Guide for Authors

Tutorial Videos 

 Author Guide Video

 Reviewer Guide Video

 Editor Guide Video 

Welcome to the Human Andrology Journal (HAJ). All submissions should be through the online editorial management system https://ha.journals.ekb.eg/. Submission cannot be accepted via email or as a hard copy.

A video tutorial for the online submission system can be found at http://www.iknito.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/iKNiTO-JS-Author-SD.mp4

HAJ provides the following benefits to authors
Multidisciplinary: HAJ covers articles relevant to male infertility and sexuality and the related female aspects, including assisted reproduction, basic science, psychiatric and endocrinological aspects.

Your Paper Your Way (authors are not required to submit articles in a specific format until acceptance)

Publishing per article (allows your article to appear online promptly after acceptance, without having to wait in queue for months for a particular issue/volume)

Fast Track(an option for authors of articles that are extremely timely, of utmost importance, to find their way to evaluation and possibly publication within 21 days)

Short article turn-around time (the journal strives to provide authors with a decision within 30 days of submission). 

Blinded reviewing

Open Access for a publication fee (increasing exposure and citations)

50% reduction in open-access fee for the first year 2017/2018,

Medical illustration upon request.

Article Types are expanded to include mini-reviews (commentary), educational materials for physicians and patients, illustrated surgical techniques and video surgery. 
Your Paper Your Way:

Upon the initial submission phase, you may choose to submit your manuscript as a single Word file in the format you choose, but should exclude their names and institutions, and provide a title page separately (refer to Manuscript Preparation for the title page contents). Only when your paper is accepted for publishing when will you be requested to put your paper into the 'correct format as per the instructions for authors. However, we highly recommend that you adhere to the format in the instructions for authors from the very start. 

Publishing per-Article

Manuscripts submitted to HAJ will receive a timely review and the journal strives to provide authors with a decision within 30 days of submission as long as all reviews have been received. Our Publishing per-Article policy allows your article to appear online promptly after acceptance, without having to wait in queue for months to be published in a particular issue/volume (except where noted otherwise) provided all production materials have been delivered to the Editorial Office, the article has been formatted as per instructions for authors and that the reply to proofreader queries have been received. 

Fast Track

The fast track provides an option for authors of articles that are extremely timely or of utmost importance, to find their way to evaluation and possibly publication within a maximum of 21 days provided the authors meet the requirements for publication. A prerequisite is that the Editor deems warrant rapid publication. Two expert consultants will review these manuscripts within 48 hours and the authors will receive notification of the status within 72 hours.

Article Types

Please refer to the section on Open Access and Publication Fees for the fee for each article type, noting that HAJ provides a 100% reduction in fees.

  • AUTHOR REPLY (TO EDITORIAL COMMENT) is solicited by the Editor or in reply to a letter to the editor related to author’s work. Word count: a maximum of 300 words excluding references, a maximum of 5 references.
  • CASE REPORTS: A brief description of a case or a complication with its management, or a surgical technique and its results 

Sections:

  • Abstract: a maximum of 300 words, organized into the following: introduction, aim, methods, results, and conclusion.
  • Text: a maximum of 1000 words excluding references and legends, a maximum of 5 figures, and 2 tables, organized into the following: introduction, aim, methods, results, discussion, conclusion, references (a maximum of 15), and legends.
  • COMMENTARY: is a mini-review article that highlights the importance of a particular topic and provides recently published supporting data. Word count: a maximum of 1000 words excluding references, a maximum of 15 references, 2 figures, and 2 tables.
  • EDITORIAL COMMENTS: are solicited by the Editor and should not be submitted without prior invitation.
  • EDUCATION: covers topics on the instruction of physicians and or patients, as well as an illustration of management steps, in the format of “How I Do It” for established management techniques. We accept original illustrations provided by the author/s and provide the services of our medical illustration team if required (for a fee). Videos are welcome as supplementary material. Word count: a maximum of 3000 words excluding references, a maximum of 15 references, 10 figures, and 5 tables. All figures, tables, and videos must be original and not published elsewhere and must be the property of the author(s).
  • GRAND ROUNDS: aimed for trainees/residents, supervised by a senior person from the institution, this article type will incorporate the format of Grand Rounds at most hospitals where an interesting case is presented, with details of the medical history physical findings and investigations, followed by a discussion of management. Medical students, residents, fellows and junior faculty are particularly encouraged to prepare submissions to this article type. A photo of the contributing student/resident will be published along with the article. Word count: a maximum of 3000 words excluding references, a maximum of 15 references, 10 figures and 5 tables. All figures, tables, and videos must be Work must be original and not published elsewhere, and must be the property of the author(s).
  • LETTER TO THE EDITOR: a brief communication as regards an article published in HAJ or comments on timely topics in letter form that should be supported by relevant references. Authors of the cited article will have the opportunity to read and reply to the letter. All LETTERS TO THE EDITOR must be submitted within one month of the publishing date of the cited article. Letters, if accepted, will be published as space permits and pending approval of the editor. Word count: a maximum of 300 words excluding references, a maximum of 5 references.
  • LETTER-FROM-THE-EDITOR: Periodic messages from the Editor.
  • ORIGINAL ARTICLES: reports on clinical and surgical studies. 

