Instruction for Authors
| Post date: 2021/08/28 |
Instruction for Authors
Journal of Health System Research is a journal affiliated with Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, which has a scientific-research rank from the Publications Commission of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education since 2010 and is indexed on the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) site, as well the Islamic World Science Citation Center since 2011. This journal is published quarterly in Persian by the school of Health in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and is available on the journal's website on http://hsr.mui.ac.ir.
Manuscripts submitted for review should be based on the format suggested by the journal. Manuscripts submitted without following the format specified in the authors' guide will not be processed. The manuscripts which do not adhere to the “Instruction for Author”, will be returned for appropriate revision to be in line with the guidance of this Instruction. They may then be resubmitted. Submission of a manuscript implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic Thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same from and language, without the written consent of the publisher.
Articles Categories:
The Journal of Health System Research accepts the following categories of articles:
1) Original articles: are scientific report of the original research studies. These articles consist of the Title page, Abstract (Persian & English), Introduction, Materials & Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgement and References, and Appendices. The maximum number for research articles' words is 4000 words, for tables and pictures is 4, and for the sources and references is 30.
The Title page should include the full title of the article, Authors first and last name, Academic degree, the field of study, Department, Faculty, University, City, and Country for each author and Telephone number, Fax, Address, and e-mail address of the corresponding author who would be the contact for further correspondence and calls.
Note: It is mandatory to provide a short title for printing at the top of the article pages in the journal consisting of 8 words at most.
The abstract should only be on one page and has to be arranged in 6 paragraphs with a maximum of 250 words. The English abstract must be written exactly in consistent with the Persian abstract. It is better to use MeSH words to opt for keywords. Authors should be careful to prepare an abstract so that the abstract accurately reflects the main content of the article.
2) Review articles: involve the overall study of a new scientific topic. These are usually solicited by the editors, but we will consider unsolicited materials too. Unsolicited review articles will undergo editorial process. Review articles would be approved of for publication if submitted by qualified experts with research experiences and excellences in the relevant field. The corresponding author of the review article must be one of the authors of at least three articles appearing in the references. These articles consist of: Abstract (it should be as structured format), Introduction, Methods (this section consists of the access methods to all of related references and number of each kind such as book, journal, web page etc.), Discussion, Conclusion and References. These articles should be prepared in one of the following forms:
- Systematic Review Articles: can be meta-analyzed, meta-synthesized, or without statistical analysis. These articles contain components of original research articles.
- Unstructured review articles (Narrative articles): should be written by experts. The components of such articles should include abstracts, introduction, discussion, and conclusions, and should have at least 20 sources, and be prepared in a maximum of 7,000 words.
3) Brief reports: describe significant developments of ongoing research in the field of health and nutrition sciences and contain less scientific data than the original articles. These articles should be the same as the original research articles, but with a smaller volume and a maximum of 1000 words and are includes Abstract (does not needed to be structured), Introduction, Topic, Discussion and References.
4) Letters to Editor: is comments from our readers on recently published articles. This type of article can be used as a critique of previous articles (Critical Appraisal), book review, analysis of a topic related to health sciences and nutrition, report and critique of health science conferences, description and development of an idea or elucidating a complex topic that should be prepared with a maximum of 400 words.
Submission:
The manuscript should be submitted only via electronic submission and accompanied by a covering letter to the Editor-in-Chief that signed and dated by corresponding author including title and author(s) name and undertaking that it has not been published or submitted elsewhere. Also, authors must declare that it is being exclusively contributed Journal of Health System Research. In case the manuscript was earlier submitted to some other journals and was rejected, the authors must provide full information for proper analysis. The text should be submitted in Microsoft Word format as an attachment. The Persian part of the manuscript should be typed in a B Zar font size of at least 12 points and double space of lines with clear margins of at least 2.5 cm on both sides. However, the English Abstract should be typed in a Times New Romane font size of maximum 11 points. Tables as well as illustrations should be typed and drawn on a separate paper. Do not upload pictures and tables in word file as scan, copy or photographs of them. The figures should be sent in a format of JPEG or GIF which will produce high quality images in the online edition of the journal.
Preparation of manuscripts:
The papers should be set based on the following pattern. Please note that the pages or sections that are listed in following pattern, should be in one file, not in some separate files.
