DAWNMED JOURNAL OF MEDICAL SCIENCE · ISSN 2961-4295

For authors

Read this before you send us your paper.

Open access Original research: no fee. Other types: USD 250-400, only if accepted. Waivers available.	~1 week To your first decision.
~3 weeks From acceptance to publication.	CC BY 4.0 You keep full copyright of your work.

Double-blind peer review by at least two independent specialists. Full detail on the journal policies page.

1. Article types, limits and fees

Find your row and read across it.

Type	Main text	Abstract	Refs	Reporting guideline	Fee on acceptance
Original research	3,500 words	Structured, 300 w	40	CONSORT (RCT) · STROBE (observational) · TREND (non-randomised) · STARD (diagnostic accuracy)	✓ None
Systematic review / meta-analysis	5,000 words	Structured, 300 w	80	PRISMA 2020, plus a PROSPERO registration number	USD 400
Narrative review	4,000 words	Unstructured, 250 w	60	SANRA (recommended)	USD 400
Case report	1,500 words	Unstructured, 200 w	20	CARE, plus written patient consent	USD 250
Case series	2,500 words	Unstructured, 250 w	30	CARE (adapted), consent for every patient	USD 250
Letter to the editor	800 words	None	10	—	✓ None

Word counts exclude the title page, abstract, references, tables and figure legends. Download your checklist from the EQUATOR Network and submit it with the manuscript.

There is no submission fee, and original research is always free to publish. Fees for other types are invoiced only after final acceptance.

Waivers of 30–100% are available on demonstrated financial need and for authors in low-income countries. Request one when you submit. Requests made during review or after acceptance cannot be considered.

2. Formatting

Two files: a title page, and one manuscript file in this order: abstract, main text, declarations, references, tables, figures.

Microsoft Word (.doc / .docx). Times New Roman 12 pt, 1.5 line spacing, justified text, headings aligned left.
Margins 2.54 cm on all sides.
Line numbers and page numbers switched on, so reviewers can point at specific text.
No author names, affiliations or institutions anywhere in the manuscript file. Review is double-blind; identifying detail belongs on the title page only.
Tables numbered, title above, as editable text not images. Figures numbered, legend below, minimum 300 dpi.
A figure reproduced or adapted from elsewhere needs written permission, stated in the legend.

3. Manuscript structure

Original research and systematic reviews use the sections below. Reviews, case reports and letters use the same title page and declarations with a narrative body.

Title page, separate file

Title, plus a running title of up to 60 characters.
Each author's full name, highest degree, affiliation and ORCID iD.
Corresponding author's email and phone. One corresponding author per manuscript.
Main-text word count.

Authorship

The maximum number of authors is 12 for all article types. Author lists beyond 12, or lists that include several authors whose contributions are unclear, must justify in the cover letter how each author meets all four ICMJE authorship criteria. Authors who do not meet all four will be asked to move to the Acknowledgements.

The author list and order must be final and agreed by all authors before submission. Changes after submission require a signed statement from every author and the editor's approval; after acceptance, changes are made only through a published correction notice.

Abstract and keywords

Structured abstracts use Background, Aim, Methods, Results, Conclusion. Follow with 3–7 keywords, preferably MeSH terms.

Main text

Introduction. Up to 500 words, ending in a clear aim.
Methods. Enough detail to reproduce the study. Name the ethics committee and approval number here. For clinical trials, give the registry and registration number; registration must be prospective.
Results. Do not repeat in prose what a table already shows.
Discussion. Findings, comparison with existing evidence, limitations, implications.
Conclusion. What a clinician should do differently, if anything.

4. Declarations

Placed after the Conclusion, before the References. Copy this block into your manuscript and edit it.

Conflicts of interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest related to this work.

Funding: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency.

Ethics approval: Approved by the [committee] Institutional Review Board (ref. [number], [date]).

  — or — Not required; the study used fully anonymised routinely collected data.

Informed consent: Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.

  [Case reports: Written informed consent for publication was obtained from the patient or next of kin. All identifying details have been removed.]

Data availability: The data supporting this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Use of AI: [Name the tool, version and exactly what it was used for. Example: “ChatGPT-4o was used for language editing of the Discussion. The authors reviewed all output and take full responsibility for the content.” If none: “No AI-assisted tools were used.”]

Author contributions: A.H.M. conceived the study; M.K.T. analysed the data; both authors drafted and approved the final manuscript.

Acknowledgements: [Anyone who helped but does not meet all four ICMJE authorship criteria.]

AI-assisted tools

Chatbots and image generators cannot be authors, because they cannot take responsibility for the work. You may use them, but disclose how, both in the declaration above and in your cover letter. If AI was used for data collection, analysis or figure generation, describe it in the Methods instead. AI-generated text is not acceptable as a primary source. You remain fully responsible for accuracy and originality.

5. References

Vancouver style, numbered in order of first appearance, cited as [1], [2]. List up to six authors, then “et al.”.

Journal article
Alharbi MS, Alotaibi FN, Khan AR. Point-of-care ultrasound in family medicine. DawnMed J Med Sci. 2026;2(3):45–52. doi:10.64039/djms.2026.0023

Book
Loscalzo J, Fauci AS, Kasper DL. Harrison's principles of internal medicine. 21st ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2022.

Chapter
Nasser AM. Acid–base disorders. In: Rose BD, editor. Clinical physiology. 6th ed. Riyadh: Dar Al-Tibb; 2024. p. 210–34.

Website
World Health Organization. Global tuberculosis report 2025 [Internet]. Geneva: WHO; 2025 [cited 2026 Mar 4]. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/tb-report-2025

Preprint
Alqahtani SA, Bin Saad H. Sepsis biomarkers in the emergency department. medRxiv [Preprint]. 2025 Nov 12 [cited 2026 Jan 8]. doi:10.1101/2025.11.12.25320145

Verify every reference against PubMed before submitting, and check that none has been retracted.

6. Final check

Manuscripts failing any of these are returned before review, which costs you a week.

☐ Correct article type, within its word limit
☐ Title page is a separate file and lists every author's ORCID iD
☐ Manuscript file contains no author names, affiliations or institutions
☐ Abstract within limit, 3–7 keywords beneath it
☐ Line numbers and page numbers switched on
☐ Completed reporting checklist attached (CONSORT, STROBE, PRISMA, CARE…)
☐ Ethics committee and approval number named in the Methods
☐ Trial or PROSPERO registration number given, if applicable
☐ Written patient consent obtained and stated (case reports and series)
☐ All declarations present, including the AI statement
☐ References in Vancouver style, numbered, every one cited in the text
☐ Tables and figures placed after the references

7. Submit

Submission is through the author portal. If this is your first time, create an account here before you log in.

Upload. Manuscript, title page, reporting checklist and cover letter. The cover letter confirms the work is original, is not under review elsewhere, and describes any AI-assisted tools used.
Editorial screening, about 1 week. Scope, formatting, ethics statements and a similarity check. Manuscripts that fail are returned with the reason.
Double-blind peer review. At least two independent specialist reviewers.
Decision. Accept, minor revision, major revision, or reject. The editorial board makes the call.
Publication, about 3 weeks after acceptance. Proofs, then publication with a permanent DOI under CC BY 4.0. Any fee is invoiced at this point.

Submit a manuscript

New author? Register first, then use the button to log in and submit.

Questions before you submit, including waiver requests and whether your topic fits our scope: contact@dawnmedjournal.com. Peer review, ethics, plagiarism, conflicts of interest, corrections and retractions are covered in full in the journal policies.

DawnMed Journal of Medical Science

For Authors