Instructions for Authors s8

Instructions for Authors

Annals of Military and Health Sciences Research (AMHSR) is a peer-reviewed middle-eastern medical journal covering all clinical and theoretical aspects of this profound field of study. Contributions should be written clearly in English so that they are understandable to readers in different disciplines of this field.

Manuscript Types ------The AMHSR welcomes basic as well as clinical science articles. Scientific reports of original research in such areas as medical economic policy, medical ethics, and managing healthcare systems are also considered for publication. Documentation/evidence of the studies must be available to be supplied to the editors upon request. This journal seeks manuscripts in the following categories: 1. Original/Research article: An original/research article is a research paper that provides new information derived from original data and it usually includes extensive statistical analysis. Original articles should be arranged as follows: Title Page, Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgements, Conflict of Interest, References, Tables, and Figure Legends. They should not exceed 3500 words. 2. Rapid/Brief Communication: They are short research articles intended to present exciting findings that will have a major impact on medicine. They typically report a significant improvement to a tried-and-tested method, its modification and adaptation to an important original application, or an important new tool or resource of broad interest for the scientific community. Their structure is same as an original/research article. They should not exceed 2000 words. 3. Review Article: This type of article has two sub-types: Expert Review and Systematic Review. All review articles should follow Cochrane instructions on writing review articles. a. Expert Review: These are concise reviews on a specific topic in which the author has expertise. The manuscript should be comprehensive but not exhaustive. Expert review should be evidence-based but include some expert opinion and recommendations. The goal is to provide a concise update on the state of the art and guidelines for clinical care. They should be arranged as follows: Title Page, Abstract, Introduction, Sections, Conclusion, Acknowledgements, References, Tables, and Figure Legends. Subheadings to identify sections of the text, other than the ones mentioned, are expected to be unique to the topic; the prescribed subheadings used in original/research articles do not apply here. They should not exceed 4000 words. b. Systematic Review: It is a comprehensive and exhaustive review of the literature related to a specific topic. Systematic reviews may not be combined with other manuscript types. Authors are required to consult the PRISMA Statement and MOOSE Statement for more guidance. A systematic review should be arranged as follows: Title Page, Abstract, Introduction, Methods for Review, Sections, Conclusion, Acknowledgements, References, Tables, and Figure Legends. The abstract should include a summary of the elements of the review, such as objectives, data sources, study eligibility criteria, study appraisal and synthesis methods, results, limitations, conclusion, and implications of key findings. They should not exceed 4000 words. 4. Case Report/Series: Case report is a detailed report of the symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of an individual patient. If more than one patient is reported, it is a case series. Case reports/series are considered for publication only when they are highly original, have significant implications for clinical practice, and/or provide information that will lead to important future research. They should be arranged as follows: Title Page, Abstract, Case Presentation, Investigations/Differential Diagnosisi/Treatment, Outcome, Discussion, Lessons Learned, Acknowledgements, Conflict of Interest, References, Tables, and Figure Legends. They should not exceed 2000 words. 5. Letter to Editor: These letters are written by the readers to comment or criticize a point that has been mentioned in one of the published articles of this journal. In other words, only submissions that cite at least one article published in this journal are considered for publication. Letters are to be submitted within 4 months of the date of the issue in which the related article appeared. Letters may include a maximum of 2 authors and no more than 500 words plus 1 to 5 references, at least one of which must cite the related journal article. Also, the authors of the commented or criticized article may respond to the readers in another letter to editor. Letters and their replies are subject to minor editorial alterations and might be shortened without the authors’ approval. 6. Book Review: This type of article is about reviewing a recently published (no more than four months old) book in the field of medicine. The purpose of a book review is generally to let readers know what the work is about and what its merits are so that readers can decide whether they want to read the work or not. Because many readers of a book review probably have not read the work under discussion, authors are expected to describe the work as well as evaluate it. Still some readers may have read the book; therefore, you need to give less attention to description and summary but more attention to evaluation. Book reviews should be arranged as follows: Title Page, Section(s), Acknowledgements, Table and Figure Legends. The sections headings, other than the ones mentioned, are expected to be unique and be different from the prescribed headings used in the original/research articles. They should not exceed 1500 words. 7. Historical Article: This type of article is concerned about the history of the field of medicine. The articles can discuss medicine as it was practiced by trained professionals from ancient times to the present time in all over the world. Historical articles should be arranged as follows: Title Page, Abstract, Introduction, Section(s), Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgements, References, Tables, and Figure Legends. The sections headings, other than the ones mentioned, can be unique and be different from the prescribed headings used in original/research articles. They should not exceed 3500 words. 8. Technical Innovation: Reports presenting a new technique or innovation are considered as technical innovation. Experiential studies of clinical outcomes and discussions on the strengths and weaknesses of current clinical and surgical techniques are reported as a technical innovation article. They should be arranged as follows: Title Page, Abstract, Background, Technique Description, Evaluation Method, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgements, References, Tables, and Figure Legends. They should not exceed 2000 words. 9. Literature Scan: This is a summary of noteworthy articles from different journals worldwide in any subject within the field of medicine. Similar to a book review, this type of article gives a short description and evaluation of the contents of a valuable article which has been published in less than four months before the review is submitted to this journal. Literature scans should be arranged as follows: Title Page, Section(s), Table and Figure Legend. They should not exceed 750 words. 10. Continuing Medical Education (CME): This type of article is part of the efforts to help medical professionals maintain their competence and learn about new and developing areas of their field. Many boards require CME for license re-registration. The journal may publish one CME in any issue.

