Otology Japan contribution rules
Instruction for authors

1. Membership requirements for submissions

   All authors must be members of the Society.

2. Types of paper

   The types of papers to be submitted should be original articles or case reports. Original articles should be based on research and surveys related to otology, whereas case reports should describe one or several rare cases, provide valuable information, or be educational.

3. Copyright transfer and prohibition of multiple publication

   As stated in the written pledge, only papers that have not been published elsewhere can be submitted. The manuscript should be submitted with a letter of undertaking signed by the first or corresponding author(s), stating that this submission is not double or concurrent and all authors consent to copyright transfer. In submitting an article, if there is even the slightest concern that it may constitute multiple submissions, the authors should notify the editor and explain why the article should not be considered for multiple publications. (https://jams.med.or.jp/guideline/jamje_2022.pdf). The pledge form should be a photocopy of the form published in the journal or available online. The authors must download a pre-submission checklist from the website and attach the completed form to the manuscript. Pledge and check sheets are required for submission via the ScholarOne Manuscripts (https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/otoljp)electronic submission review system and should be uploaded together with the manuscript.

4. Preparation of manuscript

   1

   Manuscripts should be written in English with the title, running title, authors’ names, affiliations, and date of birth of the first author (required for award selection) on page 1. The names of the corresponding authors and their contact information (address, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses) should be written at the bottom of page 1. On page 2, provide an Abstract of no more than 250 words for original articles and 200 words for case reports, with three to five keywords. Keywords should not include any words already used in the title. Beginning on page 3, the manuscript should be arranged as follows: text, acknowledgments, supplementary notes, references, figure and table legends, and figures and tables. The positions of the figures and tables should be indicated in red characters on the right margin of the paper. The legends of figures and tables should be written on separate sheets.

   2

   The manuscript should be double-spaced with a font size of 12 points or larger on A4- or letter-sized paper. All margins should be at least 20 mm, and the pages should be numbered consecutively. The total number of words, including references, should be indicated at the end of the manuscript.

   3

   Manuscripts should not exceed five pages in printed form for original articles and three pages for case reports, including figures and tables. Approval from the Editorial Committee is required if the length exceeds this limit. Five printed pages are equivalent to approximately 3,000 words. Three printed pages are equivalent to approximately 1,800 words. Figures and tables should be 84–175 mm wide, with a maximum length of 240 mm. Figures and tables measuring 84 mm × 120 mm are approximately 150 words in the manuscript.

   4

   Running title: no more than 40 characters.

   5

   Use IOOG categorization of tympanomastoid surgery in parentheses (see IOOG website).

   6

   All investigations involving human participants must be conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Otology Japan requires the authors to state that the investigators have obtained written informed consent from each participant or their guardian. For experiments involving animals, the authors must state in the Methods section that the animals were handled in accordance with the guidelines of the Animal Use Committee of the institution. The investigation protocol must be approved by the Institutional Review Board and should be stated in the Methods section of the manuscript. Patients’ anonymity must be preserved.

   7

   Before submission, the full text must be proofread by a native English speaker, and a certification or receipt confirming this must be provided. The cost of final English editing by the society will be charged to the authors.

   8

   Artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies may be used in research or writing processes. However, these should not appear in the author list but should be mentioned in the main text or acknowledgments. The authors are responsible for the use of these technologies. This excludes the use of grammar and spelling to improve language and readability.

   9

   Illustrations must be professionally drawn or photographed for printing purposes. Each illustration and figure should be accompanied by a number. In printed journals, color publication is possible, with all additional costs charged to the authors. It is also possible to publish figures in color only in the online version. In this case, JPY2,200 will be charged per figure, and the authors must submit the figures in black-and-white, as well as color formats. The publisher does not convert the colored figures into a black-and-white format.

   10

   References: References should be numbered in the text at the right shoulder of the relevant section and listed in the order of citation. The maximum number of references is 20 for original articles and 12 for case reports. Each reference must include the authors’ name (list the first three, followed by “et al.” if there are more than three), the title, journal name, volume, page numbers, and year of publication.

   Example for listing journals :

   1) Kaga K, Sakurai H, Ogawa Y, et al.: Morphological changes of vestibular ganglion cells in human fetuses and in pediatric patients. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 60：11–20, 2001.

   Example for listing books :

   2) Tos M, Lau T: Long-term hearing results in cholesteatoma. In: Long-term results and indications in otology and otoneurosurgery. (Eds. Charachon R, Garcia-Ibanez E) Kugler Pub. Amsterdam, 1991. pp.89–94.

   11

   Conflicts of interest and funding: The authors must state any actual or potential conflicts of interest in the manuscript, including any financial, personal, or other relationships with other individuals or organizations that may have biased their work. If there are no conflicts of interest, they are stated as none declared. Financial disclosure information: The authors acknowledge any financial support provided by companies toward the completion of the work and other financial or personal connections to the work. If the funding sources had no such involvement, this should be stated.

   12

   The manuscript should be submitted online as a Word file (.doc or .docx) and an attached PowerPoint file (.ppt or .pptx) in ScholarOne Manuscripts (https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/otoljp).

   13

   Manuscripts exceeding 10 printed pages may be published only as a supplement.

   14

   Movies and audio can be submitted as electronic supplementary materials to the online content in J-STAGE. The size of each file should be 50 MB or less. If an article includes supplementary material, it should be referred to in the text as “See supplementary movie 1.” A handling fee of JPY1,100 per file will be charged to the authors. See https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/static/files/ja/UM-01-004_sousa(henshu)_append5.pdf for the available file formats.

   15

   Papers that do not conform to these submission rules will not be accepted.

5. Proofreading

   The first galley proof will be sent to the corresponding author. Corrections should be minimal, and tables and figures should not be revised.

6. Reprints

   Reprints must be ordered at a minimum quantity of 50 and multiples of 50. The covers for reprints should be at the actual cost.

7. Judgment of paper acceptance

   Acceptance or rejection of the manuscript and the order of publication will be decided by the Editorial Board based on the recommendations of the referees.

8. Publication expenses

   The cost of publication will be charged as follows:

   1

   Four printed pages of original articles will be free of charge. Up to two printed pages of case reports will be free of charge. The production cost for exceeding pages will be charged to the authors at JPY10,000 per page.

   2

   In case of urgent publications, all printed pages were charged to the authors.

   3

   To publish a supplementary issue, the authors will be charged the entire cost, including printing, book binding, proofreading, and distribution.

   4

   The costs of illustrations, tracing, and other work will be charged to the authors. The authors are responsible for the cost of reproducing the colored figures.

   5

   The cost of English proofreading will be charged to the authors.

   6

   Manuscripts invited for symposiums, panel discussions, etc. are subject to the Editorial Board’s regulations.

9. Copyright

   Copyright of the published paper belongs to the Japan Otological Society.

10. Green Open Access policy

    Otology Japan adopted the Green Open Access Policy and approved self-archiving by the authors. Authors can prepare their articles or final drafts with evidence data available in public online repositories, such as institutional repositories, simultaneously with their publication in a journal.