Info for Authors

  • The NCMJ does not accept pitches or unsolicited manuscripts for policy commentaries, which make up the bulk of the publication.

  • Please see below for guidelines for submitting an original research article or a letter of correspondence.

 

Submitting a letter of correspondence:

Readers are invited to engage in further dialogue following publication of each issue of the NCMJ. Letters may offer divergent viewpoints or additional perspectives on a featured topic, or they may address topics or issues not presented in the NCMJ. Please limit your correspondence to 400 words and include citations where necessary. Please submit correspondence to emily_hooks@nciom.org. 

Submitting original research articles for peer review:

The NCMJ generally accepts 3 types of scientific manuscripts for peer review: (1) original clinical or health services research contributions, (2) systematic reviews, or (3) case reports or series. The NCMJ is especially interested in well-written research that has relevance to the health of the people of North Carolina. For case reports and series, we ask that the discussion is evidence-based and thorough, which may often include a focused review of the literature in which the search strategy is outlined and relevant papers are summarized, and that the details of the case present something a North Carolina physician may reasonably encounter.

Please follow the guidelines below when preparing and submitting an original clinical or health research, systematic review, or case report/series manuscript.

  1. Format. Prepare your manuscript as a Microsoft Word file using a standard font.
  2. Length. Limit your article to 3,000 words excluding the abstract, references, tables, and figures. The abstract is limited to 250 words. Original articles are limited to 5 tables/figures.
  3. Order of Parts. Include the following elements in the manuscript in this order: title, author information, abstract, body text, acknowledgments, references, tables, and figure legends. Include tables in the Word document, but submit each figure as a separate file (see below).
  4. Author Information. Specify the names, highest degree(s) earned, and full institutional affiliations (including city and state) for all authors. Also list contact information (ie, postal and email addresses) for the corresponding author.
  5. Abstract. Include a structured abstract of up to 250 words. The abstract should have 5 elements: background, method, results, limitations, and conclusion.
  6. Acknowledgments. State sources of financial support and any potential conflicts of interest for each author. If an author has no relevant conflicts, that too should be stated.
  7. References. Format references using AMA style. Reference numbers should be placed in brackets at the end of the sentence (or within the sentence after mention of the source). Number references in the order in which they are cited in the text; references cited only in tables or figures legends should be numbered as though cited at the point where the table or figure is first mentioned. Do not use Microsoft Word’s endnote or footnote feature to link citations with references. Please provide references when they are needed, but also try to keep the reference list to a reasonable length; most original articles require no more than 40 references.
  8. Tables. Prepare tables with the Microsoft Word table editor only. Do not use tabs or hard returns in the table. Provide a title for each table, state all units explicitly, and define all abbreviations in a note. Limit 5 figures/tables.
  9. Figure Title and Legends. Define all figure titles and legends at the end of the manuscript Word document. This includes axis labels, units, abbreviation definitions, and figure source. Do not place actual figures at the end of the word document. See below for instructions on figure submissions.
  10. Figures: Submit figures as digital files. The file format should be Vector format (AI, EPS, SVG or WMF); high-resolution PDFs, TIFFs and JPEGs are also accepted. Resolution should be 1,200 dpi for graphs and 600 dpi for photographs. All figures and images will be printed in greyscale. Each figure must be a separate file named to match its number in the text (eg, fg1.eps). Place figure titles and legends at the end of the Word document, not in the figure file. Label the axes, state all units explicitly, and define all abbreviations. GIFs and PNGs are for the web and cannot be used for printing. Limit 5 figures/tables.

Please submit your manuscript, any figures, and the names and email addresses of 2 suggested peer reviewers (noting any potential conflicts of interest) to emily_hooks@nciom.org. If you do not receive a confirmation of receipt within 3 business days, please call 919-445-6156. 

For more information please contact:

Emily Hooks, M.Ed.
Assistant Managing Editor
NCMJ
919-445-6156
emily_hooks@nciom.org