Information For Authors

Submitted manuscript must be an original contribution not previously published (except as an abstract or preliminary report), and must not be under consideration for publication elsewhere.

Manuscripts should be typewritten in English. The editors expect that authors will prepare manuscripts in acceptable English format. Where needed, authors should obtain the help of a native English speaker for editing the text prior to submission. Number the pages consecutively. The first page should contain a running title of no more than 50 characters, the article category, title and a list of authors by first name, initials, last name as well as affiliation. Provide the name, address, telephone and fax numbers as well as the e-mail of the corresponding author.

We only accept articles submissions under the following categories.

Article category

Original study: Original studies are full-length reports of current research. Word limit: 8,000 excluding references, tables, and figures. References: up to 40.

Review article: Reviews are comprehensive analyses of specific topics. Word limit: 10,000 excluding references, tables, and figures. References: up to 100.

Case report: a case report is a detailed report of the symptoms, signs, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of an individual patient. Case reports may contain a demographic profile of the patient, but usually describe an unusual or novel occurrence. Word limit: 6,000 excluding references, tables, and figures. References: up to 40.

Community Ophthalmology/ Health Service Showcase: articles that discuss local community health concerns, challenges and successes of health initiatives.

Word limit: 3,000 including abstract, excluding references, tables, and figures.

Educational Article: Articles aimed at medical students and trainees in Ophthalmology. Such as Topic review, Picture quiz, Multiple Choice Quiz, Long Case Discussion. Word limit: 3,000 including abstract, excluding references, tables, and figures.

Letter to the editor: Letters are comments on a published article or the reply to the comment. Word limit: 1,000 excluding references. References: up to 3.

 

Abstract

Abstract Specifications

  • Word count: Minimum 150 words - Maximum 250 words including subheadings
  • Key Words: minimum 2, maximum 5
  • Your abstract must contain content for the following headings:
  1. Title
  2. Purpose (“Background” for case report)
  3. Methods (Leave this section blank for case report)
  4. Results (“Case Report, summarise the case for case report, "Case Series" summarise all cases for case series)
  5. Conclusion
  6. Conflicts of Interest
  7. Keywords

 

Title

Titles should have capital letters only for names of places, institutions, individuals, companies, proprietary names, but not diseases, drug formula names. Titles must end with a full stop. '.'

 

Background

  • This section should be the shortest part of the abstract and should very briefly outline the following information:
  • What is already known about the subject, related to the paper in question
  • What is not known about the subject and hence what the study intended to examine (or what the paper seeks to present)

 

Methods

  • What was the research design?
  • eg. Diagnostic Study, Etiognostic Study, Prognostic Study, Therapeutic / Efficacy Study -in addition to the study method: Case report, Case Control, Cohort, Randomised Controlled Trial.
  • What type of patients are recruited?
  • What was the clinical setting of the study? (if relevant)
  • How were the patients sampled
  • What was the sample size of the patients? (whole/and or in different groups)
  • What was the duration of the study?
  • On what research instruments were the patients rated?
  • What was the primary outcome measure and how was it defined?

 

Results

  • The number of patients who completed the study; dropout rates in the different groups and their causes
  • The results of the analysis of the primary objectives, mentioning statistical method, expressed in words and numbers along with P values in parenthesis
  • The results of the analysis of the more important secondary objectives
  • Numerical information about the above analysis such as in terms of means and standard deviations, response and remission rates. Wherever possible: effect sizes, relative risks, numbers needed to treat, and similar statistics should be provided along with confidence intervals for each.
  • Important negative findings, if any should also be presented: that is, findings that fail to support the authors’ hypothesis
  • Data on important adverse events should be included in addition to the data on efficacy

 

Conclusion

  • The primary take-home message
  • The additional findings of importance
  • The perspective

Our guidelines are based on the following reference:

Andrade C. How to write a good abstract for a scientific paper or conference presentation. Indian Journal of Psychiatry. 2011;53 (2):172.

 

Abbreviations

Abbreviations should be defined at the first mention in the text and also in each table and figure. For a list of standard abbreviations, please consult the Council of Science Editor Style Guide or other standard sources. Write out the full term for each abbreviation at the first use unless it is a standard unit of measure.

 

Text

Manuscripts should be organized under the following four main headings:

  • Introduction
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements and conflict of interest

 

Formatting

  • To aid EyeSEA formatting editors in publishing your article in a uniform format in both printed and electronic versions, we recommend you write your paper in the following format:
  • Configure the page by selecting the type of paper: "envelope B5 176 x 250 mm" and the following margins:
  • Main text should be separated into two equal width columns
  • Top and bottom margins: 2.5 cm
  • Side margins (left and right): 3 cm
  • The margins cannot be used for footnotes.
  • The first lines of paragraphs should not be indented. However, indentation can be used in some cases, for example for quotations. There should be a one-line space between one paragraph and the next.
  • If you wish to separate the footnotes, you can do so in Word as follows: Format > Paragraph > Indents and
  • Spacing > After > 5 pt.

 

Style, symbols and units

As standard references, the Vancouver style reference should be used. Refer to drugs and therapeutic agents by their accepted generic or chemical name and do not abbreviate them. Copyright or trade names of drugs should be capitalized and placed in parenthesis after the name of the drug. Name and location (city, country) of manufacturers of drugs, supplies, or equipment cited in a manuscript are required to comply with trademark laws and should be provided in parenthesis. Quantitative data may be reported in the units used in the original measurement including those applicable to body weight, mass (weight), and temperature.

