Author Guidelines

Author Guidelines 

Please read carefully to avoid unwanted delays in the publication of your scientific work. The following sections are discussed in detail:

1. Author responsibilities

The authors have the following two responsibilities:

1. Their assertion that their scientific work has not been published at all or is under review in another journal.
2. The accuracy of the references used and the texts quoted from them.
3. Criteria of the authorship:

1. Active participation in the study design and formulation, data acquisition and statistical analysis, and discussion of data results and their comparison with other studies.
2. Writing the article in a scientific refereed form or reviewing it.
3. Approval of the final version of the research to be published.

Each author must be sufficiently involved in scholarly research to express his responsibility for appropriate portions of the manuscript. The sequence of the authors depends on the size of their participation in the study and its writing. The sequence of the authors in a manuscript cannot be changed after it is submitted to the journal unless there is written consent from all the contributors.

3. Requirements for the submission of a scientific work

1. Blind manuscript (manuscripts without the names and affiliations of author/s)
2. Cover letter (contain title of manuscript, names and affiliations of author/s)
3. Copyright transfer, financial disclosure, and conflict of interest.
4. Contribution form

4. Types of manuscripts: Al-Qadisiyah Medical Journal accepts the following scientific works:

1. Original research: It should consist of
1. Title: Each word should with start a capital letter.
2. Structured Abstract (background, objectives, materials and methods, results, and conclusion)
3. Keywords
4. Text (Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion), Acknowledgment, and References.
2. Case report: It should consist of
1. Title: Each word should be started with a capital letter.
2. The abstract of one paragraph contains three components; introduction, presentation of the case, and conclusion.
3. Introduction
4. Case presentation
5. Discussion, and references
3. Review Articles: QMJ publishes both narrative and systematic reviews. It is expected that narrative articles will be written by individuals who have done substantial work on the subject or are considered experts in the field. The abstract should include an overview of the topic and the main objective for the review, the primary observations and findings, as well as the conclusion of the review that are supported by the information, along with clinical applications and relevance. The main body section titles would depend on the topic reviewed. Authors should also include a section describing the methods used for locating, selecting, extracting, and synthesizing data.

For systematic reviews with meta-analysis, a structured abstract is required. In addition, the main body of the text should comprise an introduction, methods (detailing the following: search strategy, study selection and data extraction, quality of evidence, risk of bias, and publication bias), Results (detailing search results and the primary findings), discussion, conclusion, references, tables and figure legends.

General Requirements:

1. Abstract: Abstract is 350 words maximum and unreferenced, and must include the following subtitles: Background, Aims, Material & Methods, Results, and Conclusions. Do not use abbreviations and acronyms, and expand all abbreviations at first mention in the text.
2. Key words:3-6 relevant key words or short phrases are provided following the Abstract. These should not duplicate key words from the title.
3. Introduction:This part of the research summarizes its purpose and rationality. In addition to clarifying the conclusions reached by previous studies on the same topic and what remained ambiguous. It should not contain a detailed explanation of the previous studies, nor should the results or conclusions of the research be placed there.
4. Materials and Methods:(1) Provide the detailed information to allow the work to be reproduced. The previously reported methods should be indicated by a reference; (2) At beginning of the section, include the details of ethical clearance from local review board and informed consents from patients (if needed); and (3) Include "Statistical Study" as a subtitle in the final part of the section, and specify the statistical methods used in the study. Avoid non-technical uses of technical terms in statistics, such as 'random' (which implies a randomizing device), 'normal', 'significant', 'correlations', and 'sample'. Define statistical terms, abbreviations, and most symbols. Specify the computer software used. All P values should be reported as exact numbers to 2 digits past the decimal point, regardless of significance, unless they are lower than 0.01, in which case they should be presented to 3 digits. Express any P values lower than 0.001 as P<.001. P values can never equal 0 or 1. Use upper italics P.
5. 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 in the text all the data in the tables or illustrations; emphasize or summarize only important observations. Numbers are given in the tables and figures. The title (legend) of the table is placed above the table, and the legend of the figure is placed below the corresponding figure
6. Discussion:Include summary of key findings, strengths and limitations of the study, interpretation and implications in the context of the totality of evidence, controversies raised by this study, and future research directions. Do not repeat in detail data or other material given in the Introduction or the Results section. Avoid claiming priority and alluding to work that has not been completed. New hypotheses may be stated if needed, however, they should be clearly labeled as such.
7. Conclusions:The conclusions of the manuscript may be presented in a short Conclusions section, or may stand alone or form a subsection of a Discussion section.
8. Acknowledgement: All contributors to the research who do not meet the author's specifications must be mentioned. It includes everyone who provided technical or financial assistance or helped in writing the research.
9. Tables:The upper limit of the number of tables is 6 for original studies and 5 for case reports (figures and tables). Tables in Word forms are acceptable, however, the tables in an image forms are rejected. The table is put into its appropriate place in the text. A brief title is provided for every table.
10. Figures:The upper limit of the number of figures is 6 for original articles and 5 for case reports (figures and tables). Figures must be submitted in JPEG or GIF format as a separate file. A figure legend is provided for each figure. If a figure contains multiple panels (e.g., A, B, C, D, or right, left), you should specify each of them in the legend. Any abbreviation used in the legend should be clearly clarified.
11. Conflicts of Interest: Researchers must clarify whether there are conflicts of financial interest or other interests, that affect the outcome of scientific research. Also, the researchers must clarify if there is any financial support for the research and the party that supports it.
12. Abbreviations: Universal abbreviations are permitted in writing the research. It is also possible to use abbreviations in the text after writing the term in full, as first mentioned in the article. Avoid using acronyms in the abstract unless they are so necessary.
13. References:The authors are responsible for the accuracy of the references used in the research. To facilitate writing the references, you can use multiple software programs such as Mendeley and EndNote

