Information For Authors

Prospective Authors

Interested in publishing with the TSMJ? We are currently accepting submissions from all medical and health-science students from universities in the Republic of Ireland. We recommend that you review this page for accepted articles and section policies, as well as the Submissions page for submission guidelines, the About the Journal and the Editorial Policies pages for infomation about the journal and its policies.

The TSMJ does not charge authors any submission fees, publication fees, editorial or article processing charges (APCs), and page or colour charges at any stage of the submission or publication process.

Articles should be submitted to the Editor at tsmj@tcd.ie or through our online submissions portal. Authors will need to register with the journal website to use the portal. If already registered, authors can simply log in and begin the five-step process. The average number of time between article submission and publication is approximately 32 weeks. 

The deadline for submissions is now closed. 

Thank you for your interest, and we look forward to receiving your submissions for the next volume!

Article Types

Research

Original research articles are the most common type of journal article submitted to the TSMJ. They are detailed reports of new studies and are classified as primary literature, although meta-analyses and systematic reviews (secondary literature) are also included in the Research section of the TSMJ. They should be in the region of 2000–4000 words in length.

Case Reports

Case reports are articles presenting a clinical case which is are unique, unusual/atypical, novel, or educational. They should be no more than 2000 words in length excluding text in boxes, figure legends and references.

Reviews

Literature reviews are articles that provide a clear, up-to-date account of a topic and are aimed at non-specialists from all over the world. They typically include a broad update of current research developments related to the topic under review (from the past 3 to 4 years) and their likely clinical applications. They should be in the region of 2000-4000 words in length. As meta-analyses and systematic reviews are included in the Original Research section of the TSMJ, the Reviews section is primarily reserved for narrative reviews. 

Editorials

Editorials are commentary articles that draw attention to an article published within the same issue, and use the issues or research findings of the article as a call to action or to expand on points of wider relevance to the specialty. Editorials do not include original research and present the author’s opinion backed by a few references to support the argument. They are commissioned by the journal or written by Editors or Staff Writers. A typical editorial length is around 1000-1500 words.

Features

The TSMJ also publishes a variety of other articles types, including essays, medical education articles, and medical journalism pieces. 

Essays

Perspectives: Perspectives pieces present novel ideas: these can be new viewpoints on existing medical concepts/problems, or the implications of current research or advances in a field. They typically present an evidence-backed personal opinion and may contain original data as well. These are typically relatively short articles of around 2000-2500 words.

Opinion articles: Opinion articles present the author’s viewpoint through a discussion that challenges the current state of knowledge in a particular field. These can be clinical, scientific, ethical, and policy issues. Similarly to perspective pieces, they typically present an evidence-backed personal opinion but do not contain unpublished or original data. Opinion pieces are also relatively short articles of around 2000-2500 words.

Commentaries: Commentary articles draw attention to a previously published article, book, or report, and use the issues or research findings of the article as a call to action or to expand on points of wider relevance to the specialty. Although similar to Editorials, they differ in that they are submitted by external authors (instead of being commissioned or internally written) and need not refer to an article published within the same issue. A typical commentary length is around 1000-1500 words.

The TSMJ welcomes submissions for essays, although essays can also be commissioned or written by staff writers. Traditionally, prize-winning essays from annual essay competitions held by Trinity or Trinity's medical interest societies are also published here. If originally entered for a competition (within Trinity or otherwise), please state the competition when submitting the article.

Medical Education

Medical education (MedEd) articles focus on issues and topics related to studying medicine and the health sciences. These can cover a broad range of topics, including (but not limited to):

  • Clinical experiences
  • Travel / elective experiences
  • Academic tips and guides
  • CV tips
  • Career tips and opportunities

The TSMJ welcomes submissions for MedEd articles, although MedEd articles can also be commissioned or written by staff writers.

Medical Journalism

Medical journalism articles are informal articles offering perspectives on topical or interesting medical issues. These can cover a broad range of article types, including (but not limited to):

  • News
  • Book Reviews
  • Interviews

These are typically commissioned by the editors or written by staff writers, although submissions will also be considered.