Instructions to author

The article should be original and should not be simultaneously considered for publication elsewhere. All authors should have participated sufficiently in the preparation of the manuscript. South India Medicolegal Association reserves copyright of all published material. Statements in articles are the responsibility of the authors.

The Journal publishes under following categories: Original research, Brief communication, Case report, Review article, CME Supplements and Letter to the Editor. Papers submitted are subject to peer review. Papers requiring revision will be returned to the authors and the revised paper should be submitted within the specified time.

Preparation of manuscript

Manuscripts should be written in clear and grammatical English and should conform to the general style of the journal. It should be typed with double-spacing and wide margins. It should contain the following: Title page, Abstract and Keywords, Text, Acknowledgment (if any), References, Tables and Figures.

Title Page: Title page should contain the Form of the paper (Original research, Brief communication, and so on), Title (should be informative and without abbreviations), Authors' names (the first or middle names, and the last name written out in full) and affiliations, and Corresponding Author's address (Name, mailing address, telephone number, fax number and email address).

Abstract and Keywords: Abstract should be unstructured and should describe the major findings of the study with a brief background and conclusion. It should preferably not be more than 250 words for research articles and 200 words for case reports. Abstract should be followed by 3-5 keywords.

The Text: The text in Original Communications should contain Introduction, Material and Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusion. Other type of articles should contain appropriate headings. Introduction should be brief stating the purpose of the study and its relationship to earlier work in the field. Material and Methods section should contain brief description of methodology. The new procedures should be described in detail. Details of statistical methods employed should be mentioned in the end of this. Studies involving ethical issues must contain a statement that their studies have been reviewed by the appropriate ethics committee. Details that might disclose the identity of the subjects under study should be omitted. Results should contain the relevant observations made from the study. It could be presented in text, figures, or tables, without repetitions in both forms. Discussion should be concise and focus on the interpretation of the results. It should involve the critical evaluation of the previously published studies.

References: References should be cited in the order of appearance in the text by superscript Arabic numerals. These references should be listed at the end of the paper in numerical order. The accuracy of references is the responsibility of the authors. For further details refer the webpage http://www.icmje.org.

References to journals should include the authors' last name and initials (list all authors when six or fewer; when seven or more, list only the first six and add et al.), full title of the paper, journal titles (as abbreviated in Index Medicus), year of publication, volume number, first and last page numbers.

1. Menezes RG, Nagesh KR, Jagadeesh N, Nithin MD. Publishing case reports: a potent tool for better practice of forensic medicine. J South India Medicolegal Assoc 2009;1:1-2.

References to a chapter in an edited book should be set out as follows.

1. Payne-James JJ. Assault and injury in the living. In: Payne- James JJ, Busuttil A, Smock W, editors. Forensic Medicine: Clinical and Pathological Aspects. London: Greenwich Medical Media, 2003.p.543-563.

References to a book by one or more authors should be set out as follows.

1. Pillay VV. Mechanical asphyxia. In: Textbook of forensic medicine and toxicology. 15th ed. Hyder-abad: Paras Medical Publisher, 2010.p.274-301.

Refrain from using online references if possible. When referring to internet sources, for example Wikipedia, please state so clearly, and indicate if this information can be checked and on which date you visited the online source.

Preparation of tables and illustrations: Tables and figures should have an appropriate title and should be numbered with Arabic numerals according to their appearance in the text. All the tables and figures with title and footnotes should be collected at the end of the manuscript. Photographs should be saved in JPEG or TIFF format.

The Editorial Board reserves the right to edit all articles for purposes of style, format and clarity. All manuscripts submitted to the J-SIMLA will be subjected to external and/or editorial review. Authors may be required to revise their manuscripts for reasons of style and content. Rejected manuscripts will be destroyed. J-SIMLA does not have page charges. The Editors, Editorial Board, Reviewers and the South India Medicolegal Association will not be responsible for plagiarism, if any, by the authors.

Permission

Wholesale reproduction of all previously published tables, charts, figures and photos will require written permission from the parent association of the journal. Reproduction of modified data will require at least a reference citing.

Journal copy

Corresponding author will receive one print copy of the journal. Further copies will be available at suitable price (as fixed by the board), on request before publication. Electronic version of the journal will be made available to the corresponding author, on request.

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The Journal South India Medicolegal Association (JSIMLA) is a peer-reviewed journal, an official publication of South India Medicolegal Association. JSIMLA publishes original research papers, short communications, editorials, review articles, case reportswritten in English, which deal with forensic medicine and related field subjects.The manuscripts are subjected to anonymous peer-review process prior to their publication by at least two reviewers who are experts in the area of the particular paper.

The rights and responsibilities of editors, authors, and reviewers are the following:

Editors:

· The editors warrant that the manuscripts received will undergo a process of anonymous peer review.

· Editors have complete responsibility and authority to reject/accept an article.

The editors will only assess the intellectual value of the manuscripts, regardless of race, nationality, gender, ethnicity, beliefs or ideology of the author.

· Editors should ensure that all research material they publish conforms to internationally acceptable ethical guidelines.

· The editors will observe the norms of the SIMLA and international standards in copyright matters.

· Editors will not allow any conflicts of interest between staff, authors and reviewers.

Authors:

· Authors must certify regarding the full originality of their work. The use of other people’s works must be adequately cited as per publication guidelines.

· Authors must certify that the manuscript has not previously been published elsewhere or it is not currently being considered for publication elsewhere.

· Authors should not submit manuscripts that reproduce papers already published, in part or in whole, in any other journals or publication media.

· Authors can use compilations of their own work, their own articles or part of them while preparing manuscripts.

· All Authors mentioned in the manuscript must have significantly contributed to the research.

· Authors must state that all data in the paper are real and authentic. Authors must notify the Editors of any conflicts of interest.

· Authors must identify all sources used in the creation of their manuscript.

Reviewers:

· Reviewers should keep all information regarding papers confidential and treat them as privileged information.

· Reviewers will be fully objective and will clearly argument their viewpoints.

· Reviewers should report possible cases of plagiarism or too obvious similarities between the evaluated manuscript and other published works they know.

· Reviewers should point out any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

· Reviewers should not review manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors or institutions connected to the papers.

· Reviews should be conducted objectively; with no personal criticism of the author. Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

· Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors.