Instructions for Authors

The instructions are synchronised with the internationally agreed Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals prepared by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Detailed requirements are published in N Engl J Med 1997;336:309-15 and Ann Intern Med 1997;126:36-47, as well as at the http://www.icmje.org website.

Address for correspondence: University Rehabilitation Institute, Republic of Slovenia, Linhartova 51, SI-1000 Ljubljana, phone: +386 1 4758 100, fax: +386 1 4376 589, e-mail: katja.groleger (at) ir-rs.si.

General Principles

The journal publishes original, previously unpublished work. This policy is based on international copyright regulations, ethical principles and cost-efficient resource utilisation. The authors are fully responsible for all the claims made in their manuscripts. If a manuscript is co-authored by several authors, exact contact details (including telephone number) of the author that will co-operate with the editorial board in preparing the manuscript for publication must be given. The authors should notify the editor if a manuscript includes previously reported content. Each such source should be cited as reference in the submitted manuscript. Copies of the previously published material should be included in the submission so that the editor can make the decision regarding the submission. A related publication in the same or other language, especially in a foreign journal, is justifiable and can be beneficial provided that:
  1. The author(s) obtain written permission from editors of both journals and the editor of the subsequent submission receives a copy of the previous publication.
  2. The subsequent submission is targeted at a different audience; a shorter version is also acceptable.
  3. The subsequent submission reflects on data and interpretation in the previous publication.
  4. A footnote on the title page of the subsequent submission indicates where and when the first publication was made.
If a manuscript presents research on humans, the text must clearly indicate that the code of medical ethics and the Declaration of Helsinki were adhered to. The authors must obtain informed consent from the participants.

The manuscripts will be classified into one of the following categories:

The manuscripts must be written either in Slovenian or in English, using concise and technically and stylistically correct language. In research papers, case reports, commentaries and debates, and review papers written in Slovenian, the title, abstract and key words must be translated into English.

The manuscripts can have up to 12 pages (30 lines each), including tables and references.

Only the SI measurements units and others permitted by Slovenian legislation can be used.

Cover Letter

The cover letter must include
  1. a statement that the submitted manuscript or any of its parts (except for the abstract) had not been submitted for publication elsewhere;
  2. a statement that all the authors read the manuscript and agree with its contents;
  3. the information when was the study approved by the ethics committee;
  4. a statement that the participants gave written consent to participate in the study (or that such consent was not required);
  5. written permission to publish pictures that could reveal personal identity;
  6. written permission from the publisher allowing reproduction of copyrighted figures or tables;
  7. a statement on financial or material support from pharmaceutical companies or medical device manufacturers;
  8. a statement regarding conflict of interest.

Typesetting

The manuscripts should be submitted by e-mail in electronic format to the Managing Editor (see the address at the beginning and end of these Instructions). They should be typed in double-space (30 lines per page), the pages should be numbered, and all page margins should be at least 30 mm wide.

Abbreviations are allowed, but they should be explained upon first use. Well-established abbreviations need not be explained (e.g., L for litre, mg for milligram, etc.).

The title page of the manuscript should contain the title (which should concisely capture the essence of the manuscript's content) in Slovenian and English, the name and family name of the author(s) including exact professional and academic titles, full address of the institution(s) of all authors, and contact details of the corresponding author.

The title page should also contain five key words in Slovenian and English (words that summarise the paper in more detail and do not appear in the title should be used; use terms from the Medical Subject Headings - MESH) and list any grants or sponsors (including contract no.).

The second page should contain the abstract (up to 250 words) in Slovenian and English. For research papers, the abstract should be structured and contain the following:

Background. State the main topic and aim of the study, and the main hypothesis being tested.

Methods. Describe the main characteristics of the methodology applied in the study: describe the sampling (e.g., randomisation, double-blind trial, cross-over trial, placebo control group, etc.), give standard/reference values of tests, define time perspective (prospective or retrospective study), describe selection of participants (inclusion and exclusion criteria), state the number of participants included in the study and in the analysis, describe the interventions and duration of therapy.

Results. List the main results of the study. Important measurements not included in the results should be mentioned. In the results, always report confidence intervals and precise level of statistical significance. In comparative studies, report confidence intervals for the differences between the groups. Report absolute rather than relative quantities.

