SJP Editorial Policies and Peer Review Process
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General Information
Sudanese Journal of Paediatrics (SJP) (ISSN 0256-4408), the official journal of the Sudan Association of Paediatricians, is a peer-reviewed journal established in 1977 with the overall objective of promoting the science and practice of Paediatrics. The SJP encourages submissions from authors all over the world. The journal gives priority to clinical and experimental reports dealing with child health locally, in tropical regions and Africa, the Middle East and Mediterranean Region, as well as globally. Articles considered for publication include editorials, reviews, original articles, short reports, case reports, letters to the editor, historical perspectives and book reviews. Sudanese Journal of Paediatrics is an Open Access journal with the online version made freely available at http://www.SudanJP.org. There are no page charges for manuscript publication in SJP.
Currently, manuscripts should be submitted via email or by post using the editorial office contact information. For more information, see Manuscript Submission.
Editors and Editorial board
Editor-in-Chief
Prof. Mohammed Osman Swar
Professor of pediatrics and Child Health
Ahfad University for Women, Omdurman, Sudan
[email protected] ; [email protected]
International Editor
Prof. Mustafa Abdalla Mohamed Salih
Professor of pediatrics and Child Health and Consultant Paediatric Neurologist
King Saud University and King Khalid University Hospital
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
[email protected] , [email protected]
Editors
Prof. Eisa Osman Alamin
President of Sudan Association of Paediatrician
Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health
National Rabat University, Khartoum, Sudan
[email protected]
Dr. Satti Abdelrahim Satti
Consultant Pediatrician
Alamal Hospital
Khartoum North, Sudan
[email protected]
Assistant International Editors
Dr. Amir M. I. Babiker
Assistant Professor and Consultant Paediatric Endocrinologist
King Saud University and King Khalid University Hospital
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
[email protected] , [email protected]
Dr. Sarar Hamza Mohamed
Associate Professor and Consultant Paediatric Endocrinologist/Metabolic physician
King Saud University and King Khalid University Hospital
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
[email protected] , [email protected]
Coordinating Editor
Adnan Mahmood Usmani,
College of Medicine
King Saud University
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
[email protected]
Assistant Editors
Fath Elrahman Alawad
Associate Professor of Pediatrics And Child Health
Al- Neelain University, Khartoum, Sudan
[email protected]
Prof. Bakhieta Attalla
Professor of pediatrics and Child Health
Bahri University, Sudan
[email protected]
Prof. Haydar Elhadi Babikir
Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health
University of Gezira, Wad Medani, Sudan
[email protected]
Editorial Board
Prof. Mohamed Ahmed Abdullah
Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health
University of Khartoum, PO Box 102, Sudan
[email protected]
Prof. Hassan Mohamed Ahmed
Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health
Vice President University of Academic science
Consultant Paediatrician academy charity hospital Khartoum
Khartoum, Sudan
[email protected] [email protected] ,
Dr. Ali Arabi
Consultant Pediatric Gastroenterologist and Nutritionist
Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health
University of Khartoum, PO Box 102, Sudan
[email protected]
Prof. Hafiz Elshazali
Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health
Consultant Paediatrion international hospital Khartoum north
University of Khartoum, PO Box 102, Sudan
[email protected]
Prof. Ali Habour
Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health
University of Gezira
Wad Medani, Sudan
[email protected]
Dr. Mohamed Sir Elkhatim Hashim
Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health
University of Khartoum, PO Box 102, Sudan
[email protected]
Prof. Salah Ahamed Ibrahim
Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health
University of Khartoum, PO Box 102, Sudan
[email protected]
Prof. Zein Alabdeen A. Karrar
Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health
University of Khartoum, PO Box 102, Sudan
[email protected]
Prof. Gaffar Ibnouf Suliman
Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health and Senior Paediatrician
Federal Ministry of Health, Sudan
[email protected]
International Editorial Board
Dr Ahmad Amer Al Boukai
Associate Professor and Consultant Radiologist
King Saud University and King Khalid University Hospital
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
[email protected]
Dr. Mamoun Alawad
Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street
London, UK
WC1N 3JH
[email protected]
Mohamed El-Hadi Al-Malik
Clinical Assistant professor, UAE University
Senior Consultant Paediatrician and child Neurologist
Head of Pediatric neurology Division
Tawam hospital, AlAin, United Arab Emirate (UAE)
[email protected]
Prof. Hassan Bella
Advisor to Vice President for Higher Studies & Scientific Research,
Editor-in-Chief, Saudi Journal of Medicine & Medical Sciences
Professor of Family Medicine and Tropical Child Health
University of Dammam
P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia
[email protected] , [email protected]
Dr. Khalid Omer Ibrahim
Assistant Professor in clinical Pediatrics
Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar
Senior Consultant Paediatric Neurologist
Head of Paediatric Neurology Division
Hamad Medical Corporation
P.O. Box 3050, Doha, Qatar
[email protected]
Prof. Abdelaziz Elamin Mohamed
Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health
University of Bahrain, Bahrain
[email protected]
Dr. Khalid Awad Mohamed
Assistant Professor in clinical Pediatrics
Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar
