Articles are accepted on the basis of significance, scientific merit and applicability. Authors are requested to base their reports on the basis of original work carried out by themselves or their groups. Manuscripts should not be submitted to more than one journal at a time.
All articles are processed through a system of peer-reviewing. Lung India follows a 'double blind review process'. In fact, we follow a two stage review process. The article initially is assessed in a double blind manner by a group of editorial board members for suitability of subjecting it to peer review process. This followed by a double blind peer review process by sending the manuscript to a group of referees from India and abroad usually tree to four in number. The comments are sent back to the authors for revision, as required. The final decision lies with the Editor/Editor-in-Chief.
Original research articles are preferred. In order to widen the scope of communications, the following formats are made available: Editorials, original articles, case reports, clinical reviews, research un-searched, bronchoscopy / radiology quiz, practical applications, clinical problem series, clinico-pathological conferences, commentaries, anecdotes, medical humanities, general perspectives, letter to editor /Book review, correspondence column and so on.
All articles should be submitted online at the journal website (https://review.jow.medknow.com/lungindia).
No manuscripts will be accepted without registration into the system and submission via https://review.jow.medknow.com/lungindia. Submission via email or hard copy will not be entertained.
Presentation of manuscripts should conform with the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts submitted to Bio-medical Journals (See Ann Intern Med 1997; 126:36-47).
Note - Hard copy of article files/images are not required to be submitted unless specifically asked for.
SALIENT FEATURES OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS
· Manuscripts must be accompanied by a covering letter. This must include: Information on prior or duplicate publication or submission elsewhere of any part of the work as defined earlier in this document.
· A copyright form signed by all co-authors should be submitted at the time of new submission.
· A statement of financial or other relationship that might lead to a conflict in interest.
· A statement that the manuscript has been read and approved by all the authors, that the requirements for authorship stated earlier in this document have been met, and that each author believes that the manuscript represents honest work
The name, address, and telephone number of the corresponding author, who is responsible for communicating with other authors about revisions and final approval of the proofs. The letter should give any additional information that may be helpful to the editor, such as the type of article in the particular journal that the manuscript represents and whether the author(s) would be willing to meet the cost of reproducing colour illustrations. The manuscript must be accompanied by copies of any permission to reproduce published material, to use illustrations or report information about identifiable people, or the name people for their contributions.
Authorship credit should be based only on 1) substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; 2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and 3) final approval of the version to be published. Conditions 1, 2, and 3 must all be met. Acquisition of funding, the collection of data, or general supervision of the research group, by themselves, do not justify authorship. Please restrict the number of authors to minimum except in special situations. One should not exceed allowable number of authors for original article -six or less, case report- four or less, review article 4 or less (preferably two or less), Letter to the editor-four or less if containing a study, two or less otherwise.
In view of growing problem of plagiarism, the Editorial Board of Lung India has decided to deal with plagiarism found in submitted manuscripts as follows:
A. Manuscripts with slight plagiarism (only a few copy paste of full or part of a sentence without proper attribution)
The manuscript will be sent back to authors for modification.
B.
Manuscripts with considerable plagiarism (copy paste of paragraphs with minor modifications, copy of tables or figures without permission)
The manuscript will be sent back to authors for modification.
An explanation letter will be demanded from author/s regarding occurrence of plagiarism.
C. Manuscripts with substantial plagiarism (copy paste of complete sections of the manuscript with only slight modifications, fabrication or falsification of data).
The manuscript will be rejected.
An explanation letter will be demanded from author/s regarding occurrence of plagiarism.
Head of institution will be sent the signed copyright form submitted by the authors and informed about plagiarism. Borderline plagiarism will be considered in the next category.
Publication / processing fee
The journal does not charge for publication/processing fee of articles at the time of submission/publication. However, when an article is accepted, authors will be asked about their willingness to have colour images printed in colour/black & white. For printed color pages, authors will have to bear INR 2000 per page of an article. Black and white printed pages are not charged.
Preparation of manuscript
Example (Dummy formats) of manuscript segments may be seen in the form of templates given on website of the journal. Manuscripts should be prepared using any standard word processing software. One should preferably use Times New Roman, 12 point size font with adequate space left on both sides and should prepare following segments:
1.