Examples of references are given below according to the IEEE style used by the QMJ:

1. V Faraone and H. Larsson, “Genetics of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,” Mol. Psychiatry, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 562–575, 2019.
2. K.Urion., “Pediatric Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.,” Nelson Text. Pediatr. 21st ed. Philadelphia, PA Elsevier., vol. 1, chapter 49, pp. 262–267, 2020.

For more details, please read the IEEE Reference Guide at this link: https://ieeeauthorcenter.ieee.org/wp-content/uploads/IEEE-Reference-Guide.pdf

• Link/URL: U.S. positions on selected issues at the third negotiating session of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Washington, D.C.: Committee on Government Reform, 2002. (Accessed March 4, 2002, at http://www.house.gov/reform/min/inves_tobacco/index_accord.htm).

14. Format of Tables

• Include a title for each table (no longer than 15 words) in a single file.
• Tables should be self-explanatory and should not duplicate textual material.
• Tables with more than 10 columns and 25 rows are not acceptable.
• Explain all nonstandard abbreviations in footnotes.
• The tables along with their number should be cited at the relevant place in the text
• Submit tables in a word processing not an imaging format.
• Identify statistical measures of variations, such as SD or SE. Do not merely repeat information in the text.
• All P values should be reported as exact numbers to 2 digits past the decimal point, regardless of significance, unless they are lower than 0.01, in which case they should be presented to 3 digits. Express any P values lower than 0.001 as P<.001. P values can never equal 0 or 1.

15. Format of Figures

• Upload the images in JPEG format. The file size should be within 1024 kb in size while uploading.
• Number all figures in the order of their citation in the text.
• Include a title for each figure (no longer than 15 words). Titles and detailed explanations belong to the figure legends, not on the illustrations themselves.
• Multi-panel figures (for example Fig. 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d) should be submitted as a single composite file that contains all parts of the figure.
• Labels, numbers, and symbols should be clear and of uniform size. The lettering for figures should be large enough to be legible after reduction to fit the width of a printed column.
• The photographs and figures should be trimmed to remove all the unwanted areas.

Please note: it is the responsibility of the author(s) to obtain permission from the copyright holder to reproduce figures that have previously been published elsewhere.

Submission of Manuscripts

All manuscripts must be submitted online through the website at http://www.qmj.qu.edu.iqNew users will have to register at this site. Registered authors can keep track of their articles after logging into the site using their user name and password. If you experience any problems, please contact the editorial office by e-mail at joumed@qu.edu.iq Prior to sending your electronic submission, please ensure that the manuscript has been prepared according to this Instruction, with special emphasis on the style of the manuscript and reference list. The submitted manuscripts that are not as per the Instructions to Authors would be returned to the authors for technical correction before they undergo peer-review.

