Guide for authors
Aims and scope
Outbreak, Surveillance, Investigation & Response (OSIR) Journal offers a free platform for epidemiologic and health sciences study. Our content focuses on various aspects of public health, including, but not limited to:
- Outbreak investigation
- Surveillance evaluation
- Health program evaluation
- Study of public health response, policy and health system
- Heath data analysis
- Other public health research, including systematic reviews
Aims and scope
Outbreak, Surveillance, Investigation & Response (OSIR) Journal offers a free platform for epidemiologic and health sciences study. Our content focuses on various aspects of public health, including, but not limited to:
- Outbreak investigation
- Surveillance evaluation
- Health program evaluation
- Study of public health response, policy and health system
- Heath data analysis
- Other public health research, including systematic reviews
Review process
Initial review
Upon submission, articles are scrutinized for plagiarism via ThaiJo systems, while the journal managers ensure that the articles conform to the submission preparation checklist with regard to formatting and clearance. The content of the articles is then subjected to a brief double-blind review by the Chief Editor, and one of the Senior Editors who is not listed as an author. Manuscripts that do not adhere to the prescribed format or are partly/wholly incomprehensible text will be returned to the authors for revision. Manuscripts that are outside the scope of the journal or deemed to be in violation of ethical standards will be rejected (Figure 1).
Double-blinded peer-reviewed
Once an article is initially accepted by the Chief Editor, it then proceeds to a full double-blind peer review process. The journal manager chooses two expert reviewers who are not authors and are not affiliated with any of the corresponding author’s institutions or divisions. The reviewers’ comments and initial decision are sent to the corresponding author who is then given a chance to revise the article. The same Chief Editor determines if the revised article should then be accepted or rejected and may provide comments for improving the manuscript. One reviewer will assist the author to improve the quality of the article. After the manuscript’s quality is approved by the reviewer, the Chief Editor provides the final decision on whether to approve the manuscript for publication (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Review and publication flow of the Outbreak, Surveillance, Investigation & Response Journal
Manuscript types
Outbreak, Surveillance, Investigation & Response (OSIR) Journal publishes four types of articles, including invited editorials, review articles, original research articles, and systematic reviews.
Manuscript type
Details
Manuscript elements
Editorials
- Editorials are written by the Senior Editors of OSIR, or guest authors invited by the Senior Editor.
- Editorials undergo review by the Chief Editor before publication, and each OSIR issue features one editorial.
- There are no specific criteria regarding the structure. It can be in the form of a review article, commentary, or perspective piece.
In English language 500 – 1500 words References necessary to support the content
Review articles*
- The OSIR Journal accepts review manuscripts that provide valuable insights and updates on various fields including biostatistics, epidemiology, and public health.
- These articles are typically written by honorary scholars who are invited by the Senior Editor, although interested authors are also welcome to submit their work for consideration.
- The abstracts may be omitted. No specific criteria regarding the format is required.
- These articles undergo full peer review process.
In English language
≤4,000 words
≤8 tables and/or figures
No limit of references
Original articles*
- Original articles including case reports should have the following sections: abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, limitations, recommendation, conclusion, acknowledgements, funding sources and conflicts of interests. For outbreak investigation, an additional section on “Action taken” can be included.
- These articles undergo full peer review process.
In English language
Unstructured abstract (≤250 words)
≤3,000 words
≤8 tables and/or figures
≤40 references
Systematic reviews*
- We encourage authors to use the PRISMA-P guideline.
- Abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, limitations, recommendation, conclusion, acknowledgements, funding sources and conflicts of interests should be included.
- These articles undergo full peer review process.
In English language
Unstructured abstract (≤250 words)
≤4,000 words
≤8 tables and/or figures
No limit for the number of references
Note: *If an author is invited by a Senior Editor, their article will be published in the “Invited Article” section of the journal. In this case, the article will undergo review solely by the Editor-in-Chief. If the Editor-in-Chief deems it necessary to conduct a comprehensive review, the article will then undergo full peer review.