Submissions

Author Guidelines

Janaki Medical College Journal of Medical Sciences with ISSN number 2091-2242 (Print) and 2091-2358 (Online) publishes original articles, review articles, case reports, letter to editor and book review-all of which are submitted to peer-review. An article is reviewed by an expert of the subjects for publication assuming that its contents have not been published or submitted simultaneously to any other journal. Any attempt at dual publication will lead to rejection and will penalize the authors by not accepting article in future. Articles and their illustrations become the property of journal unless are reserved before publication. Any false reporting by author is the responsibility of the author not of the journal.

The Manuscript is to be prepared in accordance with “Uniform requirements for Manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journals” developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (October 2006) and must be submitted in clear and concise English to the Editor-in-chief.

Please submit the article in accordance to the ‘guidelines to authors’ on following mailing address:

Editor-in-chief/Executive Editor
Janaki Medical College Journal of Medical Sciences (JMCJMS)
Janaki Medical College
Ramdaiya, Janakpurdham, Nepal
Email: jmcjmsjanakimedicalcollege@gmail.com

Manuscript Submission

The journal accepts submissions of articles via official mail as well as online. A covering letter including the author's name, title, designation, affiliation, email address of all the authors and details of corresponding author should be sent with the article. The relevant authority's ethical approval letter is required during the submission of manuscript. Once journal receive the initial prerequisites of manuscript submission, the submitting author is notified with an email. The filled author agreement letter should be sent to the journal. Digital signature is allowed. With these initial requirements, the manuscripts enter into the evaluation process of the editorial board. The manuscripts will be reviewed for possible publication with the understanding that they are being submitted to one journal at a time and have not been published, simultaneously submitted or already accepted for publication elsewhere. A duplicate publication or dual submission will result in the rejection of the paper and a ban on future submissions for the authors. A written inquiry for an investigation into this matter may also be sent by the Journal to the head of the organization where the contributors hold their positions. The Journal reserves the right to retract such works and to publish such correspondence in its pages in order to inform readers of scientific misconduct.

Originality and plagiarism

JMCJMS is highly sensitive to the originality and plagiarism. Plagiarism is the use of others published and unpublished ideas or words (or other intellectual property) without attribution or permission, and presenting them as new and original rather than derived from an existing source. This applies to all forms of documents, published (print or electronic) or unpublished. 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. It should be assured that their manuscripts are free from plagiarized material during submission. Providing a reference to the material quoted verbatim from previously published material does not absolve the user of plagiarism. Where a paper is suspected or discovered to be based on plagiarism, the editorial board will take prompt steps to investigate and to notify readers. The paper will be corrected or retracted depending on the severity of the case. Detection of plagiarism would lead to rejection of the manuscript and debar the publication of any material from the concerned authors for at least three years. The Journal may also send this information to the head of the institution where the authors work with a request for an inquiry in the matter. The Journal may also publish such correspondence in its pages to inform its readers of scientific misconduct.

Peer review Process

The peer review process is essential for evaluating the quality of scholarly works, suggesting corrections, and learning from other authors’ mistakes. The principles of peer review are largely based on professionalism, eloquence, and collegiate attitude.  Before sending the article for peer review, the Editorial team will discuss and ensure it for quality checks in accordance with the guidelines of JMCJMS and more information might be submitted by author on the demand if required. The manuscript is processed for the plagiarism check in the first-round review process.  The assigned Editor will evaluate the article for scope, quality, and fit for the journal. If good articles are written poorly then the authors are requested to re-submit after revision according to the JMCJMS guidelines.  In-house submissions, i.e., papers authored by Editors or Editorial Board members of the title, will be sent to Editors unaffiliated with the author or institution and monitored carefully to ensure there is no peer review bias. All manuscripts received are duly acknowledged.  Manuscripts with insufficient originality, serious scientific and technical flaws, or lacking a significant message not under the JMCJMS criteria will be rejected.

