Instructions For Authors

Organization of Sections in an Article

Cover Page

The cover page includes (a) complete manuscript title; (b) list of all authors’ full names, highest academic degrees, professional titles, affiliations including locations of affiliations and Open Researcher and Contributor Identification (ORCID) id; (c) a short title of no more than 45 characters (including spaces) for use as a running title (d) word count, number of tables and figures included; (e) name and address of the corresponding author, including, telephone number, and e-mail address and (f) sources of support (including role of funders/sponsors) (g) conflicts of interest statement (h) compliance with appropriate guidelines as per the type of manuscript (see above) (i) Acknowledgement (if any) 

Abstract

An abstract is required for original articles, post-graduate thesis section, review articles, Research and Publish section, Short communication, case series and case reports. The specific instructions for abstracts for different kinds of manuscript are mentioned below.

No abstract should contain any figures, tables, or references, trade names, or manufacturer’s names.

Keywords

Provide up to five keywords (in alphabetical order) at the end of the abstract for original articles, post-graduate thesis section, review articles, Research and Publish section, Short communication, case series and case reports. 

Reporting Original Articles

Introduction

All original articles need an Introduction that describes the objective of the investigation in not more than 500 words. The author should clearly state the specific goal or purpose of the article, and indicate why it is worthy of attention. In the Introduction, describe the hypothesis to be tested, the dilemma to be resolved, or the deficiency to be remedied.

Material and Methods or Subject Profile

The research plan, the materials (or subjects), and the methods used should be described. An explanation of how the disease was confirmed and the controls were recruited  must be included, as well as the details of the data obtained and how it was analyzed. Methods must include the following aspects:

Ethics: When reporting studies on human subjects, indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional or regional) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (available at https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medical-research-involving-human-subjects/). For prospective studies involving human participants, authors are expected to mention about approval of (regional/national/institutional or independent Ethics Committee or Review Board, obtaining informed consent from adult research participants and obtaining assent for children aged over 7 years participating in the trial. The age beyond which assent would be required could vary as per regional and/or national guidelines. Ensure confidentiality of subjects by desisting from mentioning participants’ names, initials or hospital numbers, especially in illustrative material. When reporting experiments on animals, indicate whether the institution’s or a national research council’s guide for or any national law on the care and use of laboratory animals were followed.

Evidence for approval by a local/Institutional Ethics Committee or IRB (for both human as well as animal studies) must be supplied by the authors. Animal experimental procedures should be as humane as possible and the details of anesthetics and analgesics used should be clearly stated. The ethical standards of experiments must be in accordance with the guidelines provided by the (CPCSEA and World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki on Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Humans for studies involving experimental animals and human beings, respectively). The journal will not consider any manuscript which is ethically unacceptable. A statement on ethics committee permission and ethical practices must be included in all original research manuscripts under the ‘Material and Methods’ section.

Patient consent: Patient anonymity must be maintained in all submissions. If there is any possibility that the patient can be identified in a figure, written consent must be obtained from the patient or parent/guardian by the author, and a line stating that this has been received is included in the article.

Study Design

Selection and Description of Participants: Describe your selection of the observational or experimental (with details of participants – patients or laboratory animals, including controls) clearly, including eligibility and exclusion criteria and a description of the source population. Provide the sample size calculation details. 

Technical information: Identify the methods, apparatus (give the manufacturer’s name and address in parentheses), and procedures in sufficient detail to allow other workers to reproduce the results. Give references to established methods, including statistical methods (see below); provide references and brief descriptions for methods that have been published but are not well known; describe new or substantially modified methods, give reasons for using them, and evaluate their limitations. Identify precisely all drugs and chemicals used, including generic name(s), dose(s), and route(s) of administration. Identify appropriate scientific names and gene names. When an equipment/surgical device/drug is mentioned in the manuscript for the first time, its manufacture’s complete detail should be mentioned (such as the BRANDED name of the device/medication used in the study followed by name of the manufacturer, city, and state).

