ISSN 0256-9574 printed version

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

• Scope and policies
• Conflict of interest
• Form and preparation of manuscripts
• Manuscripts submission
• Manuscript preparation

The SAMJ is a monthly peer reviewed, internationally indexed, general medical journal. It carries research articles and letters, editorials, clinical practice and other medical articles and personal opinion, South African health-related news, obituaries, general correspondence, and classified advertisements.

All named authors must give consent to publication. Authorship should be based only on substantial contribution to: (i) conception, design, analysis and interpretation of data; (ii) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; (iii) final approval of the version to be published. All three of these conditions must be met (Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals; www.icmje.org/index.html).

Authors must declare all sources of support for the research and any association with the product or subject that may constitute conflict of interest.

PROTECTION OF PATIENT'S RIGHTS TO PRIVACY

Identifying information should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives informed written consent for publication. Informed consent for this purpose requires that the patient be shown the manuscript to be published. (www.icmje.org)

ETHNIC CLASSIFICATION

Work that is based on or contains reference to ethnic classification must indicate the rationale for this.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

Peer Review Process

Original articles are first reviewed by an Editorial Advisory Group who can recommend rejection or referral for review by one or more subject referees. Manuscripts from review may be accepted, returned to author for revision or rejected. All final decisions on a manuscript are at the editors discretion.

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. 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. The submission file is in Microsoft Word or RTF document file format.
3. When available, the URLs to access references online are provided, including those for open access versions of the reference. The URLs are ready to click (e.g., http://pkp.sfu.ca).
4. The text is single-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses). Figures consist of all material that cannot be set in type, such as photographs and line drawings. If any tables or illustrations submitted have been published elsewhere, the author should obtain written consent to republication from the copyright holder and the author(s). All illustrations, figures etc. must be of high resolution/quality, preferably jpeg or equivalent but not powerpoint, and preferably attached as supplementary files.
5. The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines, which is found in About the Journal.

Author Guidelines

COPYRIGHT

Material submitted for publication in the South African Medical Journal (SAMJ) is accepted provided it has not been published elsewhere. The SAMJ reserves copyright of the material published.

The SAMJ does not hold itself responsible for statements made by the authors.

MANUSCRIPTS

Short items are more likely to appeal to our readers and therefore to be accepted for publication.

Original articles of 3 000 words or less, with up to 6 tables or illustrations, should normally report observations or research of relevance to clinical medicine. References should preferably be limited to no more than 15.

Short reports or scientific letters, which include case reports (the SAMJ is rarely able to publish case reports), side effects of drugs and brief or negative research findings should be 1000 words or less, with 1 table or illustration and no more than 6 references.

Editorials, Opinions, Issues in Medicine, etc. should be about 800 words and are welcome, but unless invited, will be subjected to the SAMJ peer review process.

Review articles are rarely accepted unless invited.

Letters to the editor, if intended for the correspondence column should be no longer than 400 words with only one illustration or table.

Obituaries should not exceed 400 words and may be accompanied by a photograph.

Research articles should have a structured abstract not exceeding 250 words (50 for short reports) comprising: Objectives, Design, Setting, Subjects, Outcome measures, Results and Conclusions.
Refer to articles in recent issues for guidance on the presentation of headings and subheadings.
Abbreviations should be spelt out when first used in the text and thereafter used consistently.
Scientific measurements should be expressed in SI units except: blood pressure should be given in mmHg and haemoglobin values in g/dl.
If in doubt, refer to 'uniform requirements' above.

ILLUSTRATIONS
Figures consist of all material that cannot be set in type, such as photographs and line drawings. If any tables or illustrations submitted have been published elsewhere, the author should obtain written consent to republication from the copyright holder and the author(s). All illustrations, figures etc. must be of high resolution/quality, preferably jpeg or equivalent but not powerpoint, and preferably attached as supplementary files.

REFERENCES
References should be inserted in the text as superior numbers and should be listed at the end of the article in numerical and not in alphabetical order.

Authors are responsible for verification of references from the original sources.

References should be set out in the Vancouver style and approved abbreviations of journal titles used; consult the List of Journals in Index Medicus for these details.

Names and initials of all authors should be given unless there are more than six, in which case the first three names should be given followed by et al. First and last page numbers should be given.

Journal references should appear thus:

Price NC . Importance of asking about glaucoma. BMJ 1983; 286: 349-350.
Book references should be set out as follows:

Jeffcoate N. Principles of Gynaecology. 4th ed. London: Butterworth, 1975: 96-101.
Weinstein L, Swartz MN. Pathogenic properties of invading microorganisms. In: Sodeman WA jun, Sodeman WA, eds. Pathologic Physiology: Mechanisms of Disease. Philadelphia: WB Saunders, 1974: 457-472.
Manuscripts accepted but not yet published can be included as references followed by (in press).

Unpublished observations and personal communications may be cited in the text, but not in the reference list

PROOFS
Proofs will be forwarded to the author before publication and if not returned within 2 weeks will be regarded as approved. Alterations at this stage are costly and may be charged to the authors.

CHANGES OF ADDRESS
Please notify the Editorial Department of any address changes so that proofs etc. may be sent without delay.

CPD POINTS
Authors can earn up to 15 CPD points for published articles. Certificates may be requested after publication of the article.