Author Guidelines

Manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals updated December 2019. previously known as, Uniform requirements for Manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journals developed by the ICMJE.

 

GENERAL STRUCTURE OF MANUSCRIPTS FOR PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION
A. JIOM NEPAL format for Original articles
    # Type of manuscript
    # Title
    # Authors
    # Authors’ affiliation
    # Corresponding author
    # Corresponding author affiliation and contact details
    # Abstract
    # Introduction
    # Methods
    # Results
    # Conclusion
    # Keywords
    # Introduction
    # Methods
    # Results
    # Discussion
    # Conclusion
    # Financial support
    # Conflict of interest
    # Acknowledgements (not mandatory)
    # References


B. JIOM NEPAL format for Case reports
    # Type of manuscript
    # Title
    # Authors
    # Authors’ affiliation
    # Corresponding author
    # Corresponding author affiliation and contact details
    # Abstract
    # Abstract text
    # Keywords
    # Introduction
    # Case presentation
    # Discussion
    # Conclusion
    # Conflict of interest
    # Acknowledgements (not mandatory)
    # Consent
    # References


C. JIOM NEPAL format for Review articles
    # Type of manuscript
    # Title
    # Authors
    # Authors’ affiliation
    # Corresponding author
    # Corresponding author affiliation and contact details
    # Abstract
    # Introduction
    # Methods
    # Results
    # Conclusion
    # Keywords
    # Introduction
    # Methods
    # Results
    # Discussion
    # Conclusion
    # Conflict of interest
    # Acknowledgements (not mandatory)
    # References

 

WORD LIMITS
ŸŸ#ŸŸ Original Articles: Up to 2500 words excluding references; up to 30 references; and abstract of maximum 250 words including 3-5 keywords
# Case Reports: Up to 1000 words excluding references; up to 10 references; abstract of maximum 100 words including 3-5 keywords; and up to three photographs
# Review articles: Up to 3000 words excluding references and abstract of maximum 250 words including 3-5 keywords
# Letter to the Editor: Up to 400 words and 5 references
# Short Communication: Up to 1500 words excluding references and up to 10 references.

 

DESCRIPTION OF FORMAT FOR ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Title
The title should be ‘simple, brief, clear and attractive’; should accurately describe the contents of manuscript, and make readers want to read further; should be in title case i.e. major words capitalized and minor words in lowercase Maximum permitted length is 15-20 words.
Author(s)
The author names should be in the format of <First name full>_<Middle name initial only>_<Last name full> e.g. Kiran K Nepali. Separate author names with comma; indicate with superscript numerals after names if authors are affiliated with different institutions.
Abstract
The abstract should be prepared in a structured format under the headings introduction, methods, results and conclusions.
The abstract should provide the context or background for the study and should state the a) study purpose b) basic procedures (selection of study subjects or laboratory animals, observational and analytical methods) c) main findings (giving specific effect sizes and their statistical significance, if possible), and d) conclusions. It should emphasize new and important aspects of the study or observations.
Three to five keywords or short phrases that capture the main topics of the article should be provided for cross-indexing. The keywords should be arranged in the alphabetical order being separated by commas and a space with the first keyword initially capitalized.
Introduction
The introduction should provide a background for the study (i.e., the nature of the problem and its significance). State the specific purpose or research objective, or hypothesis tested by, the study or observation. The research objective should be sharply focused when stated as a question. Both the main and secondary objectives should be made clear, and any pre-specified subgroup analyses should be described.
Methods
The methods section should contain: a) Study design b) Time and duration of study c) Place of study d) Ethical approval e) Patient consent e) Inclusion and exclusion criteria f) Sampling technique g) Statistical analyses and h) Software used.
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.
Review manuscripts should include a section describing the methods used for locating, selecting, extracting, and synthesizing data. These methods should also be summarized in the abstract.
When reporting research on humans, the authors must include an assurance that the work was approved by a medical ethics committee and that the subjects had given their informed consent to participate in the research.
When reporting experiments on animals, indicate whether the institutions 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 ethics committee (for both human as well as animal studies) must be submitted along with the cover letter by the authors. Animal experimental procedures should be as humane as possible and the details of the anesthetics and analgesics used should be clearly stated. The ethical standards of experiments must be in accordance with the guidelines provided by the ‘Committee for the purpose of control and supervision on experiments on animals (CPCSEA).
Statistical methods should be described with enough detail to enable a knowledgeable reader with access to the original data to verify the reported results. When possible, quantify findings and present them with appropriate indicators of measurement error or uncertainty (such as confidence interval). Define statistical terms, abbreviations, and symbols. Specify the computer software used.
Results
Present your results in logical sequence in text, tables, and illustrations, giving the main or most important findings first. Extra or supplementary materials and technical detail can be placed in an appendix where it will be accessible but will not interrupt the flow of the text; alternatively, it can be published only in the electronic version of journal.
When data are summarized in the Results section, give numeric results not only as derivatives (for example, percent) but also as the absolute numbers from which they 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.
Discussion
Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study and the conclusions that follow from them. Do not repeat in detail data or other materials given in the Introduction or the Results section. For experimental studies, it is useful to begin the discussion by summarizing briefly the main findings, then explore possible mechanisms or explanations for these findings, comparing and contrasting the results with other relevant studies. State the limitations of the study, and explore the implications of the findings for future research and for clinical practice.
Conclusion
Link the conclusions with the goals of the study, but avoid unqualified statements and conclusions not adequately supported by the data. It should be short and to the point rather than a summary of the article. In particular, authors should avoid making statements on economic benefits and costs unless their manuscript includes the appropriate economic data and analyses. Avoid claiming priority and alluding to work that has not been completed. State new hypotheses when warranted, but clearly label them as such.
References
References should be typed at the end of the manuscript and numbered in the order in which they are cited in the text. Citations should be done by the Arabic numbers in superscript. Please follow the format described later in guidelines.

