Submissions

Author Guidelines

Universitas Odontologica

General Characteristics

Manuscript layout must be letter size (8.5” × 11” or 21.59 cm × 27.94 cm) with 1” margins (2.54 cm). The text must be written at single line spacing, Times New Roman 12 font, justified, without using columns. The text maximum length must be 8,000 words (body of the article) with 8 tables/figures at the most. A study submitted to evaluation for publication in Universitas Odontologica must include 3 files: body of the article with tables/figures (submission file), cover letter and cover page (supplementary files).

Cover Letter

The cover letter is a supplementary file that contains title of the article, name of the author in charge of revisions, and name, signature, permanent address, phone number, and email address of all authors. The letter with ALL THE SIGNATURES SCANNED must be submitted in PDF. A template cover letter is included below.

Cover Page

The cover page is a supplementary file that includes: (1) title in English; (2) title in Spanish; (3) full name of all authors, one below another, including all academic degrees with institutions, institutional affiliations, positions, and email addresses; (4) acknowledgements regarding institutional, technological, or technical support, sources of funding, and study approval by the institutional review board; and (5) short title (40 characters between letters and spaces for layout).

Article File

The article file must be submitted in MSWord®. It includes the abstract with keywords, the body of the article, tables and figures incorporated in the text, and references (main or submission file). It starts with the title, abstract, and keywords and thematic fields in English, followed by the title (título), abstract (resumen), and keywords (palabras clave) and thematic fields (áreas temáticas) in Spanish. Authors can add title (título), abstract (resumo), and keywords (palavras chave) and thematic fields (áreas temáticas) in Portuguese. The body is the section where the content of the article is developed with a maximum of 8,000 words. Data/findings are presented through tables and figures (images and graphs). References are the last part of the article file and include the sources cited in the text.

ABSTRACT: We accept 250-word structured-type abstracts, which must be written in ONLY ONE paragraph organized by the following subheadings: background (research problem), purpose, methods (type of study, sample, main procedures, and type of analysis), results, and conclusion (antecedentes, objetivo, métodos, resultados and conclusión for the resumen).

KEYWORDS: 6-10 single (e.g., orthodontics) or multiple (e.g., thermoplastic gutta-percha) descriptors that best describe the article and are standardized in databases and bibliographic indexes. Keywords are included in thesauri such as Medical Subject Headings (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh) and Descriptores en Ciencias de la Salud (http://decs.bvs.br/E/homepagee.htm). It is important to include the keywords in the text of the abstract, arrange them alphabetically, and separate them by semicolon. In addition, there should also be one or two words related to the article’s thematic field(s).

RESEARCH REPORTS: Articles that present research results/findings, such as studies, systematic reviews of literature, and meta-analysis, must be structured in this way: Introduction; Materials and Methods; Results; Discussion; Conclusions; and Recommendations. The INTRODUCTION includes a clear and coherent statement of the research problem, definition of concepts and variables, theoretical and conceptual framework, research hypothesis (experimental designs) or research question, and purpose of the study, everything with appropriate citations. MATERIALS AND METHODS consists of: (1) type of study and design; (2) universe, population of study, sampling technique, and sample size; (3) inclusion and exclusion criteria; (4) ethical considerations and approval by Institutional Review Board; (5) detailed, complete, organized, and clear description of procedures; (6) technical characteristics of equipment and instruments (brands, references, and models) and materials (generic drugs are preferred); (7) equipment and observer calibration; (8) operationalization of variables; (9) clear description of techniques and instruments for data collection and organization; (10) clear explanation of data analysis. It is important to begin the RESULTS section by indicating how data are going to be presented. It is also convenient presenting them from simple (descriptive) to complex (analytical/inferential). Description of results is easier to understand when there are accompanying tables and figures without repeating but analyzing the data they contain. Tables and figures must be placed in the text with referral from the text, for instance, (Table 1) or (Figure 1). DISCUSSION is the section where results/findings are analyzed regarding initial arguments of the article. It includes a synthesis of the research problem, procedures carried out to answer the research questions, what was expected, and reasons why. The analysis should be performed in relation to research hypotheses/assumptions, strengths and weaknesses of data collection and analysis methods, and literature about the topic. Likewise, results/findings are scrutinized regarding scope, applicability, type of evidence they provide, possibility to respond hypotheses, and what can be concluded or inferred; what is still to be responded in future studies and what new questions or hypotheses emerge from the study are also explained. It is important to analyze data in relation to available literature (evidence) as a part of a coherent argument and not just a comparison reference by reference without critical analysis. CONCLUSIONS include precise inferences from the results/findings without going beyond what the evidence and conditions of the study allow concluding. Lastly, RECOMMENDATIONS can be oriented toward practice in the scope of the study and potential studies with new research problems, hypotheses, variables, and/or research methods.

