Instructions to Authors

The Indian Journal of Dermatology Venereology & Leprology is a bimonthly peer-reviewed journal that publishes articles in the field of dermatology, leprosy and sexually transmitted diseases. The journal is published in print as well as electronic versions and is indexed with Pubmed and Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE). Articles may be submitted for the print or the electronic version. Articles are accepted in the following sections (all word limits exclude abstracts and references):

• Original articles: This includes reports of trials, studies of diagnostic tests or surveys that are up to 2500 words in length (excluding references and abstract). Please write a structured abstract and add statistical methods. Permission from ethics committee/IRB, statement of sources of support and conflict of interest is mandatory. Short reports of preliminary studies may be submitted for the category of Brief reports.
• Case reports: Reports of an unusual manifestation of a disease or a new disease (1000 words and up to 10 references) should be submitted with photographs.
• Reviews: Systematic critical assessments of literature and data sources of about 3000 words should be submitted only after consulting the Editor regarding the subject. Please add 10 multiple choice questions (MCOs) with four options based on the review article.
• Letters to the Editor: These should normally be no more than 500 words in length and may have up to 5 references.
• Residents’ page: Short articles (up to 1000 words) that are educational for postgraduates or help improve their learning skills or ability to perform in examinations would be considered.
• Focus: Short reviews (up to 1500 words) on instruments or equipment or drugs or procedure of current interest may be submitted after consulting the Editor on the selection of subject.
• Quiz: Classical cases with one to three good photographs will be considered. A short history, examination and investigation findings (up to 150 words) should be followed by the answer in the form of the diagnosis and a short review of the condition (up to 500 words and up to 5 references), if necessary with additional photographs.
• Announcements: Announcements of conferences, meetings, courses, awards, and other items that are likely to be of interest to readers should be submitted with the name and address of the person from whom additional information can be obtained (up to 100 words). Paid half page insertions are allowed from IADVL members only.
• Book Review: Please send two copies for book reviews along with a print or high resolution digital photograph of the front cover.

Type the manuscript following the instructions mentioned below under ‘Preparation of manuscript’ and submit it online through the web-site http://www.journalonweb.com. All manuscripts received online are automatically acknowledged by e-mail which mentions tracking article number for future reference. In case you do not receive acknowledging e-mail, please resubmit the article. Do not send articles by e-mail. The progress of a manuscript through the editorial process can be subsequently tracked by authors on the web-site. The copyright form, covering letter and other documents mentioned in Appendix I below should be sent to the Editorial office (within 15 days of the online submission) at the following address:

Dr. Uday Khopkar
Editor, IJDVL
Department of Dermatology
Seth G. S. Medical College and K. E. M. Hospital
Parel, Mumbai - 400012, INDIA.

Manuscripts are sent to at least two independent reviewers without revealing the identity of the contributors. Authors may suggest the names and e-mail addresses of one or two reviewers who have had some experience in the subject of the submitted manuscript but who are not affiliated to the same institute as the authors. Authors will be informed about the reviewers’ comments and acceptance or rejection of their manuscript within eight to ten weeks. Galley proofs will be e-mailed to the authors and need to be returned within three days. Corrections received after that period may not be included. The editors reserve the customary right to style, to abridge the article to ensure clarity and conciseness and to decide the time of publication. Reprints are not free and should be requested in a reprint request form that will be sent with the acceptance letter.

# Preparation of Manuscript

Prepare the manuscript using MS Word with 1.5 line spacing for A4 size paper with a 1 inch margin on all sides. While typing it on a computer, use the tab key and not the space bar for indentation. Do not type headings or any other text in ALL CAPITALS. Do not use the software’s facility for a header, footer or footnotes.

A manuscript should be divided into the following two files:

1. First page file: This document should carry the title of the article; the names of all contributors and their professional affiliations; the name, address, phone numbers and email address of the corresponding contributor and acknowledgment if any.
2. Article file: This should have the main article manuscript without any identifying information about authors or their affiliations. The article file should have sections of Abstract, Key words, Key messages, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, References, Tables, Illustrations and Legends for illustrations. For detailed information, please refer to the website www.ijdvl.com or the issue of January 2007.

