SIIC System of Assisted Editing (SSEA)

Guidelines for authors


 PROCESS 1 - INVITATION ACCEPTANCE
 PROCESS 2 – ARTICLE SUBMISSION  
 STAGE 1. IDENTIFICATION   1.A.    1.B.  
 STAGE 2. THE AUTHORS   2.A. Details of the Author   2.B. Complements   2.C. Coauthors   2.D. Published Articles   2.E. Submission Letter 
 STAGE 3. THE ARTICLE   3.A. Title   3.B. Brief Article - Long Article   3.C. Single Article   3.D. Abstract   3.E. Essence    3.F. Key Words   3.G. Abbreviations   3.H. Principal Institution   3.I. Classification by Areas   3.J. Peer Reviewers   3.K. Receiver of Correspondence   3.L. Figures and Tables   3.M. Self Evaluation   3.N. Statements   3.Ñ. Ethical Treatment Statement   3.O. Conflicts of Interest Statement   3.P. Acknowledgements 
 STAGE 4. NATIVE LANGUAGE 
 Anti-plagiarism policy 
Copyright and Notification of Acceptance 



Presentation requirement
Those authors who wish to submit an article for evaluation and publication in the Sociedad Iberoamericana de Información Científica (SIIC) should access www.siicsalud.com/presentacionpreliminar.php and fill in the form entitled Preliminary Presentation.

Immediately after completing and submitting the form, you will receive an Invitation Letter.

The authors do not pay any form of fee to present their articles in SIIC’s printed or virtual publications, and neither are the costs of editorial production transferred to the authors.


EDITING PROCESSES

PROCESS 1 – INVITATION ACCEPTANCE
The author accepts the invitation to write an article about a subject of his/her interest. This one-stage process requires certain professional details and others related to the articles that the author pledges to provide by a stipulated date.
These details will allow the paper to be disseminated in advance with its probable date of publication, while ensuring the reader that that will only occur upon obtaining approval.

PROCESS 2 - SUBMISSION OF THE ARTICLE
Authors will submit their articles on line at www.siic.info/ssea.

Submission Process
You have accessed the Submission Process for your article.

Important: 
You can complete this form at a time or you can save it and complete it at different moments over 7 days. This period starts when the author finishes Stage 1. During this period you can make those corrections you consider necessary.
We recommend that you Save the information at each stage to avoid having to enter it again in case of involuntary interruptions. 
If you wish to ask for help or you have any questions, please write to Messages to SIIC.


STAGE 1. IDENTIFICATION
1.A. When you first access the System you will write your User Name (email address of the author) and your Reference ICE Number that appears in the invitation received as expert columnist. Then, please click the button "Access to SSEA". If you do not have a Reference ICE Number, contact Messages to SIIC The next page contains the Introduction to the SSEA System and its stages. Read it carefully. 

Then click "Enter". Write your personal data and follow the easy instructions given by the system and these Guidelines.

1.B. The author will appoint the person who will be responsible for monitoring the process. 
This person, Responsible for the Process (RP) will ensure the relationship with the editors, will centralize the relationship with coauthors if there are any, and will help to keep the epistolary exchange with supervisors fluent. These supervisors will start their task when the author finishes submitting his/her article.

During the processes Submission of the Article and Article Evaluation, the RP will be in touch with the Editorial Coordinator of SIIC and with the supervisors related to the corresponding issue: writing guidelines, scientific style, language, figures and illustrations, informatics and external peer review. We suggest no changes be made to the RP while the article is undergoing the editorial process.

The editorial process ends with the publication of the approved article or the notification to the author of rejection of the article.

STAGE 2. THE AUTHORS 
2.A. Details of the Author
Enter the complete details of the principal author (full name, postal address, electronic address, professional qualification, current position, full name of the institution where he/she works, etc.).

Brief Curriculum Vitae
Write a brief CV of 80 to 100 words. Include your name, professional qualification (with date and place), current position, specialty, postgraduate or update courses, subjects or areas of interest for study or research, summary of published scientific articles and details of participation in conferences.

2.B. Complements
Personal Photograph
Include your personal photograph of at least 300dpi (dots per inch) in JPG or TIFF format.

Please inform us if you would be interested in being an external reviewer of articles written by peers.

2.C. Coauthors
If there are any coauthors, please supply their personal details. No more than 10 co-authors may be included.

2.D. Published Articles
Articles Registered in SIIC
If you are already an Expert Columnist for SIIC our database has a record of your articles published previously in SIIC or in other journals. If you need to correct a bibliographic reference, you have the opportunity to do so now.

Other Articles written by the Principal Author
Enter here and in the next fields of Published Articles the references of each article written by the principal author and in which his or her research field or specialization is more evident. You can include up to 10 published articles. We recommend that you enter your most recent articles.
This information, as other included in other sections of SSEA will help the reader to know the principal author better.
The articles published in the virtual collections of SIIC link to the pages of the authors that have been developed, free of charge, by the Editorial Department of SIIC.

