Step to Step Guides for Authors

Welcome to the Author Submission and Review Guide. This resource is designed to assist you throughout the submission, peer-review, revision, and proofreading stages of your manuscript, ensuring a smooth and efficient publishing process with the Nigerian Journal of Orthopaedics and Trauma (NJOT).

Adherence to the instructions outlined in this guide is mandatory. Manuscripts that do not comply with these requirements may be returned to authors without review or may experience delays in the editorial process.

Submission Process

Description of the Submission Process

Account Creation:
Begin by creating an account on our submission platform. Provide your contact information and details about your institutional affiliation.

Manuscript Submission:
Once your account is ready, you can start the submission process by clicking the “Submit New Manuscript” button. Follow the prompts to upload your manuscript files, select keywords, and add co-authors. Please refer to the Author Instructions page for further information regarding manuscript preparation and submission requirements.

Confirmation:
After submission, you will receive an email confirmation along with a manuscript ID for tracking purposes.

Submission Page:
To begin your submission, please visit our Submission Page on the NJOT website.

Submissions that do not comply with the journal’s Author Guidelines or that are incomplete may be returned to authors for correction prior to editorial or peer review.

Responding to Reviewers

How to Address Reviewer Comments

Initial Review:
Upon receiving feedback from the reviewers, carefully review each comment and prepare your responses accordingly.

Constructing Your Response:
Address each comment in detail. Where you agree with the reviewer, clearly describe the changes made to the manuscript. Where you disagree, provide a respectful, concise, and evidence-based explanation.

Using the Template:
Use the “Reply to Reviewers Template (NJOT)” to structure your responses systematically and to ensure that all reviewer comments are addressed appropriately.

Reply to Reviewer Template

Using the Template

Download the Template:
Access and download the reply-to-reviewers template provided on the NJOT website.

Filling Out the Template:
For each reviewer comment, provide a point-by-point response, citing the specific page and line numbers where changes have been made. This allows reviewers and editors to easily locate revisions in the manuscript.

Guidance Document:
For detailed instructions on how to use the template effectively, refer to the accompanying guidance document: How to Use the Reply to Reviewers Template.

Failure to provide a clear, respectful, and point-by-point response to all reviewer comments may result in rejection of the manuscript or further revision requests.

Instructions for Revising Your Manuscript

Document Revisions

Please make all changes to the manuscript using the “Track Changes” feature in Microsoft Word. This enables the editorial team to clearly identify all revisions made to the originally submitted version.

Ensure that you revise the same version of the manuscript originally submitted, rather than starting a new document.

Response to Reviewer Comments

Alongside the revised manuscript, please submit a table itemizing your responses to each reviewer comment. A template for this table can be downloaded from the NJOT website. The template includes detailed instructions on how it should be completed.

Revised manuscripts that do not use Track Changes or that are submitted as new documents instead of the originally submitted version will be returned for correction.

Submission of Revised Manuscript

Log In:
Begin by logging into your account on the submission platform.

Navigate to Your Manuscript:

  • Go to My Queue
  • Locate your manuscript under My Assigned
  • Click View to open the manuscript details

Access Reviewer Comments:
Click on the item listed under Review Discussions to view the reviewer comments. This section may include downloadable files or written comments only.

You may copy reviewer comments into a text editor (e.g., Notepad) for easier reference. Download any associated files using the provided links.

Preparing Your Response to Reviewers’ Comments

You will need to prepare three documents in response to the reviewers’ comments:

  1. Response Table:
    Prepare a detailed point-by-point response using a four-column table. Download the table template from the NJOT website.
  2. Revised Manuscript with Track Changes:
    Use Microsoft Word’s Track Changes feature to clearly show all modifications made in response to reviewer comments. Click here for a tutorial on using Track Changes (https://www.wikihow.com/Edit-a-Document-Using-Microsoft-Word%27s-Track-Changes-Feature).
  3. Clean Copy of the Manuscript:
    Provide a clean version of the manuscript with all track changes accepted or rejected. This version should be ready for re-review or publication.

Upload Your Response

  • Log back into the submission website using the same username and password.
  • Navigate to the Review Discussions section where you accessed the reviewer comments.
  • Click Add Discussion to the right of Review Discussions.
  • On the next page, your name will already be selected; please also select the editor’s name.
  • Enter any explanatory comments in the message box provided.
  • Upload the three documents prepared above using the upload button below the message box.

This process is the official means by which authors communicate revisions and responses directly to the editorial team.

All three documents (response table, tracked-changes manuscript, and clean copy) are required. Submission of an incomplete revision package may delay review or result in return of the manuscript to the authors.

Deadline for Submission

Please ensure that your revised manuscript and response table are submitted within one week from the date of the editorial decision email. If you anticipate any difficulty meeting this deadline, contact the Editor-in-Chief at the earliest possible time.

Failure to submit revisions within the specified timeframe, without prior communication and approval from the Editor-in-Chief, may result in the manuscript being treated as withdrawn.

Proofreading Stage

Finalizing Your Manuscript

Proofs:
Once your manuscript is accepted, you will receive a proof copy for review. This stage allows you to identify typographical errors and confirm that formatting meets the journal’s publication standards.

Submitting Corrections:
Please return any corrections within the designated timeframe to avoid delays in publication.

At the proofreading stage, only minor typographical or formatting corrections are permitted. Substantive changes to content are not allowed and may necessitate additional review or delay publication.

Link to Author Instructions Page

For additional details on manuscript formatting and preparation, please refer to the Author Instructions page on the NJOT website. Authors are also advised to review the pre-submission checklist available on the same page.

Resources and Support

  1. How to Anonymise Comments and Track Changes

To maintain the integrity of the anonymous peer-review process, authors must ensure that all documents are fully anonymized, including document properties and comments.

For Microsoft Word (Windows):

  1. Go to File > Info
  2. Click Check for Issues, then select Inspect Document
  3. In the Document Inspector dialog box, deselect everything except “Document Properties and Personal Information”
  4. Click Inspect, then Remove All, close the dialog box, and save the document

Important Note for Word 365 Users:
After removing personal information using the Document Inspector, save the document for the anonymization to be effected. In some versions of Word 365, you may need to close and reopen the file for the anonymization to fully appear in the comment bubbles

For Microsoft Word (macOS):

  1. Go to Tools > Protect Document
  2. Select Remove personal information from this file on save
  3. Click OK and save the document

If you prefer that your name does not appear in comment bubbles or track changes, you will need to change your username:

  1. Go to File > Options > General
  2. Navigate to Personalize your copy of Microsoft Office
  3. Change your username to a non-identifiable format (e.g., initials)
  4. Click OK to save the changes
  1. Submitting an Article (Video Guide)

Authors are encouraged to watch the instructional video on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZUlgCS0vEc) demonstrating the manuscript submission process for the Nigerian Journal of Orthopaedics and Trauma (NJOT).
(Link to NJOT submission video to be provided on the journal website.)