Authors guidelines
Types of Manuscript
Iraqi JMS publishes original articles (for the presentation of clinical and laboratory studies), reviews (by invitation only), case reports, editorials, and letters to the editor, in addition to articles commissioned by the Editorial Committee. The manuscripts are subject to peer review. Identities of peer reviewers and authors are kept confidential. Final decisions regarding manuscript publication are made by the Editor.
Original Articles
Original articles include reports on original clinical and laboratory research and related topics. Although there is no set limit for the length of Original Articles, it is highly recommended that they be no longer than 4000 words excluding the abstract, tables, figure legends, and references. The abstract should be no longer than 250 words, and should contain the following headings: Background, Objectives, Methods, Results, and Conclusions.
Reviews
Reviews are usually solicited by the Editor-in-Chief, and are subject to the same review process as the other types of manuscript prior to being accepted for publication. Reviews must have an abstract, but there is no structured format for it. It is recommended that Reviews have a minimum length of 3000 words excluding the abstract, tables, figure legends, and references.
Case Reports
The acceptance criteria for Case Reports are very strict, and only reports that make a major clinicopathological or educational contribution or suggest a significant change in a diagnosis or therapy are published. Case Reports should not exceed 1500 words excluding the abstract, tables, figure legends, and references. Abstracts are required for Case Reports and should be no longer than 150 words with the following headings: Background, Case Report, and Conclusions.
Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor should be no longer than 750 words, including the title page and references. Only one figure or table is allowed, and subheadings should not be used.
Editorials
Editorials are accepted by invitation only (from the Editor-in-Chief), and are commentaries on timely and important topics. Editorials express the personal views of the authors and do not represent the opinions of Iraqi JMS. Words counts are not limited, and subheadings should not be used.
Ethical Policy
A submitted manuscript must not be associated with any type of research misconduct, including fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism with intent to deceive by the authors. The Editor-in-Chief will reject a manuscript if research misconduct is suspected. The cover letter to the Editor-in-Chief must declare that a submitted manuscript has neither been published nor is under simultaneous consideration for publication elsewhere either in its entirety or in part in any language, except in the form of an abstract. The cover letter must also state whether any part of the manuscript contains redundant or duplicate information, defined as text, data, tables, or figures that overlap substantially with previously published information. Research involving human subjects must comply with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (1964), Available at: http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/b3/17c.pdf).
Manuscripts describing such research must state that informed consent to participate was obtained from the subjects, when appropriate. Manuscripts describing research involving animals must state in the Methods section that the work was approved by the appropriate institutional ethics committee or review board. Policies on the research and publication ethics not stated in these instructions are available elsewhere, such as in the “Committee on Publication Ethics” (http://publicationethics.org/resources/guidelines).
Copyright
The journal allow the author(s) to hold the copyright without restrictions
Plagiarism Detection
Iraqi JMS now screens all submitted manuscripts with the antiplagiarism software program Turnit In. If a significant commonality between a submitted manuscript and prior publications is identified on this initial software screening, the submission will be subject to a manual review for copyright breach. Whilst it is recognized that most submitted manuscripts will have similar phrases and wording in various sections, the extensive reproduction of previously published works (excluding quotations) will result in immediate rejection. Such unauthorized duplication of prior published work is regarded as a serious breach of copyright
Manuscript Submission
Iraqi JMS offers authors Web-based manuscript submission and peer review at http://www.iraqijms.net/author-register.html. Please review the instructions at the website carefully and take note of the additional instructions provided at the top of each screen of the five-stage submission process. Submit your manuscript and all figures exactly as instructed to avoid rejection or a delay in processing.
Users must register when accessing the Iraqi JMS online submission system for the first time, by clicking on “Register.” Three steps are involved in obtaining a personal account.
Manuscripts submitted to Iraqi JMS are subject to editorial evaluation and revision by three referees.
ID/Password
We strongly recommend using your email address as your ID, since this represents a unique and easy-to-remember identifier that will be needed each time you log onto the system (as a reviewer or author). The password will be encrypted for security reasons, and will not be known to any of the Iraqi JMS staff. A verification message will be emailed to you at the email address you used to register.
Profile
Once you have verified your email address, you will be asked to provide a basic profile consisting of your contact information.
Uploading a Manuscript
Once logged onto the Iraqi JMS online submission system, click on “Submit a new manuscript.” You will be presented with a series of fields for entering information about your manuscript and uploading the manuscript and any images and supplementary files.
