Submissions

Manuscript submission
NOAJ requests all the author to submit their manuscript via online submission from its website: http://ortho.teamnext.com.np/login. We will not accept any submission via email. Lack of NOAJ formatting/style and incomplete submission (required documents not submitted, and co-author(s) detail not entered the online system or not provided during submission) are rejected without any explanation. If you have any questions, please contact the Editorial Office by e-mail at chiefeditor@noa.org.np .

Video Tutorial of the Manuscript submission process: Video

Editorial policy
The editor will read each manuscript to determine whether it is appropriate for external peer review. Those deemed suitable will undergo external review; others will be rapidly returned to the corresponding author. Manuscripts will be judged solely based on their content of original data and on the conclusions drawn from them.

Patient Anonymity and Informed Consent
It is the author's responsibility to ensure that a patient's anonymity be carefully protected and to verify that they have followed all the guidelines required by the institution (s) with which all the authors are affiliated. Authors should mask patients’ faces and private parts and remove patients’ names from all figures. Identifying details including patient names and/or initials and name of specific hospital unit should not appear in the text, tables, radiographs, or other figures.

Conflicts of Interest
Authors must state all possible conflicts of interest, including financial, consultant, institutional and other relationships that might lead to bias or a conflict of interest. If there is no conflict of interest, this should also be explicitly stated as none declared. All sources of funding should be acknowledged in the manuscript.

Plagiarism
NOAJ chief editor will check plagiarism using Turnitin https://www.turnitin.com/ . Turnitin checks submissions against millions of published research papers and web contents. Plagiarism is scientific misconduct and will be addressed as such. When plagiarism is detected at any time before publication, NOAJ will take appropriate action as directed by the standards set forth by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). For additional information, please visit http://www.publicationethics.org . Maximum permissiable plegiarism will be 20% with word limit of 10 per sentence. The references are excluded in plegiarism check. if the plegiarism is above permisssiable limit the manuscript will be returened to the author for needful.

Permissions
Authors must submit written permission from the copyright owner (usually the publisher) to use direct quotations, tables, or illustrations that have appeared in copyrighted form elsewhere, along with complete details about the source.

Copyright Notice
Nepal Orthopaedic Association Journal (NOAJ) allows to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of its articles and allow readers to use them for any other lawful purpose. The author(s) are allowed to retain publishing rights without restrictions. The authors (or their employers) retain copyright in their work. Author (s) have following rights: 1. Publish, reproduce, distribute, display, and store the Contribution; 2. Translate the Contribution into other languages, create adaptations, reprints, include within collections and create summaries, extracts and/or, abstracts of the Contribution; 3. Create any other derivative work(s) based on the Contribution; 4. To exploit all subsidiary rights in the Contribution; 5. The inclusion of electronic links from the Contribution to third party material where-ever it may be located; and, 6. License any third party to do any or all of the above.

The NOAJ work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Learn more about licensing agreement: Creative Commons — Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International — CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Privacy Statement
The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

Submission Preparation Checklist
As part of the submission process, authors are required to check all their submission's compliance with all the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

1. The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
2. The submission file is in OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, RTF, or WordPerfect document file format.
3. Where available, URLs/ DOI for the references should be provided.
4. The text is double-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.
5. The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines. Full names of all authors must be correctly typed along with individual authors details (Department, Institution, etc) including emails must be correctly entered in the online system during submission.
6. If submitting to a peer-reviewed section of the journal, the instructions in Ensuring a Blind Review have been followed.

Ensuring a Blind Review
To ensure the integrity of the blind peer-review for submission to this press, every effort should be made to prevent the identities of the authors and reviewers from being known to each other. This involves the authors, editors, and reviewers (who upload documents as part of their review) checking to see if the following steps have been taken regarding the text and the file properties:

1. The authors of the document have deleted their names from the text, with "Author" and year used in the references and footnotes, instead of the authors' name, article title, etc.
2. With Microsoft Office documents, author identification should also be removed from the properties for the file (see under File in Word), by clicking on the following, beginning with File on the main menu of the Microsoft application: File > Save As > Tools (or Options with a Mac) > Security > Remove personal information from file properties on save > Save.
3. With PDFs, the authors' names should also be removed from Document Properties found under File on Adobe Acrobat's main menu.
4. Supplementary Files: Please submit supplementary files along with your manuscript.
5. Cover letter
6. Authorship and Declaration

Cover letter
The covering letter accompanying the article should contain the name and complete postal address of one author as a correspondent and must be signed by all authors. The correspondent author should notify change of address, if any, in time.

