Submissions

Author Guidelines

The Disease Control Journal (DCJ) that has been signed and adheres to the guidelines for conducting, reporting, editing, and publishing scientific works in medical journals. (https://www.icmje.org/about-icmje/) The manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with the recommendations of the ICMJE and the principles of transparency and good publication practices of WAME (https://www.wame.org/) and COPE (https://publicationethics.org/guidance/guideline/principles-transparency-and-best-practice-scholarly-publishing)

Rules and introduction for a publication

1. Types of articles published by the Disease Control Journal

• Review Articles should provide new knowledge, unusual characteristic profiles, interesting findings that readers can apply, or a situation analysis of diseases, and consist of the abstract, introduction, knowledge or information relating to the matter, and should discuss, analyze and conclude up-to-date references.
• Original Articles are written in chapters or sections in sequence which includes the abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, conclusion, acknowledgments, and references and should be no more than 10 pages.
• Results of Operations is an article describing the task assigned after completing the task and presented to the superiors or related agencies. Typically, the article consists of abstract, introduction, objectives, method, results, discussion, conclusion, acknowledgement, and references.
• Case reports is an article that reports new diseases or symptoms that have not been reported before or rarely found. It must be supported by complete and clear evidence. The article consists of disease situation, patient information, clinical note, case description, clinical course, discussion or observation, conclusion, and references.
• Outbreak Investigations is an epidemiological investigation report. It presents opinions, knowledge, and guidelines for disease investigation to the leadership of health and related agencies. The article consists of abstract, introduction, objectives, materials and method, outbreak investigation results, disease prevention and control activities, problems and limitations, discussion, conclusion, and references.

2. Manuscript Preparation

• Titles should be short and specific, comprehensive and comply with the objectives and context. Titles must be in both Thai and English language.
• Author's names should include the name and last name (no title), and the institutional affiliation in both Thai and English. In case of multiple authors, the name should be listed according to their contribution to the article. Put the number in superscript format after the last name of each contributing author which is linked to the institutional affiliation as well as provide the corresponding author’s name with email address and phone number for correspondences.
• Main Content should be in Thai language as much as possible and the language used should be easy to understand, concise, and clear to help readers understand. If abbreviations are used, the complete term should be introduced for the first time in the main text.
• Abstracts are a brief summary of a published article, particularly with key messages and statistical numbers. Language should be concise with complete sentences and writing in prose. The length should no more than 15 sentences and include objectives, materials and methods, results, and discussion or suggestions (in brief). No footnotes are referred. The abstract must be in both Thai and English language.
• Keywords are words that represent the content of the article, which is shortened to express the main idea of the article. They assist in searching and accessing the content of article. They should be short, concise, and clear. Typically, keywords consist of 3-5 words for both Thai and English keywords and are placed at the end of the abstract.
• Introductions introduce the background and the importance of the research including literature reviews of related works and the research objectives.
• Materials and Methods: Describe the materials used in the study, including details about the sources of data, the number and specific characteristics of the samples studied. It is necessary to mention patient/Key informant consent and approval by the ethics committee for studies involving living organisms, including humans and animal models. Regarding the study methods, the following should be addressed: the study design, data collection, sampling methods, the methods or interventions studied, instruments used, principles applied for qualitative or quantitative studies, questionnaires, reliability/confidence testing, data analysis, and statistical methods employed. As part of the materials and methods section, the author(s) must clearly state the information regarding informed consent within the article.
• Results explain the research findings by providing research evidence and information as well as interpreting the results of the findings or analysis.
• Discussions criticize and discuss whether the results were obtained as intended or not, and refer to theories or any studies of those involved.
• Conclusions (if any) summarize the relevant research articles and suggest for recommendations for further work.
• References Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the references which should be written in Vancouver referencing style. Each piece of work which is cited in your text should have a unique number. The first citation starts at number 1 and works are assigned further in numeric order of citation. If, in your text, you cite a piece of work more than once, the same citation number should be used. In case of an international journal, please use the abbreviated name according to Index Medicus. Any mistakes on references will delay the submission process due to the additional details requested from authors to comply with the rules.

