Instructions to Authors

Aims and Scope. The Scientific Journal of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences published quarterly in Persian-English, the aim of which is to provide a scientific medium of com­muni­cation for researchers and academic members in all biomedical fields. The Journal welcomes original articles in clinical medicine as well as basic sciences re­searches on prevalent diseases in the region and analysis of various regional problems. Priority is for original articles and, next is for review articles and case reports.

Submission of manuscripts. The Journal uses a web-based submission and review system at www.umsha.ac.ir/SJH , as well as manuscript submitted by mail. Preferably, online submission facilitates the submission of manuscripts from authors and streamlines the reviewing and publication process. Authors may send queries concerning the submission process, about the review process and Journal procedures, for enquiries, the editorial office can be contacted s_journal@umsha.ac.ir. Once you have prepared your manuscript according to the instructions below, please go to the online submission system. First-time users must click "Register" on the navigation menu at the right of the screen. The system will accept automatically your user name and password. Detailed guidelines for authors and reviewers are available at the submission site.

Review of manuscripts. All manuscripts must correctly submit to the Sci J Hamadan Univ Med Sci by the Editors. Some manuscripts will be returned to authors at this stage if the paper is deemed inappropriate for publication in the Journal, if the paper does not meet submission requirements, or if the paper is not deemed to have a sufficiently high priority. In first step, all papers considered by the Editor-in-Chief and internal reviewers and some consider suitable to progress further in the review process will undergo appropriate peer review and all papers provisionally accepted for publication will undergo a detailed statistical review

Fast track publication. (1) Authors must send their manuscript by e-mail to:
s_journal@umsha.ac.ir ensuring that the manuscript adheres to the Scientific Journal of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences' Instructions for Authors. The accompanying cover letter should detail why the authors think the manuscript would be suitable for fast track publication. (2) The Editorial Office will communicate whether fast track assessment is appropriate within 2 weeks. If the Editors decide not to accept fast track assessment, the paper may be considered for the normal review process. Authors will also have the opportunity to withdraw their submission. Please note that fast track assessment does not in any way guarantee acceptance of the manuscript (3) For manuscripts entering fast-track assessment, the first Editorial decision will be made within 7 working days. If provisionally accepted, a revised manuscript must be returned to the Editorial office as soon as possible.(4) If the manuscript is accepted for publication, the Editors will aim to publish it online 15 days after acceptance and in print within the following 6 weeks, if provided galley proofs are returned within 72 hours.

Please note: All authors of accepted articles are required to sign an authorship statement about name author’s order, conflict of interest and copy right for Sci J Hamadan Univ Med Sci. If your article is accepted for Fast Track Publication, you will be required to submit this form immediately: a delay in submitting the form signed by ALL authors will result in a delay in publication.

Preparation of manuscripts. All submitted original article manuscripts must not exceed 5000 words (or case reports 1500 words), including References, Figure Legends and Tables. The number of Tables, Figures and References should be appropriate to the manuscript content and should not be excessive. Style and spelling Oxford English spelling should be used in English abstract.

Abbreviations of standard SI units of measurement only should be used. The authors should state that their study complies with the Declaration of Helsinki, that the locally appointed ethics committee has approved the research protocol and that informed consent has been obtained from the subjects (or their guardians).

Sections of the manuscript. Original articles should be divided into the following sections: (1) Title page (2) Abstract & Keywords (3) Introduction (4) Materials & Methods (5) Results (6) Discussion (7) Conclusion (8) Acknowledgements (9) References (10) Figure legends (11) Appendices (12) Text tables (13) Figures.

General format. Prepare your manuscript text using a Word processing package (save in .doc format). Submissions of text in the form of PDF files are not permitted. Manuscripts should be double-spaced, including text, tables, legends and references.

Number each page. Please avoid footnotes; use instead, and as sparingly as possible, parenthesis within brackets. Enter text in the style and order of the journal. Type references in the correct order and style of the Journal in English, even Persian language journals. Mark the approximate position of each figure and table.

Title page. The title page should include the following: (1) the title (2) the name(s) of authors (3) the institution(s) where work was performed (4) the position, institution, and location of all authors (5) the telephone number, fax number and e-mail address of the corresponding author (6) the institutional affiliations of the authors.

Abstract. All abstracts may not contain more than 200 words. The abstract should be formatted with the following heading: (1) Background and Objective (2) Methods (3) Results (4) Conclusion.

Keywords. A maximum of six keywords may be submitted, selected from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH).

Figures. The review process will not begin until all figures are received. Figures and tables should be limited to the number necessary for clarity and must not duplicate data given in the text. They must be suitable for high quality reproduction and should be submitted in the desired final printed size so that reduction can be avoided. Figures should be no larger than 125 (height) ´75 (width) mm (5´3 inches) and should be submitted in a separate file from that of the manuscript

Electronic submission of figures. Figures should be saved in TIFF or jpg format at a resolution of at least 300 pixels per inch at the final printed size for color figures and photographs, and 1200 pixels per inch for black and white line drawings. 

