Submissions

Author Guidelines

PREPARATION OF THE MANUSCRIPT

The editors of Acta Medica Indonesiana (The Indonesian Journal of Internal Medicine) recommend that Authors conform to the Enhancing Quality and Transparency of Health Research Guidelines (EQUATOR) when preparing their manuscript. 

Please, follow www.equator-network.org to comply with the standardization of writing structure and fill in the checklist, based on its main study types. Such as;

• Observational study: STROBE guidelines
• Diagnostic/ Prognostic studies: STARD or TRIPOD
• Systematic reviews and meta-analyses: PRISMA guidelines (for protocols, see the PRISMA-P guidelines)
• Case reports: the CARE case report guidelines
• Clinical trials: CONSORT (for protocols, see the SPIRIT guidance)

PUBLICATION ETHICS AND MALPRACTICE STATEMENT

• Acta Medica Indonesiana is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and taking all possible measures against publication malpractice. This statement is based on the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines.       
• Studies on human subjects should have ethical clearance from the Institutional Review Board (IRB), and a copy of the ethical clearance letter should be submitted in the supplementary files.
• When reporting/writing experimental results with certain objects (i.e., patient’s names, institution, or others), should never mention identity or other characteristics that describe that object.
• All authors must have significantly contributed to the submitted manuscript. Any conflicts of interest must be disclosed (submit a copy of the signed consent form for authors).

• Authors must present original work, free from plagiarism and data fabrication. The Acta Medica Indonesiana strictly prohibits plagiarism, data falsification, duplicate publication, and authorship manipulation. All cases of suspected misconduct will be investigated following COPE guidelines.

• Authors or editors may issue corrections when errors are discovered. Retractions will be issued for articles found to violate ethical standards and will be published when necessary.
• Authors guarantee that the manuscript must not be under review or published elsewhere.
• The journal's publisher ensures that editorial decisions are not influenced by commercial interests.
• Editorial Responsibilities
  - Editors evaluate manuscripts for scientific merit without discrimination.
  - Editors ensure a fair, unbiased review process and prevent conflicts of interest.
  - Editorial decisions are final and based on the manuscript's relevance and quality.

MANUSCRIPT TEMPLATE

A. GENERAL FORMAT

The manuscript format must be presented in the following order:

1. Title page
2. Abstract (or summary for your manuscript, max. 250 words). Please define abstract in the English language.
3. Main text (tables should be in the same format as your article and embedded into the document where the table should be cited; images must be uploaded as separate files)
4. Acknowledgments, Conflict of interests, Funding
5. Copyright licence statement
6. References

Do not use the automatic formatting features of your word processor, such as endnotes, footnotes, headers, footers, boxes, etc.

Provide appropriate headings and subheadings as in the journal. We use the following hierarchy: BOLD CAPS, bold lower case, Plain Text, Italics.

Title Page

The title page must contain the following information:

1. Title should describe PICO (population, intervention, control, and outcomes) criteria in framing a research/manuscript question, no abbreviations except the well-known terms.
2. The name of the corresponding author, postal address, e-mail, telephone, and fax numbers.
3. The full names of all authors, institutions, city, and country of all co-authors.
4. Up to five keywords or phrases suitable for use in an index (it is recommended to use MeSH terms).
5. Word count - excluding title page, abstract, references, figures, and tables.

Authorship – The ICMJE Recommendation

This journal uses the guidelines for authorship and manuscript submission policies of ICMJE (https://www.icmje.org/).

To give appropriate credit to each author of a paper, the individual contributions of authors to the manuscript should be specified in this section. Please attach the ‘consent form’ for all authors.

An “author” is generally considered to be someone who has made substantive intellectual contributions to a published study. To qualify as an author one should 1) have made substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; 2) have been involved in drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and 3) have given final approval of the version to be published. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content. Acquisition of funding, collection of data, or general supervision of the research group alone does not justify authorship.

All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, writing assistance, or a department chair who provided only general support.

B. CONTENTS

Editorial

An editorial aims to stimulate thought (often with more questions than answers) rather than review the subject exhaustively. Editorials are usually linked to one or more articles published in the same issue. Personal opinion and comment are legitimate since the Editorial is not anonymous, though, of course, such opinion needs to be reasonable and backed up by appropriate evidence.

Word count: up to 1200-1500 words.

Illustrations/Tables: no tables and/or figures.

References: up to 15.

Article of Research/Original Article

These represent a substantial body of laboratory or clinical work. Extended reports should not exceed 3000 words plus references; articles that exceed this word limit may be returned for revision before peer review. Additional data may be presented as supplementary information, which will be published online only should the article be accepted (this can be in any format: text, tables, images, etc.).

