International Journal of Ethics and Society
For Authors
Author Guidelines

Author Guidelines

Before You Submit

Regardless of the type of manuscript, please consider the following questions.

  1. Who would want to read this article? And why?

  2. What is the research question or policy issue addressed?

  3. (Why) is International Journal of Ethics and Scoiety an/the most appropriate journal? You will need to be familiar with the journal to answer this question.

  4. What is already known on this topic, and what does your manuscript add? (We ask all original papers to structure their concluding sections around these questions.)

  5. Are you confident in the quality and comprehensiveness of your literature review? If not, please don’t submit until you can answer positively; competent reviewers will pick up on this immediately.

  6. Is your manuscript likely to be understood by someone without your specific disciplinary background or specialisation? If not, please provide necessary and concise explanations.

  7. When there are important controversies about methodology or interpretation of evidence that are relevant to your findings, have you referred to them as necessary?

  8. When there are elements of the local, regional or national context about which you are writing that are not likely to be familiar to the Journal’s readership, which is thoroughly international, have you explained these adequately and concisely, with relevant sources cited?

  9. Have you copy-edited the manuscript and references carefully? Especially if English is not your first language, are you confident in the quality of the written English?
     
Timescale

We make every effort to deal with submissions to the journal as quickly as possible. All papers are acknowledged on receipt and receive editorial review within 3 weeks. About 50% of papers submitted are rejected at this stage. The decision time on papers sent for review is usually about 4 – 6 weeks from submission. After acceptance, your paper will be published online and citable in 3 – 5 months. Overall, about 30% of papers submitted are eventually accepted.

Change to Authorship

Authors are expected to consider carefully the list and order of authors before submitting their manuscript and provide the definitive list of authors at the time of the original submission. Any addition, deletion or rearrangement of author names in the authorship list should be made only before the manuscript has been accepted and only if approved by the journal Editor. To request such a change, the Editor must receive the following from the corresponding author: (a) the reason for the change in author list and (b) written confirmation (e-mail, letter) from all authors that they agree with the addition, removal or rearrangement. In the case of addition or removal of authors, this includes confirmation from the author being added or removed. Only in exceptional circumstances will the Editor consider the addition, deletion or rearrangement of authors after the manuscript has been accepted.

Submission Declaration

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 including electronically in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the copyright-holder. In instances where authors prepare multiple submissions using the same dataset or sue partially overlapping variables in two or more articles, this needs to be declared upfront in the letter to the editor. Masked reference(s) to previous studies based on the same dataset need to be included in the manuscript itself so the reader can understand the novelty of new study in relation to the previous articles. In cases where the manuscript is part of a larger project (e.g., prospective longitudinal study, an intervention study with numerous arms, etc.) in which other partly overlapping publications already exist, or are planned in parallel to the submitted manuscript, need to be declared in the accompanying letter to the editor. Authors are asked to be upfront declaring such manuscripts. A manuscript may be returned if the degree of overlap is found to be too large.
 
Types of Manuscript
Review articles:
Definition: Types of review articles include: Critical review, Literature review/Narrative review, Mapping review, Meta analysis, Mixed study review, Overview, Systematic review, Rapid review, Scoping review, Synthesis review, Umbrella review.
They should be written by authors considered expert on the subject. Therefore, the corresponding author of the review article must be one of the authors of at least three articles presented in reference section.
Number of words, tables/figures and references: The text of review articles amounting to utmost 5000 words (excluding abstract, references and tables). Review articles must include an abstract (structured) of no more than 250 words. The number of tables/figures should be in maximum 6 and references should be in maximum 90. 
 
Original articles:
Definition: This includes randomized controlled trials, intervention studies, and studies of screening /diagnostic test, outcome studies and cost- effectiveness analysis.
Sections: The text of original articles should include: Title, Abstract (Structured), Keywords (max. 5), Introduction, Material & Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Ethical Consideration, Acknowledgment and References.  
Number of words, tables/figures and references: The text of original articles amounting to utmost 4000 words (excluding abstract, references, figures and tables). Original articles must include an abstract of no more than 250 words. The number of tables/figures should be in maximum 8 and references should be in maximum 60. 
 
Short Communication:
Definition: Short communication or brief report of research works, containing new findings.
Sections: The short communication consists: Title, Abstract (structured), Keywords (max. 5), Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Ethical Consideration, Acknowledgment and References.
Number of words, tables/figures and references: Short communications should not exceeding 2000 words from introduction through references. Short communication must include an abstract of no more than 150 words.  The number of tables/figures should be in maximum 3.The number of references should be in maximum 40.  
 
Case Reports:
Definition: Case reports should provide exceptional interest for readers.
Sections: The case report consists of: Abstract (unstructured), Keywords (max3), Introduction, Case Report, Discussion, Ethical Consideration, Acknowledgment, and References.
Number of words, tables/figures and references: The text of case reports amounting to utmost 1000 words (excluding abstract, references, figures and tables). Case report must include an abstract of no more than 150 Words.  The number of references should be in maximum 15.  
 
Letter to Editor:
Definition: Letters could be of two types:
  1. Commenting either on recently published articles in the journal
  2. The scientific letter include: reporting cases, outbreaks, or original research.
Sections: letters should not be divided into sections.
Number of words, tables/figures and references: The letter should contain no more than 1000 words. The number of tables 2, figures 2 and references should be in maximum 10 consequently. 
 
