MANUSCRIPT CATEGORIES
The journal publishes manuscripts as research articles, reviews, post-deployment reports, book reviews and letters to the Editor. Reviews, reports and research articles should be between 500 and 2000 words in length. Letters to the Editor should not exceed 500 words or 10 references. The Editor may consider any contributions outside these limits, including specific category of interesting cases or case series demonstrating an aspect of Military Medicine.
SUBMISSION
The journal encourages all authors to submit their manuscripts electronically, but hardcopy submissions will be accepted. Authors may submit their articles for reviewing by either e-mail or through the post on either a floppy disk or CD. For reviewing purposes manuscripts should be provided as Acrobat .pdf files (preferred) or MS Word documents with all tables and figures included in the file. After acceptance for publication, a MS Word version of the revised manuscript will be required with Tables and Figures able to be formatted.
All manuscript submissions should include:
- a submittal letter with a list of at least two [suggested) reviewers and a list of individuals not suitable due to conflicting interests or previous review of the manuscript during preparation for submission;
- e-mail, fax, phone, and postal address; and
- electronic copies of any related papers submitted for publication or in press (if needed for review);
- the manuscript in PDF or Word format.
Articles should be submitted to:
- Editor-in-Chief
- AMMA Journal
- CP2-6-010
- Campbell Park Offices
- CANBERRA ACT 2600
PEER REVIEW
The Editor generally seeks the advice of experts about research and review articles; however, manuscripts considered by the Editors to be inappropriate for the journal may be declined without review. The recommendations of reviewers are advisory to the Editors, who accept full responsibility for decisions about manuscripts. Final responsibility for acceptance, or declaration, rests with the Editor.
Authors are required to provide in the cover letter at least two persons competent to review the manuscript. An author may request that a certain person not be used as a reviewer. The request will generally be honoured by the Editor handling the manuscript, unless the Editor feels this individual’s opinion, in conjunction with the opinions of other reviewers, is vital in the evaluation of the manuscript. Reviewer identities are confidential, and the names of reviewers will not be revealed to an author.
Reviewers are asked to evaluate manuscripts on the scientific value of the work, the level of interest to the broad and diverse readership, the appropriateness of the literature citations, and the clarity and conciseness of the writing.
ETHICS
Articles that contain the results of human and/or animal studies will be accepted for publication only if it is made clear that a high standard of ethics was applied in carrying out the investigations (must be reviewed and approved by NH&MRC compliant HREC). Papers reporting clinical studies must, where appropriate, contain a statement that they have been carried out with ethical committee approval. Papers disregarding the welfare of experimental animals will be rejected.
MANUSCRIPT REQUIREMENTS GENERAL
Considerations. Hardcopy manuscripts should be printed on one side only. All manuscripts should be double-spaced including text, references, tables, and legends. Number all pages sequentially starting with the title page and continue in the following order: abstract, text, experimental section, references, tables, figure legends and figures.
Manuscripts should be kept to a minimum length. The rationale and objectives of the research should be stated in the introductory sentences of the manuscript. The background material should be brief and relevant to the research described. Detailed or lengthy descriptions of routine experimental procedures should be avoided in the introductory and discussion sections. Authors should state their or the significance of their findings following the discussion of results. Conclusions should also be summarised in order to place the authors’ research in proper perspective.
Authors should write in clear, concise English. The responsibility for all aspects of manuscript preparation rests with the authors. Extensive changes or rewriting of the manuscript will not be undertaken by the editors.
The title page should include the article title; list of authors, including details of their full name, military rank, post-nominals, position and institutional address; and an abstract of the article (150-200 words). Contact details for the principal author, including postal address, e-mail address, telephone and fax numbers, should also be included.
Headings and sub-headings should be consistent throughout the article and conform articles previously published in the journal. No text, references, or legends to figures or tables, should be underlined.
Abbreviations mean different things to different readers. Abbreviations are only to be used after the complete expression and the abbreviation in brackets has appeared. For example, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) may then be referred to as the ADE.