The original article should be presented in sections, namely:

1. Title of The Article. The study design should be stated in the title
2. Abstract. No more than 250 words, summarising the problem being considered, how the study was performed, the salient results, and the principal conclusions under subheadings ‘Background and Aim’, ‘Methods’, ‘Results’, and ‘Conclusion’. Please define abstract in the English language.
3. Key words. No more than 6. These should be given beneath the Abstract and in the box provided in the online submission process.
4. Introduction. No more than 4 paragraphs. Without a subtitle, state the rationale for the study, identify a problem main problem/study purpose, establish a gap in the current knowledge/state the novelties, and articulate a hook that convinces readers that this gap is of consequence. Brief description of the background that led to the study (current results and conclusions should not be included).
5. Methods. Please state the study design. Details relevant to the conduct of the study. Wherever possible, give numbers of subjects studied (not percentages alone). Statistical methods should be clearly explained at the end of this section, and its analyses must be explained on the methods used. Make a statement on ethics approval and informed consent.
6. Results. Work should be reported in SI units. Undue repetition in text and tables should be avoided. Comment on the validity and significance of results is appropriate, but broader discussion of their implication is restricted to the next section. Subheadings that aid clarity of presentation within this and the previous section are encouraged.
7. Discussion. The nature and findings of the study are placed in the context of other relevant published data. Caveats to the study should be discussed. Avoid undue extrapolation from the study topic.
8. Conclusion
9. Acknowledgments and affiliations. Individuals with direct involvement in the study but not included in authorship may be acknowledged. The source of financial support and industry affiliations of all those involved must be stated.
10. Conflict of Interest Statement
11. References (usually below 30). Please see References for further style guidance. Consists of references of minimal 10 years recently and in the form of an essay.
12. Figure legends: Maximum 6 tables and/or figures. Please see the Illustrations and tables for further style guidance.

Ethical Approval and Informed Consent

Manuscripts reporting studies involving human participants, human data, or human tissue must include a statement on ethics approval and informed consent. The statement should specify:

• The name of the ethics committee or institutional review board that approved the study.
• The approval number or code (if available).
• Confirmation that informed consent was obtained from all participants (or from guardians, in the case of minors).

           This statement must be included in the Methods section of the manuscript.

Article of References (Review article, Special article, Clinical Practice)

Although these are usually commissioned, authors are invited to discuss directly with the Editor possible topics for review.

Word count: the length will be indicated by or will be discussed with the editor, but will usually be less than 3000 words. Abstract: up to 250 words.

Tables/Illustrations: Maximum 6 tables and/or figures

References: to be discussed with the Editor.

Articles of reference should be presented in sections, namely:

1. Title of The Article
2. Abstract. No more than 250 words, summarising the problem being considered, and how the study was performed. Please define abstract in the English language.
3. Key words. No more than 6. These should be given beneath the Abstract and in the box provided in the online submission process.
4. Introduction. No more than 4 paragraphs. Without a subtitle, state the rationale for the study, some references, state the novelties, and the main problem. Brief description of the background that led to the study (current results and conclusions should not be included).
5. Subtitles in keeping with needs
6. Conclusion
7. Acknowledgments and affiliations. Individuals with direct involvement in the study but not included in authorship may be acknowledged. The source of financial support and industry affiliations of all those involved must be stated.
8. References (no limit, but usually below 50). Please see References for further style guidance. Consists of references of minimal 10 years recently and in the form of an essay.
9. Figure legends: Maximum 6 tables and/or figures. Please see the Illustrations and tables for further style guidance.

Article of Case Reports

Word count: the length will be indicated by or will be discussed with the editor, but will usually be less than 3000 words.

Abstract: up to 250 words.

Tables/Illustrations: Maximum 6 tables and/or figures

References: to be discussed with the Editor.