Tables: Tables should be included in the article file document. Make self-explanatory tables that do not duplicate the text. Number tables in Arabic numerals consecutively in the order of their first citation in the text and supply a brief title for each. Place explanatory matter in footnotes, not in the heading. Explain in footnotes all non-standard abbreviations. Obtain permission for all fully borrowed, adapted, and modified tables and provide a credit line in the footnote. For footnotes use the following symbols, in this sequence: *, †, ‡, §, ||, **, ††, ‡‡

Illustrations: Sketches/flow diagrams should be included in the article file document (MS Word). Clinical and histopathology photographs should be uploaded online simultaneously at the time of submission of the manuscript after scanning as jpeg files of a size less than 100 KB each. Please follow necessary instructions on the journal website. Type legends (maximum 20 words) for illustrations/figures using 1.5 line spacing. Use Arabic numerals for numbering illustrations. For histopathology photographs, please mention the magnification scale and the method of staining. Legends should also be incorporated in the article file.

High resolution digital photographs on a CD (resolution not less than 1200 X 2400 pixels and preferably of the tiff type) or print photographs (4 inches x 6 inches) will need to be submitted to editorial office only on acceptance of the article.

For print photographs, indicate the number of the figure, the first contributor's surname and the top of the figure on a label pasted (avoid the use of liquid gum) on the back of each print or mount of a slide. The IJDVL reserves the right to crop, rotate, reduce, or enlarge the photographs to an acceptable size.

For clinical photographs, either the subjects must not be identifiable or their pictures must be accompanied by written permission to use the photograph. If a figure or table has been published before, acknowledge the original source and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material. A credit line should appear in the legend for such figures.

N.B. In case of any doubt, please refer to ‘Uniform requirement for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals’ at the web page www.icmje.org or in the Annals of Internal Medicine (Ann Intern Med 1997;126:36-47) for more detailed guidelines.

# Appendix I

Covering letter and other documents: The covering letter must be made including the following points and stating the title of the paper and signed by all authors. For online submissions, the covering letter inclusive of copyright transfer form and, with other permissions or consents (if any) must reach editorial office within 15 days of submitting the article online. Covering letter must state about:

Authorship:
All the authors have contributed enough towards this publication to justify authorship criteria.

Copyright:
We transfer all copyright ownership of the enclosed manuscript to the Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprology if it is accepted for publication.
We warrant that this paper is original and has not been in part or in whole simultaneously submitted to or published in another journal.

Sources of support:
For studies, add 'This study was supported (or not supported) financially or otherwise (specify) by ………………………………….'

Conflict of interest:
There is no conflict of interest of any of the authors with the results of this study. In case conflict of interest exists, please elaborate.

Ethics committee / Institutional review board's permission:
We also declare that the study was assessed and approved by the institutional ethics committee / institutional review board and that the letter of approval is available with us for examination. Please attach a copy of the approval letter.

Permission:
Copy of permission(s), if any, to reproduce published material is enclosed.

Patient's consent:
The patient's consent to use photographs that may reveal the identity of the patient is enclosed.

# Checklist for submission of articles to IJDVL

For online submission:

1. Prepare first page file
2. Prepare article file including legends to photographs. Do not include author names or affiliations or correspondence address in any part of the article file
3. Scan photographs and save as jpeg files of less than 100 KB each
4. Register as an author at the web-site www.journalonweb.com/ijdvl (not needed if you have registered earlier)
5. Follow instructions for submission in your work area.
6. Fill up the authorship responsibility form, copyright form, and other appropriate documents given in Appendix I above and send them by post to the editorial office. The documents may be sent by e-mail to editor@ijdvl.com after scanning the printed and signed forms.
7. On receipt of an e-mail regarding acceptance or revision, login as an author and do the needful as per the editor’s remarks.