Once the article completes the preliminary quality check under the Journal’s scope and has been approved for peer review. The Journal team reserves the right to decide on the choice of reviewers. The Editorial team are in the process of finding suitable external expert reviewers that are available to review your article. They are sent to two expert reviewers through double blind peer review process. The article may also be sent to relevant senior/guest Editor’s for internal review.  Peer reviewers are given 2 weeks to submit their review the article. All reviewers are expected to inform the Journal about any conflict of interest while reviewing articles. On the occasion that a reviewer withdraws from the process, the Editorial Team will begin the reviewer selection process again. While we aim to complete the peer review process as quickly as possible, please bear in mind that reviewers give their time voluntarily. There may be occasions where several reviewers are invited before the required number can be arranged, or when a reviewer fails to deliver a review and the invitation process needs to start again. Sometimes review process may delay. Once the peer review process is completed with valuable suggestions and feedback of reviewer. The editor-chief/executive editor will take into account the expert reviewers’ opinions as well as scrutinize the revised submissions of author to make an informed decision of accept, reject or revise.

Pre-publication proofs

The pre-publication proofs of articles, prior to their publication, are provided to authors. If the article has been accepted and an email confirmation is sent to corresponding author. If accepted for publication, the manuscript may be edited without diverting the meaning of the original manuscript to improve clarity and understanding. More than two referees will review original or review article.  The article will move through the final quality checks and will be copy edited for grammar, punctuation, print style and format. It will be sent for layout process in production where it will be processed under publication cell.  Author gallery PDF proofs will be sent to the corresponding author, which has to be returned to the editorial office within 48 hours. The authors may make only the necessary minor corrections and cannot make any significant changes at this stage and should answer any queries marked for their attention. The proofs should be returned, after corrections and answering all queries, within 48 hours days electronically. Final confirmation to the pre-publication proof is compulsory from corresponding author. No response or inattention to the author proof  may delay/pause the publication of the article or even result in being rejected.

Rejection

Manuscripts found unsuitable for publication will be rejected in accordance with Journal policy and in considering reviewers' comments. The rejection will be notified to the corresponding author along with any relevant reviewer comments. The manuscript will not be returned.

Appeal process

A rejected paper may be resubmitted with re-submission enquiries for additional consideration if the authors wish to do so. The authors have to clarify disagreement with the reviewers' remarks and justify the need for a reconsideration. The Journal reserves the right to determine whether or not to send the manuscript for a new review. 

Complains

Any complains (scientific content, review process, review bias, publication duration, authorship misconduct) with major issues can be sent via mail to editorial office of JMCJMS with validation of the complaint. The Editor-in-Chief/Executive Editor decides on a course of action and provides feedback to the complainant. Any anonymous emails without their identity and affiliations will not be entertained.

Withdrawal policy

The author grants the journal the right of first publication upon submission. Thus, the journal discourages the unethical withdrawal of manuscripts from consideration for publication after peer review. A formal request signed by each co-author specifying the cause for the manuscript withdrawal should be sent by the corresponding author. A manuscript withdrawal can only be considered valid if the editor approves or accepts, the justification for the withdrawal from publication. Following that, the editorial office needs confirmation of signed withdrawal letter from the corresponding author as well as co-authors.

Then, only authors can submit their manuscripts anywhere else. It additionally constitutes unethical withdrawal if the authors do not reply to any journal correspondence following review and acceptance. Manuscripts that are withdrawn and which are found to have been submitted or published in another publication will be punished in accordance with the journal's editorial policy. If a manuscript is unacceptably withdrawn, the journal will move forward to take disciplinary action. For the author and their co-authors, a five-year restriction will be imposed; their institute will be notified with this action.

Authorship Criteria

 An ‘author’ is someone who has made substantive intellectual contributions to a study.
In accordance with ICMJE guidelines (www.icmje.org), authorship credit requires all the following conditions to be met.