CASE REPORTS: Universitas Odontologica only accepts case reports that present unusual clinical conditions, introduce new therapies or methods that require future study with more sophisticated designs, and/or generate new research questions. Literature review in these cases must be exhaustive and analysis should be more rigorous. It is not enough just to describe the case; it is necessary to describe and support the contribution of the case(s). Sections of a case report are INTRODUCTION, CASE DESCRIPTION (including diagnosis, treatment and, when appropriate, follow-up, which is desirable), DISCUSSION, and CONCLUSIONS.

Citation-Sequence of in-text References

Universitas Odontologica uses the citation-sequence system developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (Vancouver group). A citation is the mention that is made in the text to another source (mainly journal articles, chapters of books with several authors and editors, and author books) to support a statement. A citation has two parts, the in-text citation number and the reference.

IN-TEXT CITATION NUMBER: It is the number in parenthesis that goes after mentioning in the text an author(s) or at the end of an argument or evidence. It is placed before the period and corresponds to a bibliographic reference at the end of the article. In-text reference numbers follow a citation sequence (ascending order) and the number can be repeated as many times as necessary (no new number should be assigned to a reference once it was cited for the first time). Likewise, an argument or statement can be supported by more than one reference. The following are examples of how to write multiple in-text citation numbers within the same paragraph: (4-6), (3,7-9). It is advisable that authors write the in-text citation numbers directly and not to use insert-endnote systems from text processors such as Word® or reference management software like EndNote® or Mendeley®. Footnotes are only used occasionally in the Vancouver system; therefore, it is strongly recommended to avoid them. References at the end of a manuscript are numbered and ordered as they were cited in the text. In other words, references are NOT organized alphabetically. The minimum number of references per article is 20 of which at least 6 must be references of Colombian or Latin American publications. Universitas Odontologica requests authors to do this in order to promoting the use of literature from the region. The main online portals to find good quality references from Iberian America include Publindex (http://publindex.colciencias.gov.co:8084/publindex/EnArticulo/busqueda.do), SciELO (http://www.scielo.org/php/index.php?lang=es), Re­dALyC (http://www.redalyc.org/home.oa), and LiLACS (http://bases.bireme.br/cgi-bin/wxislind.exe/iah/online/?IsisScript=iah/iah.xis&base=LILACS&lang=i&form=F).

NOTE: It is important that at the time of doing revisions required by referees and editors to review again the order of the in-text citation sequence and references because they often change.

REFERENCES FROM JOURNAL ARTICLES: Journal article references include last name of ALL authors (capitalizing first letter or where it is appropriate) followed by name initials, article title, journal international short name, (available on PubMed, SciELO, RedALyC, and LiLACS), year and month of publication, volume, issue number (in parenthesis), and page numbers. When the journal is published online, the reference should include the “doi.”

EXAMPLE: Caviedes-Bucheli J, Moreno GC, López MP, Bermeo-Noguera AM, Pacheco-Rodríguez G, Cuellar A, Muñoz HR. Calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor expression in alternatively activated monocytes/macrophages during irreversible pulpitis. J Endod. 2008 Aug; 34(8): 945-9. doi: 10.1016/j.joen.2008.05.011.

AUTHOR BOOK REFERENCES: They include last name of ALL authors (capitalizing first letter or where it is appropriate) followed by name initials, book title, edition number, city of publication, publisher, and year of publication.

EXAMPLE: Hancock I. La estética en odontología. 5a ed. Chicago: Mosby; 1997.

REFERENCES FROM EDITED BOOK CHAPTERS: Elements of the reference of an edited book chapter are last name of ALL chapter authors (capitalizing first letter or where it is appropriate) followed by name initials, chapter title, word “in,” last name and initials of ALL editors, word “editor(s),” book tile, edition, city of publication, publisher, year of publication, and chapter pages.

EXAMPLE: Delgado JE. Latin American Private Universities in the Context of Competition and Research Productivity. En: Gregorutti G, Delgado JE, editores. Private Universities in Latin America: Research and Innovation in the Knowledge Economy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan; 2015. pp. 27-49.

Tables and Figures

Tables are matrices that show quantitative descriptive and analytical results. Figures are another way to show quantitative data (such as bar charts), as well as diagrams and/or original images of the study. Tables and figures must be incorporated in the body of the article with appropriate reference from the text and numbered in ascending order. Tables and figures are numbered independently. The maximum number of tables and figures combined per article is 8. The title goes after the figure/table number (EXAMPLE, Table 1. Demographic characteristics of the sample). The table/figure is placed below the title and can be followed by notes to facilitate reading (e.g., acronyms and images codes). It is advisable avoiding figures/tables with little information that otherwise could be narrated in the text. Universitas Odontologica publishes >300-dpi colored images in JPG and/or TIFF format. Due to ethical constrains, photos of patients must be avoided unless there are informed consents and hiding to elude identity recognition. Likewise, when an article includes reproduction of material published elsewhere, there should be explicit written permits by original authors. On the other side, tables do NOT have vertical lines and there are horizontal lines only at the top, bottom, and separating variable names from data. If data analysis software such as SPSS was used in the study, authors are asked to provide tables in Excel. Font of tables and figures must be Times New Roman 10.