Senior Consultant Paediatric Neurologist
Hamad Medical Corporation
P.O. Box 3050, Doha, Qatar
[email protected] , [email protected]
Dr. Ahmed Ibrahim Mukhtar
Consultant Paediatrician
High Sheriff of Northamptonshire
Former Medical director of Kettering General Hospital
Rothwell road, Kettering, Northamptonshire
NN16 8UZ, United Kingdom
[email protected]
Dr. Mohamed Elhassan E. Osman
Assistant Professor and Consultant Paediatrician
King Saud University and King Khalid University Hospital
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
[email protected] , [email protected]
Dr. Mohamed Zain Seidahmed
Consultant Neonatologist
Security Forces Hospital
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
[email protected]
Prof. Alawia Sulaiman
Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Penn State College of Medicine
Department of Pediatrics
HS 83, P.O. Box 850
Hershey, PA 17033-0850
United States of America
[email protected]
Editorial Office Contact Information
Editor in chief - Professor Mohamed Osman Swar Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Ahfad University for Women, Omdurman, Sudan, E-mail: [email protected] , [email protected]
Editorial Policies for Authors
The following instructions summarize the SJP’s editorial policies:
Authorship Criteria and Contributions
According to the guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) as revised in 2013 [1]: Authorship credit should be based on the following 4 criteria: (1) substantial contributions to conception or design of the work, or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; and (2) drafting of the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and (3) final approval of the version to be published; and (4) agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
In order to be an author in any article published in SJP, one should have participated sufficiently in the work to take responsibility for appropriate portions of the content. In addition, one or more of the authors should take responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole throughout the process until it gets published. All those designated as authors should meet all 4 criteria for authorship, and all who meet the 4 criteria should be identified as authors. Those who do not meet all 4 criteria should be acknowledged.
For each author, there should be accountability for the parts of the work he or she has done. Not only this, but each author should have confidence in the integrity of the contributions of any coauthors.
When submitting a manuscript, Confirmation of Reporting Conflicts of Interest and Funding; and Publishing Agreement should be included. In addition, authors are required to identify their contributions to the work described in the manuscript. All other persons who have made substantial contributions to the work reported in this manuscript (e.g., data collection, analysis, or writing or editing assistance) but who do not fulfill the authorship criteria should be named with their specific contributions and affiliations in an Acknowledgment in the manuscript. Needless to mention that permission to include the names of individuals in the Acknowledgment section must be obtained
Avoiding duplicate/previous publication or submission, the authors also must certify that the manuscript represents valid work and that neither this manuscript nor one with substantially similar content under their authorship has been published or is being considered for publication elsewhere. The editors or their assignees should be able to examine the data, if they need to, and authors should be prepared and must fully cooperate by providing the data on which the manuscript is based.
Role of the Corresponding Author
The corresponding author, on behalf of all coauthors, will serve as the primary correspondent with the editorial office during the submission and review processes. If the manuscript is accepted, the corresponding author will review an edited manuscript and proof before being published, and he or she will be identified as the corresponding author in the published article. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that the Acknowledgment section of the manuscript is complete and is responsible for ensuring that the conflict of interest disclosures reported are accurate [3].
Changes in Authorship
The order of authors should be determined among themselves and any disagreement should settle before they submit their manuscript to SJP. Changes in authorship (i.e., order, addition, and deletion of authors) should be discussed and approved by all authors. Any requests for such changes in authorship after initial manuscript submission and before publication should be explained by the corresponding author, in writing, to the editor by email.
Group Authorship
If authorship is attributed to a group, all members of the group must meet the full criteria and requirements for authorship as described above [3]. Otherwise, if not all members of the group meet all authorship criteria, those who are not authors may be listed as collaborators in an Acknowledgment.
Conflicts of Interest and Financial Disclosures
Upon submission of a manuscript, the corresponding author, on behalf of other authors should include disclosures of conflict of interest. Although it is not a condition for publication in SJP, this can also be added in the Acknowledgment section of the submitted manuscript. A conflict of interest may exist when an author (or the author’s institution) has financial or personal relationships or affiliations that could influence the author’s decisions, work, or manuscript. Authors are expected to provide detailed information about all relevant financial interests, activities, relationships, and affiliations (other than those affiliations listed in the title page of the manuscript) such as: employment, affiliation, funding and grants received or pending, consultancies, honoraria or payment, expert testimony, royalties, donation of medical equipment, etc.
