Submission

Articles should be submitted online from http://nepjol.info/index.php/IJOSH/index

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors who do not adhere to these guidelines.

• The submission file is in Microsoft Word file (Docx) format.
• The text is double-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.
• The submission file STRICTLY adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines, which is found in About the Journal.
• Where available, DOIs for the references have been provided. If not available, URLs have been provided. (Mandatory)
• All the authors have contributed to the study and manuscript writing.
• The submission has not been previously published or submitted to another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
• Once the manuscript is submitted to IJOSH, it can not be submitted to any other journal for consideration without prior communication with the editors.
• The study has received ethical clearance from the Ethical Review Committee or Board of the concerned institution. Submit a copy of the ethical clearance letter.
• When you submit the manuscript, submit the complete list of contributors (Last name, First name, and initials of middle name), with his or her highest academic degree(s), ORCID ID, email ID and institutional affiliation. It should also be submitted online while providing information about the contributors.
• You agree to pay the Article Processing Fee (APF) as mentioned on the journal website upon acceptance of the manuscript.

Author Guidelines

International Journal of Occupational Safety and Health accepts manuscripts in accordance with the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals, obtained from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors Recommendation, updated May 2022.

Contributions to the following sections of the journal are welcome:

• Editorials
• Letters to the editor
• Short communication
• Review articles
• Original articles
• Meta-analysis
• Systematic Reviews
• Case studies

Where to send your contribution:

The manuscript should be submitted online. 

Authors should note: 
All contributions must be original work; by submitting the manuscript, the authors declare that the manuscript represents valid work and that neither this manuscript nor one with substantially similar content under the present authorship has been published or is being considered for publication elsewhere, and the authorship of this article will not be contested by anyone whose name(s) is/are not listed here.

All articles are submitted to an editorial committee for an acceptance decision. Anonymity is preserved between authors and referees;

A letter of ethical clearance for the study must be submitted at the time of manuscript submission.

Although the Editorial Board's decisions regarding whether to accept or reject a manuscript for publication are final and conclusive, authors who disagree with those decisions, suspect conflicts of interest, or competing interests may appeal those decisions to the Editor-in-Chief. An investigation committee that includes the Editor-in-Chief, himself, the Managing Editor, one Adviser of the Editorial Board, and one External Reviewer will be formed by the Editor-in-Chief. IJOSH follows the complaints and appeals investigation as per the COPE guidelines and flowcharts.

Online Submission of the Manuscripts 
Articles should be submitted online from http://nepjol.info/index.php/IJOSH/index. You need to register as an Author with this journal so that you can use the 5 steps online submission process.

1. First Page File: Prepare the title page, covering letter, acknowledgment, etc. using a word processor program. All information that can reveal your identity should be here. Use only Docx files. Do not zip the files.
2. Article file: The main text of the article, beginning from Abstract to References (including tables) should be in this file. Do not include any information (such as acknowledgment, your names in page headers, etc.) in this file. Use Docx files. Do not zip the files. Limit the file size to 400 kb. Do not incorporate images in the file if the file size is large. If the file size is large, graphs can be submitted as images separately without incorporating them in the article file to reduce the size of the file.
3. Legends: Legends for the figures/images should be included immediately after the texts.
4. List of contributors: When you submit the list of contributors online, please provide full name, surname, genuine email address, ORCID ID, name of the department, institution, complete address of the affiliated institution, and rank in the department or institution. This information is mandatory.

Preparation of the Manuscript
The text of original articles and Field Reports should be divided into sections with the headings: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, References, Tables, Figures, Figure legends, and Acknowledgment. Do not make subheadings in these sections.

Presentation and format

• Double spacing
• Margins 2.5 cm from all four sides
• The title page contains all the desired information
• The abstract page contains the full title of the manuscript
• Headings in title case (not ALL CAPITALS)
• References cited in superscripts
• References according to the journal's instructions, punctuation marks checked

Language and grammar

• Uniformly American English
• Abbreviations spelled out in full for the first time

Length of the manuscript

IJOSH accepts short communication up to 3000 words, original research articles up to 4000 words, and review articles up to 6000 words, excluding references. 