2.E. Submission Letter
You may submit your article by supplying a presentation letter written in a colloquial style in which you summarize the main conclusions of your article and briefly describe any special events occurred during the research.
The author may also include the names of the coauthors and the acknowledgements he may consider adequate.
Please address it to SIIC Editor-in-Chief.

 

STAGE 3. THE ARTICLE
Language and Style
The manuscript should be written in English. Manuscripts are then translated into Spanish by SIIC and edited both in Spanish and in English.
Authors who are unsure of proper English usage should have their manuscripts checked by someone proficiency in the English language.
Manuscripts might be rejected on the basis of poor English or lack of conformity to accepted standards of style.
If your native language is other than English, you must also submit it in that language. In this case, follow the Guidelines in Stage 4. It would then be published in three languages.

Types of Articles
The author will choose the style and format for his article. Articles of scientific journals belong to the following principal types (original articles, reviews and meta-analysis, articles of opinion, descriptive articles [case reports, observational articles, short reports, special communications, etc.], consensus statements and clinical practice guidelines, correspondence, review of books or of articles published in other sources).
In these Guidelines, we consider the first two types.

Original Articles
Those articles that describe the results of original research, for example randomized and controlled studies, case and control studies, observational studies, series of cases (clinical or preclinical [in vitro, in vivo, ex vivo, in silico]), must have an Abstract, an Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Conclusions.

The Introduction is a short reference of the general aspects and importance of the subjects to be addressed. The last sentence of the Introduction must refer to what authors are about to present and describe.

The Materials and Methods section describes the sample (whose size will be variable), the origin of the analysed data, if it is retrospective or prospective, the statistical methods used, and the analysis of the statistical significance, if needed.

In Results and Conclusions the authors must compare their results with those obtained by other colleagues and clearly state the conclusions at which they have arrived.

Reviews
Review articles collate, summarize and review the available information on a particular topic. As very often clinicians use reviews as guides for clinical decisions it is very important that this type of article should be systematic, include relevant data and not be overly influenced by the opinions and biases of the authors. Reviews should specify the methods used to search for, select, and summarize the information.
A Meta-analysis is a review article that includes statistical techniques that analyze results from independent studies.
Authors will include subtitles in the review if they feel it is appropriate.

3.A Title
To make reading easier and to provide the key points of the work, write a concise, specific and informative title.

Abbreviated title for running head (optional)
Mention the main topic of your article in no more than 10 words.
The abbreviated titles appear at the top of the page of the article, together with the bibliographic reference (journal name or abbreviation, volume number, date of issue and page number).

3.B. Brief and Long Articles
Extension: Articles should be written in Word text files or other compatible program. SSEA allows you to choose between sending either Brief and Long versions of your article or a Single version. Therefore, either submit your article in two versions of different length or only one single version.

Brief Article: It will be published in the printed journals of SIIC: Salud(i)Ciencia (ISSN 1667-8982), Trabajos Distinguidos and others.

The Brief Article will be of between 2500 and 3000 words in length.

If you submit the Brief Version of your article, it means that you will submit the Long Version as well. Therefore, when you upload the first one SSEA will tell you to upload the other one.

Long Article: it will be published on https://www.siicsalud.com (ISSN 1667-9008).

The Long Article will be of 5000 words in length.

3.C. Single Version
If you choose to write only one version, it should be no longer than 3000 words.

If you wish to write a longer article because you believe it is worth it, ask SIIC for permission by sending a message to Messages to SIIC.

In Original Articles, as well as in Reviews, the abstract, the key words, tables, figures and bibliographic references are not included in the length limit.

Language
The article should be written in English.

Statistical Analysis
When describing the statistical analysis, the authors should clearly notify which methods have been used. When data are shown in tables, the statistical methods used should be detailed in a footnote for each method. Specify which statistical software was used.

Drugs
Identify drugs by means of their generic name and the natural or synthetic chemical compounds used. Avoid mentioning trademarks and commercial names. Write this terminology according to Descritores de Ciências da Saúde (DeCS) and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) .

Superfluous words
Avoid using ordinary words that are known as noisy or superfluous words, i.e. health, medicine, study, patients, etc.
SIIC Data Bases, the same as the main data bases around the world, ignore these words because they lack identity and, in most cases, they do not contribute to delimit the topic.
If possible, use words with accurate meanings or key words.