According to the recent guidelines of the ICMJE, the definitions and terms of such disclosures include [1]:
Any potential conflicts of interest “involving the work under consideration for publication” (during the time involving the work, from initial conception and planning to present),
Any “relevant financial activities outside the submitted work” (over the 3 years prior to submission), and
Any “other relationships or activities that readers could perceive to have influenced, or that give the appearance of potentially influencing” what is written in the submitted work (based on all relationships that were present during the 3 years prior to submission) [2].
Authors without conflicts of interest, including relevant financial interests, activities, relationships, and affiliations, should indicate such when submitting a manuscript to SJP, and preferably include a statement of no such interests in the Acknowledgment section of the manuscript. Authors should contact the editorial office if they have questions or concerns regarding disclosure issues [2].
Authors also are required to disclose to editors detailed information regarding all financial and material support for the research and work, including grant support, funding sources, and provision of equipment and supplies, which all preferably appear in the Acknowledgment section of the manuscript.
For all accepted manuscripts, the corresponding author will have been asked to confirm that each of his/her coauthor’s disclosures of conflicts of interest and relevant financial interests, activities, relationships, and affiliations and declarations of no such interests are accurate, up-to-date, and consistent with the disclosures reported in the Acknowledgment section of the manuscript. If an author’s disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is proved to be inaccurate or incomplete after publication, a correction will be published as rectification, and additional action may be taken as necessary. The policy requiring disclosure of conflicts of interest applies for all manuscript submissions, including letters to the editor.
Funding/Support and Role of Funder/Sponsor
Authors should clearly and completely identify all financial and material support for the research and this should be in the Acknowledgment section of the manuscript. The specific role of the funding organization or sponsor should also be specified: “design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication” [2,4].
Data Access, Responsibility, and Analysis
In original articles and reports, at least the principal investigator, whether the corresponding author or other, must indicate that he or she “had full access to all the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis” [5].
Acknowledgment Section
The “Acknowledgment section”, included at the end of the text of a manuscript but before the references, is the general term for the list of any important disclaimers; information on previous presentation of the information reported in the manuscript; and the contributions, names, degrees, affiliations, and indication if compensation has been received for all persons who have made substantial contributions to the work but who are not authors. It may also include contributions, disclosures, credits, and other information such as: information on author access to data; disclosure of potential conflicts of interest, including financial interests, activities, relationships, and affiliations; sources of funding and support; an explanation of the role of sponsor(s); names, degrees, and affiliations of participants in a large study or other group (i.e., "collaborators".
All other persons who have made substantial contributions to the work reported in the manuscript (e.g., data collection, analysis, and writing or editing assistance) but who do not fulfill the authorship criteria should be named with their specific contributions in this section. Authors must obtain written permission to include the names of all individuals included in the Acknowledgment section.
Duplicate/Previous Publication or Submission
Manuscripts are considered by SJP editors with the understanding that they have not been published previously in print or electronic format and are not under consideration for that by other media. It is he authors’ responsibility to indicate this upon submission of the manuscript and send copies of related or possibly duplicative materials that have been previously published or are under consideration elsewhere for publication.
Timeliness of Data
Although SJP publishes some archived materials such as thesis, Editors prefer to publish original articles, case reports and education and practice sections, to publish timely and most current data. Manuscripts in which data have been collected more than 5 years ago will receive lower priority for publication, and authors of such manuscripts should provide a detailed explanation of the relevance of the information to current knowledge and medical practice.
Ethical Approval of Studies and Informed Consent
Prior to publication in SJP, formal review and approval by an appropriate institutional review board (IRB) or ethics committee is required and should be described in the Methods section for all manuscripts reporting data from studies involving human participants or animals. For those investigators who do not have formal ethics review committees, the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki should be followed [6]. Occasionally, editors may request that authors provide a copy of the IRB for the study.
Editorial and Peer Review
An SJP editor reviews all submitted manuscripts initially. The following basic criteria will be used to evaluate submitted manuscripts before being sent to expert consultants for peer review: material is original and timely, Clear writing, study methods are appropriate, Valid data, conclusions are reasonable and supported by the data, and topic has general medical interest. Peer reviewer identities are kept confidential, but author identities are made known to the reviewers. The existence of a manuscript under review is not revealed to anyone other than peer reviewers and editorial staff. Peer reviewers are required to maintain confidentiality about the manuscripts and must not disclose any information about manuscripts or its content to any third party without prior permission from the SJP editors. Information from submitted manuscripts may be systematically collected and analyzed as part of research to improve the quality of the editorial or peer review process. Identifying information remains confidential. Final decisions regarding manuscript publication are made by an SJP editor who does not have any relevant conflicts of interest.
Editing
Accepted manuscripts are edited in accordance with the SJP style and returned to the corresponding author for approval. Authors are responsible for all statements made in their work, including changes made during editing and production, which will be authorized by the corresponding author.
Requests to publish corrections should be sent to the editorial office. Corrections will be published linked online to the original article after being reviewed by editors and authors.
