Submissions

Author Guidelines

Writing for us

We are delighted that you are interested in submitting your work to JSAMR! This guide has been developed to help you with the writing, submissions, and publication process. 

Selecting a topic

There are various themes and subjects you can choose to write about. When deciding on what to write, please refer to articles that have already been published in our journal and consider the interests of our readers, the majority of whom will be undergraduate students. We publish a variety of articles including the following:

• Original research articles
• Reviews
• Quality improvement projects and audit reports
• Letters, opinions and reflections pieces
• Research posters
• Medical Education

Standard and Style of Articles

Articles should be written in the style and tone of scientific academic writing. 

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Original Research Articles, Systematic Review and Meta-analyses

Abstract

Structured abstracts should contain the following:

• Introduction
• Materials and methods
• Results
• Conclusions

Introduction

• The introduction should provide context and background for the study.
• For original research it should contain a hypothesis and aim(s).
• For audit it should contain a standard(s) and aim(s).
• Do not include any information from materials and methods, results, discussions, or conclusions in the aims.

Materials and Methods

The methods section should describe how the study/research was performed.

Any materials and/or equipment should be identified followed by manufacturer’s name and city in parentheses. References to established methods should be included, less well-known methods should be described in text, with reasons for using these methods. Generic names should be used for drugs, with dose and route of administration included.

Results

The results section should highlight important findings from the study. Results should be presented in a logical sequence. Do not repeat details found in the methods or introduction. It should include minimal discussion of the results.

Discussion

The discussion should emphasise new and important aspects of the study. Authors should discuss the relative importance of the findings in the context of the available literature and the potential for future research or clinical practice.

Authors should avoid repetition of information contained within the results section. However, a brief description of the main findings may be required, followed by potential mechanisms or explanations for these findings.

Authors should avoid over exaggerating the importance of their results, and should not make claims that are not supported up by their results or the literature.

Conclusions

Conclusions should be linked to the aims of the study.

Authors should avoid over-exaggerated or unsupported conclusions.

Reviews

Abstract

Structured abstracts should contain the following:

• Introduction
• Materials and methods
• Results
• Conclusions

Introduction

• The introduction should provide context and background for the study.
• For original research it should contain a hypothesis and aim(s).
• For audit it should contain a standard(s) and aim(s).
• Do not include any information from materials and methods, results, discussions, or conclusions in the aims.

Materials and Methods

The methods section should describe how the study/research was performed.

Any materials and/or equipment should be identified followed by manufacturer’s name and city in parentheses. References to established methods should be included, less well-known methods should be described in text, with reasons for using these methods. Generic names should be used for drugs, with dose and route of administration included.

Main Body 

The literature review is a discussion of various existing articles relevant to the research question being discussed. Discussion should emphasise important aspects of the studies/research included. Authors should discuss the relative importance of the findings in the context of the available literature and the potential for future research or clinical practice.

For articles cited, a brief description of the main relevant findings may be required, followed by potential mechanisms or explanations for these findings, and/or brief critical appraisal.

Authors should avoid over exaggerating the importance of their results, and should not make claims that are not supported up by results or the literature.

Conclusions

Conclusions should be linked to the aims of the study.

Authors should avoid over-exaggerated or unsupported conclusions.

Editorials

Editorials are written by the editorial team, or guest writers. Uninvited editorials will not be accepted.

Brief Reports

JSAMR brief reports are a good starting point for any authors who have not written or published a manuscript before.

JSAMR brief reports are short articles, which can be written about audit or small research projects. These are the types of projects that are done during undergraduate study and commonly it is not possible for students to publish this work.

Structure

• Audit or small research projects.
• 250 word abstract.
• 1500-2000 words.
• To include: Title page, structured abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, conclusions.
• This should be submitted as an "article" during the submission process.

Reports

JSAMR welcomes articles on basic science e.g. biochemistry, immunology, physiology etc. or clinical research, e.g. randomised control trial, systematic review, meta-analysis, observational studies.

Structure

• 250 word abstract.
• 2000-4000 words.
• Title page, structured abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, conclusions
• This should be submitted as an "article" during the submission process.

Report Guidelines

• Randomised control trial: CONSORT guidelines
• http://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/consort/
• Systematic reviews and meta-analyses: PRISMA guidelines
• http://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/prisma/
• Observational studies (epidemiology): STROBE guidelines
• http://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/strobe/
• Quality improvement studies: SQUIRE guidelines
• http://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/squire/

Letters to the editor

JSAMR welcomes discourse relating to pertinent topics or published JSAMR articles. 

Author’s/authors’ should maintain a professional voice throughout the letter.

