Author Guidelines

Instructions for Authors

The International Journal of Medical Therapeutics and Research (IJMTR) welcomes original and scientifically sound manuscripts in medicine, clinical therapeutics, biomedical sciences, healthcare research, and allied medical disciplines.

Authors are requested to carefully read the following instructions before submitting their manuscripts.

Editorial and Peer Review Process

All manuscripts submitted to the International Journal of Medical Therapeutics and Research (IJMTR) undergo a structured editorial assessment and peer-review process.

Initially, the Editorial Office screens each submitted manuscript to assess:

·        Relevance to the aims and scope of the journal

·        Originality and scientific merit

·        Completeness of the submission

·        Compliance with manuscript preparation requirements

·        Ethical considerations

·        Plagiarism and similarity

·        Overall suitability for peer review

Manuscripts that are outside the journal's scope, substantially incomplete, scientifically unsuitable, or non-compliant with essential ethical or submission requirements may be rejected during the initial editorial screening.

Manuscripts considered suitable for further evaluation undergo double-blind peer review, in which the identities of both authors and reviewers are kept confidential.

Each manuscript will normally be evaluated by at least two independent reviewers with appropriate expertise in the relevant field.

Based on the reviewers' comments and recommendations, an editorial decision may be:

·        Accept

·        Minor Revision

·        Major Revision

·        Reject

Authors receiving a revision decision should submit a revised manuscript together with a point-by-point response to the reviewers' comments.

The Editor-in-Chief and/or designated academic editors are responsible for the final editorial decision.

Accepted manuscripts undergo appropriate editorial processing, copyediting, formatting, proofreading, and production before publication.

Submission Policy

Submission of a manuscript to IJMTR indicates that:

·        The manuscript represents original work.

·        The manuscript has not been previously published, except where permitted under the journal's policies.

·        The manuscript is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal.

·        All listed authors have approved the submitted manuscript.

·        All authors accept responsibility for their contributions.

·        Appropriate ethical standards were followed during the research.

·        Necessary institutional ethical approval was obtained where applicable.

·        Appropriate informed consent was obtained where required.

·        All sources of funding have been disclosed.

·        Potential conflicts of interest have been disclosed.

·        Previously published material has been appropriately cited and permission obtained where necessary.

One author must be designated as the Corresponding Author and will be responsible for communication with the journal throughout submission, peer review, revision, proofing, and publication.

Manuscript Submission

Manuscripts should preferably be submitted through the journal's Online Manuscript Submission System.

During submission, authors should provide:

·        Type of manuscript

·        Full title of the manuscript

·        Short/running title

·        Names of all authors

·        Academic qualifications, where requested

·        Department and institutional affiliations

·        Corresponding author's contact details

·        Abstract

·        Keywords

·        Complete blinded manuscript

·        Separate title page

·        Tables

·        Figures, where applicable

·        Supplementary material, where applicable

·        Cover letter

·        Ethical approval information

·        Clinical trial registration information, where applicable

·        Funding statement

·        Conflict-of-interest statement

·        Author contribution statement

·        Data availability statement

·        AI-use disclosure, where applicable

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all information supplied during submission is complete and accurate.

Authorship Criteria

Authorship should be based on substantial intellectual contribution to the research and manuscript.

Authors should have made substantial contributions to one or more of the following:

·        Conception or design of the study

·        Acquisition of data

·        Analysis or interpretation of data

·        Drafting of the manuscript

·        Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content

In addition, all authors should:

·        Approve the final version of the manuscript before publication.

·        Agree to be accountable for their contributions.

·        Cooperate in resolving questions concerning the accuracy or integrity of the work.

Individuals who have contributed to the study but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be mentioned in the Acknowledgements section after obtaining appropriate permission.

The order of authors should be decided collectively by the authors according to their contributions.

The journal may request an Author Contribution Statement using the CRediT taxonomy or another appropriate contributorship format.

Conflict of Interest

All authors must disclose any financial, professional, institutional, personal, or other relationships that could potentially influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the research or interpretation of the manuscript.

Where no conflict of interest exists, authors should state:

“The authors declare no conflict of interest.”

The presence of a declared conflict does not automatically prevent publication. However, transparency regarding potential competing interests is required.

Publication Ethics

The International Journal of Medical Therapeutics and Research (IJMTR) is committed to maintaining high standards of ethics and integrity in scholarly publishing.

The journal follows internationally accepted principles of biomedical publishing and research ethics, including relevant recommendations of:

·        International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)

·        Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)

·        Declaration of Helsinki, for research involving human participants

·        Applicable institutional and national guidelines governing animal research

Research involving human participants should have appropriate approval from an Institutional Ethics Committee/Institutional Review Board or equivalent body.

Authors should clearly state the ethics committee name and approval/reference number in the manuscript wherever applicable.

Plagiarism Policy

IJMTR maintains a strict policy against plagiarism and other forms of inappropriate duplication.

Submitted manuscripts may be screened using appropriate plagiarism/similarity-detection software.

The following may constitute unacceptable publication practices:

·        Direct plagiarism

·        Mosaic plagiarism

·        Inappropriate paraphrasing

·        Duplicate publication

·        Redundant publication

·        Fabrication or falsification of data

·        Inappropriate manipulation of figures or images

Manuscripts containing substantial plagiarism or serious publication misconduct may be rejected.

