Author Guidelines

The Editorial Process

The manuscript will be considered for potential publication with the understanding that it is being submitted to Atlas Care Science (ACS) exclusively at this time and that it has not been published anywhere, is not simultaneously submitted, or already accepted for publication elsewhere. The journal assumes that the authors would grant one of them the authority to correspond with the Journal for all matters pertaining to the manuscript. All manuscripts submitted are acknowledged.

On submission, the editors will review all manuscripts submitted for initial suitability for formal review. Manuscripts with insufficient originality, serious scientific or technical errors, or absence of a significant message are rejected prior to formal peer review. Manuscripts that are unlikely to be of interest to the ACS readers are also likely to be rejected at this stage itself.

The manuscripts submitted by the members of the Editorial Board will be evaluated by the Editor in Chief and then peer-reviewed. The members of the Editorial Board, who are authors, will not be involved in the decision to publish.

The manuscripts that are considered suitable for publication in ACS are sent to two or more reviewers who are experts in the field. While submitting the manuscript, the contributor is asked to provide the names of two or three reviewers who have experience in the area covered in the submitted manuscript. However, this is not obligatory. The reviewers should not be from the same institutes as the contributor/s. However, the choice of the reviewers is left to the discretion of the editor. The journal uses a double-blind review system, where the reviewers and authors are not aware of each other’s identities.

The comments and recommendations (acceptance/rejection/amendments in the manuscript) from the reviewers are communicated to the corresponding author. If necessary, the author is asked to provide a point-by-point reply to the comments of the reviewers and submit a revised version of the manuscript. This continues until the reviewers and editors are satisfied with the manuscript.

Manuscripts accepted for publication are copy edited for grammar, punctuation, print style, and format. Page proofs are dispatched to the corresponding author. The corresponding author is expected to return the corrected proofs within three days. It may not be possible to incorporate corrections received after that period. The entire process of submission of the manuscript to final decision and sending and receiving proofs is done online. To achieve faster and greater dissemination of knowledge and information, the journal publishes articles online as ‘Ahead of Print’ immediately on acceptance.

Processes for Appeals

However, the authors reserve the right to appeal if they have a genuine reason to believe that the editorial board has made an error in rejecting the manuscript. If the authors wish to appeal, they should send an email to the editorial office stating the reason for the appeal. The appeals will be acknowledged by the editorial office and will be investigated objectively. The appeals will be processed within 6 – 8 weeks. During the time of appeal, the manuscript in question should not be submitted to other journals. The final decision will be made by the Editor in Chief of the journal. Second appeals are not accepted.

Anti-Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism comprises the duplication of publication of one’s own work, in whole or in part, without appropriate citation, as well as the misrepresentation of another’s ideas, words, and other creative expression as one’s own. The Journal maintains a zero tolerance plagiarism policy. All manuscripts submitted to ACS are screened for plagiarism using commercially available software. Depending on the level of plagiarism, the authors may be required to correct any minor duplication, or similarity with previously published work. In the event of plagiarism, the journal will inform the authors’ institution and funding agencies and will retract the plagiarized manuscript.

Generative AI Policy

The authors who apply generative AI and AI-assisted tools in the writing of a manuscript, the creation of images or graphical parts of the manuscript, or in the collection and analysis of data must be open about the use of the AI tool in the manuscript. The authors are entirely responsible for the contents of their manuscript that will be submitted. Therefore, they are liable for any violation of publication ethics. The use of the AI tool should be mentioned in the Methods or Acknowledgments section.

Clinical Trial Registry

ACS supports the registration of clinical trials. ACS would publish clinical trials that have been registered with a clinical trial registry which provides free online access to public clinical trials (e.g. CTRI, ClinicalTrials.gov, ISRCTN). This applies to clinical trials that have started enrolling participants in or after June 2018.

Authorship Criteria

Authorship credit should be considered only for significant contributions to:

1. Concept and design of study or acquisition of data or analysis and interpretation of data;
2. Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and
3. Final approval of the version to be published.

Authorship credit cannot be considered for those who have only contributed to the acquisition of funds or data. General supervision of the research group is not sufficient.

Contribution Details

Authors should include a description of contributions (concept, design, literature search, data acquisition, statistical analysis, etc.). One or more authors should assume responsibility for the integrity of the whole manuscript and should be identified as ‘guarantor’.

Conflicts of Interest/ Competing Interests

All authors must disclose any and all conflicts of interest they may have with publication of the manuscript or an institution or product mentioned in the manuscript.

