SCOPE
The Brazilian Journal of Ophthalmology (Rev Bras Oftalmol.) is a scientific publication of continuous flow, electronic, free and open access of the Brazilian Society of Ophthalmology, which proposes to publish articles that contribute to the improvement and development of the practice, research and teaching of Ophthalmology and related specialties.
SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPTS
The Brazilian Journal of Ophthalmology (RBO) receives for publication: Original articles on basic research, clinical or surgical experimentation; Case Reports for disclosure and conduct in clinical cases of relevant importance; Review Articles, which present reviews of specific topics or updates; Images Articles, Brief Communication and Letters to the Editor. Editorials are written by invitation, featuring comments on relevant works by the journal itself, important research published or communications from editors of interest to the specialty. Articles with commercial or propagandistic purposes are rejected.
All research, both clinical and experimental, must have been carried out in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.
MODALITY
1.Original article – describes complete and never published, prospective or retrospective, randomized or double-blind experimental research or clinical investigation. It must have: title in Portuguese and English, structured abstract with descriptors, abstract faithful to the resumo with keywords, introduction, methods, results, discussion, conclusion and references.
It should contain a maximum of 5,000 words (excluding references), 40 references and six tables/figures.
2.Review article – Its purpose is to examine the published bibliography on a given subject, making a critical and systematic evaluation of the literature on a specific subject and presenting important conclusions based on this literature. It is only accepted for publication when requested by the Editors. It must have a title in Portuguese and English, an abstract with descriptors, an abstract faithful to the resumo with keywords, text and references.
The text must contain up to 5,000 words (excluding references), with a maximum of six authors, 50 references and eight tables/figures.
3.Update article – This is a state-of-the-art review on a given topic, written by a specialist at the invitation of the Editors. It must have a title in Portuguese and English, an abstract with descriptors, an abstract faithful to the resumo with keywords, text and references.
The text must contain up to 5,000 words (excluding references), with a maximum of six authors, 50 references and eight tables/figures.
4.Case report – It should be informative with information pertinent to the case. Only Clinical Case Reports of great importance will be accepted, either due to their rarity as a nosological entity or due to their unusual presentation. The patient’s consent is mandatory and, whenever the Case Report requires the use of the participant’s image, authorization for the use of the image must be obtained in the Consent Form (download here) or in a separate document. The presentation of the Case Report must contain a title in Portuguese and English, an abstract with descriptors, an abstract faithful to the resumo with keywords, an introduction, a description of the case, discussion and references.
It must contain up to 2,500 words (including references, figure keys and tables), with a maximum of six authors, 15 references and four tables/figures.
5.Image – The publication of ophthalmological images includes photographs of ocular attachments and images of anterior and posterior segments obtained by the authors, must have a minimum resolution of 300 DPI for the final size of the publication (about 2,500 x 3,300 pixels, for a full page), in addition to the publication of new techniques employed or unusual treatments in the specialty.
This text does not allow discussion by the authors. The text must be limited to 500 words, with a maximum of three authors, three figures and 3 to 5 references. It is not necessary to present an abstract, and tables are not allowed.
6.Brief communication – these are short articles that present original and meaningful material for rapid dissemination. For example, a brief communication might focus on a specific aspect of an issue or a new discovery that is expected to have a significant impact.
Its submission must follow the instructions in the Original Articles. It should contain a maximum of 1,500 words (excluding abstracts, tables, figures and references). The abstract is structured (objective, method, result and conclusion) and limited to 150 words. It should have up to four authors, ten references and two figures and/or tables.
Brief Communications are always reviewed by at least one chief editor and/or associate and have priority and fast publication.
7.Letter to the editor – Its objecive is to comment or discuss works published in the journal or to report original research in progress. They are published at the discretion of the Editors, with the respective replica, when applicable.
STRUCTURE OF MANUSCRIPTS
When preparing manuscripts, authors should be guided by the Recommendations for the preparation, writing, editing and publication of academic papers in medical journals, of the ICMJE (English version and Portuguese version) .
Manuscripts can be written in Portuguese or English and are published electronically in the language in which they are submitted. The presentation of the text must be in Arial font, size 12, on A4 page, with double spacing between lines and margins of 2.5 cm on all sides.
Furthermore, they must obey the predetermined structure according to their type. The Brazilian Journal of Ophthalmology (RBO) reserves the right not to accept manuscripts that do not meet the criteria described here for evaluation.
Cover page
- Title of the manuscript, in Portuguese and English, containing between 10 and 12 words, not considering articles and prepositions. The title should be motivating and give an idea of the objectives and content of the work.
