Author Guidelines
Journal of Neonatology is a theme-based journal published every 3 months. Usually authors with good professional standing and relevant clinical and/or research experience are invited to write review articles for theme-based issues. Those interested in writing for the journal can write to Editor-in-Chief indicating field of their interest.
Journal style: All aspects of the manuscript (including tables, illustrations and references) should be prepared according to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) requirements.
Review article: Review articles are critical evaluation of already published material. By organizing, integrating and evaluating previously published material, the authors of review articles assess the progress of current research towards clarifying a problem. Steps for writing a review article include defining the problem, summarizing previous investigations in order to inform the reader of the state of current research, identifying relations, contradictions, gaps and inconsistencies in the literature, suggesting clinical practice based on the evidence reviewed and suggesting next steps of research. Synthesis of the article should be in a clear and lucid language keeping in view that target audience comprise of postgraduate students, clinical practitioners, nurses, medical teachers and researchers.
Authorship: Authorship credit should be based on (1) substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; (2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and (3) final approval of the version to be published. Authors should meet conditions 1, 2, and 3. All authors’ names should be listed in their entirety. All authors must clearly present institutional/professional affiliations and degrees held. All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an acknowledgments section. Authors are responsible for obtaining written permissions from everyone acknowledged by name. One of the authors shall act as guarantor of the paper and should take the responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole, from its inception to published article. Guarantor should also take responsibility for obtaining permission from appropriate authority, if any material (including tables, figures or text) is used in the article from another publication. Copyright violations by authors will be viewed seriously; and all authors will be equally responsible for such acts.
Review process: All manuscripts pass through following steps during the review process. Submitted manuscripts are first reviewed by editor for writing format, scientific flaws, clarity of message and major language problems. Manuscripts thus found suitable are subjected to masked peer-review by at least two subject experts. Depending on recommendations of the reviewers final decision is taken by the Editorial Board. Review process is usually completed within 4–6 weeks.
Manuscript format
Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the ‘Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals’. Manuscript should be saved in Word format (.doc file type) and must be submitted electronically on email id secnnf@vsnl.com. Double space all portions of the manuscript—including the title page, abstract, text, acknowledgments, references, individual tables, and legends. Leave at least 1 inch margin on top, bottom and both sides. Number all the pages of the manuscript consecutively, beginning with the title page. Use at least 12 point font size (Times New Roman or Arial). Use American (US) English throughout. Word limit: Abstract section-250 words. Manuscript body: 3000 words.
Preparation of manuscript
Title page: The title page should have following information: 1. The title of the article: Title should be concise but informative. Authors should include all information (key words) in the title that will make electronic retrieval of the article both sensitive and specific. 2. Short running title (up to 40 characters) 3. Authors’ names (both initial and surnames) and institutional affiliations. For a review article number of authors must be restricted to three. 4. Name of the department(s) and institution(s) to which the work should be attributed. 5. Disclaimers, if any. 6. Contact information for corresponding authors. The name, mailing address, telephone and fax numbers and e-mail address of the author responsible for correspondence about the manuscript. 7. Source(s) of support in the form of grants, equipment, drugs, or all of these. 8. Word counts. A word count for the text only (excluding abstract, acknowledgments, figure legends, and references) 9. The number of figures and tables. 10. Declaration of competing interest.
Abstract and key words: Abstract should be structured in following sections: Context (describing the clinical question or issue and its importance in clinical practice or public heath), Evidence acquisition (describing the data sources used, including the search strategies, years searched, and other sources), Results (major findings of the review with the greatest emphasis laid on the findings based on highest quality evidence), and Conclusions (emphasize how clinicians should apply current knowledge).
Introduction: Introduction must state the purpose of the review. This is particularly important because most readers want to know what questions will be considered before they take the time to read a long review. The authors should state their methods for searching the literature. Did they do a systematic search, or did they simply use the reports in their personal reprint files? How certain can the readers be that the authors reviewed all the relevant literature? The authors should explain their rationale for including certain articles and excluding others.
