Instructions to Authors

Manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with "Uniform requirements for Manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journal" developed by International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (October 2004). 

Online Submission of the Manuscripts

Articles can also be submitted online from http://www.journalonweb.com/ijoem . 

1. First Page File: Prepare the title page, covering letter, acknowledgement, etc. using a word processor program. All information which can reveal your identity should be here. Use text/rtf/doc/PDF files. Do not zip the files.
2.  Article file: The main text of the article, beginning from Abstract till References (including tables) should be in this file. Do not include any information (such as acknowledgement, your names in page headers, etc.) in this file. Use text/rtf/doc/PDF files. Do not zip the files. Limit the file size to 400 kb. Do not incorporate images in the file. If file size is large, graphs can be submitted as images separately without incorporating them in the article file to reduce the size of the file.
3. Images: Submit good quality color images. Each image should be less than 400 kb in size. Size of the image can be reduced by decreasing the actual height and width of the images (keep up to 1024x760 pixels or 5 inches). All image formats (jpeg, tiff, gif, bmp, png, eps, etc.) are acceptable; jpeg is most suitable. Do not zip the files.
4. Legends: Legends for the figures/images should be included at the end of the article file. 

If the manuscript is submitted online, the contributors' form and copyright transfer form has to be submitted in original with the signatures of all the contributors within two weeks from submission. Hard copies of the images (one set), for articles submitted online, should be sent to the journal office at the time of submission of a revised manuscript. Editorial office: C/O Dr. G. K. Kulkarni, Siemens Ltd., Kalwa Works, Thane-Belapur Road, Thane 400 601, Tel: +91 22 2760 0111 / 2762 3217 Fax: +91 22 2762 3730

Preparation of the Manuscript

The text of observational and experimental articles should be divided into sections with the headings: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, References, Tables, Figures, Figure legends, and Acknowledgment. Do not make subheadings in these sections. 

Title Page
The title page should carry 

1. Type of manuscript (e.g. Original article, Case Report)
2. The title of the article, which should be concise, but informative; 
3. Running title or short title not more than 50 characters; 
4. The name by which each contributor is known (Last name, First name and initials of middle name), with his or her highest academic degree(s) and institutional affiliation; 
5. The name of the department(s) and institution(s) to which the work should be attributed; 
6. The name, address, phone numbers, facsimile numbers and e-mail address of the contributor responsible for correspondence about the manuscript; 
7. The total number of pages, total number of photographs and word counts separately for abstract and for the text (excluding the references and abstract);
8. Source(s) of support in the form of grants, equipment, drugs, or all of these; 
9. Acknowledgement, if any; and 
10. If the manuscript was presented as part at a meeting, the organization, place, and exact date on which it was read. 

Abstract Page
The second page should carry the full title of the manuscript and an abstract (of no more than 150 words for case reports, brief reports and 250 words for original articles). The abstract should be structured and state the Context (Background), Aims, Settings and Design, Methods and Material, Statistical analysis used, Results and Conclusions. Below the abstract should provide 3 to 10 key word. 

Introduction
State the purpose of the article and summaries the rationale for the study or observation. 

Methods
The Methods section should include only information that was available at the time the plan or protocol for the study was written; all information obtained during the conduct of the study belongs in the Results section. Reports of randomized clinical trials should based on the CONSORT Statement ( http://www.consort-statement.org ). 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 2000 (available at http://www.wma.net/e/policy/17-c_e.html ). 

Results
Present your results in logical sequence in the text, tables, and illustrations, giving the main or most important findings first. Do not repeat in the text all the data in the tables or illustrations; emphasize or summarize only important observations. Extra or supplementary materials and technical detail can be placed in an appendix where it will be accessible but will not interrupt the flow of the text; alternatively, it can be published only in the electronic version of the journal.

