Prepare Manuscript for JAPM

Authors of all types of articles should follow the general instructions given below. Please see JAPM Manuscript Types and Instructions for word counts and detailed instructions. The following general instructions are in accordance with the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, published by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

General Formatting

To minimize the time required for the submission and peer-reviewing process, authors should submit your manuscript in ordered documents as Cover Letter (optional), Title Page, Abstract, Text, References, Figure Legends, Tables, Figures (Illustrations), Supplementary Materials. All text, references, figure legends, and tables should be in one double-spaced electronic document. It is permissible to insert low-resolution figures in the text file for evaluation and peer review, although we may ask for high-resolution files at a later stage.

Cover Letter (optional)

The letter should provide key information about the question your research answers, the major results and overall findings, the novelty and importance of your findings and should state that all authors have approved of the submission and the manuscript has not been submitted to more than one journal concurrently.

Manuscript Components

Include a title page, abstract, text, references, and as appropriate, figure legends, tables, and figures. Start each of these sections on a new page, numbered consecutively, beginning with the title page. Please see JAPM Manuscript Types and Instructions for word counts and detailed instructions of the abstract and full text.

Title Page

Please include a title page with your submission that includes the title of the manuscript, each author's name, affiliation/institution, and contact information (postal/mail address, email address, telephone number, ORCID number), the corresponding author, sources of support, word count, the number of tables and figures. JAPM follows the ICMJE guidelines for authorship and contributorship.

Acknowledgements

Individuals who have contributed to the work and the manuscript, but do not satisfy the authorship criteria could be listed in the acknowledgements section. Authors should seek permission to include any individuals mentioned in the acknowledgements.

Declaration of Interests

All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of financial conflicts include paid employment or consultancy, stock ownership, patent applications, personal relationships with relevant individuals, and membership of an advisory board. If there are no conflicts of interest, authors should state that.

References

Authors are responsible for checking the accuracy of all reference citations; references should be verified using either an electronic bibliographic source, such as PubMed, or print copies from original sources, to minimize citation errors.

References should be numbered consecutively as they are cited in text, tables, and legends by Arabic numerals in parentheses. References cited only in tables or figure legends should be numbered in accordance with the sequence established by the first identification in the text of the particular table or figure.

The titles of journals should be abbreviated according to the style used for MEDLINE. List all authors when there are six or fewer; when there are seven or more, list the first six, followed by et al. The following are sample references:

1. Gottlieb DJ, Punjabi NM, Mehra R, Patel SR, Quan SF, Babineau DC, et al. CPAP versus oxygen in obstructive sleep apnea. N Engl J Med 2014;370:2276-85.

2. Meltzer PS, Kallioniemi A, Trent JM. Chromosome alterations in human solid tumors. In: Vogelstein B, Kinzler KW, eds. The genetic basis of human cancer. New York: McGraw-Hill,2002:93-113.

3. World Health Organization. Experts advise WHO on pandemic vaccine policies and strategies. Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 briefing note 14. (Accessed December 16, 2009, at http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/notes/briefing_20091030/en/index.html.)

References should follow the standards summarized in the NLM's ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals.

Tables

Double-space tables (including any footnotes) and provide a title for each. Number tables consecutively in the order of their first citation in the text. Titles in tables should be short but self-explanatory, containing information that allows readers to understand the table's content without having to go back to the text. Give each column a short or an abbreviated heading.

Authors should place explanatory matter in footnotes, not in the heading. Explain all nonstandard abbreviations in footnotes, and use symbols (alphabet letter or such symbols as *, †, ‡, §) to explain information if needed. Identify statistical measures of variations, such as standard deviation and standard error of the mean.

If you use data from another published or unpublished source, obtain permission and acknowledge that source fully.

Figures (Illustrations)

Digital images of manuscript figures (illustrations) should be submitted in a suitable format for print publication. Figures should be either professionally drawn and photographed, and submitted as photographic-quality digital prints.

Figures should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they have been cited in the text. If a figure has been published previously, acknowledge the original source and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce it.

In the manuscript, legends for figures (illustrations) should be on a separate page, with Arabic numerals corresponding to the figures (illustrations). When symbols, arrows, numbers, or letters are used to identify parts of the illustrations, identify and explain each one clearly in the legend.

Units of Measurement

Authors should express all measurements in conventional units, with International System of Units (SI) given in parentheses throughout the text. Figures and tables should use conventional units, with conversion factors given in legends or footnotes.

Abbreviations and Symbols

Use only standard abbreviations; use of nonstandard abbreviations can be confusing to readers. Avoid abbreviations in the title of the manuscript. The spelled-out abbreviation followed by the abbreviation in parenthesis should be used on first mention unless the abbreviation is a standard unit of measurement.

Drug Names

Generic names should be used. When proprietary brands are used in research, include the brand name and the name of the manufacturer in parentheses after the first mention of the generic name in the Methods section.

JAPM encourages the use of figures and tables in the manuscripts for all article types, which is good for your article's citation and communication after publication.