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Author Guidelines

Sri Lanka Journal of Urology (SLJU) is a peer reviewed, open access journal published annually by the Sri Lanka Association of Urological Surgeons (SLAUS). The Journal commenced in 2000 as the official publication of the SLAUS since its inception in 1999.
The mission of the SLJU is to promote publication and dissemination of science of highest standards related to the field of Urological Surgery (Genitourinary Surgery), making an impact on the existing practice and contributing to the advancement of the specialty. SLJU is committed to maintaining and conforming to the editorial and ethical standards recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.
TYPES OF ARTICLES
The SLJU publishes a wide variety of articles which have relevance to field of Urology / Genito-Urinary Surgery
Review articles
Review articles are solicited by the editors, and are expert opinions on current topics or commentaries on other papers published in the SLJU. They do not usually exceed 3000 words or have more than 20 references. Submissions may be subjected to external review before acceptance.
Original articles
Original articles report the results of original research, systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Should normally be in the format of introduction, methods, results and discussion (IMRaD). Each manuscript must have a 200 word structured abstract. The text should be limited to 3000 words and maximum of 5 tables/figures taken together with no more than 15 references. Lengthy manuscripts are likely to be returned for shortening. The discussion in particular should be clear and concise and should be limited to matters arising directly from the results. Avoid discursive speculation.
Brief reports
This category includes preliminary reports, novel patient management methods, and reports of new techniques and devices. They should be limited to 1000 words, 3 tables/illustrations and 10 references, and should include an unstructured abstract of less than 100 words.
Case reports
Acceptance of case reports is based on originality and whether there is an important new lesson to be learnt or a new message from the report. It should not contain more than 750 words, one table / illustration and 5 references. Authorship should be limited to five. Case reports may be accepted as contributions to the picture-story series (not more than 300 words of text, 3 references and 2-3 clear black and white or colour photographs). Case reports must be prepared according to the Consensus-based Clinical Case Reporting (CARE) guidelines.
Perspectives and points of view
The SLJU also welcomes essays expressing opinions, presenting hypotheses, broaching controversial issues, clarifying recent advances in the basic sciences, and essays pertaining to medical education, history of medicine, health politics and patients’ rights. They should not have more than 750 words and 10 references.
ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES
Criteria for authorship
Only persons who contributed to the intellectual content of the paper should be listed as authors. According to the ICMJE recommendations authorship should be based on the following 4 criteria:

• Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
• Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
• Final approval of the version to be published; AND
• Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

In addition to being accountable for the parts of the work he or she has done, an author should be able to identify which co-authors are responsible for specific other parts of the work. In addition, authors should have confidence in the integrity of the contributions of their co-authors.
All those designated as authors should meet all four criteria for authorship, and all who meet the four criteria should be identified as authors. Contributors who meet fewer than all 4 of the above criteria for authorship should not be listed as authors, but they should be acknowledged.
Conflict of interests
The Sri Lanka Journal of Urology requires that all authors declare any relevant financial and non-financial conflicts of interest and the journal publishes those that might influence a readers perception of the paper. The Sri Lanka Journal of Urology requires that all funding sources of the research are declared and published and the role of the funding source in the conception, conduct, analysis and reporting of the research is stated and published.
Funding
In funded studies all sources of funding should be declared in the covering letter under the heading “Funding”. Authors must describe the role of the study sponsor(s), if any, in the study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of the data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the paper for publication. If the funder(s) had no such involvement, this should be stated.

Previous publication
When an article is reviewed for publication we expect that the work it reports has not been submitted simultaneously to another journal has not been accepted for publication elsewhere or has not already been published
Ethics Approval
Every research article should include a statement that the study obtained ethics approval including the name of the ethics committee(s) or institution and a statement that participants gave informed consent before taking part where relevant.
PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPT
The SLJU will consider all manuscripts prepared in accordance with the uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. A summary of these and the requirements of the SLJU are given below.
Manuscript typing
All parts of manuscript, including tables and figure legends, must be typed with double spacing. The computer language must be set to English (UK) & using 12-point Calibri font.
References must also be double spaced. Manuscripts should be typed in capital and lower case letters, on white paper of A4 size (212x 297 mm).
Arrange components in the following order: title page, abstract, text, references, tables in numerical sequence, and figures in numerical sequence. Begin each component on a separate page.
Number all pages consecutively, starting with the title page.
Style
The British Medical Journal, Lancet and Annals of Internal Medicine are recommended to authors as guides to style, clarity of presentation and conciseness.
Name of drugs and instruments
Generic (nonproprietary) names should be used for all drugs. When proprietary brands are used in research, include the brand (proprietary or trade) name and the name of manufacturer in parentheses after the first mention of the generic name in the Methods section. Thereafter the generic name should be used.
Instruments may be referred to by proprietary name, giving the name and location of the manufacturer in the text in parentheses.
Abbreviations and symbols
Use only standard abbreviations; use of nonstandard abbreviations can be confusing to readers.
Avoid abbreviations in the title of the manuscript. The spelled-out abbreviation followed by the abbreviation in parenthesis should be used on first mention unless the abbreviation is a standard unit of measurement.
Units of Measurement
Measurements of length, height, weight, and volume should be reported in metric units (meter, kilogram, or litre) or their decimal multiples.
Temperatures should be in degrees Celsius. Blood pressures should be in millimeters of mercury.
Headings in text
Use only two levels of headings in the text. Clearly indicate the levels of headings by using different typographic conventions. Keep headings short.
Title page
The title page should contain the following:

1. Main title, running title (less than 50 characters) and a maximum of 5 index words(or phrases).
2. Authors listed in the order in which they are to appear in the published article. List authors names as surname and maximum of 2 initials.
3. Institutional affiliation for each author and e mail address. The institutions listed should reflect the affiliations of the authors at the time of the study, not their present affiliations, if they differ.
4. Name, address, e-mail and telephone number of author responsible for correspondence.
5. Source(s) of support. These include grants, equipment, drugs, and/or other support that facilitated conduct of the work described in the article or the writing of the article itself.
6. In addition to submitting a Declaration Form, include a conflict of interest statement which describes authors’ conflicts of interest, sources of support for the work including sponsor names and whether the authors had access to the study data. This statement should be signed by all authors.
7. The number of words in the manuscript, exclusive of the abstract, acknowledgments, references, tables, figures, and figure legends.

Abstract
The abstract should provide the context or background for the study and should state the study's purpose, basic procedures (selection of study participants, settings, measurements, analytical methods), main findings (giving specific effect sizes and their statistical and clinical significance, if possible), and principal conclusions. Clinical trial abstracts should include items that the CONSORT group has identified as essential. Clinical trials should give clinical trial registration number at the end of the abstract. Authors are recommended to consult the SAGER guidelines for the reporting of sex and gender information.

Abstract should include the sub-headings: Introduction, Objectives, Methods, Results and Conclusions. Number of words should be less than 250 words. Brief Reports should have an unstructured abstract limited to 150 words.
Main text
The text should contain the following categories; Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgements, Conflicts of Interests, References, Tables and Figures. Under a subheading "Conflicts of Interests ", all authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organisations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. If there are no conflicts of interest, authors should state that “There are no conflicts of interest”.
References
Number references in the order in which they are first cited in the text. Use Arabic numerals within parentheses e.g. [2]. SLJU requires the PubMed abbreviation of the journal title (or a similar abbreviation if the journal is not indexed in PubMed) NOT the COMPLETE name of journal. Include year, volume and first and last page numbers.
References to articles or books accepted for publication but not yet published must include the title of the journal (or name of the publisher) and the year of expected publication. Unpublished work (personal communication) may be cited by inserting a reference within parentheses in the text; authors must submit a letter of permission from the cited persons to cite such communications.
Sample references below are in the style required by the SLJU.
Journal articles
Jayatissa R, Gunathilaka MM, Fernando DN. Iodine nutrition status among school children after salt iodisation. Ceylon Med J 2005; 50: 144-6.
List all authors when 6 or fewer; when more than 6 list only the first 3 and add et al.

1. Standard article.
   Lagerqvist B, Fröbert O, Olivecrona GK,et al. Outcomes 1 year after thrombus aspiration for myocardial infarction N Engl J Med2014; 371:1111-20
2. Corporate author.
   The Royal Marsden Hospital Bone Marrow Transplantation Team. Failure of syngeneic bone marrow graft without preconditioning in post-hepatitis marrow aplasia. Lancet 1977; 2: 242–4.
3. Special format.

Cahal DA. Methyldopa and haemolytic anaemia (Letter). Lancet 1975; 1: 201.
Books
List all authors when 6 or fewer; when more than 6 list only the first 3 and add et al.

1. Author.
   Eisen HN. Immunology: An Introduction to Molecular and Cellular Principles of the Immune Response. 5th ed. New York: Harper and Row, 1974.
2. Editors.
   Dausset J. Colombani J, eds. Histocompatibility Testing 1972. Copenhagen: Munksgaard, 1973.
3. Chapter in a book.
   Hellstrom I, Helstrom KE. Lymphocyte-mediated cytotoxic reactions and blocking serum factors in tumor-bearing individuals. In: Brent L, Holbrow J, eds. Progress in Immunology II. v. 5. New York: American Elsevier, 1974: 147–57.

