Authors Submission Guidelines

All submissions intended for publication must be exclusively submitted to the Avicenna Journal of Health Sciences (AJHS). Any work that has already been reported in a published paper or is described in an article that has been sent or accepted elsewhere for publication should not be submitted.

Submission Process

Submitting manuscripts to AJHS is exclusively conducted online through the OJS platform. We do not accept submissions via either email or hard copies by hand or post.

For submission of manuscripts, authors are kindly requested to complete the registration process on our designated web page. Authors can submit their manuscripts through the online submission system provided by the journal, accessible at the following web address: https://www.avicennajhs.com.

Accepted File Formats

Authors are encouraged to use the Microsoft Word template to prepare their manuscripts. Using the template file will substantially shorten the time to complete copy-editing and publication of accepted manuscripts

Manuscript Preparations

Submission Format according to article type

  1. Original article:

Maximum 3000 words excluding title page and a structured abstract of 250 words with up to four tables and figures, and with minimum 30 references

  1. Review article:

Word count maximum 4000 words excluding title page and an unstructured abstract of 150 words with four tables or figures and no more than 40 references.

  1. Case reports / Short Communications / Special Communications

Maximum 1500 words excluding title page and an unstructured abstract of 150 words and references with no more than two tables or figures and 15 references. More than six authors should not sign it.

Case Report:

Abstract; Introduction; Case Report; Discussion and Conclusion

  1. Special Communication:

Abstract; Introduction; Methods and Result; and Conclusion.

  1. Letters to the Editor:

Maximum 250 words if it is about a recent journal article or 400 words in all other cases. It must have no more than five references and one figure or table. Any more than three authors must not sign it. Letters referring to a recent journal article must be received within four weeks of publication.

Table 1: The following are the recommended maximums for articles submitted to AJHS

Type of  Articles

Abstract

Main Body

Tables & Figures

References

Original Articles

250

3000

4

30

Review Articles

150

4000

4

40

Case reports

 

1500

2

15

Short Communications

150

1250

2

10

Special Communications

150

1250

2

10

Letter to Editor

Not Required

250/400

1

5

 

 General Requirements

  • The manuscript must be written in ‘British English.’
  • Type the manuscript on A4 size (8.5x11 inches or 21.6x27 cm) white bond paper, with margins of at least 1.5 inches (4 cm).
  • The manuscript should be typed in double spacing as a single column with 12-point font size and font style should be Times New Roman.
  • The Vancouver style should be used for publication in the Avicenna Journal of Health Sciences (AJHS).
  • Begin each section on a separate page and in the following order: title page, abstract, introduction, materials/subjects/patients and methods, results, discussion, acknowledgements, references, tables, and figures with legends.
  • Number pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner of each page, beginning with the title page. Type the page number.

 

  1. Title Page

The title page of the manuscript should include:

  • The complete title of the manuscript (less than 14 words)
  • Names of all the authors, complete byline with each author's first, middle, and last names.
  • . Complete affiliation for each author, with the name of the department (s) and institution (s) to which the work should be attributed.
  • identify the corresponding author's name, address, telephone number, and email address (necessary) responsible for correspondence about the manuscript.
  • Source(s) of support in grants, equipment, drugs, or all of these.
  • Abstract with 3-5 MeSH words
  • Word count of the main article, excluding abstract and references.

 

  1. Abstracts

It should briefly describe the problem being addressed in the study, how it was performed, the salient result, and what the authors conclude from the results. Structured or unstructured abstracts should be following the article type. A structured abstract of not more than 250 words for the original article and an unstructured abstract of no more than 150 words for other submission types (case report, short communication, special communication, and review article) is required. The structured abstract should contain four paragraphs under the headings: Objective, Methods, Results, and Conclusion. Results should mention critical frequencies, percentages, and findings.

  1. Key Words: 

The abstract must be followed by 3-5 keywords, not more than ten, that will assist indexers in cross-indexing the article as they are published with the abstract. Use terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list of index Medicus; if suitable MeSH terms are not yet available for recently introduced terms, present terms may be used.

  1. Introduction

Provide a context or background for the study (i.e., the nature of the problem and its significance). State the specific purpose or research objective of, or hypothesis tested by, the study or observation; the research objective is often more sharply focused when stated as a question.

  1. Methodology

The methodology should include study design; describe your selection of the observational or experimental subjects (patients or laboratory animals, including controls). Mention study setting, duration, sampling method, sample size calculations with reference, and follow-up period. Mention the inclusion and exclusion criteria, if applicable, without adding any headings.

If an apparatus is used, mention the manufacturer’s name and address in parentheses. If the method is established, give a reference; if the technique is new, give enough information so another author can perform it. If a drug is used, its generic name, dose, and route of administration must be provided. For patients, age sex with mean age ± standard deviation must be given. Statistical methods must be mentioned and specify any general computer program used.

Authors submitting review manuscripts should include a section describing the methods used for locating, selecting, extracting, and synthesising data. These methods should also be summarised in the abstract.

Ethical Approval:

The certificate of approval of the study by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) / Ethical Review Board (ERB) of the concerned University / Institution with data and signatures of all authors involved in the study should be submitted. The informed consent of the subjects studied should be clearly stated.

