Author Guidelines
Manuscripts are submitted online through this website. Please read these guidelines in full before submitting; submissions that do not follow them may be returned before review.
Manuscript preparation
- Prepare the manuscript in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx).
- Use Times New Roman, 12 point, with 1.5 line spacing throughout.
- Use italics rather than underlining, except for URLs.
- Place figures and tables at the appropriate points in the text rather than at the end.
- Provide URLs for references where they are available.
Article types, abstracts and length
| Type | Abstract | Abstract length | Manuscript length | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original article | Structured | 250 words | 3,000–4,000 words | 15 or more |
| Brief communication | Unstructured | 200–250 words | 1,200–1,500 words | 10 or more |
| Review article | Unstructured | 200–250 words | Under 5,000 words | 30–50 |
| Case report | Unstructured | 150–200 words | Under 1,500 words | 10 or more |
| Letter to the editor | Unstructured | 25–50 words | 500–800 words | Up to 5 |
Abstracts for original articles should be structured under Context (background), Methods, Results and Conclusions, and should be followed by two to six keywords.
Title page
The title page should state the manuscript type, a concise title and a running title; the authors' names (surname, first name and initials) and institutional affiliations; the corresponding author's contact details; the page count, the word counts for the abstract and the full text, and the number of tables and photographs; and the sources of any funding.
Structure of the manuscript
Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, tables, illustrations and legends, acknowledgements, conflict of interest statement, and references.
- Methods — describe the selection of subjects (patients or controls), identify the apparatus used together with the manufacturer, document ethics approval for studies involving humans or animals, and give the statistical methods with references.
- Results — present findings in a logical sequence without repeating data already given in the tables.
- Discussion — emphasise new findings and their implications, and state the limitations of the study.
Tables and figures
- Tables should be self-explanatory, should not duplicate the text, and should be numbered consecutively with a short title.
- Explanatory material belongs in footnotes, using the symbols *, †, ‡, §, ||, **, ††, ‡‡ in that order.
- Figures are numbered in the order of first citation. Symbols and lettering in photomicrographs must contrast with the background.
- Supply figure legends separately from the images, and include the underlying numerical data for graphs.
- Written permission is required for any table or figure reproduced or adapted from a published source.
References
Number references consecutively in the order of first mention, not alphabetically, and cite them with superscript numerals. Follow the NLM (Index Medicus) style, giving the full journal name for journals that are not indexed. Avoid citing abstracts. Personal communications require written permission and a date.
Journal article: Kulkarni SB, Chitre RG, Satoskar RS. Serum proteins in tuberculosis. J Postgrad Med. 1960;6:113-20.
Book chapter: Phillips SJ, Whisnant JP. Hypertension and stroke. In: Laragh JH, Brenner BM, editors. Hypertension: pathophysiology, diagnosis and management. New York: Raven Press; 1995. p. 465-78.
Author responsibilities
- The corresponding author must ensure that every co-author has read and approved the manuscript.
- Authors must obtain copyright clearance for any copyrighted material included in the manuscript.
- Authors must confirm ethical compliance for research involving human participants or animals.