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Guide For Authors

The journal will consider articles in the following categories:

Original articles

Such work must contribute further to well established knowledge. These include randomized controlled trials, intervention studies, studies of screening and diagnostic test, outcome studies, cost effectiveness analyses, case-control series, and surveys with high response rate. The text of original articles amounting to up to 4000 words (excluding Abstract, references and Tables) should be divided into sections with the headings Abstract, Key-words, Introduction, Material and Methods, Results, Discussion, References, Tables and Figure legends

Case Reports

Extremely rare clinical syndromes or presentations will be published under this category. They should be unique, describing a great diagnostic or therapeutic challenge and providing a learning point for the readers. Cases with clinical significance or implications will be given priority. They should not exceed 2500 words including tables, figures and references. Format should be as follows; Title, Summary of not more than 200 words, introduction, case report, discussion, and not more than 20 references.

Reviews

This must be critical analyses of the subjects reviewed, giving a state of the art and a balanced view of all the issues, for instance controversies. Reviews should preferably be contributed by authorities and experts in the respective fields. Reviews should not exceed 6000 words including tables, figures and references. The format should be as follows; Title, descriptive summary of not more than 200 words, introduction and subheadings where necessary, results and conclusions, and not more than 40 references. Authors should include a section describing the methods used for locating, selecting, extracting, and synthesizing data. These methods should also be summarized in the abstract.

Editorials

These are usually commissioned but authors are encouraged to contribute editorials on any topical issue. They should not exceed 1000 words. They will be peer reviewed

Short communications

This should possess all the elements of scientific communication as research papers but without a summary or other sub-headings. They should be no more than 1000 words and 10 references.

Ethics in Publishing

The publication of an article in a peer-reviewed journal is an essential building block in the development of a coherent and respected network of knowledge. It is a direct reflection of the quality of work of the author and the institutions that support them.

Ethics topics to consider when publishing:

  • Authorship of the paper: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All authors must sign a document indicating that they have read and approved the contents of the manuscript. Each author must have contributed significantly to, and be willing to take public responsibility for, one or more aspects of the study: its design, data acquisition and analysis, and interpretation of data. All authors must have been actively involved in the drafting and critical revision of the manuscript and each must provide final approval of the version to be published. All authors will be held equally responsible for ensuring that documentation is correct and accurate, and that the required permissions have been obtained. No author may disclaim any part of the manuscript.
  • Originality and plagiarism: The authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others that this has been appropriately cited or quoted. Previously published articles, including those published in non-English journals, are not eligible for publication. All manuscripts will be screened for plagiarism. Duplicate submissions are not allowed. If plagiarism is identified, the COPE guidelines on plagiarism will be followed.
  • Data access and retention: Authors may be asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review, and should be prepared to provide public access to such data.
  • Disclosure and conflicts of interest: All submissions must include disclosure of all relationships that could be viewed as presenting a potential conflict of interest. Sources of funding must be disclosed in the manuscript text.
  • Fundamental errors in published works: When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author's obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.

Human and Animal Rights

Statements of compliance are required if the work involves chemicals, procedures or equipment that have any unusual hazards inherent in their use, or if it involves the use of animal or human subjects.

If the work involves the use of human subjects, the author should ensure that the work described has been carried out in accordance with The Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki) for experiments involving humans; Uniform Requirements for manuscripts submitted to Biomedical journals. Authors should include a statement in the manuscript that informed consent was obtained for experimentation with human subjects. The privacy rights of human subjects must always be observed.

All manuscripts dealing with experimental results in animals must include a statement that the study has been approved by an animal utilization study committee, and should comply with the ARRIVE guidelines. The Editor-in-Chief may further investigate that statement.

Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with "Uniform requirements for Manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journals" developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (October 2006). Generally, the manuscript should be submitted in the form of separate files:

  • Cover Letter
  • Title Page
  • Manuscript (including abstract, main text, references and figure/videolegends)
  • Figure(s) (when appropriate)
  • Table(s) (when appropriate)

Cover Letter:

It should include a brief explanation of the submission and its perceived value. Cover letters may be addressed to the Editor In Chief.