Submission of Manuscripts

All manuscripts must be submitted on-line through the ACS website. Generally, the manuscript should be submitted in the form of two separate files:

Title Page/First Page File/Covering Letter:

The title page of the manuscript should explicitly mention the manuscript type (original article, case report, review article, letter to the editor, images, etc.), the title of the manuscript, and the running title. It should also mention the names of all authors/contributors along with their highest academic qualifications, current designation, institutional affiliations, and the names of the departments and/or institutions to which the work should be attributed. All the details of the authors should be mentioned only on the title page. The file should be submitted in text, RTF, or DOC format only, and it should not be zipped.

The following information should also be provided on the title page:

• Total number of pages
• Total number of photographs/figures
• Word count of the abstract
• Word count of the main text (excluding abstract, references, and tables)
• For original articles, the separate combined word count of Introduction and Discussion

All sources of support must be clearly declared, whether in the form of grants, equipment, drugs, or any other financial or material assistance received for the study. If applicable, acknowledgments should be included on the title page (not in the main manuscript file). The acknowledgment section must specify:

• Contributions that do not qualify for authorship (e.g., administrative or departmental support)
• Technical assistance received
• Financial or material support, clearly describing the nature of the support

If the manuscript has been presented at a scientific meeting, the following information should be included:

• Name of the organization
• Location of the presentation
• Date of the presentation

The authors are required to submit a complete statement to the editor about any previous submissions or publications that could be considered redundant or duplicate publications of the same or similar work. The previous work should be cited in the new manuscript, and copies should be submitted to the editor to help him make an informed decision.

For clinical trials, the registration number, name of the registry, and its official URL should be mentioned. Each author should disclose any conflicts of interest, including financial or other relationships that could influence the study, if not already declared elsewhere.

A statement should confirm that all listed authors meet the criteria of authorship, have read and approved the final version of the manuscript, and believe that the work represents original and honest research.

Finally, provide complete details of the corresponding author, including full name, postal address, email address, and telephone number. The corresponding author will be responsible for all communication with the journal, including revisions and final proof approval.

Blinded Article File:

The main text beginning from Abstract till References (including tables). This file must not contain authors’ names or institutions. Limit file size to 2 MB. Do not incorporate images in this file.

Images:

Submit good quality color images as JPEG files (each image less than 2 MB). Size up to 1600 x 1200 pixels. Do not zip the files.

Copyright Process:

The copyright process is digital. Co-authors will receive an email link for digital copyright consent upon submission. Review will proceed only after all co-authors have submitted consent.

Preparation of Manuscripts

Manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with “Uniform requirements for Manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journals” (ICMJE). ACS accepts manuscripts written in British English.

Types of Manuscripts

Original Articles: (Randomized controlled trials, intervention studies, surveys etc.). Up to 3500 words. Structured into: Abstract, Key-words, Introduction, Material and Methods, Results, Discussion, References, Tables, and Figure legends.

Review Articles: Prepared by experts. Up to 3500 words. Structured Abstract (Background, Aim, Method, Result, Conclusion and 250 words). Includes a section on data synthesis methods.

Case Reports: Presenting novel, diagnostic, or therapeutic dilemmas. Up to 1500 words. Sections: Abstract (unstructured), Key-words, Introduction, Case report, Discussion, References.

Letter to the Editor: Observations on previously published articles. Up to 500 words and 5 references.

Ethics

In human studies, the authors must declare that the work was done in accordance with the ethical requirements of the Institutional/Regional Ethics Committee and the Declaration of Helsinki (1975, revised 2000). In prospective studies, it is essential to clearly state that the work was approved by an appropriate Ethics Committee or Review Board, and that written informed consent was obtained from adult participants and assent from children (usually above 7 years, as per regional/national guidelines).

Confidentiality of the participants must be maintained. Names, initials, hospital numbers, or other identifying features must not be revealed, especially in photographs or case illustrations.

In animal studies, the authors must state that the work was done in accordance with institutional or national guidelines for the use of laboratory animals. The procedures should be humane, and information regarding anesthetics and analgesics should be provided.

Study Design

Selection and Description of Participants:

Clearly describe the selection of participants (patients or laboratory animals, including controls), including eligibility criteria, exclusion criteria, and source population.

Technical Information:

Provide sufficient details of methods, equipment (including manufacturer’s name and address in parentheses), and procedures to allow reproducibility. Cite established methods, especially statistical methods. For less-known or modified methods, provide references, justification, and discuss limitations. Clearly identify all drugs and chemicals used, including generic names, dosages, and routes of administration.

Randomized Clinical Trials:

In reporting randomized clinical trials, details of the study protocol, randomization method, concealment of allocation, and blinding should be provided as recommended by the CONSORT statement.