The system will automatically convert your files into a single PDF file for the review procedure. You will be asked to approve the converted file before your manuscript is formally accepted for submission to Iraqi JMS. The conversion process can take up to 30 minutes, and an email will be sent informing you when the conversion is complete. Click on “Ready for you to proof” in the author area to check that the manuscript has been converted correctly.
You may begin a submission or continue the process at a later date by clicking on “Save/Continue” at the bottom of the screen when entering your manuscript information. This enables you to save that page or continue to the next page. If you choose not to complete the submission during a particular session, your manuscript will appear in the “incomplete submission” queue under “My Manuscript.” Do not submit the same manuscript more than once.
After completing the submission, the manuscript number will be sent to the email address specified, and this should be quoted in all subsequent communications. This email notification will be sent after we have confirmed that the format of the submitted manuscript is consistent with the Iraqi JMS style. Manuscripts that do not conform to this style might be returned to you so that you can correct the style before further review.
Supplementary Data
Supplementary Data are contents (such as raw data, figure, table, and video file) that the authors wish to make available online if the manuscript is accepted for publication.
Manuscript Status
Authors who submit online using the Iraqi JMS online submission system can keep track of the progress of their manuscript throughout the peer-review process by visiting the Iraqi JMS online submission page and clicking on “My Manuscript.”
Submitting a Revision
To submit a revised manuscript via the Iraqi JMS online submission system, click on “Submit a revised manuscript.” You will be presented with information about the original version of your manuscript, which should be edited as necessary. You will then be required to upload the files related to the revised version (see “Manuscript Submission” for further details). Please include your point-by-point responses to the reviewer comments and a cover letter to the Editor-in-Chief. In addition, please submit a copy of the revised manuscript indicated new text using yellow colored type (without a change of the font type or underlining).
Manuscript Preparation
General Style
The manuscript must contain the author information page, title page, abstract, main text, references, tables, and figure legends, and should be written in English. Margins of 2.5 cm are required on each side. The main text of the manuscript and all tables included in the submission must be provided as Microsoft Word files. The text must be written in double-spaced, 12-point font, preferably Times New Roman. Abbreviations should only be used for terms that are used at least twice, and should be defined separately on first use in the main text. Place the page number in the middle of the bottom of each page from the title page onwards. Any automatic formatting features should be removed before submitting the manuscript (e.g., when using EndNote, remove the field codes before submission).
Cover Letter
The cover letter accompanying the manuscript must specify the type of manuscript and include statements on ethical issues and conflicts of interest, and complete contact information for the corresponding author.
Author Information Page
The author information page should contain all of the following information: (a) manuscript title, (b) names of all authors (first name, middle initial and family name) including highest academic degree, (c) authors affiliations where the work was performed (d) contact information for the corresponding author including the complete postal address, telephone number, fax number, and email address (e) running title (less than 50 characters including spaces). When there are multiple authors with multiple affiliations, these can be referenced using superscript numbers in the order in which they appear (e.g., “1,2,3”). Titles should be short, specific and informative and avoid using abbreviations.
Begin each of following sections on separate page in the following sequence: Title page, abstract and keywords, list of abbreviation, text, acknowledgments, author contribution, conflict of interest, funding, references, tables, and legends for illustration.
Title Page
The title page is considered the first page of the manuscript. It should contain the title, running title, number of characters in the title, number of words in the manuscript (excluding references, tables, and figure legends), number of figures, and number of tables. The total number of figures and tables combined should not exceed ten in an Original Article and three in a Case Report. Do not include author information on the title page for a blind peer review. The author names should not appear on this page.
Abstract
All Original Articles must include structured abstracts that do not exceed 250 words, and be organized under Background, Objectives, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. For Case Reports, the abstract must be organized under Background, Case Report, and Conclusions. Between three and six keywords should be provided at the end of this page. Important terms can be selected from the Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) of Index Medicus (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/meshhome.html).
Main Text
The main text of an Original Article must be prepared under the following subheadings: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Do not indent the first line. Do not include any new-page marks in the file. The description of the case and its related results in a Case Report must appear under the subheading of “Case Report” (and not “Methods” and “Results,” as used in an Original Article). Editorials and Letters to the Editor should not contain subheadings.