All authors whose names appear on the submission

1. made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; or the creation of new software used in the work;
2. drafted the work or revised it critically for important intellectual content;
3. approved the version to be published; and
4. agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

All authors should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for the content. All authors must sign an undertaking accepting responsibility for the submitted manuscript. Authors are required to state their exact contribution to the study; the Journal may print this information. The order of authorship should be decided by all the authors. The journal strongly discourages alterations in the sequence or deletion/addition of authors at any time after submission of the manuscript.

Affiliation

Each author's principal affiliation should to be the organization where the majority of their work was completed. It may also provide the author's current address if they have since moved. After the article is published, addresses won't be updated or modified.

Role of the Corresponding Author

As the Corresponding Author, one author represents all of the authors and makes sure that any concerns about the accuracy or integrity of any component of the work are duly addressed. They also handle all correspondence between the Journal and the co-authors, both before and after publication. A Contact or Submitting Author may be assigned the responsibility of overseeing all correspondence between the journal and each co-author during the submission and proofing stage. In this instance, please make sure the Corresponding Author is clearly indicated in the manuscript.

Changes to Authorship

Authors are strongly advised that authors ensure that the author group, corresponding author, and author order are correct at the time of submission. All authors must consent to any modifications made to the list of authors after it has been submitted, including rearranging the authors' order or adding or removing authors. After a submission is accepted, changes to the authorship—including adding or removing authors, altering the corresponding author, or changing the order in which authors appear are not allowed. At the revision stage, adding or removing authors is usually not allowed, though there are several circumstances in which it might be justified. The editorial office should be notified right away of the explanations and changes in authorship for these modifications. The decision to approve the modification during revision remains with the Editor-in-chief/Executive Editor.

Disclosures and declarations

Public health and general welfare may be affected by work submitted for publication; in such circumstances, it is the duty of all authors to provide the necessary disclosures and declarations. Information about funding sources, financial and non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the relevant ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and, if appropriate, a statement on animal welfare are all requested to be included by all authors.

Author identification

Janaki Medical College Journal of Medical Sciences (JMCJMS) strongly recommends for authors to use their ORCID ID through the submission process while submitting an article for consideration. Personal emails can also be used. 

Author contributions

For all manuscripts, even review-type articles, the authors must include a contribution statement of responsibility outlining each author's specific contribution.

Authorship disputes

In the case of an authorship dispute during peer review or after acceptance and publication, the Journal will not be in a position to investigate or adjudicate. Authors will be asked to resolve the dispute themselves. If they are unable the Journal reserves the right to withdraw a manuscript from the editorial process or in case of a published paper raise the issue with the authors’ institution(s) and abide by its guidelines.

Types of manuscript and word limits

Original Article:

Original articles should not exceed 5000 words. It should not exceed 24 pages double-spaced typewritten pages, including tables, figures and references.  The references should be limited to 30.  Abstracts should not exceed 350 words.  Manuscripts submitted as original articles that exceed these limits will be returned without review at the discretion of the editorial board. Original Articles should have following headings in its manuscript:

Title, Abstract, Key Words, Introduction, Methodology, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgement (Not always), References

Title: Title should be short and give an impression of the paper. It should not exceed 30 words.

Abstracts: The abstract should contain the essence of the whole paper and should stand-alone. It should be concise and clear. Please be sure on following points while preparing Abstract of the article:

• Word limits – 350 words
• No abbreviation to be used in abstract
• Structured abstract - into following sub groups:
  • Background and Objectives , Methodology, Results, Conclusion

Key Words

Key Words – 3-7 words, arranged in alphabetical order. These words should the follow MeSH list.

Introduction

Provide the context or background of the study. State the purpose or the research objectives of the paper clearly. Do not review the subject extensively and give only pertinent references.

