Article Types / Protocol

A protocol study refers to a detailed and step-by-step plan that outlines the methodology and procedures for conducting a research project. This document is critical in ensuring the integrity, safety, and validity of the research. It provides guidance on designing and modifying the technique, discusses its benefits and limitations compared to other methods, offers troubleshooting tips, and assists in data analysis and result interpretation.

The publication of study protocols in the IJVLMS demonstrates our commitment to advancing research standards by promoting transparency, reducing publication bias, and enhancing the reproducibility of study designs and analyses.   

Authors should register their protocols on valid free databases such as protocols.io or osf.io, among others prior to submitting their manuscripts. The PROSPERO database is also recommended for related issues. Registered protocols have permanent links that can then be dynamically updated, thereby improving their visibility.

 

The IJVLMS generally accepts a study Protocol of 3000-4000 words (including references), with 2-4 Figures or Tables and 10-20 references.

The protocols for clinical trials should follow the SPIRIT 2013 Statement, the protocols for systematic reviews should follow the PRISMA-P Guidelines, the protocols for scoping reviews should follow the guidance developed by the JBI Scoping Review Methodology Group, and the observational and qualitative study protocols should follow the ObsQual Checklist.

The Topic should briefly describe the method, its purpose, and, if appropriate, the model system or organism.

Abstract should be structured with the following headings (200-300 words).

Background: The context and purpose of the study.

Methods: Provide an overview of how the study will be performed.

Discussion: Offers an overview of the potential implications.

Keywords (4-7 keywords based on the MeSH Browser) should be provided for indexing purposes and online searches. Authors are encouraged to browse through articles on similar topics to find appropriate keywords.

Introduction

The introduction should address the rationale behind the research, precisely why it is essential, and what significance it holds. Additionally, it should include a concise overview of the most pertinent studies published on the topic to support the rationale for the study.

Objectives

Primary Objective(s)

The primary objective should be simple (not complex), specific (not vague), and stated in advance (not after the research is done).

Secondary Objective(s)

Secondary objectives should be mentioned after the statement of the primary objective(s). Specific objectives are statements of the research question(s).

Methods

Given that a protocol study can encompass various types and methodological approaches, there is no single guideline for this section. However, the study should generally address the following key components, and authors should follow related checklists to fulfill the criteria:

  • Study Design and Setting
  • Eligibility Criteria
  • Participants and Sampling
  • Data Collection
  • Data Analysis

Expected Results include information about the likely outcome of the protocol. Authors are encouraged to provide one set of data from an experiment that worked well using the protocol, including information about the number of replicates and controls that were used. This data will serve as a benchmark demonstrating to users exactly what they should achieve if they replicate the experiment correctly. If applicable, include advice on how to interpret and analyze raw data, including statistical tests and criteria for data inclusion/exclusion.

Discussion

It should include a discussion of any practical or operational issues involved in performing the study and any issues not addressed in other sections.

Limitations and Suggestions The limitations of the study and the implications of the findings for future research or clinical practice should be explored.

Footnotes

 

  • Abbreviations: In articles where abbreviations are frequently used, it is better to provide an abbreviation list for readers to reference and understand the concepts more quickly. (Since September 2024)

  • Acknowledgments: Recognize the individuals, institutes, or organizations that have contributed to the preparation of the article but do not meet the criteria for authorship. Contributions may include academic, technical, financial, or personal assistance in preparing the articles. The authors must indicate the contributors' affiliations and their specific contributions. The use of AI for writing assistance should be reported in the acknowledgment section.

  • Authors’ Contribution: Authors specify their contributions to the research process and writing of the manuscript. They indicate their contributions to different aspects of a project such as conceptualization, study design, experimentation, data acquisition, statistical analysis, preparing the manuscript, etc. Please note that the authors’ initials, rather than full names, should be used for identification.

