Submissions

Author Guidelines

Bangladesh Armed Forces Medical Journal agrees to accept Manuscript prepared in accordance with the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals published in website of International Committee of Medical Journal Editor (ICMJE) (www. Icmje.org)

Condition for submission of manuscript:

• All manuscript is subject to peer-review.
• Manuscript is received with explicit understanding that they are not under simultaneous consideration by any other publication.
• Submission of a manuscript for publication implies transfer upon acceptance. Accepted manuscript become the permanent property of Bangladesh Armed Forces Medical Journal and shall not be reproduced by any means in whole or in part without the written consent of the authority.
• It is the authors responsibility to obtain permission to reproduce illustrations, tables etc. from other publications.
• The journal publishes identification of authors including email addresses of authors.

Ethical aspects:

• Ethical aspect of the study will be very carefully considered at the time of assessment of the manuscript.
• Any manuscript that includes any table, illustration or photographs that have been published earlier should accompany a letter of permission for republication from the author(s) of the publication and editor/publisher of the journal where it was published earlier.
• Permission of the patients and/or their families of reproduce photography of the patients where identity is not disguised should be sent with the manuscript. Otherwise the identity will be blackened out.

Preparation of manuscript: Criteria

Informations provided in the manuscript are important and likely to be of interest to an international readership. 

Preparation:

1. Manuscript should be written in English typed on one side of A4 (290x210cm) size white bond paper.
2. Typing font should be Times New Roman of 12 size with double spacing should be used throughout the article except abstract which should be in Arial font.
3. Margin should be 2.5 cm in all side.
4. For referencing modified Vancouver style should be followed.
5. Each of the following section should begin on separate page:

• Title page
• Abstract
• Text
• Acknowledgement
• References
• Tables and legends

6. Pages should be numbered consecutively at upper right hand corner of each page beginning with the title page. 

Title page:

The title page should contain:

• Title of the article (should be concise, informative and self-explanatory).
• Name of the each author with highest academic degree which are recognized by BM&DC
• Institutional affiliation of each author
• Name of the department and institute where the work was carried out
• Corresponding author’s name, designation, address, personal cell phone number and e-mail address 

Abstract:

Structured abstracts are compulsory for original research and systematic reviews. The abstract should provide following under separate headings:

• Background: abstract should provide background for the study and should state the study’s purpose.
• Methods: selection of study subjects or laboratory animals, observational and analytical methods.
• Results: giving specific effect sizes and their statistical significance, if possible and funding sources.
• Keywords: minimum 3 appropriate and short keywords are mandatory.

Abstract should emphasize mainly on new and important aspects of the study, preferably within 250-300 words and shall contain only approved abbreviations. For case report and short communication it should not exceed 150 words.

Size of the article/Text:

The size for review article should be less than 3000 words excluding the abstracts, tables, illustrations, references and acknowledgement. For original article or leading article it should be limited to less than 2000 words. For case report the upper limit should be 1000 words. For short communication it should not exceed 600 words.

Introduction:

The introduction will acquaint the readers with the problem and it should include:

• Name and purpose of the study.
• Rationale of the study/observation.
• Strictly pertinent references.
• Brief review of the topic except data or conclusions from the work being reported.

Methods:

This section of the study should be very clear and describe:

• The Selection criteria of the study population including controls (if any).
• The methods and the materials used in the research.
• The procedure of the study in such a detail so that other worker can reproduce the results.
• Previously published methods (if applicable) with appropriate citations.
• Enough details of statistical method to enable a knowledgeable reader with access to the original data to verify the reported results. 

Results:

The findings of the research study should be described here and it should be:

• Presented in logical sequence in the text, tables and illustrations.
• Described without comment.
• Supplemented by concise textual description of the data presented in the tables, illustration where it is necessary.

Tables:

During preparation of tables following principles should be followed:

• Table should be simple, self-explanatory and should supplement, not duplicate the text.
• Each table should have title, foot note and typed in double space in separate sheet.
• They should be numbered consecutively with roman numerical in order of text.
• If abbreviations are to be used, they should be explained if footnotes.

Illustrations:

Only those illustrations that clarify and increase understanding of the text should be used and:

• All illustrations must be numbered and cited in the text.
• Printed photograph of each illustration should be submitted.
• Figure number, title of manuscript, name of corresponding author and arrow indicating the top should be typed on a sticky label and affixed on the back of each illustration.
• Original drawing, graphs, charts and lettering should be prepared on an illustration board or high-grade white drawing paper by an experienced medical illustrator.

The figures and photographs:

• Should be used only where data can not be expressed in any other form.
• Should be unmounted glossy print in sharp focus, 12.7x17.3 cms in size. 

Legend:

• Must be typed in a separate sheet of paper.
• Photomicrographs should indicate the magnification, internal scale and the method of staining. 

Units:

• All scientific units should be expressed in system International (SI) units.
• All drugs should be mentioned in their generic form. The commercial name may however be used within brackets.

Discussion:

The discussion section should reflect:

• The authors’ own comment on the results and to relate them to those of other authors.
• The relevance to experimental research or clinical practice.
• Well founded arguments.
• New and important aspects of the study and conclusion that follow from them.
• Avoidance of repetition of detail data or other material given in the introduction or result section.

Acknowledgements:

 Individuals, organizations or bodies may be acknowledged in the article and may include:

• Name (or a list) of funding bodies.
• Name of the organization(s) and individual(s) with their consent. 