Categories of Articles
SJP publishes Original Articles, Reviews, Current opinions, Education and Practice, Editorials, Historical perspectives and Case reports. Topics of interest include all subjects that relate to the general and specialist practice of Paediatrics and the betterment of Medicine in Sudan, Africa, Middle East and worldwide. The following table describes general statements or guidelines on different study designs, which provide guidance to authors who would like to publish original articles in SJP:
Table 1 - Details of reporting guidelines for different study designs
Manuscript Preparation and Submission Requirements
To address the task of the expansion of the Sudanese Journal of Paediatrics (SJP) to encompass the scientific work dealing with child health locally and abroad, it will be the purpose of the Editorial Board of SJP to encourage authors to submit high-quality papers for the refereed publication and to make a more varied source of material to our readers.
“Guidelines to contributors “are published to help the authors to present their data in accordance with the currently accepted uniform style for submitted manuscripts. It is based on the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors [1] with minor modifications to suit the local facilities in developing countries.
Summary of requirements
Manuscript should be doubled-spaced and include title page, abstract, text, acknowledgements, references, tables and legends.
Each manuscript component should begin on a new page, in the following sequence: title page, abstract and key words, text, acknowledgements, references, tables and each page should have legends for illustrations if any.
Illustrations and figures must be of good quality and in high-resolution editable digital format. They should be submitted, as attached files, in JPG or TIFF format.
Submitted manuscript should be accompanied by covering letter, and permission to reproduce previously published materials. Authors should keep copies of everything submitted.
Articles can be submitted by e-mail: [email protected].
Preparation of manuscript
Type manuscript on A4 paper (30x21 cm), with margins of at least 2.5 cm (1 in) in a word processor program. Use double spacing throughout, including title page, abstract, text, acknowledgements, references, tables and legends. Number pages consecutively, beginning with the title page. Type the page number in the upper right-had corner of each page.
Manuscripts will be reviewed for possible publication with the understanding that they are being submitted only to SJP at that time and have not been published, simultaneously submitted or already accepted for publication elsewhere. This does not preclude consideration of a manuscript that has been rejected by another journal or of a complete report that follows publication of preliminary findings elsewhere, usually in the form, of an abstract. Copies of any possibly duplicative published material should be submitted with the manuscript that is being sent for considerations.
Title page
The title page should contain (1) the title of the article, which should be concise but informative, (2) first name, middle initial, and last name of each author, with highest academic degree(s), (3) name of department(s) and institution(s) to which the work should be attributed. If an author has moved since the work described in the manuscript was done, a “Current address” may be indicated as a footnote to that author’s name, (4) disclaimers, if any (5) name and address of author responsible for correspondence about the manuscript with telephone number and e-mail address provided, (6) name and address of author to whom request for reprints should be addressed, or statement that reprints will not be available from the author, (7) the source(s) of support in the form of grants, equipment, drugs orall of these.
Abstract and keywords
The second page should carry an abstract of not more than 250 words. The abstract, which should be unstructured i.e, with no subtitles, should state the purposes of study or investigation, basic procedures, (study subjects or experimental specific data and their statistical significance, if possible), and the principal conclusions. Emphasize new and important aspects of the study or observations. Use only approved abbreviations.
Key (indexing) terms: Below the abstract provide and identify as such, three to 10 key words or short phrases that will assist indexers in cross-indexing your article and that maybe published with the abstract. Use terms from the Medical Subject Headings list from Index Medicus whenever possible.
Text
The text of observational and experimental articles is usually - but not necessarily - divided into sections with the headings Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Long articles may need subheadings within some sections to clarify their contents, especially the Results and Discussion sections.
Introduction: Clearly state the purpose of the article. Summarize the rationale for the study or observation. Give only strictly pertinent references, and do not review the subject extensively.
Methods: Describe your section of the observational or experimental subjects (patients or experimental animals, including controls) clearly. Identify the methods, apparatus (manufacturers name and address in parenthesis), and procedures in sufficient detail to allow other workers to reproduce the results. Give references to and brief descriptions of methods that have been published but are not well known; describe new or substantially modified methods, give reasons for using them, and evaluate their limitations.
When reporting experiments on human subjects, indicate whether the procedures followed were in accord with the ethical standards of the committee on human experimentation of the institution in which the experiments were done or in accord with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975. Identify precisely all drugs and chemicals used, including generic names(s), dosage(s), and route(s) of administration. Do not use patient’s names, initials, or hospital numbers.
Include numbers of observations and the statistical significance of the findings when appropriate. Detailed statistical analyses, mathematical derivations, and the like may sometimes be suitably presented in the form of one or more appendixes.
Results: Present your results in logical sequence on the text, tables, and illustrations. Do not repeat in the text all the data in the tables or illustrations, or both: emphasize or summarize only important observations.
