Manuscript preparation

The manuscript template, title page form, copyright transfer form, and author declaration form can be obtained under the "downloads" section: https://journalhub.manipal.edu.my/index.php/ijthpe/downloads

1 Types of Manuscripts

1.1 Original articles

The original articles include all types of observational studies and intervention studies. The word count of the original articles should be a maximum of 5000 words (excluding abstract, tables, figures, and references). The structure of original articles should be divided into separate sections as follow:

Abstract

The abstract should be structed with background, methods, results, and conclusion. The word count should be limited to a maximum of 250.

Introduction

Introduction describes the adequate background of the study. Rationale to conduct the study, research gap, the objectives and hypotheses (if applicable) should be clearly stated.

Methods

Provide sufficient details of methods to be reproduced by the independent researchers. If the method follows the previous work, include the citation of the work.

Methos should cover the followings; study design, setting, study population, time of study, sample size estimation and sampling method, participant recruitment process, inclusion, exclusion criteria, the details of intervention (if applicable), data collection tools and methods, data processing, and analysis.

Quantitative and/ or qualitative data analysis methods should be clearly described. Define the statistical terms, abbreviations, and any symbols in the methods.

Results

Results should be clear and concise. The findings should be presented in a logical sequence by using texts, tables, and figures. The key results/ information should be emphasized. The extra/ supplementary information could be presented as appendix in the supplementary materials.

The text explanation should not be repeated in the tables and figures. P value is always capitalized. 

Discussion

Discussion should start with summarizing the main/ key findings of the study. The interpretation of the study results and conclusion could be included, however, the extensive repetition of the findings in the discussion should be avoided. The findings should be discussed while compare and contrast with the previous studies’ findings. Interpretation and implication in the context should be discussed with reference to the evidence.

Strengths and limitations of the should be clearly stated. Practical and relevant recommendations should be included based on the findings of the study.

References

The reference list should include the sources that referred in the body of manuscript. The total number of references should be less than 50 in the original articles. The references should follow Harvard referencing style (author-date). The details of description can be read in the reference section of this guideline.

1.2 Review articles

The reviews articles included systematic reviews, qualitative evidence synthesis, narrative reviews, scoping reviews, etc. The word count for the review article should be a maximum of 5000 (excluding abstract, tables, figures, and references). The abstract should be structed with background, methods, results, and conclusion. The word count should be limited to a maximum of 250.

The sections should be divided according to the review topic and relevancy. The methods conducted for literature search and review must be explicitly mentioned in the manuscript.
If there is protocol registration for the systematic review, the registration number should be stated. Systematic review reporting should be followed the guidelines, example: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.

The total number of references is not limited for the review articles.

1.3 Editorials

Editorials are important to briefly present the current trend, transformation, and challenges in the field of medical education. Editorials should be grounded on the relevant literature and address the important area within the scope of the journal. The word count limit for the editorials is 1000 to 1500 words. The references should be a maximum of 20.

1.4 Commentaries

Commentaries are short articles to address the important issue or to review, comment, and discuss recently published literature. The short commentary is focused and specific to the discussion point (issue) in the relevant context. The references should be a maximum of 20.

2 Tables

  • The table numbers should be arranged in sequence.
  • The tables should be presented in the appropriate place next to the relevant text, rather than including at the end of the manuscript or submitting in a separate document.
  • Title should be clear and concise, describing the information presented in the table.
  • Title of the table should be above the presenting table.
  • Tables should be self-explanatory.
  • The numbers in the table should be presented as numerical value presentation guidelines mentioned in the “Results” section of this guideline.
  • Abbreviations, statistical tests, and other relevant information should be explained at the footnotes for each table.
  • The following symbols should be used in sequence to describe at the footnote: *, †, ‡, §, ¶, #, **, ††, §§, ¶¶, ##.
  • If the table is borrowed, adapted, or modified from the previous literature, provide the description and credit line in the footnote.
  • All the tables should be cited in text at relevant places.
  • The number of tables and figures is limited to 8 for the papers submitted to IJTHPE

3 Figures

  • The figure numbers should be arranged in sequence.
  • The figures (graphs) should be presented in the appropriate place next to the relevant text, rather than including at the end of the manuscript or submitting in a separate document.
  • The figures (images or pictures or photographs) should be submitted separately in JPEG format.
  • Figure legend should be presented below the figure.
  • If the figure has multiple parts or panels, use the capital letters: A, B, C, D, etc to label the panels.
  • If the figure is previously published, and the authors borrowed, adapted, or modified from the previous literature, provide the description and credit line in the figure legend. In addition, permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material must be submitted in a separate document.
  • All the figures should be cited in text at relevant places.
  • The number of tables and figures is limited to 8 for the papers submitted to IJTHPE

4 Supplementary materials

Supplementary materials support the manuscript; however, they are not essential and key materials of the manuscript. Examples of supplementary materials include tables, figures, data of the study, video files, and audio files.