​Guideline	​Type of Study​​	Source​
STROBE	Observational studies including cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies	https://www.strobe-statement.org/index.php?id=available-checklists
CONSORT	Randomized controlled trials	http://www.consort-statement.org
SQUIRE	Quality improvement projects	http://squire-statement.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.ViewPage&PageID=471
PRISMA	Systematic reviews and meta-analyses	https://www.prisma-statement.org
STARD	Studies of diagnostic accuracy	https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/full/10.1148/radiol.2015151516
CARE	Case Reports	https://www.care-statement.org/checklist
AGREE	Clinical Practice Guidelines	https://www.agreetrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/AGREE-Reporting-Checklist-2016.pdf

Statistics

The authors should express their results in numbers wherever possible and use measures of uncertainty such as confidence intervals. The losses to follow-up (e.g., dropouts in a clinical trial) should be clearly stated. When summarizing data in the Results section, the statistical analysis techniques employed should be stated.

Technical terms such as “random,” “normal,” “significant,” “correlation,” and “sample” should be employed correctly and not in a layman’s way. All statistical terms, abbreviations, and symbols should be defined clearly. The computer software employed in the analysis should also be stated.

P values should be expressed precisely (e.g., P = 0.048), using upper-case italic “P,” and the exact values should be stated instead of stating P < 0.05 or P < 0.001. When reporting continuous data, the mean differences should be expressed with confidence intervals. When reporting categorical data, the proportions should be expressed with confidence intervals. Values such as relative risk, odds ratio, and hazard ratio should also be expressed with confidence intervals.

Results

The results should be discussed in a logical order in the text, tables, and figures, starting with the most important results. Repeating all the data presented in the tables and figures in the text should be avoided, and only the most important observations should be emphasized. Additional information or technical details may be presented in an appendix or published as supplementary online material to keep the flow of the manuscript.

When summarizing the data, both percentages and the absolute numbers from which the percentages were calculated should be provided. The statistical tests employed should be clearly stated. The tables and figures should be kept to a minimum necessary to fulfill the objectives of the study. Graphs can be used instead of tables, but the data should not be repeated in both forms. When appropriate, the results should also be discussed in relation to variables such asage and sex.

Discussion

The Discussion should begin with a brief summary of the main findings, including primary and secondary outcomes, and how they relate to the original hypothesis. The authors should then proceed to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the study, including aspects of study design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation.

The findings should be interpreted in the context of existing evidence, including relevant systematic reviews if available. The authors should clearly explain what the study contributes to existing knowledge, its possible mechanisms, implications for clinical practice and health policy, and controversies it may generate. Future research directions, including possible clinical or mechanistic studies, should also be discussed.

The authors should not repeat detailed data already presented in the Introduction or Results sections. Economic claims should not be made unless supported by proper cost analysis. The authors should not claim priority for findings or refer to unpublished work. New hypotheses proposed should be clearly labelled as such.

Typically, no more than 25 references are included, and the number of authors should not exceed six unless there is a valid reason.

Review Articles

Review articles should be authored by individuals with extensive research experience or expertise in the relevant area. A brief statement about the authors’ previous experience or contributions in the field should be included along with the manuscript.

The manuscript should not be more than 3500 words (excluding abstract, tables, and references) and should contain a maximum of 90 references. An structured abstract of 250 words is required and should be an accurate representation of the review. The headings may differ depending on the subject under discussion.

The authors are required to include a separate section on the methodology employed in conducting the review, which should include information about the location, selection, extraction, and synthesis of data. A brief account of the same should also be included in the abstract.

The authors are encouraged to write post-publication updates in case of important developments in the field. The updates should be brief and submitted to the journal as a Letter to the Editor.

Letter to the Editor

Letters to the Editor should be concise and to the point. They should be written in reaction to articles that have been published in the journal in the past or in relation to opinions expressed in the journal. The findings presented in the letter should not be preliminary data that needs to be validated in a full-length article.

The manuscript should not be more than 1000 words and should have a maximum of 5 references. A Letter to the Editor should not have more than four authors.

Case Reports

The journal invites the submission of novel, unusual, and highly relevant case reports. Preference will be given to those case reports that offer a novel challenge in diagnosis or management and convey a clear learning point to the readers.

The case report should not exceed 1000 words (excluding the abstract and references). The manuscript should be divided into the following sections: Abstract (structured), Keywords, Introduction, Case Report, Discussion, References, Tables, and Figure Legends.

A maximum of 10 references can be given. There can be a maximum of four authors for case reports.

References

Numbered consecutively in the order of first mention in text. Use Arabic numerals in superscript with square brackets [1]. Titles of journals should be abbreviated according to Index Medicus.

