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Detailed guidelines for MJA manuscripts

Please read Types of articles published by the MJA first

For all MJA manuscripts

The main text of the manuscript should be supplied as a fully editable Word document, in 12pt Times New Roman with 1.5-line spacing and normal margins. Do not use footnotes or endnotes (they will be lost during pre-processing of your manuscript).

Tables, figures and their titles should be included at the end of the manuscript, after the References. 

Please ensure that tables meet the following requirements:

  • Supply tables as an editable Word text (not images or pdfs).
  • Use a maximum width of 19 cm for those included in the main text and of 25 cm for the appendix — authors can determine the width of their table by inserting a temporary row at the top of the table, merging all cells in this row, then reading the width from “Cell size” in the Table Layout section of the Word ribbon.
  • Use 8 pt Arial font.
  • Do not merge cells below the header rows; all rows must span the table from left to right, all data columns must span the table from below the header rows to the bottom of the table.
  • Do not use the space bar or tab key to indent text.
  • Do not include numbers (ie, n = ...) in the header rows; they should be moved to separate, labelled data rows.
  • In Table layout, select “None” for Text wrapping.

Images (photos, graphs) should also be supplied as image files of at least 2000 x 2000 pixel size. We prefer TIFF files (minimum resolution, 300dpi), but JPG, EPS, and PNG files are acceptable. If arrows or other labels are required on your photograph, please supply two copies: one with labels (to indicate position) and one without. Provide a letter of permission from the copyright holder for the use of images from other publications or photos of people.

For graphs, please also provide the data from which the graphs were generated as an Excel or Word file.

Flow charts should be supplied as fully editable Word files.

Supplementary information (Appendices) should be prepared as fully editable Word files, and formatted in the same manner as the main manuscript.

Authors are requested to check the layout and style of MJA articles of the type they intend to submit before preparing their submission.

Overall style

Please be mindful that the MJA has a broad readership, not all of whom will be acquainted with your specialty or topic. Please use humanistic language that recognises people as human beings, not cases or biological subjects.

  • The MJA uses the Macquarie Dictionary as its spelling reference.
  • Abbreviations should be used sparingly, and ALL should be spelled out on first use in the abstract and in the main text.
  • Provide reference intervals when reporting laboratory findings.
  • Refer to drugs by their generic (not their proprietary) names.
  • Provide absolute numbers (with denominators) when citing percentages.
  • Report P values to three decimal places if statistically significant (if less than 0.001, use P < 0.001), and to two decimal places if not significant.

References

  • The accuracy of references is the responsibility of authors; good referencing is a key component of good scientific practice and a courtesy to your readers.
  • References should be inserted in the text as numbers in parentheses, in order of citation.
  • EndNote should convert the references to plain text before submitting their manuscript (EndNote/Bibliography/Convert citations and bibliography function in Word).
  • References in tables and figures should be numbered according to the position of the first referral to the table/figure in the main text.
  • Please use sentence case for item titles (ie, capital letters only for the first word and for proper nouns).
  • Provide the surnames and initials of all authors (if more than four authors, provide the first three, followed by “et al”); do not abbreviate corporate author names (eg, “World Health Organization”, not “WHO”).
  • For journal article references, use PubMed journal abbreviations, provide the volume number (but NOT the issue number or date), and provide the first and last page numbers in full. Do not cite the DOI if volume/page numbers are available.
  • Unpublished journal articles may only be cited as full references if a DOI number can be provided.
  • Personal communications and unpublished articles cited in the text must name the source and their affiliation; written permission from the cited people cited must be provided to the journal.
  • For online references, URLs alone are unacceptable, as are shortened URLs (eg, bit.ly). Please provide full publication details for online articles and web documents, including the viewing month and year.

Examples of major reference styles (modified Vancouver style):

Journal article

You CH, Lee K, Chey RY, Meng R. Study of patients with unexplained nausea. Neurogastroenterol Motil 1980; 79: 311-314.