Conclusions. List only the conclusions supported by the data. Comment on clinical utility of the findings.

Some manuscripts (e.g., review papers) do not have the standard article structure, so the structure of their abstract should be adjusted accordingly. The abstract should have between 50 and 200 words.

The following pages should contain the manuscript divided into meaningful sections and subsections (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions) that should be apparent from the typesetting of the headings and subheadings, acknowledgements, and references. Paragraphs must be separated by an empty line. Tables, figure captions and abbreviations should be listed on separate pages.

In the Methods section, the information on ethical approval (committee name, approval date) an participants' written consent must be included.

Tables

Tables should be typeset on separate pages and numbered. Each table should have at least two columns. A table should have a caption (informative enough to explain what is presented without the need to read the manuscript; if data is given as percentages, the caption should state the base for percentage calculation; the data source should be listed, measurement units if they apply to the entire table, and details regarding header), a header, an optional summary column, and a footnote or a legend explaining the abbreviations. All cells in the table should be filled and missing data should be clearly indicated.

If data from another author, publisher or unpublished source are used, written permission should be obtained and mentioned in the table caption.

The text should indicate where each table should be placed.

Table title, header row, header column and legend in English manuscripts should be translated into Slovenian. If possible, the header row and header column should be bilingual. The English translation of the legend can be more extensive than the Slovenian original if some terms, abbreviations or acronyms that are generally understood in Slovenian must be translated.

Figures

Letters, numbers and symbols should be clear and consistent throughout the manuscript, and large enough to remain legible once the figure size is reduced for publication. Captions and explanations belong to the list of figures and should not be placed into the figures themselves.

If pictures of people are used, their identity should be concealed or written permission should be included with the figures.

Figures should be numbered as they appear in the text. If a figure had been previously published, the original source should be cited and written permission for reproduction by the copyright holder should be included with the figure. The permission is required regardless of who is the author or publisher except for documents in public domain.

Figure captions

A separate page should list the figure captions in Slovenian and English. Number the figures using Arabic numerals.

When using symbols, arrows or numbers, or labelling parts of the figure, explain that clearly in the figure legend.

Text labels on the figures can be bilingual if that does not reduce the clarity of the figure; otherwise, the English figure legend can include translations of text labels and additional explanations.

References

Each claim, finding or thought by others should be supported by a reference. Citations in the manuscript should be numbered as they appear in the text using Arabic numerals (in parentheses). If a previously used reference is used later in the text, the originally assigned reference number should be used. Citations in tables in figures should be numbered according to the placement of the tables and figures in the text. All references cited in the text should be listed in the reference list. Citing "personal communication" should be avoided; if inevitable, give the exact title and date of the communication in parentheses instead of a reference in the list, and include written permission to cite the communication confirming the accuracy of the citation with the manuscript.

References should be listed at the end of the manuscript in the correct order. If a cited article was written by 6 or fewer authors, list them all; if there are 7 or more authors, list the first 6 followed by "et al.". Journal titles should be abbreviated according to Index Medicus. The list of abbreviations can be found through the http://www.nlm.nih.gov website.

Avoid using abstracts as references. If articles accepted for publication but not yet published are cited, they should be labelled as "in press". The manuscript authors should obtain written permission to cite such work, including a confirmation of acceptance for publication.

Personal communication should be cited only in exceptional cases if it contains essential information that cannot be obtained from publicly available sources. In such cases, the name of the person and the date of communication should be given in parentheses. For scientific papers, a written permission and confirmation of accuracy is also required.

Sample References

  1. JOURNAL ARTICLES, PAPERS IN PROCEEDINGS, BOOK CHAPTERS
  2. BOOKS
  3. THESES AND DISSERTATIONS
  4. DOCUMENTS ON THE INTERNET
  5. LEGISLATION, REGULATIONS AND OTHER LEGAL DOCUMENTS

Correspondence

Manuscripts should be sent via e-mail to katja.groleger (at) ir-rs.si. Each manuscript will be double-blind peer-reviewed. After the review and editorial process is completed, the manuscript is returned to the author to confirm and implement the suggested amendments and prepare a corrected version, which should be resubmitted together with the corrected original. Once a manuscript is accepted publication, its references and language are revised. During the review and editorial process, confidentiality of the manuscript contents is guaranteed.

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