Editorial Policy

GENERAL POLICY

  1. Nepal Medical College Journal (NMCJ) is a quarterly Scientific Medical Journal (It was beingpublished biannually till Dec. 2005) published in English by Nepal Medical College ResearchDivision (Gokarneshwor Municipality-8, Kathmandu, Nepal). The Journal is printed in two columnformat and is supported by patron fee, commercial advertisement and page charge (There was nopage charge till Dec. 2005).

  2. Subjects covered include all aspects of health and diseases (clinical, experimental public healthincluding medical education). It considers original research papers, short communications, casereports, case series, review articles, editorial commentaries, conference summaries and bookreviews.

  3. Manuscripts in English (together with a copy of ‘Ethical Approval Letter’) from investigators /authors from any institutions in any country are considered. The results and ideas containedtherein should be original.

  4. Manuscript must show the affiliation of all authors including the ORCID of the principal/firstauthor and must be accompanied with a scanned/photo copy of ethical clearance letter andlicense agreement. The covering letter should clearly state that the manuscript has been seen andapproved by all authors and has not been submitted for consideration and will not be submittedto any other Journal(s) till the manuscript remains under consideration for publication in NMCJ.A copy of manuscript (printed) with a covering letter signed by all the author should be submittedto:

    The Chief Editor,
    Nepal Medical College Journal (NMCJ),
    Nepal Medical College,
    Attarkhel, Gokarneshwor Municpality-8,
    Post Box No. 13344, Kathmandu, Nepal.
    Email ID: nmcjournal@nmcth.edu.

    However, manuscript can also be submitted to our e-mail ID: nmcjournal@nmcth.edu with all documents mentioned above.
  1. All persons designated as authors should qualify for authorship (each author must have at leastbachelor degree in the related field and should have participated sufficiently in the work to takethe public responsibility for the content). A paper with corporate (collective) authorship mustspecify the key person responsible for the article.

  2. Articles for publication will only be accepted after getting signed declaration from the authorsthat the manuscript has not been submitted elsewhere for publication.

  3. If the instructions are not followed, the manuscripts will be returned to the corresponding authorfor appropriate modifications.

  4. Manuscripts meeting the editorial policy will be sent to two anonymous peer reviewers. Thesuggestion and/or comments of peer reviewers will be communicated to the author for necessaryrevision / modification / information. If required, manuscript can be sent to third peer revieweras well.

  5. The galley proofs of the articles will be sent to the corresponding authors for minor correctionsand must be returned (reached) to the Editorial Secretariat within two weeks (from the date ofdispatch). Major alterations (even an addition or deletion of single sentence) will not be accepted.

  6. If the manuscript is accepted for publication and published, the paper or the portion thereof willnot be published elsewhere unless the consent is obtained in writing from editor of NMCJ.

  7. The final decision of whether to publish or not is made by the Editorial Board.

PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPT

  1. Format: The whole text including references should be typed or printed by a good quality printer in double space with margins of at least one inch on both sides. The manuscript should be arranged in this order: Title page, Abstract and Key words, Text in IMRAD system (Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion), Acknowledgements, References, Tables, Figures and Legends. All pages should be numbered in above sequence, beginning with Title page as 1, Abstract as 2 etc.

  2. Title Page: This should carry (1) a simple, concise and meaningful title of the paper, (2) the abbreviated name of each author(s) with highest academic degree and institutional affiliation, (3) running title (in less than 40 letters), (4) address for correspondence about the articles and for the reprint request and (5) disclaimers, if any.

  3. Abstract: The second page should carry an abstract of not more than 250 words. It should include objectives and rationale of the study, methods used, main findings and significance of findings. It should be accompanied by 3-6 key words.

  4. Text: The text should be submitted in Calibri font (size 12) and must be divided into (1) Introduction, (2) Materials and Methods (in sufficient detail), (3) Results and (4) Discussion (including conclusion) and these sub heading should be written in capital letters. No ‘Tabs’ are given in the text. Findings should be analysed by statistical methods and be well interpreted showing level of significance.