Authorship
All persons designated as authors should qualify for authorship. Authorship credit should be based only on significant contributions. The first author named must accept the responsibility for ensuring that both versions of the paper submitted, and the corrected proofs have the approval of all co-authors. Submission of a manuscript will also be taken to imply that all authors have obtained permission from their employers or institution to publish if they are obliged to do so and that relevant ethical approval has been obtained for clinical studies. However, authorship credit should be based only on a significant contribution to (a) conception and design, or analysis and interpretation of data and to (b) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content: and on (c) final approval of the version to be published. The authors may include an explanation of each author’s contribution separately.

Declaration
A declaration should be submitted stating that the manuscript represents valid work and that neither this manuscript nor one with substantially similar content under the present authorship has been published or is being considered for publication elsewhere and the authorship of this article will not be contested by anyone whose name(s) is/are not listed here, and that the order of authorship as placed in the manuscript is final and accepted by the co-authors. Declarations should be signed by all the authors in the order in which they are mentioned in the original manuscript.

Matters appearing in the Journal are covered by copyright, but no objection will be made to their reproduction provided permission is obtained from the Chief Editor prior to publication and due acknowledgment of the source is made.

Dual publication
If the material in a submitted article has been published previously or is to appear in part or whole in another publication, the Chief Editor must be informed. If the same paper appears simultaneously or previously published or appeared in the future publications, then the author will be blacklisted in NOAJ, and a future article will be rejected automatically.

Manuscript preparation
Manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with "Uniform requirements for Manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journals" developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). The uniform and specific requirements of NOAJ are summarized below. Before sending a manuscript, authors are requested to check for the latest authors' instructions available Here.

General format

1. Double spacing
2. Margins 2.5 cm from all four sides
3. Title page contains all the desired information
   • Running title provided (not more than 50 characters)
4. Abstract page contains the full title of the manuscript
   • Abstract provided (not more than 150 words for case reports and 250 words for original articles)
   • Structured abstract provided for an original article
   • Key words provided – arrange them in alphabetical order (three or more)
5. Headings in CAPITALS
6. Figures and Tables (a total of 8 figures or tables or both). For Surgical techniques, there will be no restriction in number of figures.
7. References cited in superscript in the text without brackets after comma (,) or full stop (.)
8. References according to the journal’s instructions – abide by the rules of Vancouver superscript system.

Examples:

Journal article
Glass RH, Ericsson RJ: Intrauterine insemination of isolated mobile sperm. Fertil Steril 1978; 29: 535-539.

Book
Leigh H, Reiser MF: The patient. New York, Plenum Medical, 1980.

Ganoug WF: The Gonads: development & function of the reproductive system; In review of Medical physiology. 20th Edition. Lange Medical Books/Mc Graw-Hill, New York, 2001, pp. 398-438.

Contribution to a book
Shapiro BM: Awaking of the invertebrate egg at fertilization. In fertilization & embryo use development in vitro, L Mastroianni, JD Biggers (eds), New York, Plenum Press, 1981, pp 232-255.

1. Original Article: Randomized controlled trials, interventional studies, studies of screening and diagnostic test, outcome studies, cost effectiveness analyses, case-control series, and surveys with high response rate. Up to 2500 words excluding references (up to 30) and abstract (up to 250). Introduction must be within 150 words.
2. Review Article: Systemic critical assessments of literature and data sources. Up to 3500 words excluding references (not exceeding 50) and abstract (250).
3. Case Report: new/interesting/very rare cases with clinical significance or implications can be reported. Up to 1000 words excluding references (up to 10) and abstract (up to 100), up to three photographs. Informed written consent from the patient is mandatory.
4. Letter to the Editor: Should be short, decisive observation. They should not be preliminary observations that need a later paper for validation. Up to 400 words and 5 references.
5. Limits for number of images and tables: for all the above-mentioned categories the number of images and tables should not be more than one per 500 words, generally 8 figures/tables/images are permitted.
6. Language and grammar
   1. Uniformity in the language
   2. Abbreviations spelt out in full for the first time
   3. Numerals from 1 to 9 spelt out
   4. Numerals at the beginning of the sentence spelt out
   5. Use abbreviated form only after using full form when it first appears in the text except abstract.
   6. Avoid repetition of same words and waste words
7. Tables and figures
   1. Maximum of 8 tables and figures together placed in the main text as it appears.
   2. No repetition of data in tables/graphs and in text
   3. Actual numbers from which graphs drawn, provided
   4. Figures necessary and of good quality (color)
   5. Table and figure numbers in Arabic letters (not Roman)
   6. Labels pasted on back of the photographs (no names written)
   7. Figure legends provided (not more than 40 words)
   8. Patients’ privacy maintained (if not, written permission enclosed)
   9. Credit notes for borrowed figures/tables provided