Discussion: Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study and conclusions that follow from them. Do not repeat in detail data given in the results section. Include in the Discussion the implications of the findings and their limitations and relate the observations to other relevant studies. Link the conclusions with the goals of the study but avoid unqualified statements and conclusions not completely supported by your data. Avoid claiming priority and alluding to work that has not been completed. State new hypotheses when warranted, but clearly label them as such. Recommendations, when appropriate, may be included.
Acknowledgements
Acknowledge only persons who have made a significant contribution to the completion of the study but not satisfying the authorship criteria.
References
Number references consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. Indentify references in the text, tables, and legends by Arabic numerals. References cited only in tables or in legends to figures should be numbered in accordance with a sequence established by the first identification in the text of the particular table or illustration.
Use the form of references adopted by the US National Library of Medicine and used in Index Medicus. Use the style of the examples cited at the end of this section, which have been approved by the National Library of Medicine.
The titles of journals should be abbreviated according to the style used in Index Medicus.
Try to avoid using abstracts as references; “ unpublished observations” and “personal communications” may not be used as references, although references to written, not verbal, communications may be inserted [square brackets] in the text. Include among the references manuscripts accepted but not yet published; designate the journal followed by “in press” [square brackets]. Information from manuscripts submitted but not yet accepted should be cited in the text as “unpublished observations” [square brackets].
The references must be verified by the author(s) against the original documents.
Examples of correct forms of references are given below:
Journal
Standard journal article: (List all authors when six or less; when seven or more, list only first six and add et al.)
2. Jalloh S, Van Rostenberghe H, Yusoff NM, Ghazali S, Nik Ismail NZ, Matsuo M, et al. Poor correlation between hemolysis and jaundice in glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase-deficient babies. Pediatr Int 2005; 47:258-61.
Corporate Author:
3. The committee on enzyme of the Scandinaian Society of Clinical Chemistry and clinical Physiology, Recommended method for the determination of gammaglutamyltransferase in blood. Scand J Clin Lab Invest 1976;119-25.
Books and other monographs:
Personal Author(s):
4. Barkovich AJ. Pediatric Neuroimaging (4th ed). Philadelphia: Lippincott William &Wilkins,2005.
Corporate Author:
5. Americal Medical Association Department of Drugs. AMA drug evaluations. 3rd ed. Littleton: Publishing Science Group, 1977.
Editor(s), Compiler:
6. Armstrong DL, Halliday W, Hawkings C, Takashima S, eds. Pediatric Neuropathology: A Text- Atlas. New York: Springer; 2007.
Chapter in book:
7. Salih MAM. Genetic disorders in Sudan. In: Teebi AS, ed. Genetic Disorders among Arab Populations (2nd ed). Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, 2010:575-612.
Agency publications:
8. National Center for Health Statistics. Acute conditions: incidence and associated disability, United States July 1968- June 1969. Rockwille, Md.: National Center for Health Statistics , 1972. (Vital and health statistics. Series 10: Data from the national Health Survey , No 69) (Dhew publication No (HSM) 72-1036)
Online reference:
9. JAMA’s key and critical objectives. Available at: http://jama.ama-assn.org/misc/aboutjama.dtl. Accessed June 7, 2011.
Other Articles
Newspaper article:
10. Shaffer RA. Advances in chemistry are starting to unlock mysteries of the brain: discoveries could help cure alcoholism and insomnia, explain mental illness. How the messengers work. Wall street Journal 1977Aug 12;1 (col1), 10 (col 1).
Magazine article:
11. Roueche B. Annals of medicine: the Santa Claus culture. The New Yorker 1971 Sep 4:66-81.
Tables
Type each table on a separate sheet; remember to double space. Do not submit tables as photographs or in PowerPoint. Use the facility in MSWord to prepare the tables. Number the tables consecutively and supply a brief title for each. Give each column a short or abbreviated heading. Place explanatory matter in footnotes, not in the heading. Explain in footnotes all nonstandard abbreviations that are used in each table. For footnotes, use the following symbols in the these sequences: *, **, ***, … Identify statistical measures of variations such as SD and SEM. Omit internal horizontal and vertical rulers. Cite each table in the text in consecutive order.
If you use data from another published or unpublished source, obtain permission and acknowledge fully.
Illustrations
Submit the required number of complete sets of figures. Figures should be professionally drawn and photographed; freehand or typewritten lettering is unacceptable. Letters, numbers, and symbols should be clear and even throughout, and of sufficient size that when reduced for publication each item will still be legible. Titles and detailed explanations belong in the legends for illustrations, not on the illustrations themselves.
Each figure should have a label pasted on its back indicating the number of the figure, the names of the authors, and the top of the figure.
Photomicrographs must have internal scale markers. Symbols, arrows or letters used in the photomicrographs should contrast with the background.
If photographs of persons are used, the author bears full responsibility of either permission to use the photographs or have the eyes masked.