Manuscript Organization and Requirements ------All manuscripts should be written in the stated structure of its own type of article. Also, all articles should accompany a covering letter addressed to the editorial office or the editor-in- chief explicitly indicating that the submitted manuscript is not under simultaneous consideration in any other journal and the authors have followed the COPE’s instructions on plagiarism. Concerning the figures, only the figure legends (descriptions) are given at the end of the main text and the figures themselves should be sent separately in JPEG or TIFF formats. For more information on the required structure of each type of article, please refer to its template and outlined manuscript features available at the journals website.

AMHSR editors strongly encourage contributors whose English is not excellent to have their manuscripts edited by a professional translator or native academician before submission. In case of need, AMHSR offers authors services to help them in editing the language of their manuscripts for a standard charge.

Authority/Responsibility ------The intellectual content of the paper is the responsibility of the author; the editors and the AMHSR accept no responsibility for the opinions and statements of authors. While every effort is made by the editorial staff to avoid any inaccurate or misleading information, they accept no liability for the consequences of wrong information. The authors agree to keep the editor and publisher fully indemnified against any liability or claim that may arise from the publication of incorrect or misleading data.

Ethical Issues, Plagiarism and Scientific Misconduct ------The authors must verify and warrant that their article is novel, does not violate on any copyright of any third party, is not being considered by another journal, and has not been previously published in English. The final manuscript has been read and the individual contribution of each author has been approved by the corresponding author. Manuscripts must be written in clear, understandable English. Unclear language can be a sign of scientific misconduct.

Authors must submit an electronic copy of written permission from the copyright owner (usually the publisher) to use direct quotations, tables, or illustrations. Any permission fees that might be required by the copyright owner are the responsibility of the authors requesting use of the borrowed material, not the responsibility of AMHSR.

If substantial doubts arise about the honesty or integrity of the work, either submitted or published, it is the editor-in-chief’s responsibility to ensure that the question is appropriately pursued, usually by the authors’ sponsoring institution. However, it is not ordinarily the task of editors to conduct a full investigation or to make a determination; that responsibility lies with the institution where the work was done or with the funding agency. The editor-in-chief should be promptly informed of the final decision, and if a fraudulent paper has been published, the journal must print a retraction. If this method of investigation does not result in a satisfactory conclusion, the editor-in-chief may choose to conduct his or her own investigation. As an alternative to retraction, the editor-in-chief may choose to publish an expression of concern about aspects of the conduct or integrity of the work.

The retraction or expression of concern, so labeled, should appear on a numbered page in a prominent section of the print journal as well as in the online version, be listed in the contents page, and include in its heading the title of the original article. It should not simply be a letter to the editor. Ideally, the first author should be the same in the retraction as in the article, although under certain circumstances the editor may accept retractions by other responsible persons. The text of the retraction should explain why the article is being retracted and include a full original citation reference to it. The validity of previous work by the author of a fraudulent paper cannot be assumed. Editors may ask the author’s institution to assure them of the validity of earlier work published in their journals or to retract it. If this is not done, editors may choose to publish an announcement expressing concern that the validity of previously published work is uncertain.

Copyright ------The copyright owner of all the published material in this journal is AMHSR. However, in accordance with Bethesda Statement on Open Access Publishing (released June 20, 2003, available from: http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/bethesda.htm), all works published in AMHSR are open access and are immediately available without cost to anyone at the journal’s website. All authors should read the Authors’ Agreement Form carefully and submit a completed and signed copy of it along with their manuscript.

Contacting the Journal ------The AMHSR editorial office may be contacted through the following: Address: No. 2, Razi Building, 6th Ave, Ghaem Magham Farahani St, Tehran, Iran Postal Code: 15868-44139 Tel: +98 21 88737945 Fax: +98 21 22196848 Email: [email protected] URL: http://jaums.hbi.ir