Notice to Contributors
The IFEMED Journal is the official academic publication of the Obafemi Awolowo University Medical Students’ Association, IFUMSA, in Ile-Ife, Osun State. Our past Journal Issues have featured the following themes Malnutrition, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Renal Diseases, Cancer in Nigeria, Diseases of the Gut, Blood Disorders in Nigeria, Trauma and Medical Emergencies, Public Health in Nigeria, Depression, and very recently, Covidemic on the cover page. Interested authors are advised to check out previous journal publications (which are available for free online) to get a grasp of what the Journal Club is looking for.
The Publication Committee, Editor-in-Chief, and members of the IFEMED Journal Club Editorial Board invite concise original articles in the following categories:
1. Primary Articles
I. Original research articles
II. Case reports/Case series
III. Technical notes
2. Secondary Articles
I. Narrative review articles
II. Systematic reviews
III. Special articles
a. letters to the editor
b. correspondences
c. short communications, editorials, commentaries, and pictorial essays
The publication of a work in a peer-reviewed academic journal has benefits beyond straightforward communication. It serves as a foundation upon which knowledge is built. Additionally, it serves as strong circumstantial proof of the caliber and significance of the writers’ and, indirectly, the institutions’ research endeavors. It is critical that our prospective authors adhere to the codes of conduct expected of all parties involved in the act of journalism for all of the aforementioned reasons and more. The International Council of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) regulations govern how the IFEMED journal club conduct herself and how she should expect her contributors to conduct themselves.
Ethics committee approval and informed consent are required for studies involving patients or volunteers, and this information needs to be included in the article. If an author wants to incorporate case data, other personal information, or pictures of patients or other people in an article for publication, they must first obtain the necessary consents and permissions. However, a written permission does not need to be sent along with the article to the journal. But they should be kept by the author and provided upon request. Any personal information about patients that is mentioned in the paper or any supplemental materials (including any illustrations), without the patient’s (or, if relevant, the next of kin’s,) express written consent, must be deleted before submission.
Any financial or personal ties to other people or organizations that might unfairly influence a writer’s work, such as employment, consulting work, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications or registrations, grants, or other financial support, must be disclosed by all authors.
The Editorial Board is aware of the widespread adoption of Artificial Intelligence software including but not limited to ChatGPT and other extensions. Please note that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) is strictly prohibited in research writing for the journal club as this is the practice of the global scientific community. This includes, but is not limited to, the use of AI-generated text, or images, as well as the use of AI tools or software to complete any portion of your writing. Indiscriminate use of AI in research writing constitutes academic dishonesty and a lack of scientific integrity.
Any violations of this policy will result in rejection of the article by the Editorial Board of the journal club. Our goal as a journal is to encourage critical thinking and creativity, and the indiscriminate use of AI detracts from this objective. Our authors are expected to use their own knowledge, research and analysis to complete their articles. All submitted articles will be passed through an AI text detector and a plagiarism detector as part of our article screening process. We expect all our authors to uphold the standards of scientific integrity.
However, it is important to state that this exclusion does not apply to the use of AI tools to enhance readability, check for references, grammar, and spelling errors, or to analyze and draw conclusions from data as part of the research process. Also, because AI can provide authoritative-sounding output that may be inaccurate, incomplete, or prejudiced, the technology should be applied under human supervision and control, and authors should carefully review and revise the result. The use of AI and AI-enhanced technologies shouldn’t be acknowledged as authors, co-authors, or co-authorship. We look forward to intelligent discussions, article submissions, or letters to the Editor on how to incorporate AI into research.
IFEMED Journal Club does not accept simultaneous submissions. Submission of an article implies that the work has never been published before and is not being considered for publication elsewhere. It also implies that the work will not be published in the same form, in English or any other language, including electronically, without the written consent of the copyright holder.
Authors will be required to complete a “Journal Publishing Agreement” if their paper is accepted. A “Journal Publishing Agreement” form and an email confirming receipt of the work will be issued to the corresponding author. Authors have the right to reuse their work. The IFEMED Journal encourages the sharing of knowledge and information in an ethical manner.