In case of electronic submission (e-mail), figures should be sent as separate attached files in JPG (jpeg) or TIFF format. Do not import the figures into the text file, but indicate their locations in the manuscript.
Cite each figure in the text in consecutive order. If a figure has been published, acknowledge the additional source and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material. Permission is required, regardless of authorship or publisher, except for documents in the public domain.
Legend for illustrations
Type legends for illustrations double spaced, starting on the 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 internal scale and identify method of staining in photomicrographs.
Abbreviations
Use only standard abbreviations. Avoid abbreviations in the title. The full term for which an abbreviation stands should precede its first use in the text unless it is a standard unit of measurement.
Report measurement in the units in which they were made. If the traditional units of measurements were used, add the System International (SI) equivalent in parentheses. Scientific names giving genus and species should be in italics typescript with an initial capital; use abbreviations only after the first mention: Escherichia coli, then E coli.
Full stops should not be used after contractions or abbreviations: FRCS, mg/dl, Dr, et al, etc.
Drugs should not be given their approved names followed- when appropriate- by their proprietary names (in parentheses)
Submission of Manuscripts
Manuscripts can be submitted electronically ([email protected]).
Manuscripts should be accompanied by a covering letter from the author who will be responsible for correspondence regarding the manuscript. The covering letter should contain a statement that the manuscript has been seen and approved by all authors. The letter should give any additional information that may be helpful to the editor, such as the type of article the manuscript. Include copies of any permission needed to reproduce published material or to use illustrations of identifiable subjects.
REFERENCES
1. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Recommendations for the conduct, reporting, editing and publication of scholarly work in medical journals. http://www.icmje.org. Updated 2014. Accessed December 8, 2014.
2. Fontanarosa PB, Flanagin A, DeAngelis CD. Implementation of the ICMJE form for reporting potential conflicts of interest. JAMA. 2010;304(13):1496. FULL TEXT.
3. Flanagin A, Fontanarosa PB, DeAngelis CD. Authorship for research groups. JAMA. 2002;288(24):3166-3168. FULL TEXT. Medline:12495400.
4. Fontanarosa PB, Flanagin A, DeAngelis CD. Reporting conflicts of interest, financial aspects of research, and role of sponsors in funded studies. JAMA. 2005;294(1):110-111.FULL TEXT. Medline:15998899.
5. DeAngelis CD, Drazen JM, Frizelle FA, et al; International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Clinical trial registration: a statement from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. JAMA. 2004;292(11):1363-1364. FULL TEXT. Medline:15355936.
6. World Medical Association. World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki: ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects. JAMA. 2013;310(20):2191-2194. http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1760318. Accessed January 2, 201
To address the task of the expansion of the Sudanese Journal of Paediatrics (SJP) to encompass the scientific work dealing with child health locally and abroad, it will be the purpose of the Editorial Board of SJP to encourage authors to submit high-quality papers for the refereed publication and to make a more varied source of material to our readers.
“Guidelines to contributors “are published to help the authors to present their data in accordance with the currently accepted uniform style for submitted manuscripts. It is based on the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors [1] with minor modifications to suit the local facilities in developing countries.
Summary of requirements
Manuscript should be doubled-spaced and include title page, abstract, text, acknowledgements, references, tables and legends.
Each manuscript component should begin on a new page, in the following sequence: title page, abstract and key words, text, acknowledgements, references, tables and each page should have legends for illustrations if any.
Illustrations and figures must be of good quality and in high-resolution editable digital format. They should be submitted, as attached files, in JPG or TIFF format.
Submitted manuscript should be accompanied by covering letter, and permission to reproduce previously published materials. Authors should keep copies of everything submitted.
Articles can be submitted by e-mail: [email protected].
Preparation of manuscript
Type manuscript on A4 paper (30x21 cm), with margins of at least 2.5 cm (1 in) in a word processor program. Use double spacing throughout, including title page, abstract, text, acknowledgements, references, tables and legends. Number pages consecutively, beginning with the title page. Type the page number in the upper right-had corner of each page.
Manuscripts will be reviewed for possible publication with the understanding that they are being submitted only to SJP at that time and have not been published, simultaneously submitted or already accepted for publication elsewhere. This does not preclude consideration of a manuscript that has been rejected by another journal or of a complete report that follows publication of preliminary findings elsewhere, usually in the form, of an abstract. Copies of any possibly duplicative published material should be submitted with the manuscript that is being sent for considerations.
Title page
The title page should contain (1) the title of the article, which should be concise but informative, (2) first name, middle initial, and last name of each author, with highest academic degree(s), (3) name of department(s) and institution(s) to which the work should be attributed. If an author has moved since the work described in the manuscript was done, a “Current address” may be indicated as a footnote to that author’s name, (4) disclaimers, if any (5) name and address of author responsible for correspondence about the manuscript with telephone number and e-mail address provided, (6) name and address of author to whom request for reprints should be addressed, or statement that reprints will not be available from the author, (7) the source(s) of support in the form of grants, equipment, drugs orall of these.