Findings and Discussion: This section should contain synthesis, interpretation and critical appraisal of the literature reviewed. Depending on topic being covered subheadings may be used in this section. Authors’ unpublished work must not be part of the review of the literature.
Conclusion: Conclusions logically follow from the cited evidence. Finally, authors should provide recommendations for clinical practice and propose new directions for research as a result of their review.
Acknowledgments: List all contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship, such as a person who provided purely technical help, writing assistance, or a department head who provided only general support. Financial and material support should also be acknowledged.
References: Authors are responsible for the accuracy of references. Citations should be numbered in the order in which they appear in the text. Secondary sources should not be cited. Identify references in text, tables, and legends by Arabic numerals in superscripted text. References cited only in tables or in legends to figures should be numbered in accordance with the sequence established by the first identification in the text of the particular table or figure. The titles of journals should be abbreviated according to the style used in Index Medicus. Do not use abstracts, unpublished observations and personal communications as references. References to papers accepted but not yet published should be designated as “in press”; authors should obtain written permission to cite such papers as well as verification that they have been accepted for publication. The Uniform Requirements style (the Vancouver style) is based largely on an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard style adapted by the NLM for its databases. List all authors when six or less. When seven or more, list only first six and add et al. For detailed guidelines refer to Citing Medicine.
Tables: Type or print each table with double spacing on a separate sheet of paper. Number tables consecutively (in Roman Numerals) in the order of their first citation in the text and supply a brief title for each. Do not use internal horizontal or vertical lines. Give each column a short or an abbreviated heading. Authors should place explanatory matter in footnotes, not in the heading. Explain all nonstandard abbreviations in footnotes, and use the following symbols, in sequence: *, †, ‡, §, ||, ¶, **, ††, ‡‡. Identify statistical measures of variations, such as standard deviation and standard error of the mean. Be sure that each table is cited in the text. If you use data from another published or unpublished source, obtain permission and acknowledge that source fully.
Figures: Figures should be either professionally drawn and photographed, or submitted as photographic-quality digital prints. Electronic files of figures in a format (for example, JPEG or GIF) that will produce high-quality images should also be submitted; authors should review the images of such files on a computer screen before submitting them to be sure they meet their own quality standards. For x-ray films, scans, and other diagnostic images, as well as pictures of pathology specimens or photomicrographs, send sharp, glossy, black-and-white or color photographic prints, usually 127 x 173 mm (5 x 7 inches). Letters, numbers, and symbols on figures should therefore be clear and consistent throughout, and large enough to remain legible when the figure is reduced for publication. Figures should be made as self-explanatory as possible. Titles and detailed explanations belong in the legends-not on the illustrations themselves. Photomicrographs should have internal scale markers. Symbols, arrows, or letters used in photomicrographs should contrast with the background. Photographs of potentially identifiable people must be accompanied by written permission to use the photograph. Figures should be numbered consecutively (in Arabic Numerals) according to the order in which they have been cited in the text. If a figure has been published previously, acknowledge the original source and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the figure. Permission is required irrespective of authorship or publisher except for documents in the public domain.
Legends for Illustrations (Figures): Type for illustrations using double spacing, starting on a separate page, with Arabic numerals corresponding to the illustrations. When symbols, arrows, numbers, or letters are used to identify parts of the illustrations, identify and explain each one clearly in the legend. Explain the internal scale and identify the method of staining in photomicrographs.
Units of Measurement: Measurements of length, height, weight, and volume should be reported in metric units, i.e., meter (m), gram (g), or liter (L) or their decimal multiples. Milliliter or deciliter should be expressed as mL or dL and not ml/dl. Red and white blood cell counts are to be expressed as ×106/mL and ×103/mL respectively. Temperatures should be given in degrees Celsius. Blood pressures should be given in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). All hematological and clinical chemistry measurements should be reported in the conventional system or in terms of the International System of Units (SI).
Abbreviations and Symbols: Use only standard abbreviations. Avoid abbreviations in the title and abstract. The full term for which an abbreviation stands should precede its first use in the text unless it is a standard unit of measurement. Year, month, day, hour, minute and second should be abbreviated as yr, mo, d, h, min, and s respectively.