Author Guidelines

A scientific paper represents a newly produced or adapted knowledge. The scientific text is meant to be a result of careful consideration and evaluation of all details of the report. Presentation of scientific information implies strict logic and consistency, concise and accurate expression, objective statement of facts; convincing argumentation. Clarity of expression is a priority. Scientific presentation is characterized by specific requirements for the structural and compositional form of the various genre forms (article, review and case description, abstract).

The following types of papers are accepted for publishing: original articles, reviews, clinical case reports. They are subject to peer review (with standardized forms).

The title of any scientific work, regardless of its genre, must attract attention, be understandable, concise, and accurate - it presents the subject of the research. A subtitle may be formed for additional informativeness.

The abstract contains the specific features of the study – aim/subject, methodology used, main results and conclusions. It may be indexed by secondary information sources (e.g. databases, citation indexes etc.), i.e. it should provide information about the main elements of the scientific contribution. It should not contain citations and illustrative material, nor abbreviations that can be avoided.

Keywords are used to thematically categorize the article in databases and to search for references accordingly. It is the author's responsibility to choose these accurately according to the most significant concepts of their work. The number of keywords for each type of publication is usually between 3 and 8, and may be single words or short phrases generally accepted in the particular field of knowledge.

The author(s)' personal data should include first name and surname (in Bulgarian and Latin letters) and place of work, at minimum. Authors from the Medical University – Sofia must indicate the name of their department, faculty and university (in this order). All authors must provide ORCID number.

  • ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Original research articles must entail proprietary work presented via a thoroughly described methodology. The following format is to be followed: Introduction & Purpose - Materials and methods - Results - Discussion – Findings/ Conclusion(s).

Introduction: Its main function is to answer the questions: what are the motives for conducting the study and what is its immediate purpose. Additional functions: to provide background information needed to understand the article; a brief review of similar studies by other authors; a link to similar problems; a purpose statement; an assessment of the importance of the problem.

Materials and methods. Outlines the characteristics of the groups studied, including: does the material meet the stated aim of the study; analyses the method of selection – inclusion/exclusion criteria, randomization technique; discusses the comparability of the groups compared; explains the method used as appropriate for the stated aim, states the statistical methods, declares compliance with ethical rules.

Results. Should contain all the results and only the results. The text shall be supplemented by illustrative material - photographs, diagrams, tables. The author is expected to judge the objectivity or subjectivity of the results and whether they answer the questions posed. Avoid duplication of information (same data presented as table and figure; in text and in illustration).

Discussion. Interpret the data and its significance, discuss problems with the methods/techniques used, compare similarities and differences with other studies in the literature review, and highlight the contribution of the results to illuminating the problem posed. Controversies, unresolved issues, unwanted phenomena, unexpected results, doubts, alternative interpretations and hypotheses, statistical differences, limitations of the study are discussed. The data is summarized. The following should be avoided: unsubstantiated claims, exaggeration of the significance of data, digressive/peripheral issues, attacks on other studies and authors or their uncritical retelling, emotional appeals to the reader.

Conclusion. Summarizes the main results and draws conclusions from the study.

  • SCIENTIFIC REVIEW

It summarizes the contents of a number of sources dedicated to a single subject during a defined period of time. Discussion of authors and texts should be consistent with the thematic and issue relevance to the purpose of the study. It is intended to consider the experience, current status and trends of a given issue, to evaluate the material in a reasoned way, and to offer concrete, practically usable conclusions and recommendations. A logically connected, coherent exposition is expected, without mechanically retelling the sources. Subheadings are thematic.

  • CASE REPORT (CASUISTRY)

Clinical Case Reports consist of Introduction, Clinical Case Description, Discussion and Conclusions. An extended review section is used to demonstrate the significance of the presented case. The telegraphic style with duplication of a case history is unacceptable.

The list of references at the end of the paper should cover only those publications that have actually been cited and are necessary to outline the foundation on which the research is built. Do not offer an abundance of literature at the expense of its relevance. Minimize self-citation. Citation of Bulgarian sources is strongly recommended.

Citations of bibliographic references within the text are indicated by numbers in square brackets in the order of their appearance. The bibliography list at the end is arranged in the order of appearance of the sources within the text. Each source is listed on a new line, with an Arabic number, and should used the following style:

  • Articles: Author(s). The article title. Journal title (abbreviated), year, volume, number (issue) in round brackets, papers (from-to). Example: Yakub YN, Freedman RB, Pabico RC. Renal transplantation in systemic lupus erythematosus. Nephron, 2019, 27(1):197-201.
  • Papers from а compendium / digest / collective book: Author(s). Title. In: The book title. Edition number, editors. Place of publication (city), publishing house, year of publication, pages (from-to). Example: Wilkinson AH. Evaluation of the transplant recipient. In: Handbook of Kidney Transplantation. 6th ed. G. M. Danovitch (Ed.). Boston, Little, Brown and Co., 2019, 109-122.
  • Books: Author(s). Title. Place of publication (city), publishing house, year of publication, pages (from-to). Example: Sheytanov Y. Systemic Vasculitis. Sofia, Medicina i Fizkultura, 2019, 8-11.
  • When citing electronic publications which are available online, a link is added to the source description along with the date it was accessed on, or a DOI number. Author’s name, page title and website name should also be included.

In cases of up to three authors, their surnames followed by their initials (without periods) are written. In cases of more than three authors, “et al.” is written after the name of the third author. For translated books, the original book language and the translator should be written.

When citing Bulgarian sources, the source should be presented in Latin letters, with the title translated in English, while the names of the authors and the journals or publishers should be transliterated (e.g., Bulg. sp. psihiatr. or Med i fizk.).

STATISTICAL METHODS

Statistical methods must be described sufficiently so readers with access to original data can check the presented results. The results must be presented quantitatively (if possible) by appropriate indicators for the measurement of error or uncertainty (e.g., confidence intervals). Avoid using only p-values in the verification of a hypothesis since this approach does not generate sufficient quantitative information. Quoting the correct p-values in addition to the appropriate confidence intervals is desirable.

The number of measurements (sample size) must be stated and the method of calculation justified. Describe the randomization procedures, if any. The statistical programs/applications used must be described. The used statistical terms, abbreviations and symbols should be defined unambiguously.

LAYOUT AND FORMATTING

The article must start with its title (without abbreviations), the names of the authors (without academic or other titles), their workplaces designated by numeric indices, abstract and keywords.

The corresponding author must provide their contact details (e-mail & optionally: postal address, telephone number).

Approximate word count expected of submitted papers:

Original article: 2500-5000 Word count in the main text; 200-300 Word count in the abstract; 30 Number of references. 
Review:  3000-5000 Word count in the main text; 100-200 Word count in the abstract; 50 Number of references
Clinical case report: 1000-3000 Word count in the main text; 100-200 Word count in the abstract; 20 Number of references

MS Word files are acceptable. There are no specific requirements on the font size and type, spacing, margins and other formatting. Illustrative tables, figures, images etc. are positioned at their corresponding places within the text with captions and notes. Captions of figures must not be shown within the image. Images with good quality (at least 300 dpi) and appropriate file format (.jpg, tif, .png) are required. Tables must be presented in an editable format rather than as images.

Specific abbreviations used in the text are to be entered in brackets the first time the full name appears in the text. Measurement units should follow the SI system.

ETHICS AND MALPRACTICE

The editors shall take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred, and in no case shall they encourage such misconduct.  Find out more about our policies on Research integrity, Peer review, Plagiarism, Duplicate submission and redundant publication, Fabrication and falsification, Conflicts of interest etc.