Figures
All figures must be mentioned in the text consecutive order and must be numbered with Arabic numerals. Captions giving the figure number and a brief description, preferably only one or two sentences, must be included with each figure. The caption should be understandable without reference to the text. It is preferable to place any key to symbols used in the artwork itself, not in the caption. Ensure that symbols and abbreviations used in the text agree with those in the artwork.
Tables
Tables should be used when the data cannot be presented clearly narrative, when many numbers must be presented, or when more meaningful interrelationships can be conveyed by the tabular format. Tables should supplement, not duplicate, information presented in the text and figures. Tables should be simple concise.
Tables may be created using a word-processor’s mode or table format feature. The table format feature is preferred. Ensure that each data entry is in its own table cell. If the mode is used, separate columns with a single tab and use a feed (return) at the end of each row. Tables should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals and placed in the text near the point of first mention. Each must have a brief (one phrase or sentence) title that describes the contents. The title should be understandable without reference the text. Details should be put in footnotes, not in the body of the table.
Define non-standard abbreviations in footnotes. Table footnotes should be given letter designations and be cited in the table by italic superscript letters. The sequence of letters should proceed by line rather than by column. If a reference is cited the text and in a table, a lettered footnote which refers to the numbered reference in the text should be inserted in the table. In setting up tables, authors should keep in mind the journal’s column widths 8.25 or 24 cm and should make tables conform to the limitations of these dimensions.
Nomenclature
Registered trademark names should be capitalised whenever used. Trade and trivial names should not be capitalised. SI units are to be used for all articles. Any normal ranges should also be included.
ILLUSTRATIONS
General Considerations. All graphics in the journal will normally be black and white. Colour pictures may be published for exceptional reasons, on application to the Editor.
All graphics must be created in digital format and included at their appropriate locations in the manuscript word-processor text file close to the point of first mention. In general, graphics should be copied from the graphics program window and pasted directly into the manuscript text file at the correct size. The author should make sure that the graphic is at the appropriate resolution (see below) before copying and pasting. If the graphics need to be resized later, they should be resized in the graphics program and then pasted into the manuscript; the original should be removed. The author should not resize graphics after they are pasted in Word or WordPerfect. This is true regardless of the graphic formats: cdx, tif, eps, pdf, etc. The author should not use the “insert” function in Word to place the graphics.
Quality
The quality of the graphics in the Journal depends on the quality of the originals provided by the author. Figures cannot be modified or enhanced by the Journal production staff. The graphics files pasted into the manuscript word-processor file are used in the production of the Journal. Any flaws or non-uniform lines will be reproduced in the published article. Images produced from continuous-tone graphics such as photographs should have high contrast.
Size
Graphics must fit a one- or two-column format on the Journal page. For efficient use of journal space, single column graphics are preferred.
Single (preferred) – Double Width
Minimum 10.5 cm
Maximum 8.25 cm – 17.8 cm(7in.)
Maximum depth 24 cm – 24 cm (9.5in.)
For best results, submit graphics in the actual size at which they should appear in the printed edition. Original graphics which do not need to be reduced to fit a single or double column will yield the best quality. lettering should be no smaller than 4.5 points. Helvetica or Arial fonts work well for lettering. lines should be no thinner than 0.5 point. Lettering and lines should be of uniform density and the lines unbroken. If the submitted artwork must be reduced, larger lettering and thicker lines should be used so that, when reduced, the artwork meets the above-mentioned criteria.
Avoid using complex textures and shading to achieve a three-dimensional effect. Parallel or crosshatched lines should be used to fill enclosed areas with a pattern.
Resolution
Digital graphics pasted into manuscripts have the following minimum resolution:
Black and white line art 1200 dpi
Grayscale art 600 dpi
Colour art 300 dpi
REPRINTING
Reprinting of articles may be authorised by the Editor, with the author’s consent, if an acknowledgment, quoting both the Journal and the original date of publication, is printed with the article.
