Instructions to authors

 

Iris: The International Journal of Research in Eye Sciences is the official journal of the Sociedad Chilena de Oftalmología (SOCHIOF).

It is an online, open access, quarterly journal that publishes unedited, original scientific articles, review articles, clinical case reports, notes on related topics images in ophthalmology and letters to the editor. Manuscripts are welcome either in Spanish or English.

 

The journal’s mission is to further increase and spread the knowledge in ophthalmology. With that purpose, the Editor in Chief will consider contributions in the following sections:  

- Editorials

- Original articles

- Review articles

- Case reports

- Images in ophthalmology (Clinical images)

- Letters to the Editor  

 

Manuscripts must be uploaded in electronic form through the editorial system at publisher.IrisJournal.permanyer.com, where first, the corresponding author should register as an author. Once this author has obtained a username and password, the documents should be uploaded following the instructions.

To avoid duplications in the system, please refrain from creating a new request when resubmitting your modified files. You should continue using the same reference until your manuscript completes the editorial process.

PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPTS

All articles must include, without exception, title, name, and surname(s) of each author (without titles or positions), affiliation, name and address of the corresponding author, the complete manuscript text, tables, and figures. 

Texts must be submitted in Microsoft Word format. Manuscripts must be correctly written in Spanish or English. The text must be typed double-spaced, in Times New Roman 12 font and with each section starting on a new page: front page, English and Spanish abstracts with their key words, main manuscript, references, tables and figures footnotes. The pages will be numbered consecutively, beginning with the front page, and the number will be placed on the top of every page.

Each submission must include: a cover letter addressed to the Editor in Chief, signed by the corresponding or first author (or all the authors), requesting the consideration for publication of the article, and declaring that the manuscript is not under review with another journal.
 

The following must also be submitted:

1. A front page with all authorship data. The front page must show the title of the article in Spanish and English, and a short title with less than 40 characters (counting letters and spaces). The authors names (without job titles or academic degrees); institutional departments in which the work was carried out (affiliations); email address and full name of the corresponding author, acknowledgments, funding and conflicts of interest (if they exist).

2. The body or main text of the manuscript (anonymous). The body of the manuscript must be completely anonymous and should contain the Spanish and English abstracts, the main text, references, tables, and figure footnotes. For more information about manuscript preparation, we suggest consulting the website of Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (www.icmje.org). 

For further details, please see the regulations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/manuscript-preparation/preparing-for-submission.html).

2.1. Abstracts in Spanish. All abstracts will be presented in a maximum of 250 words, indicating the purpose of the research; basic procedures (sample selection, observational and analytical methods); main findings (specific data and, if possible, their statistical significance); as well as relevant conclusions and originality of the research. In the end, 3 to 6 key words will be written to facilitate inclusion in international indexes. We recommend using the terms from the Medical Subject Headings of the most recent Index Medicus.

2.2. Abstracts in English. These will be presented in a maximum of 250 words, using the same characteristics and content of the Spanish abstract. It will begin with an English language version of the title. It will also contain 3 to 6 key words. To ensure quality, we suggest having this paragraph reviewed by an experienced translator.

*Please consider the category of your article when structuring the abstract. 

 

3. Introduction. It should include background information, approach to the problem and purpose of the study, all clearly worded and well supported by the bibliography reviewed.

 

4. Material and methods. Please name all the characteristics of the sample and the methods used, with relevant references, will be clearly marked so that reading of this chapter allows similar studies to be conducted by other researchers. The statistical methods used must be marked with their corresponding reference. The authors must detail in this section, the ethical procedures followed, necessary for experiments with animals, patients, confidential data management, informed consent, etc. Moreover, that they have obtained the corresponding authorization by the ethics committee of their institution.

 

5. Results. The main findings of the study must be included and may be compared only with figures or graphics which are strictly necessary and are intended to extend the information contained in the text. Do not repeat information in the body of the text and the tables and/or figures.

 

6. Discussion. The results must be contrasted with the information reported in the literature, and with the objectives and hypotheses expressed in the work.