Preparation of Manuscripts

Manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with "Instruction To Authors" of Al-Qadisiyah Medical Journal. Before submitting a manuscript, authors are requested to check for the latest instructions of the journal. All manuscript published in Al-Qadisiyah Medical Journal must be written in English, either American or British style. To avoid unnecessary errors, you are strongly advised to use the 'spell-check' and 'grammar-check' functions of your word processor.

To submit manuscript, authors should prepare manuscript in the form of two separate files:

1 Title Page and Cover Letter:

1. The type of manuscript (original article, case report, review article)
2. Title should be concise and informative, do not use " Effects of ..." or " Study of ...", fewer than 150 characters. Do not use abbreviations and formulae;
3. The names of all authors (with their affiliations) and name(s) of department(s) and/or institution(s) to which the work should be credited. All information which can reveal author's identity should be here.
4. The total number of pages, total number of photographs and word counts.
5. Acknowledgement, if any. One or more statements should specify 1) contributions that need acknowledging but do not justify authorship, such as general support by a departmental chair; 2) acknowledgments of technical help; and 3) acknowledgments of financial and material support, which should specify the nature of the support;
6. If the manuscript was presented as part at a meeting, the organization, place, and exact date on which it was read.
7. Registration number of a clinical trial and where it is registered (name of the registry and its URL)
8. The name, address, e-mail, and telephone number of the corresponding author, who is responsible for communicating with the other authors about revisions and final approval of the proofs.

2. Blinded Article File:

The manuscript must not contain any mention of the authors' names or initials or the institution at which the study was done or acknowledgements. Page header cannot include the authors' names. The main text of the article, beginning from Abstract till References (including tables) should be in this file. Do not incorporate images in the file. The pages should be numbered consecutively, beginning with the first page of the blinded article file. The file should include main title of the article.

3. Conflicts of Interest: All authors must disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest, including any financial, personal or other relationships with other people or organizations, with the study. Authors should also disclose conflict of interest with products that compete with those mentioned in their manuscript.
4. Permissions: Authors must submit written permission from the copyright owner (usually the publisher) to use direct quotations, tables, or illustrations that have appeared in copyrighted form elsewhere, along with complete details about the source.
5. Ethical compliance

Researchers who wish to be published in the Al-Qadisiyah Medical Journal must adhere to the following:

1. All research conducted on humans must match the World Medical Association’s Declaration of Helsinki
2. Research carried out on animals should follow the guidelines for the use and care of laboratory animals followed by institutions, the National Research Council, and the laws in their countries. Please include this in the materials and methods section, as well as the name of the institution that granted the license to conduct the research, along with the number and date of granting the
3. Taking informed consent from all patients and documenting it according to the specifications of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and/or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

NOTE: It is possible to reject the articles by Al-Qadisiyah Medical Journal if there are concerns that the work was not conducted within ethical guidelines.

6. Patient Anonymity and Informed Consent: It is the author's responsibility to ensure that a patient’s anonymity be carefully protected, and to verify that any experimental investigation with human subjects reported in the manuscript was performed with informed consent and following all the guidelines for experimental investigation with human subjects required by the institution(s) with which all the authors are affiliated. Authors should mask patients' eyes and remove patients' names from figures unless they obtain written consent from the patients and submit written consent with the manuscript.
7. Sending Revised Manuscript: The revised version of the manuscript should be submitted online in a manner similar to that used for submission of the manuscript for the first time. When submitting a revised manuscript, authors are requested to include, the referee’s remarks along with point to point clarification. In addition, they are expected to mark the changes as highlighted text in the article.
8. Proofs: The designated corresponding author will receive notification of availability of page proofs by e-mail. It is the author's responsibility to ensure that there are no errors in the proofs. Proofs must be checked carefully and corrections sent back within 48 hours of receipt, as requested in the electronic cover letter accompanying the page proofs.
9. Open Access: All articles published in Al-Qadisiyah Medical Journal are "open access". This indicates that articles published online can be freely accessed at the journal's website by all users. The journal automatically provides open access to the published articles while publications are online.