Aims and Scope

The Journal of Rescue and Relief is the official scientific quarterly research journal of the Iranian Red Crescent Society. The journal publishes Original Research Articles, Review Articles, Short Communications, and Letters to the Editor in fundamental, developmental, and applied areas related to rescue and relief management and disaster studies. Manuscripts within the scope of the journal are considered for publication.

Authors must confirm that their manuscript is submitted exclusively to the Journal of Rescue and Relief and is not under consideration by another journal.

Submission

Authors should submit their manuscripts through the journal's designated submission system, together with all required supplementary materials.

Each manuscript must be accompanied by a cover letter addressed to the Editor-in-Chief. The cover letter should state the title of the manuscript, the names of all authors, and confirm that the manuscript has not been previously published and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.

Tables and figures should be prepared separately from the main manuscript where required by the submission system. Tables should not be submitted as photographs.

The manuscript should be prepared in 12-point Times New Roman font. Figures should be submitted in high-resolution formats suitable for publication in the online edition of the journal.

Original Research Articles should generally include the following sections:

• Title Page

• Abstract

• Introduction

• Methods

• Findings

• Discussion

• Acknowledgments

• References

The structure of Review Articles, Short Communications, and Letters to the Editor may vary according to the nature of the manuscript.

Title Page

The title page should include:

• The complete title of the manuscript

• The full names of all authors

• The highest academic qualifications of the authors, where applicable

• The departments and institutions with which the authors are affiliated

• The corresponding author's full address, telephone number, and e-mail address

Abstract

Original Research Articles must be accompanied by a structured abstract of no more than 250 words. The abstract should include the following headings:

Background, Methods, Findings, and Conclusion

The abstract should be followed by 3–5 Keywords.

Keywords assist in indexing and cross-referencing articles. Authors should ensure that the abstract accurately reflects the content of the manuscript.

The abstract requirements for Review Articles, Short Communications, and Letters to the Editor may differ according to the article type.

Introduction

The Introduction should clearly describe the background, purpose, and rationale of the study. It should be concise and should not include an extensive review of the literature or detailed results and conclusions from the study.

Methods

The Methods section should provide a clear and sufficiently detailed description of the methods, participants, materials, procedures, observations, or experiments used in the study to allow appropriate evaluation and, where applicable, replication.

For established methods, appropriate references should be provided. For new or substantially modified methods, sufficient details should be provided to enable other researchers to understand and reproduce the procedure.

The statistical methods used in the study should be clearly described. Any software or statistical program used for data analysis should be identified, including its version where relevant. Information systems, databases, or other specialized tools used in the study should also be clearly specified, where applicable.

Findings

The Findings should present the findings of the study clearly and logically, using appropriate text, tables, and figures.

Information presented in tables or figures should not be unnecessarily repeated in the text. Relevant tables and figures should be cited in the text.

Long articles may use appropriate subheadings within the Findings and Discussion sections to improve clarity and organization.

Discussion

The Discussion should interpret the main findings of the study and relate them to relevant previous research. Similarities, differences, and possible explanations should be discussed where appropriate.

The authors should emphasize the novel and important aspects of the study and the conclusions that can reasonably be drawn from the findings. Detailed results should not be repeated unnecessarily.

Where hypotheses have been stated, the authors should indicate whether the findings support or do not support the hypotheses, or whether the available evidence is insufficient to draw a definitive conclusion.

Acknowledgments

Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship may be acknowledged in this section. This may include individuals who provided technical assistance, writing support, or other relevant assistance.

Financial and material support should also be acknowledged.

Tables

Tables should be limited to those necessary for presenting the results clearly.

Table titles and captions should be placed above the tables. Tables should be prepared in an editable format and should not be submitted as photographs or images.

Explanatory information should be provided in table footnotes rather than in the table title.

Figures

Figures should be limited to those necessary to support the presentation of the study.

Figures should be submitted as high-quality files suitable for publication. Figure titles and captions should be provided below the figures.

The same data should not be presented unnecessarily in tables, figures, and the text.

References

All manuscripts should include relevant and appropriate references.

Authors should conduct an appropriate literature search and cite relevant published research from suitable sources. Authors are responsible for ensuring that all references are accurate, complete, and consistent with the sources cited.

To minimize citation errors, references should be checked against the original source documents whenever possible.

References should follow the Vancouver style and the formats illustrated below.

Article:

Vega KJ, Pina I, Krevsky B. Heart transplantation is associated with an increased risk for pancreatobiliary disease. Ann Intern Med. 1996;124:980-3.

Book chapter:

Phillips SJ, Whisnant JP. Hypertension and stroke. In: Laragh JH, Brenner BM, editors. Hypertension: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Management. 2nd ed. New York: Raven Press; 1995. p. 465-78.

Proofreading

The final version of the manuscript will be sent to the corresponding author for proofreading before publication. Authors should carefully check the proofs for remaining errors and return any necessary corrections to the journal office within the specified time.

Proof corrections should be limited to necessary errors and should not normally involve substantial changes to the manuscript.

Abbreviations and Symbols

Only standard abbreviations should be used.

Abbreviations should generally be avoided in the title and abstract. The full term should precede the abbreviation at its first occurrence in the main text, unless the abbreviation is a standard unit of measurement.

Ethical Guidelines

Ethical considerations relevant to the study must be addressed in the Methods section.

For studies involving human participants, authors should state that informed consent was obtained from participants or, where applicable, from their parents or legal guardians. The name of the institutional review board or ethics committee that approved the study should also be provided, together with the ethics approval/reference number where applicable.

For studies involving human participants, authors should comply with applicable ethical standards and institutional and national regulations.

For studies involving experimental animals, authors should state that the care and use of animals complied with applicable institutional, national, and international guidelines for the humane treatment of laboratory animals.

Where ethical approval or informed consent is not applicable, the authors should provide an appropriate explanation.