Authores Guideline
Instructions to Authors
Aim and Scope:
The “Iranian Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery” (IJOS) is the official scientific quarterly publication of Iranian Orthopaedic Association. Contributions from national and international researchers are welcome and are considered on their merits. Submitted manuscripts must be written in English. Authors are advised to follow the “Instructions to Authors” while submitting their manuscripts. Manuscripts are subjected to primary screening by the Editor and then to blinded peer review by experts in the field and a final decision will then be made by the Editor. Papers are assessed according to the quality and relevance of the work, not by the country of origin, the reputation of the author, or the fame of the department. Our aim is to publish the best articles available in the field of orthopaedic surgery from anywhere in the world. This Journal ac­cepts Original articles, Review articles (Systematic and Narrative), Short Communications, Case Reports, and Let­ters to the Editor in the field of Orthopaedic Surgery.
 
Editorial Independence:
Although the IJOS is sponsored financially by the Iranian Orthopedic Association, it benefits from editorial freedom. The Editor evaluates and accepts articles based only on significance, originality, validity, and adherence to the aims and scope of the journal.
Our editorial policy is consistent with the principles of editorial independence presented by the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).
http://wame.org/editorial-independence
 
Submission Process:
Manuscripts should be sent through the online submission system: (https://ijos.ir/form_send_article.php?slc_lang=en&sid=1)
 
Scientific and Initial Screening:
IJOS staff would check the structure and content of manuscripts to ensure compliance with standard structures (based on the type of study), the Journal’s scope, standard guidelines, quality, novelty, and adherence to ethical issues. In this step, articles would be screened in the shortest possible time. This step helps the Editorial Board and the Editor to make fair final decisions, and improves the final quality of published articles.
 
Peer Review Process:
Submitted articles are primarily evaluated for any methodological flaws, format, and their compliance with the Journal’s instructions. Through a double-blind review, the articles will be reviewed by at least two external (peer) reviewers. Their comments will be passed to the authors and their responses to the comments along with the reviewers’ comments will then be evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief. The final review process will be discussed in regular editorial board sessions and on the basis of the comments, and the Journal’s standards, the Editor-in-Chief will decide which articles should be published.
It should be noted that articles submitted by the staff and editors of the IJOS will also be subjected to peer review and the authors will be completely blind to the evaluation process of their article until a final decision has been made.
 
Ethical Considerations:
The journal follows the flowcharts and guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)- https://publicationethics.org- in confronting any ethical misbehavior. The Journal also follows the guidelines mentioned in the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals issued by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) (http://www.icmje.org/#privacy).
In case of any complaints regarding the Editorial Board's decision, authors can write directly to the editor who will follow the case according to standard and Ethical guidelines.
 
Human and Animal Rights:
 
Studies that involve human beings (or animals) must adhere to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.
 
•     Informed Consent:
All patients and participants in a study should be thoroughly informed about the aims of the study and any possible side effects of the drugs and interventions. Written informed consent from the participants or their legal guardians is necessary for any such studies. The Journal reserves the right to request the related documents. Articles that require informed consent should contain related statement in the “Method” section.
 
•     Authorship:
According to the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, released by the ICMJE, an “Author” is generally considered to be someone who simultaneously meets the following conditions 1, 2, 3, and 4.
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.
 
 
•     Conflict of Interest:
We request all authors and reviewers to inform us about any kinds of “Conflict of Interest” (such as financial, personal, political, or academic) that would potentially affect their judgment. Authors are preferably asked to fill the uniform disclosure form available through:
(http://www.icmje.org/coi_disclosure.pdf)
 
•     Plagiarism:
Authors are not allowed to utilize verbatim text of previously published papers or manuscripts submitted elsewhere. COPE’s flowcharts and guidelines are approached in cases in which plagiarism is detected.
•     Data Fabrication/Falsification:
Falsification is the practice of omitting or altering research materials, data, or processes so that the results of the research are no longer accurately reflected. Fabrication is the practice of inventing data or results and reporting them in the research. Both of these misconducts are fraudulent and seriously alter the integrity of research. Therefore, articles must be written based on original data and use of falsified or fabricated data is strongly prohibited. COPE’s flowcharts and guidelines are approached in cases in which any of these two misconducts is detected. Researchers who perform randomized controlled or clinical trials (RCTs) are advised to keep their original data at hand. The Journal keeps the right to ask for raw data even after publication.
•     Redundant Publication:
The journal complies with the COPE flowcharts in case of any redundant publications (Suspected redundant publication in a submitted manuscript or in a published manuscript).

