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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 manuscript represents original and valid work and that neither this manuscript nor one with substantially similar content under my authorship has been published or is being considered for publication elsewhere.
  • I will submit the data that has been coded (along with the codebook), on which the manuscript is based, during the time of submission of manuscript for examination by the editors or their assignee.
  • I will submit an IRC/IRB approval letter along with the manuscript.
  • The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines.
  • I certify that all funding, other financial support, and material support for this work are clearly identified in the manuscript. Also, competing interests are mentioned in the text.
  • I will bear responsibility for any mistakes/irregularities in case any of the information provided above turns false.

Author Guidelines

Revised on 12th of April, 2020

These guidelines are based on recommendations of ICMJE and COPE.

Types of an article we accept:

The manuscript should be in English and related to medical science or nursing. It should be original in authorship and must provide knowledge to the medical field. The author should select the type of article during submission; however, the editorial board will decide the category under which the article will be published.

The following are the types of articles accepted by JLMC.

  1. Editorial:
    1. It is usually written by a member of the editorial board. Sometimes, it can be written by an invited guest. It is unstructured and has no words or references limitation.
  2. Review article:
    1. It is a structured comprehensive article that is based on previously published articles. JLMC gives priority to “systematic review article” over a “narrative review article”. There is a limitation on words and references. Systematic reviews may or may not be followed by a Meta-analysis section. The template can be downloaded from Here (link coming soon).
  3. Original research article:
    1. It has a structured format with a limitation of words and reference numbers. If the results of an article are presented only in terms of frequencies and percentages, it may not be published as "Research article" but as "Clinical audit". A template for an original research article can be downloaded from Here.
  4. Case reports:
    1. It is a structured article with a short report of a condition or management of one or a few individual cases. Template for case reports can be downloaded from Here.
  5. Special article:
    1. It is an unstructured article from history, contemporary issues, and demography. It may include personal opinions.
  6. Letter to the editor:
    1. It is a short and unstructured article with opinions (including criticism) of published articles. Sometime it may discuss matters of general interest without the opinion of published articles.
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Manuscript format

English is the official language of JLMC. We prefer American to British English.

The manuscript should be submitted online as a Word (MS, OpenOffice or any other) document.

The authors have to register a free account in the Journal’s website https://jlmc.edu.np following which they are able to submit the manuscript. By logging in to their account, they will be able to know the status of their submission. Contents of the journal can be accessed without registration or log in, but to upload or review a manuscript, registration is required.

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Style

  1. There should be no abbreviations in Title and abstract; however, universally popular abbreviations such as HIV, WHO may be used.
  2. Abbreviations should be fully spelled out at its first use.
  3. Do not use ‘&’, ‘@’ in the text. Do not bold or italicize the words.
  4. SI units should be used in the manuscript. BP should be in mm Hg, the temperature in °C.
  5. Always abbreviate units when reporting numerical information. Write in full in a non-numerical context. eg. The mean height was 48.2 cm. The length was measured in meters.
  6. Write percentage as % without a space between the number and the sign. Write percentage to two decimal points if population size more than 100, one decimal if 10-100, and no percentage at all if the population is less than 10.
  7. When starting a sentence with a number and unit, both must be spelled out as words e.g. Eighty-three milligrams of …………..
  8. Put a space between number and unit e.g. 232.1 m.
  9. A sentence should begin with word (not numbers).
  10. Numbers less than 10 should be spelled out.
  11. Use 0 before the decimal point when writing numbers between -1 to 1.
  12. pH should be reported as “pH 7.4” (without the quotes).
  13. Drugs should preferably be written in generic name. If brand name has to be used, it should begin with a capital letter.
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The manuscript should have the following in the given order

  1. Title page (including abstract and keywords in a separate file, named as "Title page")
  2. Main text with following sections in the same order (also called IMRAD STRUCTURE) in a separate file, named as "Manuscript" :
    1. Introduction
    2. Methods
    3. Results
    4. Discussion
    5. Conclusion
  3. References in a separate file named as "References"
  4. Tables: (see ‘Table’ section below for details) All tables in a separate file named as "Tables"
  5. Figures/Image: (see ‘Figures and Images’ section below for details). They should be submitted as such. They should not be pasted in word file for submission.
  6. Institutional Review Board/Committee (IRB/IRC) approval letter is a must. (Though this is not a part of manuscript, it is mandatory)
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Title page

