Next Edition:
Dokita Volume 42 - 65th anniversary edition
To be Published: October 2025
Category: 65th year anniversary edition
instructions to authors:
➢ Submission
➢ Aims and Scope
➢ Preparing your Manuscript
• Manuscript Categories and Requirements
• Manuscript formatting
➢ Declaration
• Ethical Considerations
• Author Licensing
• Competing Interest
• Funding
• Authors’ contribution
• Acknowledgements
➢ Editorial Policies
➢ Contact Details
SUBMISSION
All manuscripts must be submitted online by filling out the form here. The submitted manuscripts that do not follow the “Instructions to Authors” based on the chosen article/category will be returned to the authors for correction before they undergo editorial/peer review.
You will be asked to suggest potential peer reviewers for your manuscript: they should be experts in the field and be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. Any suggested peer reviewers must not have any conflict of interest with the authors or the content of the submitted work. Suggested reviewers will be considered alongside potential reviewers identified by the editorial team.
AIMS AND SCOPE
DOKITA Journal is a peer-reviewed medical journal published by the University of Ibadan Medical Students’ Association (UIMSA). It provides a platform for medical students, researchers, and health professionals to publish high-quality, original scholarly work.
The journal covers a wide range of topics in the medical and health sciences, including but not limited to:
• Clinical Medicine
• Public Health
• Biomedical Sciences
• Mental Health and Neurosciences
• Medical Education
Submissions must demonstrate scientific rigor, ethical integrity, and relevance to healthcare practice, policy, or education. While DOKITA is rooted in Nigeria and West Africa, it welcomes contributions from authors worldwide that align with its mission to advance health knowledge, improve clinical practice, and foster academic excellence.
PREPARING YOUR MANUSCRIPT
Manuscript Categories and Requirements
MANUSCRIPT FORMATTING
The requirements for submission of articles to DOKITA are in accordance with the revised “Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (ICMJE Recommendations)”. To ensure smooth processing and to meet peer-reviewed publication standards, all manuscript submissions to DOKITA Journal must include the following components, each submitted as separate files:
1. Cover Letter (Separate File)
A formal cover letter addressed to the Editor-in-Chief must accompany every manuscript submission. The cover letter should:
• Briefly describe the nature and purpose of the submission.
• Highlight the significance of the study and its potential contribution to the field.
• Indicate whether the manuscript has been presented previously at a conference or scientific meeting. If so, include the name of the meeting, the sponsoring society, the date, the location, and the presentation type (e.g., poster, oral, plenary).
• Confirm that the manuscript is original, has not been published, and is not under consideration elsewhere.
2. Title Page (Separate File)
The title page must contain the following elements:
• Manuscript Title: Include a descriptive and specific full title. Avoid abbreviations or declarative statements. A short running title (≤ 40 characters) should also be provided.
• Author Details: Full names of all authors, with their highest academic degrees (e.g., BSc, MBChB, MPH, PhD). Institutional affiliations for each author, including department, institution, city, state, and country. Use superscript numbers to link authors to affiliations.
• ORCID iD: All authors must provide a valid ORCID iD (register for free at https://orcid.org).
• Manuscript Type: Indicate whether it is an original research article, review, case report, short communication, commentary, letter to the editor, or creative submission.
• Word Counts: Provide word counts for both the abstract and the main text.
• Funding and Support: List any grants, equipment, or materials that supported the work.
• Acknowledgements: Mention individuals or organizations who contributed but do not meet authorship criteria (note: acknowledgements must not be included in the main manuscript file).
• Corresponding Author: Full name, mailing address, email address, and phone number of the author responsible for correspondence, form completion, and proof review.
• Clinical Trial Registration: If applicable, include the registration number and the name and URL of the trial registry.
• Conflicts of Interest: A clear statement for each author regarding potential conflicts of interest.
3. Blinded Manuscript (Separate File)
This file must contain the entire manuscript with all identifying information removed to ensure anonymity during the double-blind peer review process.
Requirements:
• Do not include author names, institutional affiliations, acknowledgements, or any identifying references in the text or metadata.
• The file should include the abstract, main text, references, and figure legends (if applicable).
• Submit in .DOC or .DOCX format (do not use PDF or zipped files).
• Images must not be embedded within the text.
• Pages should be numbered consecutively, beginning with the first page of the manuscript.
Note: Submissions not adhering to blinding standards will be returned for revision.
4. Tables & Figures (Separate File, When Applicable)
• Each table should be submitted in a separate Word file.
• Tables must be clearly formatted, numbered sequentially, and include:
– A brief but descriptive title
– Clearly labeled column headings
• If tables are copied or adapted from another source, authors are responsible for obtaining permission prior to publication, and the source must be clearly cited.
• When multiple tables are included, symbols should be used consistently throughout all tables.
• All abbreviations must be defined in footnotes. Use the following footnote symbols in this order: †, ‡, §, ¶. Reserve *, **, *** exclusively for indicating P-values.
• Statistical measures such as SD (standard deviation) or SEM (standard error of the mean) should be clearly identified in the table headings.
• Do not embed tables within the text of the blinded manuscript.
• Submit high-quality images as JPEG files when figures are part of the submission.
• Each image must be under 5 MB in size.
• Do not zip or embed figures within the text document.
• All figure legends should be included, concise but comprehensive.
