Instructions to Authors

 

The Canadian Journal of General Internal Medicine publishes concise papers, which are subject to peer review. The Journal considers articles of original research, reviews, scholarly addresses, case reports, book reviews, historical interest, clinical tips, guidelines, letters to the editor, and so on. Articles are accepted in English and French. Requirements are in accordance with “Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals” (http://www.icmje.org). The editorial policies of the journal are in line with those of the Council of Science Editors (http://www.councilscienceeditors.org/services/draft_approved.cfm).

              Authors must disclose any commercial interest in the subject of study and the source of any support. A covering letter should state that the work is original and should include the address for correspondence, as well as the phone and fax numbers and e-mail address to ensure rapid processing. Authors should identify their affiliation with a hospital or university department, and indicate if they are students, residents, fellows, or on staff. After acceptance of the manuscript, the author(s) must sign a copyright transfer agreement.

The Journal reserves the right to edit manuscripts to ensure conformity with the Journal’s style. Such editing will not affect the scientific content.

 

Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts should be double-spaced and approximately 800–1500 words. The manuscript must be sent by e-mail attachment (Word or Rich Text Format only). An abstract of up to 150 words should be provided, and a statement that the study was approved by the relevant research ethics board should be included, where relevant.

              The lead author should also provide a brief bio sketch and high-resolution photo of himself or herself (see details regarding illustrations below).

 

References

References should be numbered consecutively in the text by superscript numerals. Corresponding references should be listed at the end of the text. References printed will be limited to 8–12, but a full list of references can be accessed in the online version. Unpublished sources such as personal communications should be cited within the text and not included in the reference list.

              The sequence for journal references should be as follows: author(s); title of paper; journal name abbreviated as in the Index Medicus; year of publication, volume number, first and last page numbers. When there are more than three authors, shorten to three and add “et al.”

 

Col NF, Eckman MH, Karas RH, et al. Patient specific decisions about hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal women. JAMA 1997;277:1140-7.

 

              The sequence for chapters of a book should be as follows: author(s) of chapter, chapter title, author(s) of book, book title, edition, place of publication, publisher, year of publication, page numbers.

 

Galloway AC, Colvin SB, Grossi EA, et al. Acquired heart disease. In: Schwartz SI, Shires GT, Spencer FC, eds. Principles of Surgery, 6th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill; 1994:845-99.

 

Tables and illustrations

Each table should be typed on a separate page, and should have a legend at the top indicating the information contained.

              Illustrations may be sent electronically as a TIFF or JPEG file on a disk or CD. Do not embed images, etc., in text files. Note: Figure reproduction cannot improve on the quality of the originals.

 

Numbers, units, and abbreviations

Measurements are to be metric. In scientific text, physical quantities and units of time should be expressed in numerals, for example, 2 kg, 6 mmol, 5 hours, 4°C.

Use only standard abbreviations, and avoid using abbreviations in the title. Define all abbreviations on their first mention.

 

Permissions

Written permission must be obtained for material that has been published in copyrighted material; this includes tables, figures, and quoted text that exceeds 150 words. Signed patient release forms are required for photographs of identifiable persons. A copy of all permissions and patient release forms must accompany the manuscript.

 

Proofs

Proofs for correction will be sent to authors by e-mail as a Word file. Authors are asked to fax or e-mail corrections back to the publisher within 72 hours. Unless otherwise indicated by the author, manuscripts will be published as sent.

 

Please submit manuscripts to:

Dr. Hector Baillie

hbaillie@telus.net

Copy: csim@rcpsc.edu

Only electronic submissions will be accepted.