The title page should be on a separate page named "Title page" and should contain:

  1. Title of the article
    1. The title should be as brief as possible, but it should contain information about an independent and dependent variable, target population, control, and intervention.
    2. Study designs (particularly case-control, RCTs, systematic reviews, and meta-analysis) should be a part of the tile. It should be mentioned after the colon at the end of the title.
  2. Full name, highest academic degrees, name of the department(s) and institutions where they work, country, postal address, e-mail and telephone/mobile number of the corresponding author.
  3. ORCID of all authors (or ORCID of at least principal and corresponding author for time being). If you do not have an ORCID, you can get one at https://orcid.org for free.
  4. Full name, highest degrees, department, institution, city, and country of all co-authors.
  5. Abstract
    1. A structured abstract not exceeding 250 words excluding keywords.
    2. It should be divided into the following headings:
      1. Introduction, Methods, Results, Conclusion.
    3. Keywords:
      1. Keywords should be placed at the end of the abstract but it will not be included in the word count for the abstract.
      2. The author should add keywords (not exceeding five) relevant to the article.
      3. Keywords should be arranged in alphabetical order, separated by comma (,).
      4. Use medical subject heading (MeSH) only; visit this site to search your MeSH terms.
  6. Any disclaimers, for eg:
    1. That the views expressed in the manuscript are their own and not of the institution or funder.
    2. Sources of supports like grants, equipment, drugs, other supplies
    3. Any conflict of interest
    4. Acknowledgment
      • Those who contribute but do not meet all four criteria for authorship should not be listed as authors, but they should be acknowledged at the end of the text. Only the names of the persons but not their role should be written under the acknowledgement section
  7. Counts
    1. Word count for article's text (excluding abstract, acknowledgments, tables, figures and references)
    2. Word count for the Abstract (excluding keywords)
    3. Number of figures and tables
    4. Numbers of references
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Main Text:

Introduction Section:

  1. Provide background or context (problem and its significance) of the study.
  2. Do not write the subject extensively.
  3. Write the
    1. Rationale or purpose of the study
    2. Objective; general and specific
    3. Hypothesis
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Methods Section:

  1. This section should be explained in detail so that other people can replicate your study to reproduce similar results.
  2. Write down the type of study design.
  3. Write the period of study. In case of a retrospective study, write both
    1. The period during which the original records were made
    2. The period during which the records were reviewed (secondary data collection)
  4. Describe the study population in detail (including controls if appropriate).
  5. Describe the selection of participants including inclusion and exclusion criteria.
    1. If participants of a certain age are only selected, authors should write the reason for doing so.
    2. If race, ethnicity, income, etc. are recorded, authors should explain how they measured them.
  6. If you use any apparatus, write the name and address of the manufacturer.
  7. If you apply established criteria or methods, give proper references.
  8. If you use any drug, write its generic name, brand name starting with a capital letter, dose, frequency, and route of administration.
  9. For review articles, authors should write in details about locating, selecting, extracting, and management of data. It should also be presented in the abstract.
  10. Describe statistical methods in detail.
    1. We encourage authors not only to present P-value while testing hypothesis, but also present a confidence interval to give a sense of effect size.
    2. State software used.
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Results section:

  1. Write your results in a logical sequence. Results with important findings should be present first.
  2. When you present results in a table or figure, do not repeat all those contents in the text. Present only the summary in the text.
  3. If you present age as age-group, there should be a rationale for that age-group.
  4. When you write percentage, write the corresponding frequency and the sample size for calculating that percentage.
  5. When you present a mean, you need to write a standard deviation as well. Similarly, for the median, you need to write range.
  6. When you write the results of statistical tests like the Chi-square or Student t-test, you need to write the value of test statistics (Chi-square or t value), the sample size for that test, degree of freedom, and P-value.
  7. We encourage to write a confidence interval where appropriate.

Statistics:

Describe statistical methods in the methods section. In the results section, always present mean with standard deviation, median with range, frequencies with percentages as described above. When you apply statistical tests, make sure you present test value (eg chi-square value, t-test value), the sample size for that calculation, degrees of freedom and P-value. Always present the exact value of P and not as >0.05, <0.05, or significant.