Sections:

  • Abstract: a maximum of 300 words, organized into the following: introduction, aim, methods, results, and conclusion.
  • Text: a maximum of 3000 words excluding references and legends, a maximum of 8 figures, 6 tables, and 30 references, organized into the following: introduction, aim, methods, results, discussion, conclusion, references, and legends. Videos are welcome as supplementary material.
  • POINT- COUNTERPOINT: This is solicited by the Editor and will present opposite points of view on current topics in all aspects of genital surgery related to diagnosis, treatment, and management. Word count for each side of the topic in the argument: a maximum of 1000 words excluding references, a maximum of 2 figures, 2 tables, and 10 references.
  • REVIEW ARTICLES: This is a comprehensive article that covers timely topics of clinical relevance and must be well-referenced, serving as a source for current information on a clinically useful subject. 

Sections:

  • Abstract: a maximum of 300 words
  • Text: a maximum of 4000 words excluding references and legends, a maximum of 5 figures, 10 tables, and 50 references.
  • VIDEO ARTICLES: publishes videos demonstrating cutting-edge novel techniques and their results, as well as clinical cases and diagnostic procedures. A Video Article contains all of the elements outlined in a structured abstract and full written manuscript but is presented in video form with narration in the English language. They should include original data or provide a review of a subject. The video should NOT be a series of slides. Videos are peer-reviewed for relevance, overall didactic value, and general production quality. Work must be original and not published elsewhere, and all portions of the video clips must be the property of the author(s). An abstract is required: a maximum of 300 words, organized into the following: introduction, aim, methods, results, and conclusion. The video narration should cover the following items: introduction, aim, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion. 

Ethical Approval / Patient Consents

Ethical approval of an Institutional Review Board and a statement of acquisition of written informed patient consent are required for submission and should be highlighted in the manuscript.

Videos and photos containing patients or volunteers require informed consent, which should be stated in the manuscript as the author/s responsibility. Written consents must be retained by the author and copies of the consents or evidence that such consents have been obtained must be provided to the publisher on request. The personal details of any patient included in any part of the article must be removed before submission. 

Formatting your Manuscript:

On initial submission, the author/s are not an obligation to follow the exact formatting criteria of HAJ. Nevertheless, the submission must contain the necessary elements for review, namely structured a title page with author/s information and affiliation and declaration of ethical approval, abstract and text excluding author/s names and affiliations, the tables, figures, and video if any, in a Word file. However, the author/s are encouraged to adhere to these instructions from the start of the process. 

Once the article is accepted for publication, the author/s are required to provide the manuscript as per the exact instructions for authors. 

Manuscript Preparation as per HAJ guidelines

  • The Title page (word file): must contain the state of all possible conflicts of interest, including financial and other relationships on a separate line in the Acknowledgements section of the paper. If you are sure that there is no conflict of interest, please state so.
    • Title
    • Short title (a maximum of 50 words)
    • Complete list of authors (first name, middle initial, last name), affiliations (in footnotes on the title page using superscript numbers, not symbols (e.g., John Doe1)),the corresponding author (first name, middle initial, last name) with his/her contact information including address, email and phone number
    • The word counts for the Abstract and for the manuscript text (do not include references or figure legends)
    • A list of 4-6 keywords, separated by commas
    •  The following statements:
      • “Ethical approval of the institutional review board and patient consents have been obtained”
      • “The author/s confirm that they will provide the fee for open access article publication as listed in the instructions authors”
      • “All pictures, diagrams, and videos (if any) are original and owned solely by the author/s. Otherwise, it is the author/s responsibility to obtain approval from, and provide necessary references to the copyright owner/s”
      • Financial support: identify all sources, public and private. Provide the agency name and city, company name and city, fellowship name, and grant number
  • Abstract file (word file): please refer to the Article Types for word count and subtitles
  • Manuscript text file (word file): please refer to the Article Types for word count and subtitles.
    • The authors should exclude references to author names and institutions and exclude tables and figures.
    • Legends should list the figures then the tables then further supplementary material in the order they are referred to in the text. Example: Figure 1:…., Figure 2: ……, Table 1:….., Table 2:….., Video 1:…..
    • Figures (if any): each figure should be submitted separately as a picture file, not embedded in a Word file. Captions should not be included in the figure but rather in the manuscript text under “Legends”. The editorial office reserves the right to reject images that are of inadequate resolution.
    • Tables (if any): each table should be submitted in its individual Word file, as editable text and not as an image. Please do not submit all tables in a single file. Captions should not be included in the table file but rather in the manuscript text under “Legends”.
    • Video Files (if any): should be submitted as a single mp4 file of adequate quality, no more than 300MB in size.
    • For randomized trials, the following must be clearly specified:
  1. Method of randomization
  2. CONSORT flow diagram
  3. A sentence in the Methods section that states what the primary and secondary endpoints are
  4. A power calculation justifying the sample size for the primary endpoint
  • For revised submissions: the following files are required
  • Reply to reviewer comments (as a supplementary file)
  • The revised files with the changes are highlighted in yellow or with the “Track Changes” feature in Microsoft Word.
  • The revised files are without the highlights. 