References: References are to be numbered consecutively in the order in which they appear in the text. The forms of the references should be as per examples below:

References from Journal:  References should be written according to the following sequence e.g. author(s) name, subject, name of journal with year of publication; volume number: page number. If there are six authors or less, names of all the authors should be written. When there are seven authors or more the first three names will be listed and then word “et al” to be added.

Example: Calne L, Swells JD, Somford RD et al. Further observation on renal transplantation in man from cadaveric donors. BMJ 1966; 218: 1345-51.

References from books and monograph:  In case of personal author(s) reference should be written in the following sequence: author(s) name, name of the book, number of edition, place by publication, name of the publisher, year of publication, pages.

Example: Rhoder AJ. Text Book of Virology. 5^th ed. Baltimore: Wilkins; 1968. p. 469-475.

In case of reference from books edited by one and chapter written by some one; the reference should be written in the following sequence :  name of author(s), name of chapter, name of editor, name of book, place of publication, name of publisher, year of publication, pages.

Example: Insel PA. Analgesics antipyretics and anti- inflammatory agents. In: Gilman AG, Rall TW, Nies AS, Tailor P, editors. The Pharmacological  Basis of Therapeutic. Singapore: Pergamon Press; 1991. p. 638-61.

Reference from dissertation or thesis:  The reference should be made in the following sequence: name of author(s), subject, place of publication, name of institute, year of study, pages.

Example: Taleb NA. Bacteriological study of diarrhoea in Bangladesh (Thesis). Dhaka: IPGM&R; 1990: 65-90.

Reference of articles of magazines:  The reference should be made in the following sequence : name of authors(s), name of the subject, name of the magazine, year and date, pages.

Example: Touche B. Annals of Medicine: The Santa claus culture. The New York 1991 Sep 4: 66-81.

References from website:  Author Surname Initials (if available). Title of Website [Internet]. Place of publication (if available): Publisher (if available); Date of First Publication-year month day (supply year if month and day not available) [updated year month day; cited year month day]. Available from: web address.

Example: Atherton J. Behavior modification [Internet]. 2010 [updated 2010 Feb10; cited 2010 Apr 10]. Available from: http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/behaviour_mod.htm

Editing and peer review:

All submitted manuscripts are subjected to scrutiny by the Editor in Chief/Managing Editor and any other member of the Editorial Board. Manuscripts containing materials without sufficient scientific value and/or a priority issue, or not fulfilling the requirement for publication may be rejected or it may be sent back to the author(s) for resubmission with necessary modifications to suit one of the submission categories. Manuscripts fulfilling the requirements and found suitable for consideration are sent for peer review. After peer review manuscripts are submitted to respective consultants for its suitability for publication in Bangladesh Armed Forces Med J. Submissions found suitable for publication by the reviewers, may need revision/modifications before being finally accepted. Editorial Board finally seats together and decides upon the publish ability of the reviewed and revised/modified submission. Proof of accepted manuscript may be sent to the authors, and should be corrected and returned to the AFMI within one week. No addition to the manuscript at this stage will be accepted. All accepted manuscripts are edited according to the Journal’s style. 

Manuscript submission:

Manuscript should be submitted to the editor in chief/managing editor and must be accompanied by a covering letter and following documents:

• A statement regarding the type of article being submitted.
• A statement that the work has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere.
• A statement of financial or other relationships that might lead to a conflict or interests.
• A statement that the manuscript has been read, approved and signed by all authors.
• A letter from the head of the institution where the work has been carried out in that institute and there is no objection to its publication in this journal.
• The authors should have followed the official secret act. Submissions must be in triplicates with three sets of illustrations. Article must be additionally submitted in a CD. 

Check list:  The authors should deposit the following documents to the editorial board.

1. a) Title Page – 02 copies
2. b) Abstract - 02 copies
3. c) Text of article – 02 copies
4. d) Table and illustrations duly numbered
5. e) References
6. f) CD-RW
7. g) Letter of submission/forwarding letter
8. h) Bio-data of principal author
9. j) The authors have to follow the official secret act and should sign the acknowledgement letter formatted by HQ Log Area
10. k) A certificate from the head of the institution where the original work has been done
11. l) A certificate stating that the contents of the articles has not been published in any journal and it has not been submitted to any other journal for publication
12. m) Co-authors certificate
13. n) Role of co-authors certificate
14. p) Patient’s agreement certificate

Online submission

Online submission shall be accepted for author submitting paper from Bangladesh and abroad. Papers should be prepared following instructions mentioned and shall be submitted to official e-mail address: gso2bafmj@gmail.com

Copy right:

No part of the materials published in this journal may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher. Reprint of any article in the Journal will be available from the publisher.

Number of Authors:  The number of authors should be limited to 04, 05, and 08 for case report, review article and original articles respectively. 

Miscellaneous:

Preferably from one principal author there should not be more than one original article or one case report or one review article in a single issue of journal.

Authors detail should be mentioned at the bottom of the first page of the article.

Corresponding author’s information should be printed in left lower corner of the title page.

Authors who publish in the Bangladesh Armed Forces Medical Journal (BAFMJ) agree to the following terms that:

1. The Bangladesh Armed Forces Medical Journal (BAFMJ) retain copyright and grant the BAFMJ the right of first publication of the work.
2. 
3. Articles in the Bangladesh Armed Forces Medical Journal (BAFMJ) are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). This license permits Share— copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material as long as it is not for commercial purposes.

Copyright and Reprint Permissions

No part of the materials published in this journal may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher. Reprint of any article in the journal will be available from the publisher.