Firstpage file
The 'First Page File' should carry
· The title of the article
· The name of authors and highest academic degree(s)
· The name of the department(s) and institution(s) to which the work should be attributed
· The name, address and e-mail address of all authors and reprint requests about the manuscript
· Source(s) of support in the form of grants, equipment, drugs etc should be disclosed
· A short running title of no more than 50 characters (count letters and spaces) must be provided. For example your manuscript heading “Episodic breathlessness in the patients of interstitial lung disease: a prospective observational study" may be given a short title as: “breathlessness in interstitial lung disease" which is of 43 characters. This is essential for pagination in the journal
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements may be made to contributions that need acknowledging but do not justify authorship, such as:
General support by a department chair
Acknowledgements of technical help
Financial and material support
· A statement of conflict of interests should be made
2. Main article file
Title
Abstract and key words
This file should carry an abstract (of no more than 150 words for unstructured abstracts or 250 words for structured abstracts). 'Structured abstract' means a description that is constructed using sub-headings, e.g., background, methods, results and conclusions (see dummy example on website). The abstract should state the purpose of the study or investigation, basic procedures (selection of study subjects of laboratory animals; observational and analytical methods), main findings (giving specific data and their statistical significance, if possible), and the principal conclusions. It should emphasize new and important aspects of the study or observations.
Below the abstract, authors should provide and identify as such, 3 to 8 key words or short phrases that will assist cross-indexing the article and may be published with the abstract.
Introduction
State the purpose of the article and summarize the rationale for the study or observation. Give only strictly pertinent references and do not include data or conclusions from the work being reported.
Materials and Methods
Describe your selection of the observational or experimental subjects (patients or laboratory animals, including controls) clearly. Identify the age, sex, and other important characteristics of the subjects. The definition and relevance of race and ethnicity are ambiguous. Authors should be particularly careful about using these categories. Identify the methods, apparatus (give the manufacturer's name and address in parentheses), and procedure in sufficient detail to allow other workers to reproduce the results. Give references to established methods, including statistical methods. Provide references and brief descriptions for methods that have been published but are not well known; describe new or substantially modified methods, give reasons for using them, and evaluate their limitations. Identify precisely all drugs and chemicals used, including generic name(s), dose(s), and route(s) of administration.
Randomized controlled trials
Reports of randomized clinical trials should present information on all major study elements, including the protocol (study population, interventions or exposures, outcomes, and the rationale for statistical analysis), assignment of interventions (methods of randomization, concealment of allocation to treatment groups), and the methods of masking (blinding). Authors submitting review manuscripts should include a section describing the methods used for locating, selecting, extracting, and synthesizing data. These methods should also be summarized in the abstract. Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) flow chart is essential in case of a randomized controlled trial submitted to Lung India. Trials must be registered at or before the onset of patient enrolment. The clinical trial registration of India (CTRI) number should be included in the first page file otherwise manuscript may be rejected without notification. Studies containing health-related interventions like use of drugs, devices, surgical procedures, behavioral interventions, dietary interventions, and changes in process of care and/or health outcomes like pharmacokinetic measures and adverse events must be registered. Registration is not required for an entirely observational study in which no intervention has been planned. For any clarification, please contact Editorial Office at
[email protected]
Editorial policy for making decisions on manuscripts on drug trials
Recommendations of the Expert Committee
1.
Conflict of Interest and Sponsorship statement: The manuscript should precede with a detailed statement clearly describing the sponsorships, financial disclosures of the author/s and other relevant (direct or indirect) relationships with the Company and the product being reported. A simple statement of 'No Conflict of Interest' should not suffice. The role of the sponsor (funding, protocol development and finalisation, monitoring, data analysis, manuscript preparation and review) must be defined clearly.
2.