Discussion
Include Summary of key findings (primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, results as they relate to a prior hypothesis); Strengths and limitations of the study (study question, study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation); Interpretation and implications in the context of the totality of evidence (is there a systematic review to refer to, if not, could one be reasonably done here and now?, what this study adds to the available evidence, effects on patient care and health policy, possible mechanisms); Controversies raised by this study; and Future research directions (for this particular research collaboration, underlying mechanisms, clinical research). Do not repeat in detail data or other material given in the Introduction or the Results section. In particular, contributors 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. 

References
References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text (not in alphabetic order). Identify references in text, tables, and legends by Arabic numerals in square bracket (e.g. [10]). 
The commonly cited types of references are shown here, for other types of references such as electronic media, newspaper items, etc. please refer to ICMJE Guidelines (http://www.icmje.org or http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html).

Articles in Journals
1. Standard journal article: Kulkarni SB, Chitre RG, Satoskar RS. Serum proteins in tuberculosis. J Postgrad Med 1960;6:113-20. 
List the first six contributors followed by et al. 
2. Volume with supplement: Shen HM, Zhang QF. Risk assessment of nickel carcinogenicity and occupational lung cancer. Environ Health Perspect 1994; 102 Suppl 1:275-82. 
Books and Other Monographs
3. Editor(s), compiler(s) as author: Norman IJ, Redfern SJ, editors. Mental health care for elderly people. New York: Churchill Livingstone; 1996. 
4. Chapter in a book: Phillips SJ, Whisnant JP. Hypertension and stroke. In: Laragh JH, Brenner BM, editors. Hypertension: pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management. 2nd ed. New York: Raven Press; 1995. pp. 465-78. 

Tables

• Tables should be self-explanatory and should not duplicate textual material. 
• Tables with more than 10 columns and 25 rows are not acceptable. 
• Number tables, in Arabic numerals, consecutively in the order of their first citation in the text and supply a brief title for each.
• Explain in footnotes all non-standard abbreviations that are used in each table. 
• For footnotes use the following symbols, in this sequence: *, †, ‡, §, ||, , **, ††, ‡‡ 

Illustrations (Figures)

• Send sharp, glossy, un-mounted, color photographic prints, with height of 4 inches and width of 6 inches. 
• Figures should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they have been first cited in the text. 
• Each figure should have a label pasted (avoid use of liquid gum for pasting) on its back indicating the number of the figure, the running title, top of the figure and the legends of the figure. Do not write the contributor/s' name/s. Do not write on the back of figures, scratch, or mark them by using paper clips. 
• Labels, numbers, and symbols should be clear and of uniform size. The lettering for figures should be large enough to be legible after reduction to fit the width of a printed column. 
• Symbols, arrows, or letters used in photomicrographs should contrast with the background and should marked neatly with transfer type or by tissue overlay and not by pen. 
• Print outs of digital photographs are not acceptable. For digital images send TIFF files of minimum 1200 x 1600 pixel size.
• The Journal reserves the right to crop, rotate, reduce, or enlarge the photographs to an acceptable size. 
  

Legends for Illustrations

• Type or print out legends (maximum 40 words, excluding the credit line) for illustrations using double spacing, with Arabic numerals corresponding to the illustrations. 

Electronic Version

• Manuscript sent by post must be accompanied by a 3.5 inch (1.44 MB) floppy or CD containing the manuscript. 

Sending a revised manuscript

While submitting a revised manuscript, contributors are requested to include, along with single copy of the final revised manuscript, a photocopy of the revised manuscript with the changes underlined in red and copy of the comments with the point to point clarification to each comment. The manuscript number should be written on each of these documents. If the manuscript is submitted online, the contributors' form and copyright transfer form has to be submitted in original with the signatures of all the contributors within two weeks of submission. Hard copies of images should be sent to the office of the journal. There is no need to send hard copies of the manuscript for articles submitted online.
A photocopy of the first page of all the cited references (articles and books) can be asked by the journal to verify the references.

Reprints

Journal provides no free printed reprints. 

