INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS

Editorial team of the journals of the Academy of Medical Sciences of Bosnia & Herzegovina endorses the Sarajevo Declaration on Integrity and Visibility of Scholarly Publications aimed at improving the ethical standards, quality and implications of published articles (http://www.cmj.hr/2016/57/6/28051276.htm)

TECHNICAL INSTRUCTIONS

 Submissions should include:

• Forename(s) and surnames of authors (see Authorship section below)
• Author affiliations: department (unit), institution, city, country
• Corresponding author details: name, address, phone, fax, E-mail, ORCID ID
• Abstract max. 300 words
• 3-6 keywords (from MeSH)
• Running (short) title
• Reference list
• Double-spacing
• 3-cm margins
• Page numbers
• Clear concise language
• American spelling
• Ensure tables and figures are cited
• The preferred electronic format for text is Microsoft Word
• Use International Systems of Units (Sl) symbols and recognized abbreviations for units of measurement
• Do not punctuate abbreviations e.g, et, al, ie
• Spell out acronyms in the first instance in the abstract and paper
• Original article should not contain more than 3,500 words, Review article more than 4,000 and Case report more than 1,500 words, including References
• Generic drug names are used in text, tables, and figures
• Suppliers of drugs, equipment, and other brand-name material are credited in parentheses (company, name, city, state, country)
• If molecular sequences are used, provide a statement that the date have been deposited in a publicly accessible database, eg, GenBank, and indicate the database accession number.
• While the editors fully understand extra challenges posed to authors whose native language is not English, we must ask that all manuscripts be reviewed and edited a native speaker or English with expertise I that area prior to submission.

EDITING AND PUBLISHING FEE

All manuscripts submitted to Medical Archives journal are assumed to be submitted under the Gold Open Access publishing model. The manuscripts pass in-house and external peer review.

Medical Archives publishes all its articles in full open access, meaning unlimited use and reuse of articles, in addition to giving credit to the authors. All our articles are published under a Creative Commons 4.0 (CC BY) license. Authors pay a one-time Article Processing Charge (APC) to cover the costs of peer review administration and management, professional production of articles in PDF and other formats, and dissemination of published papers in various venues, in addition to other publishing functions.  APC amount is 500 EUR including VAT and as of 01.09.2020. is paid in 2 installments: 

1- authors pay 100 EUR before article submission (proof of payment will be necessary to complete submission)
2- authors pay 400 EUR after provisionally announcement of acceptance and receiving professionally produced PDF for final proofreading and confirmation.  Accepted articles will not be published until payment has been received.  It is essential that author checks the proof in at least 7 working days. In cases of late contact, the paper will be delayed in publication.

Journal does not refund APCs once paid. There are no additional charges for rejected articles, and no surcharges based on the length of an article, figures or supplementary data. 
 
If article is published and needs to be revised on web, DOI, databases like PMC or EUROPMC, another 100 EUR is a fine fee.

Any reproduction is possible with a permission of the authors who retain copyrights under the following license agreement: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

Issues are published quarterly: in March, June, September, and December. In case when Editorial Board received enough papers during one year, it is possible to print additional issue as special issue or supplement.

AUTHORSHIP

Authorship credit should be based on the ICMJE criteria (http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html):

1. Substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data;
2. Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content;
3. Final approval of the version to be published; and
4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Authors should meet all four criteria.

When a large, multicenter group has conducted the work, the group should identify the individuals who accept direct responsibility for the manuscript. The individuals should fully meet the criteria for authorship/contributorship defined above, and editors will ask these individuals to complete author contributions and conflict-of-interest disclosure forms (http://www.icmje.org/conflicts-of-interest/). When submitting a manuscript authored by a group, corresponding author should clearly indicate the preferred citation and identify all individual authors as well as the group name. The NLM indexes the group name and the names of individuals the group has identified as being directly responsible for the manuscript, it also lists the names of collaborators if they are listed in Acknowledgments.

Acquisition of funding, collection of data, or general supervision of the research group alone does not constitute authorship. All persons designated as authors should qualify for authorship, and all those who qualify should be listed.

Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content.

Increasingly, authorship of multicenter trials is attributed to a group. All members of the group who are named as authors should fully meet the above criteria for authorship/contributorship.

The group should jointly make decisions about contributors/authors before submitting the manuscript for publication. The corresponding author/guarantor should be prepared to explain the presence and other of these individuals. It is not the role of editors to make authorship/contributorship decisions or to arbitrate conflicts to authorship.

