Article category
Articles will be published in Studies in Medical Sciences  under four categories: Research article, Review article, Short communication, Case report and Letters to the Editor

Instructions for Authors
Studies in Medical Sciences
Article Categories
Manuscripts may be submitted under the following categories:

• Original Research Articles
• Review Articles
• Short Communications
• Case Reports
• Letters to the Editor

1. General Submission Policies

• Manuscripts must represent original work that has not been published or is not under consideration elsewhere.
• Submissions must be written either in English. The language must be clear, grammatically correct, and terminologically sound.
• Articles must be submitted exclusively by the corresponding author through their registered account in the journal’s online submission system: http://umj.umsu.ac.ir.
• Articles involving research conducted in Iran after 2019 must include a valid ethics code issued by an accredited research ethics committee.
• Upon submission, authors agree to adhere to the journal’s copyright and ethical policies and must upload the signed license agreement form available on the journal website.

2. Manuscript Structure and File Requirements
Each submission must include two separate files:

• Manuscript with Title Page: Includes the full title, a running title, full names of all authors, institutional affiliations, ORCID iDs for all authors (if available), and only the corresponding author’s email address.
• Blinded Manuscript (without Title Page): Excludes all identifying information for double-blind peer review. Do not include names, affiliations, ethics codes, or self-identifying citations.
• If the name of a city, university, hospital, or similar identifying information is mentioned, please replace it with asterisks (*) in the anonymized version of the manuscript.

The manuscript should follow the standard structure:

• Structured Abstract (maximum 300 words for original articles, 125 words for case reports)
• Keywords (4–6 terms based on MeSH)
• Introduction
• Materials & Methods (including ethical considerations)
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• Declarations
• References

Figures should be submitted in high-resolution JPEG or GIF formats. Tables must be editable (not image-based), numbered consecutively, and include concise titles. 3. Peer Review Process
All manuscripts undergo double-blind peer review by at least two expert reviewers. The editorial board may accept, request revisions, or reject a manuscript at any stage. Upon acceptance, authors receive a formal acceptance letter, and the corresponding author will be notified of the article’s placement in an upcoming issue. 4. Ethical and Legal Considerations
Human and Animal Studies
Ethical considerations must be clearly stated in the Methods section. For human studies, mention informed consent, name of the approving ethics committee, and compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki. For animal research, confirm adherence to relevant welfare guidelines.
Conflicts of Interest
All authors must disclose any financial, professional, or personal relationships that could be perceived as potential conflicts of interest.
AI Use Transparency
Any use of artificial intelligence tools (e.g., for text generation, analysis, or editing) must be disclosed in the Acknowledgments section. Include the specific tool used, its role, and a statement like:
"Hereby, the authors acknowledge that [specific parts of the text] in this work have been generated with the help of artificial intelligence technology. The specific technology used in this work was [AI tool name]. Therefore, the contribution of its in producing this content is confirmed." 5. Declarations Section
All manuscripts must include a Declarations section after the conclusion and before the references. This section must cover:

1. Acknowledgments – Individuals or institutions that supported the study but do not qualify for authorship.
2. Authors’ Contributions – Role of each author in study design, data collection, writing, or revision.
3. Availability of Data and Materials – Access policies for datasets and materials used in the study.
4. Conflict of Interest – Statement confirming presence or absence of conflicts.
5. Consent for Publication – Confirmation that participants (or guardians) consented to publish identifiable data (if applicable).
6. Funding – Full details of financial or institutional support.
7. Ethical Approval – Name of the ethics committee and approval code.

6. Referencing and Citation Style

• Use Vancouver style with numbered in-text citations in order of appearance.
• References must be inserted using EndNote software.
• At least 70% of references should be from the past 10 years.
• Use only credible and verifiable sources. Use of websites is limited to authoritative sources (e.g., WHO, World Bank).
• Persian sources translated into English must include complete bibliographic metadata.
• Journal names should be abbreviated according to the NLM Catalog.

Reference Examples
Journal Article:
Vega KJ, Pina I, Krevsky B. Biliary endoscopy in elderly patients. Am J Gastroenterol. 1996;91(2):260–3.
Book:
Ringsern MK, Bond D. Gerontology and Leadership Skills for Nurses. 2nd ed. Albany (NY): Delmar Publishers; 1996.
Chapter in Book:
Phillips SJ, Whisnant JP. Hypertension and stroke. In: Laragh JH, Brenner BM, editors. Hypertension: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Management. 2nd ed. New York: Raven Press; 1995. p. 465–78. 7. Tables and Figures

• Tables must have titles above and explanations in footnotes. Avoid duplicating data in both table and text.
• Figures must be numbered, have captions below, and submitted on separate pages in high resolution.