Acknowledgments
Collate acknowledgments in a separate section at the end of the article before the references and do not, therefore, include them on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise. All persons who have made substantial contributions to the work reported in the manuscript (e.g., technical help, writing and editing assistance, general support), but who do not meet the criteria for authorship, are named in the Acknowledgments and have given us their written permission to be named. If we have not included an Acknowledgments in our manuscript, then that indicates that we have not received substantial contributions from non-authors.
Conflict of interest
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Example of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications\registrations, and grants or other funding. See also http://www.elsevier.com\conflictsofinterest. Please complete and upload the conflict of interest and author declaration form with your manuscript (Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form).
Author contributions
Each author is required to declare his or her individual contribution to the article: all authors must have materially participated in the research and\or article preparation, so roles for all authors should be described. The statement that all authors have approved the final author’s article should be true and included article in the disclosure (Authorship contribution form).
Role of the funding source
You are requested to identify who provided financial support for the conduct of the research and\or preparation of the article and to briefly describe the role of the sponsor (s), if any, in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication. If the funding source (s) had no such involvement then this should be stated.
List of abbreviation
Any abbreviations used should be listed after the abstract and defined at first use in the main body of the article. Use only widely accepted and conventional abbreviations. Avoid abbreviations in the title and abstract.
References
References should be numbered numerically in the text using superscript parenthesized numbers (e.g., (3, 7, 10-12), and then listed on a separate sheet at the end of the manuscript in the same numerical order. Unpublished data, including manuscripts that have been submitted but not yet accepted for publication, and personal communications may be cited in the text (and must include the initials and surnames of all of the involved people, and the year in which the observation was made), but should not be listed as references. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of references. The format of reference should conform with that specified in “International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (http://www.icmje.org/manuscript_a.html).” Journal abbreviations should conform to the style used in the Cumulated Index Medicus (http://www2.bg.am.poznan.pl/czasopisma/medicus.php?lang=eng). References with three or fewer authors should list all of them, while those with four or more authors should list only the first three, followed by “et al.”
Sample References
Standard Journal article:
Smith AR, Hosker GL, Warrell DW. The role of pudendal nerve damage in the etiology of genuine stress incontinence in women. Br J Obstet Gynaecol. 1989; 96:29-32.
Book
Wyllie E. The Treatment of Epilepsy. 2nd ed. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1997; Pp. 97-98.
Book chapter:
Greaves M, Culligan DJ. Blood and bone marrow. In: Underwood JCE, editor. General and systematic pathology. 4th ed. London: Churchill Livingstone, 2004; Pp. 615-72.
Tables
Each table and its title should appear on a separate page, and should be provided as a Microsoft Word table in order to ensure correct column alignment. Tables must be cited in numerical order (Table 1, Table 2, etc.) in the main text. Horizontal lines should be used only above and below column headings and at the bottom of a table; vertical lines should not be used at all. All abbreviations should be spelled out when they first appear in tables. For footnotes, the following symbols should be superscripts and be used in the indicated sequence: *, †, ‡, §, ∥, ¶, **, ††, and ‡‡. The significance of observations, as determined by appropriate statistical analyses, must be indicated.
Figures
Figures must also be cited in numerical order (Fig. 1, Fig. 2, etc.) in the main text. They must be submitted as separate files saved in JPEG, GIF (do not embed the figures in the Microsoft Word manuscript file). The minimum resolutions for different image types are 600 ppi. As mentioned in the “Copyright” section, photographs of recognizable persons should be accompanied by signed releases from them or their legal guardians authorizing publication. Figure legends must appear on a separate page at the end of the manuscript file. All color figures will be reproduced in full color in the online edition of Iraqi JMS at no cost to authors.
Accepted Manuscripts: Materials Required for Publication
Proofs and Reprints
Proofs must be returned within 48 hours of receipt; late return might delay the publication of a manuscript. Please check the text, tables, figure legends, and references very carefully. To expedite publication, page proofs (rather than galley proofs) will be sent electronically to the corresponding author. Substantial alterations by the authors other than the correction of printing errors might incur additional charges.
Publication fees
Iraqi JMS levies an article submission charges of 20000 IQDs and article-processing charge of 100.000 IQDs. for each original (extra fees of 6.000 IQDs for each additional page "more than six pages" and up to 24.000 IQDs only) for article accepted for publication. Please note that these charges apply only to accepted articles of Iraqi authors. All other authors are exempt from these charges.
Important quick-links:
Copyright Transfer statement - Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form - Authorship contribution form
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.
