Submitting Brief Reports

Briefs will be evaluated with the same rigorous criteria as original research, but they may be smaller in scope and may have limited generalizability to other settings. An example could be education research papers that focus on a single program, or institution, or project with a limited number of participants/subjects. The Kansas Journal of Medicine may publish briefs that succinctly present research relevant to medical education and medicine. Exploratory or pilot studies can be submitted as brief reports as well. 

We welcome reports of quality improvement projects performed in medical practices in Kansas and surrounding area; see Submitting Quality Improvement for more information.

BRIEF REPORT Submission Requirements

Submissions that do not include these requirements will be declined.

  • Cover Letter to the Editor
  • Main Document
    • Title Page
    • Abbreviations List
    • Abstract (250 words max)
    • Main Text (1,500 words max)
      • IRB Approval (or statement about institutional review board)
    • References (50 max)
    • Keywords using MeSH terms from PubMed (5 max)
  • Tables/Figures when needed (3 combined max)
  • Reporting Guidelines Checklist (also cite in main text; sourced from the EQUATOR Network)
  • Permission to Use Documentation (if applicable)

Important Details For Each Requirement

Please review each section carefully. We cannot accept submissions that do not meet these requirements.

[+] Cover Letter to the Editor

Cover letter addressed to the Editor that includes the corresponding author’s name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address, and identifies the manuscript category (e.g., Original Research, Review, Case Report). The cover letter also should include a publishing statement confirming that the manuscript has not been previously published and is not under consideration by another journal. If this is not the case, please provide an explanation.

[+] Main Document

The main manuscript file must be submitted as a Microsoft Word document. The main text should be double-spaced and formatted in 12-point Times New Roman font, left-aligned, with 1-inch margins on all sides. Pages should be numbered consecutively in the footer, beginning with the title page as page 1. Use italics rather than underlining, except for URL addresses. Do not include line numbers. Avoid using double spaces between sentences or paragraphs. Paragraphs should be indented one-half inch. See Manuscript Preparation | Kansas Journal of Medicine for more detail. The main manuscript document should include the following:

[+] Title Page

The title page (page 1) should contain:

  • Title:  A concise and informative title.
  • Short Title:  An identified short running head.
  • Author Names & Affiliations:  The first name (spelled out), middle initial, and last name of each author with highest academic degree(s) and institutional affiliation. Medical student authors should be labeled based on their academic year (MS-1, MS-2, MS-3, MS-4).
  • Author Emails:  Email addresses of each author.
  • Institution Name:  The name of the department(s) and institution(s) to which the work is attributed.
  • Disclaimers:  Any disclaimer. If you have no official institutional or personal disclaimer to declare, you should explicitly state "None."
  • Corresponding Author:  Contact information for the corresponding author.
  • Support Disclosure:  The source(s) of support in the form of grants, equipment, and/or drugs. If the work described in the manuscript has been formally presented at a scientific meeting, provide the name of the organization, date, and location of the meeting.
  • AI Use Disclosure:  The Kansas Journal of Medicine encourages authors to appropriately use technology throughout the research process. Software that uses generative artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML) may be used. However, it does not permit the inclusion of ML tools, such as ChatGPT, as authors. If any such tool is used to generate drafts of the submitted manuscript, it must be explicitly disclosed. Learn more about the Use of Artificial Intelligence for Authors on our Submissions page.
  • Acknowledgements:  One or more statements should specify (1) contributions that need acknowledging but do not justify authorship; (2) acknowledgments of technical help; (3) acknowledgments of financial and material support, specifying the nature of the support; and (4) financial relationships that may pose a conflict of interest (adapted from ICMJE).
  • Author Approval Statement:  A statement confirming that each author has reviewed and approved the content of the manuscript. For submissions with more than five authors, a statement outlining each author’s contributions to the manuscript is required.
[+] Abbreviations List

A list of abbreviations used in the manuscript should be provided on a separate page following the title page. Include abbreviations and spelled out meaning.