3. Referencing Format (please notice the punctuation marks in the examples)

3.1 Journal Articles
Numeric order. Authors’ Names (Surnames and Initials). Title of the Article. Abbreviated Journal Name. Year of Publication; Journal Volume: First page - Last page. In case there are more than 6 authors, the first 6 authors are listed, followed by et al.
Example
Fischl MA, Dickinson GM, Scott GB. Evaluation of Heterosexual partners, children and household contacts of adults with AIDS. JAMA. 1987;257:640-4.

3.2 Textbooks and handbooks divided into 2 types
a. Book
Numeric order. Authors’ Names (Surnames and Initials). Book Title. Edition. City of Publication: Publisher; Year of Publication.
Example
Toman K. Tuberculosis case-finding and chemo-therapy. Geneva: World Health Organization; 1979.

b. Book chapters chapter in an edited book
Numeric order. Authors’ Names. Chapter Title. In; (Editors’ Names), Editor. Book Title. Edition. City of Publication: Publisher; Year of Publication. First page - Last page
Example
Nelson SA, Warschow. Protozoa and worms. In; Bolognia JL, Schaffer JV, Cerroni L, editors. Dermatology. 3^th ed. New York: Elsevier; 2012. p. 1391-421.

3.3 Conference proceeding
Numeric order. Editors’ Names, Editor(s). Title. Conference Name; Conference Date; Conference Venue. City of Publication: Publisher; Year of Publication.
Example
Kimura J, Shibasaki H, editors. Recent advances in clinical neurophysiology. Proceedings of the 10^th International Congress of EMG and Clinical Neurophysiology; 1995 Oct 15-19; Kyoto, Japan. Amsterdam: Elsevier; 1996.

3.4 Conference article
Numeric order. Author’ Name. Title. In; editor’s name, editor. Meeting name; Meeting date; Meeting place, Meeting City. City of Publication: Year of publication. p. First page-last page.
Example
Bengtsson S, Solheim BG. Enforcement of data protection, privacy and security in medical informatics. In; Lun KC, Degoulet P, Piemme TE, Rienhoff O, editors. MEDINFO 92. Proceedings of the 7^th World Congress on Medical Informatics; 1992 Sep 6-10; Geneva, Switzerland. Amsterdam: North-Holland; 1992. p. 1561-5.

3.5 Thesis
Numeric order. Author’s Name. Title [Thesis Type/ Degree]. City of Publication: University; Year of Graduation. Number of pages.
Example
Sansiritaweesook G. Development of a surveillance system to prevent drowning based on the participation of communities at Ubon Ratchathani Province [dissertation]. Khon Kaen: Khon Kaen University; 2012. 391 p. (in Thai) 

3.6 Electronic documents
a. Electronic Journal
Numeric order. Author’s Name. Title. Journal Name [Media type]. Publication Year [Retrieved/ Cited Date]; volume: First page - Last page.  Access/ Available from: https: // ..................
Example
Alavi-Naini R, Moghtaderi A, Metanat M, Mohammadi M, Zabetian M. Factors associated with mortality in Tuberculosis patients. J Res Med Sci [internet]. 2013 [cited 2013 Nov 5];18:52-5. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3719227/

b. Electronic Books or Articles
Numeric order. Author’s Name. Title [Type of media]. Printed city. Publisher; Publication Year [Retrieved / cited Year, Month, Date]. Number of Pages. Source / Available from: https: // …………
Example
Merlis M, Gould D, Mahato B. Rising out-of-pocket spending for medical care: a growing strain on family budgets [Internet]. New York: Commonwealth Fund; 2006 Feb [cited 2006 Oct 2]. 23 p. Available from: https://www.cmwf.org/usr_doc/Merlis_risingoopspending_887.pdf

3.7 Other
a. Government agencies or national and international organizations support the production and dissemination.
The name of those organizations should be placed in the same position as that of the publisher. In case the nationality is not included in the organization’s name, two English letters designating the country code according to the ISO 3166 standard should be placed in parenthesis immediately after the organization’s name, for example:

• Department of Disease Control (TH)
• Department of Health (AU)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US)
• National Cancer Institute (TH)

b. The organization’s name is referred to as the author or editor.
b1. There are sub-divisions or a committee under the organization.
The hierarchy of the organization should be sorted in descending order and separated by comma. For example, Department of Disease Control (TH), Bureau of Epidemiology.

b2. There are more than one organization.
Semicolon is used to separate between organizations. For example, Infectious Disease Association of Thailand; Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital.