- Full name of each author, without abbreviations. If the author already has a format used in his publications, he must inform the journal secretary.
- ORCiD digital identifier (Open Researcher and Contributor ID). More information on registering and obtaining an ORCiD ID can be found at https://orcid.org. It is important that all author data are publicly available in the ORCiD register.
- Institutional affiliation of each author, separately. If there is more than one institutional affiliation, indicate only the affiliation of the institution to which publication credit should be attributed. Administrative positions and/or functions must not be indicated.
- Indication of the institution where the work was carried out.
- Name, address and email of the corresponding author.
- Sources of research assistance, if any.
- Declaration of non-existence of conflicts of interest.
Abstract and Descriptors
Abstract in Portuguese and English, between 150 and 300 words. For Original Articles, it must be structured (Objective, Methods, Results and Conclusion), highlighting the most significant data of the work. For Case Reports, Reviews or Updates, the abstract should not be structured. Below the abstract, specify at least five and at most ten descriptors (keywords) that define the subject of the paper. The descriptors must be based on the Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS) available at the electronic address: https://decs.bvsalud.org
Still after the abstract, indicate, for clinical trials, the registration number in the base ClinicalTrials.gov.
Text
Must strictly comply with the structure for each category of manuscript.
Introduction
It should be brief and contain and explain the objectives and reason for the work.
Methods
They must contain enough information to know how the research methods and processes were carried out. The description must be clear and sufficient for another researcher to reproduce or continue the study. It should also describe the statistical methodology employed with sufficient detail to ensure that any reader with reasonable knowledge of the subject and access to original data can verify the results presented.
Avoid using imprecise terms such as “random”, “normal”, “significant”, “important”, “acceptable”, without defining them. Research results should be reported in this chapter, in logical sequence and in a concise manner.
Information on postoperative pain management, both in humans and animals, should be reported in the text, according to Resolution 196/96, of the Ministry of Health, and the Animal Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE) guidelines, to report animal studies, available at https://www.nc3rs.org.uk/arrive-guidelines
Results
Whenever possible, they should be presented in tables, graphs or figures.
Discussion
All work results should be discussed and compared with the relevant literature.
Conclusion
It should be based on the results obtained.
Acknowledgements
Collaborations from people and institutions or acknowledgments for financial support and technical assistance, which deserve recognition, but do not justify its inclusion as an author, must be mentioned in this item.
References
They must be updated and contain, preferably, the most relevant works published in the last 5 years on the subject. They must not contain works not mentioned in the text. When relevant, the inclusion of works published in the Brazilian literature is recommended.
In the text, the citation of the authors must be numerical and sequential, using Arabic numerals in increasing sequence between parentheses and superscripts, avoiding the nominal citation of the authors.
In the bibliographic list after the text, the references must be numbered consecutively, in the order in which they are mentioned in the text, and identified by Arabic numerals.
The presentation must follow the Vancouver style, exemplified below. Journal titles should be abbreviated according to the style presented by the National Library of Medicine, available in the NLM Catalog: Journals referenced in the NCBI Databases, at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals
For all references, cite all authors up to six. When in greater numbers, cite the first six authors followed by the expression et al.
1.Journal articles
Assia EI, Wong JX. Adjustable 6-0 polypropylene flanged technique for scleral fixation, part 2: repositioning of subluxated IOLs. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2020;46(10):1392-6.
Inagaki R, Suzuki H, Haseoka T, Arai S, Takagi Y, Hikoya A, et al. Effects of the gaze fixation position on AS-OCT measurements of the limbus and extraocular muscle insertion site distance. J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 2021;58(1):28-33.
2.Books
Yamane R. Ocular semiology. 3rd ed. Rio de Janeiro: Cultura Médica; 2009.
3.Book chapters
Parente JE, Melo LL, Mendonça Gomes MS, Ribeiro JC. Ocular embryology. In: Ribeiro JC, Alves AP, Ferreira JL, Andrade Neto L. Ophthalmology for graduation. Fortaleza: EdUnichritus; 2019. Cap. 1, p. 19-30.
4.Dissertations and theses
Azevedo BM. Structural evaluation of the optic disc and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer in patients with diabetic retinopathy undergoing panretinal photocoagulation [thesis]. São Paulo: University of São Paulo; 2019.
5.Electronic publications
Brazilian Council of Ophthalmology (CBO). Eye health conditions in Brazil. São Paulo: CBO; 2019. [cited 2020 Jan 12]. Available at: https://www.cbo.com.br/novo/publicacoes/condicoes_saude_ocular_brasil2019.pdf
Tables and figures
All tables and figures must also be sent in a digital file – the first preferably in Microsoft Word® files and the others in Microsoft Excel®, tiff or JPG files. Quantities, units and symbols used in the tables must obey the national nomenclature.