Bibliographic references
References should be numbered consecutively throughout the text and cited as superscript numerals. References should be cited in full at the end of the article according to the Vancouver style:

1- Order: Type of reference (journal article, journal article in press, article in edited book, abstract), authors, journal title abbreviation, year, volume, number, pages.
2- The names and initials of authors should be given in full. If there are six authors, they should all be included. If there are more than six, include three authors followed by “et al.”.
3- Medical journal abbreviations should follow Index Medicus and Vancouver Style.
4- Unpublished work, work in preparation or personal communications should not be used as references but can be mentioned in the text.
5- Journal articles in press, articles in edited books and abstracts presented in congresses can be used.
If references link to an online journal, SIIC may include a hyperlink to that site provided the editor’s authorization has been received.

3.D. Abstract
Articles should be accompanied by an abstract written in English of between 220 and 250 words.
Avoid using abbreviations in the Abstract, with the exception of those used instead of the word or phrase they stand for. The Abstract should be a brief but accurate and informative synthesis of the article.

The scientific and literary quality of abstracts is appreciated by editors, readers and data bases.

If your article is an original article, divide the paragraphs by using subtitles (introduction, materials and methods, results, and conclusions). Include the objective of the research.
The Abstract will be the same for any of the three versions that you have decided to submit (brief, long or single article).

If your article is a review, you will include the objective, subtitles, results, and conclusions.

3.E. Essence
Provide, in a minimum of 50 words and a maximum of 75, the essence or succinct conclusions of your article. Do not use abbreviations with the exception of those needed to replace the complete name or phrase they stand for.

3.F. Key Words
Provide 5 to 7 key words under which the paper can be indexed. Key words should be written according to Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) .
KW will be included in accordance with their order of importance or weight in the article, i.e., the first one you write will be the most important, the second more important than the third, and so on.

key word is a word or phrase (i.e. diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension) that will not include the article (the, a, an), or conjunctions (and, or) and will be representative of the main topic of the article. They are fundamental for accurate searches. They are always written in lower case letters. Trademarks are excluded. Avoid using as key words those terms with wide and general meanings (i.e. health, medicine, study, patients, treatment, etc.).

3.G. Abbreviations
Avoid writing abbreviations in the title and, if possible, avoid using them in the abstract.
In the text, use as few abbreviations as possible. The complete definition of an abbreviation and acronym should be written before its first use in the text, with the exception of standard units of measurement.

Alphabetical List of Abbreviations
Provide a list in alphabetical order and the definition of each non-standard abbreviation and acronym used in the article, with full names in brackets. Do not include full names of units of measurement.

3.H. Principal Institution
In this stage, give the full details of the institution where the study was conducted or the author’s main place of work.
The registers of the institutions of the article’s coauthors will be requested in the stage Authors, step Coauthors.

3.I. Classification by Areas
Mark the orientation and the style of your article.
Classify your article in two Specific biomedical areas and more than two Related ones.
SIIC articles are spread over 56 biomedical areas. The accuracy of the procedure is ensured by the first classification made by the authors, and that subsequently made by the Scientific Department. This sector of SIIC will sub-classify the article under the sub-specialties or topics in which the majority of areas can be divided. To see the editorial result, please consult the Specific section of News by Specialty.

3.J. Reviewers
Internal Review
The scientific directors and the editorial department of SIIC perform a preliminary evaluation of manuscripts. Those articles that meet the required criteria (importance of and interest for the topic, use of scientific method, correct submission and relevance) and include the appropriate documentation, continue to the next stage, peer review.

Peer Review
Manuscripts undergo external peer review to assess their clinical relevance, technical exactitude, methodological accuracy, clarity, and objectivity. Reviewers are from the academic field and do not receive honoraria for their work.
Authors may suggest up to three peer specialists to review your article. This does not imply an obligation for the editor, but is particularly useful in those research areas that are unusual or little known. The specialists proposed should comply with the corresponding recommendations of the Vancouver Style.

The acceptance, revision, or rejection of an article will be communicated to the author in written.

3.K. Receiver of Correspondence
Give the name of the person who will liaise with SIIC and the readers (consultations, correspondence, etc.).

3.L. Figures and Tables
You may include up to 2 (two) tables and 5 (five) figures in colour or black and white.
Provide the tables in Excel or Word files.
Provide the figures, which include graphs, charts, photographs, maps and other types of illustrations, in JPG or TIFF files in at least 300dpi.

Captions
Number the captions of figures and tables according to their appearance in the text.
Write a summary of the figure or table in from 10 to 30 words. 

Provide the necessary information that may help in understanding figures.
If data, figures or tables have been published elsewhere, quote the original source and ask for authorization to republish the material.

3.M. Self-evaluation of the Reader
Self-evaluation of the article will allow the reader to know whether he/she has correctly interpreted its fundamental aspects. This system is used in hospital associations, institutions of higher education, research centers and other educational establishments.
The authors submit questions that their readers analyze and discuss with their peers. On many occasions, this leads to the need for direct connection between the parties.
Offer readers an evaluation of your article in multiple-choice form. Write an Introduction, ask a Question, and provide 5 possible answers, only one of which is correct. Do not forget to say which it is. Add a brief well-founded justification for the correct answer in from 50 to 100 words. 