CONTRIBUTORS LISTED IN ACKNOWLEDGMENT

All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in a acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, writing assistance, or a department chairperson who provided only general support. Authors should declare whether they had assistance with steady design, data collection, data analysis, or manuscript preparation. If such assistance was available, the authors should disclose the identity of the individuals who provided this assistance and the entity that supported in the published article. Financial and material support should also be acknowledged.

Groups of persons who have contributed materially to the paper but whose contributions do not justify authorship may be listed under such headings as “clinical investing” or “participating investigators,” and their function or contributions should be described—for example, “served as scientific advisors.” “Critically reviewed the study proposal.” “Collected data.” or “provided and for study patients.” Because readers may infer their endorsement of the data and conclusions, these persons must give permission to be acknowledged.

Please note: the Authorship and “Contributors Listed in Acknowledgements” sections are reprinted from the ICMJE Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals. The ICMJE has not endorsed nor approved the contents of this reprint. The official version of the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals is located at www.ICMJE.org. Users should cite this official version when citing the document.

RELATED AUTHORS

Where authors of a paper are family members or relatives this should be explicitly disclosed at the time of submission. Please provide details of the relationship between such authors.

FIGURES AND TABLES

All graphical materials should be original. If graphics are reproduced from other media, relevant permission should be obtained from the copyrights holder. Tables should supplement but not replicate the text. Numbering in order of their citation in the text is a must. Start each table on a separate page. Provide a short descriptive title at the top of each table; rather than simply repeating the labels on columns and rows of the table, the title should reveal the point of grouping certain data in the table. Statistical and other details should be provided as footnotes rather than appearing in the title. Never repeat the same material in figures and tables; when either is equally clear, a figure is preferable. Do not include any class of information in tables that is not discussed in the text of the manuscript.

At the submission and review stages, embedded image files are acceptable for tables. Final versions of accepted manuscripts must have “true” tables in an editable format, created by using the “Insert Table” function, rather than using tabs or spaces. For example, in Microsoft Word you should select “Table, “Insert”, “Table”, then specify the number of rows and columns and fill in the individual cells.

Number figures in the order in which they are discussed in the text. Group the figure legends in numerical order on one or more pages, separate from the figures. The figure title should be given as the first two words of the legend. All tables and figures should be referenced in the main article text in result’s section, for example like “(Table 1)” or “(Figure 1)”.

• Submit as one file
• Number consecutively
• Provide a descriptive heading/legend
• Place abbreviations immediately below the table
• Use superscript a, b, c… as identifiers
• Submit figures as PDF or JPG files
• Supply Line Art 900 dpi, Combination (Line Art + Halftone) 900 dpi, Halftone 300 dpi
• Graphics downloaded from Web pages are NOT acceptable
• Submit multi-panel figures, ie with parts labeled a,b,c,d, as one file

SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

Any supplementary data should be kept to 6 typeset pages or 2,400 words. If you have any more than this you should provide a link to the supplementary data on an external website, your institutes’s website for example. We welcome video files either as supplementary data or as part of the actual manuscript to show operations, procedures, etc.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

• Manuscripts submitted as a Letter to the Editor:
• Should relate to a paper previously published in a journal;
• Have a word count of no more than 1,500 words;
• May contain figures and tables (see specifications for these above);
• Have references formatted in the PubMed or Vancouver style. 

RESEARCH REPORTING GUIDELINES

Prior to manuscript submission authors should consult relevant guidelines developed by a team of experts from the EQUATOR network, which are available at http://www.equator-network.org/. Authors who wish to submit case reports are advised to follow the latest guidance available at http://www.care.statetment.org/. Animal research studies should comply with standards outlined in the ARRIVE guidelines (http://www.nc3rs.org.uk/downloaddoc.asp?id=2093&page=1357&skin=0).

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION

All manuscripts should be submitted online.

By doing so, authors agree to the terms and conditions of ethical submission. Simultaneous submission of a manuscript, considered for publication elsewhere, is absolutely unacceptable. Requests for secondary publication of our journal articles in other media should be forwarded to the publisher.

If any suspicion of data falsification, fabrication, manipulation, plagiarism, or other forms of misconduct in submitted or published articles is raised, our editors will act in accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines (http://publicationethics.org/resources/guidelines), which may result in retractions and banning responsible authors from publication in our journals.

PRE-SUBMISSIONS

Authors are welcome to send an abstract or draft manuscript to obtain a view from the Editor about the suitability of their paper. Our Editors will do a quick review (not peer review) of your paper and advise if they believe it is appropriate for submission to their journal. This will be based on subject matter vs the aims and scope of the journal. It will not be a full review of your manuscript.