Title Page

The title page should carry

1. Type of manuscript (e.g. Original article, Review articles, Short communication, etc.)
2. The title of the article, which should be concise, but informative;
3. Running title or short title, not more than 50 characters (not mandatory);
4. The name by which each contributor is known (Last name, First name, and initials of middle name), with his or her highest academic degree(s), ORCID ID, email ID, and rank and complete institutional affiliation;
5. The name of the department(s) and institution(s) to which the work should be attributed;
6. The name, address, phone numbers, facsimile numbers and e-mail address of the contributor responsible for correspondence about the manuscript;
7. Acknowledgment, if any; and

Abstract

The second page should carry the full title of the manuscript and an abstract (of no more than 150 words for Field reports, brief reports, short communication and 250 words for original and review articles). For original articles, the abstract should be structured and state the Introduction, Methods, Results and Conclusion. It may be unstructured in short communication and review articles. Below the abstract should provide 3 to 5 keywords in alphabetical order. Please refer to the MeSH index https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/ for appropriate keywords which makes it easier to search an article.

Introduction 

The introduction should be concise and include a summary of already existing scientific information about your research, what important researchers have found and what is still lacking to clarify the hypothesis, and what exactly you wish to achieve by conducting this research.

Methods 

Answer three important questions- How was the study designed? How was the study carried out? and How was the data analyzed?

Make the sampling procedure, size, and rationale clear. Clearly mention and provide a rationale for the use of different outcome measures, a place where the study was conducted, duration of the study, data collection methods/tools, inclusion and exclusion criteria, type of statistical analysis, and its rationale (not under separate subheadings).

The Methods section should include only information that was available at the time the plan or protocol for the study was written; all information obtained during the conduct of the study belongs in the Results section.

Results 

Present your results in logical sequence in the text, tables, and illustrations, giving the main or most important findings first. Do not repeat in the text all the data in the tables or illustrations; emphasize or summarize only important observations. Do not submit big tables. We recommend not more than four tables and three figures in the manuscript. Kindly note that IJOSH follows Système Internationale (SI) Units and requires that only SI Units are used. Extra or supplementary materials and technical details can be placed in an appendix where they will be accessible but will not interrupt the flow of the text; alternatively, they can be published only in the electronic version of the journal. (Do not write the Results section  under separate subheadings)

Discussion 

Include a summary of key findings (primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, results as they relate to the hypothesis); Strengths and limitations of the study (study question, study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation); Interpretation and implications in the context of the totality of evidence (is there a systematic review to refer to, if not, could one be reasonably done here and now? what this study adds to the available evidence, effects on patient care and health policy, and possible mechanisms). Do not repeat in detail data or other material given in the Introduction or the Results section. Avoid claiming priority and alluding to work that has not been completed. Do discuss the differences and similarities of the current study to other similar studies and provide possible explanations. Discussion may be concluded by a short conclusion paragraph or a separate conclusion paragraph is also accepted.

References 

Editorials and Short communications are allowed 15 references. Original Articles and Meta-analyses are limited to 40 references and Review articles are allowed 60 references.

References should be cited in the text by superscript numbers (² not ⁽²⁾, placed after the punctuation). Number references consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned (based on the Vancouver system). 

If a referenced publication has six or fewer authors, all of the authors should be listed. If there are more than six, list the first six authors followed by ", et al.".

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their words do not infringe copyright.

References to books should include authors' surnames and initials, full title, place of publication, the full name of publisher and date of publication.

References to journal articles should include authors' surnames and initials, the full title of the article, the full title of the journal (or its official abbreviation), date of publication, volume number, issue number and page span. Where available, URLs for the references must be provided.

