1. GENERAL: The manuscript including all tables should be formatted in Microsoft Word or a text-only file and must conform to acceptable English usage. The manuscript prepared double-spaced with 0.5 inch margin on both side and 1 inch margin at bottom and top. Standard abbreviations shall be used consistently throughout the article. Abbreviations shall be spelled out the first time they appear in the text and followed in parentheses by the abbreviation. All pages should be numbered starting from the title page in the upper right corner of each page.

2. Title Page: The title page should be included in all manuscripts which includes the type of article (i.e. original article/ case report/ review article etc), title of manuscript, author’s full name in order of priority, highest earned academic degrees, institutional affiliations and location. Postal address, contact telephone numbers, fax numbers and e-mail address of correspondence author should be given at the bottom of the page. The contribution of each author in manuscript should be mentioned separately according to ICMJE criteria of authorship (http://www.imj.com.pk/imj-authorship-criteria/)

3. Original Article: Text for original articles shall not exceed 5000 words and manuscript should be prepared under following headings starting from separate page i.e. Title page, Structured abstract, Introduction, Methodology, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgement and References.

3.1. Structured Abstract: Should not exceed 250 words and use following subheadings:  Objectives, Study design, Place & duration, Methodology, Results, Conclusion and Key words (3 to 7 as per MeSH). The abstract shall not contain data not presented in the manuscript.

3.2. Introduction: Should contain brief review of the topic with strictly relevant literature references, historical background, epidemiology, brief relevant literature review, rationale or justification of study and objective of the study should be included at the end.

3.3. Methodology: Should be started with study design, place and exact duration of the study. It shall clearly state inclusion, exclusion criteria and sample selection of the subjects. The methods and the apparatus used should be identified (with manufacturer’s name and address in the parenthesis), and procedures, parameters/variables assessed should be described in sufficient detail to make a clear understanding of methodology to the readers. Well-established methods shall be cited with references. Statistical tools used for analysis of results shall also be mentioned with enough detail to enable the readers or researchers to verify the reported findings. Subheading and numbering in different criteria’s should be avoided as far as possible unless essentially required. 

3.4. Results: Important findings must be narrated in the text with tables and explained in logical sequence in percentages as well as numeric [e.g. 23.37 % (n=32) or 23.37%, n=32]. Each Table/Figure should be explained separately. Only important observations should be emphasized in precise manner and repetitions shall be avoided. Table number should be mentioned in text while describing its findings. Tables, Bar graphs or Pie diagrams should not be more than four and lengthy tables containing irrelevant data or information should be avoided. 

3.5. Discussion: Should be comprehensive. Each parameter/variable should be discussed and compared with literature in separate paragraphs with outcome of that discussion in last sentence. The findings should be compared with already existing national and international literature supported with references. It shall emphasize the new and important aspects, implications and any limitations of the study. The discussion should be crisp, to the point keeping in view the aims and objective of the study and directed towards conclusion. 

3.6. Conclusion/ Recommendations: Should be specific towards the objectives of study and in author’s own interpretation. It should not be linked to other studies. If author(s) want(s) to present appropriate recommendations or suggestions, these may be included after conclusion section under separate heading. 

3.7. Acknowledgements: Persons who have contributed intellectually or technically to the paper but whose contributions do not justify authorship may be named and their function or contribution shall be clearly described. For example “scientific advisor”, “Critical review of study proposal”, “data collection” or “participation in the clinical trial”. Such persons must have permitted to be named. 

3.8. References:  List must be numbered serially in the order in which the references appear in the text and typed double-spaced on separate sheets. References shall be latest (preferably last 5 years) national and international, up to 20-25, cited in Vancouver’s style in conformation the “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals” (http://www.icmje.org).

Example: References citations to periodicals should include, in the following order: names of the first 6 authors (then et al), title, journal, year, volume, and pages e.g.

Richards D. Little evidence to support the use of editorial peer review to ensure quality of published research. Avid Based Dent. 2007; 8(3): 88-89

Journal abbreviations must follow the style used in Cumulated index Medicos. Book references shall include, in the following order: names of the first 6 authors, chapter title, editor(s) book title, volume (if any), edition (if any), city, publisher, year and pages of citation (if any); for example:

Sherry S. Detection of thrombi. In: Strauss HE, Pitt B, James AE, editors. Cardiovascular nuclear medicine. St. Louis: Mosby; 1974.p.273-285.