 

7. Conclusions. In this section, authors must summarize the main conclusions of their study and the future recommended studies in case conclusions are preliminary. The conclusions should agree with the objectives of the study, and they should be directly originated from the reported results.

 

8. References. These will be presented in accordance with the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (International Committee of Biomedical Journal Editors). References will be marked with consecutive Arabic numerals, sorted in the order in which they first appear in the text. They will be referred to in the text, tables, and figure footnotes with the corresponding numbers. In quotations with multiple authors (more than six authors), only the first 6 authors of the work must be included, followed by et al., after the abbreviation of the name/s of the 6th author. In case of 6 or fewer authors, all 6 must be included in the quotation (https://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html).

• Articles published in periodic journals must appear in the following format: Welt CK, Chan JL, Bullen J, Murphy R, Smith P, DePaoli AM, et al. Recombinant human leptin in hypothalamic Women with amenorrhea. N Engl J Med. 2004;351 (10):987-97.

• References to books must include the name of the publisher, as well as the city and country of publication, and the year of publication, in accordance with the following model: Aréchiga H, Somolinos J. Contribuciones Mexicanas a la medicina moderna. México, D.F.: Fondo de Cultura Económica; 1994.

• References to chapters in books must appear as follows: Pasternak RC, Braunwald E. Acute myocardial infarction; or: Isselbacher KJ, Braunwald E, Wilson JD, Martin JB, Fauci AS, Kasper DL, eds. Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine. 12.a ed. Nueva York: McGraw-Hill Inc.; 1994., pp. 1066-77.

9. Tables. They must be editable, double-spaced and consecutively numbered in Arabic characters, in the order quoted in the text, with the titles at the top and the abbreviations meaning as well as explanatory comments in the table’s footnotes. They must be included at the end of the manuscript, after the references. 

10. Figures or graphs. All figures should be referenced or named in the main text, in strict consecutive order. Please note that:

- All graphic imagery must be submitted in high resolution (300 dpi/180mm), as the editorial office does not retouch or modify images. Please submit them in .JPG, .TIFF, .EPS, .PowerPoint, or similar.

- Figure footnotes must be written double-spaced

- The footer must contain the precise information to correctly interpret the figure without resorting to the text. 

- All iconography must be original. Where this is not the case, the source reference must be quoted, and the author must obtain prior permission of the relevant publisher. 

- In the figures, data already written in the text will not be repeated. Photographs of objects must include a rule to calibrate the reference measurements. In microphotographs, the microscopic magnification or reference micron bar must appear. 

The patient’s name, face, data, or any other recognizable feature will not be shown in the figures. We suggest that authors use illustrations that complement the text.

11. Ethical disclosures. Regarding potential conflicts of interest, individual right to privacy and data confidentiality, as well as human and animal rights, the journal adheres to the latest version of the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (formerly the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts) published by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, found at http://www.icmje.org. Copies of the informed consent forms will be required in the case of studies in patients and clinical cases, and in case of clinical and experimental studies, the letter from the Independent Ethics Committee of the corresponding institution.

Human procedures must comply with the ethical standards of the Helsinki Declaration of 1975 (World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki) Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects. JAMA 2000, 284:3043-5. Also, with the agreements given by the Ministry of Health, published on January 26, 1982, and the Rules for Ethics and Research from the institution where the study originated. Animal studies should follow similar guidelines (Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources, National Research Council. Guide for the care and use of laboratory animals. Washington, DC. National Academy Press, 1996). 

Regarding the confidentiality of data, you should inform on how the anonymous status of the participants and the confidentiality of their information were protected. You can download the format by accessing the following link: http://www.permanyer.com/formulario-responsabilidades/

 

12. Funding. The authors must mention all organizations that funded their research in the manuscript, including grant numbers where appropriate.

 

13. Conflicts of interest. Authors must describe any financial or personal relationship with any other person or organization, which can cause a conflict of interest regarding this article.

To promote the transparency and quality of the research, the authors will be asked as an essential requirement to self-assess adherence to the relevant international guidelines according to the type of study:

– Clinical trials: CONSORT (http://www.consort-statement.org/). In addition, all trials must be registered in one of the international databases, and the corresponding registration number must always be indicated.

