INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS

The Brazilian Journal of Forensic Anthropology & Legal Medicine (BJFA&LM) is the official scientific journal of the Brazilian Association of Forensic Anthropology (ABRAF). It provides the publication of original articles, meta-analyses, systematic reviews, literature reviews, reflexions, case studies and case series that contribute to the field of Forensic Anthropology and Legal Medicine as well as related fields such as Anatomy, Osteology, Forensic Entomology, and Forensic Archaeology.

The BJFA&LM is an Open Access journal free of charge, with a strict policy on plagiarized manuscripts of any kind. Therefore, the entire content of the manuscript is of responsibility of the author.

Manuscripts are submitted to a peer-review system, and the confidentiality of the authors is guaranteed.

The BJFA&LM is not obligated to publish the received manuscripts to evaluation, but it does inform that every material submitted to the journal will be accordingly examined following the admissibility of the journal.

Before initiating the submission process, the authors might check if the manuscript follows the directives and norms of the journal. The manuscript will be sent back to the authors for corrections in case the norms are not met.

The manuscripts submitted for publication at the BJFA&LM need to be original and cannot have been sent to another publication at another journal at the same time.

The submission must be done in English or Portuguese and is the responsibility of the authors to use the language in its correct form. It is recommended that the authors use specialized professionals in the area in case of translation or edits. This measure will guarantee that the information present in the article are comprehensible to native English speakers and people whose English is not their first language. The journal makes it clear that any costs related to edits regarding the language use are of sole responsibility of the authors. American English and British English are allowed, but not a combination of both in the same article.

PREPARATION

The manuscripts must be submitted in English or Portuguese, as a Microsoft Word document, Arial font, size 12, 1.5 space, lateral margins of 3cm, superior and inferior margins of 2.5cm, paper size A4, with a maximum of 15 pages, including figures, tables, and references. Every page needs to be numbered on the superior right side, starting at the identification page. Do not submit the manuscript as a PDF format document. Figures must be submitted as a separate file and saved as .jpeg, .tiff, or eps.

Five files must be submitted:

1. File 1 – information about the author(s)

This file must contain the following, in the exact order:

1. Field of study encompassing the manuscript (Forensic Anthropology, Legal Medicine, Osteology, Anatomy, Forensic Entomology, Forensic Archaeology).

2. Manuscript type (Original article, Meta-analysis, Systematic review, Literature review, case study/series).

3. Title in English, written in a concise and clear manner. The font must be Arial 12 in bold, in a sentence format – only the first letter capitalized – except names, and with no period at the end of the title.

4. Full name of the authors (maximum of six), with the last name in capital letters, in the same order to be published, separated by a comma. A numbered superscript must be present to indicate the affiliation of the authors. Example:

João SILVA¹, Maria SOUZA²

¹ Department, Field, University, State, Country.

² Department, Field, University, State, Country.

      5. Corresponding author indication with the main address for correspondence (with zip code) and email address for contact. Example:

João SILVA¹, Maria SOUZA*²

¹ Department, Field, University, State, Country.

² Department, Field, University, State, Country.

* Corresponding author

Address

City, State, Country

Zip-code

E-mail:

2. File 2 - Manuscript.

This file must NOT contain the author's data nor any information that may identify the authors, to guarantee the blind peer-review process. Please remove all identifying features from the paper itself, ensuring that the Authors' identity is not revealed.

Mandatory items:

B1. Title

B2. Abstract

The abstract must contain a maximum of 250 words, written in a single paragraph, including objectives, materials and methods, results, and conclusion.

For case studies, the abstract must contain objective, materials and methods, case report and conclusion.

B3. Keywords

Keywords will be used for indexing purposes. Please provide a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5 keywords that must follow the Description in Health Science (DeCS - http://decs.bvs.br/) or Medical Subject Headings (MeSH).

B4. Text Structure

I) Original Article

Original articles are the ones derived from empirical research, experimental or conceptual, that approaches themes related to Forensic Anthropology and Legal Medicine, as well as related fields, such as Anatomy, Osteology, Forensic Entomology, and Forensic Archaeology. The manuscript must contain Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, and References.

II) Systematic Review (including meta-analysis)

Research that approaches an interesting and current topic will receive priority. The manuscripts must include a structured summary (maximum of 250 words), not exceeding 3,500 words in the text, and should contain between 50 to 75 references. Figures and tables are limited to a total of 5 (combined), exceptional cases might be considered, according to editors’ criteria.

III) Literature Review

These are works that perform a complete and current bibliographic review about themes that are directly correlated to the interest fields of the BJFA&LM. A maximum of 40 references will be accepted. The structure should follow the Abstract, Introduction, Literature Review, Discussion, Final Considerations, References.