Manuscripts submitted for review should be based on the format suggested by the journal. Manuscripts submitted without following the format specified in the authors' guide will not be processed. The manuscripts which do not adhere to the “Instruction for Author”, will be returned for appropriate revision to be in line with the guidance of this Instruction. They may then be resubmitted. Submission of a manuscript implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic Thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same from and language, without the written consent of the publisher.
Articles Categories:
The Journal of Health System Research accepts the following categories of articles:
1) Original articles: are scientific report of the original research studies. These articles consist of the Title page, Abstract (Persian & English), Introduction, Materials & Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgement and References, and Appendices. The maximum number for research articles' words is 4000 words, for tables and pictures is 4, and for the sources and references is 30.
The Title page should include the full title of the article, Authors first and last name, Academic degree, the field of study, Department, Faculty, University, City, and Country for each author and Telephone number, Fax, Address, and e-mail address of the corresponding author who would be the contact for further correspondence and calls.
Note: It is mandatory to provide a short title for printing at the top of the article pages in the journal consisting of 8 words at most.
The abstract should only be on one page and has to be arranged in 6 paragraphs with a maximum of 250 words. The English abstract must be written exactly in consistent with the Persian abstract. It is better to use MeSH words to opt for keywords. Authors should be careful to prepare an abstract so that the abstract accurately reflects the main content of the article.
2) Review articles: involve the overall study of a new scientific topic. These are usually solicited by the editors, but we will consider unsolicited materials too. Unsolicited review articles will undergo editorial process. Review articles would be approved of for publication if submitted by qualified experts with research experiences and excellences in the relevant field. The corresponding author of the review article must be one of the authors of at least three articles appearing in the references. These articles consist of: Abstract (it should be as structured format), Introduction, Methods (this section consists of the access methods to all of related references and number of each kind such as book, journal, web page etc.), Discussion, Conclusion and References. These articles should be prepared in one of the following forms:
- Systematic Review Articles: can be meta-analyzed, meta-synthesized, or without statistical analysis. These articles contain components of original research articles.
- Unstructured review articles (Narrative articles): should be written by experts. The components of such articles should include abstracts, introduction, discussion, and conclusions, and should have at least 20 sources, and be prepared in a maximum of 7,000 words.
3) Brief reports: describe significant developments of ongoing research in the field of health and nutrition sciences and contain less scientific data than the original articles. These articles should be the same as the original research articles, but with a smaller volume and a maximum of 1000 words and are includes Abstract (does not needed to be structured), Introduction, Topic, Discussion and References.
4) Letters to Editor: is comments from our readers on recently published articles. This type of article can be used as a critique of previous articles (Critical Appraisal), book review, analysis of a topic related to health sciences and nutrition, report and critique of health science conferences, description and development of an idea or elucidating a complex topic that should be prepared with a maximum of 400 words.
Submission:
The manuscript should be submitted only via electronic submission and accompanied by a covering letter to the Editor-in-Chief that signed and dated by corresponding author including title and author(s) name and undertaking that it has not been published or submitted elsewhere. Also, authors must declare that it is being exclusively contributed Journal of Health System Research. In case the manuscript was earlier submitted to some other journals and was rejected, the authors must provide full information for proper analysis. The text should be submitted in Microsoft Word format as an attachment. The Persian part of the manuscript should be typed in a B Zar font size of at least 12 points and double space of lines with clear margins of at least 2.5 cm on both sides. However, the English Abstract should be typed in a Times New Romane font size of maximum 11 points. Tables as well as illustrations should be typed and drawn on a separate paper. Do not upload pictures and tables in word file as scan, copy or photographs of them. The figures should be sent in a format of JPEG or GIF which will produce high quality images in the online edition of the journal.
Preparation of manuscripts:
The papers should be set based on the following pattern. Please note that the pages or sections that are listed in following pattern, should be in one file, not in some separate files.
- The Title page: The complete title of the manuscript, the full name of all the authors with their highest qualifications, the department or institution to which they are attached, address for correspondence with telephone numbers, e-mail, and Fax number both in Persian and English.
- The Abstract: All original articles must accompany a structured abstract up to 250 words. It should be structured as Objective, Materials & Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion followed by 3 to 5 Keywords. Keywords will assist indexers in cross indexing the article as they are published with abstract. Use terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list of index medicus (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/MBrowser.html). Authors need to be careful that the abstract reflects the content of the article accurately.
