Iranian Journal of Medical Microbiology
For Authors

Authors Guide


​ Article submission    Original Article Template   Copyright Form

Dear author, please send us your manuscript through our website. Submissions will be first assessed regarding this Guideline. So please read it carefully and make sure the manuscript is structured as requested. If the structure of the manuscript is right, the manuscript will be subject to a double blind peer review. Each manuscript will be reviewed by at least two reviewers. The final approval will be granted by the Editorial Board.
Manuscript structure
Please note that:
  • The manuscript sent to us must not be already published or simultaneously sent to other journals.
  • Articles must be in English with a proper academic language.
  • The final approval for all the manuscript is authorized by the editorial board.
  • The authors are responsible for the context represented in the manuscript.
  • Using the articles published in this journal is allowed only if cited properly.
  • All the authors must sign the copyright form.

Authors who publish with this journal must carefully read the below notice.
All of the manuscripts sent to this journal are checked for plagiarism. IJMM uses iThenticate to do so.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal and for non-commercial use only.
  2. Upon signing the copyright form, the authors confirm that the manuscript presented to this journal is their original work and is not published in another source or being sent simultaneously to another journal  and its publication has been approved by all coauthors (if any). The responsibility of the content of the articles published is the authors’.
  3. It is the responsibility of the author to obtain all necessary copyright release permissions for the use of any copyrighted materials in the manuscript prior to the submission.
  4. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (the purpose must be scientific only and not commercial).
 
An article processing charge (APC):  Free
  • Title: Should be informative with less than 120 characters.
  • Title
    (The Title should be capitalized. Both the first and the last words of the title must be capitalized.
    All the nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and pronouns must be capitalized. Propositions with more
    than four words must be capitalized.)
  • Short title: Should be less than 50 characters.
  • Names: Should appear in order confirmed in the copyright form.
  • Affiliations: Degree/Position, Department, Faculty/School, University/Institute, City, Country
  • Abstract: 300 words of unstructured summary. 
  • Keywords: 3 to 7, listed in alphabetical order.
Original Article

The main part of each issue of the Iran J Med Microbiol is devoted to original research papers that should present new results of interest to a broad spectrum of pathologists. Papers must describe significant and original observations that can be critically evaluated and if necessary, repeated. They should be arranged as follows: Title page, Main File (Abstract, Highlights, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgement, Conflict of Interest, References, Tables, Figure legends and Figures).

 The minimum number of words for an Original research paper is 2500 and the maximum is 6000 words. The minimum number of references for an Original Research article is 30.

Review Article
Abstract, Introduction, Methodology, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgements, Conflict of Interest, References (more than 30; more than 10 of the references must belong to the author)

Case Report
Abstract, Introduction, Case Report, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgements, Conflict of Interest, References (10 to 30)

Short Article
Abstract, Introduction, Methodology, Results and Discussion,, Conclusion,  Acknowledgements, Conflict of Interest, References (15 to 20)

Letter to Editor
Non-structured 1000 words starting with the phrase “Dear Editor”, going to next line discussing the matter following by the Acknowledgements, Conflict of Interest and References (less than 10)

Each part of the manuscript include certain subjects:
 
  • Introduction: Succinct, with no subheadings containing information about; the main subject and background, the importance, hypothesis and aim of the study.
  • Methodology: This section may be divided by subheadings. This section should contain sufficient details about; time, place, samples and sampling, data gathering tools and methods, tests and tools for tests.
  • Results: This section may be divided by subheadings. Footnotes should not be used and have to be transferred to end of the text after the “Conflict of Interest”. This section contains reports of the findings, figures, graphs (which are considered figures) and tables. Please report only the most important findings and not all of them.
  • Discussion: This section may be divided by subheadings. Discussions should cover the key findings of the study: discuss any prior art related to the subject so to place the novelty of the discovery in the appropriate context; discuss the potential short-comings and limitations on their interpretations; discuss their integration into the current understanding of the problem and how this advances the current views; speculate on the future direction of the research and freely postulate theories that could be tested in the future.
  • Conclusion: This section is limited to one or at most two paragraphs. No new information is ever presented in this section.
  • Acknowledgments: This is a short text to acknowledge the contributions of specific colleagues, institutions, or agencies that aided the efforts of the authors.
  • All these headings and their subtitles must be capitalized (the form “&” must not be used in the
    headings or the body of the text)
    For figures don’t forget to write the word Figure (with capital F). Avoid using Fig. And do
    not forget that in case there are more than one, use the word Figures.
    Example: (+Figure+space+2+) = (Figure 2)
    (+Figures+Space+2+,+Space+3+) = (Figures 2, 3)
    All pictures and graphs are called Figure.
    Figure legends are always written under the Figures.
  • The word Table is also written with capital T.
    The table caption is written above the Table.
     The correct forms of writing:
    Measurement:
    - Number+Space+unit (6mm)
    Temperature = number+°+C (4°C)
    Assessing results = (+item+=+number+) = (R=0.01)
    (+item+±+number+)
    (+item+>+number+)
    (+item+<+number+)
    (+item+≥+number+)
    (+item+≤+number+)
    The correct form of P-value:
    In the text: P-value=0.001
    Between parenthesis (P=0.001)
    Percentage= number+%
    When there is Parenthesis at the end of the sentence, the full stop (.) is placed after the parenthesis.
     
