AUTHOR GUIDELINES

 

Instruction for papers submission

Thank you for deciding to contribute an article to Il Medico Omeopata.

Please read the instructions carefully and follow all the instructions provided for writing and submitting your work.

Failure to do so may result in delays or problems in managing your article.

Topics and types of papers suitable for publication
  • Clinical Case reports (*): detailed description of a clinical case of particular interest for Homeopathic Medicine.
  • Clinical Care series (*): detailed description of two or more clinical cases, sharing the same pathology or the same treatment (Homeopathic Remedy).
  • Randomized Clinical Trials (RCT) and Cohort Studies
  • Doctrinal and/or methodological articles
  • Homeopathic Proving: brief description of an original proving or work on the methodology of homeopathic proving; it is recommended to include the study design and refer to the statistical analysis used.
  • Basic research in Homeopathy: studies in physics, chemistry, or biology concerning the characteristics, action, or efficacy of one or more Homeopathic Remedies.
  • Short papers: synthetic clinical cases, methodological reflections; short papers are recommended for the submission of important preliminary observations or data that do not warrant publication as a full article
  • Review papers, which include meta-analysis and systematic reviews
  • Biographies, interviews or obituaries: biographical articles about named individuals, living or deceased, who have given a special contribution to Homeopathic Medicine
  • Historical articles
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Book reviews (normally by invitation)

(*) Kindly refer to the detailed guidelines on “clinical case details”

Clinical case details

The clinical case report must include demographic information about the patient, medical history, description of symptoms, diagnostic tests and results, treatment plan, outcomes, and follow-up information. Maintaining patient anonymity and obtaining informed consent are crucial ethical considerations in reporting clinical cases to protect patient privacy and confidentiality (see dedicated sections).

The case series report must include a clear description of the characteristics and outcomes among a group of individuals, the inclusion criteria, and the observation period. Data can be collected retrospectively or prospectively, without randomization.

Although not considered among the strongest sources of evidence, clinical cases and case series are particularly important for both conventional medicine and homeopathic medicine, as they provide descriptive information and contribute to the body of knowledge on well-known and lesser-known remedies. To ensure the objectivity of the study, when presenting results, discussing findings, and drawing conclusions, it is recommended that authors follow, as closely as possible, the MONARCH guidelines (MOdified NARanjo Criteria for Homeopathy—Causal Attribution Inventory), concerning the criteria for evaluating the causal relationship between homeopathic therapy and the observed clinical outcome.

Size and features of papers

Topics and types of articles eligible for publication in the journal, along with their respective characteristics (suggested word and character count, including spaces for each type), are listed in the following table.

On submission, Authors should indicate in which category their contribution is to be considered. If Authors are uncertain of the category to which their paper is best suited, they should make this clear in accompanying notes. The editors will decide where a given article, if accepted for publication, is designated.

General Guidelines
  1. Accepted languages: the paper must be written in correct Italian or English, with consistent use of grammar and spelling. Papers with insufficient language quality will be returned to the author for language revision before resubmission.
  2. Authors: Clearly indicate the name of each author and their respective affiliation addresses, marking them with a lowercase superscript letter immediately after the corresponding name. Provide the complete postal address for each affiliation, including the country name and the email address of each author.
  3. The abstract must briefly outline the content of the article and the main conclusions reached. The abstract should follow the IMRAD structure, using the following sections: Introduction/Background; Materials and Methods; Results; Discussion/Conclusions.
  4. For papers submitted in Italian, it is mandatory to provide the English version of the abstract and keywords. Non-Italian authors may request that the editorial team translate the title, keywords, and abstract into Italian at no additional cost.
  5. Full text must be submitted in a single-column file in Microsoft Word, Pages, or similar compatible formats; Times New Roman, Arial, or similar fonts, 12 points, single spacing. The text should be written as correctly as possible (e.g., in terms of spacing, use of capital letters, etc.) to minimize the need for corrections.
  6. Figures and tables must be submitted as separate files, numbered in progressive and sequential order, and saved in jpg or pdf format with an unambiguous name; they must not be embedded within the main text file, where they should be explicitly referenced. For figures or tables taken from another publication (used with permission), add a bibliographic citation of the original publication or another credit acknowledgment provided by the copyright holder at the end of each caption.
  7. Figure and table captions must be submitted in a separate file, with clear and unambiguous references to the respective figures/tables and including a legend for any abbreviations.
  8. It is mandatory to provide a legend for all abbreviations used, or alternatively, explain each abbreviation the first time it appears in the text; unnecessary abbreviations should be minimized wherever possible.
  9. The use of commercial names for drugs or other medical devices is prohibited.
  10. The names of homeopathic medicines must appear in italics, following the conventional binomial and abbreviated system (e.g., Nat-m.), and the potency must be clearly indicated with the specific dilution scale (CH, K, LM or Q, DH, etc.).
  11. Units of measurement from the International System (SI) must be used. For clarity, if necessary, the corresponding non-SI unit may also be included in parentheses.
  12. Footnotes must be numbered consecutively throughout the article and used sparingly. Do not include footnotes in the reference list.
  13. References: Bibliographic entries should only refer to statements cited in the text, indicated by an Arabic numeral in superscript at the end of the sentence and listed at the end of the text in the order of appearance (NOT alphabetical). Self-citations should be avoided whenever possible. Bibliographic citations must follow these guidelines:

