Manuscript Flexibility: A Note for the Journal's Contributors, Reviewers, and Readers

Being mindful of the possibilities for types of scientific communications can help a researcher in choosing the right format for presentation and reporting. Original research articles, case reports, and review articles are the most common types of manuscripts submitted to and published by Iranian medical journals. But not all of the scholarly communications could necessarily be fit into these kinds of manuscripts; for instance:-Journal editors/reviewers or experts of a field may wish or be invited to elaborate on a peer-reviewed and accepted paper and put it in a broader context. This kind of commentary which is published as the leading article in an issue of the journal is titled an ‘Editorial.’-Readers of a journal article may decide to comment on a published paper and/or seek clarifications; authors of the related original work would respond to those comments. This type of correspondence is known as ‘Letter to the Editor’. Due to its independent nature, this kind of scientific exchange frequently provides invaluable insights into the subject of published research.-Editorial boards and/or peer-reviewers frequently encounter manuscripts which have inherent limitations in the scope, relevance, priority, or originality, yet they find them otherwise integrated, polished, well-organized, and based on formal data collection. The journal may thus decide to publish an abridged version of the work. Authors are then expected to revise and summarize their work in the form of a short communication or ‘Brief Report’....