Submission
Before you start
The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries provides an electronic submission system for the authors, with the purpose of organizing, structuring and tracking all the necessary steps.
At first, authors should carefully read the Submission Guidelines, publicly available at
http://www.jidc.org/index.php/journal/about/submissions
which contains specific and academically detailed information on how to structure and present your research.
This document is entirely dedicated to practical site usage, which is of no less importance than your research itself, since properly publishing your work is as crucial as conducting it.
Carefully reading this document before starting your submission will save you time and will ensure you a faster to print processing.
Click Here to download a printable version of this guide (PDF, 274 kb).
Preparing your files
A typical submission consists of four files:
The manuscript
(MS Word .doc format) – This is the text of your research, subdivided in chapters and properly formatted in sections as outlined in the Author Guidelines above.
Pay particular attention to the References section. In the guidelines you will find detailed examples on how to format all types of citations.
Make sure you have used a 12 point standard font (Times, Helvetica, Serif); double-spaced text, and enabled line numberings.
You may want to use this file as a template to properly write your article.
You will submit this file on step 3.1.
The tables file (if any)
(MS Word .doc format) – Place all the tables you would like to provide in a separate file with one table per page. Use as little formatting possible, i.e. try to avoid overuse of colors and cross-hatching, symbols, or empty rows / columns.
It is important that your tables are created with clear row and column divisions. To do this, you must use the Table tool from the Insert menu of your word processing software. Do not create tables using the Tab (↔) key or any other format such as images, tabbed data in one big single cell, or text boxes. Doing so will cause your submission file to be rejected.
Submit this file on step 4.1.
The image files (if any)
(.tiff or .eps format) – All images and figures must be sent in separate .tiff or .eps files. They must never be included in MS Word or any other file.
You must provide high-resolution images of sufficient width and quality for both archival and print purposes. Images generated at low resolution for display (screen) purposes are not acceptable.
All images must be at or above intended display size, with the following pixel resolutions:
- Line Art: 800 dpi
- Combination (Line Art + Halftone): 600 dpi
- Halftone: 300 dpi.
See the PubMed Central Image quality specifications chart for detailed examples.
Image files also must be cropped as close to the actual image as possible.
What you must avoid are 72 dpi web-quality graphics in which colors are not realistic, text is illegible, or images are pixilated. These undesirable qualities are usually caused by applied compression from a jpg or gif format, and will cause your submission to be rejected.
Refer to your digital scanner / camera and imaging software manual to see how you can produce print quality images.
Submit each figure as separate files in step 4.1.
The cover letter (if any)
(MS Word .doc format) – If this is your first submission to JIDC, you are required to provide a cover letter, as stated in the Author Guidelines.
Submit this file in step 4.1.
Submitting your work
Step 1. Starting the Submission
1.1 Journal Section
Choose a suitable category for your article, among the available ones.
1.2 Submission Checklist
Be careful to read all the points in this list, and to have everything set up as stated before clicking for confirmation. Taking the time to follow these initial steps is in your best interests because non-compliant submissions will result in delays or rejection by the editors.
1.3 Copyright Notice
All authors submitting to the Journal of Infection in Developing Countries must agree to the Creative Commons Attribution License. This will allow us to publish your work as Open Access, with all the advantages implied.
1.4 Journal's Privacy Statement
This is to clear out the journal responsibility on the data you submit
1.5 Comments for the Editor
You can use this text box if it is necessary to provide further information to the Editor. Your comments will be visible in your submission Summary Page.
If pasting your comments from a MS Word document, you may want to use the “Paste from Word” button which will pop up a small text box where you can Ctrl-V your text, and all formatting will be preserved without unnecessary HTML tags.
Please do not use this field to paste your Cover Letter in. Article Cover letter must be a separated supplementary file, in MS Word .doc format, as indicated above.
Step 2. Entering the Submission's Metadata
This is a very important step, since this information will be used to index your research outside the JIDC website, i.e. in PubMed, CrossRef, Google Scholar, so it should be your first interest to make sure this information is the most accurate and clear as possible.
First, Middle and Last Names spelling, complete (not abbreviated) institution names and authors' email contacts are under your responsibility.
Do not forget to also double-check every change it may happen on the manuscript is also reported there throughout the submission review and editing process, should it happen you make changes in the abstract text or add/remove authors.
As a general rule, take care to properly Capitalize First Letters of people’s names’, affiliations and research Title. Avoid using ALL CAPS or all small letters for any field.
2.1 Authors
Even if not all the fields are marked as “required”, you should enter complete data for all the authors participating in the research, as they are listed in the main manuscript file.
Never include academic titles in name fields, eventually use the Bio Statement box for that.
Fields explanation:
First Name: Author’s complete first name, Capitalize First Letter Only. Never use initials.
Middle Name: Author’s middle name(s). Initial(s) can be used and are welcomed.
Last Name: Author’s complete Last (Family) Name, Capitalize First Letter Only
Affiliation: The institute or institution where author works and conducts his research. Do not add country name, there is a dedicated field for that.
Country: Select from the list the Country where the institution indicated in the Affiliation field is located.
Email: author’s institutional email.
URL (if any): the internet address for the Affiliation’s home page.
Bio Statement: Use this field to add information about your specialties, and areas of expertise. This should not be a complete CV.
Figure 1: Example of author's metadata
You can use the [Add Author] button to display additional form fields to add authors after the first one.
Names can also be reordered later, using the green arrows beside authors’ names.
2.2 Title and Abstract
Insert your research title and abstract as stated in the Author Guidelines.
Do not use ALL CAPS for the research title. Use capitals only for given names.
Please, do not repeat the word “Abstract” in the text box.
When pasting the abstract from a MS Word document, you are required to use the “Paste from Word” button which will pop up a small text box where you can Ctrl-V your text, and all formatting will be preserved without unnecessary HTML tags.
Figure 2: Using the "Paste from Word function"
Remember the Title must be under 125 characters (including spaces), and the abstract must not be over 250 words.
2.3 Indexing
Use semicolons, not commas to separate keywords.
2.4 Supporting Agencies
List any agencies that provided funding or support for your research.
Step 3. Uploading the Submission
3.1 Submission File
Select and upload your main manuscript file. Use the [Browse …] button to locate the file on your computer, then hit the [Upload] button to send it.
Wait for the page to reload itself. Clicking any other link or navigating away from this page will cancel the upload, and you will need to start again.
Step 4. Uploading Supplementary Files
4.1 The files
Following the same rules of the previous step, use this form to send your tables and images, one at a time. Your cover letter should also be uploaded here.
Step 5. Confirming the Submission
5.1 File Summary
You will be presented with a recap of all the files you have sent. Be sure you double-check everything before hitting the confirmation button.
Here’s a typical submission files list.
Figure 3: Example of submitted files list
5.2 You’re done
Check your email inbox for the confirmation message. If everything is in place, you’ll be able to follow your submission review and publishing process directly on the site.