 

Tables

Tables should be prepared in Excel or Word format. Each table should be double-spaced on a separate page and numbered consecutively in the order of first citation in the text. Supply a brief title for each, but place explanatory matter in the footnote placed immediately below the table.

 

Figures

In addition to a hard-copy printout of figures, authors are requested to supply the electronic version of figures in JPEG, TIFF, or Encapsulated PostScript (EPS). Figures should be saved in separated files without their captions, which should be included with the text of the article. Each figure should be numbered and mentioned in the text. The approximate position of figures should be indicated in the text. Figure legends should be grouped and placed on a separate page placed at the end of the manuscript following the Reference section.

 

Appendices

Supplementary materials should be collected in an Appendix and placed before the Reference section.

 

Submission of ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest

Please download the form at https://www.icmje.org/about-icmje/faqs/conflict-of-interest-disclosure-forms/   Please email the filled in form to us at aecomeye@gmail.com

 

Conflict of Interest declaration in manuscript and abstract:

In the materials and methods section and the abstract please declare whether you have any conflict of interest. There are several categories of conflict of interest.

  • Financial ties
  • Academic commitments
  • Personal relationships
  • Political or religious beliefs
  • Institutional affiliations

 

References

References to books, journal articles, articles in collections and conference or workshop proceedings, and technical reports should be listed at the end of the manuscript in numbered order (see examples below). In the reference list, list authors’ names up to 6 names and cite the other authors as “et al.”. Periodical abbreviations should follow those used by the Vancouver referencing style https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperialcollege/administration-and-support services/library/public/vancouver.pdf

 

Page Charges and Color Figures

No page charges are levied on authors or their institutions.

 

Copyright

Authors will be asked, upon acceptance of an article, to transfer copyright of the article to the Publisher. The editors will provide the corresponding author with a suitable form.

 

Permissions

It is the responsibility of the author to obtain written permission for quotations from unpublished materials, or for all quotations in excess of 250 words in one extract or 500 words in total from any work still in copyright, and for the reprinting of figures or tables from unpublished or copyright materials.

 

Ethical Considerations

It is necessary for authors to ensure that a patient’s anonymity is carefully protected. For experimental reports using human subjects, indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with current ethical standards. For reports using animal experiments, indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the guiding principle of the responsible committee for the care and use of animals. These statements should be within the “Materials and methods” where appropriate. It is recommended that authors obtain approval from ethics committees in human biomedical research authorities of their corresponding institutions. We accept ethical approval certifications from authorities at university institutional levels, governmental authorities and non-governmental agencies.

 

Plagiarism

It is the author’s responsibility to ensure that their submitted manuscripts to EyeSEA is not at risk of plagiarism. In cases of lawsuits following plagiarism EyeSEA will assist in the prosecution of the case but will not be held accountable, it is the author that will be held accountable. EyeSEA employs the definition of plagiarism as quoted by Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) to be: “When somebody presents the work of others (data, words or theories) as if they were his/her own and without proper acknowledgment”. EyeSEA employs the use of turnitin.com as a screening tool for plagiarism, our account is sponsored by the Thammasat University Libraries. Our principles for the identification and management of plagiarism in manuscripts submitted to EyeSEA is based on the COPE guidelines available on their website.

 

Subject to Change Notice

EyeSEA strives to improve its author’s guidelines and publication policy in line with international governing authorities regarding ethical and trustworthy scientific publication. We attempt to constantly improve our adherence to recommendations by COPE, DOAJ and ICMJE. As this is a work in progress, the author’s guideline will be subject to change in each issue, the changes will be reflected in the NEWS section and the relevant policies section in the website and each printed issue.

 

Peer Review Process

Eye South East Asia employs the Double Blinded Peer Review policy.* 

Both the reviewer and author are anonymous

  • Author anonymity prevents any reviewer bias, for example based on an author's country of origin or previous controversial work.
  • Articles written by prestigious or renowned authors are considered on the basis of the content of their papers, rather than their reputation.

All manuscripts must have reviews conducted by a minimum of 2 reviewers.

Certain manuscripts may require a third reviewer at the editor's discretion in cases of difficulty finding the most appropriate reveiwers for the subject area in question. 

Review window period

4 to 6 weeks. Allowing for 2 to 3 review processes, each 2 weeks in duration.

Reviewers are kindly asked to submit their review within 14 days of the request. Adhering to the schedule if vital to our journal publishing on schedule. 

Principles for recruiting reviewers

Reviewers are recruited to review a manuscript based on their subspecialty and ideally, area of special interest and previous publications related to the same subject area.

Our readers are recruited from a wide network of Ophthalmologists in the South East Asian region and the rest of the world. 

In cases where the editor cannot assign a reviewer in the area of expertise for a manuscript, external independent reviewers are recruited from an online biosemantics search engine  http://jane.biosemantics.org/index.php supported by the Observational Health Data Science and Informatics organisation. 

*Double blinded peer review policy description adapted from https://www.elsevier.com/reviewers/what-is-peer-review 

 

 

 

References for this guideline

The contents of this document are modified from the following sources:

https://abm.digitaljournals.org/index.php/abm

https://publicationethics.org/files/plagiarism%20A.pdf

https://publicationethics.org/files/COPE_plagiarism_discussion_%20doc_26%20Apr%2011.pdf

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/administration-and-supportservices/

library/public/vancouver.pdf