IV) Case Study

These are study series or case studies, of own authorship, that revolve around areas of interest of the BJFA&LM. They should be based on current references that bring a better understanding of the subject being described. The structure should be as follows: Abstract, Introduction, Case Report, Discussion, Conclusion, References.

C) File 3 - Cover letter

When submitting a manuscript, the corresponding author must write an sign a cover letter addressed to the Editor, providing a guarantee that: the manuscript hasn’t been published previously; that the manuscript is not in press at another journal; that this publication is approved by all authors and by the institutions in which they are affiliated or where the work was performed, and that if accepted, the manuscript will not be published elsewhere in the same format, in English or any other language, including in electronic format, without the written consent of the copyright holder. This document must be sent as a separate file, with the title: Submission Declaration

COVER LETTER (MODEL)

Manuscript title:

Authors:

1. The present manuscript is original and was not sent to another journal (and neither will be in the future) while its publication is being considered by the BJFA&LM, either by print or electronic format. It is a new and current work that has not been published in another mean by whole or in part, not even as a similar content, by the authors above cited. Every data present in the manuscript are legit and authentic;

2. We declare that we all sufficiently participated in the work to make it public our responsibility for its content. The contribution of each author follows: (put the work/part produced by each author, one by one). We do not omit any connections or financial agreements between authors and companies that might hold an interest in the publication of this article. Every person who collaborated in this study, but who do not meet the criteria for authorship contribution, received their due credits in the acknowledgment field, according to the permission granted by the referred authors;

3. We declare that we hold no conflict of interest that might influence the publication process and that the financial support received for this work was recognized.

4. We declare that we followed the ethical guidelines on human and/or animal subject research, complying with the Resolution n° 466/2012, Resolution n° 510/2016 and with the Law n° 11.794/2008. Every document related to the ethical guidelines’ compliance will be sent alongside the manuscript, and carry the clear confirmation of this conformance on the section “Methods”;

5. We guarantee that the data in the manuscript are not the result of bad faith, such as fabricated data, undue use of images (tables, graphs, figures, pictures, scales, graphic art, instruments, questionnaires,  methodology validation, and other types of illustrations), forgery, plagiarism, auto-plagiarism or duplicity, in which I am the sole author and owner of copyrights. We are aware that in case the article contains third party's material, a previous authorization is necessary to reproduce it. The manuscript does not infringe any copyright or intellectual property law. If it happens, we will completely respond to any damage caused to any third party in every administrative and legal manner suited to the case, as stated in terms of Law nº 9.610/98; we are in agreement with the public access policy and the copyrights laws adopted by the Brazilian Journal of Forensic Anthropology & Legal Medicine (BJFA&LM). Therefore, we allow the journal the rights of first publication, with recognition of the authorship and initial publication of this journal.

D) File 4 – of the Ethics Committee in Research or the Approval by the Ethics Committee for the Use of Animals

If the study has been done directly or indirectly with human subjects or animal experiments, the respective ethical directives must be followed.

In case the research has involved human subjects, these should be in agreement with the Resolution nº 466/2012 of the National Health Council (available at http://conselho.saude.gov.br/resolucoes/2012/Reso466.pdf) and the additional correlated norms, being mandatory to attach the legal document from the Ethics Committee in Research (CEP).

For research involving study with animal subjects, these should be in agreement with the Law 11.794/08 (available at http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2007-2010/2008/lei/l11794.htm) , with the Resolution 879/08 of the Veterinary Federal Council (http://conselho.saude.gov.br/resolucoes/2012/Reso466.pdf) and the additional correlated norms, being mandatory to attach the legal document from the Ethics Committee for the Use of Animals (CEUA).

The absence of such legal documents by the Ethics Committee or the approval by the Ethics Committee (in case the study used animal subjects) will result in the return of the manuscript to the submitting author.

In addition to the legal documents, the author(s) must observe other issues related to ethical questions. Hence, no mention or presence of initials, names or registration numbers of the participant/subject of the research should be available and the subject/participant should not be identified or recognized by images.

Case studies in which participants are identifiable must attach the written consent form (TCLE) and by the authorization of use of image directed to the BJFA&LM, duly signed by the participant or their legal guardian or representative (in case of minors and/or disabled) or by family members (in case of cadaver studies).

E) File 5 – Declaration of Interest

All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential competing interests include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding.

If there are no interests to declare, then please state this: "There are no known conflicts of interest associated with this publication, and there has been no significant financial support for this work that could have influenced its outcome."

