Aims and scope
The Netherlands Journal of Medicine publishes papers in all relevant fields of internal medicine. In addition to reports of original clinical and experimental studies, reviews on topics of interest or importance, case reports, book reviews and letters to the editor are welcomed.
Manuscripts
Manuscripts submitted to the Journal should report original research not previously published or being considered for publication elsewhere. Submission of a manuscript to this Journal gives the publisher the right to publish the paper if it is accepted. Manuscripts may be edited to improve clarity and expression.
Language
The language of the Journal is English. English idiom and spelling is used in accordance with the Oxford dictionary. Thus: Centre and not Center, Tumour and not Tumor, Haematology and not Hematology.
Submission
Due to reorganization submission of manuscripts is not possible until further notice.
Preparation of manuscripts
Due to reorganization submission of manuscripts is not possible until further notice
Type all pages with double spacing and wide margins on one side of the paper. To facilitate the reviewing process, number the lines in the margin and the pages.
Subheadings should not exceed 55 characters, including spaces.
Abbreviations: Measurements should be abbreviated according to SI units. All other abbreviations or acronyms should be defined on the first appearance in the text. Use a capital letter for generic names of substances and materials.
Divide the manuscript into the following sections: Title page, Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Materials and methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgements, References, Tables and Figures with Legends.
The Title page should include authors' names, degrees, academic addresses, correspondence address, including telephone number, fax number, e-mail address and grant support. Also the contribution of each author should be specified.
The title should be informative and not exceed 90 characters, including spaces. Avoid use of extraneous words such as 'study', 'investigation' as well as priority claims (new, novel, first). Give a running title of less than 50 characters. If data from the manuscript have been presented at a meeting, list the name, date and location of the meeting and reference and previously published abstracts in the bibliography. Give a word count (including references, excluding tables and legends) at the bottom of this page.
The Abstract, not exceeding 250 words, should be written in a structured manner and with particular care. In original articles, the Abstract should consist of the following paragraphs: Background, Methods, Results and Conclusion. They should briefly describe the problem being addressed in the study, how the study was performed and which measurements were carried out, the most relevant results, and what the authors conclude from the results.
Keywords: Include three to five keywords, in alphabetical order.
The Introduction should be brief and set out the purposes for which the study has been performed.
The Materials and methods should be sufficiently detailed so that readers and reviewers can understand precisely what has been done without studying the references directly. The description may be abbreviated when well-accepted techniques are used.
The Results should be presented precisely, without discussion.
The Discussion should directly relate to the study being reported. Do not include a general review of the topic, but discuss the pertinent literature.
Acknowledgement: All funding sources should be credited here. Also a statement of conflicts of interest should be mentioned.
References should be numbered consecutively as they appear in the text (after the punctuation and in square brackets). Type the reference list with double spacing on a separate page. References should be in the language they are published in, conform the 'Vancouver' style for biomedical journals (N Engl J Med. 1991;324:424-8). Journal abbreviations should conform to the style used in the Cumulated Index Medicus. Examples:
Please note that all authors should be listed when six or less; when seven or more, list only the first three and add et al. Do not include references to personal communications, unpublished data or manuscripts either 'in preparation' or 'submitted for publication'. If essential, such material may be incorporated into the appropriate place in the text. Recheck references in the text against the reference list after your manuscript has been revised. The use of bibliographic software programs that are designed to generate reference lists such as Reference Manager© or Endnote© is highly encouraged. Authors can use the predefined output 'Vancouver' style from these programs.
Tables should be typed with double spacing each on a separate page, numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals, and should contain only horizontal lines. Provide a short descriptive heading above each table with footnotes and/or explanation underneath.
Figures must have minimum of 150 dpi (pixels/inch) and color is possible.Submit line drawings made in Word or other computer programs but not in a PowerPoint file. Legends for figures should be typed, with double spacing, on a separate page.
Recommendations technical data
Case reportsCase reports containing concise reports on original work will be considered for publication. Case reports which are relevant for understanding the pathophysiology or clinical presentation of disease may also be accepted under this heading. Selection of case reports will be based on criteria as outlined in a special report by the editors (Drenth et al. The case for case reports in the Netherlands Journal of Medicine. Neth J Med. 2006;64(7):262-4). We advise potential authors to take notice of the instructions in this report. Articles published in this section should be no longer than 1000 words, and supplied with a summary of about 60 words, preferably no more than two figures and/or tables, and no more than 15 references.
In addition, we require that authors of case reports answer the following two questions (Neth J Med. 2008;66(7):289-90): 1) What was known on this topic? and 2) What does this add? The answers will appear in a separate box in the text.
Mini reviews
Mini reviews are concise notes that bring the reader up to date with the recent developments in the field under discussion. The review article should mention any previous important reviews in the field and contain a comprehensive discussion starting with the general background of the field. It should then go on to discuss the salient features of recent developments. The authors should avoid presenting material which has already been published in a previous review. The manuscript should be divided as follows: title page, abstract and main text. The text may be subdivided further according to the areas to be discussed. The text should not exceed 2500 words.
Letter to the editor (correspondence)
Letters to the editor will be considered by the editorial board. Letters should be no more than 400 words. Please use SI units for measurements and provide the references conform the Vancouver style (N Engl J Med. 1991;324:424-8). No more than one figure is allowed. For letters referring to articles previously published in the Journal, the referred article should be quoted in the list of references.
Photo quiz
A photo quiz should not exceed 500 words and include no more than two figures and four references conform the Vancouver style. Abbreviations of measurements should be quoted in SI units.
Book reviews
The editorial board will consider articles reviewing books.
Reviewing process
After external and editorial review of the manuscript the authors will be informed about acceptance, rejection or revision. We require revision as stated in our letter.
Proofs
Proofs will be sent to the authors to be carefully checked for printer's errors. Changes or additions to the edited manuscript cannot be allowed at this stage. Corrected proofs should be returned to the editorial office within two days of receipt.