Materials and Methods

The materials and methods section should only include information that was available at the time that the study was planned or the protocol written.  All information obtained during the conduct of the study should be written in the results section.

Selection and Description of Participants

Describe your selection of the observational or experimental participants (patients or laboratory animals, including controls) clearly, including eligibility and exclusion criteria and a description of the source population.  Because the relevance of such variables as age and sex to the object of research is not always clear, authors should explain their use when they are included in a study report. For example, authors should explain why only subjects of certain ages were included or why women were excluded. The guiding principle should be clarity about how and why a study was done in a particular way. When authors use variables such as race or ethnicity, they should define how they measured the variables and justify their relevance.

Technical information

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.  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. Precisely identify all drugs and chemicals used, including generic name(s), dose(s), and route(s) of administration.

Ethical issues

Janaki Medical College Journal of Medical Sciences (JMCJMS) is committed to upholding the highest standards of research, editorial, and publication ethics, and follows international guidelines, procedures, and policies (e.g. Committee of Publication Ethics [COPE], and Office of Research Integrity [ORI]) when dealing with any cases of suspected ethical misconduct. If such cases arise, the journal may share relevant information with necessary third parties (for example, authors’ institutes). All information will be treated in a confidential, factual, and non-judgmental manner. JMCJMS also retain the right to pursue any issues of ethical misconduct even after rejection or withdrawal of a manuscript from the journal. Evidence of approval by a local Ethics Committee (for both human and animal) must be supplied during submission of manuscripts.

Statistics

Describe statistical methods with enough detail to enable a reader with access to the original data to verify the reported result. When possible, quantify findings and present them with appropriate indicators of measurement error or uncertainty (such as confidence intervals). Avoid relying solely on statistical hypothesis testing, such as P values. These fail to convey important information such as the effect of the size of the population. References for the design of the study and statistical methods should be to standard procedures when possible. Define statistical terms, abbreviations, and symbols. Specify the computer software used.

Results

Present your results in a logical sequence in the text, tables, and illustrations, giving the main or most important findings first. Do not repeat all the data of the tables or the illustrations in the text.  When data are summarized in the Results section, give numeric results not only as derivatives (for example percentage), but also the absolute numbers from which the derivatives were calculated. Specify the statistical methods that were used to analyze them. Restrict tables and figures to those needed to explain the argument of the paper and to assess the supporting data. Use graphs as an alternative to tables that require many entries.  Do not duplicate data in graphs and tables.  Avoid non technical uses of technical terms in statistics, such as “random” (which implies randomizing device), “normal”, “significant”, “correlations” and “sample”. Where scientifically appropriate, analysis of the data by such variables as age and sex should be included.

Discussion

Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study and the conclusions that follow from them.  Do not repeat in detail the data or other information given in the Introduction or the Results section. For experimental studies, it is useful to begin the discussion by briefly summarizing the main findings. Compare and contrast the results with 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 that are not adequately supported by the data. You can provide the future implications, future direction and limitation of the study too. As other journal, conclusion can also be included in last paragraph of Discussion section.

Acknowledgments
Acknowledgement should state the person(s)/firms that the author is required to acknowledge.

References

The Vancouver system of referencing should be used.  Authors are responsible for the accuracy of each reference and checking them against the original article.  Provide a list of references, double-spaced, after the text.  Cite references in the text using [ ] bracket and Arabic numerals in the order in which they appear in the text.  Abbreviate titles of journals according to MEDLINE.

Like: text [1, 2, 3].

Examples:

1. Chia RY, Hughes RS, Morgan MK. Magnesium: a useful adjunct in the prevention of cerebral vasospasm following aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage. J Clin Neurosci 2002; 9:279-81. [upto six authors]
2. Stippler M, Crago E, Levy EI et al. Magnesium infusion for vasospasm prophylaxis after subarachnoid hemorrhage. J Neurosurg 2006; 105:723-9. [for more than six authors, mention first 3 authors followed by et al.]

