Instructions to Authors

1. Aims and Scope: “The Iranian Journal of Medical Physics’’ is the official scientific quarterly publication of the Iranian Association of Medical Physicists and publishes original research, both laboratory and theoretical, in the field of medical physics. Manuscripts are considered from all areas of medical physics and related branches of science.

2. This Journal accepts Original Papers, Review Articles, Short Communications, Technical Notes and Letters to the Editor.

3. Submission: Submit three copies of the article and two sets of photographs, illustration, diagrams etc to the Journal’s postal address. Manuscript must be accompanied by a covering letter to the Editor-in-Chief, including the title and author(s) name and undertaking that it has not been published or submitted elsewhere. In case the manuscript has earlier been submitted to and rejected by another journal, the authors must provide full information regarding that for proper analysis. Manuscripts should be typed in double space on one side of an A-4 size paper with clear margins on both sides. Tables as well as illustrations should be typed and drawn on separate pages. Do not submit tables as photographs. In case of electronic submission of the manuscript, the authors must declare that it is being sent exclusively to this Journal. The text should be submitted in Microsoft Word format as an attachment. The figures should be sent in JPEG or GIF formats which will produce high quality images in the online edition of the journal. Submission is also acceptable via the Journal’s URL:

http://www.mums.ac.ir/physic_journal/fa/login

4. The manuscript should include the following sections: Title page; Abstract; Introduction; Materials & Methods; Results; Discussion; Acknowledgements and References.

5. Title page: The complete title of the manuscript, name(s) of the author(s) with their highest qualifications, the institution to which they are affiliated, and address for correspondence with telephone and fax numbers and e-mail address.

6. Abstract: All original articles must accompany a structured abstract up to 250 words. It should be structured as Background, Methods, Results and Conclusion followed by 3 to 5 keywords. Keywords will assist indexers in cross indexing the article as they are published with the abstract. Use terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list of index medicus (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/MBrowser.html). Authors should be careful that the abstract reflects the content of the article accurately.

7. Introduction: This should summarize the purpose and rationale for the study. It should neither review the subject extensively nor should it have data or conclusions of the study.

8. Materials & Methods: This should include the exact method, observation or experiment. If an apparatus is used, its manufacturer’s name and address should be given in parentheses. If the method is established, give reference but if the method is new, give enough information so that another author is able to perform it. If a drug is used, its generic name, dose and route of administration must be given. For patients, age, sex with mean age ± standard deviation must be given. The statistical methods applied must be specified and any general computer programs and information systems used should be described.

9. Results: These must be presented in the form of text, tables, figures, diagrams or illustrations. The contents of the tables should not all be repeated in the text. Instead, a reference to the table number may be given. Long articles may need sub-headings within some sections (especially the Results and Discussion parts) to clarify their contents.

10. Discussion: This section should contain the present findings and emphasize any differences or similarities with other work done in the field by other workers. The detailed results should not be repeated in the discussion again. Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study and the conclusions that follow from them. It must be mentioned whether the hypothesis mentioned in the article is true, false or no conclusions can be derived.

11. Acknowledgements: All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be covered in the acknowledgement section. This should include persons who provided technical help, writing assistance and departmental heads who only provided general support. Financial and material support should also be acknowledged.

12. Tables: They should be submitted in limited numbers with the captions placed above. Do not submit tables as photographs. Place explanatory matters in footnotes, not in the heading.

13. Figures:These should be presented in limited numbers, with high quality art work and mounted on separate pages. The captions should be placed below. The same data should not be presented in tables, figures and text simultaneously.

14. References: The references should be numbered consecutively as they appear in the text. Please note that all authors should be listed when there are six or less; when seven or more, list only the first six and add ‘et al’. The authors should ensure reference to locally published studies by carrying out a comprehensive literature search. It may not be possible for the Editor and reviewers to check the accuracy of all reference citations. To minimize such errors, authors should verify references against the original documents. The Reference section should provide the following information as stated in the presented models as follows:

1. In-text Citing

A number is allocated to a source in the order in which it is cited in the text. If the source is referred to again, the same number is used.

