant aims to follow a platinum open access model. However, currently it is not funded by any external organization. In order to maintain its presence, and promote transparency in its peer-reviewed articles, it needs to pay for typesetting, archiving, web designing, advertising, server, domain, using copyrighted material, plagiarism detection, etc.

Hence, starting from 1st November 2023, Indian authors will have to pay an APC of INR 500 for articles that are accepted for publication. Non-Indian authors will have to pay an APC of USD $5.

There are no processing charges for Dental Photography. However, if these submissions are accepted, then authors will have to pay a publication charge of INR 300. For non-Indian authors, the publication charge will be (USD $4).