- Introduction: This should summarize the purpose and the rationale for the study. It should neither review the subject extensively nor should it have data or conclusions of the study.
- Materials & Methods: This should include exact method or observation or experiment and must refer to the research methodology, subject, their selection and control, age, gender and other relevant characteristic, lab materials, tools, and their validity and reliability. If an apparatus is used, its manufacturer’s name and address should be given in parenthesis. If the method is established, give reference but if the method is new, give enough information so that another author is able to perform it. If a drug is used, its generic name, dose and route of administration must be given. For patients, age, sex with mean age ± standard deviation must be given. Statistical methods must be mentioned and specify any general computer program used. The Info system used should be clearly mentioned.
- Results: It must be presented in the form of text, tables and illustrations. The contents of the tables should not be all repeated in the text. Instead, a reference to the table number may be given. Accurate value of probability values in statistical analyzes should be presented. Long articles may need sub-headings within some sections (especially the Results and Discussion parts) to clarify their contents.
- Discussion: This should emphasize the present findings and the variations or similarities with other work done in the field by other workers. The detailed data should not be repeated in the discussion again. Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study and the conclusions that follow from them. It must be mentioned whether the hypothesis mentioned in the article is true, false or no conclusions can be derived.
- Conclusion: It should include the final outcome of the research.
- Acknowledgement: All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be covered in the acknowledgement section. It should include persons who provided technical help, writing assistance and departmental head that only provided general support. Financial and material support should also be acknowledged. Limitations include problems you encountered in conducting the relevant research but could not be avoided. For example, if the study capacity is low, the small sample size should be explained with scientific and logical reasons. Restrictions should be stated individually and refrained from numbering and listing restrictions. Suggestions include topics on which conducting research on them can help improve the current knowledge in the field in line with the topic and by placing them alongside the results of the present study, a better and more comprehensive understanding of the topic is created. Proposals should be presented on a case-by-case basis and should not be numbered or listed. Funding If the study was funded by an institution or organization, or if any of the authors received an award, grant, or any grant to participate in the study or to conduct part of the research process from design to publication of the manuscript, this should be clearly stated.
- Tables: Should be submitted with the captions placed above. Do not submit tables as photograph. Place explanatory matters in footnotes, not in the heading. The tables should be repeated in separate pages at the end of manuscript in addition to text.
- Figures: Should be in limited numbers, with high quality art work and mounted on separate pages at the end of manuscript, of course can be repeated in the text. The captions should be placed below. The same data should not be presented in tables, figures and text, simultaneously (each image or graph alone is equivalent to 300 words).
Note: The Total number of Tables and Figures should not exceed 4.
- References: All manuscripts should be accompanied by relevant references. The author should ensure reference to locally published studies by doing proper literature search. It may not be possible for the editor and reviewers to check the accuracy of all reference citations. To minimize such errors author should verify references against the original documents. The authors are responsible for the accuracy of the bibliographic information. Personal communications and unpublished data including manuscripts submitted but not yet accepted for publication should not be used as a reference but may be mentioned in parentheses in the text. The references are cited numerically (in parentheses) in the text and listed in the bibliography by the order of their sequence and appearance and based on Vancouver style. All Persian references should be written in English. In this regard paper title should be placed in [ ] and at the end of title written [In Persian]. Complete information should be given for each reference and following guidelines must be followed (please attention to punctuation of examples):
- Journal: Surname and initials of authors (in the case of seven or more authors, the names of the first six authors followed by et al should be listed), title of paper, full journal name, publication year, volume, issue number and related pages.
Example:
Book:
1. HaghDoost AA. Systematic review & Meta-Analysis Concept & applications. 1st ed. Tehran: Teimorzadeh; 2007: 48-53. [In Persian]
Journal Article:
2. Mohammadi A, Mojtahedzadeh R, Keshavarz H. Designing Criteria and Indices for Educational Ranking of Paramedical Sciences Schools in Iran. SDME 2006; 3 (2): 86-94. [In Persian]
3. Yaghmaei L, Soltani S, Khodagholi M. Bioclimatic classification of Isfahan province using multivariate statistical methods. International Journal of Climatology: A Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society 2009; 29(2): 1850-61.