Structure

• 750 words
• maximum 5 references
  • If the letter relates to an JSAMR article one of the five references should be the published article.
• To include: Title Page, Main Text, References
• This should be submitted as a "letter" during the submission process, submissions in this category will be reviewed by the Editorial Team rather than the formal peer review process.

‘How To’ Guides/Medical Education

Tutorials or medical education articles are welcomed on how to perform, achieve, write, etc, anything relevant related to medicine or medical research that fellow students would find useful.

Structure

• 1000-2000 words
• Maximum 20 references.
• To include: Title Page, Main Text, References.
• Images/Diagrams are welcomed
• This should be submitted as a "letter" during the submission process, submissions in this category will be reviewed by the Editorial Team rather than the formal peer review process.

Opinions

JSAMR welcomes articles which address any topic relating to medical research, medicine, public health policy, ethics, or medical law, which the author(s) feels are worthy of discussion.

The author’s/author's’ position(s) should be clearly stated in the article.

Discussion should be focused and written in a professional voice throughout

JSAMR encourages constructive criticism where appropriate.

Structure

• No abstract.
• 1000 words.
• Maximum 10 references.
• To include:Title Page, Main Text, References.
• This should be submitted as a "case report" during the submission process.

Reflections/Personal Experience

JSAMR welcomes articles on any personal experience in medicine or relating to medicine and lessons learned.

No patient identifiable information should be included.

Structure

• 1000-3000 words.
• Maximum 5 references.
• To include:Title Page, Main Text, References.
• This should be submitted as a "letter" during the submission process, submissions in this category will be reviewed by the Editorial Team rather than the formal peer review process.

Personal Achievements

Have you achieved something inspiring during your medical studies? Would you like to share your career pathway with fellow students? This sections aims to act as inspiration for students.

Achievement of distinctions or course prizes will not be considered.

Structure

• 500 words including a brief biographical description followed by a description of your achievement, and why and how you achieved it.
• Maximum 5 references.
• To include:Title Page, Main Text, References.
• This should be submitted as a "letter" during the submission process, submissions in this category will be reviewed by the Editorial Team rather than the formal peer review process.

Textbook/Online Resource Reviews

JSAMR welcomes reviews of any resource relating to medical research.

Structure

• 500 words
• Maximum 5 references.
• To include:Title Page, Main Text, Conclusions, References.
• This should be submitted as a "letter" during the submission process, submissions in this category will be reviewed by the Editorial Team rather than the formal peer review process.

Artwork

Any medium and any subject relating to medicine.

To be displayed as the front cover.

Structure:

• 50 word description
• To include:Title Page, Image, Image Description
• Image file(s) must be submitted as a .eps or .png (1200dpi) file.
• This should be submitted as "artwork" during the submission process, submissions in this category will be reviewed by the Editorial Team rather than the formal peer review process.

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Referencing your article

Please ensure to use APA format. For guidance please refer to this website: http://www.apastyle.org/. 

Include the Digital object identifier (DOI) of each article sourced at the end of the reference.

When writing your article, we strongly recommend using referencing software such as Mendeley in order to reference. Firstly, it will make it easier to ensure all references are in correct order and format and secondly you will be required to submit references as a BibTeX (.bib) file for journal formatting purposes.

Creating a BibTex file with Mendeley Desktop

When using Mendeley which is available to download for FREE, you will need to download the Mendeley Desktop app, and we recommend installing the Mendeley toolbar installation feature to make it easier to save references into your reference bank when writing your work.   

Once you are set up and have referenced your written work in a Word doc using Mendeley, use the following instructions to create the BibTex file:

1. Using the referencing software, e.g. Mendeley, open the desktop app and sync all references to ensure they are up to date and in correct order with the linked word document. (Note: the sync will only work if connected to the internet!)
2. Then highlight all references for the article in the app (using shift + click).
3. Click ‘File’ then ‘Export’.
4. it will open a new window where you must name the file and save as BibTex or .bib

This is important as the BibTeX file must be sent along with your written article when submitting your work to the JSAMR to allow the references to be correctly type-set into LaTex (the software used for creating the journal issues).

For further advice on using Mendeley please refer to the following youtube videos:

How to use Mendeley Desktop, Web Importer and MS Word Plugin (full tutorial) 

Mendeley and BibTex 

Alternative referencing software

Endnote:

 Information taken from Library website of University of Saskachewan, https://libguides.usask.ca/c.php?g=218034&p=1458583 

Export Citations to BibTex Formate from Endnote

1. Open your EndNote library, and select references you want to export to BibTex format
2. Make sure that BibTeX is an export option:

From Edit – Output Styles -- Open Style Manager...

On the next EndNote Styles screen, scroll down to the BibTeX Export entry and click the checkbox, then close the EndNote Styles window.

