Plagiarism

Copying, including or directly quoting from another’s work without adequately acknowledging for any gain, benefit, or credit, whether intentionally or unintentionally, is considered plagiarism. It is regarded as a breach of publication ethics and is an academic offence. Follow good writing practices and guidelines issued by organizations such as Committee for Publication Ethics to avoid plagiarism.

Guidelines for Manuscript Preparation

Front Matter

Titles and subtitles

Titles should be short, concise, specific, informative, and unique. A title should not be a complete/affirmative sentence.

Author byline

Provide full names of all authors. It is mandatory to expand initials.

Correspondence

The corresponding author will receive all communications and is responsible for resolving all queries pertaining to the MS.

The corresponding author should be indicated with an asterisk (in the author byline). The correspondence details should contain the author's designation and department; full name of organization/ institute; complete postal address including pin/zip code; author's valid and active e-mail address; and phone and fax numbers.

Abstract

Abstracts are mandatory for articles in the categories of research, review, and case studies.

For research and review articles, an abstract should summarize the main points of an article and should not exceed 200 words. The text should be structured under the headings: (1) background and aim, (2) materials and methods, (3) results, and (4) conclusion.

For case studies, an abstract should summarize the diagnosis, treatment, and results in an unstructured format and should not exceed 200 words.

Key words

Key words are descriptors representing the key topics presented in the article. An article should have 6 to 10 key words.

Body Text

Introduction

The introduction should provide the objective of the study and state the hypothesis or research question, how and why the hypothesis was developed, and why it is important. Introduction should not contain extensive literature survey.

Materials and methods

This section should include a description of:

• Study design or type of analysis and period of study
• Conditions, factors, or disease studied
• Details of sample (eg, study participant and the setting from which they were drawn)
• Intervention(s)
• Outcome measures
• Statistical analysis

Results

The results should be specific and relevant to the research hypothesis. This section should contain minimal text and data represented as tables and figures.

Discussion

This section should be a formal consideration and critical examination of the study. The results should be considered in this section in relevance with other similar studies.

Conclusion

This section should summarize the consensus statement. It may include benefits and limitations of the study. The type of future studies required, if appropriate, should be mentioned here.

Tables and figures

• Cite all tables/figures in the text in sequential order
• Provide appropriate Table/Figure captions
• Mention SI units for all parameters presented

General Style Points

• Use US English spellings and refer Merriam-Webster's online dictionary for spellings
• Italicize genus and species names
• Use SI units for all units of measure
• For materials procured from manufacturers, provide full name of the company and location (city, state, country)
• Provide dosage forms for all medications used in the study and at all instances mentioned
• Use the date format Month Day, Year

Abbreviations

• Spell-out abbreviations at their first mention in text
• Do not use abbreviations in titles and headings
• Use uppercase letters without periods for acronyms such as CHF, GFR, and WBC and also for routes of administration and dosage schedules such as PO, IV, BID, and TID
• Use abbreviations consistently, that is, mention the term or phrase at the first instance followed by the abbreviation in parentheses; use only the abbreviation thereafter

Back Matter

Acknowledgments

Only those who have made substantial contributions to the study and/or preparation of the MS should be acknowledged. Details of financial grants (including grant numbers), financial disclosures, conflict of interest, role of sponsor, and disclaimers should be included here. This section should be as brief as possible.

References

References should be cited in text to support arguments and lay the foundation for theses and as sources of information.

• Follow Vancouver style of referencing (numbered references)
• Cite all references in text, tables, or figures in the numerical order using superscript Arabic numerals
• If a reference contains up to 3 authors in the author group, mention all names; if a reference contains more than 3 authors in the author group, mention only the first author's name followed by ", et al"

Journal in print

Knobel RB, Wimmer JE Jr, Holbert D. Heat loss prevention for preterm infants in the delivery room. J Perinatol. 2005;25(5):304–308.

Huurre A, et al. Mode of delivery – effects on gut microbiota and humoral immunity. Neonatology. 2008;93(4):236–240.

Books

Aronoff GR, et al. Drug Prescribing in Renal Failure. Vol 1. 4th ed. Philadelphia, PA: American College of Physicians; 1999:39.

Dukes MNG, Aronson JK, eds. Meyler's Side Effects of Drugs. 14th ed. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier; 2000:xvi–xvii.

Glinoer D. Thyroid disease during pregnancy. In: Braverman LE, ed. Werner and Ingbar's the Thyroid: A Fundamental and Clinical Text. 8th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2000:1013–1027.

Online journal

Perneger TV, et al. Randomized trial of heroin maintenance programme for adults who fail in conventional drug treatments. TBMJT [serial online]. 1998;317:20–24. http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/317/7150/13. Accessed March 4, 2003.

Online book

Rennie D, Guyatt G, eds. Users' Guides to the Medical Literature: A Manual for Evidence-Based Clinical Practice. Chicago, IL: AMA Press; 2002. http://www.usersguides.org/textbooks.asp. Accessed February 26, 2004.

Unpublished material

If an article has been submitted for publication but has not yet been accepted, do not include it in the reference list. Cite this material in the text as "unpublished data" along with its date of submission.

Example: These findings have recently been corroborated (Mariman, unpublished data, November 2014).

Refer the Instructions to Authors page on the journal's Web site for guidance on citing references such as online publication ahead of print, material accepted for publication but not yet published, websites, poster/paper presentation, conference proceedings, government or agency bulletins, and government/organization reports.

Guidelines for Manuscript Submission

Typescript and other inputs

• Submit the MS (unpublished and not submitted elsewhere) in Microsoft Word format and the illustrations in the required format online at
  www.perinatology.in/submit-articles
  OR
  Mail them to perinatology@himalayawellness.com
• Provide tables in editable format and not as images or screenshots.
• Illustrations
  • Provide line art/graphs/figures/photographs in ".eps" or ".ai" format or in a camera-ready form, with redundant areas trimmed.
  • Submit line drawings as photographic prints or high-quality photocopies and all other illustrations as black-and-white photographic prints. Color illustrations can be used if essential to the article.
  • Ensure that the resolution of photographs or their scanned copies is 300 dpi or more.
  • If the subjects in the photographs are identifiable, either mask their eyes or submit a copy of the written permission obtained from them to use the photograph.
  • ubmit a copy of the written permission obtained from the publishers and authors to reproduce or adapt previously published illustrations.
• Provide complete details of the corresponding author, including address for communication, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address.

Post Submission Process

• An e-mail acknowledging receipt of the MS will be sent to the corresponding author.
• The MS will be thoroughly screened and accepted only if it complies with the journal's guidelines.
• If the MS is accepted, a manuscript acknowledgment letter (MAL) will be sent to the corresponding author.
• Along with the MAL, 2 forms will be sent. It is mandatory for all authors in the author group to sign these forms and return them to the publisher within the specified time.
  • Authorship Criteria and Responsibility, Financial Disclosure, Acknowledgment Form
  • Copyright Transfer Agreement Form
• The MS will then be edited.
• The editor has the right to make necessary changes in the MS and reduce the length of the MS, if required.
• Any queries and clarifications that arise during the editing process will be sent to the corresponding author through e-mail. The corresponding author should reply to this e-mail with responses to all queries within the specified time.
• Once all queries are resolved, an article acceptance letter will be sent to the corresponding author.
• Print copies of the journal will be sent to the corresponding author free of cost after the issue has been published. No reprints will be sent.