Instructions for Authors
ePublications of Emerging Medical Research Scholars (eMRS) Publication Guidelines*
- A. Authors’ Checklist
- B. Text Formatting
- C. Manuscript Categories
- D. Manuscript Structure
- E. Manuscript Submission
- F. Copyright and Author Rights
- G. Privacy Statement
- H. General Terms and Conditions of Use
A. Authors’ Checklist
All publications must adhere with the following requirements. Failure to do so may lead to returning the manuscript without faculty review:
- The manuscript has not been previously published in its current form. If published in an open access journal, eMRS can provide a link to the published version.
- For all the submitted texts, figures, and tables, the author either holds the copyright or have received permissions for using them in an open access publication.
- The first author must be a mentored student or trainee in good standing at the University of Kentucky. An eMRS author agreement must be signed by both the student/trainee and the faculty mentor.
- The manuscript must be read and approved by all the authors.
- The name, address, email, and telephone number of the corresponding author must be included on the title page.
- Each contributing author must complete the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) “Disclosure Form”. A PDF file can be downloaded from: http://www.icmje.org/coi_disclosure.pdf
- IRB approval must be clearly indicated and HIPAA regulations must be strictly followed.
- All research procedures must be carried out in accordance with Helsinki ethical guidelines.
- Authors must download, complete, sign, and submit with the manuscript the author agreement.
B. Text Formatting
Software: Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx)
Font: Calibri at 11 or 12 point with double spacing
Page layout: Pages should conform to 8.5 x 11 inches with 1-inch margins on all sides. Text should be left justified. New paragraphs should indent with the first line. Authors should number all of the pages of the manuscript consecutively, beginning with the title page. The last name of the first author followed by et al should appear in the header.
The manuscript should be organized as follows:
- Body of the manuscript text
- References
- Tables
- Figures
Bookmarking enables the reader to easily navigate the electronic copy, and is required. Guidance for this process is available in the software itself and in many online tutorials. Authors must ensure that bookmarks remain functional after conversion to the PDF format.
C. Manuscript Categories
1. Original Research: These are investigator-initiated research projects. A wide range of research is acceptable including basic science, clinical and translational research. The work should provide important information in the field and contribute new data to the body of literature. The manuscript should detail the hypothesis, background and significance, methods, results, discussion, and implications for clinical practice.
Manuscript limits:
- Total Length: 3,000-4,000 words (excluding abstract, illustrations, and references)
- Abstract Length: 250-300 words
- Table/Figure Limits: up to 8 tables and figures
- References: up to 100 references
2. Case Studies: A detailed description of more than 1 case of patients with similar clinical condition. The manuscript should include a thorough review of the relevant literature.
Manuscript limits:
- Total Length: up to 1,000 words (excluding abstract, illustrations, and references)
- Abstract Length: up to 150 words
- Table/Figure Limits: up to 3 tables and figures
- Bulleted Learning Points: minimum of 3 required, maximum of 6
- References: up to 15 references
3. Brief Technical Reports: Brief reports of a new or innovative methods or technique utilized in research.
Manuscript limits:
- Total Length: up to 1,500 words (excluding abstract, illustrations, and references)
- Abstract Length: up to 150 words
- Table/Figure Limits: up to 3 tables and figures
- References: up to 40 references
4. Reviews: A concise report of the scientific literature on a given topic in order to summarize current knowledge of the topic. The review should provide a detailed description of previous work, current guidelines or knowledge, the most recent research findings, and implications for practice. Reviews can be systematic/meta-analyses, or narrative reviews.
Manuscript limits:
- Total Length: 3,000-4,000 words (excluding abstract, illustrations, and references)
- Abstract Length: 250-300 words
- Table/Figure Limits: up to 8 tables/figures
- References: up to 100 references
5. Reflections/Editorials: Reflections or editorials are articles written about a particular topic in medicine or science that has had a profound impact, is controversial, or is an emerging new concept or approach to medical science and care. They are intended to introduce a fresh perspective that generates thought and dialogue and contributes to sustaining the relevance of medicine and medical scholarship to current issues. Reflections are relatively unstructured but should clearly indicate the topic or thesis being addressed, its significance, and supporting background information; present a cogent argument for the author’s position; and identify implications and recommendations for change or action. In addition, artistic pieces may be submitted under this type of article such as original poetry or short stories.
Manuscript limits:
- Total Length: up to 1,500 words (excluding abstract, illustrations, and references)
- Abstract Length: up to 150 words
- Table/Figure Limits: up to 3 tables and figures
- References: up to 30 references
D. Manuscript Structure
1. Title Page
The title page should include:
- Article Title (concise and limited to 100 characters)
- Author Names (John D. Doe B.S.1*, Jane M. Doe M.S.2, etc.)
- Institutional and Departmental Affiliations of all authors in the order of appearance in author names (1 Dept. of Internal Medicine; College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Bowling Green Campus, KY USA.) 2 , etc.
- Contact information for corresponding author(s) including address, email, phone, and fax. The corresponding author should indicate clearly whether his or her e-mail address can be published. Corresponding author(s) is indicated with asterisk by name in author listing; the emerging scholar should be the corresponding author.
