Author Instructions

PART I: Manuscript Preparation and Formatting

This section provides detailed instructions on how manuscripts should be prepared prior to submission to the Nigerian Journal of Orthopaedics and Trauma (NJOT)

All manuscripts must be submitted in MS Word® format using Aptos Light (preferably) or Times New Roman font, size 10, and single-spacing. Headings must be in Bold. All the named authors must have approved the final manuscript. Pages should be numbered consecutively in the midline at the bottom of the page. The following contributions are accepted:

  • Original research
  • Letters to the Editor (Up to 1000 words)
  • Case reports/series
  • Review articles

Format Title Page

All articles must have a title page with the following information and in the following particular order:

Title of the Article

The title of the article should be clear and descriptive. Capitalize the first letter of each major word. Do not use all caps. For example:

Management of Gustilo and Anderson Type I and II Open Tibial Fracture Using Delayed Primary Nailing: An Assessment of Clinical and Radiological Outcome

Authors’ Details

Present the names of the authors in a single line, separated by commas, in the order of their contributions. Include the full first name, middle name (or initial if preferred), and last name for each author, and the affiliation of each author.

Directly below the authors’ names, provide their corresponding affiliations. Use superscript numbers before each author’s name to link them with their respective affiliations. If multiple authors share the same affiliation, assign the same number to all of them. For example:

1K. Salisu, 1F. O. Awonusi, 2N. Isa

¹Department of Surgery, Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, Kaduna, Nigeria.

²Department of Orthopaedic and Trauma, National Orthopaedic Hospital, Dala Kano, Nigeria.

Corresponding Author

The name, postal address, e-mail address, and telephone number of the corresponding author.

Running Title

This should be limited to fifty characters excluding spaces. The first letter of each word should be capitalized. Please do not use all caps.

Abstract

All articles must include an abstract. For Original Research articles, the abstract should be structured and consist of four clearly labeled paragraphs: Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. The length of the abstract should be between 200 and 250 words.

It should briefly describe the problem or issue being addressed in the study, how the study was performed, the major results, and what the authors conclude from these results.

The abstracts for other types of articles should also not be longer than 250 words and need not follow the structured abstract format.

Keywords

All articles should include keywords. Up to five words or short phrases should be used. Use terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) of Index Medicus when available and appropriate. You can use the MeSH on Demand Tool (https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/MeSHonDemand ) to identify MeSH keywords relevant to your manuscript. Submit your abstract in the search box provided on the webpage to find appropriate keywords. Keywords are used to index the article and may be published with the abstract.

Body of the Text

Please avoid using all caps in any part of the text. Section headers should be bold and have the same font size as the rest of the body. Do not use italics or underlining in any section of the text. Avoid headers and footers.

Acknowledgements

In a separate section, acknowledge any financial support received or possible conflict of interest. This section may also be used to acknowledge substantial contributions to the research or preparation of the manuscript made by persons other than the authors.

References

References should be cited in numerical order within the text using the Vancouver superscript format. In the References section, ensure that references are numbered consecutively following the order in which they appear in the text, not alphabetically.

The formatting of references must adhere to the guidelines outlined in the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals, as prepared by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. We recommend using a reference manager such as Zotero or Mendeley to format your references; if doing so, please select the Vancouver Superscript style.

The responsibility for the accuracy of all references lies with the authors. Personal communications and unpublished data should not be cited in the references. If it is essential to include such information, it should be integrated directly into the text at the relevant point.

Tables

Tables must be self-explanatory and supplementary to the main text. Each table should be clearly organized and structured so that a reader can understand the data presented without relying on lengthy explanations in the text.

Authors should not write the Results section as a table-by-table description. Prose that merely repeats or walks the reader through the contents of each table (for example, “Table 1 shows… Table 2 shows…”) is not acceptable. Such an approach interrupts the flow of the manuscript and fragments the presentation of results.

The Results section should be written as a coherent narrative, which may be organized using appropriate subheadings, but should not be structured around individual tables. Within this narrative, tables should be referenced only where necessary, and in a manner that is integrated into the sentence structure (for example, “…as shown in Table 2”), rather than serving as the focus of the prose. The text should synthesize and interpret the findings, highlighting key results, patterns, or comparisons, while the tables provide the detailed supporting data.

Tables are therefore intended to support and clarify the narrative, not to replace it or dictate its structure. Authors are expected to ensure that the Results section remains coherent and readable even when tables are consulted separately.