[+] Abstract

All manuscripts that are brief reports must be submitted with a structured abstract of no more than 250 words. Abstracts should be double spaced, use 12-point Times New Roman font, be left aligned with no indentation, use bolded headings followed by a period, and a single space between sections. Include the following headings:

  • Introduction.
  • Methods.  (Include information on design, setting, participants, interventions, and main outcomes measured)
  • Results.
  • Conclusions.
[+] Main Text

The Kansas Journal of Medicine limits Brief Reports to a maximum of 1,500 words. This word count limit does not include the title page, abstract, references, or keywords.

[+] Introduction

Clearly state the purpose of the article. Summarize the rationale for the study, report, or observation. Give only strictly pertinent references, and do not review the subject extensively. Do not include data or conclusions from the work being reported. See Academic Phrasebank for guidelines and examples.

[+] Methods

Describe the selection of subjects, including controls. Identify the methods, apparatus (manufacturer's name and address, i.e., city, state, province, and country in parentheses), and procedures in sufficient detail to allow other workers to reproduce the results. Give references to established methods, including the statistical methods; provide references and brief descriptions of methods that have been published but are not well known; and describe new or substantially modified methods. Precisely identify all drugs and chemicals used, including generic name(s) and route(s) of administration. Proprietary names may be included, but should be capitalized, enclosed in parentheses, and should follow the generic names.

IRB Approval:  All studies involving human or animal research must indicate approval by an institution's human or animal subject review board IRB. Authors should confirm that written informed consent was obtained from all human subjects or that this requirement was waived by the review committee.

[+] Results

Present the results in a logical sequence, using tables and illustrations where possible. Include numbers of observations and statistical significance of the findings when appropriate. Do not repeat in the text all the data found in the tables or illustrations. Report measurements in the units in which they were made.

[+] Statistics

All statistical techniques must be clearly identified and referenced where appropriate. Describe statistical methods with enough detail to enable a reader with access to the original data to verify the reported results. When possible, quantify findings and present them with appropriate indicators of measurement error or uncertainty. Discuss eligibility of experimental subjects, randomization, methods of blinding, treatment complications, numbers of observations, and losses to observation. Specify any computer programs used.

Put general descriptions of statistical methods in the Methods section. When data are summarized in the Results section, specify the statistical methods used to analyze them. Restrict tables and figures to those needed to explain the argument of the paper and to assess its support. Use graphs as an alternative to tables with many entries: do not duplicate data in graphs and tables.

[+] Discussion

Emphasize the new and important aspects of both the study and the conclusions that follow from them. Do not repeat in detail data given in the Introduction or the Results sections. Include in the Discussion the implications of the findings and their limitations, including implications for future research. Relate the observations to other relevant studies. Link the conclusions with the goals of the study, but avoid unqualified statements and conclusions not completely supported by the data. Clearly label new hypotheses. Appropriate recommendations may be included.

[+] References

References must be formatted according to the guidelines found on the KJM References page.

Important highlights: Where available, PubMed ID (PMID) numbers for the references must be provided. If PMID numbers are not available, provide DOIs. In-text citations should be formatted using superscript Arabic numerals and listed in consecutive order, following punctuation in most cases. References should be listed in 11pt. font.

[+] Keywords

After the reference section, include 2-5 keywords or short phrases that will assist indexers in cross-indexing your article and that may be published with the abstract. Use only terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list of Index Medicus.

[+] Tables/Figures

For Brief Report submissions, tables and figures are limited to a combined maximum of three (3). The Kansas Journal of Medicine follows the AMA Manual of Style, 11th Edition, for table formatting (section 4.1). All tables must be created in Word format or Excel with editable, selectable text. Submitting a graphic image or photo of a table is not acceptable. Cite each table in the text in consecutive order as Table 1, Table 2, etc. Table text should be single spaced and use Times New Roman, 12-point font. Number each table consecutively in the order of its first citation in the text and supply a brief title. Give each column a short heading. Place explanatory matter in footnotes, not in the heading. Explain in footnotes all non-standard abbreviations. Identify statistical measures of variation such as standard deviation and standard error of the mean. If data are used from another published or unpublished source, obtain permission and acknowledge fully. Tables spanning more than two pages of the Word document may be reformatted during production to appear as supplemental tables. Supplemental tables are not indexed in PubMed.

