Manuscript Preparation and Submission Requirements for JOSMA


Manuscript Submission

All manuscripts must be submitted to The Journal of the Oklahoma State Medical Association (JOSMA) to the managing editor Jeff Kelton. After the manuscript is submitted, the corresponding author will receive an acknowledgment confirming receipt and a manuscript number. After manuscript submission, all authors of papers under consideration for publication will be sent an Authorship Form to complete and submit.

Article Standards

All articles should adhere to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editor (ICJME) guidelines.

ICJME Guidelines

Cover Letter

Include a cover letter and complete contact information for the corresponding author (affiliation, postal/mail address, email address, and telephone and fax numbers) and whether the authors have published or submitted any related papers from the same study. List sources of funding, if any. First and last names, email addresses, and institutional affiliations of all coauthors are also required.

Manuscript Components

Types of manuscripts published include the following:

  • Scientific: Clinical observations and case studies with methods, analysis and discussion of relevant literature
  • Systematic Reviews: Critical reviews of the literature on a selected medical topic
  • Original research: Clinical, educational or administrative studies with clear statistical methods and data analysis
  • Commentaries and creative works: Reflections on the practice of medicine or medical education, poems related to medicine, photos, etc.
  • Letters to the Editor: Opinions on current topics of interest or comments on previous articles
  • Other: Press releases, OSMA and Oklahoma State Medical Board information, legislation, policy, etc.

Include a title page, abstract, text, references, and as appropriate, figure legends, tables, and figures. Start each of these sections on a new page, numbered consecutively, beginning with the title page.

Manuscript Style

Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the AMA Manual of Style, 11th edition, and/or the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts.

  • Original Research Articles

    Original research studies should investigate new medical topics and should follow recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE): 

    ICMJE Recommendations: Preparing for Submission

  • Systematic Review Articles

    The Journal of the Oklahoma State Medical Association publishes systematic reviews. Reviews that use a systematic method such as the PRISMA flow diagram and follow PRISMA guidelines will be prioritized for acceptance and publication. 

    PRISMA Diagram and Guidelines

  • Narrative Reviews and Case Studies

    Authors of review articles are encouraged to consider the merits of a systematic approach when reviewing the literature; appropriate narrative reviews are considered for publication. Narrative review authors are encouraged to send a pre-submission inquiry to the editor of The Journal of the Oklahoma State Medical Association at publications@okmed.org. Authors should follow requirements of the CARE Checklist here. 

  • Observational Studies

    Observational studies that utilize a standard methodology, such as the ones outlined in the STROBE checklist, will be prioritized for acceptance and publication.

    STROBE Checklist (pdf)
    STROBE Checklist (doc)

Clinical trials that utilize a standard methodology, such as the ones outlined in the CONSORT checklist, will be prioritized for acceptance and publication. 

CONSORT Checklist (doc)
CONSORT Checklist (online) 


Manuscript File Formats

For submission and review, acceptable manuscript file formats include Word. Do not submit your manuscript in PDF format. Use 10-, 11-, or 12-point font size, double-space text, and leave right margins unjustified (ragged).

Title Page

The title page should include a word count for text only (e.g., not including abstract, acknowledgment, or references) and the full names, highest academic degrees, and affiliations of all authors. If an author’s affiliation has changed since the work was done, the new affiliation also should be listed.

Abstracts

For scientific articles, systematic reviews, case studies, meta-analyses and original research, manuscripts should contain a structured abstract of no more than 300 words summarizing findings. For structured abstracts, subheadings should include background, methods, results and conclusions.

Text

Manuscripts should not exceed 3,500 words (excluding references, figures and tables), in Microsoft word format only. Use nonproprietary names of drugs, devices, and other products, unless the specific trade name of a drug is essential to the discussion. JOSMA does not republish text, tables, figures, or other material from other publishers, except under rare circumstances. Please delete any such material and replace with originals.

References

Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of their references and for correct text citation. A maximum of 50 references will be accepted in most cases. Number references in the order they appear in the text; do not alphabetize. In text, tables, and legends, identify references with superscript Arabic numerals. When listing references, follow AMA style and abbreviate names of journals according to the journals list in PubMed. List all authors and/or editors up to six; if more than six, list the first three followed by “et al.” Note: Journal references should include the issue number in parentheses after the volume number.

Examples of reference style:

 1. Garbutt JM, Banister C, Spitznagel E, Piccirillo JF. Amoxicillin for acute rhinosinusitis: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2012;307(7):685-692.

 2. Steinbrook R, Ross JS. "Transparency reports" on industry payments to physicians and teaching hospitals [published online February 14, 2012]. JAMA. doi:10.1001/jama.2012.211.