Each table must include a clear and descriptive title placed above it and must be numbered using Arabic numerals (1, 2, etc.) in the order of their appearance in the text. Tables must be inserted at appropriate points within the manuscript and must not be placed at the end of the document.

Column headings should be left-justified above the columns. Explanatory notes should be included in footnotes rather than in the headings. Footnotes should also be used to explain all non-standard abbreviations. Use the following symbols in sequence for footnotes: *, †, ‡, §, ||, ¶, #.

Manuscripts that do not adhere to these table presentation requirements will be returned to authors for revision prior to further editorial consideration.

Figures

All figures must be inserted in the appropriate position of the electronic document. Symbols, lettering, and numbering (in Arabic numerals e.g. 1, 2, etc. in order of appearance in the text) should be placed below the figure, clear and large enough to remain legible after the figure has been reduced. Figures must have clear descriptive titles.

Photographs and Images

If photographs of patients are used in the manuscript, ensure that the subjects are not identifiable. Alternatively, if subjects are identifiable, their photographs may be used only with written permission from the subjects themselves. This permission must be enclosed with the submission. The position of photographs and images should be clearly indicated in the text. Electronic images should be saved as either JPEG or PNG files. All photographs should be scanned at a high resolution (300 dpi, print optimised). Provision is made to upload individual images on the website as supplementary files. Please number the images appropriately.

Permission

Permission should be obtained from the author and publisher for the use of quotes, illustrations, tables, and other materials taken from previously published works, which are not in the public domain. The author is responsible for the payment of any copyright fee(s) if these have not been waived. The letters of permission should accompany the manuscript. The original source(s) should be mentioned in the figure legend or as a footnote to a table.

Ethical Considerations

Papers based on original research must adhere to the Declaration of Helsinki on Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects and must explicitly state the name of the recognised ethics committee that granted approval, together with the approval reference or protocol number; manuscripts that do not provide this information will not be considered for publication.

Conflict of Interest

Authors must declare all financial contributions to their work or other forms of conflict of interest which may prevent them from executing and publishing unbiased research.

Conflict of interest exists when an author (or the author’s institution) has financial or personal relationships with other persons or organizations that may inappropriately influence (bias) his or her opinions or actions.

The following declaration may be used if appropriate:
“I declare that I have no financial or personal relationship(s) which may have inappropriately influenced me in writing this paper.”

Author Contributions

To enhance transparency and accountability in the contributions to scholarly articles, the Nigerian Journal of Orthopaedics and Trauma (NJOT) adopts the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) (https://credit.niso.org/) . This taxonomy provides a standardized way to credit authorship by specifying the role each author played in the creation of the manuscript. Each author is required to specify their individual contributions based on the following roles:

Conceptualization: Initiating and planning the goals and objectives of the research.

Data Curation: Managing the data (e.g., acquisition, validation) to ensure its accessibility and preservation.

Formal Analysis: Applying statistical, computational, or mathematical techniques to analyze study data.

Funding Acquisition: Obtaining financial support for project execution.

Investigation: Conducting the primary empirical research.

Methodology: Developing the methods and procedures used in the research.

Project Administration: Managing the project’s administrative activities including oversight and coordination.

Resources: Providing the essential materials, reagents, or equipment for the research.

Software: Designing, programming, or customizing software used in the research.

Supervision: Providing guidance on the research plan and execution; mentoring team members.

Validation: Verifying other components of the research, such as methods and results.

Visualization: Generating data displays that aid in the interpretation of the data.

Writing – Original Draft: Writing the initial draft of the manuscript, including the main text.

Writing – Review & Editing: Reviewing and making significant revisions to the content of the manuscript.

Authors should identify their contributions at the end of the manuscript. We encourage authors to agree on the roles prior to submitting the manuscript and to ensure that all contributors are properly credited for their roles. Misrepresentation of contributions may lead to corrections, retractions, or other editorial actions.

Review Process

Manuscripts are initially examined by the editorial staff and are usually sent to independent reviewers who are not informed of the identity of the author(s). When publication in its original form is not recommended, the reviewers’ comments (without the identity of the reviewer being disclosed) may be passed to the first author and may include suggested revisions. Manuscripts not approved for publication will not be returned. Please see Policy Statements of the Journal  for further description of the journal’s peer review process.