A Conflict of Interest Statement needs to be included at the end of the manuscript before the references. Here, the authors need to declare whether or not the submitted work was carried out in the presence of any personal, professional or financial relationships that could potentially be construed as a conflict of interest.

References should be arranged in order of citation in the text in the Vancouver style and numbered consecutively. The minimum number of references for an Original Research articles is 30, Care Reports and Short articls are 15, Short articl is 15. In text, tables, and legends, identify references with Arabic numerals in parentheses. References should include names of all authors (last name, first); title of article; title of journal (abbreviate according to the style of Index Medicus) or book; year of publication; volume number; location and name of publishing company (books only); first page and last page.

Note: List all authors and/or editors up to 6; for more than six authors the first six should be listed followed by 'et al.'

Examples:

Journals

1. Standard journal article

Less than six authors

1. Vega KJ, Pina l, Krevsky B.Heart transplantation is associated with an increased risk for pancreatobiliary disease. Ann Intern Med 1996 Jun 1; 124 (11):980-3.

As an option, if a journal carries continuous pagination throughout a volume (as man y medical journals do) the month and issue number may be omitted.

More than six authors:

1. Parkin DM, Clayton D, Black RJ, Masuyer E, Friedl HP, Ivanov E, et al. Childhood leukaemia in Europe after Chernoblyl: 5year follow-up. Br J cancer 1996; 73:1006-12.

2. Organization as author

1. The Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand clinical exercise stress testing. Safety and performance guidelines .Med J Aust 1996; 164:282-4.

3. No author given

1. Cancer in South Africa [editorial]. S Afr Med J 1994; 84:15.

4. Article not in English

1. Ryder TE, Haukeland EA, Solhaug JH. Bilateral infrapatellar seneruptur hostidligere frisk kvinne Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen1996; 116:41-2.

5. Volume with Supplement

1. Shen HM, Zhang QF. Risk assessment of nickel carcinogenicity and occupational lung cancer. Environ Health Perspect 1994; 102 Suppl 1:275-82.

6. Issue with supplement

1. Payne DK, Sullivan MD, Massie MJ. Women's psychological reactions to breast cancer. Semin Oncol 1996; 23(1 Suppl 2):89-97.

7. Volume With part

1. Ozben T,Nacitarhan S, Tuncer N. Plasma and urine sialic acid in non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. Ann Clin Biochem 1995; 32(Pt 3):303-6.

8. Issue with part

1. Poole GH, Mills SM. One hundred consecutive cases of flap lacerations of the leg in ageing patients. N Z Med J 1994; 107(986 Pt 1):377-8.

9. Type of article indicated as needed

1. Enzensberger W, Fischer PA. Metronome in Parkinsons disease [letter]. Lancet 1996; 347:1337.

 Clement J, De Bock R. Hematological complications of hantavirus nephropathy (HVN) [abstract] .kidney lnt 1992; 42:1285.

Books and other Monographs

10. Personal author (s)

1. Ringsven MK,Bond D.Gerontology and leadership skills for nurses. 2nd ed. Albany (NY): Delmar Publishers; 1996.

11. Editor(S), compiler (s) as author

1. Norman lJ, Redfern SJ, editors. Mental health care for elderly people. New York: Churchill Livingstone; 1996.

12. Organization as author and publisher institute of Medicine (US).

Looking at the future of the Medicail program. Washington: The institute; 1992

13. Chapter in a book

1. Phillips SJ, Whisnant JP. Hypertension and stroke. In: Laragh JH,Brenner BM, editors. Hypertension: pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management. 2nd ed. New York: Raven Press; 1995. p. 465-78

14. Conference proceedings

1. Kimura J, Shibasaki H, editors. Recent advances in clinical neurophysiology. Proceedings of the 10th international Congress of EMG and Clinical Neurophysiology; 1995 Oct 15-19; Kyoto, Japan. Amsterdam: Elsevier; 1996.

