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South West Clinical School Journal

Information for authors

Contents

General information for authors on submissions

The Journal is committed to following guidance from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) in editing, producing and making available this online journal publication.

ICMJE developed these recommendations to review best practice and ethical standards in the conduct and reporting of research and other material published in medical journals. Their online resources aim to help authors, editors, and peer reviewers involved in journal publications.

Submission preparation and format

As an e-journal, the Journal can only accept material submitted as electronic files. Submissions should be prepared using Microsoft Word (file extension doc. or dox.) in single spaced format using Arial 12-point font. Margins should be 2.0cm.

Authorship guidance

The ICMJE recommends that authorship be based on the following four criteria:

  1. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
  2. Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
  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 the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Word count

A total word count statement should be included (400 words +/- 20 words).

Structural guidance

  • Submission should be of approximately 400 words (+/- 20 words). This includes all sub-headings (excluding the submission’s main title and reference lists).
  • A clear succinct title should be used to communicate the essence of the #400Words.
  • Suggested structures (sub-headings) for the four types of submission are set out below and are useful to structure the content of the #400Words
  • A submission is limited to include one table or one figure that should be titled clearly (excluded from the word count). It should be positioned appropriately in the text to aid the readers interpretation. Ensure that any images can be viewed at 400% without blurring or pixilation.
  • Up to five references should be used (Editor’s discretion will be used).

    • Referencing

    A maximum of five references should be used for #400Word submissions. All manuscripts should be prepared using the University of Plymouth Cite Them Right Harvard Style referencing system which requires an in-text citation in the (author, date) format. Further bibliography examples are shown below.

    Journal:
    Surname, Initial., Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Journal, Issue information e.g., 21(3), Page reference e.g. pp. 543-549. Sometimes: Available at: URL (Accessed: date). If possible doi: DOI 123456789.

    Report:
    Author or Organisation. (Year of publication) Title of report. Place of publication: Publisher or Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

    Authors are responsible for checking the accuracy and inclusion of all cited references.

    Medicine names

    Please use the generic name of medicines cited in the article. Brand names can be used but in parentheses e.g., Generic name (Brand name).

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    Suggested structure for the four categories of article publication

    Suggested structure for the four categories of article publication

    The following four formats for submission are encouraged:

    #400words: Evidence Informed Change Projects
    (Implementing evidence-based practice)

    A suggested structure for this type of submission could use:

    • Background
    • Method
    • Results
    • Conclusion

    #400words: Research Report
    A suggested structure for this type of submission would resemble an academic abstract:

    • Background
    • Aim and objectives
    • Method
    • Ethical considerations
    • Results or findings
    • Discussion
    • Conclusion

    #400words: Quality Improvement Report
    Based on: https://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/13/1/6

    • Brief description of context: relevant details of staff and function of department, team, unit, patient group.
    • Outline of problem: what were you trying to accomplish?
    • Key measures for improvement: what would constitute improvement in view of patients?
    • Process of gathering information: methods used to assess problems.
    • Analysis and interpretation: how did this information help your understanding of the problem?
    • Strategy for change: what actual changes were made, how were they implemented, and who was involved in the change process?
    • Effects of change: did this lead to improvement for patients—how did you know?
    • Next steps: what you have learnt or achieved and how will you take this forward?

    #400words: Case Study Report
    A case study is a research method involving a detailed examination of a particular case. A case study report narrates a unique case in a way that is easy to follow:

    • Introduction
    • Case report - the general approach is to describe the history, examination, findings, investigations, and treatment without these headings.
    • Discussion
    • Conclusion

    Consent of the participant is essential to obtain before submitting and confidentiality needs to be maintained.

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    A case study consent form is available here. The case study report should include the following sentence after the conclusion section:

    Written informed consent for publication of these clinical details was obtained from the patient/parent/guardian/relative of the patient. The case study has been anonymised so that no person is recognisable. (These words are not included in the 400 word count).

    Copyright

    The transfer of copyright is standard practice in publishing and is designed to facilitate the protection from copyright abuse for authors, editors, and publishers. An author's assignment of copyright also signifies their agreement to the article’s storage electronically or digitally. Nothing in the copyright agreement is intended to restrict an author's rights and as such, you retain several rights and these are retained and permitted without the need to obtain specific permission from the Editor. These include:

    • The right to make your own copies (print or electric) of the article for your own personal use
    • The right to present the article at a meeting or conference, or use as lecture notes and to distribute copies of this article to the delegates or students who attend the meeting or lecture
    • The right to make copies and distribute these (including via e-mail) to colleagues
    • The right to prepare other derivative works which the author acts as editor or author or to re-use sections in other works, citing the Journal as the original source of publication
    • If the paper is not published in the Journal, the rights revert to the author(s) as original copyright holder(s).
    • Plan to publish outright with no corrections or amendments required

     

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    Manuscript submission

     

    Submit here

    The Editor’s decision is final.

     

    Publication dates