For Book

Author(s) – Family name and initials, editor. Title of Book. Volume. Publisher: Where published; year published. page(s)

Smith JB, editor. Pathology of the lung. Vol 18 3rd ed. John Green Co: Montreal; 1970. 179pp.

Chapter in a Book

Author(s) – Family name and initials. Title of Chapter, In: Title of Book. Publisher: Where published; year published. page(s).

Brown AB, Green XY.  Jejunal pathology, In: Black CD, White EF, (eds). Gastrointestinal pathology; an introduction. 2nd edn. Raven: New York; 1995. pp 465-469.

For Electronic citations

Author. Title of publication [type of medium – Internet]. Place of publication (if available): Publisher (if available); Date of publication – year month day (supply year if month and day not available) [updated year month day; cited year month day]. Available from: web address.

Clea Japan [homepage on the Internet]. Osaka: Clea Japan, c1999-2004. (Cited 25 November 2004) Inbred animals. Available from: http://www.clea-japan.co.jp/animals/b6-3.htm.

Abbreviations and Symbols

Use only standard abbreviations.  Please refer to Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 92: vii-x (1995) for guidance as to which abbreviations are considered standard. Avoid abbreviations in the title. The full term for which an abbreviation stands should precede its first use in the text unless it is a standard unit of measurement. Do not use abbreviations like @ or & in the text.

Legends

Put tables, charts, and figures at the end of the paper, after references

Use Legends as: Table e.g. (Table 1) and Figure e.g. (Figure 3).

Review Article:  Review articles should not exceed 6000 words and 35 double-spaced typewritten pages, including tables, figures and references.  The number of references should be limited to 50 (if more than that, justification needed). It should contain abstract, Introduction, Main body text (with headings and subheadings as required), conclusion and future direction.

Theoretical Research article: It should not exceed 6000 words and 35 double-spaced typewritten pages, including tables, figures and references. The number of references should be limited to 50 (if more than that, justification needed). It should contain abstract, Introduction, Main body text (with headings and subheadings as required), conclusion and future direction. Conclusion and future direction is mandatory in such article.

Case report:  Case reports must provide new information. Clinically significant observations based on new or developing technology will receive special consideration. Brevity is required.  Case studies must not be more than 2500 words 10 double spaced typed pages, including tables, figures and references.  The number of references should be 15 or less and the number of figures should be 3 or less. Justify if more is most. Abstracts should not exceed 200 words. It should contain: (Background and objectives; Presentation of case; Discussion; Conclusion; Keywords).  Manuscripts submitted as case studies that do not conform to these requirements will be returned without review.

Letters to the editor: Letters to the editor should contain a brief abstract that is short and decisive. They should not be preliminary observations that require a paper for later validation. They should not be more than 500 words and be limited to 5 references.

Limits for the number of images and tables:  For all the above mentioned categories the number of images and tables should not be more than one per 500 words.

Training Report: The section includes workshop, training and event report (2500-3000 words) which are relevant with medicine, research and health related field. It should consist background, objectives, schedule of the program, major highlights and photographs, acknowledgements and appendices (references should not exceed more than 5).

Medical Education: This section article includes less than 3,000 words plus a structured abstract of no more than 300 words. References should not exceed 25 and up to two tables or figures are permissible. Authors are notified that Medical Education section papers are aimed at particularly with contemporary affairs in Medical Education, new discoveries, and policies that stand up to scientific scrutiny. Manuscripts must offer a compelling and scholarly indication that will help advance educational practice and/or research.

Medical ethics: Articles (approx. 2000-2500 words) dealing with ethical aspects of practice of medicine or medical research. Legal issues in medicine can also be highlighted in this section.  Reference should not exceed more than 15 (if more justification needed).