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Discussion section:

  1. Describe only new and important aspects of your study.
  2. Do not repeat all information from the results section or any section above.
  3. First, summarize the main findings, then
    1. describe the possible explanation or mechanism of those findings
    2. compare your results with other similar studies
    3. write the clinical implication of the findings
  4. present limitations of the study
  5. write the issues that are new or unsolved, for future research
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Conclusion section:

  1. The conclusion should be linked with the title and objectives of the study.
  2. Do not make statements not adequately supported by your findings.
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Figures and Images:

  1. Figures must be added as separate files.
  2. All figures must be numbered and cited in the main text in numerical order.
    1. Legends should be added at the end of the main text.
  3. Color figures and pictures will be accepted as such for the online version. Authors are requested to submit in black and white for print, else they will be converted to black and white by the editors for the print version.
  4. If the author wishes to publish color figures in print, they will be charged a fee to cover the cost of printing. The cost will be decided after discussion with the Press.
  5. They must be submitted in JPEG files with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi (dots per inch).
  6. Figures should be large enough to read easily (between 8 points and 14 points font with Times New Roman typeface) and convey only essential information. The preferred typeface in figures is 12-pt Times New Roman.
  7. The histogram should be submitted in a simple 2-D form with a plain background.
  8. Remove or black out the details of patients from the figure/pictures where applicable. If the identity of the patients cannot be removed, a written consent from the patient is necessary.
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Tables:

  1. Prepare tables in Word format. Do not embed the table as Excel files or submit as photographs. Copy and paste them into the Word manuscript.
  2. Do not merge table cells, do not color the table, keep it as un-formatted as possible. In case of a complex table, submit two copies of tables; one as un-formatted as possible without merging cells an another processed, formatted table.
  3. Use tables for the purpose of simplifying text. A table with 2 or fewer columns and rows should be presented in text format.
  4. Place them at the end of the main text.
  5. They must be numbered and cited in the main text in numerical order.
  6. Do not duplicate the data in the table in the text or figures. Tell the reader what to look for, but only mention the major points of the table.
  7. In text, refer to every table e.g. As shown in Table 2, the …... Do not write “the table above” or “the table below.”
  8. The title is placed above the table. The title should follow legend “Table x: ” without quotes. Ensure that your table title is brief but explanatory.
  9. Ensure each column has a heading. Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of all headings. If a word is a proper noun, however, be sure to capitalize the first letter anyway.
  10. Standard abbreviations and symbols, such as % or no. may be used in headings without further explanation.
  11. Notes are placed below the table and preceded by * sign.
  12. If P-value is to be used, its real value should be used; not as >0.05, <0.05 or significant.
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Citation and References:

  1. Responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of citation and references rests entirely with the author.
  2. References should be in NLM/Pubmed (National Library of Medicine) format. The name of the journal should be abbreviated in accordance with the Index Medicus. If the journal is not listed in Index Medicus then it should be written out in full. Details of reference style can be found HERE.
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Citations:

  1. Only published or in press articles should be cited and included in the reference list.
  2. The citation should be consecutive starting from one.
  3. The citation in the text should be identified by Arabic numerals within the square brackets immediately after punctuation (with no word spacing) - for example.[2] not [2].
  4. If in the text, an author cites a piece of work more than once, the same citation number should be used.
  5. With more than one reference in a sentence, they should be separated by a comma without spaces.
    1. eg: Several studies have examined the effect of ...................[6,7,8,9,13,15]
  6. Citing the author's name in the text: One can use the author's name in the text, but s/he must insert the citation number as well. If a work has more than one author, use 'et al.' after the first author.
    1. eg: Simons et al. state that ....................
  7. Corporate Author: If one needs to cite a piece of work that does not have an obvious author, s/he should use what is called a 'corporate' author. The Vancouver style doesn't need the author's incitation in the text, but one still needs to include an author in the full reference at the end of the work.
    1. eg: The Department of Health advocates a national strategy for .................[9]
  8. Citing from chapters written by different authors: the author who wrote the chapter should be cited, not the editor of the book.
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References:

  1. References should be as recent as possible. We recommend references newer than three years old but not older than five years. Older references may be used if absolutely necessary.
  2. The number of references should be in consecutive order in which they are first mentioned in the text.
  3. References should be at the end of the manuscript.
  4. List all authors when six or less; when seven or more, list only first six and add et al.
  5. Use one space only between words up to the year and then no spaces.
  6. References should include DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and PMID (PubMed ID) if they have one. Those who do not have both should contain a web-link to the page containing that article.
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Reference style examples:-