Smith LM, Haynes RB, Owen D, et al. Predisposing factors for Alzheimer’s disease. J Psychiatr Res 1989; 1: 352-355.

Smith LM, Jones RB, Wilson D, et al; Organisation for Evidence-Based Medicine. How poor referencing undermines science. J Approp Rec 2009; 10: 1-5.

Journal article (not yet published in journal)

Smith LM, Jones RB, Wilson D, et al. The influence of household pets on happiness during an epidemic. J Fauna Psychiat 2015; doi: 10.1001/mxy.14567 [Epub ahead of print].

Preprint

Bar DZ, Atkatsh K, Tavarez U, et al. Biotinylation by antibody recognition: a novel method for proximity labelling [preprint]. BioRxiv 06918; 11 Aug 2016. https://doi.org/10.1101/069187 (viewed Jan 2017).

Online articles

Sweeten B. Proposal for secret monitoring of home workers. The Age (Melbourne), 1 Apr 2020. www.theage.com.au/ national/secret-monitoring-proposal.html (viewed Apr 2021).

Cairns W. Why I had a COVID-19 vaccine when my turn came [online]. InSight+ (Australia), 12 Apr 2021. https://insightplus.mja.com.au/2021/12/why-i-had-a-covid-19-vaccine-when-my-turn-came (viewed May 2021).

Web document

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. 2004 National Drug Strategy household survey: detailed findings (AIHW Cat. No. PHE 66; Drug Statistics Series No. 16). Canberra: AIHW, 2005. http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/phe/ndshsdf04/ndshsdf04.pdf (viewed Jan 2009).

Gordon L, Hirst N. The health effects of using solaria. Brisbane: Queensland Institute of Medical Research, 2007. http://www.arpansa.gov.au/pubs/rhc/QIMR_solaria07.pdf (viewed Apr 2008).

Scollo M, Bayly M. Impact of price increases on tobacco consumption in Australia. In: Scollo M, Greenhalgh E, editors. Tobacco in Australia: facts and issues. Melbourne: Cancer Council Victoria, 2015. http://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/13-5-impact-of-price-increases-on-tobacco-consumpt (viewed Feb 2015).

Book

Colson J, Armour W. Sports injuries and their treatment. 2nd ed. London: Elsevier, 1986.

Diener HC, Wilkinson M, editors. Drug-induced headache. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1988.

Book chapter

Weinstein L, Gill P. Pathologic properties of invading microorganisms. In: Soderman WA, Beale T, editors. Pathologic physiology: mechanisms of disease. Philadelphia: Saunders, 1974; pp 347-359.