15. Conference paper

1. Bengtsson S, Solheim BG. Enforcement of data protection, privacy and security in medical informatics. In: Lun KC, Degoulet P, Piemme TE, Rienhoff O, editors. MEDINFO 92. Proceedings of the 7th world Congress on Medical Informatics; 1992 Sep 6-10; Geneva, Switzerland. Amsterdam: North –Holland: 1992. p. 1561-5

Other Published Material

16. Newspaper article

1. Lee G.Hospitalizations tied to ozone pollution: study estimates 50,000 admissions annually. The Washington Post 1996 Jun 21; Sect .A:3 (col.5).

17. Audiovisual material

1. HIV+/Aids: the factes and the future [videocas – sette]. St. Louis (M O): Mosby – year Book; 1995.

18. Legal material

Pubic law:

1. Preventive Health Amendments of 1993, Pub. L. No. 103- 183, 107 Stat .2226 (Dec. 14, 1993).

Unenacted bill:

 2. Medical records. Confidentiality Act of 1995, S.1360, 104th Cong. 1st Sess. (1995).

19.In press

2. Leshner Al. Molecular mechanisms of cocaine addiction. N Engl J Med. In press 1996.

Electronic Material

20. Journal article in electronic format

Morss SS. Factors in the emergence of infectious diseases. Emerg Infect Dis [serial online] 1995 Jan-Mar [cited 1996 Jun 5]; 1(1):[24 screens]. Available from: URL: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/eid.htm

21. Monograph in electronic format

CDI, clinical dermatology illustrated [monograph on CDROM]. Reeves JRT, Maibach H. CMEA Multimedia Group, producers. 2nd ed. Version 2.0. San Diego: CMEA; 1995.

22. Computer file

Hemodynamics lll: the upc and downs of hemodynamics [computer program]. Version 2.2. Orlando (FL): Computerized Educational Systems; 1993.

Tables, Figures and Illustrations

Figures and tables should be kept to a necessary minimum, no more than seven, and their information should not duplicated in the text. The position of figures and tables should be indicated in the manuscript.

Tables should be typed on separate sheets and be numbered (with Arabic numbers). Each table must include appropriate headings and Footnotes. Units of measurement must be clearly indicated.

Color images should be at least 300 DPI in JPEG, TIFF or BMP format. Illustrations should be designed to fit the journal page with a maximum plate size 254×203 mm, have an additional white border. Larger illustrations will be printed at the discretion of the Editor. Reduction or cropping may be necessary to conserve space. The best results can be obtained from original artwork and original photographs.

A short detailed legend (maximum, 60 words length) should be provided for each figure. Legends for the illustrations should be typed double spaced on a separate paper. Stains and magnifications should be specified for all photomicrographs. Color illustrations cannot be reproduced in color unless the cost is subsidized by the author. Authors will receive notice of the cost of color reproduction as soon as after acceptance as possible. The corresponding author must sign a written agreement to cover the estimated costs before production of color figures will be undertaken.
 


The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) offers guidance to authors in its publication Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (ICMJE Recommendations), which was formerly the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts. The recommended style for references is based on the National Information Standards Organization NISO Z39.29-2005 (R2010) Bibliographic References as adapted by the National Library of Medicine for its databases.


Details, including fuller citations and explanations, are in Citing Medicine. (Note Appendix F which covers how citations in MEDLINE/PubMed differ from the advice in Citing Medicine.) For datasets (Item 43 below) and software on the Internet (Item 44 below), simplified formats are also shown.

 

Open Access & Copyright

All articles are published with open access under the CC-BY-NC Creative Commons attribution license (the current version is CC-BY-NC version 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This means that the author(s) retain copyright, but the content is free to download, distribute and adapt for non-commercial purposes, given appropriate attribution to the original article.
Upon submission, author(s) grant the journals published by “IJMM” an exclusive license to publish, including to display, store, copy and reuse the content. The CC-BY-NC Creative Commons attribution license enables anyone to use the publication freely, given appropriate attribution to the author(s) and citing the original publisher. The CC-BY-NC Creative Commons attribution license does not apply to third-party materials that display a copyright notice to prohibit copying. Unless the third-party content is also subject to a CC-BY-NC Creative Commons attribution license, or an equally permissive license, the author(s) must comply with any third-party copyright notices.