When reporting experiments on human subjects, indicate whether the procedures followed were following the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation and with the latest (2008) version of the Helsinki Declaration of 1975. Do not use patients' names, initials, or hospital numbers, in-text and illustrative material.

If an institution does not have an ethical review committee, the institution's approval from the concerned department may be submitted.

Statistics

Describe statistical methods with enough detail to enable a knowledgeable reader with access to the original data to verify the reported results. When possible, quantify findings and present them with appropriate indicators of measurement error or uncertainty (such as standard deviation when mentioning mean values of quantitative variables, or confidence intervals where odds ratio is mentioned, etc.). Specify the computer software used.

 

  1. Results

The results must be presented logically in the text, tables, and illustrations to emphasise or summarize important observations. The content in the tables or illustrations should not be repeated in the text. Frequencies and percentages both should be mentioned. e.g. There were 18(2%) men. Exact p-values should be reported.

When data are summarised in the Results section, specify the statistical methods used to analyse them.

  1. Discussion

The discussion should emphasize the present findings the important aspects of the study and the conclusions that follow from them. Do not repeat data or other material in detail in the introduction or the results section. The findings' implications, limitations, and possibilities for future research should be discussed. Relate the observations to other relevant studies with variations or similarities with other workers' work done in the field. Study limitations should be mentioned at the end of the discussion section.

  1. Conclusion

It should be based on the objective and principal findings. False, ambiguous conclusions and speculations should be avoided.

  1. Conflicts of interest:

All authors should declare any conflict of interest. This may include grants or honorarium, credits and promotions, memberships or any personal or professional relationships that may influence the manuscript. Such competing interests are not unethical but should be declared.

  1. Funding

All sources of funding applicable to the study should be stated here explicitly.

  1. Acknowledgments

Persons who have contributed intellectually to the research but whose contributions do not justify authorship may be named, and the function or contribution is described - for example, "scientific advisor critical review of study proposal, "data collection," or "participation clinical trial". Such persons must have given their permission to be named. Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission from a person acknowledged by name because readers may infer their endorsement of the data and conclusions. Technical help should be acknowledged in a paragraph separate from those recognising other contributions.

  1. References

The Vancouver style should be used for publication in the Avicenna Journal of Health Sciences (AJHS). More than 50% of the references should be from the last five years from the submission date. References should be cited in consecutive numerical order at first mentioned in the text and designated by the reference number in superscript. References appearing in a table or figure should be numbered sequentially with those in the text.

For journal articles: list the first six authors et al. Hoshimoto-Iwamoto M, Koike A, Nagayama O, Tajima A, Uejima T, Adachi H, et al. Determination of the VE/VCO2 slope from a constant work rate Exercise test in Cardiac patients. J Physiol Sci 2008; 58: 291-5.

Dalby MA. Epilepsy and three per second spike and wave rhythms: a clinical electroencephalographic and prognostic analysis of 346 patients. Acta Neurol Scand 1969; suppl 40: 1-30.

For books and book chapters, follow the examples below: Drury I. Activation of seizures by hyperventilation. In: Luders HO, Noachtars, eds. Epileptic seizures: pathophysiology and clinical semiology, Philadelphia: Churchill & Livingstone, 2000; pp 575-9.

For newspaper articles: Carynrabin R. When the Surgeon is infected, how safe is the surgery? New York Times 2007 July 3.

Journal article in electronic: Jonas J, Vignal JP, Baumann C, Anxionnat JF, Muresan M, Vespignani H, et al. Effect of hyperventilation on seizure activation: potentiation by antiepileptic drug tapering. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. Published Online First: 20 June 2010 doi:10.1136/jnnp.2009.200329.

  1. Abbreviations and Symbols

With the exception of units of measurement, the journal discourages the use of abbreviations, for additional information on proper medical abbreviation, consult the CBE Style Manual, Fifth Edition (Bethesda, MD Council of Biology Editions, 1983). When an abbreviation is used, it should be preceded by the full word or name of the item being abbreviated.

 

Drug Names

Generic names should be used.

Species Names

Species should be written in italics. e.g. P.vivax

 

  1. Manuscript Formatting------Tables
  • All illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points rather than at the end.
  • Do not submit tables as photographs.
  • Tables should be self-explanatory and should supplement, not duplicate the text.
  • Each table must be cited in consecutive numerical order in the text.
  • They should be numbered in Arabic numerals, in the same sequence in which they appear in the text, and their approximate locations should be marked in the manuscript body (Table 1)
  • The titles/legends should be descriptive, brief, and mentioned on top of the table.
  • Give each column a short or abbreviated heading.
  • Place explanatory matter in footnotes, not in the heading.
  1. Figures
  • Figures and pictures should clarify and augment the text. The selection of sharp, high-quality illustrations is of paramount importance.
  • Figures of inferior quality will be returned to the author for correction or replacement.
  • Place all the figures at the end of the manuscript and not scattered throughout the manuscript. Titles should be placed below the figure, and detailed explanations should be given as legends and not on the illustrations.
  • Figures should be in 300 DPI and charts in PowerPoint (editable) high-resolution format

All submitted illustrations become the property of the Avicenna Journal of Health Sciences and will not be returned unless the manuscript is rejected.