Journal article. An example of the correct method of citing a journal article is as follows:

1. Lowery JT. Analysis of construction industry burden by type of work. Am J Ind Med 2000, 37(4): 390-9 (not 390-399).

Books. An example of the correct method of citing a book is as follows:

1. Mann A. Medical assessment of injuries for legal purposes (4th ed). Sydney: Butterworths, 1985.

Some variations of the standard citation given in the example above are as follows:

Editor as author 
1. McGrath JE (ed). Social and psychological factors in stress. New York: Holt/Reinhart/Winston, 1970.

Book chapter 
1. Schwartz GE. Psychosomatic disorder and biofeedback: a psychobiological model of disregulation. In Maser, JD and Seligman, EP (eds). Psychopathology: experimental models. San Francisco: WH Freeman, 1977.

Books in press 
Books cited that are in the process of being published should be indicated by placing the words "in the press" in parentheses after the year of publication, as follows:

1. Chandler J, Berg E and Barry J. Workplace stress in the UK: contextualizing difference. In Peterson, CL (ed). Work stress: content and context. Amityville: Baywood, 2003 (in press).

Some periodicals combine aspects of both books and journals.

Example 
1. ACTU-VTHC Occupational Health and Safety Unit. ACTU health and safety policy: screen-based equipment. Health and Safety Bulletin, March 1983, no 26.

Conference proceedings. An example of the correct method of citing conference proceedings is as follows:

1. Wakula J and Wimmel F. Ergonomic and medical analysis of plasterwork: a basis for ergonomic redesign. In the proceedings of the Second International Conference of the CIB Working Commission, W99: Implementation of Safety and Health on Construction Sites, Honolulu, Hawaii, 24-27 March 1999, pp 365-72.

Official reports. An example of the correct method of citing official reports is as follows:

1. Interim National Occupational Health and Safety Commission. Report May 1984. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service, 1984.

Tables

• Tables should be self-explanatory and should not duplicate textual material.
• Tables with more than 10 columns and 25 rows are not acceptable.
• Number tables, in Arabic numerals, consecutively in the order of their first citation in the text and supply a brief title for each.
• Explain in footnotes all non-standard abbreviations that are used in each table.
• For footnotes use the following symbols, in this sequence: *, †, ‡, §, ||, , **, ††, ‡‡

Illustrations (Figures)

• Send sharp, glossy, un-mounted, color photographic prints, with a height of 4 inches and width of 6 inches.
• Figures should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they have been first cited in the text.
• Each figure should have a label pasted (avoid the use of liquid gum for pasting) on its back indicating the number of the figure, the running title, top of the figure and the legends of the figure. Do not write the contributor/s' name/s. Do not write on the back of figures, scratch them, or mark them by using paper clips.
• Labels, numbers, and symbols should be clear and of uniform size. The lettering for figures should be large enough to be legible after reduction to fit the width of a printed column.
• Symbols, arrows, or letters used in photomicrographs should contrast with the background and should be marked neatly with transfer type or by tissue overlay and not by pen.
• Printouts of digital photographs are not acceptable. For digital images send JPEG files of a minimum 1200 x 1600 pixel size.
• The Journal reserves the right to crop, rotate, reduce, or enlarge the photographs to an acceptable size.

Legends for Illustrations
Type or print out legends (maximum 40 words, excluding the credit line) for illustrations using double spacing, with Arabic numerals corresponding to the illustrations.

Ethics
Article reporting experiments on human subjects should disclose whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional or regional) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1964, revised in 2013. The authors should indicate when reporting animal experiments whether the institutions adhered to any national laws or guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals. 

Manuscripts will not be accepted if an ethical approval letter from the institutional or regional Institutional Review Board/ Committee is not submitted.

Do not use patients' names, initials, or hospital numbers, especially in illustrative material.

