Instructions for Submission

Electronic Submission

All manuscripts are to be submitted to the Orthopaedic Journal at Harvard Medical School (OJHMS) through the web based system at: www.orthojournalhms.org/submissions.html

The Orthopaedic Journal at Harvard Medical School (OJHMS) is a peer-reviewed original publication aimed at improving the understanding and practice of orthopaedic care. Submitted articles undergo double-blinded peer review, with articles de-identified prior to review by the editorial review board.

Conditions for Submission

OJHMS should be notified, at the time of submission, of any submission which has previously been presented at a scientific meeting or undergone publication as an abstract associated with a scientific meeting. Presentation or abstract publication at a meeting does not preclude publication, but previously published full articles are not accepted for publication in OJHMS. Articles and associated figures accepted for publication become the exclusive property of OJHMS.

It is the author’s responsibility to ensure approval by an institutional review board (IRB) has been obtained for all studies involving human subjects. All studies must be carried out in accordance with the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki. Regulations regarding patient privacy must adhere to the United States Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). All studies involving the use of animal subjects must be approved by an animal utilization study committee.

If requested by the Editorial Board, data and proof of above conditions must be provided in a timely fashion.

Copyright Transfer & Authorship Responsibility

All authors must sign a Copyright transfer and Author Agreement granting OJHMS exclusive copyright to all material; except for those figures, tables and supplemental content owned by another party. In the case of materials owned by another party it is the authors responsibility to provide a full citation and written permission from the granting owner to use direct copyrighted material. Any fees associated with this permission is the sole responsibility of the author borrowing the material. The editorial process will not begin until copyright transfer and financial disclosure forms have been received from every author.

Conflicts of Interest Disclosure

Upon acceptance of a manuscript for publication in OJHMS, all authors must disclose relevant potential conflicts of interest to OJHMS using the form published by the International Council of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). The form is available online at: www.icmje.org/conflicts-of-interest/

Relevant conflicts of interests, as well as all sources of funding for the study, must be disclosed within the manuscript on the title page, as described below.

Reviewers and associate editors with a conflict of interest involving the manuscript to be reviewed should report this to the Editors-in-Chief early in the review process, and a new reviewer will be assigned to the manuscript.

Plagiarism

OJHMS uses a plagiarism screening service that verifies originality of content. Plagiarism is scientific misconduct and appropriate action will taken as directed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Further information is available at: www.publicationethics.org.

Levels of Evidence

Authors are responsible for providing the level of evidence for the submitted manuscript, as defined by the Oxford Center for Evidence Based Medicine OCBGM, (www.cebm.net/ocebm-levels-of-evidence) and adapted by the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (jbjs.org/level-of-evidence).

Manuscript Preparation

Style

  • Formatted for standard 216 x 279 mm (8.5 x 11 – inch) paper with a 25.4 mm (1 inch) margin on all sides

  • Times New Roman 12-point font

  • Double Spaced Text

  • Continuous line numbers on each page

  • Each manuscript page numbered continuously beginning with title page

  • Use internationally accepted units (SI units) for measurement

  • Use generic names for branded drugs/medications in addition to appropriately cited proprietary name, if applicable

  • Parenthetically provide manufacturer information (including city and country) within the text for all drugs, devices, assay materials, and proprietary materials

Title Page

  • Complete manuscript title

  • Authors’ full names, highest academic degree(s), and institutional affiliations

  • Name and correspondence contact information including facsimile number, telephone number, electronic mailing address.

  • Level of evidence, as described above, must be included.

  • Authors must state all relevant disclaimers, conflicts of interest and sources of support. It is incumbent upon the author to determine what is a relevant conflict of interest. If no conflict is present that should be explicitly stated.

  • It is the author’s responsibility to ensure name, degree and affiliation are spelled and listed correctly.

Manuscript Body

  • Structured Abstract

    • No more than 250 words

    • Abstract sections should include: Background, Methods, Results, Conclusions and Level of Evidence (for clinical articles) or Clinical Relevance (for basic science articles).

    • Keywords: 3 to 10 keywords or short phrases to assist indexers. When possible, use terms from the medical subject headings (MeSH) list of Index Medicus.

  • Introduction

  • Methods

  • Results

  • Discussion

References

  • Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of their references.

  • Number references in order they appear in text using superscript Arabic numerals.

  • Follow up to date American Medical Association (AMA) referencing style.

Tables

  • Tables should be noted with Arabic numerals in order of appearance in text.

  • Save each table in a word processing program and upload separately from the main manuscript.

  • Each table should include title, column headings, and legend.

  • Table should not exceed page width, 41 picas.

Figures/Illustrations

  • Formatted 5x7 in with resolution of at least 300dpi

  • Submitted  in .tif file format separately from the main manuscript

Article Types

  • Original Article

    • Clinical Research Article: explore treatment, diagnosis, and prognosis or economic-decision analysis.

    • Basic Research Article

    • Articles should follow the classic format of Introduction, Methods, Results, and Conclusion.

    • All primary data should be available for review upon request of the editorial board.

  • Case Report

    • Clinical report describing unusual or rare findings in up to three patients.

    • Case reports should include summary of available literature on the topic, description of the case presentation, detailed explanation of the treatment/procedure used and a discussion of the rationale and success/failure of the treatment method.

  • Systematic Review and Meta-analyses

  • Surgical Technique

    • Must address a technical procedure that requires improvement or clarification.

    • Articles reporting new surgical approaches or substantial modifications of previously reported techniques.

    • Sections should include Introduction, Technique, Materials and Methods, Results, and Discussion.

    • Technique should be specific enough to allow duplication including illustrations.

    • The clinical series should include a summary of patients, indications for procedures, limitations of technique, benefits of technique, duration of follow up, and complications.

  • Letter to the Editor

    • Academic feedback on published articles.

    • Should reference article title and authors the letter is in reference to.

    • No longer than 300 words with no more than 5 references.

    • It is the final determination of the editorial committee whether the letter to the editor will be published.