Before submitting articles, writers are obliged to carefully evaluate the list of authors and the order in which they should be listed. the definitive list of authors at the time of the initial submission. Any addition, deletion or rearrangement of authors’ names in the authorship list can only be made before the manuscript has been accepted and only if approved by the journal Club’s Editor-in-Chief. The corresponding author must send the following to the Editor-in-Chief in order to propose such a change: the justification for the author list change, and a formal confirmation via email from all authors including the author who is being added or removed (in the case addition or removal of an author’s name) indicating their agreement with the inclusion, removal, or reorganization.
All articles published in the IFEMED Journal Issue will be immediately and permanently free for everyone to read on the Club’s Academia page after a period of 6 months of publication of the Journal Issue.
Please use proper English while writing your material; either American or British language is acceptable. All papers are evaluated for approval based on their readability. Try to educate rather than to impress. Authors should keep their writing free of superfluous wordiness, medical jargon, and extended sentences.
All submissions should be sent via email as attachments with text and non-text materials such as images in different files and addressed to the Editor-in-Chief, the IFEMED Journal Club to ifemedjc@gmail.com. Otherwise, manuscripts can be sent via post and addressed to The Provost, The College of Health Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.
Manuscript Preparation
Manuscripts should be typed, doubled-spaced, in font size 12, in Times New Roman font, and a maximum of 3000 words excluding simple tables and figures. The file must be saved in the default format for the word processor being used. Any word processing package is acceptable although the use of MS Word is encouraged. Text arrangement should be as straightforward as possible. Beginning with the title page, number each page.
The article title, authors’ complete names, and institutional affiliation should all be listed on the title page. The title should be concise and informative. Avoid abbreviations and formulae in the titles.
The names of the authors must be spelled accurately. Authors’ email addresses can be written immediately after the authors’ names and affiliation addresses should be written below the authors’ names and email addresses.
The title page should indicate the author who will handle correspondence at all phases of refereeing, publication, and post-publication. Corresponding authors should include an up-to-date email address because all correspondence will be done via email.
No abstract should exceed 150 words.
Give up to six keywords right after the abstract. At all costs, avoid abbreviations. Only abbreviations that have gained widespread acceptance in the medical field may be acceptable.
Authors should divide their articles into clearly defined sections. Each section should have a heading and each heading should appear on its separate line.
Do not add acknowledgments as a footnote to the title or anywhere else on the title page. Instead, group them in a distinct section before the references at the end of the article.
Use the international system of units (SI) and adhere to all approved international regulations and conventions. Please provide their SI equivalent if any other units are referenced.
If you use footnotes, ensure that they are numbered sequentially throughout the article. The ability to incorporate footnotes into the text is a function offered by several word processors. If not, kindly identify where footnotes are located in the text and list them separately at the end of the article. Footnotes should not be included in the Reference list.
All reference must be in Vancouver style. Limit references to no more than 40. Additionally, ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list and vice versa. For web references, the full URL should be given and the date when the reference was last accessed.
Supplementary material such as images, illustration, tables, charts and sound clips, can be published with articles to enhance them. They should be sent as a separate file from the text document when sent via email. Authors should provide a descriptive caption for each supplementary file. All pictorial materials (including photos, pictures and figures) should be sent in jpeg format. Image size should not be more than 850KB. Tables should be submitted as editable texts not images. Authors should ensure to number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text and place any table notes below the table body; ensure that the data presented in them do not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article.
If authors wish to make changes to supplementary materials during any stage of the process, they should make sure to provide an updated file.
The Editorial board reserves the right to accept, reject or request that articles be modified or edited at our discretion.
The IFEMED Journal uses an anonymous review technique. The Editor-in-Chief will first determine if each submission is appropriate for the journal. The scientific merit of the paper is next normally evaluated by at least two independent professional reviewers who receive papers that are considered suitable. The final decision on whether to accept or reject an article rests with the Editorial Board. The Editorial Board’s judgment is conclusive.
In the case where the Journal Club requests edit, we respectfully request authors to provide us with their modifications within five working days or less to facilitate a quick publication process for their article. Corresponding authors will receive an e-mail notifying them about the need for modifications. The Journal Club makes every effort to publish every article as soon and accurately as possible. It’s crucial to make sure that authors follow all corrections thoroughly. Before sending in the edits, authors should double-check for errors. Besides, only with permission from the Editor-in-Chief can the significant changes to the article be considered as it has already been accepted for publication.