Meanwhile, reference to chapter in book shall be given in following order:

Ansel HJ. Normal pancreatic duct. In: Stewart ET, Vennes JA, Geenan JE, eds. Atlas of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. St.Louis: CV Mosby, 1977:43-47

3.9. Illustrations: Figure may be submitted in electronic format, each on separate page at the end of manuscript and shall be numbered in the order they are mentioned in the text. They should be labeled appropriately bottom and numbered in Roman numerals (i.e. I, II). All images should be at least 5 inches wide in JPEG, GIF, PNG or PDF format in minimum 600 dpi.  If you are sending hard copy of manuscript or submitting your manuscript by post then submit 2 copies of illustration in 5×7 inches size, on glossy paper, marked lightly on the back with the number, first author’s last name and an arrow to indicate the top edge. Only good photographic prints of original drawings shall be supplied. Do not send original artwork, X-ray films or ECG tracings. Suitable figure legends shall be typewritten double spaced on a separate sheet of paper and included at the end of the manuscript. If a figure has been taken from previously copyrighted material, the legend must give full credit to the original source and letter of permission must be submitted with the manuscript.

3.10. Tables & Graphs:  Shall be self-explanatory and should be numbered in the order of their mention in the text and should not be more than four in number. Provide a brief title for each table/graph along with number in Roman numerals (i.e. I, II) at the top for table and at the bottom for graphs. Place each table on a separate page of manuscript at the end. Abbreviations shall be defined in a double-spaced footnote at the end of the table. If any material in a table or a table itself has been taken from previously copyright material, a double-spaced footnote must give full credit to the original source and permission of the author and publisher must be obtained. Send letters of permission to the Editor with the manuscript.

3.11. Measurements: All measurements should be in international standard metric units.

4. Meta-Analysis & Systematic Review: Structured abstract of 250 words, including the details for background, objectives, methodology with PRISMA guidelines, results, conclusion, and keywords. Rest areas should be written focusing on the Introduction, methodology based upon all recommended details of PRISMA guidelines, results, discussion, conclusion, limitations, and recommendations. The latest references should be written in Vancouver style.

5. Case Reports: Only those case reports which are original and likely to significantly influence medical practice preferably with original figures or illustrations etc are considered for publication. It shall include a detailed analysis of the case and a review of the available literature. Case report text should not be more than 1500 words containing not more than 20 latest references. It should be written under the following subheadings in sequence: title page, brief non-structured abstract (150 words), keywords, introduction, case report, discussion, conclusion, and references. It is better to put original pictures of the patient (with findings); procedure, X-ray, US, etc and they should be anonymized according to standard COPE guidelines.

6. Review articles: Substantive reviews of biomedical topics will be considered for publication. Some current issue or topic should be thoroughly reviewed covering all aspect in brief. It should not be more than 4000 words and maximum of 40 latest national and international references are allowed.

7. Editorial: It should be a brief, substantial commentary on special subjects limited to 2000 words (including references and tables).

8. Letter to Editor: Brief letters or notes to the Editor regarding recently published material or information of timely interest are accepted for publication. A response to the letter will be requested from the authors of the article in question and both the letter and the response will be published together. Letter shall be no longer than 500 words including 5 to 7 references and one table or figure.

9. Short communication: should have a maximum of 1200 words including non-structured abstract of 100-150 words with 3-4 key words and one table or figure. Communication regarding a research study should be written in plain text (without heading) but containing brief introduction, methodology, results and discussion in separate paragraphs and references (up to 10). Short communication regarding some topic review should comprise of non-structured abstract, discussion and references.

10. Plagiarism

Any author interested to get his/her manuscript / research work published in IMJ has to submit and undertaking (IMJ-F001) that this work is original and neither published in parts nor as a whole elsewhere. If any sort of plagiarism is detected at any stage then appropriate action will be taken against the responsible Author as per IMJ Plagiarism Policy (http://www.imj.com.pk/plagiarism-policy/)

11.  Ethical Considerations

Author should submit the ethical approval letter, issued and signed by the Chairman/Head of Institutional Review Board/Ethical Committee at the time of manuscript submission. The author should identify that informed consent was obtained when applicable. The manuscript should also include the notation that the study was approved by the institutional committee. Photographs of identifiable persons must be accompanied by signed releases showing informed consent. When reporting experiments of human subjects, it should be clearly indicated whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional, regional or National (http://nbcpakistan.org.pk) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, revised in 1983. Patient’s names, initials or hospital numbers, especially in illustrative material should not be used. When reporting experiments on animals, indicate whether the institution or a national research council’s guidelines for or any national law on, the care and use of laboratory animals were followed. All clinical research papers must be accompanied by evidence of peer review. The date the project was approved, when available, should also be included.

12. Conflict of Interest

Authors of manuscripts submitted to Isra Medical Journal must inform about funding sources for the research they intend to publish. They shall also disclose any associations that might be construed as a conflict of interest (stock ownership, consultancies, etc.)

 Updated: October 05, 2021