Specific formats

Research articles

1. Title
   1. Complete title of your article
   2. Place the author info as we publish in the journal
   3. Correspondence (corresponding author details with email and phone no.)
   4. Mention conflict of interest if any
2. Abstract
   1. Structured abstract (Background, Methods, Results, Conclusions and Key words)
   2. Word limit 250 words for research paper
   3. 3-5 key words arranged alphabetically (MeSH terms)
3. INTRODUCTION
   1. World limit 150 (+10) words for research paper
   2. Use references at the end of the sentence, i.e., after the full stop (Vancouver superscript)
   3. Pertinent information only
4. METHODS (mention following things in the order of their appearance)
   1. Study Design
   2. Place and duration of study
   3. Ethical approval and Patient consent
   4. Inclusion and exclusion criteria
   5. Sample Size and sampling
   6. Statistical analysis and software used.
5. RESULTS
   1. Clearly present the data
   2. Avoid data redundancy
   3. Cite table information using small bracket where it needed to be placed
   4. Write Tabkes (Table 1) and Figures (Figure 1) as it appeares in your manuscript.
6. DISCUSSION
   1. Avoid unnecessary explanation of someone else work unless it is truly relevant to the study
   2. Provide and discuss with the literatures to support the study
   3. Mention about limitation of your study
7. CONCLUSIONS
   1. Give your conclusion
   2. Any recommendation
8. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
   1. Acknowledge any person or institute who have helped for the study
9. References
   1. Abide by the Vancouver style (www.xenomed.com/vancouver.pdf )
   2. Use reference at the end of the sentence after the full stop with superscript
   3. Not more than 30 reference

Review articles

1. Title
   1. Complete title of your article
   2. Place the author info as we publish in the journal
   3. Correspondence (corresponding author details with email and phone no.)
   4. Mention conflict of interest if any
2. Abstract
   1. Non-Structured abstract
   2. Word limit 250 words
   3. 3-5 key words arranged alphabetically (MeSH terms)
3. Introduction
   1. World limit 250 words
   2. Use references at the end of the sentence, i.e., after the full stop (Vancouver superscript)
   3. Pertinent information only
4. Review
   1. Can use subheadings as needed
5. Conclusions
   1. Give your conclusion
   2. Any recommendation
6. Acknowledgement
   1. Acknowledge any person or institute who have helped for the study
7. References
   1. Abide by the Vancouver style (www.xenomed.com/vancouver.pdf )
   2. Use reference at the end of the sentence after the full stop with superscript
   3. Not more than 40 references

Case reports

1. Title
   1. Complete title of your article
   2. Place the author info as we publish in the journal
   3. Correspondence (corresponding author details with email and phone no.)
   4. Mention conflict of interest if any
2. Abstract
   1. Non-structured abstract
   2. Word limit 150 words
   3. 3-5 key words arranged alphabetically
3. INTRODUCTION
   1. World limit 100 words
   2. Use references at the end of the sentence i.e., after the full stop (Vancouver superscript)
   3. Pertinent information only
4. Case Report
   
   1. Avoid waste words
5. Discussion
   1. Provide and discuss with the latest literatures about your case report
   2. Mention about limitation of your study
6. Acknowledgement
   1. Acknowledge any person or institute who have helped for this case report if any.
7. References
   1. Abide by the Vancouver style (www.xenomed.com/vancouver.pdf)
   2. Use reference at the end of the sentence after the full stop with superscript
   3. Do not provide more than 10 references (use latest references only)

Templates

1. The majority of the submitted manuscript lacks proper formatting, on the top of that heading and subheadings, are not correctly written. Therefore, we encourage you to use appropriate template for your manuscript.

1. Original Article Template

2. Case Report Template

3. Review Article Template

4. Letter to the Editor Template

The editorial process
On an average, 30% of the manuscripts are rejected by the editors before a formal peer-review starts. this initial rejection is mainly because the manuscript is not adherent to the required format of the journal. The Editors review all submitted manuscripts initially. Manuscripts with insufficient originality, serious scientific and technical flaws, or without a relevant message are rejected. Poorly written or formatted articles will be requested to re-submit after the revision according to NOAJ format. Manuscripts are generally sent to two to four expert reviewers without revealing the identity of the contributors. Each manuscript is then meticulously reviewed by the NOAJ chief editor based on the comments from the reviewers. NOAJ chief editor holds right to take a final decision on the manuscript. The contributors will be informed about the reviewers' comments and acceptance/rejection of the manuscript.

Articles accepted would be copy edited for grammar, punctuation, print style, and format. Page proofs will be sent to the corresponding author, which must be returned within three days. Non-response to proof copy may delay the publication of the same article or may even get rejected from the journal.

Revision Policy: all the comments made by reviewers has to be appropriately addressed before the acceptance of the manuscript. the revision has to be done in the manuscript and a summary of correction done has to be summarized in a table. the template of the revision can be downloaded from here.