- Key Phrases: Relevant words or short phrases that aid search engines or indexes in finding your work. Use maximum 6 key phrases that are not present in the title. Maximum of 6.
- Disclaimers
- Word Count: Abstract and Body (excluding abstract, illustrations, and references)
- Table and Figure Count
- Source(s) of support in the form of grants, equipment or drugs
- Conflict of Interest Statement
2. Abstract
Abstracts must accurately reflect the content of the article. They should include:
- context or background for the study
- purpose, basic procedures, main findings, and principal conclusions
- Emphasis on new and important aspects of the study or observations
3. Illustrations (Figures and Tables)
The number of tables and figures should be listed consecutively in the order of their first citation in the text. A brief title for each, followed by a caption that describes the illustration, its components, and any pertinent information needed to interpret it. All letters, numbers, and symbols should be clear and consistent throughout the manuscript. All graphs must have labeled axes and units. Measurements of length, height, weight, and volume should be reported in metric units (meters, kilograms, or liters); if information is better conveyed using U.S. standards of measurement, such as height or weight of a patient, those should be in parentheses in addition to metric measurements. Illustrations that are currently copyrighted are not allowed to be published unless express written permission from the copyright holder has been given. The authors are responsible to obtain the permission and provide a copy to eMRS.
4. Reference Style and Format
- References should be listed consecutively in the order that they appear in the manuscript.
- References used throughout the manuscript should be identified by a superscript number.
- References with 6 or less authors/editors: list all names. References with more than 6 authors: list first 3 authors/editors followed by "et al."
- Digital object identifiers (DOIs) should be included if available for citations.
- Author(s). Title of journal article. Journal Name. Month Year; Volume (Issue): Inclusive page numbers. http://dx.doi.org/XXX.XXX.
- Author(s). Book Title. Edition. Location published: Publisher; Year published.
- Author(s). Chapter title. Book Title. Edition. Location published: Publisher; Year published:Inclusive pages.
- Author(s), Name of article [abstract]. Journal name. Year; Volume (Issue): Inclusive pages.
- Author(s). Post Title. Blog Title. Date of Publication; Available from: url. Accessed Date Month, Year.
- Author(s). Website page title. Website Title. Date Month, Year created (or last updated); Available from: url. Accessed Date Month, Year.
- Name and location of manufacturer
- Author(s). Title of Abstract/Poster/Presentation. Conference Name. Date of Meeting. City, State.
- Author(s). Title of Article. Newspaper. Month Date, Year; inclusive page numbers.
- Author or Username on Twitter. Full Tweet. URL of the post (expand and click details). Posted Month Date, Year.
- Author. Title of Image. Month Date, Year Published/Created; Available from: url. Accessed Month Date, Year]. License.
5. Informed Consent and Human/Animal Rights
Authors that use direct patient data, images, or information are required to obtain informed consent from the patients being studied unless waiver of consent has been approved by the institution’s internal review board (IRB) or ethics committee. The authors must comply with the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Research with animal models should comply with regulations of the institution’s animal use requirements, the Animal Welfare Act and CDC Guidelines.
6. Conflict of Interest
The contents of eMRS are purely educational in nature, and no profits, payments, or benefits are given to the authors, reviewers, or editors. eMRS has no conflict of interest in submission, review, or publication of any manuscripts or art.
All authors and co-authors are required to submit a signed copy of the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest at the time of submission. These forms are stored on file for future reference. Conflicts of interest must also be stated specifically in the designated spot in the title page of the submission.
If there are conflicts of interest in a submission, they will be stated in the published manuscript.
E. Manuscript Submission
Completed manuscripts and author agreement should be e-mailed as an attachment to: eMRS@uky.edu . Please place "eMRS SUBMISSION" in the subject line to ensure your work is routed correctly.F. Copyright and Author Rights
eMRS provides open access to faculty-reviewed articles without charging authors a publication fee. Authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant to eMRS the worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free rights to publish, reproduce, distribute, license, display, transmit, archive, and preserve their articles.
Articles in eMRS are published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license to facilitate dissemination. Information about the license is available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Please refer to the author agreement for details about author rights.
In the event of posting or reusing an article published in eMRS, please acknowledge its first publication in eMRS by providing a complete citation of the article and its URL.
G. Privacy Statement
eMRS is committed to protecting privacy. Personal information entered in the eMRS editorial management system will be used exclusively for publishing purposes. No personal information will be leased or sold. Except for internal communication and communication with authors, submitted manuscripts remain confidential and will not be transmitted outside of eMRS.
H. General Terms and Conditions of Use
Users of the eMRS site and its editorial management system agree not to misuse the service or software in any way.
The failure of eMRS to exercise or enforce any right or provision in the policies or the Submission Agreement does not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any term of the Submission Agreement or these policies is found to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the Submission Agreement and these policies remain in full force and effect. These policies and the Submission Agreement constitute the entire agreement between eMRS and the author regarding submission of a manuscript.
* Adapted and modified from Michigan State University's Medical Student Research Journal General Guidelines.