REFERENCE STYLE

Acta Inform Med follows the MEDLINE/PubMed or Vancouver styles which are based on the style developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors in 1978 in Vancouver. Author during the preparation for the writing of specific article encounters with different types of secondary data. For example, the publication may be written by one, by several authors, and sometimes the authors are not listed but only the organization that published work. With that in mind, when citing sources, to the publication is variously referred to in the text. During the writing operation, may refer to different sources. In this guidelines article lists various examples of proper citation is most commonly used when writing a scientific and professional publications.

Citing references in the text of scientific papers, reviews and case reports

(that is recommended by SCOPEMED - www.scopemed.org):

Masic I, Milinovic K. On-line Biomedical Databases–the Best Source for Quick Search of the Scientific Information in the Biomedicine. Acta Inform Med. 2012; [cited January 25, 2013]; 20(2): 72-84.doi:10.5455/aim.2012.20.72-84

If we want to quote this article in article that we publish in an indexed journal that is covered by DBMS ScopeMed there are several recognized ways of quoting the text.

First manner of citation is Pubmed Style:

Example:

Masic I, Milinovic K. On-line Biomedical Databases–the Best Source for Quick Search of the Scientific Information in the Biomedicine. Acta Inform Med. 2012; 20(2): 72-84. doi:10.5455/aim.2012.20.72-84

National Library of Medicine (NLM) recommends using standard ANSI/NISO Z39.29-2005 (R2010). Bibliographic References standard is the basic format for Pubmed/MEDLINE citation. The last item in the above quotation is the unique identification number in the PubMed database and status citations indexed in MEDLINE. NLM has changed a way of citation that first is cited the author and title of the work in November 2008.

Another way is quoting WEB Style:

Web Style

Masic I, Milinovic K. On-line Biomedical Databases–the Best Source for Quick Search of the Scientific Information in the Biomedicine. www.scopemed.org/?mno=20169 [Access: January 25, 2013]. doi:10.5455/aim.2012.20.72-84

This method of citation is different from others in that after the basic information about the author and the work includes a web address. Commonly used at online portals, web sites, etc.

Third way of citation: AMA (American Medical Association) Style:

Masic I, Milinovic K. On-line Biomedical Databases–the Best Source for Quick Search of the Scientific Information in the Biomedicine. Acta Inform Med. 2012; 20(2): 72-84. doi:10.5455/aim.2012.20.72-84

It is recommended to use the full names of the first six authors and co-authors if there are more than 6, then we should write the first three and add et al.

The most commonly is recommended to use Vancouver/ICMJE Style:

Vancouver/ICMJE Style

Masic I, Milinovic K. On-line Biomedical Databases–the Best Source for Quick Search of the Scientific Information in the Biomedicine. Acta Inform Med. (2012), [cited January 27, 2013]; 20(2): 72-84.doi:10.5455/aim.2012.20.72-84

Citing references in biomedical scientific publications

Basic bibliographic elements are: author/s, title, journal title, numerical data on the journal, city, publisher and year of publication. Data on the quoted unit (references), the paper appears mandatory twice. For the first time in the text and the second time in a list of references. Reference in the text by Arabic numerals starting with 1 and a list of references entered in the order they appear in the text. Certain types of data separated with the original punctuation symbols that are standard profiled design references highlighted in red. From this structure we use bibliographic elements that appear in described publication, and all the others are omitted. When omitting an element of bibliographic description do not use punctuation symbol that precedes it. For example, if the publication has no subtitle we will not use the semicolon character that preceded the subtitle of the work, but after the title place the point that marks the end of each group of data.

Basic structure of the reference

As a space character is used as an underscore (_).

Printed an article from a journal

First author,_Second author,_… Sixth author_et_al._Title:_Subtitle._journal name._year;volume(issue or number_Pt_number)_Suppl _number:pages from—to.

Example 1

Masic I. Plagiarism in Scientific Publishing. Acta Inform Med. 2012 Dec; [cited May 17, 2013]; 20(4): 208-213.doi:10.5455/aim.2012.20.208-213.

More than six authors:

Example 2

Stipetić J, Čelebić A, Baučić I, Lazić B, Komar D, Bratolić V, et al. Analysis of occlusal contacts in different types of prosthodontics appliance: Eichner classification: presence RCP-ICP slide and the type of occlusion. CollAntropol. 2001; 25: 311-6.

Printed book

First author,_Second author,_… Sixth author_et_al._Booktitle:_Subtitle. _volume._City:_Firstpublisher,_Secondpublisher;_year.

Example 3.

Rang HP, Dale MM, Ritter JM, Moore PK. Pharmacology. 5th ed. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone; 2001.

