Author Guidelines
Instructions to Authors
(Published in The Ceylon Journal of Medical Science 2005; 48: 67-70)
Some information to the prospective authors is given below. Detailed instruction on different aspects of publication could be obtained from:
International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publication (Updated October 2005)
Scope
The Ceylon Journal of Medical Science publishes original research articles from all branches of medicine and allied sciences.
Types of Articles
Includes original research papers, case reports and leading articles. Any person wishing to write a leading article is requested to consult the editors.
Ethical responsibility
The authors must ensure that informed consent has been obtained. Authors should state in the methods section, that ethical clearance has been obtained and the experiments were conducted in conformity with guidelines of the Helsinki Declaration. These comments apply to animal research also.
Authorship
Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for the contents of the paper submitted. Participation solely in the collection of data does not justify authorship (see criteria in ICMJE).
Acknowledgements and Other Information
Acknowledgements will appear as an appendix to the text, and should specify
- contributions that need acknowledging but do not justify authorship. The persons concerned should be named and their contribution described - for example, "advice", "critical review of study proposal", and "participation in clinical trial". Such persons must have given their permission to be named.
- acknowledgements to technical help, and
- acknowledgements of financial and material support
Manuscripts should be accompanied by a covering letter which must include
- information on prior or duplication or submission elsewhere of any part of the work;
- that this paper is not under consideration for publication in any other journal concurrently;
- that the authors agree to transfer the copyright to the Ceylon journal of Medical Science if the article is selected for publication;
- a statement that the manuscript has been read and approved by all authors;
- the name, address, telephone number and e-mail of the corresponding author, who is responsible for communication with the other authors about revisions and final approval of the proofs.
Where appropriate the manuscript must be accompanied by copies of permission to reproduce published material or to use illustrations of identifiable persons.
Text
Papers (inclusive of illustrations) should be submitted in Microsoft Word 2003 format, font Times New Roman or Arial size 11, double spaced, with a margin 4 cm wide at the left- hand side of each page. When submitted they must be in the final form for printing. Additions, amendations and corrections in the proofs add considerably to the editors' duties and to the cost of production.
Each page of the manuscript should be numbered and the short title and page number indicated in the upper right-hand corner of each page. Page one should contain the full title, the name(s) of the author(s) followed by initials with full stops, and name and address of the establishment where the work was carried out. In the case of co-authors, respective addresses should be clearly indicated. When a series of related papers is submitted, each individual paper should have the same general heading, followed by a series number and title of the part. Any footnote to the title should be given at the bottom of this page.
The second page should contain an abstract (of not more than 250 words) which should be a summary of the entire paper and intelligible without reference to the paper itself. The text should begin on page three. Each subsequent major section - reference, acknowledgements, should begin on a new sheet. The last page should indicate the number of manuscript pages, figures and tables submitted, the proposed running title and the name and address of the person to whom the proofs should be sent. Paper should be as concise as possible and recognized physical and chemical abbreviation should be used. Abbreviations such as MCHC and MCV may be used as long as in the first usage the full term is stated and the abbreviations identified. When mentioning drugs, official and approved names should be always used; trade names may be indicated in addition but these should be in parenthesis. When official or approved names are not available, chemical or trade names may be used. Authors should use SI units. Scientific names of plants, animals and microorganisms will be printed in italics. In the first citation, genus, species and authority must be given:
e.g. Vigna radiate (L), Wilczek
In later citations, the generic name may be abbreviated to its initial letter:
e.g. V. radiate.
References to other work in the text, tables and legends should be indicated in Arabic numerals in parentheses, referring to the list of references which must be on a separate page at the end of the paper. Table and Figure legends should be on a separate sheet, after the main text.
Tables
Tables should be in double-spaces typing, in Microsoft Word table format, on A4 size sheet with a margin of not less then 4 cm on the left. Each should be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals.
Tables should have legends which make their general meaning clear without reference to the text and all table columns should have explanatory headings. Table legends should in included in the manuscript after the main text. Units of measure should be indicated in the heading of each column. Footnotes to the table should be placed directly below the table and should be indicated by superscript lower case italic letters (a,b,c etc). The preferred position of each table should be indicated in the manuscript.
Illustrations
All illustrations are considered as figures. These should be submitted in electronic format, as TIFF images. Each figure (graph, drawing, photograph) should be numbered in sequence with Arabic numerals. Each figure should carry a legend so written that the general meaning of each illustration can be understood without reference to the text. Legends should be included in the manuscript after the main text. Authors may be asked to pay for colour images.
References
Number the references consecutively in the order in which they appear in the text. The reference should include: author's names followed by initials, title of article, title of journal in full, year of publication, volume number in Arabic numerals and the numbers of the first and last pages in Arabic numerals. When reference is made to a book, the author's name should be followed by: title, editor's name and volume number or edition (if appropriate), town of origin and publisher, year of publication and page. The series title of a book should be given in parenthesis after the publisher. List all authors when 5 or fewer; when 6 or more, list only the first 5 and add et al.
The references will then appear in print thus:
- Wilson W.E. Observations relating to the innervation of sweat glands of the face. Clinical Science 1936; 2: 273-286.
- Mora J.O. Nutritional assessment by anthropometry. In: Brozek J, Schurch B, eds. Malnutrition and Behaviour: critical assessment of key issues. Lausanne, Nestle Foundation, 1984; 98-106.
- Zitnack A. In: Chronic cassava toxicity: proceedings of an interdisciplinary workshop, London, England, 24-30 January 1993. Ottawa: International Development Research Centre (IDRC-ODE) 1973; 84-95.
- Dews P.B. In Drill V.A., ed Pharmacology in Medicine. 2nd edition New York: Mc Graw Hill, 1958; 309.
- National Kidney Disease Education Program. Information of health professionals. Bethesda, Md.: National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, 2004. (Accessed Aug. 31, 2005, at http://w-ww.nkdep.nih.gov/healthprofessional/index.htm.)
Submitting Manuscripts
Manuscripts should be submitted using the online submission system. Manuscripts can also be mailed (3 copies on A4 size paper using the guidelines above) under registered cover with adequate protection for figures and the computer diskette to: Professor R.L. Jayakody & Dr Senaka Rajapakse. Editors, Ceylon Journal of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, Kynsey Road, Colombo 8, Sri Lanka. Alternatively the manuscripts could be hand delivered. The editors could be emailed on editor.cjms@gmail.com
Proof
Corrected proofs must be returned to the Editors without delay. Failure to do so will result in delay in publication.
Corrections must be restricted to printer's and similar errors, or revisions, and should be made using the ‘Track Changes' facility in Microsoft Word, or using a different font colour. If made on a paper proof, they must be made with pencil. Any modification of original text should be avoided.
Selection for Publication
All articles received will be acknowledged to the corresponding author. Each manuscript will be read by one of the editors to decide whether it should be refereed. Those selected for refereeing will be sent anonymously to the referees. Referees are requested to treat papers as confidential material. They are asked to declare any conflict of interest (such as personal ties to authors), and not to copy manuscripts.
The two editors decide on the articles for publication based on the referees comments, of importance of the research problem, scientific strength, clarity of presentation and appropriateness of the article to the readers of the Ceylon journal of Medical Science.
Members of the editorial board are consulted where appropriate. Editors reserve the right to accept or reject articles, modify style, shorten articles, make editorial corrections where necessary, and to determine priority and time of publication. Sometimes editors may accept or reject articles without going through the refereeing process.
