Contest Rules and Guidelines
- The research contest is open to all health professionals (physicians, nurses and paramedical personnel) who could either be the primary or co-author.
As a primary author, he/she should be:
• A substantial contributor to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
• Responsible for drafting the work or revising it critically for intellectual content; AND
• Responsible for final approval of the version to be published (if for publication); AND
• Accountable for all aspects of the work
All of the aforementioned criteria should be met. PSMO fellows may act only as advisers. - Topic of the research must be about malignancies or any cancer-related topic.
- There will be three (3) categories:
a) Analytical (descriptive, prospective, retrospective)
b) Meta-analysis
c) Case Report / Case Series - An institutional review board (IRB) or ethics review board (ERB) approval is MANDATORY for ALL ANALYTICAL papers.
a. Case reports, case series and meta-analyses do not require IRB approval. Only approvals from Department/Section Head or Training Officer as per Item 6b (below).
b. All case reports and case series must include a statement confirming that the Investigator/s obtained informed consent to publish the report from each participant or each participant’s guardian or legal representative. This is not required to be sent to the PSMO and shall be filed by the Investigator. - Pharmaceutical company-sponsored research is not allowed.
- Each contestant must submit a soft copy of the abstract and full manuscript to the PSMO Secretariat using 2 separate email addresses ([email protected] and [email protected]) on or before 23 AUGUST 2024, using the following guidelines:
a. Research paper / entry must NOT have been published in any journal and have NOT been presented in any PSMO-sponsored activity or convention. Those submitted or to be submitted in international conventions are allowed.
b. The research material should have been approved by the respective training institution for submission and presentation. Please attach a copy of the approval/endorsement letter from your department/section head or training officer to the email. - Research entries must be type-written, single-spaced with a typeface of at least 10 points and with format as follows –
a. For Case Report or Series – a 1-page structured abstract of not more than 500 words with this format: TITLE, BACKGROUND/SIGNIFICANCE, CASE PRESENTATION (including history of present illness, diagnostics, therapies administered, follow-up, and outcome), LEARNING POINTS, and CONCLUSION plus the full manuscript. Please include suggested key words to facilitate archiving.
b. For Meta-analysis or Systematic Review – a 1-page structured abstract of not more than 500 words with this format: TITLE, RESEARCH QUESTION, BACKGROUND/IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY, STUDY DESIGN, RESULTS/ANALYSIS, and CONCLUSION plus the full manuscript. Please include suggested key words to facilitate archiving.
c. For Analytical Study – a 1-page structured abstract of not more than 500 words with this format: TITLE, RESEARCH QUESTION, BACKGROUND/IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY, STUDY DESIGN, RESULTS/ANALYSIS, and CONCLUSION plus the full manuscript. Please include suggested key words to facilitate archiving. - Two soft copies of the abstract and full manuscript should be submitted. The first copy (Word file or equivalent or PDF) should contain all the authors’ names — to be listed in capital letters, the name of the presenting author underlined — the institution, and the MOBILE NUMBER and EMAIL ADDRESS OF THE PRESENTING AUTHOR. The second copy (Word file or equivalent) should be anonymized and should not contain the name, mobile number, email address, IRB codes, and institution of the author(s) anywhere in the submission. The area or locality where the study was conducted (example: Quezon City, Manila, Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig, Cebu, Davao) should also not be included. Any inadvertent inclusion of this information may potentially introduce a bias in the judging process and must be avoided. The PSMO reserves the right to redact this information prior to judging and violations will incur a 1-point deduction for every mention, to a maximum of a 10-point deduction.
- Please expect an acknowledgment email from the PSMO Secretariat for every submission. If none is received within 2 business days, please call the PSMO Secretariat to follow up.
- All submitted research papers shall be screened and pre-judged by the Research Committee and only the TOP 3 for each category will be passed on to the expert judges.
- There will be 3 rounds of judging. Points will be given based on the below criteria (total of 100). The top scorers in the first and second rounds will then advance. The different rounds are as follows:
a. Screening based on abstract only. Criteria is as follows:
During initial screening, the top 50% of submissions (or the top 7 papers, in case there are less than 14 entries in a certain category) from each category will advance to the next round. This will be done by the Research Committee Chair plus two other members. This is expected to take 5 working days. Results are collected by the Secretariat and analyzed within 2 working days.
b. Full pre-judging will be based on the full paper. This will be done by all members of the Research Committee, including the Research Committee Chair. The two members who have participated in the screening round may opt to not participate in the pre-judging round. This is expected to take 8 working days. Results are collected by the Secretariat and analyzed within 2 working days. Criteria is as follows:
c. Final judging will be based on the full paper. This will be done by a panel of expert judges. They will be given the short-listed entries prior to the annual convention. - Finalists will be notified via email and SMS. The research presentation and Q&A will be held live at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel on during the Annual Convention in October 11 2024 (final date to follow)
- All Researchers will need to fill out the consent form for the abstract to be uploaded in the PSMO website.
- Cash prizes and trophies will be awarded to the following winners:
• Analytical First Prize: Php 30,000.00
• Analytical Second Prize: Php 25,000.00
• Analytical Third Prize: Php 20,000.00
• Best Meta-analysis: Php: 15,000.00
• Best Case Report: Php 10,000.00 - All authors are invited to submit a visual abstract (1 slide) to the PSMO Secretariat by 16 September 2024. All submitted visual abstracts will be shown in a dedicated area of the convention. Also, finalists are required to prepare a poster which will be displayed in a prominent area of the convention. Guidelines on this will be shared separately.
