Iranian Journal of Surgery

Submission criteria and Author's guide

Ethical considerations regarding the prohibition of a duplicate publication

The Iranian Journal of Surgery will not accept articles for publication that have been published in other domestic medical journals or are being considered or accepted for publication as such.

The full manuscript formatted according to the Iranian Journal of Surgery Guide to Authors will be accepted for publication if:

1-       The abstract or the poster has been presented in a scientific meeting.

2-       The abstract has been published in an abstract book or proceedings of a scientific meeting.

3-       Non-Persian articles published in Non-Domestic Journals will preferentially demand permission from the publisher.

In all of the above the author should submit the inquiry with the copies of the abstract book entry, poster or foreign article to the Editor of the Iranian Journal of Surgery.

Peer-view process

The submitted articles will be evaluated by the editorial board in general, at the first session, to see if the format and content conforms to the journal's criteria and then if acceptable is sent for peer-reviewing. The peer-reviewers are selected among the best experienced and informed experts in the related specialties. If they consider the article acceptable for publication, then their views and requested improvements are sent to the corresponding author. The authors have 10 days to two weeks to reform and sent the article back. On some occasions with the consent and participation of the authors, one or two members of the editorial board and the biostatistician expert will convene and the shortcomings and problems of the article are addressed and corrected. The journal office is ready to provide technical and scientific assistance especially for methodological, epidemiological and biostatistics-related matters to the respected researchers. The editorial board is free to accept or reject the articles. If the article is rejected, the article, pictures, and electronic media will not be returned.

Patients' rights and ethical consideration

The Iranian Journal of Surgery complies fully with patient's privacy rights. The patient's information as related to identity such as textual, pictorial, pedigree and others must not be revealed under any circumstance except when they are helpful for the scientific purposes. In these situations an informed consent is obtained in writing. The patient needs to see the article and the original copies of the documents. In all other circumstances the details as related to identity will be omitted.

If a complete face is to be printed both eyes are covered by a black band.

Copyright observance principles are to be respected when quoting information from other sources; for example at the bottom of a picture from another source the reference details should be mentioned.

Criteria for Submission of articles

A covering letter addressed to the editor and signed by all the authors is necessary. By sending this covering letter the authors accept all terms of condition of Iranian Journal of Surgery and confer rights of writer(s) to the publisher. Receipt of the article is announced to the corresponding address as soon as possible. Articles should possess the below sections:

1- First page or Title page; includes the main title, running title, complete name of authors, ward, hospital, faculty, university, city or the place of occupation of the author(s), along with the postal address of the corresponding author or the fax and email if available.

2- Second page or Abstract page; includes the abstract and key words.

3- Third page or Text page; includes the introduction or background and objectives, materials and methods, results, discussion and conclusion.

4- Acknowledgements page.

5- Index page.

6- Tables page.

7- Each graph and picture needs a separate page.

8- Legends page.

Format

1-       Types the text double-spaced in Word application and leave minimum 2.5 cm blank space on each side.

2-       Place the page number at the lower lateral edge of each page.

3-       The picture should not be larger than 25#420 cm.

4-       When an embedded object from SPSS or Excel is added to the Word the original source should be sent separately to make probable changes possible.

5-       The legends, tables, graphs and pictures should have Farsi scripts.

The original copy should accompany 3 photocopies. The CD or Diskette should also be sent.

Title

The title should be expressive and concise. An attempt should be made to use Farsi words or transcript the Latin words in Farsi. The usage of Latin fonts is strictly prohibited.  Below the title, name(s) of author(s) should be written.

Abstract

All research articles should have an abstract in Farsi and English comprising between 250 to 400 words. The components of a structured abstract includes

·          Background and Objectives: explanation of the main question and the purpose of the writing with presentation of the hypothesis.

·          Materials and Methods: how the research is conducted, especially the statistical methods and characteristics of the specimen, population under the study, sample size, etc.

·          Results: summary of information and data obtained and the most important findings of the study.

·          Conclusion: summary of explanation and interpretation of the final findings of the study.

Abstract of a case report

Should be less than 200 words and includes the following titles

·          Background or History: the reason behind the selection of the case and the purpose of the study is explained.

·          The Case: summary of clinical findings, abnormal Lab. Findings, treatment and therapy result.

·          Conclusion: summary of main findings and discoveries and the reason why this case is unique.

Abstract of a review article

Abstract of a review article should be well organized and should not exceed 300 words. The structured abstract of a review article includes the following:

·          Objective: includes purpose of the review

·          Sources of Data: includes name of the sources for the study

·          Methods: includes the number of studies and the criteria to select them

·          Combining the topics and results: includes grouping of information, coherence of sentences, and integration of findings and conclusions of the reviewed articles.

·          Conclusion: includes the primary conclusion and clinical application of the topics presented at the review article.

Key words

Three to 10 key words according to the MeSH index should be provided.

Introduction (background and objective)

·          This section explains the purpose of the study and provides the logical reason to conduct and write the article and the research question or the hypothesis is described in detail.