 3. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. CMS proposals to implement certain disclosure provisions of the Affordable Care Act.http://www.cms.gov/apps/media/press/factsheet.asp?Counter=4221. Accessed January 30, 2012.

 4. McPhee SJ, Winker MA, Rabow MW, Pantilat SZ, Markowitz AJ, eds. Care at the Close of Life: Evidence and Experience. New York, NY: McGraw Hill Medical; 2011.


Conflicts of Interest and Financial Disclosures 

A conflict of interest may exist when an author (or the author’s institution or employer) has financial or personal relationships or affiliations that could influence (or bias) the author’s decisions, work, or manuscript. All authors are required to complete and submit a disclosure of potential conflict(s) of interest form. This form provides detailed information about all relevant financial interests, activities, relationships, and affiliations (other than those affiliations listed in the title page of the manuscript) including, but not limited to, employment, affiliation, funding and grants received or pending, consultancies, honoraria or payment, speakers’ bureaus, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, royalties, donation of medical equipment, or patents planned, pending, or issued. 

Authors with or without conflicts of interest should also include conflict of interest disclosures in the Acknowledgment section of the submitted manuscript. Failure to include this information in the manuscript may delay evaluation and review of the manuscript. Authors should err on the side of full disclosure and should contact the editorial office if they have questions or concerns. 

For all accepted manuscripts, the corresponding author will be asked to confirm that each coauthor’s disclosures of conflicts of interest and relevant financial interests, activities, relationships, and affiliations and declarations of no such interests are accurate, up-to-date, and consistent with the disclosures reported in the Acknowledgment section of the manuscript because this information will be published in the article. The policy requiring disclosure of conflicts of interest applies for all manuscript submissions, including letters to the editor. 

Authors will also be required to sign a Copyright Transmittal form including data sharing policies prior to publication.

Access the Copyright Transmittal and Author Disclosure Form here.

Peer Review

All submitted manuscripts are reviewed initially by the JOSMA editor-in-chief. Manuscripts are evaluated according to the following criteria: material is original and timely, writing is clear, study methods are appropriate, data are valid, conclusions are reasonable and supported by the data, information is important, and topic has interest to the JOSMA readership. All authors must disclose any financial conflicts of interest and sources of funding, must complete a copyright form and must attest that their manuscript is not currently submitted to another journal or previously published and that any research is compliant with human and animal research requirements. From these basic criteria, the editors assess a paper’s eligibility for publication. Manuscripts with insufficient priority for publication are rejected promptly.

 Manuscripts considered for publication are sent to associate editors or qualified outside reviewers with expertise in the related field for peer review. Reviews are conducted in a double-blind manner. The existence of a manuscript under review is not revealed to anyone other than peer reviewers and editorial staff. Peer reviewers are required to maintain confidentiality about the manuscripts they review and must not divulge any information about a specific manuscript or its content to any third party without prior permission from the journal editors. Identifying information remains confidential. Manuscripts generated “in-house” within OSMA leadership or editorial staff are subject to double-blind review outside OSMA personnel. Final decisions regarding manuscript publication are made by the editor-in-chief. 

Appeals of reviewers’ suggested revisions or decisions to publish a manuscript: Authors may appeal decisions. All appeals are reviewed by the editor in chief, on a case-by-case basis, or a designated editor if the editor in chief is recused from the review.

Corrections and retractions: Requests to publish corrections should be sent to the editorial office. Corrections are reviewed by editors and authors, published promptly, and linked online to the original article.

Ethical Standards: Privacy, Informed Consent, and Human and Animal Experimentation

Privacy and Informed Consent: The Journal of Oklahoma State Medical Association protects the rights and the privacy and confidentiality of all patients and research participants. Any studies, reports or discussions of patients will not include any identifying information such as names, hospital numbers, photographs or other recognizable data unless explicit written informed consent for publication is obtained. Any identifying information about patients or research participants should include a statement such as, “Additional informed consent was obtained from all individuals for whom identifying information is included in this article.” 

Human and Animal Experimentation: Human research or de-identified case reports of two or more patients will be accompanied by a statement of specific institutional review board (IRB) approval or exemption/waiver. Research articles will include a statement that informed consent was obtained from all patients being included in the study. IRB approval will ensure that procedures followed were consistent with standards for human experimentation and with the Declaration of Helsinki of 1975, revised in 2000. Methods should be detailed enough to enable the study to be assessed for validity and trustworthiness.

When reporting basic science experiments on animals, authors will indicate whether institutional review board approval was acquired and the national guide for care of laboratory animals was followed.


Questions?

Email publications@okmed.org.