Guide for Authors

Guide for Authors

Please read the following sections carefully to avoid unwanted delays in the publication of your scientific work. 

  • Submission declaration: By the submission of the manuscript, the authors declare that the scientific work is not has been published previously, or under consideration for publication elsewhere.
  • Type of manuscripts:Al-Qadisiyah Medical Journal accepts the following scientific works
  1. Review article
  2. Original article
  3. Case report
  • Criteria of the authorship: The authors should actively participate in the study design, experimental work, data acquisition, statistical analysis, interpretation of data, and/or writing of the manuscript. Each author must be sufficiently involved in the research to express his responsibility for the manuscript. The sequence of the authors depends on the size of their participation in the study.
  • Requirements for the submission of scientific work:
  1. Blind manuscript (manuscript without the names and affiliations of author/s)
  2. Cover letter (contain Authors names, and affliations)
  3. Copyright transfer, financial disclosure, and conflict of interest.
  4. Submission form
  5. Corresponding author form
  • Preparation of the manuscripts:
  1. Submission:The manuscript is sent to the journal by the corresponding author through the journal system, accompanied by a cover letter that includes the title of the research, the names of the authors, and an outline of the research. The corresponding author should also confirm that the article has not been published elsewhere or submitted to another journal. The manuscript should be typewritten in English using Microsoft Word, with a space of at least 2 cm of the left, right, top, and bottom margins of the A4 sheet. Tables and figures should be placed on separate pages. In addition, figures and images should be sent separately in png, JPEG, or eps format. The authors are required to adhere to the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts (URM) Submitted to Biomedical Journals, which were produced by The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). An updated version of these requirements could be found at icmje.org. QMJ is committed to following the Editorial Policy Statements that describe the responsibilities and rights of editors of peer-reviewed journals. An updated version of these requirements could be found on the website of The Council of Science Editors (CSE) using the following link https://www.councilscienceeditors.org/resource-library/editorial-policies/cse-policies/.
  2. The manuscript should include:
  • Title
  • Structured Abstract (background, objectives, materials and methods, results, and conclusion)
  • Keywords (3 to 5 words)
  • Text (Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion), Acknowledgment, and References.

As for the case reports, the manuscript should include the following parts:

  • The abstract of one paragraph contains three components; introduction, presentation of the case, and conclusion.
  • Introduction
  • Case presentation
  • Discussion

 

  1. Title page:This page is sent as an isolated file. The page contains the title of the article (provided that it does not exceed 100 characters, including spaces), running title (consisting of 45 characters, including spaces), the full names of all authors with their academic degrees, job titles, and their place of work. One of the authors should be defined as the corresponding author who will be responsible for official correspondence with the journal. The contact details, mobile phone number, and email address, of the corresponding author, be provided.
  2. Abstract:The abstract consists of background, objectives, materials, methods, results, and conclusion. The abstract should not exceed 350 words. The references are absolutely not allowed to be used in the abstract. 3-5 keywords should be provided just below the abstract. Keywords should express the precise content of the article, and therefore are used in the search indexing process. Use terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list of index Medicus http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/MBrowser.html.
  3. Introduction:This part of the research summarizes the purpose and rationality of the work. In addition, it should clarify 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 shall the results or conclusions of the research be placed.
  4. Materials and Methods:It should be explained thoroughly so that other researchers can use it. If the method of the work was previously described, it should be briefly explained providing an appropriate citation. The statistical method/s used in analyzing the research data should be mentioned in a separate section or paragraph.
  5. Results:The results could be presented as text, tables, or figures. Results that were presented in the text should not be repeated in the tables and figures. Numbers should be assigned to the tables and figures according to their appearance in the manuscript. The legend of the table should be placed above the table, and the legend of the figure should place below it.
  6. Discussion:Mention the strengths and the limitations of the study. Compare the research results with previous investigations in terms of similarities and differences. Avoid repeating all the findings of the study and just mention a small part of them, when absolutely necessary.
  7. Conclusion:The conclusion is written based on the findings of the study.
  8. Acknowledgment: 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, as well as the head of the department who provided general support. 
  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 Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Word forms are acceptable, however, the tables in 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.

References: All references should be listed in consecutive numerical order by Arabic numerical, in the order of citation in the text and each reference must be followed with its DOI link. Once a reference is cited all subsequent citations should be to the original number.

