References should be arranged in order of citation in the text in the Vancouver style and numbered consecutively. References should not exceed 25 readily available citations for all original articles. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.