External sources:
Book:
Journal Article:
2. Mohammadi A, Mojtahedzadeh R, Keshavarz H. Designing Criteria and Indices for Educational Ranking of Paramedical Sciences Schools in Iran. SDME 2006; 3 (2): 86-94. [In Persian]
3. Yaghmaei L, Soltani S, Khodagholi M. Bioclimatic classification of Isfahan province using multivariate statistical methods. International Journal of Climatology: A Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society 2009; 29(2): 1850-61.
External sources:
4. Gay LR. Educational research: competencies for analysis and application. 4th ed. Ohio: Merrill Publishing Company; 1992: 45-56.
Chapter in book:
5. Palmer PJ. The heart of a teacher. In: Ornstein AC, Behar-Horenstein LS, Pajak EF, editors. Contemporary issues in curriculum. 3rd ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon; 2003: 285-93.
Journal Article:
6. Mamary E, Charles P. Promoting self-directed learning for continuing medical education. Med Teach 2003; 25 (2): 188-90.
Translated book:
Surnames and initials of authors, book title, surnames and initials of translators, publication sequence, city of publication, publisher, publication year, related pages.
Chapter in book:
5. Palmer PJ. The heart of a teacher. In: Ornstein AC, Behar-Horenstein LS, Pajak EF, editors. Contemporary issues in curriculum. 3rd ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon; 2003: 285-93.
Journal Article:
6. Mamary E, Charles P. Promoting self-directed learning for continuing medical education. Med Teach 2003; 25 (2): 188-90.
Translated book:
Surnames and initials of authors, book title, surnames and initials of translators, publication sequence, city of publication, publisher, publication year, related pages.
Thesis:
Surname and initial of author, thesis title, academic certificate, city of education, faculty name, university name, education year, related pages.
Example:
7. Kaplan SJ. Post – hospital home health care: the elderly access and utilization [Ph.D. dissertation], St. Louis (MO), Nursing Faculty, Washington Univ; 1995, pp: 57-61.
Electronic References:
a) Electronic Journal: Surnames and initials of authors, paper title, running title of electronic journal, type of media that in this case (electronic journal) should be written [serial online], publication year and month, volume number, issue number in parentheses, [pages or screens number]. Available from: web site address. Availability date.
Electronic References:
a) Electronic Journal: Surnames and initials of authors, paper title, running title of electronic journal, type of media that in this case (electronic journal) should be written [serial online], publication year and month, volume number, issue number in parentheses, [pages or screens number]. Available from: web site address. Availability date.
Example:
8. Morse SS. Factors in the emergence of infectious disease. Emerg Infect Dis [Serial online] 1995 Jan–Mor: 1(1): [24 screens]. Available from: URL: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/eid.htmscreens [cited Juns 5 1996].
b) Refer to site: Surnames and initials of authors, paper title, publication year, [pages or screens number]. Available at: web site address. Availability date. Abbreviations and symbols: Use only standard abbreviations. Avoid using them 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.
b) Refer to site: Surnames and initials of authors, paper title, publication year, [pages or screens number]. Available at: web site address. Availability date. Abbreviations and symbols: Use only standard abbreviations. Avoid using them 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.
- Ethical considerations: Journal of Health System Research is committed to apply ethics of publication, based on the COPE’s Code of Conduct and Best Practices. Also, in medical studies, Journal of Health System Research has engaged to apply ethics of research, based on Declaration of Helsinki: Statement of Ethical Principles for Medical Research. So, the research’s ethical considerations must be addressed in the Materials and Methods and/or in the Acknowledgement section.
- Plagiarism: Journal of Health System Research has accepted all terms and conditions of Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) on plagiarism. So, in any case of plagiarism, which is brought to the journal’s editors’ attention and accompanied with convincing evidence, we act based on flowcharts and workflows determined in COPE. Meanwhile, to detect and prevent plagiarism in the journal articles, all submissions will be checked with iTheticate software in both stages of submission and acceptance.
Conflicts of interest: The Journal of Health System Research as a member of Isfahan University of Medical Journals, published by Vesnu (Farzanegan-e-Radandish) Institute for Scientific Communication, is committed to apply ICMJE recommendation on “Author Responsibilities—Conflicts of Interest” in authors’ conflict of interest issues. Authors should disclose, at the time of submission, information on financial conflicts of interest or other interests that may influence the manuscript. Authors should declare sources of funding for the work undertaken, too.