Medical Humanities: These articles (2500-3000 words) must engage with current scholarship which may have important social, economic or political dimensions shaping the conversation around medicine as practice and philosophy as it engages with humanities and arts, social sciences, health policy, medical education, patient experience and the public at large. The critical and scholarly submissions of interest in this section include epidemics and disease, history of medicine, cultures of medicine, disability studies, gender and the body, communities in crisis, bioethics, and public health interlinked with social science and humanities and its impact on society. Unstructured abstract limited within 200 words and references should not exceed more than 20.

Obituaries: A doctor/ research scientist working in Nepal or working abroad had died and  left her/his mark on society or on the profession in the field of medicine and scientific research community and whose contributions need to be highlighted. A brief sketch of the person’s personal and professional life along with a photograph may be submitted (approx. 1200 words; Reference should not exceed more than 5).

Short Communications: These articles (1500 words) are a concise communication which includes a forum to address new issues which are relevant to the readership in the field of medicine and medical sciences.  The article should be structured (Introduction, objectives, materials and methods, result, conclusion). Figures and Short tables should not be more than 3.  No abstract is required. The editorial team reserves the right to decide which tables/figures submitted are necessary.

Perspectives: These articles (3500-4000 words) offer the author the opportunity to present any novel ideas and criticism in the field of medicine and health sciences. Authors of perspectives are encouraged to be highly opinionated and should represent a personal perspective which should be scientific, logical addressing controversies with intellectual content. An expert opinion subtitle (minimum 700 words) is mandatory before the reference section. This article should have structured abstract. Reference should be limited within 30. The editors are highly preferred however potential authors are also encouraged.

Innovations Corner: These articles (1500-2000 words) include health systems and processes interventions and innovations, emphasizing the process, keys to success, and what others can learn from your work. Key to innovations should be summarized in 3-5 bullet points at last how this innovation can be adopted by another institution or become a multisite collaboration. We particularly welcome submissions that address common challenges for patients, care teams, and institutions in the field of medicine.  The article should have 100–150-word unstructured abstract.  Maximum 2 tables or figure and references no more than 8.

Book Review: Book reviews are an opportunity to explore one or more books on a topic in a well-defined, but necessarily limited way. Any book review health related medical education/policy book in the field of medicine and medical sciences should be limited within 1500 words with minimum two photographs highlighting the introduction of the book, striking contents, major arguments and discussion, positive and negative critics, publisher details with cover page.

Opinion/Viewpoints : These articles (1500 words) allow authors to present a particular perspective on a topic of current interest and challenges in the field of medicine,  healthcare, public health, research, discovery, prevention, ethics, health policy, or health law and generally are not linked to a specific article Opinion articles should be backed up by a solid grounding in the published literature and are not intended for largely speculative or hypothetical discussions. The article should be clear, compelling, well argued with new insights and appeal to our international readership in health sciences and medicine community. Viewpoints must have no more than 3 authors. The first author should have sufficient expertise and experience with the topic to provide an authoritative opinion. The article should be presented with 1 small table or figure and up to 8 references (where appropriate), which should be as current as possible. Reference should not exceed 15. Viewpoints not meeting these guidelines will not be considered.

Commentary: Commentaries (1200 words) discusses a paper published in a specific issue and should set the problems addressed by the paper in the wider context of the field. Commentaries can also generally address unresolved and timely issues in health and medicine, and should provide sufficient evidence to support the authors' views. Maximum 2 tables/figures are limited and references should not exceed 20. No abstract is required.

All types of Manuscript should have title page and the title page should contain:

1. Type of manuscript (e.g. Original article, Case report, Review Article etc.)
2. The title of the article, which should be concise, but informative;
3. Running title or short title not more than 50 characters;
4. The name by which the author is known (Last name, First name and Middle name)
5. The name of the department and institution to which the work should be attributed.
6. The name, address, phone number, fax-number. email address of the contributors for correspondence about the manuscript;
7. Source(s) of support in the form of grants, equipment, drugs, or all of these;

Authors name should not be present on other pages than title page