Figures and Images: Authors must submit high-quality figures and images that are visually clear, legible, and free of blurriness or distortion. Figures should be prepared in an editable format when incorporated into the Microsoft Word manuscript. Images also must be submitted as separate electronic files in one of the acceptable formats specified below.

Placement and Labeling: Cite each figure or image in the main text in consecutive order (e.g., Figure 1, Figure 2). Number figures according to their order of appearance in the text. Include a corresponding figure legend or caption for each figure or image. Keep text within figures to a minimum and define all symbols and abbreviations used. Submit figure and image captions separately from the figure or image files rather than embedding them within the figure or image. Each caption should include a brief title and description. Text added to figures or images should be in Times New Roman font.

Image Manipulation: No data within an image may be enhanced, obscured, moved, removed, or introduced through digital manipulation or generative artificial intelligence (AI). The use of touch-up tools or any feature that deliberately obscures alterations or manipulation is unacceptable. Any adjustment of contrast, brightness, or color must be applied equally to all parts of the entire image. Image files should be cropped as closely as possible to the actual image.

Image/Graphic Quality: The Kansas Journal of Medicine (KJM) requires normalized output that is high-resolution and of sufficient width and quality for archival publication. Images and graphics generated at low resolution for online display purposes are not acceptable. Color and black-and-white photographs or graphics must have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi to ensure clarity and legibility in both print and online formats. Acceptable file formats include TIFF, PNG, and high-quality JPEG. Authors must be prepared to submit the original, unaltered files from which submitted images were derived if requested by the editorial office.

Intended Display Size: Intended display size refers to the physical dimensions of a digital image or graphic as it will appear in the final published online PDF or print edition. For KJM, the intended display widths are as follows:

  • Single-column: 3.75 inches wide
  • Double-column: 7.7 inches wide

If the intended display size is uncertain, authors should calculate pixel dimensions using the larger width. Figures may be rejected if they are not submitted at or above their intended display size.

Pixel Dimension Calculation: Physical Size (inches) × Resolution (dpi) = Pixel Dimensions (px)

  • Single-Column Example (300 dpi): To span a single column at 3.75 inches wide, a 300 dpi image requires a minimum width of 1,125 pixels: 3.75 inches × 300 dpi = 1,125 pixels
  • Double-Column Example (300 dpi): To span a double column at 7.7 inches wide, a 300 dpi image requires a minimum width of 2,310 pixels: 7.7 inches × 300 dpi = 2,310 pixels
[+] Reporting Guidelines Checklist

Brief Reports must include the appropriate reporting guideline checklist from the EQUATOR Network. The checklist must be referenced in the manuscript text and appropriately cited. Submissions that do not include the required checklist and proper references will be returned. Authors should follow relevant reporting recommendations. The EQUATOR Network includes the following guidelines, which KJM endorses:

  • Controlled Trials: CONSORT
  • Cost-effectiveness Analyses: CHEERS
  • Diagnostic Test Studies: STARD 2015
  • Observational Studies: STROBE
  • Molecular Epidemiology: STROBE-ME
  • Qualitative Research: COREQ
  • Genetic Risk Prediction Studies: GRIPS
  • Multivariable Prediction Model for Individual Prognosis Or Diagnosis: TRIPOD
[+] Permission to Use Documentation (if applicable)

If appropriate, include a copy of the permission to reproduce previously published materials from the publisher or owner of the material; permission to use photographs of identifiable subjects; and permission for the use of personal communications with your submission.

Review these resources prior to submission:


Last modified: September 11, 2026