Example:

...as one author has put it "the darkest days were still ahead" [1]: which is well documented in the literature [2-5]. This proves that "the darkest days were still ahead" [1].

The author's name can also be integrated into the text eg. Schultz [2] has argued that...

Either square [ ] or curved brackets ( ) can be used as long as it is done consistently. Superscripts can also be used rather than brackets eg., ...was discovered.^1,3 Numbers should be inserted to the left of colons and semi-colons. Full stops are placed either before or after the reference number. Whatever format is chosen, it is important that the punctuation is consistently applied to the whole document.

2. References

References are listed in numerical order in the Reference List at the end of the paper: eg.,

Smith SD, Jones AD. Organ donation. N Engl J Med. 2001; 657:230-5.

Brown JG. Asphyxiation. Med J Aust. 2003; 432:120-4.

Only examples for the most common publication types are listed below. For a complete list, consult the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Sample References <http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html>

2a. Journal Article:

Elements of a Citation:Author's surname authors first name initials. Title of article. Title of Journal. [abbreviated] Year of publication Month date; Volume Number (Issue number): page numbers.

Example:

Smithline HA, Mader TJ, Ali FM, Cocchi MN. Determining pretest probability of DVT: clinical intuition vs. validated scoring systems. N Engl J Med. 2003 Apr 4;21(2):161-2.

Journal titles are abbreviated (to decipher abbreviations see: PubMed Journals Database <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=journals>)

Only the first words of the article title and words that normally begin with a capital letter are capitalized. The first 6 authors are listed separated by comas; thereafter add et al. after the sixth author:

Gao SR, McGarry M, Ferrier TL, Pallante B, Gasparrini B, Fletcher JR, et al.

2b. Books:

Elements of a Citation: Author/Editor/Compiler's surname initials. Title of the book. # ed. [if not 1st] Place of publication: Publisher's name; Year of publication. Only the first words of the article title and words that normally begin with a capital letter are capitalized.

Personal author: Example:

Carlson BM. Human embryology and developmental biology. 3rd ed. St. Louis: Mosby; 2004.

Edited book: add editor or editors after the name(s).

Example:

Brown AM, Stubbs DW, editors. Medical physiology. New York: Wiley; 1983.

Chapter in a book:

Elements of a Citation: Author's surname initials. Title of chapter. In: Editor's surname initials, editor. Title of the book. # ed. [if not 1st] Place of publication: Publisher's name; Year of publication. p. #. [page numbers of chapter] Abbreviate page numbers to p. eg p. 12-25.

Use abbreviated numbers where appropriate eg., p. 122-8.

Example:
Blaxter PS, Farnsworth TP. Social health and class inequalities. In: Carter C, Peel JR, editors. Equalities and inequalities in health. 2nd ed. London: Academic Press; 1976. p. 165-78.

2c. Conferences

Conference paper:

Elements of a citation:Author's surname initials. Title of paper. In: Editor's surname initials, editor. Title of the Conference; Date of conference; Place of publication: Publisher's name; Year of Publication. p. page numbers.

Example:

Anderson JC. Current status of chorion villus biopsy. In: Tudenhope D, Chenoweth J, editors. Proceedings of the 4th Congress of the Australian Perinatal Society; 1986: Brisbane, Queensland: Australian Perinatal Society; 1987. p. 190-6.

Conference proceedings:

Example:
Harris AH, editor. Economics and health: 1997: Proceedings of the 19th Australian Conference of Health Economists; 1997 Sep 13-14; Sydney, Australia. Kensington, N.S.W.: School of Health Services Management, University of New South Wales; 1998.

2d. Electronic sources

CD-Rom / DVD

The format is added after the title eg. [DVD]

Example:
Collier L, Balows A, Sussman M, editors. Topley and Wilson's microbiology and microbial infections [CD-ROM]. 9th ed. London: Arnold; 1998.