Conflicts of Interest
To ensure the readers' rights and provide clear and unbiased scientific results to the public, manuscripts should be accompanied by clear disclosures from all authors of the nature and level of their contribution to the article, their understanding of the obligation to share data and materials, and any affiliations, funding sources, or financial holdings that might raise questions about possible sources of bias.

Reporting Guidelines for main study types

The authors need to follow the following standard reporting guidelines in their manuscripts based on their study types. The reporting guidelines can be found on the Equator Network website. Manuscripts not following the prescribed guidelines will be returned to the authors for revision.

Main study types	Reporting Guidelines
Case reports	CARE	Extensions
Observational studies	STROBE	Extensions
Qualitative research	SRQR	COREQ
Study protocols	SPIRIT	PRISMA-P
Systematic reviews	PRISMA	Extensions
Randomised controlled trials	CONSORT	Extensions
Diagnostic/prognostic studies	STARD	TRIPOD
Clinical practice guidelines	AGREE	RIGHT
Animal pre-clinical studies	ARRIVE
Quality improvement studies	SQUIRE	Extensions
Economic evaluations	CHEERS

Copyright
Articles with original material are accepted for consideration with the understanding that, except for abstracts, no part of the data has been published, or will be submitted for publication elsewhere, before appearing in this journal. Copyright in all material submitted for publication in the journal is vested to the authors under attribution CC BY-NC.

Click here for information on the Article processing fee

Note: Submissions not fulfilling the Author Guidelines will be declined immediately without further clarification.

If you have any queries, you may contact:
The Chief Editor 
International Journal of Occupational Safety and Health 
Email: editor@ijoshnepal.com

Privacy Statement

Nepal Journals Online (NepJOL) is a member of the Ubiquity Partner Network coordinated by Ubiquity Press. According to the EU definitions, NepJOL is the data controller, and Ubiquity Press is the service provider and data processor. Ubiquity Press provides the technical platform and some publishing services to NepJOL and operates under the principle of data minimization where only the minimal amount of personal data that is required to carry out a task is obtained.

More information on the type of data that is required can be found in Ubiquity Press’ privacy policy below.

Ubiquity Press Privacy Policy

We take seriously our duty to process your personal data in a fair and transparent way. We collect and manage user data according to the following Privacy Policy. This document is part of our Terms of Service, and by using the press portal, affiliated journals, book, conference and repository websites (the “Websites”), you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy and the Terms of Service. Please read the Terms of Service in their entirety, and refer to those for definitions and contacts.

What type of personal data do we handle?

There are four main categories of personal data stored by our journal platform, our press platform, and our book management system; Website User data, Author data, Reviewer data and Editor data.

The minimum personal data that are stored are:

• full name
• email address
• affiliation (department, and institution)
• country of residence

Optionally, the user can provide:

• salutation
• gender
• associated URL
• phone number
• fax number
• reviewing interests
• mailing address
• ORCiD
• a short biography
• interests
• Twitter profile
• LinkedIn profile
• ImpactStory profile
• profile picture

The data subjects have complete control of this data through their profile, and can request for it to be removed by contacting info@ubiquitypress.com

What do we do to keep that data secure?

We regularly back up our databases, and we use reliable cloud service providers (Amazon, Google Cloud, Linode) to ensure they are kept securely. Backups are regularly rotated and the old data is permanently deleted. We have a clear internal data handling policy, restricting access to the data and backups to key employees only. In case of a data breach, we will report the breach to the affected users, and to the press/journal contacts within 72 hours.

How do we use the data?

Personal information is only used to deliver the services provided by the publisher. Personal data is not shared externally except for author names, affiliations, emails, and links to ORCiD and social media accounts (if provided) in published articles and books which are displayed as part of the article/book and shared externally to indexes and databases. If a journal operates under open peer review then the reviewer details are published alongside the reviewer details.