Examples

  1. Standard Journal Article: use et al when the number of authors exceeds 3 . Halliwell B, Gutteridge JMC. Oxygen toxicity, Oxygen radicals, transition metals and disease. Biochem J. 1984; 219: 1-14.
  2. Books: Mann JI, Pyorala K, and Teuscher A. Diabetes in epidemiological perspective. London: Churchill Livingstone. 1983.
  3. Chapter in book: Phillips SJ, and Whisnant JP. Hypertension and strock. In: Laragh JH, and Brenner BM. editors. Hypertension: Pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management. 2nd ed. NewYork: Raven Press; 1995. p. 465-78.,

 you can use citation software such as Mendeley and EndNote.

 

  • How to find DOI for the references of your submitted article to Al-Qadisiyah medical journal

1.First, click on this link http://www.crossref.org/guestquery/

  1. Go to "search on article title"
  2. Fill in the author name and the title of the reference
  3. Copy and paste the found DOI (if any: as some references have no DOI) to the end of each reference in the reference list in your article to be submitted to Al-Qadisiyah medical journal. That’s it !!

 

  1. Proof Reading:The accepted manuscript will be sent to the corresponding author for proofreading before publication. Corrections should be limited to typographical errors and should be highlighted in yellow. The proofread manuscript should be returned to the editor within 48 hours.
  2. 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 necessary.
  3. Symbols:Avoid the use of symbols.
  4. Conflicts of Interest:Researchers must clarify whether there are conflicts of financial interest or other interests, which 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.
  1. Copyright: The whole contents of Al-Qadisiyah Medical Journal are protected under international copyrights. It is not allowed to modify copy, distribute, transmit, display, or publish without prior written permission from QMJ.
  1. Peer Review Process:It is an important step in the process of choosing which research is liable to publish. The evaluation process begins with an examination of the research in terms of plagiarism using a Turnitin Plagiarism Program. In the event that there is plagiarism of more than 20%, the research will be rejected immediately. But if the percentage is acceptable, the EIC examines it and in turn, sends it to a member of the editorial board to conduct a preliminary examination of the research to ensure that it matches the journal's scope. When the research does not match the scope of the journal, the research is also rejected immediately. If the research is within the scope of the journal, the research is sent by the EIC to two or three external experts in the field of research, and they are given a period of two weeks for the evaluation process. Based on the decision of the scientific evaluators, the appropriate decision is taken, whether to reject or accept (in current form or after minor or major corrections). The research is sent to the corresponding author to make the necessary adjustments. After receiving the research from the journal, the revised version is sent to the scientific evaluators to ensure that the researchers have made all the necessary amendments. The research may be sent to the corresponding author 2-5 times until the necessary conviction is available that the research is ready for publication. The manuscript is then sent to the English language evaluator to express his observations on the research. After completing the above steps, the manuscript will be sent to the production team to print out the article in the journal template. The research is sent to the corresponding author to read it carefully and to ensure that the research is free of typographical errors. If the manuscript is completed according to the instruction, it would be published online under the heading Ahead-of-Print and scheduled for the next available issue.
  • Ethical compliance: Researchers who wish to be published in the QMJ must adhere to the following:
  1. All research conducted on humans must be in accordance with ethical principles disclosed in the Declaration of Helsinki. All participants should provide informed consent according to the specifications of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and/or U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
  2. Animal experiments should follow the guidelines for the use and care of laboratory animals in the institution where the research has been conducted and the National Research Council. In the materials and methods section, please provide details for the institution that has approved the research, as well as the number and date of the granted license.

NOTE: It is possible to reject the articles by QMJ if there are concerns that the work was not conducted within ethical guidelines.

  • Fee for scientific work: There is no publication charge, publishing an article in Al-Qadisiyah Medical Journal is free of charge.
  • Clinical trial registry: The Al-Qadisiyah Medical Journal requires the authors to register clinical trials in a clinical trial registry that allows free online access to the registry. The registration of clinical trials in (https://clinicaltrials.gov/) is highly recommended.
  • Protection of Patients' Rights to Privacy: Information that could identify participants/patients should not be described in the text, photographs, tables, figures, sonograms, and CT scans unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian, wherever applicable) gives informed consent for publication. QMJ abides by ICMJE guidelines:
  1. Authors, not the journals nor the publisher, need to obtain patients’ consent forms before the publication and have the forms properly archived. The consent forms should not be uploaded with the cover letter or sent through email to the editor unless requested.
  2. If the manuscript contains patient images that preclude anonymity or a description that has an obvious indication of the identity of the patient, a statement about obtaining informed patient consent should be indicated in the manuscript.