– Observational studies: STROBE (www.strobe-statement.org).

– Diagnostic tests: STARD (www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/stard/).

– For other types of studies, consult the guidelines on the EQUATOR initiative (http://www.equator-network.org/).

 

14. Please submit a signed document of copyright transfer.

 

TYPES OF ARTICLES

Original articles
Original articles present results from clinical or basic original research. They must include title, abstract and key words, both in Spanish and English. Abstracts must be shorter than 250 words. The maximum length for original articles will be 2500 words with a maximum of 30 references. Please structure the abstract as follows: Background, Objectives, Methods, Results, Conclusions.

Review articles
Reviews will be on a relevant medical topic in ophthalmology. They must include title, abstract and key words, both in Spanish and English. Abstracts must be shorter than 250 words and should not be structured. The maximum length for review articles will be 3000 words with a maximum of 50 references.

Case reports
Case reports should cover a recent and relevant medical experience. They must include title, abstract and key words, both in Spanish and English. Abstract must be shorter than 250 words and should not be structured. The maximum length for case reports will be 1500 words with a maximum of 5 authors, 3 figures and tables, and 15 references.

Images in ophthalmology (Clinical images)
This section includes photographs or photocompositions with high quality images showing striking or rare clinical characteristics. The image(s) will be accompanied by a short descriptive text shorter than 250 words with a maximum of 3 references.

Letters to the Editor
Letters are an open forum to the expression of personal opinions regarding medical topics of diverse interests, as well as the content of the articles published in our journal. They should be short commentaries of maximum 500 words.

 

COPYRIGHT

All papers must be submitted together with a letter signed by every author stating that the manuscript have not been published previously nor have been sent simultaneously to another journal; that there is no conflicts of interest; and in case of acceptance, copyright will be transferred to Sociedad Chilena de Oftalmología (SOCHIOF), who will publish them open access under the licence: CC BY-NC-ND (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

The views expressed in the article are those of the authors.

No articles will be accepted for review if they are not prepared in accordance with the instructions for authors.
 

 

EDITORIAL PROCESS

The editorial process consists of 6 stages:

1. Reception of the manuscript (indeterminate, depending on whether the author meets the requirements): its objective is to verify that the manuscript complies with the specifications of these instructions for authors and that the submitted documentation is complete.

2. Initial editorial review (maximum 5 business days): its objective is to corroborate the relevance, timeliness, originality, and scientific contribution of the manuscript, as well as the methodological and statistical soundness of the study. At this time, it will be submitted to an electronic plagiarism detection system. Derived from this, a rejected opinion may be obtained, or it will be sent for review by peer researchers.

3. Review by peer researchers (maximum 30 business days): the opinion of at least two experts in the area in question will be obtained, who will evaluate the technical and methodological aspects of the investigation.

4. Editorial review (maximum 7 business days): its objective is to make a decision based on the opinion of peer reviewers. The opinion can be rejected, major changes, minor changes or accepted. In the case of major or minor changes, it will be submitted again for evaluation by the initial peer reviewers.

5. Final edition (6 weeks): its objective is the technical and linguistic edition (and translation), layout of galleys, DOI assignment, and correction by the author.

6. Advanced publication: All manuscripts will be published ahead of print on the journal's website as soon as they complete the editing process, until they are incorporated into a final issue of the journal.

 

PRINT PROOFS (PDF) OF ACCEPTED ARTICLES 

The corresponding author will receive proofs of the article for revision and correction of terminology errors, or any other updates related to facts/figures. As the article will already have been edited according to the journal’s internal editorial guidelines, style corrections will not be accepted. The corresponding author will receive an email with the article in PDF format, on which they can leave their comments. Authors will need to have Adobe Reader (version 9, or a later version), downloadable for free). For other system requirements, please visit the Adobe website.

Alternatively, authors may list their corrections and submit them via email. Any major changes at this stage will be subject to the approval of the Editor. Authors should make sure to include all changes in a single email, as we cannot guarantee the inclusion of subsequent corrections.

The proof review is the responsibility of the author.

Relevant links

Committee on Publication Ethics. Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers

International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Responsibilities in the Submission and Peer-Review Process