Authorship:
i. Individuals who are in regular employment of a commercial firm can also submit manuscripts as primary authors/ co-authors. Such relationships should also be clearly stated.
ii. The criteria for authorship must conform to those described in the ICMJE.
iii. The first or the senior author should generally communicate with the journal, editor and others related to the publication. He/she will take all the responsibility as the primary author. In case the first author is a student in a department, the corresponding author could be the leader of the group performing the study.
iv. The first or the corresponding author should be able to speak on and defend the paper.
a. He/ she should be identified as the guarantor of the study and should take over all responsibility for the integrity of the study and the report. Author contributions should be clearly defined. The individuals responsible for design, analysis, interpretation, drafting and critical review of the manuscript must be stated distinctly and the manuscript should clearly state the name of the author who is the guarantor of the paper.
v. A publication steering committee should have been formed early wherein authors and contributors agree to the roles in the development of the article or presentation.
3.
Registration and approval:
i. The clinical trial must have been registered with an appropriate registry, for example the ICMR Registry.
ii. Permission for the trial of the drug must have been obtained from office of the Drug Controller of India if a new drug/combination/indication is under investigation.
iii. The clinical trials must have been approved by a properly constituted Ethics Committee as defined by the ICMR. If it is a multi-centre trial, Ethics Committee of each centre should independently review and approve the protocol.
4.
Publication considerations by Lung India:
i. The journal can have a special review policy for clinical trials. At least one reviewer should be a clinical pharmacologist.
ii. Duplicate publication is not acceptable unless a part of the data has been re-interpreted but the primary publication must be clearly acknowledged and cited.
iii.
The journal should add a footnote that publication does not imply endorsement of results and opinions.
Ethics
When reporting experiments on human subjects indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional or regional) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975 as revised in 1983. Do not use patients' names, initials, or hospital numbers, especially in illustrative materials. When reporting experiments on animals, indicate whether the institution's or a national research council's guide for, or any national law on, the care and use of laboratory animals was followed. Ethics committee/ institute review board clearance number should be included in the first page file and a sentence regarding clearance should be included in the method section of the manuscript otherwise manuscript may be rejected without notification.
Statistics
Describe statistical methods with enough detail to enable a knowledgeable reader with access to the original data to verify the reported results. When possible, quantify findings and present them with appropriate indicators of measurement error or uncertainty (such as confidence intervals). Avoid relying solely on statistical hypothesis testing, such as the use of P values, which fails to convey important quantitative information. Discuss the eligibility of experimental subjects. Give details about randomization. Describe the methods for and success of any blinding of observations. Report complications of treatment. Give numbers of observations. Report losses to observation (such as dropout from a clinical trial). References for the design of the study and statistical methods should be standard works when possible (with pages stated) rather than to papers in which the designs or methods were originally reported. Specify any general use computer program used, e.g. SPSS, etc.
Results
Present your results in logical sequence in the text, tables, and illustrations. Do not repeat in the text all the data in the tables or illustrations; emphasize or summarize only important observations.
Discussion
Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study and the conclusions that follow from them. Do not repeat in detail data or other material given in the introduction or the results section. Include in the discussion section the implications of the findings and their limitations, including those for future research. Relate the observations to other relevant studies. Link the conclusions with the goals of the study but avoid unqualified statements and conclusions not completely supported by the data. In particular, authors should avoid making statements on economic benefits and costs unless their manuscript includes economic data and analyses. Avoid claiming priority and alluding to work that has not been completed. State new hypotheses when warranted, but clearly label them as such. Recommendations, when appropriate, may be included.
Acknowledgements
At an appropriate place in the article (the title page footnote or an appendix to the text, see the journal's requirements), one or more statements should specify:
· Contributions that need acknowledging but do not justify authorship, such as general support by a department chair
· Acknowledgements of technical help
· Acknowledgements of financial and material support
· Relationships that may pose a conflict of interest. Persons who have contributed intellectually to the paper but whose contributions do not justify authorship may be named and their function or contribution described - for example, “scientific adviser," “critical review of study proposal," “data collection" or “participation in clinical trial". Such persons must have given their permission to be named. Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission from persons acknowledged by name, because readers may infer their endorsement of the data and conclusions. Technical help should be acknowledged in a paragraph separate from that acknowledging other contributions.
Word limits vary by the type of manuscript i.e.:
· Original article: up to 3000 words (excluding abstract, references and tables). The manuscript may have about 30 references.