Additional Notes

ABBREVIATIONS OR ACRONYMS: A full term must be written the first time it appears in the text and followed by the abbreviation or acronym in parenthesis, which then will appear in the rest of the text whenever is necessary. Since abstract and body of the article are considered independent texts acronyms must also be managed independently.

SPECIALIZED TERMS AND LANGUAGE: Accurate writing of medical and scientific terms, as well as nomenclature (e.g., generic drugs, microorganisms), is essential. Terms in the language of the article are preferred instead of foreign terms. When necessary, translations in parenthesis can be used.

INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF MEDICAL JOURNAL EDITORS: More details about requirements of manuscripts submitted for publication in biomedical journals are available at the International Commit­tee of Medical Journal Editors webpage (http://www.icmje.org). 

Manuscript Review

Universitas Odontologica accepts manuscripts written in Spanish, English, and Portuguese. Reception of submissions takes place year-round. All articles undergo a two-step reviewing process. First, it is verified that the manuscript meets the style, submission, coherence, grammar, and methodology requirements. The first step does not guarantee that an article will be accepted for publication. Second, manuscripts are reviewed by 2 or 3 national and/or international anonymous peers. During this step, topic, originality, interest, contribution, validity, benefit, and quality of the manuscript are evaluated. The peer-review verdict could be “accept as is,” “accept with minor revisions,” “must submit again—requires major revisions,” “reject,” or “send to another specialist.” Since scientific publishing is a dialogical activity and an academic discussion, any required revision of an article approved for publication will be reviewed with the designated author before publication. When an article has been accepted for publication, the Editorial Council will schedule it for one of the upcoming issues and will notify the authors. 

Universitas Odontologica accepts articles in Spanish, English, and Portuguese. All manuscripts must be submitted through the journal website (http://www.javeriana.edu.co/universitasodontologica). To do so, the author responsible for revisions must register as reader, author, and reviewer, by clicking on the option “register” in the top menu (to visualize the content, readers should choose the option Spanish). There are 5 consecutive steps to submit a manuscript, which must be completed in one session: (1) Start submission; (2) upload submission (manuscript with tables/figures as main file); (3) enter complete metadata (authors, title, etc.); (4) upload supplementary files (cover letter in PDF signed by all authors and cover page); (5) confirmation. If for any reason, an author cannot complete the submission through the journal website, he/she can send the files to: universitas.odontologica@gmail.com.

COVER LETTER TEMPLATE: The cover letter of manuscripts submitted for publication in Universitas Odontologica must have the following content:

_____ [City], _____ [date]

Editorial Council

Universitas Odontologica Journal

School of Dentistry

Pontifical Javeriana University

Bogota, Colombia

Through this cover letter, I (we) present you the manuscript titled, “_____” [manuscript title] for publication in Universitas Odontologica. This article is original, has not been published elsewhere, and is not currently being evaluated for publication in any other journal or publication, including books, conference proceedings with ISBN, or internet pages. I (we) declare that I (we) conducted the study, it does not usurp rights of other authors, I am (we are) the exclusive author(s), and I (we) hold ownership of the moral rights of it. I (we) assure that it includes citations or transcriptions of appropriately referenced work, and it does not contain defamatory statements against others, or contrary to public order and decency. By submitting this article for evaluation for publication, I (we) accept establishing an academic dialogue with the editors who, following evaluation by peer reviewers, may recommend revisions to improve the quality of the manuscript. In case, there is a claim from a third party regarding moral or property rights of this work I (we) will assume full responsibility and will defend the rights granted herein.

Being aware of the non-for-profit academic and scientific purpose of the journal and the institutional publisher, I (we) authorize the revenue received to be used to supporting the financing of the costs borne by the Pontifical Javeriana University for dissemination of the publication. Likewise, I (we) agree that, upon acceptance, my (our) manuscript to be published in print, digital, and electronic media, and included in databases and bibliographic indexes. Lastly, I (we) declare that I (we) transfer copyright of this article to Pontifical Javeriana University.

For future clarifications and revisions, the author responsible for communication will be _____ [author’s name].

Looking forward to receiving your feedback, I (we) thank you for your attention to this letter.

Sincerely,

_____ [Signature of ALL authors]

_____ [Name of all authors]

_____ [Permanent address, phone number, and email address of all authors]