Information for Authors

Format of Manuscripts for Conference Proceedings

These are short manuscripts with a maximum limit of 500 words and should be structured with the following subsections:

  1. Title page: Names of author(s) and their affiliations
  2. Background/ Introduction
  3. Methods/ Patients/ Participants
  4. Results including a maximum of 2 figures or tables.
  5. Discussion/ Conclusion
  6. References

The word limit of 500 words applies to the total number of words in subsections 2-5.

All submissions would undergo double-blind peer review prior to acceptance. Hence, authors are expected to submit the title page separately from the blind manuscript file containing subsections 2-6.

Format of Full-length Manuscripts

Types of full-length manuscripts that may be submitted include: Original research articles, Review articles, Case reports, Short communications and Letters to the Editor.

Submissions should be made at https://tosn.org.ng/index.php/home. Manuscripts are considered with the understanding that they have neither been published previously nor are under consideration by another publisher. All contributions, including those solicited, are reviewed by the editors of the TOSN and/ or invited reviewers. The decision of the editorial board is final. Authors are responsible for all statements contained in their contributions.

Title page

This should contain the title of the manuscript; names, qualifications and affiliation(s) of each author; name and address of the corresponding author as well as a running title of not more than 50 characters. 

Abstract/Summary

For original articles and short communications, a structured abstract of not more than 250 words with the following sub-sections: Purpose, Methods, Results, Conclusion.

For review articles, a structured abstract of not more than 300 words with the following sub-sections: Purpose, Methods, Findings, Conclusion.

For case reports, an unstructured abstract of not more than 250 words.

Key words

3 - 5 key words should be provided for review articles, original articles and short communications.

Main Manuscript

Original research articles: should have a maximum of 4000 words and include the following sub-sections:

  • Introduction: This should describe the background, purpose and rationale for the study.
  • Methods: This section should describe the study design, location and population. It should provide details of the methods used in data collection as well as data analysis.
  • Results: This section should describe the results and findings of the study.
  • Discussion: This should discuss the implications and significance of the findings with respect to clinical ophthalmic care or public health ophthalmology. It should include a conclusion and recommendations based on the findings earlier presented and discussed.

Review articles: should have a maximum of 5000 words and include the following sub-sections:

  • Introduction: This should describe the background, purpose and rationale for the review.
  • Methods: This section should provide details of the methods used in conducting the review including literature sources/databases and search terms; selection and eligibility criteria for studies/articles; and data synthesis and analysis, if appropriate.
  • Findings & Discussion: This section should describe the results and findings of the literature review as well discuss the implications and significance of such findings with respect to clinical ophthalmic care or public health ophthalmology.
  • Conclusion: This should include the closing statements and recommendations based on the findings earlier presented and discussed.

The main manuscript for a review article may also be structured in the format of a traditional medical essay.

Short communications: should have maximum of 2000 words with a maximum of 15 references, 2 figures and 2 tables. The subsections as the same as original research articles.

Case reports: should have maximum of 2000 words. The subsections should include: 1) Introduction or Background, 2) Case presentation and 3) Discussion.

Peer review

All manuscripts would undergo double-blind peer review. Hence, authors should submit the title page as a separate file different from the blind manuscript file. The blind manuscript file should contain the abstract, main text, figures, tables, references etc. All identifying information should be omitted from the blind manuscript file.

Ethical Considerations

For prospective studies involving human participants, authors are expected to report the approval of the study by an Ethics Committee or Review Board as well as obtaining informed consent from research participants. Evidence of approval must be supplied by the authors on request. In addition, the principles outlined in the Helsinki Declaration1 should be followed.

Use of patients’ names, initials, or hospital numbers must be avoided. If full-face photographs are to be used, such photographs must be accompanied by a signed or thumb printed informed consent of the subject. Animal experimentation must follow the institution’s guidelines and/or national laws on the use of laboratory animals in research.

Conflict of interest

Authors should indicate conflicts of interest, if any. If none exists, this should be clearly stated.

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments of general support, financial and material support, technical help, etc. should be indicated at the end of the main text. It is the responsibility of authors to obtain the consent of those being acknowledged.

References

References should be cited within the manuscript text, tables, or legends using Arabic numerals in superscript format. The list of references should be in the order of citation within the manuscript. References should be in the Vancouver style, the standard format for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals.2 For books and book chapters, the format should be as follows:

Book with one or two authors

(a) Surname and initials of all authors (b) title of the book (c) city (d) publisher (e) date (g) pages cited. Example: Schram R. History of Nigerian Health Services. 2nd ed. Ibadan: Ibadan University Press, 1991; 70-75.

Chapter in a book

(a) Surname and initials of all authors of particular chapter (b) title of chapter (c) editors (d) title

of book (e) edition, except if first (f) city (g) publisher (h) year (i) pages.

Example: Majekodunmi AA. Ocular emergencies. In: HO Adeyemi- Doro, ed. Manual of Emergency Surgery, 2nd ed. Lagos, University of Lagos Press, 1991; 30-50.

Authors should verify references cited against the original document. Journal abbreviations should be as in the list of journals in the Index Medicus.

Units of measure

Height, weight, length, and volume should be reported in metres, kilogrammes, litres (and other decimal multiples as necessary), respectively. Temperature should be reported in degrees celsius, while blood pressure should be stated in millimetres of mercury (mmHg). Haematological and clinical chemistry measurements should be reported in SI units with conversion factors provided as a footnote.

Tables

Tables should be numbered consecutively and referred to in the text using Arabic numerals e.g. “Table 1”. Their approximate positions in the text should be indicated. The table title should be short, and likewise headings over columns should be short or abbreviated. Explanations should be placed under the table, not in the heading. Footnote symbols should use the following sequence: * † ‡ § ¶ ** †† [left to right and top to bottom of the table]. The use of internal horizontal and vertical lines should be avoided.

Figures and illustrations

Each figure should be placed on a separate page, numbered consecutively and referred to in the text using Arabic numerals e.g. “Figure 1”. Letters, numbers and symbols within the figure should be clear and large enough so that when reduced for publication each item will be legible. Titles and explanatory notes should be in the legend for the illustrations, NOT on the illustrations themselves. Photomicrographs should have internal scale markers and numerals according to the order in which they have been first cited in the text. Materials taken from other sources must be accompanied by written permission for reproduction from the publisher and/or author. Legends for illustrations should be numbered accordingly and placed directly under each figure. Identify and explain in the legend each symbol, number, letter, etc. used in the illustration.

Revised manuscripts and proofs

Proofs may be sent to the corresponding author for corrections. Such proofs must be returned to the editor within 48 hours.

 References

  1. 41st World Medical Assembly. Declaration of research involving human subjects. Bull Pan Am Health Org 1990; 24: 606-609.
  2. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals. Br Med J 1991; 302: 338-41.

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Subscription
The Transactions of the Ophthalmological Society of Nigeria is published yearly by the
Ophthalmological Society of Nigeria (OSN). The annual subscription rate for each issue of the journal is as follows:
Individuals: $50 or naira equivalent
Institutions: $75 or Naira equivalent
Subscription requests should be addressed to: Editor-in-chief, Transactions of the Ophthalmological Society of Nigeria, Department of Ophthalmology, University College Hospital, Ibadan, P.O. Box 851, Dugbe, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.