For full research articles

  • A structured abstract (maximum 300 words), including the following headings:
    • Objectives: a clear statement of the main aim or aims of the study (ie, not a background statement); 
    • Design (eg, prospective, randomised, placebo-controlled, case-controlled, crossover studies);
    • Setting: where and when the study was undertaken, or the population covered by the analysis;
    • Participants (if applicable): how participants were selected for the study;
    • Intervention (if applicable): including both control and active/experimental interventions, and duration of intervention;
    • Main outcome measures: precise definition of the primary and secondary outcomes; 
    • Results: include absolute event rates (not just proportions), confidence intervals, number needed to treat/harm etc, as appropriate; 
    • Conclusions: the interpretation and implications must be directly related to the results reported in the previous section;
    • Trial registration (if applicable): registry and registration number for clinical trials.
  • A summary box (maximum: 100 words) in plain English that summarises the significance of the article for general readers, with the headings: “The known” [the starting point for your investigation], “The new” [your major novel finding] and “The implications” [the consequences of your finding].
  • The main text (1000 to 3000 words, unless otherwise negotiated) should be structured as follows:
    • Introduction (maximum: 400 words): provide the background to the investigation, concluding with a clear statement of the aims of the study, ideally matching the Objectives section of the Abstract.
    • Methods: include clear descriptions of the study design, the setting for the study (including identification of participating sites), participant recruitment and selection, data collection and storage, primary and secondary objectives, and data analysis and synthesis.
    • An Ethics approval statement must be included as the closing subsection of the Methods section, or a statement that a requirement for formal ethics approval was waived by the applicable institutional ethics committee, providing the reason formal ethics approval was not deemed necessary, which much have been in consultation or following processes documented by the author(s) institutional ethics committees. Ethics approval statements should include the formal name of the ethics committee or institutional review board and the reference number of the approval. For studies involving Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people, approval by relevant local Indigenous representatives is also required.
    • Results: include baseline characteristics for the study participants and results organised according to the primary and secondary objectives defined in the Methods, citing absolute as well as proportional figures (ie, not percentages alone) and providing uncertainty estimates (standard deviations, interquartile ranges, confidence intervals) appropriate for the statistics reported. Depiction of results in graphs is encouraged, with the underlying data tables included in the Supporting Information.
    • Discussion: begin with a summary of the major findings of the study (one paragraph), place them in the context of previously published relevant studies and discuss their implications with respect to the research questions defined in the Introduction and recommended future directions. The Discussion should conclude with the two subsections Limitations (one paragraph, acknowledging any factors that should be taken into account when interpreting your findings, such as representativeness of the participants and missing data) and Conclusion (one paragraph, highlighting the main finding and its significance).
    • References: maximum of 40 references, formatted in the modified Vancouver style used by the MJA (URL)
    • Images, tables: please place at the end of the main manuscript, together with detailed titles, after the References. All images should also be supplied as separate images files (acceptable formats: EPS, PNG; JPG or TIF: minimum 300dpi resolution). For graphs, please also supply a data table that will allow re-drawing in MJA style if required.
  • You also need to include the following:
    • Data sharing statement: describe when and how the raw data for the study will be available for inspection by interested parties, or provide a precise reason for which the data will not be shared. Include a statement that all authors had full access to all of the data (including statistical reports and tables) related to the study. See example statements below:
      • The study data are available at this URL.
      • The study data can be accessed by contacting the corresponding author.
      • The data for this study will not be shared, as we do not have permission from the participants or ethics approval to do so.
      • The de-identified data we analysed are not publicly available, but requests to the corresponding author for the data will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
      • This article includes no original data.
    • Acknowledgements (entered by authors in Scholar One): list all sources of financial, material, and other support for the investigation, including salary support for each of the investigators, and a statement on any role in the study played by the providers of such support. You may also acknowledge any person who contributed to the investigation but did not qualify as an author, including their primary affiliation and contribution to the study (e.g., study design, data collection, analysis or interpretation, manuscript preparation). You must provide written confirmation (e.g., email) from each individual (but not organisations) that they are willing to be acknowledged in the MJA.
    • Competing interests (entered by authors in Scholar One): include any associations or interests that might be regarded as potentially influencing the disinterestedness of an investigator with respect to the reported study (e.g., research funding, consultancy fees, advisory board membership).) If there are no competing interests, write: Competing interests: No relevant disclosures. These declarations will be included in the published paper.
  • If required, Supporting Information file should include:
    • further information about study methods that would have excessively increased the size of the main article;
    • supplementary results, figures and tables referred to in the main text but not essential for interpreting the primary and secondary outcomes of the study;
    • non-standard, and/or unpublished questionnaires and other instruments employed in the study, as well as copies of any relevant documents (eg, patient information sheets, brochures);
    • a separate reference list for items cited in the Supporting Information file.
  • The Supporting Information file should be regarded as an adjunct to the main article and be structured with the reader in mind. It should be formatted to match the main article, its elements arranged according to their order of citation in the main manuscript, and it should not include any material without citation by the main article. Please note that the Scientific Editors do not edit or format the Supporting Information to the same degree as the main text; this is the responsibility of the authors.
  • The following items will not be accessible to reviewers or included in the final publication, but should be supplied when applicable:
    • Signed consent forms: if any person is potentially identifiable in the text or images Authors must keep this form with the patient records and will be required to declare on the submission system that consent has been obtained. The paper must include a statement that consent has been obtained. Do not submit the signed form to the journal, unless the MJA specifically requests it. We reserve the right to request this form at any time before or after publication. Failure to produce a form on request will lead to the retraction of the paper. Please note we do not accept patient consent forms from institutions or other medical journals.
    • All manuscripts describing clinical trials should be accompanied by a complete copy of the original trial protocol, preferably a publicly accessible version, and a list and justification of all variations from this protocol.
    • Copies of related published articles, particularly if the methods have been published elsewhere.
    • Written permission from the legal copyright holders of any material (eg, images, tables, documents) you wish to reproduce in your article (including in the Supporting Information file), even in adapted form. Please note that not all Creative Commons licences permit use in a commercial publication.