 

LANGUAGE, SCRIPT, FONT AND STYLE
# The manuscripts should be written in English language and Modern Latin script.
# The American English system of spelling should be used.
# The language should be simple, clear and correct without grammatical errors.
# The manuscript should be typed in Times New Roman or Arial or Calibri font with 12 font size.
# The manuscript text should be arranged in a single column.
# The manuscript text should be justified.

 

USE OF NUMBERS
# Follow the undermentioned rules in use of numbers in your write-up.
# Do not start any sentence with a number. In such cases, either spell out the numbers, as in “Thirty per cent of the participants . . .” or rephrase the sentence, as in “Among the participants, 30% . . .”
# Spell out numbers from one to nine for cardinal numbers (1, 3, 10, etc.), unless they are followed by a unit or percentage or when they represent date or time
# Spell out numbers from one to nine for ordinals (first, third, tenth, etc.)
# Spell out indefinite numbers and amounts, including large approximations. e.g. more than a million
# Spell out fractions that are less than one e.g. one-fifth, two-thirds, etc., except when the wording becomes awkward
# Use a combination of figures and words for numbers when needed, to keep your writing clear. e.g. three 10-min cycles
# In lists that include numbers, be consistent, rather than following individual rules. e.g. 5 out of 20 patients.

 

USE OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS
# The full forms of the abbreviations should precede its first use in the text unless it is a standard unit of measurement
# Use only standard abbreviations
# Do not start any sentence with an abbreviation. Abbreviation are acceptable at the start only if they are words in their own right (such as laser and radar) or represent names of organizations
# Avoid use of abbreviations in title as far as possible
# Do not use symbols like @ and & in the text.

 

USE OF UNITS OF MEASUREMENT
# Measurements of length, height, weight, and volume should be reported in metric units (meter, kilogram, or liter) or their multiples.
# Temperature should be in degrees Celsius.
# Blood pressures should be in millimeters of mercury
# The units for reporting hematologic and biochemical measurements should be in both local and # International System of Units (SI).

 

NUMBER OF IMAGES AND TABLES
The total number of images and tables allowed is one per 500 words for original and review articles. Case reports are allowed up to three images.

 

USE OF TABLES
Tables should be self-explanatory and include a brief, descriptive title at the top. Tables should be numbered with Arabic numerals. Footnotes to tables, indicated by lower case letters are accepted, but they should not include extensive detail. Make sure that each table is cited in the text. If you use data from another published or unpublished source, obtain permission and acknowledge them fully.