Abbreviations

Restrict abbreviations to those that are widely used and understood. An abbreviation should appear first in parentheses immediately after the term or phrase to which it refers. Abbreviations may only be used if the term appears five or more times in the text. Abbreviations are not used in abstracts. 

Drug/Manufacturer Names

Use generic names only in the text body. Include the trade name of a particular drug and the manufacturer’s name and location, cited in parentheses, after the first use of the generic name. In the case of equipment, including the manufacturer’s name, city, state, and/or country. 

Reference Formatting

There are no strict requirements on reference formatting at the initial submission as long as the style is consistent.

Upon acceptance, the authors are required to format the references as follows:

References should follow text and begin on a separate page. They must be numbered consecutively in the order of appearance in the text. References should be designated by superscript numbers following all punctuation (except semicolons and colons).

List only references that you have read and that are pertinent to the manuscript.

Cite only published studies as references. You may acknowledge “unpublished data” or “submitted” articles within parentheses in the text. Reference to a “personal communication” within parentheses in the text must be accompanied by a signed permission letter from the individual being cited.

Oral or poster presentations are similarly unpublished and may be cited only in parentheses in the text. Platform and poster presentations at annual meetings are customarily indicated: (Smith AB, presented at the AAO Annual Meeting, Atlanta, 1995).

Books or articles “in the press” may be cited as numbered references. Such citations should be updated before publication, if possible.

Journal abbreviations should be those used by the National Library of Medicine, as found in Index Medicus. If in doubt as to the correct abbreviation, cite the complete journal name. Do not underline journal titles, and do not use periods in abbreviations of journal titles or in author initials.

Please follow precisely the format and punctuation shown in the following examples:

Journal Article:

If there are fewer than 8 authors please supply all of their names. If there are 8 or more authors, please supply the first 3 authors’ names then et al.

Example: Meyer DR, Bui HX, Carlson JA, et al. Silicon granulomas and dermatomyositis-like changes associated with chronic eyelid edema after silicone breast implant. Ophthal Plast Reconstr Surg 1998;14:182– 8.

Chapter in a Book:

Kaltreider SA, Sherman DD, McGetrick JJ. Eyelid trauma. In: Dortzbach RK, ed. Ophthalmic plastic surgery: prevention and management of complications. New York: Raven Press, 1994:157–74.

Book:

Miller NR. Walsh and Hoyt’s clinical neuro-ophthalmology. 4th ed. Vol. 4. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins; 1991; 2102–14.

Letter to the Editor:

Sneed SR, Blodi CF, Berger BB, et al. Pneumocystis carinii choroiditis in patients receiving inhaled pentamidine [letter]. N Engl J Med 1990;322:936 –7. 

Online Journal Article:

LaPorte RE, Marler E, Akazawa S, Sauer F. The death of biomedical journals. JAMA [serial online]. 1996;310:1387–90. Available at http://www.jama.com/jama/archive/6991ed2.htm. Accessed June 16, 1997.

Web Site:

Health Care Financing Administration. 1996 statistics at a glance. Available at: http://www.hcfa.gov/stats/stathili.htm. Accessed December 2, 1997

For figures, photos, videos, and otherwise that are not copyrighted by the authors, the authors must submit written permission upon manuscript acceptance from the publisher/copyright owner of the original source when the material is reproduced from other sources. This permission must include reproduction in both print and electronic formats for worldwide distribution.

Article Processing Charge:

The journal is published in both print and online versions and all articles published in the journal are fully open-access and freely available online, immediately upon publication. Publication Fee is free of charge.

Copyright Policy:

The journal allows the author(s) to hold the copyright, and to retain publishing rights without any restrictions.