Submitting an Article Online

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Author Guidelines

Sri Lanka Journal of Radiology follows the requirements for manuscripts submitted to  Biomedical journals developed by International  Committee of Medial Journal Editors as presented at http://www.ICMJE.org/.

To ensure fast peer review and publication, manuscripts that do not adhere to the following instructions will be returned to the corresponding  author for technical revision before undergoing peer review. We are looking forward to your submissions.

SUBMISSION OF ARTICLES

Manuscripts can be sent as email attachment to lankaradiology@yahoo.com with the subject heading “SLJR”.

Manuscripts can also be submitted online by logging into http://www.sljol.info

MANUSCRIPT CATEGORIES

Contributions may take the form of Original Articles, Review Articles, Pictorial Essays, Technical Articles, Case Series and Case Reports in the following categories: Radiology, Nuclear Imaging, Radiology related informatics, Biomedical Technology, Radiation  physics or Radiography.

I. Original Articles

Full-length reports of current research in either basic or clinical science.
Word limit : 4000 words(including abstract);
Abstract: 250 words maximum
Figures – In general 7 or total of 15 images; Tables – 4
References: In general, less than 30 (not included in word count).

II. Review  Articles

Reviews are comprehensive analyses of specific topics. Scholarly analysis of recent developments on a specific topic as reported in the literature. No new information is described, and no opinions or personal experiences are expressed.
Word limit: 5,000 words maximum including abstract
Abstract: 250 words maximum, unstructured
Figures: In general total of no more than 7 figures (15 images in total); Tables – 4
References: no limit (not included in word count).

III. Technical Articles

Description: A new technique in radiology, radiation physics or radiography. This is a brief description of a specific technique, procedure, unique, software application, modification of a technique, or new equipment of interest to radiologists. Discussion is limited to the specific message, including the uses of the technique, equipment, or software. Literature reviews and lengthy descriptions of cases are not appropriate.
Word limit: 2,500 words maximum including abstract
Abstract: 250 words maximum, unstructured
References: In general, less than 30

IV. Pictorial Essays

Description: Pictorial Essays should contain an introduction that serves as a background to the article, the bulk of which should consist of illustrations and their legends. The illustrations should convey the message and Word limit: 2000 words maximum including abstract and references
Abstract: 250 words maximum, unstructured
Figures/Tables: In General total of no more than 15 figures (30 images in total).
References: In general, less than 15

V. Case Reports and Case Series

Generally Case Series are preferred over Case Reports. Case Series may follow the guidelines for Pictorial Essays as in IV above. Case Reports will only be considered if they adhere to submission guidelines and are of exceptional scientific or educational interest. Abstract is not required. An introduction to the case, followed by the case report and discussion is required. Take home point with a summary of the case is necessary at the end.
Word limit: 1000 words maximum
Figures/Tables: In general 5 figures maximum (10 images in total)
References: 10 maximum

VI. Letters to the Editor

Description: Letters must offer perspective to content published in the Sri Lanka Journal of Radiology
Word limit: 1000 words maximum
Abstract: not required
Figures/Tables: 1 maximum
References: 5 maximum

VII. Editorials

Description: Usually an invited commentary on an article to accompany its publication. Unsolicited proposals for Editorials may be submitted; however, in this case authors should only send an outline of the proposed paper for initial consideration.
Word limit: 800–1,500 words
Abstract: no abstract required for this manuscript type
References: 5 maximum

VIII. Point of View

Description:  Short article giving the author’s personal judgment on a controversial topic usually with suggestions for further improvement or research. Review of the literature is limited to articles that serve to justify the author’s opinion.
Word limit: 800–1,500 words
Abstract: no abstract required for this manuscript type
References: 5 maximum

Authorship criteria and authorship credit

Authors should meet one or more of the following criteria:

1. Conceived and planned the work that led to the paper and/or interpreted the evidence it presents.
2. Involved in conducting the study including data collection, interpretation and/or analysis.
3. Wrote the paper or reviewed successive versions or participated in their revision and approved the final.

All other contributors who do not meet criteria for authorship should be listed in an acknowledgments section.

PEER-REVIEW

All articles submitted to Sri Lanka Journal of Radiology are initially assessed by an Editor, who decides whether or not the article is suitable for peer review. Submissions considered suitable for peer review are assigned to one or more independent experts, who assess the article for clarity, validity, and sound methodology.

Sri Lanka Journal of Radiology operates a double-blind peer review process, meaning that authors and reviewers remain anonymous for the review process. The review period is expected to take around four weeks. Reviewers are asked to provide formative feedback, even if an article is not deemed suitable for publication in the journal.

Based on the reviewer reports the editor will make a recommendation for rejection, minor or major revisions, or acceptance. Overall editorial responsibility rests with the journal’s Editor-in-Chief, who is supported by an expert, international Editorial Board.

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

All  parts of the manuscript , including tables and figure  legends   should be assembled in a computer word processor, Microsoft WORD and the language set to English (U.K.) not English (U.S.).

The entire manuscript including the references must be single-spaced, font size 12, with 2.5cm margin on all four sides. Each part of the manuscript should start on a separate page. Pages should be numbered consecutively starting from the title page.