 

USE OF FIGURES
Figures used should be of the highest possible quality, free of defects, and not significantly altered. Figures should be numbered with Arabic numerals and include a brief, descriptive title at the bottom. Apply letters and arrows directly to the figure. Electron micrographs must contain measurement bars to indicate their magnification. Photomicrographs must have internal scale markers and be accompanied by their original magnification and type of staining method used. Symbols, arrows, or letters used in photomicrographs should contrast with the background. Make sure that each figure is cited in the text. If an already published figure has been used, acknowledge the original source and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material. If photographs of people are used, either the subjects must not be identifiable or their pictures must be accompanied by written permission to use the photograph. Photomicrographs should have internal scale markers.

 

FORMAT FOR USE OF P-VALUES
# The authors are requested to heed the following rules while reporting p-values:
# The ‘p’ is always lowercase and italicized.
# Use 0 before the decimal point for p-value. e.g. use p<0.001 and not p<.001
# The actual p-values should be written (p=0.04) rather than just expressing the statement of inequality (p<0.05), unless p<0.001.
# The p-values should not be reported only as significant or not significant without providing the exact p-values
# If p>0.01 then the p-value should always be expressed to two decimal digits by rounding whether or not it is significant. e.g. p=0.08 and not p=0.084
# A three decimal digit for p-value>0.01 is acceptable only if rounding would change the significance of a value. e.g. p=0.049 instead of 0.05.
# If p<0.01, it should be expressed to three digits. e.g. p=0.003
# If p<0.001, it should be reported as p<0.001, instead of the actual exact p-value.
# The p-value=0.000 which is produced in result/output by various statistical software is not used in publication and should be written as p<0.001.

 

REFERENCE AND CITATION
The reference format for JIOM NEPAL is based on Vancouver referencing style, the latest version of which is Citing Medicine: The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (2018); with some modifications made to suit the journal.

Citations
# Citations should be done by Arabic numerals in superscript.
# Citations should be numbered consecutively in the chronological order in which they appear in the text.
# Reference management software like Zotero or EndNote should be used for citations.
# Manual citation is highly prone to errors. So, manuscripts with manual citations are not accepted by JIOM NEPAL.

Reference list
# References should be numbered and listed at the end of manuscript in the sequence in which they appear in the in-text citation.
# Include the last names and initials of authors
# In case of multiple authors, list up to the first three (3) authors followed by et al
# For published journal articles, include the names of authors, title of journal, year published, volume, number, issue number and inclusive pages.
# Journal names should always be abbreviated.

Follow the format for other types of references as shown in examples below.
For example:
# Journal article: Mahat B, Shrestha L, Adhikari S et al. Blood groups and their association with academic performance among medical students in a Nepalese medical college. JIOM Nepal. 2019 Dec;41(3):74-77.
# Abstract: Ghimire B, Kurlberg G, Singh YP et al. Comparison of Nepalese and Swedish patients with colorectal cancer regarding tumor suppressor methylation in tumor and mucosa samples. JIOM Nepal. 2020 Apr;42(1):73. [Abstract]
# Letter: Shrestha GS, Acharya P, Bajracharya T. Good quality research in sepsis: A need of low and middle-income countries. J Nepal Health Res Counc. 2018 Jul-Sep;16(40): 363 [Letter]
# Foreign language journal: Targeted screening of COPD in primary care: Feasibility and effectiveness. Rev Mal Respir. 2019 Feb;36(2):162-170. [Article in French]
# Authored book: Barrett KE, Barman SM, Brooks HL et al. Ganong’s Review of Medical Physiology. Twenty-sixth Edition. United States of America: McGraw-Hill Education; 2019.
# Chapter in an edited book: Sharma MR, Marsh H. Challenges in global neurosurgery. In: Ellenbogen RG, Sekhar LN, Kitchen N (Eds).Principles of Neurological Surgery. Fourth edition. New York: Elsevier; 2018. pp 8-14.
# Entire edited book: Singh YP (Ed). Breast cancer: Diagnosis and treatment. Kathmandu: Publishers; 1999.
# Website: World Health Organization. The top 10 causes of death. [Internet] Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death. [Accessed 6th January, 2020]