Instructions for authors

Our Dermatology Online

Our Dermatology Online welcomes manuscripts that contribute to the knowledge, diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and understanding of dermatological and venereological diseases and related fields.

Authors should read these Instructions for Authors and the journal’s relevant editorial policies before submitting a manuscript.

Submission of a manuscript implies that the authors have read and accepted the journal’s publication policies.

1. Before Submission

Before submitting a manuscript, authors should ensure that:

the manuscript is within the journal’s Aims and Scope;
the manuscript has not been published previously, except where appropriately disclosed and permitted;
the manuscript is not currently under consideration by another journal;
all authors who meet the journal’s authorship requirements are included;
all listed authors have approved the submitted version;
the corresponding author has obtained approval from all co-authors to submit the manuscript;
conflicts of interest have been disclosed;
funding sources have been disclosed where applicable;
applicable ethical requirements have been met;
patient consent has been obtained where required;
animal research complies with applicable ethical requirements;
the manuscript has been prepared according to the relevant article type;
references, figures, tables, and supplementary material are appropriately identified;
the manuscript has been prepared so that author-identifying information is not unnecessarily included in the blinded manuscript.

2. Originality and Exclusive Submission

Manuscripts submitted to Our Dermatology Online must be original and must not be simultaneously submitted to another journal.

Authors must inform the editorial office if substantially related material has been published previously or is currently under consideration elsewhere.

The journal does not accept duplicate or redundant publication.

If substantial overlap exists between a submitted manuscript and previously published material, authors should disclose this to the editor at the time of submission.

3. Article Types

The journal considers manuscripts including, where appropriate:

Original Articles;
Brief Reports and other concise scientific contributions
Review Articles;
Case Reports;
Case Series;
Clinical Images; Histopathological Images;
Case Letters;
Others: miniReview Article; Narrative Review; Practical issues; Opinion Articles

The editorial office may determine whether a submission is appropriate for the selected article type.

Authors should follow any article-specific requirements provided by the journal.

Case Reports and Case Series should also comply with the journal’s Patient Consent and Case Reports policy and the Case Report Reviewer Guidelines.

4. Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts should be written clearly and concisely in English.

Authors should use appropriate scientific and medical terminology and ensure that the manuscript has been carefully checked for language, spelling, and formatting.

Where appropriate, manuscripts should contain the following sections:

Title;
Abstract;
Keywords;
Introduction;
Materials and Methods;
Results;
Discussion;
Conclusions;
References.

The exact structure may vary according to the article type.

Authors should not include information that unnecessarily identifies the authors or their institutions in the blinded manuscript.

Author information is provided separately through the submission process.

5. Title Page

The title page should contain, where applicable:

full title of the manuscript (a concise and informative title (the use of abbreviations should be avoided));
full names of all authors (First name(s), then surname(s)) and abbreviations for citation (Full surname(s) and first letter of the name(s));

Authors’ full names:
Correct:
Max Kowalsky, Sebastian Sandler, Ana Maria Kein

In Correct:
M Kowalsky, S Sandler, Ana M Kein

Abbreviations of first names according to the instructions:
Correct:
Kowalsky M, Sandler S, Kein AM.

InCorrect:
Kowalsky M., Sandler S., Kein A.-M.
Kowalsky, M., Sandler, S., Kein, A.-M.
etc.

institutional affiliations;

indicate all affiliations with a superscript number immediately after the author’s name and a non-superscript number in front of the appropriate affiliation

(eg, Piotr Brzeziński¹; Yamoussa Karabinta², Igor Feszak¹, Meryeme Boutaarourt^3,4

1Department of Physiotherapy and Medical Emergency, Pomeranian University, Słupsk, Poland);
2 Dermatology Teaching Hospital, Bamako, Mali
3Department of Dermatology-Venereology, Mohammed VI University Hospital, Tangier, Morocco
4Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Tangier, Morocco

corresponding author’s name;
corresponding author’s institutional affiliation;
corresponding author’s email address;
ORCID iDs, where available;
information concerning funding;
conflicts of interest;
acknowledgements, where applicable.

The title page should be separated from the blinded manuscript where necessary to preserve the journal’s double-blind peer-review process.

6. Abstract and Keywords

Research articles should normally include a concise abstract describing the principal aspects of the work.

Depending on the article type, the abstract may include:

Background or Introduction;
Methods;
Results;
Conclusions.

Authors should provide appropriate keywords that accurately describe the content of the manuscript.

Case Reports and other article types may use an article-specific abstract structure where appropriate.

7. Figures and Tables

Figures must be submitted as separate electronic files and must not be embedded or pasted into the Word manuscript.

The journal accepts figures in the following formats:

JPG / JPEG
TIF / TIFF

Figures submitted as PDF files or embedded/pasted into a Word document are not accepted.

Figures should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they are cited in the manuscript.

Examples:

(Fig. 1)
(Figs 1–3)
(Figs 1 and 2)

Each figure should have an appropriate figure legend. Figure legends should be included in the manuscript file and should not be used as a substitute for the separate figure file.

Authors should ensure that:

patient names are not visible;
patient identification numbers are removed;
dates of birth and other personal information are removed;
screenshots do not contain confidential information;
unnecessary marks, symbols, arrows, labels, annotations, borders, or other graphic elements are removed;
figures do not contain unnecessary panel labels such as (a), (b), (c), or (d);
third-party material is used only with appropriate permission where required.

Clinical photographs must comply with the journal’s Patient Consent and Case Reports policy.

Figure citations should correspond exactly to the numbering of the submitted figure files.

Important

Do not paste figures into the Word manuscript.

Do not submit figures as PDF files.

Do not use panel labels such as (a), (b), (c), etc., unless specifically requested by the editorial office.

Submit each figure as a separate JPG/JPEG or TIF/TIFF file.

Tables should:

be numbered consecutively;
be cited in the text;
have a concise and informative title;
contain clearly labelled columns and rows.

Tables should not unnecessarily duplicate information presented in the main text or figures.

Authors should prepare tables using the table function of the word-processing software where possible rather than using images of tables.

(Table 1) → (Table 2) → (Table 3), etc.

8. References

It is the responsibility of the authors to ensure the accuracy of the references in the submitted article. References should be identified by Arabic numerals in square brackets, without superscript [1], [1,2], [1,2,5] or [1-3], and numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the manuscript. References must be listed at the end of the manuscript. When an article has six or fewer authors, all should be listed; when there are 7 or more, only the first 6 are listed, then „et al.” The issue number should not be provided. See below for examples.

Journal articles
1. Bukhari IA. Pulse dye laser therapy and superficial cryotherapy as a novel combination treatment for hypertrophic scars and keloids. Our Dermatol Online. 2022;13:28-31.
2. Ganjoo S, Vasani R, Gupta T. Urticarial eruption in COVID-19-positive children: A report of two cases. Our Dermatol Online. 2022;13:47-9.
2. Abreu Velez AM, Jackson BL, Velasquez Cantillo KL, Rafael A, Alvarez B, Howard MS. Merkel cell carcinoma versus metastatic small cell primary bronchogenic carcinoma. Our Dermatol Online. 2013;4:64-71.
3. Ajili F, Bousseta N, Msakni I, Metoui L, Gharsallah I, Laabidi J, et al. Symptomatic macroglossia and tongue myositis in Dermatomyositis. Our Dermatol Online. 2013;4:176-8.

References should follow the journal’s current reference formatting requirements.

Authors should avoid unnecessary citation of their own publications and should not manipulate citations for the purpose of increasing citation counts.

9. Authorship

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made a substantial contribution to the work and who meet generally accepted authorship criteria.

All listed authors should:

have made a meaningful contribution to the work;
have participated sufficiently in the manuscript preparation or critical revision;
approve the final version;
agree to be accountable for the work.

Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet authorship criteria may be acknowledged where appropriate.

All authors should agree to the submitted version before submission.

Changes to the author list after submission should be justified and require agreement of the relevant authors and editorial approval.

10. Corresponding Author

The corresponding author is responsible for communication with the journal during the submission, peer-review, revision, and publication process.

The corresponding author should ensure that:

all authors have approved the manuscript;
all required declarations have been provided;
the information submitted to the journal is accurate;
communications from the journal are shared with the co-authors where appropriate.

11. Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial, personal, professional, institutional, or other relationship that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the manuscript.

Where no relevant conflict exists, authors should provide an appropriate declaration, such as:

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

The editorial team may request additional information where necessary.

12. Funding

All sources of financial or material support for the research or manuscript should be disclosed.

Where no external funding was received, authors should state this where appropriate.

Authors should not omit relevant funding information.

13. Research Ethics

Research involving human participants must comply with applicable ethical standards and regulations.

Where applicable, manuscripts should include information concerning:

ethics committee or institutional review board approval;
approval or reference number;
informed consent;
relevant ethical standards.

Research involving animals must comply with applicable institutional, national, and international requirements.

Where ethical approval was not required, the manuscript should provide an appropriate explanation where relevant.

Further requirements are provided in the journal’s Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement and Statement of Human and Animal Rights.

14. Patient Consent and Case Reports

For Case Reports, Case Series, clinical photographs, and other submissions containing potentially identifiable patient information, authors must comply with the journal’s Patient Consent and Case Reports policy.

Where required, authors must obtain appropriate consent for publication from the patient or legally authorised representative.

Authors should remove unnecessary identifying information from the manuscript and figures.

The editorial office may request confirmation that appropriate consent has been obtained.

15. Plagiarism and Text Similarity

The journal uses Plagramme as part of its editorial screening process to identify text similarity and potential plagiarism.

Similarity screening may be performed before or during peer review.

A similarity report is an editorial screening tool and does not automatically establish plagiarism or research misconduct.

Where substantial or suspicious overlap is identified, the editorial team may investigate the matter and request an explanation from the authors.

The journal may take appropriate action in accordance with its Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement.

16. Artificial Intelligence

Authors may use artificial intelligence tools in accordance with the journal’s AI Policy.