 
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Publication ethics and malpractice statement

  1. Authorship is based on the following four criteria:
  • Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work;  
  • Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content;
  • Final approval of the version to be published;
  • Agreement 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.
In addition to being accountable for the parts of the work he or she has done, an author should be able to identify which co-authors are responsible for specific other parts of the work. In addition, authors should have confidence in the integrity of the contributions of their co-authors.
We include only one corresponding author per article and the order in which the names of authors are represented in the publishing paper is an exact match to the one presented by the authors in their copyright form.
  1. The individuals who conduct the work are responsible for identifying who meets these criteria and ideally should do so when planning the work, making modifications as appropriate as the work progresses.
  2. When a large multi-author group has conducted the work, the group ideally should decide who will be an author before the work is started and confirm who is an author before submitting the manuscript for publication. All members of the group named as authors should meet all four criteria for authorship, including approval of the final manuscript, and they should be able to take public responsibility for the work and should have full confidence in the accuracy and integrity of the work of other group authors.
  3. Authorship disputes if they cannot be resolved amongst authors should be brought up to the relevant institutional authority. 
  4. Any further contribution details (e.g., equal contribution) must be included in the contributors or acknowledgement sections at the end of the article.
  5. The corresponding author is the one who takes primary responsibility for communication with the journal during the manuscript submission, peer review, and publication process, and typically ensures that all the journal’s administrative requirements, such as providing details of authorship, ethics committee approval, clinical trial registration documentation, and gathering conflict of interest forms and statements, are properly completed, although these duties may be delegated to one or more coauthors.
  6. To name the institutions or organizations not contributing in the process of the research is against the publication ethics.
  7. When the journal gets suspicious whether there is a ghost writer or not, documents must be asked from the corresponding author. The corresponding author must provide the documents needed and if he or she fails, not only the manuscript will not be published or if published will be retracted, but also the matter will be brought up to the authorities.
Duties:
  • Reporting Standards
Authors of reports of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.
  • Data Access and Retention
Authors may be asked to provide the research data supporting their paper for editorial review and/or to comply with the open data requirements of the journal.  Authors should be prepared to provide public access to such data, if practicable, and should be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable number of years after publication. Authors may refer to their journal’s Guide for Authors for further details.
  • Hazards or Human or Animal Subjects
If the work involves chemicals, procedures or equipment that have any unusual hazards inherent in their use, the author must clearly identify these in the manuscript.
If the work involves the use of animal or human subjects, the author should ensure that the manuscript contains a statement that all procedures were performed in compliance with relevant laws and institutional guidelines and that the appropriate institutional committee(s) have approved them. Authors should include a statement in the manuscript that informed consent was obtained for experimentation with human subjects.  The privacy rights of human subjects must always be observed.
  • Clinical Trial Transparency
We support clinical trials transparency. All the information must be declared clearly and confidentiality should be considered seriously.
  • Notification of Fundamental Errors
When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper if deemed necessary by the editor. If the editor or the publisher learn from a third party that a published work contains an error, it is the obligation of the author to cooperate with the editor, including providing evidence to the editor where requested.
  • Image Integrity
It is not acceptable to enhance, obscure, move, remove, or introduce a specific feature within an image. Adjustments of brightness, contrast, or color balance are acceptable if and as long as they do not obscure or eliminate any information present in the original. Manipulating images for improved clarity is accepted, but manipulation for other purposes could be seen as scientific ethical abuse and will be dealt with accordingly.
  • Publication Decisions
The editor of a peer-reviewed journal is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published, often working in conjunction with the relevant society (for society-owned or sponsored journals). The validation of the work in question and its importance to researchers and readers must always drive such decisions. The editor may be guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The editor may confer with other editors or reviewers (or society officers) in making this decision.
Peer review
The editor shall ensure that the peer review process is fair, unbiased, and timely.  Research articles must typically be reviewed by at least two external and independent reviewers, and where necessary the editor should seek additional opinions.
The editor shall select reviewers who have suitable expertise in the relevant field and shall follow best practice in avoiding the selection of fraudulent peer reviewers. The editor shall review all disclosures of potential conflicts of interest and suggestions for self-citation made by reviewers in order to determine whether there is any potential for bias.
  • Fair play
An editor should evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.
  • Confidentiality
The editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript, the corresponding author, reviewers and potential reviewers.
  • Conflicts of Interest
Any potential editorial conflicts of interest should be declared to the publisher in writing prior to the appointment of the editor, and then updated if and when new conflicts arise. The publisher may publish such declarations in the journal.
The editor must not be involved in decisions about papers which s/he has written him/herself or have been written by family members or colleagues or which relate to products or services in which the editor has an interest. Further, any such submission must be subject to all of the journal’s usual procedures, peer review must be handled independently of the relevant author/editor and their research groups, and there must be a clear statement to this effect on any such paper that is published.
  • Involvement and Cooperation in Investigations
An editor should take reasonably responsive measures when ethical complaints have been presented concerning a submitted manuscript or published paper, in conjunction with the publisher (or society). Such measures will generally include contacting the author of the manuscript or paper and giving due consideration of the respective complaint or claims made, but may also include further communications to the relevant institutions and research bodies, and if the complaint is upheld, the publication of a correction, retraction, expression of concern, or other note, as may be relevant. Every reported act of unethical publishing behavior must be looked into, even if it is discovered years after publication.
  • Vigilance over the Published record
The editor should work to safeguard the integrity of the published record by reviewing and assessing reported or suspected misconduct (research, publication, reviewer and editorial), in conjunction with the publisher (or society).
 