From Edit – Output Styles, Make sure that the option BibTeX Export is checked in the Output Styles menu as well

3. Click File—Export. this will open a dialog for saving your file
4. Navigate to the directory where you want to save your BibTex file,

   Select Text File (*.txt) from the file type dropdown menu

   Save your file as filename.bib

Note: BibTex entries exported from EndNote do not have a BibTex Key. You will need to create a key for each entry.

Refworks:

Information taken from UNC University libraries https://guides.lib.unc.edu/switching/refworks

• Log into your RefWorks account

• Now click on the References button in the top left side of your account and select the Export option. Like so:

• Now you need to select the output option that matches the manager that you are moving into. See the table at the top of this box for the ideal output format for you. Do note that you need to specify whether you want to export only selected references, all the references in the page, or all in the list. Be sure to select the right option for you.
• RefWorks will build a list of your citations. A new window may open with all the references or a window that prompts you to download a file. If the download window pops up, disregard this step. You may have to right click on the link will allow you to download the file. You can do so in the bottom right corner of your RefWorks account. Like so:

Now you have your references ready to import into the new citation manager!

Submissions process, Peer Review and Publication

Once you have completed your article with full references, you are required to submit your article along with the BibTex file to the JSAMR via the online portal. Please ensure to follow the guidelines below. Before submission, please ensure all spelling, grammar and format of the manuscript meet our high quality standards for publication. It is the author’s responsibility to ensure content and references are accurate before submitting. Any submissions that do not adhere to this guidance will be rejected. 

Manuscript submission

Title page

Please submit a title page SEPARATE from your article/poster and include the following:

• Article title
• Key words: 3-5 key words that best represent the article. These are used for online search engines
• Author names in order of authorship
• Author information: List of department, institution, city and country of each author. Each different department should be numbered and included as superscript AFTER the name of the relevant author
• Corresponding author contact details: full name, institution address, email, telephone number of the lead author
• Sources of support: grants or other support that facilitated what completion of the work
• Conflicts of Interest
• Number of figures: total number of figures in the article
• Number of tables: total number of tables in the article

Article Manuscript Format

• Your article must be submitted as a SEPARATE file to the title page
• Ensure your article is ANONYMISED (without author names) in a Word document to allow for double-blind peer review process
• The article text must by Arial, 12-point font, double spaced and left justified. Margins should be 2.54cm and all pages should be numbered consecutively

Tables

Tables should be included in the manuscript of the article and cited in the text in numerical order.

Figures/Illustrations

• Figures and Illustrations are encouraged and should be included in the main article manuscript AND submitted as separate files names as ‘Suplementary file [figure number]’.Please submit figures/illustrations with resolution of at least 600 dpi as a PNG file.
• Figure legends should include figure number, short title and brief description of the figure. This must be BELOW the figure.
• Colour figures are encouraged
• Histograms and graphs should be presented in a simple two-dimensional format, with no background grid
• All axis titles for graphs should include units in parentheses where appropriate

ORCID

ORCID (http://orcid.org) is a unique online identifier for authors. It is used to distinguish authors. All students are encouraged to register an ORCID account and their ORICD number should be included on the title page in parentheses. ORCID numbers can also be linked to your JSAMR profile.

Permissions

Please avoid using any materials that have been published elsewhere e.g. figures, tables, videos etc. If authors wish to include material published elsewhere, permission from the copyright holder (author or publisher) must be obtained. This includes an of your own, previously published work, if you are not the sole copyright holder.

Peer review and re-submitting revised manuscripts

Following submission, articles are sent for peer review. After this process, authors may be asked to re-submit a revised manuscript and revisions requested by peer reviewers may be sent to authors via email in a document. All suggested changes should be made or acknowledged.

Authors may write a rebuttal letter stating why any suggested changes should not be made. If this is the case, the Editor, Deputy Editor or Editor-in-Chief will review the rebuttal and make a final decision on the suggested change in question. Any such correspondence will be published along with the manuscript should it be accepted.

Once the author has made the suggested changes, the revised manuscript should be uploaded as part of the SAME submissions process via the online submission system. Please DO NOT upload the revised manuscript as a new submission.

 The time taken for peer review process to publication can vary depending on the number of revisions requested, time for authors to complete revisions and re-submit for repeat review and time to final approval for publication. We aim to make this process as smooth and efficient as possible. Generally we request each peer review to be completed within 2 week period. If revisions are requested, we expect authors to complete and resubmit their revised work as soon as possible to allow adequate time for approvals then publication. 

Authors will be contacted via email during this process and it is important that you check regularly to ensure you are able to respond to any requests for publication.

If you have any questions or difficulties during the submission process, please don’t hesitate to contact us.