•     Image Manipulation:
The IJOS encourages authors to send their original images. All digital images in manuscripts accepted for publication will be checked for inappropriate manipulation. No specific feature within an image may be enhanced, obscured, moved, removed, or introduced. Adjustments of brightness, contrast, or color balance are acceptable as long as they are applied to the entire image and do not misrepresent any information present in the original, including the background. The editors will request the original data from the authors to compare the manipulated figures in cases suspected of inappropriate manipulation.
 
•    Copyright:
If a manuscript contains any previous published image or text, it is the responsibility of the author to obtain authorization from copyright holders. The author is required to obtain and submit the written original permission letters for all copyrighted material used in his/her manuscripts.
 
Retraction Policy:
The IJOS uses the COPE flowchart for retraction of a published article to determine whether a published article should be retracted.
Requirements for Different Types of Articles
Original articles: Should contain a structured abstract, 3-5 keywords, introduction, materials (patients) and methods, results, discussion, conclusion, acknowledgement (if applicable), and references sections, and maximum 4 tables and 4 figures. The length should not exceed 3500 words excluding the references, abstract, figures and tables. 15-40 references should be stated for original articles.
Clinical trials: The format is similar to original articles. However the CONSORT flow diagram should be added as a figure. RCTs should be registered at any RCT registeries approved by the WHO and their registration number should be mentioned in the title page. RCTs done in Iran must be registered at www.irct.ir.
Brief reports: Should contain a non-structured abstract, 3-5 keywords, introduction, materials (patients) and methods, results, discussion, conclusion, acknowledgement (if applicable), and references sections, and maximum 2 tables and figures. However, the word count should not exceed 2000 words. 10-15 references should be stated.
Case reports: Should contain a non-structured abstract, 3-5 keywords, introduction, case presentation, discussion, conclusion, acknowledgement (if applicable), and references sections, and maximum 1 table and maximum 3 figures. 5-10 references should be stated. Case reports should optimally be accompanied by relevant figures to document findings. Informed consent should be obtained from patients to report their cases. This Journal keeps the right to ask for the original signed informed consents.
Review articles:
-Narrative reviews- Should contain at least 60 references. Abstract should be non-structured. The word count should not exceed 4500 words. Narrative reviews should critically assess the current knowledge of the field.
-Systematic reviews- Systematic reviews of RCTs or Observational Studies will be accepted by the Journal. The protocol of the study should adhere to PRISMA or MOOSE guidelines for systematic reviews of RCTs or Observational Studies, respectively. Up to 40 references can be stated. Abstracts should be structured.
Letters to the Editor: Letters should be less than 750 words. Letters discussing articles published in the IJOS should be submitted at most within 6 months after the publication of the main article. Letter will undergo peer review and will be edited for clarity. Up to 5 references should be stated.
Photoclinics: Figures that contain a significant medical point can also be accepted. Photoclinics should contain one or two high quality figures and a description of the figures no more than 500 words. Up to 5 references should be stated.
Paper Preparations:
 
Cover letter should contain the rational of performing the research and selecting the IJOS as well as a statement that you will not resubmit your article to another journal until the reviewing process will be completed. Also please indicate whether the authors have published or submitted any related papers from the same study.
 
Title Page of the article should include 1) the title of the article; 2) authors’ names; 3) name of the institution where the work was done; 4) running title (short form of the main title presented on the top of published pages); and 5) complete mailing address, telephone/fax numbers, and email address of the corresponding author. This page is not numbered.
 
What's Known and What's New boxes should contain at most 50 words stating the current knowledge on the topic of your article according to previous studies (what’s known), and the novel points/results that your article adds to the literature (what’s new).
 
Abstract should be structured for original articles providing the background/objective of the study, methods, results, and conclusion. It should not exceed 250 words altogether. Number this page as page 1.
Abstracts of other types of contributions should be non-structured providing the essential information.
When abstracting a review article a concise summary of the salient points should be addressed.
Preferably, abbreviations should not be mentioned in the abstract.
Keywords are used for indexing purposes; each article should provide three to five keywords selected from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/.
 
Introduction should contain a short background of previous studies and possible gaps in the literature and specify the purpose and objective of the study or observation.
 