5. References
• References must follow the Vancouver referencing style, with citations numbered in the order they appear in the text and indicated using square brackets (e.g., WHO [1]).
• Journal titles should be abbreviated according to the conventions used by Index Medicus. For journals not indexed, the full journal name should be used.
• Avoid citing abstracts, unpublished data, or non-peer-reviewed sources unless absolutely necessary.
• Personal communications may only be cited if essential and with explicit written permission from the source. These should not be included in the reference list but cited in-text (e.g., “Data provided by Dr. A. Yusuf, personal communication, 2023”).
• Provide DOI numbers for references where available.
Important Note
All documents must be submitted in the specified format and as individual files. Failure to comply may result in delays, desk rejection, or return for technical corrections. Following these instructions ensures a more efficient editorial and review process.
DECLARATION
Ethical Considerations
All research manuscripts submitted for publication must have prior approval from an appropriate ethics committee or institutional review board. Authors must ensure that their research complies with ethical standards, including obtaining informed consent and safeguarding participant privacy, especially when presenting materials such as images involving individual participants. Research involving human subjects, human materials, or human data must be conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS) guidelines, and applicable national regulations. For studies involving animals, authors are required to adhere to relevant institutional, national, and international guidelines for the ethical treatment of animals. The editor reserves the right to reject submissions or contact the authors’ ethics committee if there is any suspicion that the research was not conducted within an appropriate ethical framework.
Author Licensing
DOKITA is an open access journal, meaning no article processing charges is required and all published articles are freely accessible to readers worldwide immediately upon publication. Upon acceptance of a manuscript, authors are required to grant DOKITA a license to publish their work. This license permits the publisher to reproduce, distribute, and display the article in all forms and media, including electronic and print versions. Authors retain copyright of their work but must ensure that the manuscript is original and does not infringe upon existing copyrights. Any third-party material included in the manuscript must have the appropriate permissions secured by the authors prior to publication. By submitting a manuscript, authors confirm that all co-authors have agreed to the licensing terms and that the work is not under consideration elsewhere.
Conflict of Interest
All authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest related to the publication of the manuscript, including any associations with institutions, products, or services mentioned in the study that may influence its outcomes. Authors should also disclose conflicts involving competing products or services referenced in the manuscript. Full transparency regarding any financial, personal, or professional relationships that could affect the research is required.
Funding
Authors must disclose all sources of financial support for the research and the preparation of the manuscript. This includes grants, scholarships, fellowships, institutional support, and any other funding received from public, private, or commercial organizations. The role of the funding bodies in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and manuscript writing should be clearly stated. If no specific funding was received, authors should explicitly declare this.
Transparency regarding funding sources is essential to identify potential conflicts of interest and to maintain the integrity of the research.
Authorship
DOKITA requires that all authors listed on a manuscript have made significant intellectual contributions to the work and meet the authorship criteria as defined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Authorship credit is based on the following four criteria, all of which must be met:
1. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data;
2. Drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content;
3. Final approval of the version to be published;
4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring that questions related to accuracy or integrity are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Individuals who only contributed by acquiring funding, collecting data, or providing general supervision do not qualify for authorship. Each author should be able to take public responsibility for their specific contributions.
The order of authorship should accurately reflect the relative contributions of each author and must be agreed upon by all authors before submission. Any changes to authorship after submission require written approval from all authors and the journal editor, and may be declined if the authorship criteria are not met.
Acknowledgements
The Acknowledgements section should be used to recognize individuals, institutions, or funding sources that contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship. This may include technical support, writing assistance, general supervision, or financial support. Authors must obtain permission from all individuals named in the Acknowledgements prior to submission. Financial and material support should be clearly identified. However, do not include any
information that could compromise the anonymity of the peer review process.
EDITORIAL POLICIES
Manuscripts submitted to DOKITA must be original and submitted exclusively to this journal. They must not have been published previously, simultaneously submitted elsewhere, or accepted for publication by another journal. Authors are required to designate one corresponding author who will handle all communications with the journal regarding the manuscript.
Upon submission, all manuscripts are acknowledged and undergo an initial editorial screening to assess suitability for peer review. Manuscripts that lack originality, contain serious scientific or technical flaws, or do not convey a significant contribution may be rejected without further review. Additionally, manuscripts deemed unlikely to interest DOKITA’s readership may also be rejected at this stage.
Manuscripts deemed suitable proceed to a rigorous double-blind peer review process, involving two expert reviewers. Authors are encouraged to suggest two to three potential reviewers with relevant expertise who are not affiliated with the same institution; however, the final selection of reviewers remains at the sole discretion of the editorial team. Both reviewers and authors remain anonymous to each other throughout the process.
Reviewer comments and recommendations; including acceptance, rejection, or requests for revision, are communicated to the corresponding author. Authors may be asked to submit a detailed, point-by-point response to reviewers’ comments along with a revised manuscript. This iterative process continues until the editors and reviewers are satisfied with the manuscript.
Accepted manuscripts undergo professional copyediting to ensure clarity, correct grammar, punctuation, and adherence to the journal’s style and formatting requirements. Page proofs are sent to the corresponding author, who is expected to review and return corrections within the specified timeframe.
CONTACT DETAILS
DOKITA Editorial Board,
Alexander Brown Hall,
University College Hospital,
Ibadan.
Email: [email protected]
Phone Number: +234 810 3427855
Submit an Article
Browse Past Journals