Author Guidelines

 1.1. Editorial Policies

The “Journal of Sleep sciences (JSS) “is the official scientific quarterly publication affiliated with Occupational Sleep Research Center (OSRC) of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. JSS is also official journal of Iranian Sleep Medicine Society. The main goals of journal are to improve the knowledge and awareness of clinicians and research professionals about the latest findings in prevention, diagnosis, treatment and etiology of sleep disorders. We would be very delighted to receive your Original Papers, Review Articles, Short communications, Case reports and Scientific Letters to the Editor on the all areas of sleep sciences.

JSS is a peer reviewed journal. After receiving a manuscript with all stated requirements to the Journal office, the manuscript is sent to two or more reviewers. The whole review process depends on receiving referees' comments and revising the manuscripts based on these comments by the author. On receipt of the revised article from the author, and after final approval by referees, the letter of acceptance is issued to the author. The author can also suggest the name of possible competent reviewers but it is up to the editor to accept it. No article is rejected unless negative comments are received from at least two reviewers.

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

1.2. Submission

All submissions to the Journal proceed totally online at JSS web site (jss.tums.ac.ir). New users should first create an account. By login onto the site, submissions should be sent through the Author Center. Authors will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading of their files.

1.3. Covering Letter

All submissions to JSS must be accompanied by a completed copy of signed covered letter including the copyright agreement.

1.4. Publication ethics

Manuscripts or a part of manuscripts must not be previously published, submitted for publication, going to be sent to other journals or is being published in other journals. We follow Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) code of conduct for editors (COPE's guidelines).

2.1. Form of Manuscript

Manuscripts should be written in clear, concise English. Terms that are not generally understood and insider's jargon should be avoided. Authors not fully acquainted with proper English usage should have their manuscripts read by a colleague proficient in English before submission. If English is not your native language please ensure the manuscript has been reviewed by a native speaker.

Microsoft Word Format (.doc files) is preferred for the manuscripts. Main texts must be typewritten double-spaced, with medium margins. The body of the manuscripts should be prepared in the following order: Title page (1th page); Abstract (2th page); Introduction (3th page); Materials and Methods; Results; Discussion and Conclusions; Acknowledgments; References; Tables with captions (on separate pages); Figures with captions (on separate pages).The length of the text should not exceed 4500 words excluding the references.

All Clinical Trials should include patients’ informed consent forms, the approval of the bioethics committee of the corresponding university/institution and the registration code of registry that clinical trial registered in it.

Case Reports and Brief Reports should be limited to 2000 words. Both should include Abstract, Keywords, Case presentation, Discussion, Acknowledgment, References, and 1–4 Figures. Necessary documentations of the case(s) like pathology reports, laboratory test reports, and imagings should be included in the submission package. Brief reports should not have more than one Figure and/or Table.

2.2. Title Page

A title page should be provided comprising the manuscript’s title. In title page (first page), one author should be obviously selected as the corresponding author and full contact information, including email address, postal/mail address, phone/fax number. Institutional affiliations are necessary for this person. First and last names (surname(s) of author(s), preceded by one name spelled out in full), e-mail addresses, and institutional affiliations of all co-authors are also required. After online submission, the corresponding author will receive a manuscript submission number via email address. Papers including animal experiments or clinical trials must be conducted with approval by the local animal care or human subject committees, respectively, and the authors must state it in title page and methods section of the main text.

2.3. Abstract

All original articles and reviews or all manuscripts should start with an abstract less than 250 words. The abstract must be completely self-explanatory included brief description of background and objectives of the research, materials and methods, the experiments (including species, tissue, procedures, etc.), main results, and finally, conclusion(s). Three to 10 key terms (as key words) must be written at the end of abstract.

2.4. Introduction

The introduction should assume that the reader is knowledgeable in the field and should therefore be as brief as possible. State the purpose of the article and summarize the rationale for the study or observation. Give only strictly pertinent references and do not include data or conclusion from the work being reported.

2.5. Materials and Methods

Describe your selection of the observational or experimental subjects (patients or laboratory animals including controls) clearly. Identify the age, sex, and other important characteristics of the subjects. The definition and relevance of race and ethnicity are ambiguous. Authors should be particularly careful about using these categories. Identify the methods, apparatus (give the manufacturer's name and address in parentheses), and procedures in sufficient detail to allow other researchers to reproduce the results. Procedures details’ that has been published previously should be referred to by citation. When a modified procedure is used, only the author's modifications of the previously published method need to be given in detail.

2.6. Discussion

This should include implications of the findings and their limitations with reference to all other relevant studies and the possibilities of these suggestions for future research.

Author(s) are recommended to provide conclusions summarizing the main paper in the end of discussion. Ensure that extrapolations are reasonable and that conclusions are justified by the data presented and indicate if the study design can be generalized to a broader study population.

2.7. Abbreviations

Use as few abbreviations as possible and write out names of compounds, receptors, procedures, etc., in full throughout the text of the manuscript.

2.8. References

The authors are responsible for the accuracy of the bibliographic information provided. References must be numbered consecutively in order of citation in the text. Mark reference citations by numbers in parentheses. Personal communications and unpublished data including manuscripts submitted but not yet accepted for publication should not be used as a reference; nonetheless, they may be placed in parentheses in the text.

Listed below, are references to a journal, a chapter in a book, a book, and a website respectively in correct style:

1. Shapiro AMJ, Lakey JRT, Ryan EA, et al. Islet transplantation in seven patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus using a glucocorticoid-free immunosuppressive regimen. N Engl J Med 2000;343:230-8.

2. Goadsby PJ. Pathophysiology of headache. In: Silberstein SD, Lipton RB, Dalessio DJ, eds. Wolff's headache and other head pain. 7th ed. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2001:57-72.

3. Kuczmarski RJ, Ogden CL, Grammer-Strawn LM, et al. CDC growth charts: United States. Advance data from vital and health statistics. No. 314. Hyattsville, Md.: National Center for Health Statistics, 2000. (DHHS publication no. (PHS) 2000-1250 0-0431.)

4. U.S. positions on selected issues at the third negotiating session of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Washington, D.C.: Committee on Government Reform, 2002. (Accessed March 4, 2002, at http://www.house.gov/reform/min/inves_tobacco/index_accord.htm.)

3.1. Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

1. The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).

2. The submission file is in Open Office, Microsoft Word, Rich Text Format, or WordPerfect document file format.

3. Where available, URLs for the references have been provided.

4. The text is double-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, Figures, and Tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.

5. The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines, which is found in “About the Journal”.

6. If submitting to a peer-reviewed section of the journal, the instructions in ensuring a blind review have been followed.

The Editorial Board of the journal reserves the right to accept or reject the article in any stage and any time or delete a part of the text, tables or figures, if necessary.

3.2. Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.