Abstract and keywords
The second page should carry an abstract of not more than 250 words. The abstract, which should be unstructured i.e, with no subtitles, should state the purposes of study or investigation, basic procedures, (study subjects or experimental specific data and their statistical significance, if possible), and the principal conclusions. Emphasize new and important aspects of the study or observations. Use only approved abbreviations.
Key (indexing) terms: Below the abstract provide and identify as such, three to 10 key words or short phrases that will assist indexers in cross-indexing your article and that maybe published with the abstract. Use terms from the Medical Subject Headings list from Index Medicus whenever possible.
Text
The text of observational and experimental articles is usually - but not necessarily - divided into sections with the headings Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Long articles may need subheadings within some sections to clarify their contents, especially the Results and Discussion sections.
Introduction: Clearly state the purpose of the article. Summarize the rationale for the study or observation. Give only strictly pertinent references, and do not review the subject extensively.
Methods: Describe your section of the observational or experimental subjects (patients or experimental animals, including controls) clearly. Identify the methods, apparatus (manufacturers name and address in parenthesis), and procedures in sufficient detail to allow other workers to reproduce the results. Give references to and brief descriptions of methods that have been published but are not well known; describe new or substantially modified methods, give reasons for using them, and evaluate their limitations.
When reporting experiments on human subjects, indicate whether the procedures followed were in accord with the ethical standards of the committee on human experimentation of the institution in which the experiments were done or in accord with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975. Identify precisely all drugs and chemicals used, including generic names(s), dosage(s), and route(s) of administration. Do not use patient’s names, initials, or hospital numbers.
Include numbers of observations and the statistical significance of the findings when appropriate. Detailed statistical analyses, mathematical derivations, and the like may sometimes be suitably presented in the form of one or more appendixes.
Results: Present your results in logical sequence on the text, tables, and illustrations. Do not repeat in the text all the data in the tables or illustrations, or both: emphasize or summarize only important observations.
Discussion: Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study and conclusions that follow from them. Do not repeat in detail data given in the results section. Include in the Discussion the implications of the findings and their limitations and relate the observations to other relevant studies. Link the conclusions with the goals of the study but avoid unqualified statements and conclusions not completely supported by your data. Avoid claiming priority and alluding to work that has not been completed. State new hypotheses when warranted, but clearly label them as such. Recommendations, when appropriate, may be included.
Acknowledgements
Acknowledge only persons who have made a significant contribution to the completion of the study but not satisfying the authorship criteria.
References
Number references consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. Indentify references in the text, tables, and legends by Arabic numerals. References cited only in tables or in legends to figures should be numbered in accordance with a sequence established by the first identification in the text of the particular table or illustration.
Use the form of references adopted by the US National Library of Medicine and used in Index Medicus. Use the style of the examples cited at the end of this section, which have been approved by the National Library of Medicine.
The titles of journals should be abbreviated according to the style used in Index Medicus.
Try to avoid using abstracts as references; “ unpublished observations” and “personal communications” may not be used as references, although references to written, not verbal, communications may be inserted [square brackets] in the text. Include among the references manuscripts accepted but not yet published; designate the journal followed by “in press” [square brackets]. Information from manuscripts submitted but not yet accepted should be cited in the text as “unpublished observations” [square brackets].
The references must be verified by the author(s) against the original documents.
Examples of correct forms of references are given below:
Journal
Standard journal article: (List all authors when six or less; when seven or more, list only first six and add et al.)
2. Jalloh S, Van Rostenberghe H, Yusoff NM, Ghazali S, Nik Ismail NZ, Matsuo M, et al. Poor correlation between hemolysis and jaundice in glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase-deficient babies. Pediatr Int 2005; 47:258-61.
Corporate Author:
3. The committee on enzyme of the Scandinaian Society of Clinical Chemistry and clinical Physiology, Recommended method for the determination of gammaglutamyltransferase in blood. Scand J Clin Lab Invest 1976;119-25.
Books and other monographs:
Personal Author(s):
4. Barkovich AJ. Pediatric Neuroimaging (4th ed). Philadelphia: Lippincott William &Wilkins,2005.
Corporate Author:
5. Americal Medical Association Department of Drugs. AMA drug evaluations. 3rd ed. Littleton: Publishing Science Group, 1977.
Editor(s), Compiler:
6. Armstrong DL, Halliday W, Hawkings C, Takashima S, eds. Pediatric Neuropathology: A Text- Atlas. New York: Springer; 2007.
Chapter in book:
7. Salih MAM. Genetic disorders in Sudan. In: Teebi AS, ed. Genetic Disorders among Arab Populations (2nd ed). Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, 2010:575-612.