Methods section must indicate clearly the steps taken to acquire the data. Be sure that it includes only information that was available at the time the plan or protocol for the study was written. It should be detailed (including: controls, inclusion and exclusion criteria, etc) and may be separated into subsections. Repeating the details of standard techniques is best avoided.
For reports of randomized controlled trials, authors should refer to the CONSORT statement (http://www.consort-statement .org/). RCTs should be registered at any RCT registeries approved by the WHO and their registration number should be mentioned in the title page. RCTs done in Iran must be registered at www.irct.ir.
Reporting guidelines such as STROBE, STARD, and PRISMA would help report high quality research and to provide all required information and evidence for related methodology. EQUATOR Network website would help you in using these guidelines.
 The software used for statistical analyses and description of the actual method should be mentioned.
 
Results should be presented in chronological sequence in the text, table, and illustration. Organize the results according to their importance. They should be based on your own findings.
 
Tables and illustrations must be cited in order which they appear in the text using Arabic numerals. Tables should be simple and should not duplicate information in the text of the paper. Figures should be provided only if they add further information. For radiographic films, scans, and other diagnostic images, as well as pictures of pathology specimens or photomicrographs, send high resolution figures in JPEG or Bitmap format. Type legends for illustrations on a separate page, and explain the internal scale and identify the method of staining in photomicrographs. Arrows should be placed for specific sections of pathology figures and radiographs.
 
Discussion should challenge the findings of the study with other available evidence in the form of arguments and counterarguments. It should also emphasize the new and important aspects of the study and the conclusions that follow them. Possible mechanisms or explanations for these findings should be explored. The limitations of the study and the implications of the findings for future research or clinical practice should be explored.
 
Conclusion should state the final result and recommendations that the author(s) has (have) reached. Such results and recommendations should be derived from the existed study and the results of other studies should not be stated in this section.
 
Supplementary Materials such as movie clips, questionnaires, etc., may be published on the online version of the journal.
 
Any technical, general, financial, and material support or contributions that need acknowledging but do not justify authorship, can be cited at the end of the text as Acknowledgments.
 
References should be complied numerically according to the order of citation in the text in Vancouver style. The numbers of references should preferably not exceed 40 for original articles, 15 for brief, and 10 for case reports.
For the references credited to more than 6 authors please provide the name of the first six authors and represent the remaining authors by the phrase “et al.”
For various references please refer to “the NLM style guide for authors, editors, and publishers”. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7256/)
Listed below are sample references.
 
Journal Article:
• Gaydess A, Duysen E, Li Y, Gilman V, Kabanov A, Lockridge O, et al. Visualization of exogenous delivery of nanoformulated butyrylcholinesterase to the central nervous system. Chem Biol Interact. 2010;187:295-8. doi: 10.1016/j.cbi.2010.01.005. PubMed PMID: 20060815; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2998607.
•     Javan S, Tabesh M. Action of carbon dioxide on pulmonary vasoconstriction. J Appl Physiol. In press 2005
 
Complete Book:
• Guyton AC: Textbook of Medical Physiology. 8th ed. Philadelphia, PA, Saunders, 1996.
 
Chapter in Book:
• Young VR. The role of skeletal muscle in the regulation of protein metabolism. In Munro HN, editor: Mammalian protein metabolism. Vol 4. San Diego; Academic; 1970. p. 585-674.
 
Language and Style:
Contributions should be in either American or British English. The text must be clear and concise, conforming to accepted standards of English style and usage. Non-native English speakers are advised to seek professional help with the language. However the Journal is ready to collaborate to translate accepted Persian articles to English for a limited time.
All materials should be double-spaced and pages should be numbered. Abbreviations should be standard and used just in necessary cases, after complete explanations in the first usage. The editorial office reserves the right to edit the submitted manuscripts in order to comply with the journal’s style. In any case, the authors are responsible for the published material.
 
Correction of Errata:
Post-publication discussions and corrections are welcome. The journal will follow the COPE guidelines in case of any concerns arisen in this regards. The journal will publish an erratum when a factual error in a published item has been documented.
 
For further information please contact the Editorial Office:
Address: 94, 1st Floor, Keshavarz Blvd., Tehran, 14166, Iran
Tel: +98 21 88966583– +98 21 88983609
Fax: +98 21 88983610
Email: ijosjournal@yahoo.com, anjoman@iranoa.org