SUBMITTING AN ARTICLE

Guidelines and requirements for manuscript submission to Batticaloa Medical Journal

Author Guidelines Types of Contributions References Units & Abbreviations Submission Checklist Copyright Notice Privacy Statement Submission Form

AUTHOR GUIDELINES

The Batticaloa Medical Journal is published by the Batticaloa Medical Association. The journal is published biannually, in May and September, and submissions are accepted throughout the year.

Journal Aims

The aims of the Journal are to:

  • Foster co-operation among the medical fraternity
  • Be a forum to make literary contributions
  • Share experiences encountered in medical practice
  • Update knowledge and have debates on topics related to all aspects of medicine
  • Cater to the educational needs especially of postgraduate trainees
Publication Types

The Journal publishes:

  • Original Articles
  • Review Articles
  • Leading Articles
  • Case Reports
Important: When an article is reviewed for publication, we expect that the work it reports has not been submitted simultaneously to another journal, has not been accepted for publication elsewhere, or has not already been published. All manuscripts will be reviewed anonymously before acceptance.
Manuscript Requirements
Formatting

12-point Times New Roman font, double spaced

File Format

Microsoft Word document format

Covering Letter

Must accompany all submissions

Ethical Clearance

Institution details required

Covering Letter Must Include:
  • Number of words in the manuscript
  • Institution where ethical clearance was granted
  • Conflicts of interest
  • Contact details of the corresponding author

TYPES OF CONTRIBUTIONS

Review Articles & Leading Articles
Word Limit

Less than 3,000 words

References

Maximum 20 references

We encourage submission of review or leading articles which address topics of current interest. Submissions may be subjected to external review before acceptance.

Original Articles
Structure

Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion

  • Abstract: 200-word structured abstract
  • Text: Limited to 3,000 words
  • Tables/Figures: Maximum 5 combined
  • References: Maximum 15 references

Lengthy manuscripts are likely to be returned for shortening. Discussion should be clear and concise.

Case Reports
Word Limit

Maximum 750 words

Abstract

No abstract required

References

Maximum 5 references

Case reports should be informative and devoid of irrelevant details.

REFERENCES

References should conform to the Vancouver style.

In-text Citation

The reference in the text should be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals in parentheses in the same line of the text in the order in which they appear.

Author Listing

The first five authors should be listed and if there are more than five, then the first three should be listed followed by et al.

Reference Examples
Journal Article:

Kumar A, Patton DJ, Friedrich MG. The emerging clinical role of cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging. Canadian Journal of Cardiology 2010; 26(6): 313-22.

Book Chapter:

Calenoff L, Rogers L. Esophageal complication of surgery and lifesaving procedures. In: Meyers M, Ghahremani G, eds. Iatrogenic Gastrointestinal Complications. New York: Springer, 1981: 23-63.

UNITS & ABBREVIATIONS

Units
SI System: Authors should follow the SI system of units
Exception: Blood pressure will continue to be expressed in mmHg
Abbreviations
Use abbreviations sparingly
Use abbreviations consistently throughout the text
Note: Manuscripts that do not conform to these requirements will be returned to you for necessary modifications.
Submission Address

Manuscripts should be addressed to:
Editors, Batticaloa Medical Association,
Teaching Hospital, Batticaloa

SUBMISSION PREPARATION CHECKLIST

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
The submission file is in Microsoft Word, RTF, or WordPerfect document file format.
Where available, URLs for the references have been provided.
The text is double-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.
The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines. Every effort has been made to ensure that author names are removed from the manuscript (following the instructions to ensure blind peer review).

PRIVACY STATEMENT

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

Batticaloa Medical Association is committed to protecting the privacy of authors, reviewers, and readers. Personal information collected through the submission and review process is used solely for the purpose of manuscript processing and publication.

All personal data is handled in accordance with applicable data protection laws and regulations.

READY TO SUBMIT YOUR MANUSCRIPT?

Ensure you have reviewed all guidelines and completed the submission checklist before proceeding.

PROCEED TO SUBMISSION FORM