(i) Journal article on the internet

Elements of a Citation: Author's surname authors first name initials. Title of article. Abbreviated Title of Journal [serial on the Internet]. Year of publication Month day [cited Year Month Day]; Volume Number(Issue number):[about number of pages or screens]. Available from: URL

Only cite month/day if applicable. Can list either pages or screens.

Example:
Aylin P, Bottle A, Jarman B, Elliott, P. Paediatric cardiac surgical mortality in England after Bristol: descriptive analysis of hospital episode statistics 1991-2002. BMJ [serial on the Internet]. 2004 Oct 9;[cited 2004 October 15]; 329:[about 10 screens]. Available from: http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/329/7470/825

(ii) Book/Monograph on the Internet

Example:
Donaldson MS, editor. Measuring the quality of health care [monograph on the internet]. Washington: National Academy Press; 1999 [cited 2004 Oct 8]. Available from: http://legacy.netlibrary.com/.

(iii) Web site / homepage

Elements of a citation: Author/Editor/Organisation's name. Title of the page [homepage on the Internet]. Place of publication: Publisher's name; [updated yr month day; cited yr month day]. Available from: (url)

Example:

HeartCentreOnline [homepage on the Internet]. Boca Raton, FL: HeartCentreOnline, Inc.; c2000-2004 [updated 2004 May 23; cited 2004 Oct 15]. Available from: http://www.heartcenteronline.com/

(iv) Web Site / part of a Homepage:

Add the number of screens and title of page

Example:

American Medical Association [homepage on the Internet]. Chicago: The Association; c1995-2002 [cited 2005 Apr 20]. Group and Faculty Practice Physicians; [about 2 screens]. Available from: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/1736.html

Further information and examples are available from National Library of Medicine, Recommended Formats for Bibliographic Citation SUPPLEMENT: Internet Formats (pdf 410 kB)

2e. Other sources

For a list of other publication types consult Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Sample References

<http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html>

1. Proof reading: A computer printout is sent to the corresponding author for proof reading before publication in order to avoid any mistakes. Corrections should be marked clearly and sent immediately to the Journal office.

2. Abbreviations and symbols: Use only standard abbreviations. Avoid using them in the title and abstract. The full term for which an abbreviation stands should precede its first use in the text unless it is a standard unit of measurement.

3. The corresponding author will be supplied with 5 free issues.

4. Ethical guidelines: Ethical considerations must be addressed in the Materials and Methods section. 1) Please state that informed consent was obtained from all human adult participants and from the parents or legal guardians of minors. Include the name of the appropriate institutional review board that approved the project. 2) Indicate in the text that the maintenance and care of experimental animals complies with National Institute of Health guidelines for the humane use of laboratory animals, or those of your institute or agency.

5. Conflicts of interest: Authors must acknowledge and declare any sources of funding and potential conflicting interest, such as receiving funds or fees by, or holding stocks and shares in, an organization that may profit or lose through publication of your paper. Declaring a competing interest will not lead to automatic rejection of the paper, but we would like to be made aware of it.

6. Page charges: There are no charges for publication in this Journal.

7. Copyright: The entire contents of the Iranian Journal of Medical Physics (IJMP) are protected under international copyrights. This Journal is for your personal noncommercial use. You may not modify, copy, distribute, transmit, display, or publish any materials contained on the Journal without the prior written permission of it or the appropriate copyright owner.

8. Peer review process: All manuscripts are considered to be confidential. They are peer reviewed by at least 3 anonymous reviewers selected by the Editorial Board. The corresponding author is notified as soon as possible of the editor’s decision to accept, reject, or require modifications. If the manuscript is completely acceptable according to the criteria set forth in these instructions, it is scheduled for the next available issue.

9. Disposal of material: Once published, all copies of the manuscript, correspondence and artwork will be held for 6 months before disposal.

Editor-in-Chief,

The Iranian Journal of Medical Physics

P.O. Box: 9177948564, Mashhad

Iran

Tel: + 98 511 8828576

Fax: +98 511 8002320

Email: Bahreynimt@mums.ac.ir

URL: http://www.mums.ac.ir/physic_journal/fa/index