Examples:

1. Standard Journal Article (up to 6 authors): Parija SC, Ravinder PT, Shariff M. Detection of hydatid antigen in the fluid samples from hydatid cysts by co-agglutination. Trans. R.Soc. Trop. Med. Hyg.1996; 90:255–256.
2. Books: Parija SC. Textbook of Medical Parasitology. 3rd ed. All India Publishers and Distributors. 2008.

Tables and Illustrations

Tables:

Tables:

• Tables should be self-explanatory and must not duplicate information already provided in the text.
• Tables with more than 10 columns or 25 rows are not acceptable.
• Number tables consecutively in Arabic numerals, according to the order of their first citation in the text.
• Provide a brief and clear title for each table.
• Place explanatory information in footnotes, not in the table heading.
• Explain all non-standard abbreviations used in the table in the footnotes.
• Obtain permission for fully borrowed, adapted, or modified tables and include an appropriate credit line in the footnote.
• Use the following symbols for footnotes in this order:
  *, †, ‡, §, ||, ¶, **, ††, ‡‡
• Submit all tables with their legends at the end of the manuscript, after the references.
• Ensure that each table is cited at the appropriate place in the text.

Illustrations (Figures):

• Keep legends (maximum 40 words, excluding the credit line) double-spaced.
• Number legends according to the corresponding figures.
• Describe all symbols, arrows, letters, magnification (scale), and staining techniques, if applicable.
• Include clear, glossy, unmounted color prints (4 × 6 inches) with the revised manuscript.
• Digital images should have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi or 1800 × 1600 pixels (TIFF format).
• Mark each figure on the back with the figure number, running title, and top (do not write authors’ names or mark the picture).

Checklist  

Covering letter

• Signed by all contributors
• Previous publication / presentations mentioned
• Source of funding mentioned
• Conflicts of interest disclosed

Authors

• Last name and given name provided along with Middle name initials (where applicable)
• Author for correspondence, with e-mail address provided
• Number of contributors restricted as per the instructions
• Identity not revealed in paper except title page (e.g. name of the institute in Methods, citing previous study as ‘our study’, names on figure labels, name of institute in photographs, etc.)

Presentation and format

• Double spacing
• Margins 2.5 cm from all four sides
• Page numbers included at bottom
• Title page contains all the desired information
• Running title provided (not more than 50 characters)
• Abstract page contains the full title of the manuscript
• Abstract provided (structured abstract of 250 words for original articles and other manuscripts excluding letters to the Editor)
• Key words provided (three or more)
• Headings in title case (not ALL CAPITALS)
• The references cited in the text should be after punctuation marks, in superscript with square bracket.
• References according to the journal’s instructions, punctuation marks checked
• Send the article file without ‘Track Changes’

Language and grammar

• Uniformly American English
• Write the full term for each abbreviation at its first use in the title, abstract, keywords and text separately unless it is a standard unit of measure. Numerals from 1 to 10 spelt out
• Numerals at the beginning of the sentence spelt out
• Check the manuscript for spelling, grammar and punctuation errors
• If a brand name is cited, supply the manufacturer’s name and address (city and state/country).
• Species names should be in italics

Tables and figures

• No repetition of data in tables and graphs and in text
• Actual numbers from which graphs drawn, provided
• Figures necessary and of good quality (colour)
• Table and figure numbers in Arabic letters (not Roman)
• Labels pasted on back of the photographs (no names written)
• Figure legends provided (not more than 40 words)
• Patients’ privacy maintained (if not permission taken)
• Credit note for borrowed figures/tables provided
• Write the full term for each abbreviation used in the table as a footnote

Protection of Patients’ Rights to Privacy

Identifying information should not be published unless essential and the patient gives informed consent. Authors are responsible for obtaining and archiving consent forms.

Article Processing Charges (APC)

The following processing charges apply to all accepted articles.

Manuscript Type	Publication Fee (APC)
Original Research Article	₹ 1150
Systemic Review	₹ 1150
Narrative Review	₹ 1150
Systemic Review	₹ 1150
Meta Analysis	₹ 1300
Case Report	₹ 850
Letter to the Editor	₹ 850
Concept Paper	₹ 850
Short Communication	₹ 850

Submission Fee: There is NO fee to submit a manuscript. Charges are only applicable if the paper is formally accepted for publication after the peer-review process

Payment Policy: Once a manuscript is accepted, the corresponding author will receive an invoice. Payment must be completed to proceed with the ‘Ahead of Print’ publication.

Transparency: There are no additional charges for colour images, tables, or processing.

Templates

Case Report Click here

Original Article Click here

Review Article Click here

Letter to Editor Click here