· Review article: up to 4000 words (excluding tables, references and abstract). The manuscript may have about 80 references.
· Editorial (solicited): 1500 words excluding references. The manuscript may have about 15 references.
· Case report/ case series: up to 1200 words (excluding references and abstract) and could have up to 12 references. The manuscript should not have more than 3 figures.
· Letter to editor: 500 words and 5 references. The manuscript should not have more than 2 figures.
· Commentary: 800 words excluding references. The manuscript should not have more than 2 figures.
· Pictorial Quiz/CME: 500 words excluding references. The manuscript should not have more than 3 figures.
References
Following should be observed while citing the references:
· References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text.
· Identify references in text, tables, and legends by Arabic numerals in parentheses as superscript after punctuation.
· References cited only in tables or figure legends should be numbered in accordance with the sequence established by the first identification in the text of the particular table or figure.
· Avoid using abstracts as references. Avoid citing a “personal communication" unless it provides essential information not available from a public source, in which case the name of the person and date of communication should be cited in parentheses in the text.
· References to papers accepted but not yet published should be designated as “in press" or “forthcoming"; authors should obtain written permission to cite such papers as well as verification that they have been accepted for publication.
· Information from manuscripts submitted but not accepted should be cited in the text as “unpublished observations" with written permission from the source. For scientific articles, authors should obtain written permission and confirmation of accuracy from the source of a personal communication.
· The references must be verified by the author(s) against the full text original documents.
Download a
PowerPoint presentation on common reference styles and using the reference checking facility on the manuscript submission site.
There are two components of a reference. One is bibliographic elements and another is punctuation marks. Both should be 100% accurate. Routine six bibliographic elements are name of authors, title of article, journal abbreviation, year published, volume and page numbers. Seven routine punctuation marks are coma between author names, full stop at the end of authors list, full stop at the end of title of article, space after abbreviation of journal name, semicolon after year of publication, colon after volume number and full stop at end of reference.
Protection of Patients' Right to Privacy
Identifying information should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, sonograms, CT scans, etc., and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian, wherever applicable) gives informed consent for publication. Authors should remove patients' names from figures unless they have obtained informed consent from the patients. The journal abides by ICMJE guidelines:
1) Authors, not the journals nor the publisher, need to obtain the patient consent form before the publication and have the form properly archived. The consent forms are not to be uploaded with the cover letter or sent through email to editorial or publisher offices.
2) If the manuscript contains patient images that preclude anonymity, or a description that has obvious indication to the identity of the patient, a statement about obtaining informed patient consent should be indicated in the manuscript.
Articles in Journals
a) Person as author(s)
If more than six authors, list the first six authors followed by et al. Write last name first followed by initial letters of first and middle names in capital letters without full stop. The title should be exactly the same as that of article. Journal name should be standard PubMed abbreviation, full journal name should not be written. This is followed by year of publication. Then the volume number is written. Finally, page numbers appear (380-390 to be written as 380-90). Thus, a standard journal article is written as:
Echeverria RF, Baitello AL, Pereira de Godoy JM, Espada PC, Morioka RY. Prevalence of death due to pulmonary embolism after trauma. Lung India 2010;27:72-4.
b) Organization as author
If an article is written by some organization in place of particular author (s), reference should start with name of organization. For example-
The Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand. Clinical exercise stress testing. Safety and performance guidelines. Med J Aust 1996; 164:282-4.
c) Article in Press
Leshner AI. Molecular mechanisms of cocaine addiction. N Engl J Med. In Press 1996.
d) Electronic Material
For journal article in electronic format some additional information should be provided, like:
Morse SS. Factors in the emergence of infectious diseases. Emerg Infect Dis [serial online] 1995 Jan-Mar [cited 1996 Jun5]; 1(1): [24 screens]. Available from URL : http://www.cdc.gov/ ncidod/EID eid.htm. Accessed on (date).