Electronic materials–Compact Disc

Authors/editors._Articletitle:_Articlesubtitle._volume._[CD-ROM]._City: _Publisher;_year.

Example 4

Ash MM, Nelson SJ.Wheeler’s dental anatomy, physiology and occlusion [CD-ROM]. 8th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders; 2003.

Electronic materials–article

Authors._Articletitle:_Articlesubtitle._journal name_[serial on the Internet]._year_motnh_ [cited_year_month_day];volume(issue):[about x p.]._Available from:_webadress.

Example 5.

Masic I, Milinovic K. On-line Biomedical Databases–the Best Source for Quick Search of the Scientific Information in the Biomedicine. www.scopemed.org/?mno=20169 [Access: January 25, 2013]. doi:10.5455/aim.2012.20.72-84

Electronic materials–book

Authors/editors._Articletitle:_Articlesubtitle._volume_[monograph on the Internet]._City:_publisher;_year_[cited_year_month_day]. _ Available from:_web address

Example 6.

Lukač J. Kliničkaimunologija: nastavnopomagalozastudenteStomatološkogfakultetaSveučulišta u Zagrebu [monograph on the Internet]. Zagreb: Stomatološkifakultet; 2004 [cited 2005 Jun 20]. Available from: http://www.sfzg.hr/files/user/isamija/Klinicka_imunologija_skripta.doc

Citing books, monographs, textbooks, dissertations

• Author/s: Listed are up to six authors and all the others are listed as et al. First is listed the last name, followed by initial(s) of the first name. More initials of the same person name are written without spaces.
• Editor/s: listed in the identical manner authors and adds a tag editor(s).
• Title and subtitle of the article: transcribed from the original and each separated by the colon. Only the first word of the title and names (personal, geographic, etc.) should be written with a capital letter.
• Journal title: By the official acronym of the Index Medicus that is available online through PubMed interface at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ .In the Search field select Journals database and then enter in the field the full name of the journal. Abbreviation will be listed in field Title Abbreviation. Last word of journal titles ending with point.
• Numerical data of the journal: by Arabic numerals enter data in the following order: year, volume, issue, part, supplement, pages. Number of individual issue is entered in parentheses and is obligated to enroll if pagination (numbering) of each individual issue starting from 1. To mark a part of individual issue is used abbreviation Pt. in parentheses. To list supplement use the abbreviation Suppl. and adds a number or other designation if any. Pages of the article are written from first to last and without repeating the common parts. All numerical data are mutually separated by punctuation symbols without spaces except the mark Pt. and Suppl.
• Edition of the book (except the first): written by English spelling for item numbers and adds ed. If there is additional information about the volume, the words are transferred from the template. Ordinal number of the volumes of the book (if it is a published in several volumes) by an expression vol.
• City of publishing: Enter the first city listed in the original and for the other is added etc…
• Publisher/s: are transcribed from the original. If the institution is listed as the publisher and its organizational part the data is separated by a comma.
• Date of publishing: is transcribed from the title page and if publication year is not specified written is a year copyright.
• Book Pages: listed only when we quote part of the book, preceded by the label.
• Dissertation: to dissertation is referred to as the angular brackets, and put the title (or subtitle) of the work. Pages refer to the total number of pages of the dissertation.

BACK MATTER

After the last chapter, the back matter of the book can contain an appendix, a glossary, and/or an index. Do not include a reference list containing the cited literature in the back matter, as references are then not linked to citations in the chapters. Instead, include reference lists at the end of each chapter. A list of further reading may be included in the back matter.

APPENDIX An appendix cannot include a reference list. Include important original content within a chapter or a chapter appendix, not in the book appendix.

INDEX (IF APPLICABLE)

If an index is desired, please submit the index entries with the manuscript. Use the indexing function in Word or the index command in LaTeX to identify the index term as you write your text and indicate, on average, one or two index entry terms per manuscript page to be included in the index. Information should be listed under the term that most readers will probably look at first. Use cross-references to list variations or written-out versions and abbreviations/acronyms. If you provide a list with index terms, the index, with page numbers, will be generated by our production partner.

PROOFS

• You will receive the typeset page proofs for approval
• Check amendments made by the editor have not rendered the material inaccurate
• Check you have answered all the editor’s queries
• Ensure your corrections are minimal and absolutely necessary
• Mark the adjustments clearly in the text and margins, and keep a copy of what you send to the editor
• Notify the editorial office of all corrections within 72 hours of your receipt of the material
• Ensure all authors sign and return the Author Approval and final page of Publication Agreement

All of our journals are members of and subscribe to the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Date of revision: September, 2020