  5. Acknowledgements: All acknowledgments including financial support should be mentioned under this heading

  6. References: The number of references should be in consecutive order in which they are first mentioned in the text. The references in the text should be identified by Arabic numerals as superscript. The list of references should be in Vancouver System and the name of journal should be abbreviated in accordance with the Index Medicus and should be in Italic.
    Examples:

    • Standard Journal Article (including review articles):
      List all authors when six or less; when seven or more, list onl y first three and add et al.
      For example:
      Rai SK, Uga S, Wu Z, Takahashi Y, Matsumura T. Use of polymerase chain reaction in the diagnosis of toxocariasis: an experimental study. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health 1997; 28: 541-4.Debunk RF, Houston MN, Superko R et al. A case management system for coronary risk factor modification after acute myocardial infarction. Ann Intern Med 1994; 120: 721-9.
    • Research Notes, Short communication, Letters to the Editor and Editorials: The pattern should be the same as the of standard Journal article but with mention of research notes, short communication, letter to the editor and editorials accordingly in the parenthesis (after the title). For example:
      Uga S, Morimoto M, Saito T, Rai SK. Surface ultrastructure of Heterophyes heterophyes (Trematoda: hetrophyidea) collected from a man (Research Note) J Helminthol Soc Wash 1998; 65: 119-22.
    • Corporate Author in Journal:
      Ghana Vast Study Team. Vitamin A supplementation in northern Ghana: effects on clinical attendance, hospital admissions and mortality. Lancet 1993; 342: 7-12.
      Note: Supplement volume or issue of a Journal should be indicated by “Suppl” in parenthesis after the publication year [for example, Brit Med J 1990 (Suppl), 13: 121-5].
    • Personal Author in Book:
      Osten OW. Animal parasites - Their Life cycles and Ecology. 3rd ed. Baltiore-London -Tokyo: Univ Park Press 1974; 16-194.
    • Editor(s), compiler(s) as authors:
      Firkin F, Chesterman N, Penington D, Bryan R, editors. de Gruchy’s Clinical Haematology in Medical Practice (5th ed.). Oxford: Blackwell Science 1989.
    • Corporate Author in Book:
      Virginia Law Foundation. The medical and legal implications of AIDS. Charlottes ville:
      The Foundation 1987.
    • Chapter in Book:
      Nimmannitya S. Dengue and dengue haemorrhagic fever. In Cook G, editor. Manson’s
      Tropical Diseases (5th ed.). London: WB Saunders 1996: 721-9.
    • Scientific and Technical Report:
      WHO. Control of the leishmaniasis 1990, Technical Report Series 1193.
    • Papers accepted for publication:
      Hirai K, Takagi E, Okuno Y et al. Status of polyunsaturated fatty acids in serum of persons
      aged 10-72 in Nepal. Nutr Res (in press).

  7. Tables: Tables should be typed in separate page (in double space). Tables should not be
    submitted as photographs. They should be numbered consecutively in the order of their
    first citation in the text. Each table should be supplied with a brief title. Any explanatory
    matter should be placed in footnotes and should be indicated by symbol. Tables should also contain statistical measure (for example, P values).

  8. Illustrations: Figures should be prepared with “low ink to data ratio” and without “3D”
    effect. Photographs should be sharp (contrast with high resolution) and be in black and
    white (usually 5x7 inches). Letters, numbers and symbols in the figures should be clear and
    even throughout and of sufficient size so that it will still be visible when reduced. Title and
    detailed explanation, if any, should be in the legends for figures, not on the illustrations
    themselves. Each figure (if printed) should be labeled on its back indicating the Fig. No.,
    author’s name and top of the figure and should not be marred with paper clips. Photographs of persons should not be identifiable unless it is accompanied by written permission of person. Figures should be numbered consecutively in the order of their first citation in the text.

  9. Units of Measurements: Measurements of length, height, weight and volume should be
    reported in metric units. Temperature should be in degree Celsius.

  10. Abbreviations: Only the standard abbreviations should be used. Abbreviations should be
    avoided in the Title and Abstract.
  11. Page Charge: The page charge per printed page is as follows:
    First author associated with Nepal Medical College: Rs. 700.00
    First author, Nepali but not associated with Nepal Medical College: Rs. 1,200
    First author from India and SAARC countries: Indian Rs. 1,200
    First author from other countries: US $25
    Payment could be made in cash or bank draft in favor of NMC Journal.
    PDF version of published paper will be available from Website: www.nmcth.edu or www.
    journal.nmcth.edu free of cost.

  12. Advertising Policy: The printed vesion of journal will be distributed to all libraries of Medical / Health Sciences institutions within the country free of cost. A copy of the same will also be sent to all international editors and patrons. The journal is also exchanged with other journals within the country and outside.

Disclaimer
Neither the Editorial Board nor the publisher accept responsibility for the views of authors expressed in their contributions.

Resource:
Nepal Medical College Institutional Research Committee (NMCRC)
Nepal Medical College
Email: nmcrc@nmcth.edu | nmcjournal@nmcth.edu
Tel: +977-01-4486008 (Ext# 607)