Title Page:

This file should provide:

  • Full title of the paper—short, clear, and specific. Please use 1-2 article keywords in the title. Abbreviations and declarative statements should not be used in article titles
  • All authors' full names, each followed by his/her highest academic degree(s) (e.g., MBChB, MMed, PhD)
  • Departmental and institutional affiliations for each author, including the city, state and country (use superscript to identify each author with his/her corresponding affiliation).
  • The type of manuscript, the total number of pages, total number of photographs and word counts separately for abstract for the text
  • Details of previous presentation(s). Details should include the name of the annual meeting, sponsoring society (if ), date, location, and presentation type (i.e., poster, plenary, etc.).
  • Source(s) of support in the form of grants, equipment, drugs, or all of these
  • Concise acknowledgment of contributors not listed as authors is welcome. Do not include Acknowledgements within the manuscript document.
  • Corresponding Author contact information including the name, address, and email address of the author responsible for , form(s) competition, and galley proof review.
  • Registration number in case of a clinical trial and where it is registered (name of the registry and its URL)
  • Conflicts of Interest of each author/ contributor.

Blinded Article file:

The manuscript must not contain any mention of the authors' names or initials or the institution at which the study was done or acknowledgements. Page headers/running title can include the title but not the authors' names. Manuscripts not in compliance with The Journal's blinding policy will be returned to the corresponding author. The main text of the article, beginning from Abstract till References (including tables) should be in this file. Use rtf/doc files. Do not zip the files. Do not incorporate images in the file. The pages should be numbered consecutively, beginning with the first page of the blinded article file.

Images:

Submit good quality color images. Each image should be less than 4 MB in size. Size of the image can be reduced by decreasing the actual height and width of the images (keep up to 1800 x 1200 pixels or 5-6 inches). Images can be submitted as jpeg files. Do not zip the files. Legends for the figures/images should be included at the end of the article file.

Referencing:

Citation of references should be according to the Vancouver style. References in the body of text should be in chronological order and identified in brackets, eg. WHO (1). The titles of journals should be abbreviated according to the style used in Index Medicus. Use complete name of the journal for non-indexed journals. Avoid using abstracts as references. Information from manuscripts submitted but not accepted should be cited in the text as "unpublished observations" with written permission from the source. Avoid citing a "personal communication" unless it provides essential information not available from a public source, in which case the name of the person and date of communication should be cited in parentheses in the text.

Articles in Journals

  • Standard journal article (for up to six authors): Shukla N, Husain N, Agarwal GG, Husain M. Utility of cysticercus fasciolaris antigen in Dot ELISA for the diagnosis of neurocysticercosis. Indian J Med Sci 2008;62:222-7.
  • Standard journal article (for more than six authors): List the first six contributors followed by et al.
  • Chapter in a book: Phillips SJ, Whisnant JP. Hypertension and stroke. In: Laragh JH, Brenner BM, editors. Hypertension: pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management. 2nd ed. New York: Raven Press; 1995. pp. 465-78.

Peer Review and Editorial Processes

The journal expects that authors would authorize one of them to correspond with the Journal for all matters related to the manuscript. All manuscripts received are duly acknowledged. On submission, editors review all submitted manuscripts initially for suitability for formal review. Manuscripts with insufficient originality, serious scientific or technical flaws, or lack of a significant message are rejected before proceeding for formal peer-review.

Manuscripts that are found suitable for publication will be sent to two or more expert reviewers. During submission, the corresponding author will be requested to provide names of two or three qualified reviewers who have had experience in the subject of the submitted manuscript, but this is not mandatory. The reviewers should not be affiliated with the same institutes as the contributor/s. However, the selection of these reviewers is at the sole discretion of the editor. The journal follows a double-blind review process, wherein the reviewers and authors are unaware of each other's identity. Every manuscript is also assigned to a member of the editorial team, who based on the comments from the reviewers takes a final decision on the manuscript. The comments and suggestions (acceptance/ rejection/ amendments in manuscript) received from reviewers are conveyed to the corresponding author. The author will then be requested to provide a point by point response to reviewers' comments and submit a revised version of the manuscript. This process is repeated till reviewers and editors are satisfied with the manuscript.

Manuscripts accepted for publication are copy edited for grammar, punctuation, print style, and format. Page proofs are sent to the corresponding author. The corresponding author is expected to return the corrected proofs within three days. It may not be possible to incorporate corrections received after that period.