If such misconduct is identified after publication, appropriate action may include publication of a correction, expression of concern, or retraction, depending on the circumstances and applicable journal policies.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Authors using generative artificial intelligence or AI-assisted technologies during manuscript preparation should disclose their use when required under the journal's AI policy.

AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors, as they cannot assume responsibility or accountability for published work.

AI-assisted technologies may be used appropriately for tasks such as language improvement or formatting, subject to journal policy. Authors remain fully responsible for:

·        Accuracy of the manuscript

·        Originality of the content

·        Accuracy of references and citations

·        Interpretation of findings

·        Protection of confidential information

·        Scientific integrity of the work

Authors should independently verify any material generated or modified using AI technologies.

Article Types

IJMTR accepts the following major categories of manuscripts.

Original Research Articles

Original Research Articles should report previously unpublished findings from clinical, laboratory, epidemiological, therapeutic, translational, public health, or other medical research.

Recommended Sections

·        Abstract

·        Keywords

·        Introduction

·        Materials and Methods

·        Results

·        Discussion

·        Conclusion

·        Acknowledgements, if applicable

·        Funding

·        Conflict of Interest

·        Author Contributions

·        Data Availability

·        References

·        Tables and Figures

Recommended word limit: 3,000–5,000 words, excluding abstract, references, tables, and figure legends.

Review Articles

Review Articles should provide a comprehensive, balanced, critical, and up-to-date assessment of an important topic in medicine, therapeutics, or healthcare.

The manuscript should summarize current evidence, identify controversies and knowledge gaps, and discuss implications for clinical practice and future research.

Recommended word limit: 3,000–5,000 words.

Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses should follow appropriate methodological standards and should generally comply with PRISMA recommendations.

Authors should clearly describe:

·        Review question

·        Search strategy

·        Databases searched

·        Eligibility criteria

·        Study selection

·        Data extraction

·        Risk-of-bias assessment

·        Statistical methods, where applicable

·        Evidence synthesis

·        Limitations

Protocol registration information should be provided where applicable.

Recommended word limit: 3,500–6,000 words.

Case Reports

Case Reports should describe rare, unusual, clinically important, or educational cases that contribute meaningful information to medical knowledge or clinical practice.

Recommended Sections

·        Abstract

·        Keywords

·        Introduction

·        Case Presentation

·        Discussion

·        Conclusion

·        Patient Consent

·        References

Case reports should follow the CARE reporting guideline, where applicable.

Recommended word limit: 1,000–1,500 words.

Case Series

Case Series should present a group of related cases that provide important diagnostic, therapeutic, prognostic, or clinical observations.

Recommended word limit: 1,500–2,500 words.

Short Communications / Brief Reports

Short Communications or Brief Reports may describe preliminary findings, focused research questions, novel observations, or concise studies of clinical or scientific importance.

Recommended word limit: 1,500–2,500 words.

Clinical Images

Clinical Images should present high-quality clinical, radiological, pathological, operative, or laboratory images with significant educational value.

Patient confidentiality must be maintained, and written consent for publication should be obtained whenever the patient may be identifiable.

Recommended text: Up to 500 words.

Letters to the Editor

Letters may comment on recently published articles or discuss brief observations relevant to medicine, therapeutics, research, or healthcare.

Recommended word limit: 500–1,000 words.

Editorials / Commentaries / Perspectives

These articles discuss contemporary developments, emerging concepts, controversies, policy issues, or other topics relevant to the journal's readership.

Such manuscripts may be invited or independently submitted, subject to editorial consideration.

Manuscript Preparation

Language

Manuscripts should be written in clear, concise, grammatically correct English.

Authors whose first language is not English are encouraged to obtain appropriate language editing before submission where necessary.

Title Page / First Page File

Because IJMTR follows a double-blind peer-review process, identifying author information should be provided in a separate title-page file and should not appear in the blinded main manuscript.

The Title Page Should Include:

·        Type of manuscript

·        Full title of the manuscript

·        Short/running title

·        Full names of all authors

·        Highest academic qualification of each author

·        Department of each author

·        Institutional affiliation of each author

·        City, state and country

·        Name of the institution where the research was conducted

·        ORCID iDs, where available

·        Corresponding author's full name

·        Corresponding author's postal address

·        Telephone/contact number

·        Email address

Authors Should Also Provide:

·        Total manuscript word count

·        Abstract word count

·        Total number of manuscript pages

·        Number of tables

·        Number of figures

·        Number of references

If the research has previously been presented at a conference or scientific meeting, authors should provide the conference name, location, and date of presentation.

For clinical trials, the trial registration number and registry details should be provided.

The title-page file should preferably be submitted in DOC or DOCX format.

Abstract

Original Research Articles should normally contain a structured abstract under the following headings:

Background: Brief context and rationale.

Objectives: Primary purpose of the study.

Methods: Study design, participants, major methods, and statistical approach.

Results: Principal findings with relevant numerical data.

Conclusion: Main interpretation and clinical/scientific significance.

Review articles and other manuscript categories may use an unstructured abstract where appropriate.

Keywords

Authors should provide 3–6 keywords immediately after the abstract.

Use of appropriate Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terminology is encouraged.