Guideline of Article Writing
  1. Manuscript must be accompanied by a covering letter to the editor-in-chief, including title and author(s) name and undertaking that it has not been published or submitted elsewhere.
  2. The title page of the paper should only contain the title, name(s), affiliation(s) and addresses (Tel, Fax, and Email) of the author(s).
  3. Manuscript should be including: Title, Abstract, Introduction, Material & Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Ethical Consideration, Acknowledgment, and References.
  • Title: Title must be short and suitable for content.
  • Abstract: All manuscripts must including a brief abstract intelligible without reference to the main text. A structured abstract be organizes information with descriptive heading that begin flush with the left margin. Incomplete sentences are acceptable in a structured abstract for the sake of brevity. The structured abstract should be organized as; Introduction, Material and Methods (no necessary for case report and literature review/narrative review), Results (no necessary for literature review/narrative review and case presentation for case report) and Conclusion.
  • Keywords: 3-5 keywords should be presented which must be selected from the body of the text. Keywords should be provided below the abstract to assist with indexing of the article.
  • Introduction: This should explain the purpose and the reasons for the study. It should neither review the subject extensively nor should it have data or conclusions of the study.
  • Material and Methods: This should include: Research method, Population, Sample and Sampling method, Demographic characteristics, Instruments, Perform method, Statistical methods. 
  • Results: It must be presented in the form of text, table, and figures. The contents of the tables should not be all repeated in the text. Instead, a reference to the table number may be given.
  • Discussion: This should emphasize the present findings and the variations or similarities with other works in the field of study. The detailed data should not be repeated again. Eventually, research limitations and recommendations should be mentioned.
  • Conclusion: Conclusion should be based on the results.
  • Ethical consideration: This section includes all ethical issues that must be committed research projects. These issues consist of professional ethics, research ethics, respect to humanistic ethical issues and obtain informed consent.
  • Acknowledgment: All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be covered. It should include persons who provided technical help, writing assistance and departmental head that only provided general support. Financial and material support and conflict of interest must be written in this section. 
  • References: The reference system for our journal (Int J Ethics Soc) is based on Vancouver. You should write reference number (in parentheses) as they enter the text and arrange items in the references section in order to their entrance in the text not alphabetically. References should observed the following styles:
Article (Print):
Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title of article. Abbreviated title of journal. Year of publication;volume number(issue number):page numbers
Meric F, Bernstam EV, Mirza NQ, Hunt KK, Ames FC, Ross M I, et al. Breast cancer on the world wide web: cross sectional survey of quality of information and popularity of websites. BMJ. 2002;324(7337):577-81

Article (Electronic):
Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title of article. Abbreviated title of journal [online]. Year of publication;volume number(issue number):page numbers. [Accessed date]. Available from: URL
Ross CTF. A conceptual design of an underwater vehicle. Ocean engineering [online]. 2006;33(16):2087-2104. [Accessed 6 July 2007]. Available from: http://www.sciencedirect.com/
 
Book:
  • Author surname Initial(s). Title: subtitle. Edition (if it is not the first edition). Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication.
  • Two to six authors: First author surname Initial(s), second author surname Initial(s), third author surname Initials. Title: subtitle. Edition (if it is not the first edition). Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication.
  • Seven or more authors/editors (If there are 7 or more authors/editors, only the first 6 are listed followed by et al.): First author surname Initial(s), second author surname Initial(s), third author surname Initial(s), fourth author surname Initial(s), fifth author surname Initial(s), sixth author surname Initial(s), et al., editors.  Title: subtitle. Edition (if it is not the first edition). Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication
Malmir M, Khanahmadi M, Farhud DD. Dogmatism fighting happiness. 1sted. Germany: Lambert Publication; 2017
 
Chapter of Book:
Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title of chapter: subtitle. In: Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title of book. Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication. p. page numbers.
Haefner H. Negative symptoms and the assessment of neurocognitive treatment response. In: Keefe RSE, McEvoy JP, editors. Negative symptom and cognitive deficit treatment response in schizophrenia. Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2004. p. 85-110.
 
Thesis:
Author's surname Initial(s). Title: subtitle. Award level of thesis, Awarding institution; Year of publication.
Deb S. Psychopathology of adults with a mental handicap and epilepsy. MA thesis, University of Leicester; 1991.
 
Monograph on the Internet:
Author(s)/Editor(s) surname Initial(s). Title. [online]. Publisher: place of publication; Year [Accessed date]. Available from: URL
SukYin A. Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) gene and breast cancer. [online]. Human Genome Epidemiology Network, National Office of Public Health Genomics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Atlanta GA; 2002 Jun [Accessed 8 September 2008]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/genomics/hugenet/factsheets/FS_COMT.htm.

Newspaper article
Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title of article: subtitle of article. Newspaper title (in full) Year Month and date of publication; section name (if applicable):page numbers of contribution.
Rowbottom M. The Big Question: how prevalent is the use of drugs in sport, and can it be defeated? The Independent 2006 Aug 1;Sect. Sport:5

Television or Radio broadcast
Title of programme/Series title, Episode number, Episode title. Transmitting organisation/channel. Date and year, Time of transmission.
Yes, Prime Minister, Episode 1, The Ministerial Broadcast. BBC2. 16 January 1986, 20:30.
 
  1. Tables and figures: Tables should be self contained and complement, but not duplicate, information contained in the text. Tables should be numbered consecutively. Each table should be presented in the text. All illustrations (line drawing and photographs) are classified as figures. Figures should be cited in consecutive order in the text. Figures should be submitted as good quality.  
  2. Manuscript must be set up according to the following items:
  • The manuscript must be typed in Word 2010
  • Font: Times New Roman (headline: 14, context: 12, references: 10).
  • Line space: 1.15 cm
  • Margins: 2.54 cm of top, bottom, left and right
  1. Abbreviations and Symbols: Use only standard abbreviations. Avoid using abbreviations in the title and abstract. The full term for which an abbreviation stands should precede its first use in the text unless it is a standard unit of measurement.
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