Submissions

REFERENCES
Should be in Vancouver style. In-text citations should be indicated in superscript. References should be in Arabic numerals in the order in which they are first cited in the text. The surname of the author(s) should be followed by their initials. The complete name of the journal or the book in italics is required. Include the year, volume, issue number in parentheses (if available), first and last page numbers and DOI number.

References to articles or books accepted for publication but not yet published must include the title (or name of the publisher) and the year of expected publication. Unpublished work (personal communication) may be cited by inserting a reference in superscript in the text. Authors must submit a letter of permission from the cited persons to cite such communications.
Please refer to this style guide for more information on Vancouver referencing style. 
Sample references below are in the style required by the SLJFMSL

Journal articles
List all authors when 6 or fewer; when more than 6 list only the first 3 and add et al.

Ramalho R, Helffrich G, Schmidt DN, Vance D. Tracers of uplift and subsidence in the Cape Verde archipelago. Journal of the Geological Society. 2010;167(3): 519–538. doi:10.1144/0016-76492009-056.

Petrie KJ, Muller JT, Schirmbeck F, et al. Effect of providing information about normal test results on patients’ reassurance: randomised controlled trial. British Medical Journal. 2007;334(7589): 352–254. doi:10.1136/bmj.39093.464190.55.

Books
List all authors when 6 or fewer; when more than 6 list only the first 3 and add et al.

Simons NE, Menzies B, Matthews M. A Short Course in Soil and Rock Slope Engineering. London: Thomas Telford Publishing; 2001.

Grech ED. ABC of interventional cardiology. 2nd ed. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell; 2011.
Available from: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/imperial/detail.action?docID=822522 [Accessed 6th July 2017].

Chapter in a book.
Partridge H, Hallam G. Evidence-based practice and information literacy. In: Lipu S, Williamson K, Lloyd A. (eds.) Exploring methods in information literacy research. Wagga Wagga, Australia: Centre for Information Studies; 2007. p149–170.

Websites
European Space Agency. Rosetta: rendezvous with a comet. Available from: http://rosetta.esa.int [Accessed 15th June 2015].

In-text citations of unpublished material
Law J. Engineering consultant. Personal communication. 26th March 2014.

DECLARATION FORM
All authors should sign a declaration form stating that this submission has not been previously published and has not been sent to another journal for consideration concurrently. Furthermore, contributorship, competing interests, ethical approval and any possible overlap with prior publications need to be stated.  All source(s) of support including grants, equipment, drugs, and/or other support that facilitated the conduct of the work described in the article or the writing of the article itself should be declared.

You can download the Author Declaration Form from here.

TYPES OF ARTICLES ACCEPTED
Sri Lanka Journal of Forensic Medicine, Science & Law (SLJFMSL) is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal which publishes leading articles, original research papers, reviews, points of view, case reports, technical notes and letters to the editor, in all areas of Forensic Medicine, Forensic Sciences, relevant law & ethics.

(1)     LEADING ARTICLES
 Leading articles are solicited by the Editors, and are expert opinions on current topics or controversial issues. They should not exceed 1500 words or have more than 20 references. Tables and illustrations are usually not included.

(2)     ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Manuscripts should contain original work not published elsewhere.

Original articles should present the results of original research.

Observational studies (cohort, case-control, or cross-sectional designs) must be reported according to the STROBE statement. Reports of randomised trials should comply with the CONSORT 2010 guidelines. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses would be expected to abide by the proper guidelines (example: IOM standards or CRD guidance or Cochrane Handbook etc.) for conducting such reviews and conform to the PRISMA guidelines in reporting them. In addition, Systematic Reviews MUST contain the ‘Search Strategy’ at least for one database, and be submitted as an annex at the end of the manuscript OR as a Supplementary File. Please note that this is a mandatory requirement. The guidelines on reporting sex and gender information (SAGER) should also be considered.

Original articles should have less than 2500 words, 6 tables/illustrations and should include a structured abstract of less than 300 words.

The manuscript should be divided into the following sections, each of which should begin on a separate page:

Title Page
Summary/Abstract
Text (including Tables and Figures)
Acknowledgements
References 

ABSTRACT
The abstract should provide the context or background for the study and should state the study's purpose, basic procedures (selection of study participants, settings, measurements, analytical methods), main findings (giving specific effect sizes and their statistical and clinical significance, if possible), and principal conclusions.
Number of words should be limited to 300. Up to five keywords should be provided.

MAIN TEXT
The text of research articles should contain the following categories; Introduction, Methods, Results (including Tables and Figures), Discussion, Acknowledgements, Conflicts of Interest, and References.
Only generic names of drugs should be given, if applicable. Abbreviations should be spelt out when first used in the text. Scientific measurements should be given in SI units. Statistical methods should be specified. Any term which is not in common usage should be referenced.
Under the subheading "Conflicts of Interest", all authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organisations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. If there are no conflicts of interest, authors should state that “There are no conflicts of interest”.

Headings in text
Use only two levels of headings in the text. Clearly indicate the levels of headings by using different typographic conventions. Keep headings short.