Books and other Monographs
It also starts with authors names in same style as mentioned in journal article. Then editor's name, text books title, edition number and publishers name should appear in sequence. This is followed by year and page numbers. For example-
a) Personal author(s)
Ringsven MK, Bond D. Gerontology and leadership skills for nurses. 2nd ed. Albany (NY): Delmar Publishers; 1996. Editor(s), complier(s) as author Norman IJ, Redfern SJ. editors. Mental health care for elderly people. New York: Churchill Livingstone; 1996. 5.
b) Chapter in a book
Name(s) of author (s) of the chapter is followed by title of chapter. Other information is written in the similar style as above:
Philips SJ, Whisnant JP. Hypertension and stroke. In: Laragh JH, Brenner BM, editors. Hypertension: pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management. 2nd ed. New York : Raven Press: 1995. p. 465-78. 6.
Tables
Type each table with double spacing on a separate page . Do not submit tables as photographs (Images). Number tables consecutively in the order of their first citation in the text and supply a brief title for each. Give each column a short or abbreviated heading. Place explanatory matter in footnotes, not in the heading. Explain in footnotes all nonstandard abbreviations that are used in each table separately.
Illustrations (Images/Figures)
During initial electronic submission, good quality images should be uploaded separately at the given place on manuscript submission site . One image is usually allowed for each 500 words of the manuscript. That means only 3 figures for a case report or short article and not more than 4-5 figures for a review or original article. If it is essential to include more images, the images may be clubbed together and named like- figure 1a, 1b, 1c etc. Once your article is accepted, you may be asked to submit hard copies of the required number of complete sets of figures to publishing team ([email protected]). Figures should be professionally drawn and photographed; freehand or typewritten lettering is unacceptable. Instead of original drawings, X-ray films, and other material, send sharp, glossy, black and white photographic prints, usually 127 x 173mm (5x7 inches) but no larger than 203x254mm (8x10 inches). Letters, numbers and symbols should be clear and even throughout and of sufficient size that when reduced for publication each item will still be legible. Titles and detailed explanations belong in the legends for illustrations, not on the illustrations themselves. Each figure should have a label pasted on its back indicating the number of the figure, author's name at top of the figure. Do not write on the back of figures or scratch mark them by using paper clips. Do not bend figures or mount them on cardboard. Photomicrographs should have internal scale markers. Symbols, arrows, or letters used in photomicrographs should contrast with the background. If photographs of people are used, either the subject must not be identifiable or their pictures must be accompanied by written permission to use the photograph. Figures should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they have been first cited in the text. If a figure has been published, acknowledge the original source and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material. Permission is required irrespective of authorship or publisher except for documents in the public domain.
Legends for Illustrations
Type or print out legends for illustrations using double spacing, starting on a separate page, with Arabic numerals corresponding to the illustrations. When symbols, arrow, numbers, or letters are used to identify parts of the illustrations, identify and explain each one clearly in the legend. Explain in the internal scale and identify the method of staining photomicrographs.
Units of Measurements
Measurements of length, height, weight, and volume should be reported in metric units (meter, kilogram, or litre) or their decimal multiples. Temperatures should be given in degree Celsius. Blood pressure should be given in millimetres of mercury. All haematologic and clinical chemistry measurements should be reported in the metric system in terms of the International System of Units (SI). Editors may request that alternative or non-SI units be added by the authors before publication.
Abbreviations and Symbols
Use only standard abbreviations. Avoid abbreviations in the title and abstract. The full term for which an abbreviation stands should precede its first use in the text unless it is a standard unit of measurement.
Summary of manuscript preparation
A. Have I prepared the
First Page File correctly?
1. Covering letter
2. Title page
Title
Name of authors (first, middle and last names) and their highest degree with
institutional affiliations
Address/ e-mail address, phone and fax number (if available) of all authors
Word count, abstract and text separately, excluding references
Short title not more than 45 characters
Acknowledgements, if any, should be mentioned in first page file. This file is not
utilized during peer review process.
B. Have I prepared the
Main Article File correctly?
1. Title of article- do not use all capital letters or underline
2. Do not use name of authors in this file
3. Abstract- Structured for original and review article, non-structured for others
4. Key words 3-8, standard MeSH terms
5. Introduction, Material and methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions
6. Standard references with accurate bibliographic information and punctuations
7. Tables with title, legends or foot notes on a separate page
8. Check your manuscript for any of the gross grammatical mistake
9. Do not include acknowledgement or any other personal information in this file which can disclose the identity of the author.
