Author Guidelines
Aim and Scope
IMTU Medical Journal (IMJ) is a young journal aiming to provide a platform for publishing articles in fields of Biomedical Sciences, all Clinical Disciplines in Medicine, Veterinary medicine, and other Sciences. IMJ will initially be published once a year for the first three years however the aim is to produce the journal biannually.
Responsibilities of the Authors
By submitting a manuscript for publication, each author acknowledges having made a substantial contribution in the conception and design of the study, the analysis and interpretation of the results, and the writing of the paper, and has approved the final submitted version of the paper. Each author thus also acknowledges responsibility for the integrity of the manuscript, assures the originality of the manuscript, and guarantees that duplicate submissions have not occurred. Each author / contributor should certify individually that they agree to the submission of the manuscript.
Ethical Issues
Studies involving human or animal subjects should be accompanied with an approval from the Institution or Ethical Committee which had authorized the study. The Authors should provide proof that written consents where applicable, were obtained from the human subject for carrying out the study.
Manuscript Submission
Manuscripts should be written in UK or American English in each case it should be maintained consistently throughout the article.
The submitted manuscripts must not contain previously published material or material under consideration for publication elsewhere. Accepted manuscripts belong to IMJ and may not be reproduced elsewhere without a written consent of IMJ. However, IMJ, Publisher, Printer, Editors or the Editorial Board assume no responsibility for the statements of authors or contributors published in the IMJ.
All submitted manuscripts are peer-reviewed to ensure high quality. The IMJ Editorial Board reserves the right to review, reject or publish any article without giving any reason. Manuscripts requiring revisions must be re-submitted within one month of receiving the reviewers comment. No processing fee is charged from authors.
A manuscript submission form signed by all authors must accompany the manuscript in soft or hard copy. The soft copy should also be forwarded either on a CD or through e-mail on imtujournal@ymail.com or on imj@imtu.ac.tz.
All communications should be addressed to The Chief Editor or The Secretary, IMTU Medical Journal, International Medical & Technological University, PO Box No. 77594, Mbezi Beach Area, New Bagamoyo Road, Dar-es-Salaam. The Manuscript Submission Forms are enclosed.
The DocumentThe manuscript should be in a MS-Word 2007 or an earlier version document. The page size shall be A4, with 2.5 cms margins on all four sides. Use Font Times New Roman size 12 consistently. Text should be aligned to both left and right margins. The Line Spacing should be double space. JPEG image shall be used for photographs. The Headings and sub-headings should be bold, in title case and should not end with a full stop.
The manuscript should not exceed
5000 words for Review Articles
3000 words for research Articles
2500 words for Case Studies
1500 words Short Communication or Development / Policy issues
750 words for any News / Views or Comments
Note that Abstract, Key Word, Conclusion, Acknowledgement etc shall be included but References and Key Words shall be excluded for calculation of the number of words in the manuscript. However, the number of references may vary between 3 and 50 for short communication, research articles and case studies but for review articles not more than 75 references should be given. Standard abbreviations and units should be used and non-standard abbreviations should be explained in parentheses at first mention.
Organization of the Manuscript
Organize the manuscript as follows: Title, Abstract, Introduction, Material and Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgements, References, Figure Legends.
Title Page
The title page should be the first page of the manuscript and following information should appear; title of article, full name of author(s), institutional affiliations, grant or support if applicable, and presentation in part or whole at any meeting. The corresponding author, full mailing address, phone numbers and e-mail address should also be provided. A running title not exceeding 6 words should be given.
Abstract
The abstract is limited to 200 words, and should describe the essence of the report. No references should be cited. Append up to 5 key words at the end of the abstract for purposes of citing by the secondary services.
Introduction
Introduction should give brief background information regarding subject matter, new developments and expected outcome with recommendations.
Materials and Methods
This section should be written in a manner that another researcher is able to reproduce this work. Important methodological aspects should be described even if the methodology has been published earlier. The list of materials and the company from which they were sourced should also be mentioned. Any stastical method used must be clearly described.
ResultsAll results must be written in proper sequence in the text, tables and illustrations, giving the important findings first. Authors should not present the data given in the tables and illustrations again in the text, but should emphasize only important observations. Authors should specify the stastical methods used to analyze the results. Average values must be accompanied by standard errors or standard deviations. Tables and figures should be precise and related with the matter of the manuscript to assess its explanations and support. Do not duplicate data in graphs and tables.
Case Report
Case report should clearly describe the case with relevance of the case for future studies or clinical application. It must be written in past tense. Cite figures to illustrate the findings.
Discussion
Start with limited background information and then discuss the case study in light of previous studies and past publications, highlight the educational value of the paper, the result of the research or case study in this section. In appropriate place, refer to the Figures and Tables. The findings of the case reports should also be mentioned here.
Statistical Methods
The statistical result should be expressed in the Discussion section and the analysis should be explained along with the statistical methodology followed by the author. The figures and tables should correspond to the analysis.
Conclusion
The Authors views, comments, recommendations and the summary of result should be expressed under this section.
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements should appear at the end of the manuscript. It should include any conflict of interests resulting from the research, sources of funding, role of the sponsor and the role of the institutions involved in the study.
References
References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they appear in the text. These should be limited to only those that give essential background material. All references cited in the text should be in square brackets. Papers submitted but not yet accepted for publication should also be cited in the text in the following form –
(Konan A, unpublished data, 2004).
Journal names should be abbreviated according to Medical Subject Heading Terms (MeSH) of the U.S. National Library of Medicine's controlled vocabulary. All authors should be listed in the references. The authors are responsible for accuracy of the given references.
Style and Punctuation of ReferencesJournal Article
[Reference number] Aldur MM, Celik HH, Sargon MF, Dagdeviren A, Aksit MD, Taner D. Unreported anatomical variation of septum pellucidum. Clin. Anat. 1997; 10: 245-249.
Book
[Reference number] Noback CR, Demarest RJ. The Human Nervous System. 2nd Ed., New York, McGraw-Hill. 1975; 199-201.
Edited book
[Reference number] Wyngaarden JB. Principles of human genetics. In: Wyngaarden JB, Smith LH, eds. Cecil Textbook of Medicine. 18th Ed., Philadelphia, W. B. Saunders Company. 1988; 146-152.
URL (Web Page)
[Reference number] Stern M. Radial nerve entrapment.
http://www.emedicine.com/orthoped/topic549.htm (accessed May 2008).
Figures and Legends
The figures should be sent separately as JPEG/JPG files with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi whenever possible. The complete sets of original labeled figures should be submitted on separate page. Color figures are highly encouraged.
Additional illustrations providing a better understanding of the figures are also encouraged. In case studies and clinical trials, subjects names must not appear on the figures. Labels should contrast well with the background. Label all pertinent findings. Illustrations should be free of all identifying information relative to the subject and institution. Line drawings should be professional in quality.
Written permission for use of all previously published illustrations must be included with submission, and the source should be referenced in the legends. Legends should be in the present tense (e.g., ‘Illustration shows...’). Written permission from any person recognizable in a photo is required. Legends must not exceed 100 words. Figures should be numbered in the order cited in the text.