TABLES, PHOTOGRAPHS AND FIGURES /ILLUSTRATIONS
Should be provided as soft copies. The maximum number of tables, photographs and figures is six. Tables, figures and photographs should be referred to in the order of appearance in the text in Arabic numerals within parentheses, e.g. (Fig. 1). 

Photographs should clearly show the figure number and caption, and be attached as jpg files or incorporated into the MS Word document.  They should be of high resolution (300 dpi). Photomicrographs should have scale markers that indicate the degree of magnification. Stain and magnification should be given at the end of the legend for each part of the figure. If there is no scale marker on the figure, the original magnification used during the observation should be given, not that of the photographic print.

Figures should be used only when data cannot be expressed clearly in any other form. Figures or illustrations should be professionally drawn or prepared digitally. A high-resolution (300 dpi) digital copy of the figure or illustration should be submitted. Lettering should be uniform in style. Free hand or typewritten lettering is not acceptable. Number the figures in the order in which they are cited in the text and place at bottom of the figure. Colour figures may be submitted and will be published if essential.

The table title should be at the top of the table and describe concisely the content of the table.

Reduce the length of legends by using partial sentences. Explain all abbreviations and symbols on the figure, even if they are explained in the text.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Acknowledge only persons who have contributed to the scientific content and provided financial or technical support. Authors must submit written permission from persons acknowledged for other than financial or technical support.

(3) BRIEF REPORTS
These include preliminary reports, novel approaches and reports of new techniques and devices. It should be limited to 1000 words, 3 tables/illustrations and 10 references, and should include an unstructured abstract of less than 150 words.

(4) CASE REPORTS
Acceptance of case reports is based strictly on originality and whether there is an important new lesson to be learnt or a new message from the report. Case reports must be prepared according to the 13-point CARE checklist for Case Reports and Case Series.

(5) PERSPECTIVES AND POINTS OF VIEW
The SLJFMSL accepts essays expressing opinions, presenting hypotheses, discussions on controversial issues, recent advances and essays pertaining to forensic medicine, medical education, ethics and relevant law. They should not have more than 750 words and 10 references.

(6) LETTERS
The SLJFMSL will also consider the publication of letters (less than 400 words, a maximum of 3 authors, and a maximum of 5 references). These may be in response to a recently published article or expression of an opinion.

PEER REVIEWING PROCESS

Manuscripts submitted to the journal are initially screened by the Co-Editors and subjected to a preliminary review by a member of the Editorial Board. Articles which are deemed suitable for consideration for publication will be assigned for review, from a panel of specialists related to the field of interest. Certain manuscripts, if found to be not suitable for publication, will be rejected by the Co-Editors at this first stage of review.

The review process will be double-blinded; neither the author nor the reviewer will be informed of each other’s identity. Each article submitted will be reviewed by two reviewers. Statistical review is obtained as required. The peer review process takes approximately 4 months.

The reviewers' comments will be considered by the Co-Editors, and authors may be required to revise the manuscripts accordingly. Authors are granted one month to respond with revisions. The Co-Editors have the right to accept or reject articles based on reviewers’ comments. Once a submission is accepted for publication, the Co-Editors reserve the right to modify the manuscripts to fit in with the style of the journal. If extensive alterations are required, the manuscript will be returned to the authors for revision.

Final acceptance or rejection rests with the Editorial Board, who reserves the right to refuse any material for publication. The Co-Editor reserves the right to amend the style, correct the English language, make editorial corrections where necessary, and determine priority and time of publication. When submitting papers, authors are advised to keep copies of the manuscripts.

ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES
All authors must read the responsibilities of the authors under Research Integrity before submitting their articles.

PLAGIARISM
Authors are advised to refrain from any form of plagiarism. All sources must be correctly cited. All articles are subjected to plagiarism check using a software by the publisher/editor.

ARTICLE WITHDRAWAL POLICY
Withdrawal of articles by authors is strongly discouraged and it is not considered best practice in publication ethics, since valuable resources and efforts by the editors, reviewers and editorial staff are wasted. Therefore, withdrawal after the review process has commenced will not be entertained except for the most compelling and unavoidable reasons.

In the event that an author wishes to withdraw, an article withdrawal form signed by all authors stating the reasons for manuscript withdrawal needs to be submitted, together with the request for withdrawal.

In the event that authors do not reply to communication from the editorial office, at any stage of the publication process SLJFMSL, has the right to publish the manuscript without further approval from the authors, and cannot be held responsible for the consequences arising thereafter.

FEES
No fee will be charged for accepting, reviewing or publishing articles. However, if the article requires extensive correction of the English language, the editor may recommend the author to consult an English language expert at the author’s expense.

Inquiries regarding advertisements & subscriptions should be addressed to, The Editor, SLJFMSL Dept. of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya 20400, Sri Lanka. 

It must be noted that the journal is also published as an open access e-journal through Sri Lanka Journals online.

EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE 
All editorial correspondence should be addressed to: The Editors, Sri Lanka Journal of Forensic Medicine Science & Law, Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
sljfmsl@med.pdn.ac.lk