Copyrights

The whole of the literary matter in the Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health is copyright and cannot be reproduced without the written permission of the Editorial Board. 

Checklist

(to be tick marked as applicable and one copy attached with the manuscript)

Manuscript Title 

Covering letter

• Signed by all contributors
• Previous publication / presentations mentioned
• Source of funding mentioned
• Conflicts of interest disclosed

Authors 

• Middle name initials provided 
• Author for correspondence, with e-mail address provided
• Number of contributors restricted as per the instructions
• Identity not revealed in paper except title page (e.g. name of the institute in Methods, citing previous study as 'our study', names on figure labels, name of institute in photographs, etc.)

Presentation and format

• Double spacing 
• Margins 2.5 cm from all four sides 
• Title page contains all the desired information 
• Running title provided (not more than 50 characters)
• Abstract page contains the full title of the manuscript
• Abstract provided (about 150 words for case reports and 250 words for original articles)
• Structured abstract provided for an original article
• Key words provided (three or more)
• Introduction of 75-100 words
• Headings in title case (not ALL CAPITALS)
• References cited in square brackets
• References according to the journal's instructions, punctuation marks checked

Language and grammar

• Uniformly American English
• Abbreviations spelt out in full for the first time
• Numerals from 1 to 10 spelt out
• Numerals at the beginning of the sentence spelt out

Tables and figures

• No repetition of data in tables and graphs and in text
• Actual numbers from which graphs drawn, provided
• Figures necessary and of good quality (colour)
• Table and figure numbers in Arabic letters (not Roman)
• Labels pasted on back of the photographs (no names written)
• Figure legends provided (not more than 40 words)
• Patients' privacy maintained (if not permission taken)
• Credit note for borrowed figures/tables provided
• Manuscript provided on a floppy (with single spacing)

Contributors' form

(to be modified as applicable and one singed copy attached with the manuscript)
 
Manuscript Title: _________________________________________________________

I/we certify that I/we have participated sufficiently in the intellectual content, conception and design of this work or the analysis and interpretation of the data (when applicable), as well as the writing of the manuscript, to take public responsibility for it and have agreed to have my/our name listed as a contributor. I/we believe the manuscript represents valid work. Neither this manuscript nor one with substantially similar content under my/our authorship has been published or is being considered for publication elsewhere, except as described in the covering letter. I/we certify that all the data collected during the study is presented in this manuscript and no data from the study has been or will be published separately. I/we attest that, if requested by the editors, I/we will provide the data/information or will cooperate fully in obtaining and providing the data/information on which the manuscript is based, for examination by the editors or their assignees. Financial interests, direct or indirect, that exist or may be perceived to exist for individual contributors in connection with the content of this paper have been disclosed in the cover letter. Sources of outside support of the project are named in the cover letter. 

I/We hereby transfer(s), assign(s), or otherwise convey(s) all copyright ownership, including any and all rights incidental thereto, exclusively to the Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, in the event that such work is published by the Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. The Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health shall own the work, including 1) copyright; 2) the right to grant permission to republish the article in whole or in part, with or without fee; 3) the right to produce preprints or reprints and translate into languages other than English for sale or free distribution; and 4) the right to republish the work in a collection of articles in any other mechanical or electronic format. 

We give the rights to the corresponding author to make necessary changes as per the request of the journal, do the rest of the correspondence on our behalf and he/she will act as the guarantor for the manuscript on our behalf.
All persons who have made substantial contributions to the work reported in the manuscript, but who are not contributors, are named in the Acknowledgment and have given me/us their written permission to be named. If I/we do not include an Acknowledgment that means I/we have not received substantial contributions from non-contributors and no contributor has been omitted.

Name Signature Date signed
1 ------------ --------- -----
2 ------------ --------- -----
3 ------------ --------- ----- 
4 ------------ --------- ----- (up to 4 contributors for case report/images/review)
5 ------------ --------- ----- 
6 ------------ --------- ----- (up to 6 contributors for original studies)