Manuscript Preparation Guidelines
If you wish to have a pdf version of the manuscript preparation guidelines, and a sample chapter prepared as per the style guide, contact us with the title of the book as the subject line along with your full institutional affiliation.
It is the responsibility of the authors to ensure manuscripts are written in grammatically and scientifically correct English. Manuscripts that do not meet language standards will be returned to the authors.
Manuscripts should be submitted online following the “Submit” link. All authors are required to register on our site. Please note that we cannot submit the manuscript on your behalf. If you encounter any issues during submission, please take a screenshot of the issue you have encountered and email us for assistance.
OVERVIEW
File format
Microsoft Word - justified.
Length
Words: 7000 - including abstract, figure legends and references.
Figures: 4 - all can be in color and multi-panel.
Tables: 2, each not exceeding a single page.
Additional cost will apply if a manuscript exceeds the limit.
Language
Grammatically and scientifically correct English.
Font
Times Roman size 12.
Line spacing
Double.
Do not number lines.
Overall margin
2 cm (0.787 inches).
Heading
Only two levels of heading.
Primary heading capitalized and bold.
Secondary heading normal and bold.
Do not write a secondary heading immediately below the primary heading without any content between them.
Abbreviations
Keep abbreviations to a minimum.
Do not use abbreviations unless they appear at least five times in the text.
Define abbreviations upon first appearance in the text.
Units
SI.
ORGANIZATION
Please organize the chapter in the following order.
Title of the article
A concise title conveying the core message of the chapter.
Avoid abbreviations in the title.
Authors
List full name of all authors.
First name, last name format.
Each author separated by comma.
No ‘and’ before the last author.
Affiliations of all authors including country.
Each affiliation separated by semi-colon.
Author for correspondence
Include the full name.
Primary affiliation including country.
Email.
Abstract
Single paragraph.
No references or subheadings.
Between 150 and 200 words.
Keywords
Five.
In alphabetical order.
Each separated by semi-colon.
Running Titte
No more than 50 characters excluding space.
Introduction
Use the word “Introduction”.
Do not use any other words or sentences.
Do not include a subheading immediately below “Introduction”.
Should be referenced.
Contents
Write the contents under various headings as appropriate.
Should be referenced.
Only two levels of headings.
Primary heading capitalized and bold.
Secondary heading normal and bold.
Do not write a secondary heading immediately below the primary heading without any content between them.
Conclusion
A conclusion section under the heading ‘Conclusion’ is mandatory.
Do not use any other words, for example ‘Conclusions’ or ‘Concluding remarks’.
Acknowledgment
Optional section (if none, exclude this section).
Acknowledge your colleagues if relevant.
Acknowledging sources of funding is mandatory.
Sources of funding should be acknowledged here, not separately.
Conflict of interest
Mandatory.
List any conflict of interest. See here for more information.
If there are no conflicts of interest, then please copy and paste the following:
The authors declare no potential conflict of interest with respect to research, authorship and/or publication of this chapter.
Copyright and permission statement
Mandatory.
Please copy and paste the following statement:
The authors confirm that the materials included in this chapter do not violate copyright laws. Where relevant, appropriate permissions have been obtained from the original copyright holder(s), and all original sources have been appropriately acknowledged or referenced.
References
Vancouver style.
Cited in numerical order in parentheses (), not as superscript or in [ ], as first cited in the text.
Listed in the same numerical order at the end of the manuscript.
The best way to ensure accuracy is to download from PubMed.
Examples are given below (adapted from Monash University).
For journal articles with 1-6 authors, list all authors
Format: Author AA, Author BB, Author CC, Author DD. Title of article. Abbreviated title of journal. Date of publication YYYY Mon DD;volume number(issue number):page numbers.
Example: Courthod G, Tucci M, Di Maio M, Scagliotti GV. Papillary renal cell carcinoma: A review of the current therapeutic landscape. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2015;96(1):100-12.
For journal articles with more than 6 authors, add et al. after the sixth author
Format: Author AA, Author BB, Author CC, Author DD, Author EE, Author FF, et al. Title of article. Abbreviated title of journal. Date of publication YYYY Mon DD;volume number(issue number):page numbers.
Example: Alves MR, Carneiro FC, Lavorato-Rocha AM, da Costa WH, da Cunha IW, de Cássio Zequi S, et al. Mutational status of VHL gene and its clinical importance in renal clear cell carcinoma. Virchows Arch. 2014;465(3):321- 30.
Book
Format: Author AA. Title of book. # edition [if not first]. Place of Publication: Publisher; Year of publication. Pagination.
Example: Carlson BM. Human embryology and developmental biology. 4th ed. St. Louis: Mosby; 2009. 541 p.
Chapter in a book
Format: Author AA, Author BB. Title of book. # edition. Place of Publication: Publisher; Year of publication. Chapter number, Chapter title; p. [page numbers of chapter].
Example: Speroff L, Fritz MA. Clinical gynecologic endocrinology and infertility. 7th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; c2005. Chapter 29, Endometriosis; p. 1103-33.
Edited Book
Format: Editor AA, Editor BB, editors. Title of book. # edition[if not first]. Place of Publication: Publisher; Year. Pagination.
Example: O'Campo P, Dunn JR, editors. Rethinking social epidemiology: towards a science of change. Dordrecht: Springer; 2012. 348 p.
Chapter in an edited book
Format: Author AA, Author BB. Title of chapter. In: Editor AA, Editor BB, editors. Title of book. # edition. Place of Publication: Publisher; Year of publication. p. [page numbers of chapter].
Example: Blaxter PS, Farnsworth TP. Social health and class inequalities. In: Carter C, Peel JR, editors. Equalities and inequalities in health. 2nd ed. London: Academic Press; 1976. p. 165-78.
Figures
Figures inserted immediately after the references.
Each figure identified in the text as Figure 1, Figure 2 etc. (not Fig.1, Fig. 2).
Figure referenced in the text in sequential order.
Multi-panel figures should be made into one figure.
For example, Figure 1A, 1B and 1C should be made into a single multi-panel Figure 1 not three separate figures.
Multi-panel figures labeled in Caps – Figure 1 A, 1 B, IC not Figure 1a, 1b, 1c.
Figure legends given immediately below the figure.
Figure legend should be stand-alone.
Abbreviations used in figures expanded at the end of the legend in alphabetical order, each separated by semi-colon.
High resolution TIFF images (min 300 dpi) uploaded separately during submission.
Tables
Tables inserted immediately after the references or the figures, if relevant.
Created with the 'insert table' function of Microsoft Word.
A table should not exceed a single page.
Page margins: 3.5 cm (1.37 inches) at the top and bottom, and 2 cm (0.75 inches) at left and right.
Can be portrait or landscape.
Tables inserted immediately after the paragraph in which the table is first cited.
Each table identified in the text as Table 1 or Table 2.
Identified in sequential order.
Each table has a title.
Any relevant explanation given below the table.