·          The size of the introduction should be curtailed in comparison to the discussion and should not exceed an A4 paper in size.

·          The reference numbers should appear in text consecutively.

Materials and Methods

·          The study subjects (Patients, Lab. Animals) as well as the age, gender and other characteristics should be mentioned.

·          Why and how the study was conducted should be clear (for example why a specific age group is used in the study, etc…)

·          The principle of WWWWWH (What, Where, Why, Who, When, How) should be taken into consideration.

·          Avoid terminologies which have nonspecific meanings and use descriptive phrases instead.

·          Describe fully the method of data collection (for example the questionnaire or the other source of information).

·          Methods: Describe fully the tools and equipments used in the study (The manufacturer's details, etc…); so that others can make use of it if need arises.

·          Describe fully the statistical methods. It is not enough to mention the statistical software's name; rather the types of statistical tests should be stated.

·          Less well known methods need more explanation. Provide convincing reason why you use the new method.

·          Explain about all medications and chemicals accurately (drug's name, summary pharmacology, dosage, usage and manufacturer).

Biostatistics

·          The statistical methods should be explained fully. The type of computer application should be specified.

·          Provide the correct quantity of calculated errors in measurements.

·          If possible explain the methods as applied or clinical and do not use mathematical symbols (e.g. P).

·          The consequences of treatment should be delineated.

·          Exclusions should be explained by reasoning. Criteria for inclusion to and exclusion from the study should be expressed.

Findings

·          Findings that include multiple informational points should be presented by tables and graphs and a brief explanation in the text.

·          The context of the "Findings" section should be concise and clear and explain to the reader an abstract from tables and figures.

·          When there are few findings or a simple result, instead of tables and figures, the text itself should appear in the context.

Tables, Graphs and Figures

·          Tables, Graphs and Figures should be formatted in accordance with the text.

·          Use of tables, graphs and figures should be appropriate and not redundant; examples of these (some do not contribute to results of the study) are a 2-row table, figures of routine Lab. Tools or pictures of killed Lab. Animals as witnesses to the true nature of the study. Most authorities believe that for each 500 to 700 words there should be one figure or table.

·          The tables, graphs and figures should be self-explanatory, be numbered, have a complete title, be clear, have legend and not hand-drawn. No empty cell should be present without explanation. The picture should be so clear that the findings alluded to in the title or text of the article could be visible and when necessary should be colored. In some cases the original picture should be submitted as the computer generated electrophoresis or EKG graph may not be useful.

·          Deduction of the true purpose of a table or figure should be possible without referring to the text of the article.

·          Tables and figures should explain the findings in brief.

·          Numbering the indexes should be consecutive in the text of the article.

·          Tables and figures should be numbered as they appear in the article.

·          Tables and figures could be submitted on separate pages.

Discussion

·          Emphasis should be put on the important and new findings of the study.

·          Data or other instances presented at the introduction or results, should not be repeated in detail in this section.

·          A review of articles should be placed in this section.

·          Results should be compatible with the objectives of the study. New hypotheses should be brought up. Suggestions should come up.

·          Explain your interpretation and explanation of the findings from the Results section.

·          Compare study findings with anticipated findings.

Conclusions; includes the final results.

Acknowledgements; Expression of appreciation to all who have helped the researcher in material and spiritual forms (technical, writing, etc…)

Glossary

·          Use standard abbreviations instead of whole words (Sec, Min…)

·          Non-standard abbreviations should be written completely on first use.

·          Abbreviations should be used only when the repeats are at least 3 times; exceptions are per cent and degree. In other cases use the IS metric system according to Vancouver regulations.

General regulations

·          Findings should be discussed in past tense.

·          Findings from other articles should be explained in present tense.

·          Planned laboratory tests should be written in future tense.

·          Avoid poorly understandable and complex phrases.

·           

Framework of a Case Report

In preparing this type of articles patients privacy should be respected and an informed consent form should be obtained and attached to the article.

The sequence of different section are; Abstract, Key Words, Introduction, Case Presentation, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgements, References, Tables, Glossary

Framework of a Review Article

A review article should have the principal structure (reasoning and discussions) of a research report. Explain the methods of extraction and selection and composition of data and information. The sequence of different section are; Abstract, Key Words, Introduction, Subtitles, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgements, References, Tables, Glossary

References

In bibliography the following resources could be utilized:

Journal articles, books and monographs, printed abstracts, electronic material, and thesis.

References should be numbered consecutively as they are mentioned in the article's text and at the end of the article. Farsi references should be written at the start of the list. The journal names should comply with the Index Medicus (find this at; www.hlm.nih.gov ). The abstract books and congress reports are not accepted.

References that have been accepted for publication but not yet published should be written as "under the print". In such a case a copy of the letter of acceptance should be included with article submission.

In preparing the bibliography the Vancouver regulations (Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals) and Tehran Agreement should be observed.

The author(s) is responsible for the authenticity of the contents.  

Five copies of the journal containing the article will be sent to the author(s).