  • Conflict of Interest: Authors must disclose any financial and non-financial competing interests in advance of the review process. They need to declare if they received financial payment for the research, or if they have close relationships with people or entities that could inappropriately influence (bias) their study. Non-financial interests may include the disclosure of any personal, political, religious, ideological, academic, and intellectual interests that might bias a study. General institutional support for an author’s time on the work should be distinguished from direct overall funding of the work. An appropriate funding statement might be: “The study was funded by A; Dr. F’s time on the work was supported by B.” If there are no competing interests, add the following statement: “The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this paper”.
  • Ethical Considerations: If a study involves human participants/or animals, authors need to obtain approval from the ethics committee/Institutional Review Board of their institution and be prepared to provide documentation when requested by editors. They must provide the name of the committee/board along with the Ethical Approval Code/ID. Authors should also declare that they have obtained written informed consent from each potential research participant. It should be clearly stated that the researchers were properly introduced before the research, and the participants understood the objectives of the research. The authors also maintain that the consent was not obtained under coercion and that the participants had the choice to withdraw at any stage of the research. Finally, it should be indicated that the participants were assured of confidentiality regarding the information provided.
  • Funding/Support: All sources of financial and material support for the research work are acknowledged in this section. Authors should identify the roles of the sponsor(s) if any, in study design, collection, analysis, interpretation of data, and in preparing the manuscript. Please include the name(s) of the funding organization(s) along with the grant number(s). If no funding has been provided for the research, please add the following statement: "This research did not receive any outside funding or support".
  • Availability of Data and Materials: A Data Availability Statement should be included in all original manuscripts. Your data availability statement should describe how the data supporting the results reported in your paper can be accessed. With a data statement, an author can provide information about the data presented in an article and provide a reason if data is not available to access. Click HERE to see a template for different kinds of statements. (Since June 2024)
  • References conform to the style outlined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), also referred to as the “Vancouver” style. References in the text should be numbered sequentially and placed in parentheses. 

The following general instructions must be observed when citing references. Moreover, IJVLMS has its own EndNote style. Authors are advised to prepare their references based on this style and add the file to the style folder of their Endnote in program files. This style is available HERE.

  • Referencing AI-generated material as the primary source is not acceptable.
  • References should be made to published articles rather than to abstracts whenever possible.

In-text citation:

  • References in the text should be numbered sequentially and placed in parentheses.
  • For in-text citation of a work with more than one author, use ‘et al.’ after the first author.
  • When citing several references for the same statement, use a hyphen to link the first and last numbers that are inclusive. For instance, (4, 5, 6, 7) must be abbreviated to (4-7). Use commas where the numbers are not consecutive in a multiple citation, e.g. (8, 13).

Reference List:

  • The reference list appears at the end of the paper and is titled ‘References’.
  • References are listed in numerical order, and in the same order, they are cited in the text.
  • The reference list should include all and only those references that appear in the text.
  • If a work has more than 6 authors, please list the first six authors, followed by ‘et al.’
  • The number of references from theses, conference papers, and websites should not exceed 5 percent of the total references.
  • Please note that the journal titles in the reference list should be abbreviated in the style used in the NLM Catalog.
  • At least 80% of the references must have article identifiers, such as digital object identifier (DOI) and PubMed PMID (or PubMed Central PMCID). Please add these identifiers at the end of your references when available. You can visit the following link to search for DOIs and PMIDs of articles: http://www.crossref.org/SimpleTextQuery. EndNote software is highly recommended for writing and managing references.

Listed below are sample references for different types of work. For further details and examples, authors may consult Citing Medicine: The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (2nd edition).

 

Journal Article:

Almarzooq ZI, Lopes M, Kochar A. Virtual Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Disruptive Technology in Graduate Medical Education. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2020;75(20):2635-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2020.04.015. PubMed PMID: 32304797; PubMed Central PMCID: PMCPMC7159871.

Complete Book:

Secker J. Electronic Resources in the Virtual Learning Environment: A Guide for Librarians. Edition (if not first) - ed. Oxford: Elsevier Science; 2004.

Chapter in an Edited Book:

Fournier H, Kop R, Molyneaux H. New personal learning ecosystems: a decade of research in review. In: Becnel K, editor. Emerging technologies in virtual learning environments. Harshey: IGI Global; 2019. p. 1-19.

Thesis:

Kaplan SJ. Postgraduate students’ professionalism [dissertation]. St. Louis (MO): Washington University; 2021. (DOI is required)

Conference Paper:

Kimura J, Shibasaki H, editors. Recent advances in clinical neurophysiology. Proceedings of the 10th International Congress of EMG and Clinical Neurophysiology; 1995 Oct 15‐19; Kyoto, Japan. Amsterdam (NL): Elsevier; 1996. (DOI is required)

Website: 

Meyer D. Virtual learning is the way forward for educators. Elmhurst: Elmhurst University; 2020 Oct 8. [Cited 2021 Nov 10]. Available from: https://www.elmhurst.edu/blog/virtual-learning/.