Peer-review process:
All manuscripts are considered to be confidential. They are peer-reviewed by at least 2 anonymous reviewers selected by the Editorial Board. The corresponding author is notified as soon as possible of the editor decision to accept, reject, or require modifications. If the manuscript is completely acceptable according to the criteria set forth in these instructions, it is scheduled for the next available issue.
For more information on the journal peer review process, please click here.
Proof reading: Final revised of paper is sent to the corresponding author for proof reading before publication in order to avoid any mistakes. Corrections should be marked clearly and sent immediately to the Journal office.
Disposal of material: Once published, all copies of the manuscript, correspondence and artwork will be held for 6 months before disposal.
Copyright:
Under Bethesda Statement on Open Access Publishing (June 20, 2003), Journal of Health System Research is fully compliant with open access mandates, by publishing its articles under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial licence (CC-BY-NC). Authors retain copyright of their work and can deposit their publication in any repository. This means that articles can be freely redistributed and reused by the author and others as long as the article is properly cited. Published articles in Journal of Health System Research can be deposited immediately into an online repository or social network without any cost. Journal of Health System Research articles can be emailed to colleagues, printed, archived in a collection, included in course-packs, and distributed without restrictions. Please read the full Creative Commons license for further information.
Final Checklist
The authors must ensure that before submitting the manuscript for publication, they have taken care of the following:
1. Title page should contain title, name of the author/co-authors, their qualifications, designation & institutions they are affiliated with and mailing address for future correspondence, E-mail address, Phone & Fax number (both in Persian and English languages).
2. Abstract in Structured format up to 250 words (both in Persian and English Languages).
3. References mentioned as stated in the Instruction to Authors section.
4. Tables should be repeated on separate pages at the end of word file.
5. Make sure for Headings of Tables, their numbers and Captions of illustrations. Don’t repeat the information in tables if it is covered in the text.
6. Photographs/illustrations along with their captions.
7. Disclosure regarding source of funding and conflict of interest if any besides approval of the study from respective Ethics Committee/Institution Review Board.
8. Covering Letter by correspondent author and Letter of Undertaking signed by all the authors.
All manuscripts are considered to be confidential. They are peer-reviewed by at least 2 anonymous reviewers selected by the Editorial Board. The corresponding author is notified as soon as possible of the editor decision to accept, reject, or require modifications. If the manuscript is completely acceptable according to the criteria set forth in these instructions, it is scheduled for the next available issue.
For more information on the journal peer review process, please click here.
Proof reading: Final revised of paper is sent to the corresponding author for proof reading before publication in order to avoid any mistakes. Corrections should be marked clearly and sent immediately to the Journal office.
Disposal of material: Once published, all copies of the manuscript, correspondence and artwork will be held for 6 months before disposal.
Copyright:
Under Bethesda Statement on Open Access Publishing (June 20, 2003), Journal of Health System Research is fully compliant with open access mandates, by publishing its articles under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial licence (CC-BY-NC). Authors retain copyright of their work and can deposit their publication in any repository. This means that articles can be freely redistributed and reused by the author and others as long as the article is properly cited. Published articles in Journal of Health System Research can be deposited immediately into an online repository or social network without any cost. Journal of Health System Research articles can be emailed to colleagues, printed, archived in a collection, included in course-packs, and distributed without restrictions. Please read the full Creative Commons license for further information.
Final Checklist
The authors must ensure that before submitting the manuscript for publication, they have taken care of the following:
1. Title page should contain title, name of the author/co-authors, their qualifications, designation & institutions they are affiliated with and mailing address for future correspondence, E-mail address, Phone & Fax number (both in Persian and English languages).
2. Abstract in Structured format up to 250 words (both in Persian and English Languages).
3. References mentioned as stated in the Instruction to Authors section.
4. Tables should be repeated on separate pages at the end of word file.
5. Make sure for Headings of Tables, their numbers and Captions of illustrations. Don’t repeat the information in tables if it is covered in the text.
6. Photographs/illustrations along with their captions.
7. Disclosure regarding source of funding and conflict of interest if any besides approval of the study from respective Ethics Committee/Institution Review Board.
8. Covering Letter by correspondent author and Letter of Undertaking signed by all the authors.
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