The Case Report should be presented in sections, namely:

1. Title of The Article
2. Abstract. No more than 250 words, summarising the problem being considered, and how the study was performed. Please define abstract in the English language.
3. Key words. No more than 6. These should be given beneath the Abstract and in the box provided in the online submission process.
4. Introduction. No more than 4 paragraphs. Without a subtitle, state the rationale for the study, some references, state the novelty, and the main problem/the report's purpose. Brief description of the background that led to the study (current results and conclusions should not be included).
5. Case Illustration
6. Discussion. The nature and findings of the study are placed in the context of other relevant published data. Caveats to the study should be discussed. Avoid undue extrapolation from the study topic.
7. Conclusion
8. Acknowledgments and affiliations. Individuals with direct involvement in the study but not included in authorship may be acknowledged. The source of financial support and industry affiliations of all those involved must be stated.
9. References (no limit, but usually below 50). Please see References for further style guidance. Consists of references of minimal 10 years recently and in the form of an essay.
10. Figure legends: Maximum 6 tables and/or figures. Please see the Illustrations and tables for further style guidance

Article of Systematic Review

Special for systematic review, additional files are needed and should be submitted to the supplementary file section:

1. The registry SR protocol, i.e., PROSPERO: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/
2. The PRISMA checklist should be completed and appropriate to the manuscript. The checklist form can be downloaded through the following website: www.prisma-statement.org.
3. Please do a self-assessment of the SR that has been made using the AMSTAR checklist. (https://amstar.ca/Amstar_Checklist.php)

CONFLICT OF INTEREST (COI)

All authors must disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that could influence the content or interpretation of the manuscript. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, or paid expert testimony.
• Grants or other funding.
• Personal relationships or competing interests.

A declaration of COI must be included at the end of the manuscript, before the References section, under the heading: "Conflict of Interest Statement". If no conflicts exist, authors should state:
"The authors declare no conflict of interest."

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Please acknowledge anyone who contributed towards the study by making substantial contributions to conception, design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data, or who was involved in drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content, but who does not meet the criteria for authorship. Please also include their source(s) of funding. Please also acknowledge anyone who contributed materials essential for the study. Authors may also like to acknowledge (anonymously) the patient on whom the study is based.

The role of a medical writer must be included in the acknowledgements section, including their source(s) of funding.

Authors should obtain permission to acknowledge from all those mentioned in the Acknowledgements.

REFERENCES

Authors are responsible for the accuracy of references cited: these should be checked against the original documents before the paper is submitted. The references must be styled correctly so that they may be hyperlinked. All references must consist of a minimum of 10 years of recent experience and be in the form of an essay.

Please use the reference software to cite articles for your manuscript references, such as EndNote, Mendeley, etc.

In the text

References must be numbered sequentially as they appear in the text. References cited in figures or tables (or in their legends and footnotes) should be numbered according to the place in the text where that table or figure is first cited. Reference numbers in the text must be given in superscript immediately after punctuation (with no word spacing) - for example, .6, not 6.

Where more than one reference is cited, separate by a comma - for example, 1,4,39. For sequences of consecutive numbers, give the first and last number of the sequence separated by a hyphen - for example, 22-25. References provided in this format are translated during the production process to superscript type, which acts as hyperlinks from the text to the quoted references in electronic forms of the article.

In the reference list

References must be double-spaced (numbered consecutively in the order in which they are mentioned in the text) in the slightly modified Vancouver style. Only papers published or in press should be included in the reference list. (Personal communications or unpublished data must be cited in parentheses in the text with the name(s) of the source(s) and the year. Authors should get permission from the source to cite unpublished data.

Punctuation of references must follow the [slightly modified] Vancouver style:

The reference writing style is using style of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors year 2008 by opening the www.icmje.org site.

Use one space only between words up to the year, and then no spaces. The journal title should be in normal letter (non-italic) and abbreviated according to the style of Medline. If the journal is not listed in Medline, then it should be written out in full. Check journal abbreviations using PubMed.

List the names and initials of all authors if there are 3 or fewer; otherwise, list the first 3 and add et al.

STYLE

General writing style

Please write in a clear, direct, and active style. The Acta Medica Indonesiana (The Indonesian Journal of Internal Medicine) is an international journal, and many readers do not have English as their first language.

Punctuation

• No full stops in initials or abbreviations.
• Minimal commas, but use commas before the “and” and “or” in lists: The bishops of Durham, Canterbury, Bath and Wells, and York were invited.
• Use commas on both sides of parenthetical clauses or phrases, and with coordinating clauses.
• Know the difference between defining clauses (no comma) and commenting clauses (commas needed):

        Medical staff who often work overtime are likely to suffer from stress.

        Medical staff, who often work overtime, are likely to suffer from stress.

• Use commas before “and,” “or,” “but” in two-sentence sentences (when the coordinate conjunction joins two main clauses):

        Half received drug treatment, but their symptoms did not resolve more quickly.

        We could make an omelette, or you could go and get a takeaway.

• Note that when a comma is used, both main clauses must have a subject:

        The patients stopped smoking, and they felt better for it.