10. Manuscript pages should have continuous line numbers. Number all pages in sequence, including the abstract, figure legends and tables.
C. Have I arranged good quality Images, if applicable?
Upload high quality images separately, hard copy prints /additional information
may be required to be submitted once the article gets provisionally accepted.
D. Have I uploaded the
Copyright Form signed by all authors?
An electronic plagiarism check is incorporated into the submission website, therefore, please avoid copy and paste from other sources during preparation of your manuscript. The manuscript may be returned back to you for technical modification if above instruction are not complied with, usually before the peer review process starts. For further clarification of points you may e-mail us- editor @ lunindia . com . Kindly always indicate manuscript number (ID) and title during correspondence or e-mail. Lung India receives more articles than it can publish. Acceptance rate is about 10 per cent. The manuscript provisionally accepted is assigned to a particular issue. We can not publish all the articles provisionally assigned to that issue because of relevance of text and space limits of the journal.
Steps for electronic submission
Requirements
· Computer and internet connection
· Web-browser (preferably newer version- IE 5.0 or NS 4.7 or above)
· Cookies and java script to be enabled in web-browser
1.
Registration
· Login into
https://review.jow.medknow.com/lungindia and signup as new author
· This is a two step self explanatory process
2.
Article submission
· Files needed are first page file, article file and images, if any
· Click on 'Submit a new article' under 'New Article.'
· Follow the steps (three steps for article without images and five steps for with images)
· On successful submission you will receive an acknowledgement quoting the manuscript numbers
3.
Tracking the progress
· Click on 'In Review Article' under 'Submitted Articles'
· The table gives status of article and its due date to move to the next phase
· More details can be obtained by clicking on the manuscript ID.
· Comments sent by the editor and referee will be available from these pages.
4.
Submitting a revised article:
Revisions of manuscripts are due in 6 weeks after the submissions are returned to the authors. After the deadline manuscripts shall be considered and treated as fresh submissions.
· Click on 'Article for Revision' under 'Submitted Articles'
· Click on 'Revise'
· From the first window you can modify Article Title, Article Type.
· First Page File and Images could be modified from second and third window, respectively
· The fourth step is uploading the revised article
· Include the referee's comments along with point to point clarifications at the beginning of revised article file
· Upload the revised article against new article file
o -browse, choose your file and then click 'Upload' or click 'Finish'
· On completion of revision process you will be able to check the latest file uploaded from Article Cycle (In Review Article-> click on manuscript ID-> latest file will have a number with 'R')
Online submission checklist (please use ready-made templates available at the website author's area)
1.
First Page File (text, rtf, doc or PDF file)
With covering letter, title page including short running title and
acknowledgement, etc.
2.
Article File (text, rtf, doc or PDF file)
Text of article, beginning from Title, Abstract, Key words, Introduction
Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, References and
Tables. File size limit is 1 MB.
Do not include images for manuscript, name of authors,
acknowledgements or any other identity marks such as 'tracking' in
this file
3.
Images (jpeg, gif, tiff, etc)
Submit good quality images. Each Image should be less than 1MB in size.
Do not include tables in this file
4.
Copyright form
Should be submitted at the time of submission. Maximum file size is
2 MB. Preferable file type is jpeg.
PLEASE NOTE:
No manuscript will be accepted for publication without submission of recommended 'Copyright Form' by authors.
No change in the 'Authorship' will be considered after submission of a manuscript except in special situations.
Do not send Hard copy of manuscript or copyright form to Editorial Office. You may email additional files if required.
Please do provide name, address and e-mail address of all authors in the 'First Page File'.
Contributors' form
Download instructions
Templates
These ready-to-use templates are made to help the contributors write as per the requirements of the Journal.
Save the templates on your computer and use them with a word processor program.
Click open the file and save it as the manuscript file.
In the program keep 'Document Map' and 'Comments' on from the 'View' menu to navigate through the file.
Download Template for Original Articles/ABSTRACT Reports. (.DOT file)
Download Template for Review Articles. (.DOT file)
Download Template for Case Reports. (.DOT file)
Download Template for Letter to the Editor. (.DOT file)