E1. Authorship

For research work, authorship must be decided before submitting the manuscript. Credit for authorship must be based on 1) substantial contribution for the conceptualization and design, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data; 2) the writing or critical review of the article; and 3) approval of the final version to be published. The authors must meet all conditions (1, 2, and 3). Those who do not qualify as authors must be listed as collaborators and their contributions must be described at the Acknowledgment section of the manuscript.

The corresponding author is responsible for guaranteeing that all authors have reviewed, approved, and are completely familiarized with the content of the manuscript. All authors must be responsible for the manuscript, including for the statistical analysis.

E2. Text citation

Every reference should be cited in the text. Citation in the text must be represented by superscripted Arabic numbers, in the same order as their appearance in the text. The numbers must be adjacent to the word that comes before them (without spaces) and before the eventual sentence punctuation. Sequential numbers must be separated by a hyphen, and random numbers by a comma. Example:

 (...) These findings were verified by previous studies in the field ^{1-4,7,11,13-15}.

The accuracy of the references is the sole responsibility of the authors.

It is strongly recommended that the authors use the original references in the manuscript, without the use of In or apud.

E3. References

References should follow the Vancouver norm, available at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html.

The journal titles must be referred to in an abbreviated format, according to the Index Medicus/MEDLINE Database, with no bold, italic or underline. The abbreviations can be found at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals.

In case an article is referenced, and it has a DOI, the electronic address should be inserted at the end of the citation.

The following WILL NOT be accepted as reference: work summaries presented at scientific events, unpublished articles or without previous visualization, undergraduate thesis or lato sensu thesis.

Scientific Article

- Maximum of six authors: all must be mentioned. Example:

Fernandes LCC, Bento MIC, Oliveira JA, Soriano EP, SANTIAGO BM, Rabello PM. Identificação odontológica post-mortem por meio de fotografias do sorriso: revisão de literatura. Rev Bras Odontol Leg RBOL. 2017; 4(3):57-66. http://dx.doi.org/10.21117/rbol.v4i3.116.

- Articles with more than six authors must have the citation of the first six authors followed by et al. Example:

Cunha E, Lopez-Capp TT, Inojosa R, Marques SR, Moraes LOC, Liberti E, et al. The Brazilian identified human osteological collections. Forensic Sci Int. 2018; 289:449.e1–449.e6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2018.05.040.

Thesis and Dissertation

Brito LM. Proporções áureas em crânios humanos esqueletizados. (Master). Faculdade de Odontologia da Universidade de São Paulo. São Paulo, SP; 2013. 96p. http://dx.doi.org/10.11606/D.23.2013.tde-28052013-195744.

Deitos AR. O uso do terceiro molar na estimativa de idade em brasileiros. Tese (Doctorate). Faculdade de Odontologia da Universidade de São Paulo. São Paulo, SP; 2014. 108p. http://dx.doi.org/10.11606/T.23.2015.tde-15042015-170618.

Book

Işcan MY. The human skeleton in Forensic Medicine. 3^rd ed. Springfield: Charles Thomas Publisher, LTD; 2013.

Book Chapter

Scheuer L, Black S. Osteology. ln: Işcan MY. The human skeleton in Forensic Medicine. 3^rd ed. Springfield: Charles Thomas Publisher, LTD; 2013. p. 199-220.

Constitution, Laws and Enactments

Brasil. Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil de 1988. Available at: http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/Constituicao/Constituicao.htm. Accessed on: January 28, 2019.

Brasil. Law n. 11.340, de 7 de agosto de 2006. Cria mecanismos para coibir a violência doméstica e familiar contra a mulher, nos termos do § 8o do art. 226 da Constituição Federal, da Convenção sobre a Eliminação de Todas as Formas de Discriminação contra as Mulheres e da Convenção Interamericana para Prevenir, Punir e Erradicar a Violência contra a Mulher; dispõe sobre a criação dos Juizados de Violência Doméstica e Familiar contra a Mulher; altera o Código de Processo Penal, o Código Penal e a Lei de Execução Penal; e dá outras providências.  Available at: http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_Ato2004-2006/2006/Lei/L11340.htm. Accessed on: January 29, 2019.

Brasil. Decreto-lei n. 3.689, de 3 de outubro de 1941. Código de Processo Penal. Disponível em: http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/decreto-lei/Del3689.htm. Accessed on: January 19, 2019.

Ordinances

Brasil. Ministério Extraordinário da Segurança Pública/Secretaria Nacional de Segurança Pública. Subdelega competências para os fins que especifica no âmbito da Secretaria Nacional de Segurança Pública. Portaria n. 100, de 11 de junho de 2018. Available at: http://www.in.gov.br/materia/-/asset_publisher/Kujrw0TZC2Mb/content/id/25211773/do1-2018-06-12-portaria-n-100-de-11-de-junho-de-2018-25211705. Accessed on: January 20, 2019.