How we collect and use your data:

1. When using the website

1.1 what data do we collect

• When you browse our website, we collect anonymized data about your use of the website; for example, we collect information about which pages you view, which files you download, what browser you are using, and when you were using the site.
• When you comment on an article or book using Disqus, we are not collecting, controlling or processing the data. More details on the DISQUS privacy policy can be found on their website.
• When you annotate an article or book, this is done via a 3rd party plugin to the website called Hypothes.is. In using this plugin we are not collecting, controlling or processing the data. More details on the hypotheses.is privacy policy can be found on their website.

1.2 why we collect the data

• We use anonymized website usage data to monitor traffic, help fix bugs, and see overall patterns that inform future redesigns of the website, and provide reports on how frequently the publications on our site have been accessed from within their IP ranges.

1.3 what we do (and don’t do) with the data

• We do not collect personal information that can be used to identify you when you browse the website.
• We currently use Google Analytics for publication reports, and to improve the website and services through traffic analysis, but no personal identifying data is shared with Google (for example your computer’s IP is anonymized before transmission).

1.4 what to do if you want to get a copy of your data, or want your data to be removed

• Please contact info@ubiquitypress.com to request a copy of your data, or for your data to be removed/anonymized.

2. When registering as an author, and submitting an article or book

2.1 what data do we collect

• When registering an account we ask you to log in and provide certain personal information (such as your name and email address), and there is the option to register using an ORCiD which will pre-fill the registration form.
• As part of submitting an article for publication, you will need to provide personally identifying information that will be used for the peer review process and will be published. This can include ‘Affiliation’, ‘Competing interests’, and ‘Acknowledgements’.

2.2 why we collect the data

• Registering an account allows you to log in, manage your profile, and participate as an author/reviewer/editor. We use cookies and session information to streamline your use of the website (for example in order for you to remain logged-in when you return to a journal). You can block or delete cookies and still be able to use the websites, although if you do you will then need to enter your username and password to login. In order to take advantage of certain features of the websites, you may also choose to provide us with other personal information, such as your ORCiD, but your decision to utilize these features and provide such data will always be voluntary.
• Personal data submitted with the article or book is collected to allow following good publication ethics during the review process, and will form part of the official published record in order for the provenance of the work to be established, and for the work to be correctly attributed.

2.3 what we do (and don’t do) with the data

• We do not share your personal information with third parties, other than as part of providing the publishing service.
• As a registered author in the system, you may be contacted by the journal editor to submit another article.
• Any books published on the platform are freely available to download from the publisher's website in PDF, EPUB and MOBI formats on the publisher’s site.
• Any personal data accompanying an article or a book (that will have been added by the submitting author) is published alongside it. The published data includes the names, affiliations and email addresses of all authors.
• Any articles published on the platform are freely available to download from the publisher's website in various formats (e.g. PDF, XML).
• Ubiquity Press books and articles are typeset by SiliconChips and Diacritech. This process involves them receiving the book and book-associated metadata and contacting the authors to finalize the layout. Ubiquity Press work with these suppliers to ensure that personal data is only used for the purposes of typesetting and proofing.
• For physical purchases of books on the platform Ubiquity Press use print on demand services via Lightning Source which are responsible for printing and distribution via retailers. (For example; Amazon, Book Repository, Waterstones). Lightning Source’s privacy policy and details on data handling can be found on its website.

2.4 why we store the data

• We store the account data so that you may choose to become a reviewer and be able to perform those tasks, or to become an author and submit an article and then track the progress of that article.
• Published personal data that accompanies an article or a book forms part of the official published record in order for the provenance of the work to be established, and for the work to be correctly attributed.

