Submission Guidelines

Submission Guidelines
The Submission Guidelines serve as a comprehensive guide to streamline the manuscript submission process. It ensures that all necessary components, including the use of the online submission system, adherence to submission preparation guidelines, and proper file formatting, are completed. Essential templates such as the cover letter, title page, and manuscript templates are provided to help authors meet the journal’s requirements efficiently. By following this checklist, authors can confidently prepare their submissions and enhance the likelihood of a smooth and successful review process.
 
01   Online Submission System

Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all Authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or any other language, without the written consent of the Penerbit IMRJ.

All new submissions of manuscripts should be submitted through the online submission system, Open Journal Systems (OJS), created by the Public Knowledge Project (PKP), and released under the GNU General Public License. For first-time users, authors are required to register and create accounts for manuscript submission and future access. This online submission system will streamline the review process as well as the final decision process.

Register / Create an IMRJ Account

02   Checklist of New Submission Preparation

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission’s compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors who failed to submit these required documents.

  1. Main manuscript
  2. Title page
  3. Tables
  4. Figures
  5. Authorship Agreement Form
  6. Patient Consent Form (if applicable)
03   Checklist of Submission Preparation for Publication

Accepted manuscripts for publication are to be submitted to imrjournal@moh.gov.my together with the following documents:

  • Cleaned language-edited main manuscript
  • Updated title page
  • Revised tables
  • Revised figures
  • Updated Authorship Agreement Form
  • Patient Consent Form (if applicable)
  • Licence to Publish Form
  • Proof of language editing service
04   File Formats

Manuscripts are usually submitted in Word (.doc or .docx).

05   IMRJ Cover Letter Template

A completed cover letter must be attached.

IMRJ Cover Letter Template

[Your Full Name]

[Your Position/Title, e.g., PhD Student, Assistant Professor]

[Your Institution/Organization]

[Department, if applicable]

[Address Line 1]

[Address Line 2, if needed]

[City, State, Postcode]

[Email Address]

[Phone Number]

[Date]

Editor-in-Chief
International Medical Research Journal (IMRJ)
Institute for Medical Research (IMR)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Persiaran Setia Murni, Setia Alam
40170 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

Dear Editor-in-Chief,

I am pleased to submit an original research manuscript entitled, “[Title of Your Manuscript]” for consideration for publication in IMRJ. We believe that our findings, which focus on [a brief summary of your main research focus and findings], will be of interest to your readers and add valuable insights to the field of [journal’s field of research].

In our study, we [summarise briefly what you did and the relevance of your results]. These findings contribute to [explain why this is important for the field, current applications, or future research]. Our work aligns well with IMRJ mission of publishing impactful research on [relevant subjects mentioned in the journal’s scope].

This manuscript has not been published elsewhere, nor is it under consideration by any other publication. We confirm that all co-authors have approved the manuscript and agree with its submission to IMRJ.

We have provided a list of potential reviewers who we feel are well-suited to evaluate our work, as they possess expertise in [mention related areas]. If appropriate, please find their contact information included in our submission.

Thank you for considering this manuscript. We look forward to the possibility of contributing to IMRJ and are open to any revisions or suggestions necessary to make this work suitable for your readership.

Please contact me at [your email address] should you have any questions.

Sincerely,

[Your Full Name, Degree if applicable (e.g., Ph.D., M.D.)]

[Your Position/Title, Institution]

06   IMRJ Title Page Template

This page should be submitted as a separate document from the main text. This document will not be available for reviewers as we employ a double-blind review process. The title page should have the following information:

  • Manuscript title without abbreviations
  • Names of each author and institution of origin: Full and accurate names, indicate last name with SMALL CAPS. For example: Mohammed Ali JAMALUDDIN, TAN Pei Pei and affiliations of institutions where the research was done, reflecting the order of authorship by using superscripted numbers.
  • Details of corresponding author: Full and accurate name, academic qualification(s) with respective institutions, full office address along with telephone and fax numbers, and valid e-mail address(es).
  • Acknowledgements: This section acknowledges any support given which is not covered by the author’s contribution or funding sections. This may include administrative and technical support or donations in kind (e.g. materials used for experiments). Please note that personal pronouns such as ‘I, my or me’ are not allowed to be written in this section unless the study involved only one author.