AI tools must not be listed as authors.

Authors remain responsible for:

the accuracy of the submitted manuscript;
the originality of the work;
verification of references and factual statements;
disclosure of relevant AI use;
compliance with ethical and publication requirements.

Where AI has been used in a manner requiring disclosure, authors should provide the information required by the journal’s AI Policy.

Authors must not use AI tools to fabricate data, references, images, results, citations, or other scientific content.

17. Submission

Manuscripts should be submitted using the submission method currently designated by the journal.

The corresponding author should ensure that all required files and declarations are provided.

Depending on the submission system and article type, authors may be required to provide:

blinded manuscript;
title page;
figures;
tables;
supplementary files;
declarations;
consent or ethical documentation where applicable;
cover letter or other submission information.

Incomplete submissions may be returned to the authors before editorial assessment.

18. Editorial Screening

All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial editorial assessment.

The editorial team may assess:

relevance to the journal’s scope;
originality;
scientific or clinical relevance;
article type;
basic methodological quality;
ethical requirements;
patient confidentiality;
conflicts of interest;
compliance with the Instructions for Authors;
plagiarism or text similarity concerns.

A manuscript may be rejected without external peer review when it is clearly unsuitable for the journal or does not meet basic editorial requirements.

19. Peer Review

Our Dermatology Online uses a double-blind peer-review process.

Manuscripts considered suitable for external review are normally evaluated by at least two independent reviewers with appropriate expertise.

Reviewers do not know the identity of the authors, and authors do not know the identity of the reviewers.

Reviewer recommendations are advisory. The final editorial decision is made by the Editor-in-Chief or an appropriately designated editor.

Further information is available on the journal’s Peer Review Process page.

20. Revision

When revisions are requested, authors should provide a revised manuscript and a clear response to the reviewers’ comments.

Authors should identify the changes made in response to each substantive reviewer comment.

A revised manuscript may be returned to the original reviewers or assessed by the editor without further external review, depending on the nature of the revisions.

21. Editorial Decisions

Possible editorial decisions include:

Accept
Minor Revision
Major Revision
Reject

An editorial decision may take into account the reviewer reports, scientific quality, ethical considerations, relevance to the journal, and the extent of any required revisions.

Acceptance is not determined by payment for any optional editorial service.

22. Appeals

Authors who believe that an editorial decision was materially affected by a factual or procedural error may submit an appeal in accordance with the journal’s Complaints and Appeals policy.

Appeals should identify the specific grounds for reconsideration and should not merely repeat the manuscript’s original arguments.

Appeals should be submitted to:

odermatol@yahoo.com; contact@odermatol.com

23. Copyright and Licensing

Articles published by Our Dermatology Online are made available under the licensing terms stated in the journal’s Copyright and Licensing policy.

Authors should review the applicable copyright and licensing terms before submission.

The journal’s standard publication licence does not transfer copyright to the journal where the applicable licence provides otherwise.

Further information is available on the journal’s Copyright and Licensing page.

24. Open Access

Our Dermatology Online provides open access to its published content in accordance with its Open Access Policy.

Readers are able to access published articles without subscription or paywall restrictions.

The applicable Creative Commons licence is stated on the journal’s Open Access Policy and on the published article.

25. Publication Fees

The journal does not charge an Article Processing Charge (APC) for standard publication.

The journal may offer optional paid services, including:

Fast-track processing, subject to the published Fees policy;
Technical corrections or formatting services requested by the author, where applicable.

Optional paid services do not influence:

editorial assessment;
peer-review outcome;
acceptance;
rejection;
scientific evaluation of a manuscript.

Payment for an optional service does not guarantee publication.

All applicable charges and conditions are described on the journal’s Fees page.

26. Corrections and Retractions

Errors identified after publication may be addressed through appropriate post-publication action.

Depending on the circumstances, the journal may publish:

a correction;
an editorial notice;
an Expression of Concern;
a retraction;
another appropriate notice.

Further information is provided in the journal’s Corrections and Retractions policy.

27. Publication Ethics

Authors are expected to comply with accepted standards of publication ethics.

The journal does not tolerate:

plagiarism;
fabrication or falsification;
duplicate or redundant publication;
manipulation of peer review;
inappropriate authorship practices;
undisclosed conflicts of interest;
unethical research;
inappropriate use of patient information;
other forms of publication misconduct.

The journal’s detailed requirements are provided in the Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement.

28. Data and Materials

Authors should provide sufficient information to allow readers to understand and, where appropriate, evaluate the work.

Where applicable, authors should indicate whether supporting datasets, materials, protocols, or other relevant resources are available.

Any restrictions on access to data or materials should be explained where relevant.

29. Use of Published Material

Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyrighted material, including figures, tables, photographs, or substantial text originating from third parties.

Appropriate acknowledgement and permission should be provided where required.

30. Contact

Questions concerning manuscript submission, author requirements, or publication policies may be directed to:

odermatol@yahoo.com; contact@odermatol.com

Authors should consult the relevant journal policy before contacting the editorial office where possible.

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