    – Authors’ initials without a period, placed after the surname.
    – Title of the book, volume, or article in regular (non-italic) font.
    – Capitalize only the first word of the title and proper nouns.
    – Page numbers.
    – Publisher, in the case of references to book chapters or entire books.

  14. It is mandatory to explicitly indicate, immediately before the bibliography under the Acknowledgments section, the source of any financial support or other sponsorship received, statements of ethical approval, and a list of individuals who provided assistance during the research (translation, proofreading, etc.). For the definitions of ‘author’ and ‘contributor’ see the dedicated section.

    Please note: manuscripts submitted in a format different from the one specified will not be accepted.

Paper submission

All manuscripts should be submitted by sending them by e-mail to the Managing Editor:

Manuscripts will not be accepted on support such as paper, CD or other.

Publication fee: there is no charge for submitting your manuscript to Il Medico Omeopata; nor is there a charge for the publication of an accepted article.

Non-Italian Authors are welcome to request that the Italian translation of title, key words and abstract are made editorially at no extra cost.

Evaluating process, preliminary review and Peer Review process

All contributions sent to Il Medico Omeopata will be initially assessed by one or more members of the Editorial Board for suitability for the journal.

papers that do not meet editorial requirements, that lack originality or fail to provide sufficient ethical approval (where required), will be rejected

papers deemed potentially suitable but that present some critical issues, will be referred back to the Author/s for revision, with indication of the points to be reviewed and request for correction; the corrected paper (with the requested changes highlighted) must be sent back according to the methods and within the terms indicated

papers that do not comply with the preliminary revision requests will be rejected and will not proceed further in the evaluation process

papers which pass the preliminary editorial review and deemed suitable, in the first instance or after the requested corrections, will be sent out for peer-review

each work belonging to the categories of scientific, clinical, historical, methodological or review articles will be examined by at least two independent external reviewers, except for short, historical or biographical articles which will be sent to only one reviewer

external reviewers are asked to consider whether the document is

– technically valid (scientific quality of the article)
– suitably presented
– innovative for clinical or research purposes
– relevant for clinical or research purposes
– interesting for in-depth study or teaching (including topics of social relevance)

reviewers are also invited to offer comments and suggestions to the Author/s and the Editor and may request the authors to submit again the revised paper for a second scrutiny before acceptance; authors are invited to respond as specific as possible and in detail to the comments of reviewers and editors

in case of contrast in the judgement by the Reviewers, the Editor in chief may ask for the intervention of an additional Reviewer

the review report will be sent to the editorial staff, who will carry out a final evaluation, draft the decision report and communicate by e-mail to the author the acceptance or rejection of the work.

Publication fees and access to the Journal contents

Currently, publication is free for all authors.

The print edition is reserved for F.I.A.M.O. full members and supporters, who receive it free of charge.

The online edition is currently free for everyone.

Join F.I.A.M.O.