  • Contribution to Editorial Decisions
Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and through the editorial communications with the author may also assist the author in improving the paper. Peer review is an essential component of formal scholarly communication, and lies at the heart of the scientific method.
  • Promptness
Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse himself from the review process.
  • Confidentiality
Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.
  • Standards of Objectivity
Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.
  • In case of noticing one, it must be conveyed to the relevant authorities. There should be an investigation for each case separately.
Notice: No one is to know about the investigation until there is proof.
  • In case there is proof, the editor in chief must:
Not publish the manuscript (if it is not published yet),
Publish an amendment in the next issue (if it is already published),
Not publish the author(s) papers for a specific period,
Omit the previous papers of the author(s),
Retract the paper if published.
  1. Manuscripts with unethical behavior may be retracted due to the decision made by the board.
What is Retraction:
When an article retraction is marked in data bases, can threat an author’s reputation and credit. So the reasons according to which an article is retracted have to be clear and be represented with proof. Also there must a line be drawn between a human error and unethical behavior.
Human error: error in collecting categorizing and analyzing data that was not deliberate.
Unethical behavior: duplication, misconduct, plagiarism, conflict of interest, data fabrication and picture manipulation.     
Notice: All correspondence would be confidential until the result of the investigations for unethical behavior is finalized.
A retraction must be done based on clear documents that are already represented to the author(s). In case the journal does not get a response from author(s) in time, or the unethical behavior is proved, the article can be retracted. In case of a human error, the article can be edited scientifically and republished. No need for retraction. In case of an unethical behavior being conducted, the article is retracted.
If the journal is an online one, the editor in chief can do as it is said below:
Marking the word RETRACTED in the beginning and at the end of the article when a note is written telling the reason why the article was retracted and full text and abstract are omitted from the website.
Marking the word RETRACTED in the beginning and at the end of the article when a note is written telling the reason why the article was retracted, omitting the full text but leaving the abstract on the website.
In case the full text is not omitted all the pages can be marked with the watermark of RETRACTED.
Sending all the documents to the committee of the publication ethics of the university.
 Sending all the documents to the committee of the publication ethics of the university where the author(s) are based.
Sending all the documents to the committee of the publication ethics of the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology.
Sending all the documents to the Publisher.
Receiving any manuscript from the author(s) should be avoided.
  1. There is also a right for authors to withdraw their manuscript as there is a right for editors not to accept it.
What is Article Withdrawal?
Author can take withdraw his/her article before the final decision is made by the editors. Author must email the editorial board and explain clearly why he is withdrawing his/her article. Editor in chief is free to decide whether to return the manuscript or not. If the author gives any reasons below, the article can be withdrawn by the editor’s decision:
Flaws in ethical codes
Contradiction in data
Flaws in the methodology or conclusion

The editor in chief can return the manuscript in the cases below:
Finding flaws in the data or methodology 
Finding misconduct
Failing the rules of authorship
Plagiarism
Unethical behavior
In case the article is ready to publish the editor in chief can act as it is mentioned below:
The PDF and HTML will not be published; only the title will be published online accompanying a note explaining why the article is withdrawn. This article does not belong to any of the issues and will not have page number.
In case there is a court sentence in special occasions such as risk in publication, insanity in the data of the article, risk of mistaken publishing, publishing confidential and risky information, the article can be completely omitted. In this case only there remains the title and author(s) name and everything will be erased from the data base. This ca only be done by the editor in chief’s decision.
 
 

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