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses

A structured abstract (maximum 300 words), including the following headings:

  • Objectives: statement of the focused question assessed by the authors in the review;
  • Study design: including publication types included, assessment of evidence quality, and whether meta-analysis was undertaken;
  • Data sources: all databases searched, other item sources, including time period covered;
  • Data synthesis: summary of major results;
  • Conclusions: implications of the review findings
  • Registration: systematic reviews should be prospectively registered with PROSPERO, the international register for protocols of systematic reviews in health and social care

The main text (2000 to 3000 words) must conform with the PRISMA recommendations (for meta-analyses of observational studies: the MOOSE checklist), and should be structured as follows:

  • Introduction (maximum: 400 words): provide the background to the review, concluding with a clear statement of the aims of the study, ideally matching the Objectives section of the Abstract.
  • Methods: include clear descriptions of the study design, study inclusion criteria and selection, data extraction and management, data synthesis, and quality of evidence assessment (strongly preferred: the GRADE approach for assessing quality of evidence and strength of recommendations).
  • Results: include in the main text a PRISMA flowchart for study selection. One or more tables including the following characteristics should be included in the main text if practical, or in the Supporting Information file if it is not: study identifier (name or first author, with numbered reference), participant details, study inclusion criteria, sample sizes, study setting, intervention details (as applicable), measures, quality of evidence, risk of bias. When reporting the results of meta-analyses, the number of trials and participants included in the comparison should be stated, together with their reference numbers. If a meta-analysis, present the summary estimate and its precision (e.g., confidence interval) and measures of statistical heterogeneity.
  • Discussion: commencing with a summary of the major findings of the review (one paragraph), place them in the context of previously published relevant studies and discuss their implications with respect to the research question assessed. The Discussion should conclude with the two subsections Limitations (one paragraph, acknowledging any factors that should be taken into account when interpreting your findings) and Conclusion (one paragraph, highlighting the main finding and its significance).

Acknowledgements (added to Scholar One): as for Research articles.

Conflicts of interest (added to Scholar One): as for Research articles.

References: maximum of 100 references, formatted in the modified Vancouver style used by the MJA

Images, tables: please place at the end of the main manuscript, together with detailed titles, after the References. All images should also be supplied as separate images files (acceptable formats: EPS, PNG; JPG or TIF: minimum 300dpi resolution). For graphs, please also supply a data table that will allow re-drawing in MJA style if required.

The Supporting Information file should include:

  • further information about study methods that would have excessively increased the size of the main article, including the search strategy as a table and definitions of quality assessments;
  • supplementary results, figures and tables referred to in the main text but not essential for interpreting the primary and secondary outcomes of the study;
  • a separate reference list for items cited in the Supporting Information file. NB: In contrast to other article types, the reference numbers in the Supporting Information file should match those in the main manuscript, in order to assist readers cross-reference information in the two documents.

Guideline summaries/consensus statements/position statements

Main text to include the headings: Background, Methods, Recommendations