Keys
All figures (graphs, photographs and illustrations) and tables must always accompany them. Each key must be numbered in Arabic numerals, corresponding to their citations in the text.
If the illustrations have already been published, they must be accompanied by written authorization from the author or publisher, including the full reference source in which it was published.
Abbreviations and acronyms
They must be preceded by the full name, when cited for the first time in the text or in the keys of tables and figures.
SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPTS
All manuscripts must be submitted electronically on the ScholarOne platform.
Must be included in the submission
- Template for Manuscript Submission (Download here).
- Declaration of Responsibility, signed by all authors, authorizing its publication and declaring that it is unpublished and has not been and is not being submitted for publication in another journal, digitalized in PDF format (Download Here);
- Open Science Compliance Form (Download Here);
- Potential Conflicts of Interest Declaration Form (Download Here);
- Declaration that the participants signed the Free and Informed Consent Form, if the work is a clinical research involving human beings or Case Reports. (Download Here).
- Approval of the Ethics Committee and number of the Certificate of Presentation of Ethics Appreciation (CAAE) for all Original Articles.
- Declaration of Research involving animal experimentation (if applicable).(Download Here).
PROCESSING FEES
The Brazilian Journal of Ophthalmology does not charge fees for submission, evaluation or publication of articles.
MANUSCRIPTS EVALUATION PROCESS
After submission via the ScolarOne system, only manuscripts formatted in accordance with these Instructions and whose theme fits within the scope of the journal will be accepted.
A preliminary analysis is carried out by the journal’s secretary, verifying the editorial and technical aspects, including the relevance of the topic and ethical requirements of the study. Articles that do not present merit, contain significant errors in methodology, or do not fit the journal’s editorial policy, will be rejected, with no appeal; in turn, manuscripts considered potentially publishable, follow the editorial process, consisting of the steps specified below.
1.Evaluation
1.1 Technical: consists of reviewing aspects of form and scientific writing, with the aim of ensuring that the manuscript meets all the items in the Instructions to Authors and is able to enter the external peer review process. It is carried out by the chief editor who receives the manuscript, assesses whether it is in accordance with the scope of the journal, and may accept or reject it. When accepted, the chief editor assigns it to the associate editor according to their sub-specialty. Associate editor assigns to reviewers.
1.2 External by peers: All manuscripts, after approval by the chief editor and attribution of the associate editor, are evaluated by two or three qualified reviewers (peer review), who are specialists in the field, and evaluate the document and make constructive comments for the improvement of the study. The journal adopts the double-blind review model, with anonymity guaranteed throughout the judgment process (blind review). Then, the associate editor makes a recommendation to the editor-in-chief (approve, decline, minor review, major review). The evaluators’ comments are returned to the authors, for modifications in the text or justification for their conservation. Reviewers must follow the ethical requirements for reviewers recommended by COPE
(chromeextension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://publicationethics.org/files/cope-ethical-guidelines-peer-reviewers-v2_0.pdf.
2.Text editing
After approval by the chief editor, the article goes to the editorial office to start the text editing process. It then proceeds to editorial production, consisting of the following steps:
2.1 Grammar review
2.2 Normalization
2.3 Authors’ review and/or adjustments
2.4 Translation of the text into English.
2.4 Layout
2.5 Final review (the article goes to the author in PDF)
2.6 Quality control
2.7 Choice of publication date by the Chief Editor
2.8 XML Markup
2.9 Sending a letter with publication date to the authors
2.10 After final approvals by reviewers and editors, manuscripts are sent for electronic publication.
3.Publication
The article is forwarded for publication in SciElo and the RBO website.
MANUSCRIPTS PROCESSING FLOWCHART
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Authors may contact the Secretariat of the Brazilian Journal of Ophthalmology (RBO), through the electronic address rbo@sboportal.org.br, in case of doubts about any aspect related to the instructions or need for information about the progress of the manuscript.
Address:
Rua São Salvador, 107 – Laranjeiras. Rio de Janeiro – RJ
Contact: +55 (21) 3235-9220
RESPONSIBILITY OF AUTHORSHIP
Only those who contributed to the intellectual content of the article should be considered in the list of authors, following the criteria: having contributed to the conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data and having participated in writing the manuscript and/or critically reviewing the content. The contributions of each of the authors must be registered at the end of the manuscript.
TRANSFER OF COPYRIGHTS
After acceptance of the manuscript, an authorization signed by all authors for publication and transfer of copyright (Portuguese and English version) must be sent to the journal.