The manuscript should be organized as follows.  This is applicable to articles submitted for review. (Refer Editorial policies)

Title Page

1. Type of manuscript (eg. Research article, Case report)
2. The Title – which should be concise, specific and in formative(reflecting the general objective of the study)
3. The names ( last name followed by initials) and institutional affiliations (including the country) of each contributor/author
4. The name, postal address, e-mail address, telephone   and fax numbers of corresponding author
5. Up to five keywords or phrases suitable for use in an index. It is recommended to use MeSH terms. Indicate the key words in the title page in addition to indicating below the abstract. Keywords should be separated by semi-colons(;)
6. Word count of the abstract and main text separately (excluding the title, reference, figures and table)
7. Number of figures and tables

First page

The first page of the manuscript should contain

1. Title in full
2. Running title or short title exceeding 50 characters (including spaces)

As the peer review process is blind, names of authors and their affiliations should not be included in this page.

Abstract and Key Words

(Please refer ‘manuscript types’ for articles requiring abstracts)  
The abstract should be summarized in order that it accurately reflects the content of the paper. The reader should be able to get the essence of the paper without referring to the main article. The abstract should not exceed 250-300 words  and should conform to the following format for original articles:

Background and Objective: Brief statement of the overall aim. State the hypothesis if relevant 
Methods: Should contain a brief account of the study design, setting and population, sample size and sampling, study instruments, data collection and data analysis. 
Results: Statistically significant results both positive and negative should be included with relevant effect measures and 95% confidence levels and probability.
Conclusions: Should be in reference to the aims of the study and may include suggestions for future action.
Key words: A maximum of five and a minimum of three key words should be stated below the abstract and should be taken from those recommended by the US National Library of Medicine's Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) browser list at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/meshhome.html

Text 
The manuscript of an original article should be written under the headings of Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion (IMRAD) and References. Authors may consider the use of appropriate subheadings to label sections of their manuscript.

The Methods section should carry a statement confirming clearance of the study by an approved Ethics Review Committee. Statistical methods used must be specified.

Measurements and Abbreviations 
All measurements must be given in SI units. Visit http://www.bipm.fr for more information about SI units.

When using abbreviations/ acronyms, write the full phrase/ term, followed by the abbreviation/ acronym in parentheses in the first instance and thereafter continue with the abbreviation/acronym.

Use of only the generic name is recommended for drugs.

Figures, tables and graphs

These should be numbered consecutively using Arab numerals in the order they appear in the text (eg. Fig 1, Table 1, Graph 1) and cited appropriately in the text.

For submission, low-resolution figures saved as .jpg or .bmp files should be uploaded, at the end of the manuscript ( after the references). Upon acceptance of the article, high-resolution figures (at least 300 d.p.i.) saved as .eps or .tif files must be supplied on request.

Concise and comprehensive legends should appear above and below tables/graphs and figures respectively.

References 

Should conform to the following criteria:

1. List of References should appear after the main text (and before tables and figures) in the manuscript file and follow the Vancouver style (www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html).
2. In the text, references should be cited using superscript Arabic numerals in the order in   which they appear in the text.
3. If cited only in tables or figures, number them according to the first identification of the table or figure in the text.
4. Cite the names of all authors when there are six or less; when seven or more list the first three followed by et al.
5. Names of journals should be abbreviated in the style used in Index Medicus.
6. Information from manuscripts not yet in press or not yet published online, papers reported at meetings, or personal communications should be cited only in the text and not as a formal reference. Authors should get permission from the source to cite personal communications.

Acknowledgements

Contributions that fall short of the requirements for authorship may be acknowledged. Acknowledgement of grants and other sources of funds may also be  included. Acknowledgements should appear before references.

Covering Letter 

A covering letter should accompany the Manuscript as a separate file.

It should include the following.

1. A statement regarding the contribution by each author to the following: 
   (1) intellectual planning of the research, 
   (2) data collection, 
   (3) data analysis and 
   (4) writing the text.
2. A declaration stating that the work has not been published and is not being considered for publication elsewhere concurrently.
3. Disclosure of all conflicts of interest by authors

1. The Journal or publisher will NOT hold copyright of the articles published.
2. The publishers and the Editorial Board would be quite happy to allow the authors to keep copyrights of the published articles.

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.

1. Covering Letter - 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).
2. Any third-party-owned materials used have been identified with appropriate credit lines, and permission obtained from the copyright holder for all formats of the journal.
3. Title page and rest of the manuscript are submitted as separate files.
4. The submission file is in OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, RTF, or WordPerfect document file format.
5. All DOIs for the references have been provided, when available.
6. Tables and figures are all cited in the text. Tables are included within the text document, whilst figure files are uploaded as supplementary files.
7. Figures/images have a resolution of at least 150dpi (300dpi or above preferred). Each file is no more than 20MB per file. The files are in one of the following formats: JPG, TIFF, GIF, PNG, EPS (to maximise quality, the original source file is preferred).
8. The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines, which is found in About the Journal.
9. If submitting to a peer-reviewed section of the journal, the instructions in Ensuring a Blind Review have been followed.

Copyright Notice

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

• Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
• Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
• Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).

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