Resolution

Brasil. Conselho Federal de Medicina. Define os critérios do diagnóstico de morte encefálica. Resolução CFM n. 2.173/2017, de 15 de dezembro de 2017. Available at: https://sistemas.cfm.org.br/normas/visualizar/resolucoes/BR/2017/2173. Accessed on: January 19, 2019.

Court Decisions, Rullings, Deliberations or Sentences

Brasil. Federal Supreme Court. EMBARGOS DE DECLARAÇÃO. INEXISTÊNCIA DOS VÍCIOS DO ART. 619 DO CÓDIGO DE PROCESSO PENAL. 1. Não merecem acolhida os embargos de declaração quando o acórdão recorrido não padece de ambiguidade, obscuridade, contradição ou omissão. 2. Embargos de declaração rejeitados. Embargos de Declaração no Habeas corpus 138.088 Rio de Janeiro. Relator: Ministro Alexandre de Moraes. DJ, Feb 20, 2018.

- Tables: must be self-explanatory and consecutively numbered with Arabic numbers in the order of which they are cited in the text and must contain a brief description. Tables must be inserted in the body of the manuscript (file .doc). The subtitle of the tables must be present above the table body, and any note must be placed below the table body.

Example:

(...) in the observed results, according to table 1.

(...) in the results of the present study (Table 1).

Table 1 – Degree of dental development related to age.

- Figures: Illustrations (photographs, drawings, graphs, maps, etc.) are considered figures, which should be limited to the minimum and consecutively numbered with Arabic numbers in the order of which they appear in the text.

They must be sufficiently clear to allow for their reproduction in 8,2 cm (width of the text column) or 17,2 cm (width of the page). Figures must be inserted on the body of the text (file .doc). However, original copies of these figures must also be sent separately in original format TIFF or JPEG with a minimum resolution of 300dpi. The same must be done for graphs or drawings. Figures of third-party authorship that are used in the manuscript must have written authorization from the author for the use and must contain the source below the body of the figure. The subtitle must be present below the body of each figure.

Ex.:

(...) the characteristics observed during analysis (Figures 1 and 2).

Figure 1 – Location of cranial fractures.

Figure 2 – Location of fractures in the appendicular skeleton.

- Abbreviation, Monograms, Initials, and Measure Units: measure units must be used as the legal units of the International System of Units (SI).

4) FUNDING

Authors must declare who provided financial support for the conduct of the research (if any – in total or part), either by companies, institutions, or governmental agencies, describing the role of the sponsor.

 5) DIREITOS AUTORAIS

Upon acceptance of the manuscript for publication, the authors must send an email with a responsibility declaration and transfer of copyrights to the BJFA&LM, duly signed by every author and by the responsible submitting author, according to the available model. That way, authors transfer copyright to the publisher as part of a journal publishing agreement.

RESPONSABILITY DECLARATION AND TRANSFER OF COPYRIGHTS (MODEL)

I (we), list all complete names of authors, transfer all the copyrights pertaining to the following article: name of the article, to the Brazilian Journal of Forensic Anthropology and Legal Medicine (BJFA&LM).

Declare that the work mentioned is original, not a product of plagiarism and that it has not been published or being considered for publication by another journal, either by print or electronic format.

Declare that the present work does not have any conflict of interest, either personal, institutional or governmental, that would compromise the acquisition and the publishing of results as well as the discussion and conclusion of the study.

Declare that the present work was financed in total by its authors (In case any funding was received, please identify the sponsor, government or institution).

Place, date, month and year.

Name and signature of the responsible author (or every author).

In case of any acknowledgment, please include it at the end of the text body and before the references.

Every image permit, positive ethics committee permit documents, or the authorization from the institution in which the study was developed, should be attached to the submission as supplementary documentation.

Every document (manuscript and supplementary documentation) must be submitted to the BJFA&LM through the e-mail: bjfalm2019@gmail.com.

6) CHECK-LIST FOR SUBMISSION (SEPARATED DOCUMENTS):

Main Document

7.1 Manuscript (WITHOUT IDENTIFICATION FROM AUTHORS): title, abstract, keywords, the body of text, references (Word document).

Supplementary Documentation

7.2 Authors’ data: authors names in publication sequence, authors titles, corresponding author contact (Word Document).

7.3 Cover letter (following provided model)

7.4 Approved document (or permit) from CEP or CEUA, in case it is necessary (PDF).

7.5 Conflict of Interest Declaration

7.6 Pictures (JPEG or TIFF), in case they were used.

For questions or in case of any doubts, please contact us by email:  bjfalm2019@gmail.com