Where there is difficulty submitting the figures electronically, they may be sent, separately from the manuscript, by post to:

Photographs. Photographs should be of sufficiently high quality with respect to detail, contrast and fineness of grain to withstand the inevitable loss of contrast and detail inherent in the printing process. Please indicate the magnification by a rule on the photograph.

Color figures. There is no charge for the inclusion of color figures. Color figures can be uploaded as online supplementary data at no charge.

Line drawings. Please provide these as clear, sharp illustrations, suitable for reproduction as submitted. All labeling should be on the original. Faint and grey shading or stippling will be lost upon reproduction and should be avoided. Where various shadings are used within one figure please ensure that it is easy to differentiate between them, using standard shadings (see the hard copy of the Journal for examples). There should be sufficient white space between lines and dots to ensure the areas will not fill in and look grey. If stippling is used, this should be made up of clear black dots with visible white space between them.

Figure legends. These should be on a separate, numbered manuscript sheet grouped under the heading "Legends" on a separate sheet of the manuscript after the References. Define all symbols and abbreviations used in the figure. Common abbreviations and others in the preceding text should not be redefined in the legend.

Tables. Tables should be typed with double spacing, but minimizing redundant space and each should be placed on a separate sheet. Tables should be submitted, wherever possible, in a portrait, as opposed to landscape, layout. Each table should be numbered in sequence using Arabic numerals. Tables should also have a title above and an explanatory footnote below.

Acknowledgements. All sources of funding and support, and substantive contributions of individuals, should be noted in the Acknowledgements, positioned before the conflict of interest statement.

Conflict of interest. All authors must make a formal statement indicating any potential conflict of interest that might constitute an embarrassment to any of the authors if it were not to be declared and were to emerge after publication. Such conflicts might include, but are not limited to, shareholding in or receipt of a grant or consultancy fee from a company whose product features in the submitted manuscript or which manufactures a competing product. The statement should be positioned before the list of references. If there are no conflicts of interest, please insert the wording 'Conflict of Interest: none declared'.

References format. References should be identified in the text by Arabic numerals and numbered in the order cited. All references should be compiled at the end of the article in the Vancouver style. Complete information should be given for each reference including the title of the article, abbreviated Journal title and page numbers. All authors should be listed.  Personal communications, manuscripts in preparation and other unpublished data should not be cited in the reference list but may be mentioned in parentheses in the text. Authors should get permission from the source to cite unpublished data. Titles of Journals should be abbreviated in accordance with Index Medicus (see list printed annually in the January issue of Index Medicus). If a Journal is not listed in Index Medicus then its name should be written out in full.

 Article citation example:

Jain AK, Vargas R, Gotzkowsly S, McMahan FG. Can garlic reduce levels of serum lipids? A controlled clinical study. Am J Med 1993; 94 (2): 632-5.

Farsi citation example:

Delshad H, Delavar B, Masoumi H. [Epidemiology of endemic guiter in Hamadan

Province, west of Iran ]. Sci J Hamadan Univ Med Sci 1993; 3(1): 1-5   (Persian).                                             

Webpage citation example:

Abood S. Quality improvement initiative in nursing homes: the ANA acts in an advisory role. Am J Nurs [serial on the Internet]. 2002 Jun [cited 2002 Aug 12];102(6):[about 3p]. Available from: http://www.nursingworld.org/AJN/2002/june/Wawatch.htm

Book citation example:

Spetzler RF, Meyer FB. Youmnas Neurological Surgery. 5th ed. Vol 2. New York : WB Saunders, 2004: 203-34

Chapter in book example:

Nichols WW, O'Rourke MF. Aging, high blood pressure and disease in humans. In: Arnold E, ed. McDonald's Blood Flow in Arteries: Theoretical, Experimental and Clinical Principles. 3rd ed. London : Lea & Febiger; 1990: 398-420

Proofs. Page proofs will be sent to the corresponding author. Please provide an e-mail address to enable page proofs to be sent via e-mail. These should be checked thoroughly for any possible changes or typographic errors. Significant alterations instigated at this stage by the author will be charged to the author. It is the intention of the Editor to review, correct and publish your article as quickly possible. To achieve this it is important that all of your corrections are returned to us in one all-inclusive mail or fax. Subsequent additional corrections will not be possible, so please ensure that your first communication is complete. 

Reprints: The corresponding author will be supplied with 3 free issues.

The Editor-in-Chief,

Scientific Journal of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences

Postal Code: 65178 Hamadan University of Medical Sciences

Shahid Fahmideh St , Hamadan, Iran

Tel/Fax:  +98 8118268693

E mail:     s_journal@umsha.ac.ir

URL:       http://www.umsha.ac.ir/SJH