In addition, a running title/running head (a brief title) which has less than 50 characters is required to be included in this page. Authors would also be asked to include the same during submission of manuscript to IMRJ.

What information to include in a Title Page file
  • Authors’ names and affiliations
  • Acknowledgements
  • Ethics of Study
    • Provide a ‘Compliance with Ethical Standards’ statement (for research involving human and/or animal subjects).
  • Conflict of Interest
    • Authors should include a Conflicts of Interest declaration in their manuscript.
    • Conflicts of Interest are situations that could be perceived to exert an undue influence on an author’s presentation of their work. They may include, but are not limited to, financial, professional, contractual or personal relationships or situations.
    • Conflicts of Interest do not necessarily mean that an author’s work has been compromised. Authors should declare any real or perceived Conflicts of Interest in order to be transparent about the context of their work.
    • If the manuscript has multiple authors, the author submitting the manuscript must include Conflicts of Interest declarations relevant to all contributing authors.
  • Funds
  • Authors’ Contributions
  • Correspondence
07   IMRJ Manuscript Template

IMRJ highly recommends that you use the pre-formatted Microsoft Word template to prepare your manuscript. This template ensures that your submission adheres to the journal’s formatting guidelines, minimizing the need for revisions. By using the template, you can streamline the submission process and enhance the consistency of your final publication.

Manuscript Structure Manuscript Title

Abstract

Keywords

Introduction

Provide a context or background for the study (i.e. the nature of the problem and its significance). State the specific purpose or research objective of, or hypothesis tested by, the study or observation.

Methods
  • It 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.
  • Selection and description of participants: Describe your selection of the observational or experimental participants (patients or laboratory animals, including controls) clearly, including eligibility and exclusion criteria and a description of the source population. The guiding principle should be clarity about how and why a study was done in a particular way.
  • Technical information: Identify the methods, apparatus (give the manufacturer’s name and address in parentheses), and procedures in sufficient detail to allow other workers to reproduce the experiment. Give references to established methods, including statistical methods; provide references and brief descriptions for methods that have been published but are not well known; describe new or substantially modified methods, give reasons for using them, and evaluate their limitations. Identify precisely all drugs and chemicals used, including generic name(s), dose(s), and route(s) of administration. Authors submitting review manuscripts should include a section describing the methods used for locating, selecting, extracting, and synthesising data. These methods should also be summarised in the abstract.
  • Statistics: Describe statistical methods with enough detail to enable a knowledgeable reader with access to the original data to verify the reported results.
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; emphasise or summarise only important observations. When data are summarised in the Results section, give numeric results not only as derivatives (for example, percentages) but also as the absolute numbers from which the derivatives were calculated. Restrict tables and figures to those needed to explain the argument of the paper and to assess its support. Use graphs as an alternative to tables with many entries; do not duplicate data in graphs and tables.

Discussion

Emphasise the new and important aspects of the study and the conclusions that follow from them. Do not repeat in detail data or other material given in the Introduction or the Results section. For experimental studies, it is useful to begin the discussion by summarising briefly the main findings, then explore possible mechanisms or explanations for these findings, compare and contrast the results with other relevant studies, state the limitations of the study, and explore the implications of the findings for future research and for clinical practice. Avoid claiming priority and alluding to work that has not been completed.

Conclusion

In this section, state the main conclusion of the study in the context of the formulated problem.

References

References must be numbered consecutively as they are cited. References first cited in a table or figure legend should be numbered so they will be in sequence with references cited in the text at the point where the table or figure is first mentioned. List all citation authors when there are six or fewer; when there are seven or more, list the first six, followed by et al.

Appendix

If there is more than one appendix, please label each one with a number (e.g. Appendix 1, Appendix 2).

Supplementary Material
  • Must be cited in the text of the main manuscript.
  • Will be available online only and will not be copyedited.
  • Style and formatting of supplementary material should be consistent with that of the manuscript.
  • Should be formatted to function on any internet browser.