4. Submit a manuscript

4.1 Identification of the author's name
The first author and co-author must apply for journal membership and fill in the details of all authors, i.e. name, surname, affiliation and e-mail address. All authors will receive a notification e-mail when an article is submitted for consideration for publication in the Disease Control Journal.

4.2 Format Article

• Manuscript format should be done using MS-Word program. The font type should be TH Sarabun New, size 16.
• Using decimals, one or two decimal points can be accepted. Therefore, please use the same format of decimal numbers for the whole document.
• References should be in English.
• Illustrations, diagrams or images must use black ink color on coated papers. Photos should be in presentation files or using black and white postcards. The description should be written separately. Do not write it on the image.

• Names of tables, diagrams or images should be bilingual, with Thai names above and English names below.

4.3 To submit a manuscript with DCJ
The author should submit a manuscript via the Disease Control Journal website: tci-thaijo.org/index.php/DCJ

5. Acceptance
5.1 The editorial team will initially review the articles and send them to two reviewers. The author should revise the article based on the comments of the reviewers for at least two rounds. The author will then be informed of the editorial team’s decision. In case where three reviewers are needed, the author should inform the editorial board of his/her requirement during the article submission process.
5.2 The articles accepted for publication will be reviewed for accuracy, academic integrity, and format (copyediting) in accordance with the journal's requirements. The article must be verified by the authors, then it is passed to the production process in order to be formatted into a PDF file. Finally, the information will be indexed for online publication.
5.3 After the article has been formatted into PDF format, the editorial team may request author to make additional edits. The author will be given one last chance to proofread the contents to confirm its accuracy and completeness before online publishing. It should be noted that the editorial team reserves the right to publish only the contents that have been approved by the editorial team.
5.4 The editorial team’s decision whether the articles have been accepted for publication or rejected will be communicated through an online discussion forum maintained by the Disease Control Journal.
5.5 If the authors need an official acceptance letter, the request may be made via the DCJ online discussion forum. The editorial board reserves the right to arrange the order of publication and dissemination as appropriate according to Steps 5.2-5.3.

6. Data Sharing policy

6.1 Development of data sharing policy for the Department of Disease Control's Disease Control Journal (DCJ)
The objective is to promote transparency, repeatability (reproducitivity), and research integrity.

Research data means facts, information obtained from observations, measurements, collection, creation, and analysis during the process of research, verification, and research. It covers information in the form of numbers, letters, images, sound, video, computer programs, related documents, etc.

6.2 Information management and exchange
The Journal encourages authors to make publicly available all data, inventions, and research objects that support the research findings. Data management that is efficient and consistent with ethical and academic standards in the research field from the beginning of the research process will help make the disclosure of research information more efficient.

6.3 Accessibility
Authors should provide clear information about how to access research data in their articles. In addition, it should also be clearly stated through which channels readers will be able to access the information. Authors should consider using secure distribution channels that promote long-term archive and access, such as standardized research repositories and websites maintained by reliaable and reputable information archive organizations.

To disclose access information, the author should add a section “Access to research data” at the end of the article. This will summarize where and how to access data and research objects. In addition, if the information used in the research has been obtained from other parties or sources, the author may also include information about contributors in their acknowledgments.

6.4 Data references
If the research uses data sets or research objects such as computer programs obtained from other sources, the author should cite the source(s) of their data and research objects both in and at the end of their article. The format for citing data sets or research objects must conform to the Journal's citation standards.

6.5 Precautions regarding privacy and ethical issues
Authors should exercise caution in disclosing sensitive or confidential information that may affect the safety, property, and reputation of individuals or organizations involved in the research. Authors should consider finding ways to disclose information only to the parts that are at risk by using safeguard measures such as redaction, creating anonymous information (anonymization), etc.

6.6 Access to information from editors and subject matter experts
The journal reserves the right to request access to research data to editors and peer reviewers for the sole purpose of reviewing the article.

6.7 Compliance with the Journal's policy
Authors should follow the above-mentioned policy. Failure to do so may result in a delay in the article review process.

6.8 Recommended data repositories
Authors should, where possible, store data in acceptable, subject-specific repositories. In cases where appropriate subject-specific resources are not available, the data should be stored in the author's personal storage.

Cross-disciplinary repositories

• Dryad Digital Repository
• figshare
• Harvard Dataverse Network
• Kaggle
• Network Data Exchange (NDEx)
• Open Science Framework
• Zenodo