Submissions

Author Guidelines

1. GENERAL AUTHOR GUIDELINES

Submission of an article to the International Medical Research Journal (IMRJ) implies that the work described has not been published previously, except in the form of an abstract, published lecture, or academic thesis. The manuscript must not be under consideration for publication elsewhere, and its submission must be approved by all authors and, where applicable, by the responsible authorities of the institution where the work was conducted.

If accepted, the manuscript must not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or any other language, without written consent from IMRJ.

TYPES OF MANUSCRIPTS

Original Research Articles

Present new primary research findings or new experimental or computational methods, tests, or procedures that may enhance decision-making in clinical medicine, public health, healthcare policy, medical education, or biomedical research.

• Maximum: 5,000 words
• Maximum: 50 references
• Maximum: 5 tables and figures

Review Articles

Provide comprehensive and critical overviews of existing research on a specific topic.

• Maximum: 8,000 words
• Maximum: 100 references
• Maximum: 5 tables and figures

Case Studies (Case Series / Case Reports)

Provide detailed analyses of particular clinical cases, events, or phenomena.

• Maximum: 5,000 words
• Maximum: 50 references
• Maximum: 5 tables and figures

2. MANUSCRIPT STRUCTURE

Manuscript Title

The title should be clear, concise, and accurately reflect the content of the manuscript.

Abstract

Provide a concise summary of the study, including the background, objectives, methods, key results, and conclusions, where applicable.

Keywords

Provide appropriate keywords that accurately represent the main topics of the manuscript.

Introduction

Provide the context or background of the study, including the nature of the problem and its significance. Clearly state the specific purpose, research objective, or hypothesis being tested.

Methods

The Methods section should describe how the study was conducted in sufficient detail to allow readers to understand and, where appropriate, reproduce the research.

Clearly describe the selection of observational or experimental participants, including patients, laboratory animals, controls, eligibility and exclusion criteria, and the source population.

Identify the methods, apparatus, and procedures used in sufficient detail. Established methods should be appropriately referenced, while new or substantially modified methods should be described together with the reasons for their use and their limitations.

All drugs and chemicals should be precisely identified, including generic names, doses, and routes of administration where applicable.

Authors of review articles should describe the methods used to locate, select, extract, and synthesise information. These methods should also be summarised in the abstract.

Statistical methods should be described in sufficient detail to enable a knowledgeable reader with access to the original data to verify the reported results.

Results

Present the results in a logical sequence, beginning with the main or most important findings. Avoid repeating all data from tables and figures in the text.

Where percentages or other derived values are reported, the corresponding absolute numbers should also be provided where appropriate.

Tables and figures should be limited to those necessary to explain and support the findings. Avoid presenting the same data in both tables and figures.

Discussion

Emphasise the new and important findings of the study and the conclusions that follow from them. Avoid unnecessarily repeating information presented in the Introduction or Results.

The Discussion should, where appropriate:

• Summarise the principal findings.
• Explain possible mechanisms or interpretations.
• Compare the findings with relevant previous studies.
• Discuss the limitations of the study.
• Explain implications for future research, clinical practice, or public health.

Authors should avoid making unsupported claims or referring to work that has not been completed.

Conclusion

State the main conclusion of the study in relation to the research problem, objectives, and findings.

3. REFERENCES

References must be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they first appear in the manuscript.

References first cited in a table or figure legend should follow the numbering sequence corresponding to where the table or figure is first mentioned in the text.

When there are six or fewer authors, list all authors. When there are seven or more authors, list the first six authors followed by et al.

Authors should:

• Cite only appropriate published or accepted sources, including journal articles, online articles, books, book chapters, deposited articles, and websites.
• Ensure that all references are accurate and complete.
• Use a maximum of 50 references for Original Research Articles and Case Studies.
• Use a maximum of 100 references for Review Articles.
• Follow the Vancouver style of citation.

4. APPENDIX

Where more than one appendix is included, each appendix should be numbered consecutively, for example:

Appendix 1
Appendix 2

5. SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL

Supplementary material:

• Must be cited in the main manuscript.
• Will be made available online only.
• Will not be copyedited.
• Should follow a style and format consistent with the main manuscript.
• Should be prepared in a format that can function appropriately in standard internet browsers.

6. MANUSCRIPT REVIEW

IMRJ follows a double-blind peer-review process, whereby the identities of both authors and reviewers remain anonymous.

The Editorial Board reserves the right to reject a manuscript without external peer review if it is outside the journal's scope, poorly written or formatted, does not comply with submission requirements, or lacks sufficient scientific significance.

Authors may identify editors or reviewers whom they wish to exclude from reviewing their manuscript during submission. Such requests may be considered provided that they do not compromise the objectivity and integrity of the review process.

The Handling Editor selects and invites reviewers based on their relevant expertise.

7. MANUSCRIPT REVISION AND EDITORIAL DECISION

Following completion of the peer-review process, the Handling Editor evaluates the reviewers' comments and recommendations and makes an editorial decision.

Possible decisions include:

• Accept
• Minor Revision
• Major Revision
• Reject

The editorial decision, reviewer comments, and any additional requirements will be communicated formally to the Corresponding Author.

8. GUIDELINES FOR ONLINE SUBMISSION

All manuscripts must be submitted exclusively through the journal's Open Journal Systems (OJS) online submission platform.

Each submission undergoes an initial editorial screening to assess:

• Compliance with Guidelines – The manuscript complies with the journal's preparation and submission requirements.
• Relevance – The manuscript aligns with the aims and scope of IMRJ.
• Originality – The manuscript meets the journal's originality requirements.
• Similarity Check – The similarity index must be below 20%.

Submissions that fail to meet these requirements may be declined before proceeding to external peer review.

First-time users are required to register for an account through the IMRJ online submission system before submitting their manuscript.

9. EDITORIAL OFFICE

All correspondence should be directed to:

Dr. Sujatha Suthandiram
Editor-in-Chief
International Medical Research Journal (IMRJ)
Institute for Medical Research (IMR)
Ministry of Health Malaysia

Email: imrjournal@moh.gov.my

10. OPEN ACCESS AND USER RIGHTS

All articles published in IMRJ are available under open access and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Under this licence, users may read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, link to, share, and reuse published articles for lawful purposes, provided that appropriate credit is given to the original work.

Authors are responsible for obtaining permission from the relevant copyright holder for any copyrighted material included in their manuscripts.