• Minimal hyphenation - use hyphens only for words with non-, -like, -type, and for adjectival phrases that include a preposition (one-off event, run-in trial). Not using hyphens will help you to avoid noun clusters (see Grammar below).
• Quotation marks - please use double, not single, inverted commas for reported speech. Full stops and commas go inside quotation marks: She said, “We will.”
• No exclamation marks, except in quotes from other sources.
• Reference numbers go after commas and full stops, before semicolons and colons.

• Minimal capitalisation. Use capitals only for names and proper nouns. Don’t capitalise names of studies.

Grammar

• Write in the active and use the first person where necessary. Try to avoid long sentences that have several embedded clauses.
• Sex: Avoid “he” as a general pronoun. Make the nouns (and pronouns) plural, then use “they”; if that’s not possible, use “he or she.”.
• Nouns and verbs should agree: The data are; None is...
• Organisations and groups of people take singular verbs: The government is; The team has researched...

• Avoid noun clusters: “Patient in coronary care unit” rather than “coronary care unit patient.”
• Watch out for “danglers” (unattached participles and misrelated clauses):

        Joining the service in 1933, his first post was... (the post didn’t join the service)

        Joining the service in 1933, he was first posted to... (this is correct)

Technical terms

• Drugs should be referred to by their approved non-proprietary names, and the source of any new or experimental preparations should be given.
• Scientific measurements should be given in SI units, except for blood pressure, which should be expressed in mmHg.
• Numbers under 10 are spelled out, except for measurements with a unit (8 mmol/l) or age (6 weeks old), or when in a list with other numbers (14 dogs, 12 cats, 9 gerbils).
• Raw numbers should be given alongside percentages, and as supporting data for P values.

ILLUSTRATIONS/FIGURES

Black and white images should be saved and supplied as GIF, TIFF, EPS, or JPEG files, at a minimum resolution of 300 dpi and an image size of 9 cm across for single column format and 18.5 cm for double column format.

Colour images should be saved and supplied as GIF, TIFF, EPS, or JPEG files, to a minimum resolution of 600 dpi at an image size of 9 cm across for single column format and 18.5 cm for double column format.

We also receive images/figures in Photoshop (.psd) and/or CorelDRAW (.cdr) files.

Images should be mentioned in the text, and figure legends should be listed at the end of the manuscript.

Cite illustrations in numerical order (figure 1, figure 2, etc) as they are first mentioned in the text.

Images must not be embedded in the text file but submitted as individual files (view further details in File Formats).

During submission, when you upload the figure files, please label them as Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.  The file label will not appear in the PDF, but the order in which the figures are uploaded should be sufficient to link them to the correct figure legend for identification.

Histograms should be presented in a simple, two-dimensional format, with no background.

Unacceptable file formats

Any file using OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) technology to display information or embed files, Bitmap (.bmp), PICT (.pict), Canvas (.cnv), Excel (.xls), and locked or encrypted PDFs, is not acceptable.

TABLES

Tables should be submitted in the same format as your article and embedded into the document where the table should be cited. Tables should be self-explanatory, and the data contained must not be duplicated in the text or figures. Tables should be in the same format as your article and embedded into the document where the table should be cited.

SUBMISSION PREPARATION CHECKLIST

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 do not adhere to these guidelines.

1. All authors guarantee that the manuscript is original, has never been published elsewhere, has been understood with the publication ethics regulation, and will not be submitted to other publisher.
2. The author has already prepared the ‘Consent Form’. Please upload the completed form to the additional/ supplementary files when completing the last step of the submission procedure.
3. For an original/ research article, the letter of ethical approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) should be submitted to the additional/ supplementary files when completing the last step of the submission procedure.
4. Authors whose native language is not English should seek an international proofreading consultant/ native proofreader before submitting their manuscripts. Please upload the proofreading certificate to the additional/ supplementary files when completing the last step of the submission procedure.
5. To cover publication costs, authors can pay an Article Publication Fee if their manuscript is accepted for publication: a) IDR 10.000.000 or US$ 625.00 (original article); b) IDR 5.000.000 or US$ 325.00 (case report, review article, special article, clinical practice).
6. Authors are required to pay an Article Submission fee as part of the submission process to contribute to review costs: IDR 500.000 or US$ 50.00. Please transfer to Bank Mandiri (Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital Branch Office, Jakarta). Account ID: Perkumpulan Informasi dan Penerbitan. Account no. 122-00-0767711-8 (Swift code: BMRIIDJA). Please upload the transferred proof of payment to the additional/ supplementary files when completing the last step of the submission procedure.