Websites
Preminger GM, Tiselius HG, Assimos DG, et al. Guideline for the management of ureteral calculi. American Urological Association, 2007. http://www.auanet.org/education/guidelines/ureteralcalculi (accessed on Feb 20, 2013)
Other citations in Reference List:
In press (must have journal title).

1. Sara JD, Holmes DR Jr, Jaffe AS Fundamental Concepts of Effective Troponin Use- Important Principles For Internists. Am J Med. 2014. In press.
2. Magazine article. Roueche B. Annals of Medicine: the Santa Claus culture. The New Yorker 1971. Sep 4: 66–81.

In-text citations of unpublished material (to be placed within parentheses):
Personal communication. (Strott CA, Nugent CA. Personal communication).
Tables
All tables must be typed double-spaced. Tables should be numbered with Arabic numerals, in the order in which they are cited in the text. A table title should describe concisely the content of the table.
Figures photographs and illustrations
Figures or illustrations should be professionally drawn or prepared digitally. Figures/images should be of good clarity & have a resolution of at least 150dpi (300dpi or above preferred). Lettering should be uniform in style. Free hand or typewritten lettering is not acceptable. Number the figures in the order in which they are cited in the text. Colour figures may be submitted and will be published if essential.
Legends for figures
Reduce the length of legends by using partial sentences. Explain all abbreviations and symbols on the figure, even if they are explained in the text. Stain and magnification should be given at the end of the legend for each part of the figure. If there is no scale marker on the figure, the original magnification used during the observation should be given, not that of the photographic print.
Acknowledgements
Acknowledge only persons who have contributed to the scientific content and provided financial or technical support. Authors must submit written permission from persons acknowledged for other than financial or technical support.
PRE-SUBMISSION CHECKLIST
In order to reduce the chance of your manuscript being returned to you, please check:
Author information: Have you provided details of all of your co-authors?
Manuscript length and formatting: Is text double-spaced? Does it use a 12-point Calibri font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses). Have you checked that your manuscript doesn’t exceed the requirements for word count, number of tables and/or figures, and number of references? Have you provided your abstract in the correct format? Have you supplied any required additional information for your article type?
Tables: Have they been cited in the text? Have you provided appropriate table legends?
Figures: Have you uploaded any figures separately from the text? Have they been supplied in an acceptable format and are they of sufficient quality? Have the files been labelled appropriately? Have the figures been cited in the text? Have you provided appropriate figure legends?
References: Have all of the references been cited in the text? Is it in the correct style required for the SLJU?
Supplementary files and appendices: Have you supplied these in an acceptable format? Have they been cited in the main text?
Statements: Have you included the necessary statements relating to contributorship, conflicts of interests, data sharing, clinical trial registration and ethical approval? The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
Research reporting checklists: Have you either provided the appropriate statement for your study type, or explained why a checklist isn’t required?
Permissions: Have you obtained from the copyright holder to re-use any previously published material? Has the source been acknowledged?
Reviewers: Have you provided the names of any preferred (Optional)
SUBMITTING MANUSCRIPT
Cover letter
Manuscripts should be submitted with a letter stating,

• that the contents have not been published elsewhere;
• that the paper is not being submitted elsewhere (or provide information on previous publication);
• the contributorship and ethical approval

The letter should acknowledge any potential conflict of interest.
It should indicate the number of words in the manuscript.
It should include the name, full mailing address, telephone number and e mail address of the corresponding author.
We accept online submission only. To submit an article online, and to check the status of your submission, you need to have an account with SLJU.
Editorial correspondence
Address all editorial correspondence to:
Editors, Sri Lanka Journal of Urology,
No. 06, Independence Avenue,
Colombo 07, Sri Lanka.
E mail: sljuslaus@gmail.com

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 that do not adhere to these guidelines.

1. The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
2. The submission file is in Microsoft Word, RTF, or WordPerfect document file format.
3. Where available, URLs for the references have been provided.
4. The text is single-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.
5. The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines, which is found in About the Journal.
6. If submitting to a peer-reviewed section of the journal, the instructions in Ensuring a Blind Review have been followed.

Copyright Notice

The Sri Lanka Journal of Urology is published under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0. Authors of articles published in SLJU retain the copyright of their articles. They are free to reproduce and disseminate their work. The source (SLJU) should be cited when articles published in the SLJU are reproduced or stored in a repository.

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