Reports of randomized clinical trials should present information on all major study elements, including the IEC/IRB approval date, assignment of interventions (methods of randomization, concealment of allocation to treatment groups), and the methods of masking (blinding), based on the CONSORT Statement (http://www.consort-statement.org). The CONSORT checklist is to be referred to and all points complied with.

Statistics

All results should be in a clear, logical sequence and should adhere to the specific objective of the paper giving the main or most important findings first. Data presented in tables should not be duplicated in the text. Important trends and points observed in the study will need to be described. When data are summarized in the Results section, give numeric results not only as derivatives (for example, percentages) but also as the absolute numbers from which the derivatives were calculated, and specify the statistical methods used to analyze them. Restrict tables and figures to those needed to explain the argument of the paper and to assess its support. Use graphs as an alternative to tables with many entries; do not duplicate data in graphs and tables. Where scientifically appropriate, analyses of the data by variables such as age and sex should be included.

Results

All results should be in a clear, logical sequence and should adhere to the specific objective of the paper giving the main or most important findings first. Data presented in tables should not be duplicated in the text. Important trends and points observed in the study will need to be described. When data are summarized in the Results section, give numeric results not only as derivatives (for example, percentages) but also as the absolute numbers from which the derivatives were calculated, and specify the statistical methods used to analyze them. Restrict tables and figures to those needed to explain the argument of the paper and to assess its support. Use graphs as an alternative to tables with many entries; do not duplicate data in graphs and tables. Where scientifically appropriate, analyses of the data by variables such as age and sex should be included.

Discussion

The article submitted should explain clearly the outcome of the research considering the goals and results obtained. It is useful to begin the discussion by briefly summarizing the main findings, and explore possible mechanisms or explanations for these findings. Restrict to discussing the interpretations which could be directly obtained from the current study within its limitations and avoiding making unsupported claims. Any limitations on the materials or subjects and methods must be included. How the results differ from those obtained by previous investigators need to be presented with adequate comparisons and explanations. Include key findings (primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, results as they relate to a prior hypothesis); Strengths and limitations of the study (study question, study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation); Interpretation and implications in the context of the totality of evidence should be described. Include what this study adds to the available evidence, effects on patient care and health policy, etc.

Do not repeat the data or other material mentioned in the Introduction or the Results section. In particular, contributors should avoid making statements on economic benefits and costs unless their manuscript includes economic data and analyses. Avoid claiming priority and alluding to work that has not been completed.

References

References are to be numbered sequentially in the order in which they appear in the manuscript. Reference numbers are typed as superscripts, after the punctuation mark at the end of the line.

Example: …… with no evidence of intratubular testicular neoplasia.1

Unpublished data or articles submitted for publication are not to be cited in the reference list. They are cited within parenthesis in the text. (Example: Aaron J, unpublished data). Papers presented at meetings are not cited in the reference list. They are cited within parenthesis in the text. (Example: Aaron J et al., presented at the 2009 annual meeting of the Society).

Sample references are given below:

Articles in Journals
1. Olson MC, Posniak HV, Fisher SG, ME Flisak, CG Salomon, RC Flanigan, et al. Directed and random biopsies of the prostate: indications based on combined results of transrectal sonography and prostate-specific antigen density determinations. Am J Roentgenol 1994;163:1407–11.

List the first six contributors followed by et al in all references.

Issue with supplement
Payne DK, Sullivan MD, Massie MJ. Women’s psychological reactions to breast cancer. Semin Oncol 1996;23(1, Suppl 2):89-97.

Volume with supplement
Shen HM, Zhang QF. Risk assessment of nickel carcinogenicity and occupational lung cancer. Environ Health Perspect 1994;102 Suppl 1:275-82.

Books and Other Monographs

Personal Author(s):

Ringsven MK, Bond D. Gerontology and leadership skills for nurses. 2nd ed. Albany (NY): Delmar Publishers; 1996.