Supplementary materials should be submitted separately for each file. The preparation of supplementary tables and figures should follow the guidelines provided in Tables, and Figures sections (2.2, 2.3).

All supplementary materials are subjected to the same copyright mentioned for the main manuscript.

Supplementary materials should be naming as “Appendix” followed by the numbers in sequence. (Example: Appendix 1, Appendix 2, Appendix 3, etc)

5 References

References should be in Harvard style. It should be mentioned in the text, tables, figures (if applicable) and at the end of the manuscript.

In-text citation

The information about the source should include authors’ surname, the publication year and page number(s) (if applicable) in a round bracket.

(Note: p. refers to a single page, pp. refers to a range of pages)

Example

  • Citing one to three authors: (Emanuel, 2020), (Anderson and Bamber, 2022), (Lewis, Smith and Hill, 2023) or (Emanuel, 2017, p. 189)
  • Citing four and more authors: (Lucas et al., 2021)
  • Citing multiple sources: (Emanuel, 2020; Lewis, Smith and Hill, 2023; Lucas et al., 2021)
  • Multiple works from the same author in the same year: (Emanuel, 2017a, pp. 189-191),  (Emanuel, 2017b, p. 101)

Reference list

The references cited in the text must be presented in the reference list. The reference list includes the details of the source referred in the manuscript. The reference list should be organized alphabetically according to author’s surname.

If the reference list included sources from different authors with the same family name, list the references alphabetically by the authors initials.

If the reference list included multiple sources from the same author, list the references according to the year of publication (chronological order, start from the lasted publication).

If the reference list included multiple sources from the same author conducted in the same year, list the references alphabetically by the title.

5.1 Journal articles (printed version)

Author’s surname, initials. (Year) Title of article, Name of Journal, Volume number (Issue), page numbers.

Example:

Bai, H. (2020) Modernizing Medical Education through Leadership Development. Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, 93(3):433-439.

Articles with four authors and above

Ashraf, H. et al. (2018) Eye-tracking technology in medical education: A systematic review. Medical Teacher, 40(1):62-69.

5.2 Journal articles (electronic version)

Author’s surname, Initials. (Year) Title of article, Name of Journal, Volume

Number (Issue), page numbers. [Online] DOI: or Available at: URL (Accessed: DD Month YYYY).

Example

Murakami, M. et al. (2021) Generation gaps in medical education: An exploratory qualitative study. Journal of Pakistan Medical Association. 71(5):1476-1478. [Online] DOI: 10.47391/JPMA.511. (Accessed: 16 March 2023).

5.3 Book

Author(s) name, initials. (year) Title of book. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher.

Example

Carter, Y. and Jackson, N. (2008) Medical Education and Training: From theory to delivery. 10th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

5.4 Book chapter

Chapter author(s) surname, initials. (year) Title of chapter. In editor(s) surname, initials (Ed/Eds.), Title of book. Place: Publisher name, pp. page numbers

Khot, A. (2022) Role of Mentors in Undergraduate and Postgraduate Training. In Firstenberg, M.S. and Stawicki, S.P. (Eds), Medical Education for the 21st Century. Rijeka: IntechOpen, pp. 68-85.

5.5 Newspaper or magazine articles

Author surname and initial. (year). Title of article. Name of newspaper/magazine, day month year, pp. page numbers.

Example

Brady, B. (2023). Health equality vs health equity. The Star, 14 March 2023, pp. 4-5.

5.6 Websites

Author(s) name, initial. (year). Name of specific webpage. [Online]. Name of full website. Last updated: day month year. Available at: URL [Accessed day month year].

Example

Peston, R. (2022). Youth Engagement for rabies elimination [Online]. World Health Organization. Last updated: 22 September 2022. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/Youth-Engagement-for-rabies-elimination-in-ghana [Accessed 16 March 2023].

The details of the reference guide could be found in the following link. https://www.librarydevelopment.group.shef.ac.uk/referencing/harvard.html .