Method and Written Report Guidelines
(based on instructions for authors, Canadian Family Physician journal, July 12, 2011)
Manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with the “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals” available at http://www.icmje.org
Abstracts should include the headings Introduction (problem being addressed and objective of program), Description, Evaluation and Conclusion and should not exceed 175 words. Up to 4 key words (MeSH headings) should be included.
Program Descriptions should be no more than 2500 words, excluding abstract, tables and references.
Introduction should state clearly the problem being addressed and why it is important to family physicians. Specific objectives of the program should be described and appropriate literature cited concisely.
Description should be described in sufficient detail for someone else to reproduce it. The original problem should be addressed by the program. A concise evaluation of the program should be described along with any data available.
Evaluation data are presented concisely. Choice of mode of program evaluation (e.g. logic model, etc) is justified and described.
Discussion should compare the program with others in that field and indicate why it is an improvement over existing programs.
Limitations should be described. Planned improvements should be presented. Conclusion should summarize the main components of the program, relate to the problem addressed, and be justified by the information presented.
References should be current and complete. Check references for accuracy, completeness, and proper format (according to the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals; http://www.icmje.org/). References should be numbered in the order they appear in the text and should be limited to works cited in the article. List all authors when there are 6 or fewer; when there are 7 or more, list the first 6, then et al.
Key Points For Clinical Review, Case Report, Program Description, and Research articles, include a short, point-form “key points” section including 1 to 4 points in 50 to 100 words. Key points should not duplicate the abstract or summarize the article; they should highlight what is new, different, unexpected or surprising in the article.
Tables and figures Attach tables and figures separately from the main manuscript. Tables and figures should clarify and supplement, but not duplicate, the text. Tables must be selfexplanatory and concise. Prepare each table or figure on a separate page. Give all tables titles and all figures and other illustrations captions. Ensure that all tables, figures, and illustrations are cited at appropriate places in the text. Prepare tables in Word; no spreadsheets, please. Use table structure, not spaces and tabs to format tables.
Images Attach any visual material as separate electronic files (do not paste them into the manuscript). These may include photographs, digital illustrations or extra photographs for use if space is available. Images should be sent in a JPG file format.
Authorship Resident(s) should include a description in their written report of what each contributed to their Resident Scholar Project. In addition, if several residents are involved in one Resident Scholar Project, residents should include a statement to describe the processes they underwent to decide the order of the authors on the Resident Scholar Project written report.
Acknowledgements All people (e.g. faculty, professionals, research assistants) who contributed to the work of the Resident Project who are not authors should be named in the Acknowledgements, and what they did should be described. All financial support of the Resident Project should also be described in the acknowledgements.
Guidelines for Authorship and Acknowledgements
Please follow the latest authorship definition provided by the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals listed below from the website: www.icmje.org as follows:
“All persons designated as authors should qualify for authorship, and all those who qualify should be listed. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content. One or more authors should take responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole, from inception to published article. Authorship credit should be based only on 1) substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; 2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and 3) final approval of the version to be published. Conditions 1, 2, and 3 must all be met. Acquisition of funding, the collection of data, or general supervision of the research group, by themselves, do not justify authorship.”
In addition, all residents and faculty should refer to the Department of Family Practice Authorship and Collaboration policy that was approved by the Post-Graduate Education Committee in 2003. This policy guides the order of authors for faculty and residents who work together on a Resident Scholar Project.