The 5 possible answers will have fewer than 10 words each.
Make sure that the fifth answer does not negate or give as valid all or some of the previous ones. Provide answers that will involve a re-reading of core fragments of the text.
Mark the correct answer.

Justification
Do not repeat the correct answer. Clarify and enlarge on its meaning. The justification must be exclusively based on the content of the article and should be of no more than 70 words in length.

3.N. Statements
Identifying Materials The manuscript should be written according to ethical standards that include patients’ informed consent for publication, if needed. Identifying information (patients´ names, initials, hospital numbers, etc.) should not be published unless it is essential for scientific purposes and the patient gives informed consent for publication. Informed consent implies that the patient (or his/her representative) has been able to see and read the article, and review all the photographs and illustrations in which he/she is included before publication.
When informed consent has been obtained it should be included in the published article.
See the Form: Informed Consent Certificate for the Publication of Identifying Materials.

3.Ñ. Ethical Treatment
When reporting experiments on human subjects, authors should indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards on human experimentation, consistent with the Declaration of Helsinki and the appropriate institution or relevant national body. When reporting experiments on animals, authors should indicate whether the institutional and national guide for the care and use of laboratory animals was followed.
See the Form: Statement of ethical treatment of human subjects and animals.

3.O. Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure
Declare whether there are or there are not any conflicts of interest according to International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (“Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publications” www.icmje.org).
See the Form: Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure.

3.P. Acknowledgements
Include here acknowledgements of all those persons or institutions that have collaborated in preparing this Article. Separate them with a full stop/period and a space.

STAGE 4. NATIVE LANGUAGE
If your native language is other than English, you must also submit your article in that language. Follow each step as you have done when you submitted your article in English in Stage 3.

Anti-plagiarism policy
The authors of the manuscripts are entirely responsible for the content of their collaborations, as well as for guaranteeing that such collaborations are original and unpublished. As a policy to prevent plagiarism, SIIC reserves the right to revise all the manuscripts submitted for publication with the use of Urkund (specialized antiplagiarism software) and the habitual criteria to detect such practices. In the event that a case of plagiarism is detected, the manuscript will be rejected for publication.

Copyright and Notification of Acceptance

A) When an article is submitted, the author will be required to send a Certificate of Authorship and Copyright Assignmentform for the publication in www.siicsalud.com . Please complete the form and send it online from SSEA. Please print and sign. Then scan and send by email to expertos.siic@siicsalud.com

The author may use his/her manuscript for other publications only if:
● The author asks SIIC for written permission and informs the title of the journal where he/she wishes to submit the new article.
● SIIC is acknowledged as the original source with the complete bibliographic reference.
● It is meant to be published three months after the original publication by SIIC.

SIIC will inform you in advance of the publication date for the article. You will receive a password to allow you to access your article freely during a week.


B) Those authors who publish in Salud(i)Ciencia accept the following conditions:
● They retain copyright and transfer to SIIC the right to the first publication, by registering the texts under the license of Creative Commons / Atribución-No Comercial-Sin Derivadas 4.0 Internacional (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which allows third parties to use published material provided they mention authorship of the paper and its first publication in this journal.
● They allow their article and all the materials included in it to be reproduced, published, translated, communicated and transmitted publicly in any form or medium, and also to be distributed to the public in the number of copies requested. They also authorize pubic communication (in each of its modalities) of the materials, including making them available to the public via electronic media or any other technology, for exclusively scientific or cultural purposes for no commercial gain.
● The author(s) may enter into additional independent contractual agreements for the non-exclusive distribution of the version of the article published in this journal (e.g., incorporating it in an institutional archive or personal web page, or publishing it in a book) provided it is for no commercial gain, and it contains a clear indication that the paper was first published in the journal Salud(i)Ciencia, [adding the corresponding bibliographic reference: Author(s). (year). Title of the article. Salud(i)Ciencia, volume, (number), pp., month, year, doi: xxxx ].

The Certificate of Authorship and Copyright Assignment form is valid for the first publication in Salud(i)Ciencia. The manuscript then undergoes the editorial process.SIIC will inform you in advance of the publication date for the article.

Those manuscripts that do not comply with these instructions will be returned to the author for revision. Once the editorial process is finished and the article is scheduled for publication, the author will receive a Notification of Acceptance.

These Guidelines comply with Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publications as stated by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (www.icmje.org).

If you wish to ask for help or you have any questions, please, write to Messages to SIIC or phone SIIC on 0054-11-4702-1011.
SOCIEDAD IBEROAMERICANA DE INFORMACIÓN CIENTÍFICA (SIIC)

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