Editor(s), compiler(s) as author:

Norman IJ, Redfern SJ, editors. Mental health care for elderly people. New York: Churchill Livingstone; 1996.

Chapter in A Book
Turgut AT, Dogra VS. Prostate carcinoma: Evaluation using transrectal sonography. In: Hayat MA, ed. Methods of cancer diagnosis, therapy and prognosis. 1st ed. New York, NA: Elsevier; 2008. p. 499-520.

Electronic Sources as Reference

Refer APA’s Quick guide on reference for electronic references.

Monograph on the Internet format: Foley KM, Gelband H, editors. Improving palliative care for cancer [monograph on the Internet]. Washington: National Academy Press; 2001 [cited 2002 Jul 9].

Refer Homepage/Web site and Part of a homepage/Web site formats in the hyperlink provided

Tables

Tables must be significant and provide a good summary of the study. Tables should be self-explanatory and not duplicate the data given in the text or figures. Each table must have a descriptive title, and each column a heading. Tables must contain a minimum of four lines and two columns of data and not exceed 10 columns and 25 rows. Tables are numbered in the order in which they are cited in the text. Abbreviations used in the tables are defined below each table. All arithmetic calculations (percentages, totals, differences) must be double-checked for accuracy, and data must agree with the data given in the text.

Graphs

Graphs need to be exported as JPEG or TIF images and submitted as figures. Graphs and line drawings need to be a minimum of 1000 dpi. Graphs should include clearly labelled error bars described in the figure legend. The authors must state whether a number that follows the ± sign is a standard error (SEM) or a standard deviation (SD). The number of independent data points (N) represented in a graph must be indicated in the legend. Numerical axes on graphs should go to 0, except for log axes.

Figure/Image Legends

All figure parts relating to one image should have the same figure number. The morphological details and site/s must be mentioned in the figures. Histopathological figures must provide magnification and include names of special stains if used. Dermoscopic images must also mention magnification used and mention the make and model of the dermoscope used. Before and after images must keep “after” images on the right side. If a collage of images is made, insert alphabetical labelling (a,b,c,d…) on the top right corner of each image and describe in sequence in the legend.

Images directly identifying patients must be avoided and a signed patient consent must be provided if any clinical images are used. Written permission to reprint in print and electronic media, including online use, must be obtained for all previously published illustrations, and an appropriate credit line to be given in the legends.

Black & white images: JPEG, or TIF format, Grayscale mode, and 300 DPI resolution. The height and width of an image should be at least 6 x 5 inches.

Color images: 300 DPI resolution, no layered files, no alpha channels. Color profile if used: CMYK (No Indexed Color, Lab, or RGB profiles)

Line art: 1200 DPI resolution, Grayscale or Jpeg format. No layered files, no alpha channels. Color profile if used: CMYK (No Indexed Color, Lab, or RGB profiles) The Journal reserves the right to crop, rotate, reduce, or enlarge the photographs to an acceptable size.

Video Clips

The journal encourages authors to submit video clips, cine clips, or real-time images (preferably in ‘mp4’). The maximum size of each multimedia file should not exceed 400 MB. In addition to the video content, authors must provide a still image from each video file. Supply TIFF or JPEG files. Technical information: Identify the methods, apparatus (give the manufacturer’s name and address in parentheses), and procedures in sufficient detail to allow other workers to reproduce the results. Give references to established methods, including statistical methods (see below); provide references and brief descriptions for methods that have been published but are not well known; describe new or substantially modified methods, give reasons for using them, and evaluate their limitations. Identify precisely all drugs and chemicals used, including generic name(s), dose(s), and route(s) of administration. Identify appropriate scientific names and gene names. When an equipment/surgical device/drug is mentioned in the manuscript for the first time, its manufactures’ complete detail should be mentioned (such as the BRANDED name of the device/medication used in the study followed by name of the manufacturer, city, and state). For example IVC filter (C.R. Bard, Inc. Murray Hill, New Jersey, USA).