2.5 what to do if you want to get a copy of your data, or want your data to be removed

• You are able to view, change and remove the data associated with your profile. Should you choose to completely delete your account, please contact us at support@ubiquitypress.com and we will follow up with your request as soon as possible.
• To conform to publication ethics and best practices any personal data that is published alongside an article or book cannot be removed. If you have a query about a publication to which you are attributed please contact info@ubiquitypress.com

3. When registering as a reviewer

3.1 what data do we collect

• To become a reviewer you must first register as a user on the website, and set your preference that you would like to be considered as a reviewer. No new personal data is collected when a registered user elects to become a reviewer.
• When registering an account we ask you to log in and provide certain personal information (such as your name and email address), and there is the option to register using an ORCiD which will pre-fill the registration form.
• Reviewers can also be registered by editors who invite them to review a specific article. This requires the editor to provide the reviewer’s First Name, Last Name, and Email address. Normally this will be done as part of the process of inviting you to review the article or book.
• On submitting a review, the reviewer includes a competing interest statement, may answer questions about the quality of the article, and they will submit their recommendation.

3.2 why we collect the data

• The data entered is used to invite the reviewer to peer review the article or book, and to contact the reviewer during and the review process.
• If you submit a review then the details of your review, including your recommendation, your responses to any review form, your free-form responses, your competing interests statement, and any cover letter are recorded.

3.3 what we do (and don’t do) with the data

• This data is not shared publicly and is only accessible by the Editor and system administrators of that journal or press.
• The data will only be used in connection with that journal or press.
• Data that is retained post-final decision is kept to conform to publication ethics and best practice, to provide evidence of peer review, and to resolve any disputes relating to the peer review of the article or book.
• For journals or presses that publish peer reviews, you will be asked to give consent to your review being published, and a subset of the data you have submitted will become part of the published record.

3.4 what to do if you want to get a copy of your data, or want your data to be removed

• If you would no longer like to be registered as a reviewer you can edit your profile and tick the box ‘stop being a reviewer’. This will remove you from the reviewer database, however, any existing reviews you may have carried out will remain.
• If you have been contacted by an editor to peer review an article this means that you have been registered in the system. If you would not like to be contacted for peer review you can reply to the email requesting that your data be deleted.

4. When being registered as a co-author

4.1 what data do we collect

• Co-author data is entered by the submitting author. The submitting author will already have a user account. According to standard publishing practice, the submitting author is responsible for obtaining the consent of their co-authors to be included (including having their personal data included) in the article/book being submitted to the journal/press.
• The requested personal data for co-authors are at the bare minimum; first name, last name, institution, country, email address. This can also include; ORCID ID, Title, Middle Name, Biographical Statement, Department, Twitter Handle, Linkedin Profile Name or ImpactStory ID.

4.2 why we collect the data

• Assuming that it is accepted for publication, this data forms part of the official published record in order for the provenance of the work to be established, and for the work to be correctly attributed.
• Author names, affiliations and emails are required for publication and will become part of the permanent cited record.

4.3 what we do (and don’t do) with the data

• The co-author’s personal data is stored in the author database. This personal data is only used in relation to the publication of the associated article.
• Any co-author data collected is added to the author database and is only used in association with the article the user is co-author on.

4.5 what to do if you want to get a copy of your data, or want your data to be removed

• To receive a copy of your data, please contact info@ubiquitypress.com
• To conform to publication ethics and best practice any personal data that is published alongside an article or book cannot be removed. If you have a query about a publication to which you are attributed please contact info@ubiquitypress.com

5. When signing-up to receive newsletters

5.1 what data we collect

• We require you to include your name and email address

5.2 why we collect and store the data, and for how long

• This data would be collected to keep you updated with any news about the platform or specific journal

5.3 what we do (and don’t do) with the data

• We use mailchimp to provide our mailing list services. Their privacy policy can be found here

5.4 what to do if you want to get a copy of your data or want your data to be removed

• All emails sent via our newsletter client will include a link that will allow you to unsubscribe from the mailing list

Notification about change of ownership or of control of data

We may choose to buy or sell assets. In the case that control of data changes to or from Ubiquity Press and a third party, or in the case of change of ownership of Ubiquity Press or of part of the business where the control of personal data is transferred, we will do our best to inform all affected users and present the options.

(Updated: 01 January 2023)