8. Abbreviations and Symbols
Only standard abbreviations should be used. Avoid abbreviations in the title and abstract. Define abbreviations at first mention. 9. Proofreading and Publication
A proof will be sent to the corresponding author prior to publication. Corrections must be returned promptly. The editorial board reserves the right to make necessary final adjustments in formatting or language. 10. Copyright and Licensing
Upon submission, authors agree to transfer reproduction and distribution rights to the journal. A signed copyright form must be uploaded. The journal holds the right to accept or reject the manuscript or edit any part as needed. 11. Submission Checklist
Before final submission, ensure the manuscript includes:

• Title Page (with ORCID iDs and corresponding author's email)
• Structured Abstract
• Full Manuscript (blinded and unblinded)
• References in Vancouver style using EndNote
• Tables and Figures (numbered and captioned)

Research

Article Type	Description	Requirements
Original Investigation	Clinical trial Intervention study Cohort study Case-control study Epidemiologic assessment	3000 words ≤5 tables and/or figures Structured abstract (Background & Aims, Materials & Methods, Results, Conclusion); (300 words) Keywords (MeSH, no more than 6) Follow EQUATOR Reporting Guidelines
Clinical Trial	Any research project that prospectively assigns human participants to intervention or comparison groups to study the cause-and-effect relationship between an intervention and a health outcome. All clinical trials must be registered at an appropriate online public registry. Interventions include but are not limited to drugs, surgical procedures, devices, behavioral treatments, educational programs, dietary interventions, quality improvement interventions, process-of-care changes, and the like.	3000 words ≤5 tables and/or figures, including CONSORT flow diagram Structured abstract (Background & Aims, Materials & Methods, Results, Conclusion); (300≥ words) Keywords (MeSH, no more than 6) Subtitle should be "A Randomized Clinical Trial" Trial registration and ID Trial protocol CONSORT checklist Follow EQUATOR Reporting Guidelines
Meta-analysis	Systematic, critical assessments of literature and data sources pertaining to clinical topics, emphasizing factors such as cause, diagnosis, prognosis, therapy, or prevention, and that includes a statistical technique for quantitatively combining the results of multiple studies that measure the same outcome into a single pooled or summary estimate.	3500 words 50-75 references ≤5 tables and/or figures Structured abstract (Importance, Objective, Data Sources, Study Selection, Data Extraction and Synthesis, Main Outcome(s) and Measure(s), Results, Conclusions and Relevance); (350 ≥ words) Keywords (MeSH, no more than 6) Subtitle should include "A Meta-analysis"

Follow PRISMA Reporting Guidelines or MOOSE Reporting Guidelines

Clinical Review and Education

Article Type	Description	Requirements
Systematic Review (without meta-analysis)	Critical assessments of the literature and data sources pertaining to clinical topics, emphasizing factors such as cause, diagnosis, prognosis, therapy, or prevention.	3500 words 50-75 references ≤5 tables and/or figures A PRISMA-style flow diagram should be included as an online supplement Include a table with ratings of the quality of the studies/evidence Subtitle should be "A Systematic Review" Structured abstract (Importance, Objective, Evidence Review, Findings, Conclusions and Relevance); (350≥ words) Keywords (MeSH, no more than 6)

Follow EQUATOR Reporting Guidelines

Correspondence

Article Type	Description	Requirements
Letter to the Editor	Letters discussing a recent article in this journal should be submitted within 4 weeks of the article's publication in print.	400 words ≤5 references (1 of which should be to the recent article) ≤3 authors
Letter in Reply	Replies by authors of original articles to letters from readers.	500 words ≤6 references

≤3 authors

 
Editor-in-Chief
 
Studies in Medical Sciences
Prof. Isa Abdi Rad
 
The address of the journal office for article submission is: The Editor-in-Chief, Studies in Medical Sciences Journal, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Jahad Ave., Urmia, I.R. Iran. Post code: 57147-83734. P.O. Box. 1138 Tel & Fax: +98 44 32233009 , +98 44 31937415