Journal Article (including review articles):

  • Dwivedi R, Joshi RR, Byanjankar S, Shrestha R. Outcomes of Pediatric Supracondylar Fractures of Humerus Treated by Posterior Triceps Splitting Approach. Journal of Lumbini Medical College. 2016;4(1):28-31. doi: https://doi.org/10.22502/jlmc.v4i1.83

Journal Article (Ahead of print, Epub):

  • Thapa SB, Kher YR, Tambay YG. Single-dose Intraoperative Antibiotics versus Postoperative Antibiotics for Patient Undergoing Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy for Symptomatic Cholelithiasis: a randomized clinical trial. Journal of Lumbini Medical College. 2017;5(1):approx. 5 pages. Epub 10 April 2017. doi: https://doi.org/10.22502/jlmc.v5i1.112. Accessed on 15th of April, 2017.

Book

  • Oslen OW. Animal parasites - Their Life cycles and Ecology. 3rd ed. Baltimore: Univ Park Press; 1974.

Chapter in a book

  • Nimmannitya S. Dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever. In: Cook G, ed(s). Manson's Tropical Diseases, 5th ed. London: WB Saunders; 1996:721-9.

Abstract/supplement

  • Add [abstract] along with the square brackets at the end of title before the period for abstract as in a journal article.
  • Add (Suppl 1) along with brackets after issue or volume (if the issue is not applicable) for a supplement.

Papers accepted for publication:

  • Write (in press) after the name of the journal. There will be no information on year, volume, issue, and the page number.

Websites:

  • Websites are referenced with their URL and access date, and as much other information as is available.
  • Morse SS. Factors in the emergency of infectious diseases. Emerg Infect Dis. 1995;1(1). www.cdc.gov/nciod/EID/vol1no1/morse.htm (accessed 5 Jun 1998).
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Data Sheet

Author(s) must submit the master datasheet at the time of submission of the manuscript. In the case of coded data, the codebook should also be submitted.

We are planning to make datasheet available to anyone interested.

Permissions

It is the author's responsibility to secure all permissions prior to publication.

If you are using any material e.g. figures, tables or videos that have already been published elsewhere, you must obtain permission to reuse them from the copyright holder (author or publisher) and include any required permission statements in the figure legends.

This includes your own previously published material if you are not the copyright holder.

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Copyright Notice

  • The Journal of Lumbini Medical College (JLMC) publishes open access articles under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) License which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
  • JLMC requires an exclusive licence to publish the article first in its journal in print and online.
  • The corresponding author should read and agree to the following statement before submission of the manuscript for publication,
    • License agreement
    • In submitting an article to Journal of Lumbini Medical College (JLMC) I certify that:
      1. I am authorized by my co-authors to enter into these arrangements.
      2. I warrant, on behalf of myself and my co-authors, that:
        1. the article is original, has not been formally published in any other peer-reviewed journal, is not under consideration by any other journal and does not infringe any existing copyright or any other third party rights;
        2. I am/we are the sole author(s) of the article and have full authority to enter into this agreement and in granting rights to JLMC are not in breach of any other obligation;
        3. the article contains nothing that is unlawful, libellous, or which would, if published, constitute a breach of contract or of confidence or of commitment given to secrecy;
        4. I/we have taken due care to ensure the integrity of the article. To my/our - and currently accepted scientific - knowledge all statements contained in it purporting to be facts are true and any formula or instruction contained in the article will not, if followed accurately, cause any injury, illness or damage to the user.
      3. I, and all co-authors, agree that the article, if editorially accepted for publication, shall be licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0. If the law requires that the article be published in the public domain, I/we will notify JLMC at the time of submission, and in such cases the article shall be released under the Creative Commons 1.0 Public Domain Dedication waiver. For the avoidance of doubt it is stated that sections 1 and 2 of this license agreement shall apply and prevail regardless of whether the article is published under Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 or the Creative Commons 1.0 Public Domain Dedication waiver.
      4. I, and all co-authors, agree that, if the article is editorially accepted for publication in JLMC, data included in the article shall be made available under the Creative Commons 1.0 Public Domain Dedication waiver, unless otherwise stated. For the avoidance of doubt it is stated that sections 1, 2, and 3 of this license agreement shall apply and prevail.

                            Please visit Creative Commons web page for details of the terms.

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