INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS (2006)

In   Issue INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS (2006)

Manuscript Categories

The Journal  publishes  manuscripts as research articles. reviews. post-deployment  repo11s. book reviews and letters to the Editor. Reviews. reports and research articles should  be between 500 and 5000 words in length. Letters to the Editor should not exceed 500 words or I0 references. The Editor may consider any contributions outside  these limits.

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 PDF (prcfeiTed) or Word documents with all tables and figures included in the file. After acceptance  for publication. a Word version of the revised manuscript  will be required. All manuscript submissions should include:

  • a submittal letter with a list of at least two reviewers;
  • e-mail. fax. phone, and postal address; and
  • electronic copies of a n y related papers submitted for publication or in press ( if needed for review);
  • the manuscript in PDF or Word format. Articles should be submitted  to:

secretariat @amma.asn.au or

Editor-in-Chief
AMMA Joumal
227 Collins Street
Hobart Tas 7000

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 declination. rests wit h 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 w i ll generally be honoured  by the Editor handling the manuscript. unless  the Editor feels this individual’s  opinion. in con junction  with the opinions of other reviewers. is v ital 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.  Papers  reporting clinical studies should, where appropriate, contain a statement that they have been canied 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 conclusions 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 ru1icle 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 with ru1icles 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 ADF.

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 t he 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 em. 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. Col our pictures may be published for exceptional  reasons, on application to the Editor.

All graphics must be crea ted in digital format and included  at their appropriate  locations in the manuscript word-processor text file close to t he 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 t he Journal page. For efficient use of Journal  space, single column graphics are preferred.

table can be found in the full download of this edition 

For best results, submit graph ics 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 Aria! 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 art work 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 should have the following minimum resolution:

Black and white line art 1200 dpi

Grayscale art 600 dpi

Colour art 300 dpi

 

Please specify the URL of your file

References

References should be in accordance w ith the "Vancouver" system (see MJA 1991 ; 155: 197-202,  or www.mja.eom.au/public/information / uniform.html). References in the text should be numbered  consecutively as they are cited and should appear  as superscript numbers (e.g. textl.2). References  are collated  at the end of t he article. Annotation of the references should  accord with the abbreviations  used in Index Medicus. Where there are seven or more authors, list only  the first three then use et al. Authors are responsibl e for reference accuracy. An example  of the reference system is as follows:
  1. Quail G. Asthma in t he military. Aust Mil Med 2000; 9(3):1 29-137.
  2. Bowden M. Black Hawk Down. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press;  1999.
CmTection of galley proofs is the responsibility of the submitting  author. Authors are offered the option of receiving galley proofs in hardcopy. Correctio17s other than printers errors should be avoided because they may cause a delay in publication. Substantive changes will require editorial approval. Corrections exceeding one sentence and insertions should be typed on a separate sheet of paper, and their intended location should be noted on the galley  proof. It is the responsibility of the submitting  author to ascertain that all co-authors  agree with the corrections before the proofs are returned. Galley proofs should be returned within 48 hours of receipt; otherwise, the publication of the manuscript may be delayed. Reprinting Reprinting of articles may be authorised by t he Editor. with the author 's consent, if an acknowledgment. quoting  both the Journal and t he original date of publication, is printed with the article.  

Acknowledgements

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