Agency publications:
8. National Center for Health Statistics. Acute conditions: incidence and associated disability, United States July 1968- June 1969. Rockwille, Md.: National Center for Health Statistics , 1972. (Vital and health statistics. Series 10: Data from the national Health Survey , No 69) (Dhew publication No (HSM) 72-1036)
Online reference:
9. JAMA’s key and critical objectives. Available at: http://jama.ama-assn.org/misc/aboutjama.dtl. Accessed June 7, 2011.
Other Articles
Newspaper article:
10. Shaffer RA. Advances in chemistry are starting to unlock mysteries of the brain: discoveries could help cure alcoholism and insomnia, explain mental illness. How the messengers work. Wall street Journal 1977Aug 12;1 (col1), 10 (col 1).
Magazine article:
11. Roueche B. Annals of medicine: the Santa Claus culture. The New Yorker 1971 Sep 4:66-81.
Tables
Type each table on a separate sheet; remember to double space. Do not submit tables as photographs or in PowerPoint. Use the facility in MSWord to prepare the tables. Number the tables consecutively and supply a brief title for each. Give each column a short or abbreviated heading. Place explanatory matter in footnotes, not in the heading. Explain in footnotes all nonstandard abbreviations that are used in each table. For footnotes, use the following symbols in the these sequences: *, **, ***, … Identify statistical measures of variations such as SD and SEM. Omit internal horizontal and vertical rulers. Cite each table in the text in consecutive order.
If you use data from another published or unpublished source, obtain permission and acknowledge fully.
Illustrations
Submit the required number of complete sets of figures. Figures should be professionally drawn and photographed; freehand or typewritten lettering is unacceptable. Letters, numbers, and symbols should be clear and even throughout, and of sufficient size that when reduced for publication each item will still be legible. Titles and detailed explanations belong in the legends for illustrations, not on the illustrations themselves.
Each figure should have a label pasted on its back indicating the number of the figure, the names of the authors, and the top of the figure.
Photomicrographs must have internal scale markers. Symbols, arrows or letters used in the photomicrographs should contrast with the background.
If photographs of persons are used, the author bears full responsibility of either permission to use the photographs or have the eyes masked.
In case of electronic submission (e-mail), figures should be sent as separate attached files in JPG (jpeg) or TIFF format. Do not import the figures into the text file, but indicate their locations in the manuscript.
Cite each figure in the text in consecutive order. If a figure has been published, acknowledge the additional source and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material. Permission is required, regardless of authorship or publisher, except for documents in the public domain.
Legend for illustrations
Type legends for illustrations double spaced, starting on the 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 internal scale and identify method of staining in photomicrographs.
Abbreviations
Use only standard abbreviations. Avoid abbreviations in the title. The full term for which an abbreviation stands should precede its first use in the text unless it is a standard unit of measurement.
Report measurement in the units in which they were made. If the traditional units of measurements were used, add the System International (SI) equivalent in parentheses. Scientific names giving genus and species should be in italics typescript with an initial capital; use abbreviations only after the first mention: Escherichia coli, then E coli.
Full stops should not be used after contractions or abbreviations: FRCS, mg/dl, Dr, et al, etc.
Drugs should not be given their approved names followed- when appropriate- by their proprietary names (in parentheses)
Submission of Manuscripts
Manuscripts can be submitted electronically ([email protected]).
Manuscripts should be accompanied by a covering letter from the author who will be responsible for correspondence regarding the manuscript. The covering letter should contain a statement that the manuscript has been seen and approved by all authors. The letter should give any additional information that may be helpful to the editor, such as the type of article the manuscript. Include copies of any permission needed to reproduce published material or to use illustrations of identifiable subjects.
REFERENCES
1. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Recommendations for the conduct, reporting, editing and publication of scholarly work in medical journals. http://www.icmje.org. Updated 2014. Accessed December 8, 2014.
2. Fontanarosa PB, Flanagin A, DeAngelis CD. Implementation of the ICMJE form for reporting potential conflicts of interest. JAMA. 2010;304(13):1496. FULL TEXT.
3. Flanagin A, Fontanarosa PB, DeAngelis CD. Authorship for research groups. JAMA. 2002;288(24):3166-3168. FULL TEXT. Medline:12495400.
4. Fontanarosa PB, Flanagin A, DeAngelis CD. Reporting conflicts of interest, financial aspects of research, and role of sponsors in funded studies. JAMA. 2005;294(1):110-111.FULL TEXT. Medline:15998899.
5. DeAngelis CD, Drazen JM, Frizelle FA, et al; International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Clinical trial registration: a statement from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. JAMA. 2004;292(11):1363-1364. FULL TEXT. Medline:15355936.
6. World Medical Association. World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki: ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects. JAMA. 2013;310(20):2191-2194. http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1760318. Accessed January 2, 201