PART 2: Submissions Review and Publication Process

This section outlines the submission procedure, publication policies, and post-acceptance requirements.

Recommended Reporting Guidelines

To enhance the quality and transparency of research published in the Nigerian Journal of Orthopaedics and Trauma (NJOT), we encourage authors to adhere to internationally recognized reporting guidelines appropriate to their study design. Utilizing these guidelines not only facilitates a comprehensive and systematic presentation of research but also aids in peer review and critical appraisal by readers.

For Observational Studies: STROBE guidelines.
For Randomized Controlled Trials: CONSORT statement.
For Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: PRISMA guidelines.
For Diagnostic Accuracy Studies: STARD checklist.
For Case Reports: CARE guidelines.
For Qualitative Research: COREQ guidelines.
Fir Machine Learning: TRIPOD-AI guidelines

Authors are encouraged to visit the EQUATOR Network (https://www.equator-network.org) for comprehensive resources.

Supplementary Files Submission Guidelines

Purpose

The Nigerian Journal of Orthopaedics and Trauma (NJOT) allows authors to submit supplementary files along with their manuscripts to enhance the reader’s understanding of the research and to provide additional support for the findings presented in the main article.

Guidelines

Types of Supplementary Files may include data sheets, presentations, images, tables, audio and video files.

Formatting Requirements:
Files must be clearly labelled, final, and accompanied by captions included in the main manuscript.

Submission Process:
Supplementary files should be uploaded with the manuscript and clearly referenced in the text.

Review and Accessibility:
All supplementary files are subject to peer review and must adhere to scientific and accessibility standards.

Ethical Considerations:
Sensitive data must comply with privacy regulations and copyright permissions must be obtained where required.

Data Availability Statement

The Nigerian Journal of Orthopaedics and Trauma (NJOT) is firmly committed to transparency, reproducibility, and open science. As a general principle, authors are required to make the data underlying their findings publicly accessible at the time of manuscript submission or, at the latest, upon acceptance for publication.

All manuscripts reporting original research must include a Data Availability Statement that clearly describes how and where the supporting data can be accessed.

Open Data (Default Requirement)

Authors are expected to deposit their data in a recognized public repository and provide a persistent link (preferably a DOI) in the manuscript.

Authors are encouraged to use free and open repositories such as Zenodo (https://zenodo.org/)  or the Open Science Framework (OSF) (https://osf.io) ; however, authors may use any reputable repository that ensures long-term accessibility, preservation, and appropriate citation of the data.

Example:

“The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in [name of repository] at http://doi.org/[doi].”

Restricted or Controlled Access (Exceptional Circumstances Only)

Restrictions on data access will be considered only in rare and well-justified circumstances, such as legal, ethical, or privacy constraints involving human participants.

In such cases:

  • Authors must clearly justify why the data cannot be made publicly available.
  • The Data Availability Statement must describe the conditions under which the data may be accessed, including who may request access and how.

Example:

“The data that support the findings of this study are available on reasonable request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to [clearly stated reason].”

Editorial Assessment and Enforcement

The adequacy of data availability and justification for any restrictions will be assessed by the editors as part of the editorial decision-making process.
Manuscripts for which data access is not provided and for which the justification for restriction is deemed insufficient may be rejected, irrespective of the scientific merit of the work.

Policy Regarding Preprint

Preprints are defined as the author’s version of a research manuscript before formal peer review at a journal and are deposited on a public server. The Nigerian Journal of Orthopaedics and Trauma (NJOT) supports the posting of preprints.

Preprints may be cited with a DOI or archive URL and must be clearly identified as such.

ORCID ID Requirement

The corresponding author is required to provide an ORCID iD at submission. Upon acceptance, all authors must provide their ORCID iDs. Authors may register free of charge at https://orcid.org/register.

Submission Guideline

Please visit the Step-by-Step Guide for Authors on the NJOT website for detailed instructions.

All submissions should be made via the NJOT submission platform.

Submission Checklist

Before submitting your manuscript, please ensure the following components are included:

  1. Full manuscript
  2. Title page
  3. Manuscript excluding the title page
  4. Keywords
  5. Running title
  6. Conflict-of-interest statement
  7. Names, email addresses, and affiliations of three potential reviewers
  8. Data availability statement
  9. Author contributions
  10. Corresponding author’s ORCID iD

Modified from: Davidoff F, et al. Sponsorship, Authorship, and Accountability. (Editorial) JAMA.