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Manuscript Submission and Editorial Review Policy
The scope of The American Journal of Emergency Medicine is as
broad as the definition of emergency medicine itself, encompassing all
activities concerned with acute medical care. AJEM invites
the submission
of original research, reports, correspondence, and opinion relating to
acute adult and pediatric medicine and surgery
and the related fields
of trauma, toxicology, critical care, resuscitation, emergency medical
services, behavioral emergencies, and environmental
medicine.
Original contributions will be accepted on the basis of significance,
validity, and clarity. Authors will be expected to
justify conclusions by
the data presented, maintain a lucid prose style, and describe methodology
in sufficient detail for readers to
evaluate results accurately. AJEM,
in turn, is committed to a confidential, expeditious, and professional
editorial process.
Reviews will be objective, rigorous, and responsible.
Articles published in AJEM are indexed and abstracted in Index
Medicus,
Excerpta Medica, Current Contents/Clinical Medicine,
ISI/BIOMED, and BIOSIS.
For the convenience of prospective authors, AJEM
is a participating
journal in the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors'
"Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted
to Biomedical
Journals" (N Engl J Med 1997;336:309-315). This agreement provides
for a standardized manuscript format, allowing authors
to submit
articles to any one of over 500 scholarly medical publications without
revision simply to accommodate the vagaries of any individual
journal's
technical and stylistic requirements.
REVIEW POLICY
All original contributions, investigations, and reports will
be subjected
to multiple-peer review. To protect the integrity and anonymity of the
review process, all reviews will be conducted in
double-blinded fashion.
To promote quality composition and investigation, legible comments
from all referees will accompany returned
manuscripts. To encourage
criticism, correspondence, and open discussion of controversial issues,
letters to the editor will be printed
promptly. As a courtesy to contributors
and to ensure the timeliness of AJEM's content, authors will routinely
be notified of
the action taken upon their manuscripts within 10 weeks
of submission. Case reports will receive expedited in-house review and will be
accepted or rejected without specific comments.
GUIDE FOR AUTHORS
We invite submissions on clinical and laboratory research
and topics
pertinent to adult and pediatric emergency medicine including emergency
medical and health services, trauma, toxicology, resuscitation,
behavioral
emergencies, critical care, and environmental medicine. In generalAJEM does not publish surveys, papers that
focus on patient satisfaction,
quality assurance, or didactics. The following are journal
features for which we invite submissions:
ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS: Reports of new clinical and laboratory
investigations and research. Original Contributions should
contain a power analysis to ensure
adequate sample size.
BRIEF REPORTS: Short papers, series of cases, and preliminary
reports
of work in progress; studies with small numbers pointing to the need for
further investigation. Brief reports should be limited
to 2,000 words of text
(exclusive of tables, references, and figure legends).
RESEARCH SEMINARS: Discussions of the history,
methodology, and
future of a particular area or subject in emergency medicine research.
REVIEWS: Definitive, in-depth, state-of-the-art
reviews of clinical and
research subjects. Unsolicited reviews are not generally published inAJEM. Before submitting any unsolicited
reviews, please forward an
outline to the Editor for consideration.
THERAPEUTICS: Detailed reviews of important devices
and drugs
used in the practice of emergency medicine.
DIAGNOSTICS: Concise articles guiding clinical practice, with references
to additional, authoritative sources.
CONTROVERSIES: Editorial viewpoints on current controversies.
CLINICAL NOTES:
Descriptions of new techniques and procedures in
emergency medicine practice and investigation.
CORRESPONDENCE: Letters
to the editor are limited to 800 words
of text (exclusive of references, tables, and figure legends). These
submissions should not contain
an abstract.
CASE REPORTS: Single case reports must be <800 words and include an abstract of <250 words. Case reports
now require abstracts for publication in the journal alone. Full reports appear online only.
Cover Letter
A scanned (pdf)
cover letter accompanying all submitted manuscripts must (1) be signed by all authors, and (2) contain the following language: "The
manuscript,
as submitted or its essence in another version, is not under
consideration for publication elsewhere, and will not be published
elsewhere
while under consideration by AJEM. The authors have no
commercial associations or sources of support that might pose a
conflict
of interest. All authors have made substantive contributions to
the study, and all authors endorse the data and conclusions." Authors
with a potential conflict of interest should cite it in the cover letter.
Author Responsibility
Submissions are reviewed
for possible publication with the understanding
that they are original and not simultaneously under consideration
by another journal.
Accepted manuscripts become the property
of AJEM and may not be published elsewhere without the written permission
of AJEM.
Any material previously published elsewhere must
be accompanied by written consent of its author and publisher when
submitted to AJEM.
Photographs of an identifiable subject should be
accompanied by a release signed by the subject or responsible party
authorizing publication.
If required, institutional clearance to publish
should be submitted with the manuscript. AJEM is not responsible for
statements
made by any contributor. Authors should keep copies of
all submitted materials. Photographs and figures are not returned,
even if
a manuscript is not accepted.
Repetitive Publication
Authors submitting papers to this journal must confirm that the
paper,
as submitted or its essence in another version, has not been published
elsewhere, is not under consideration for publication elsewhere,
and will
not be published elsewhere while under consideration by AJEM. Prior
publication of some content of the paper may not
preclude the paper's
publication in AJEM. Authors must provide full information in the
cover letter sent with the submitted
manuscript on any possibly
repetitive publication of content, including: (1) reworked data already
reported; (2) cases or subjects
in a study cohort already described in a
published report; (3) previously reported single or multiple cases; (4)
content already published
or to be published in another format such as the
proceedings of a meeting or symposium, a chapter in a book, or a letter to
the editor;
(5) content published in a language other than English.
Conflict of Interest
Authors are expected to disclose any commercial
associations or
sources of support that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with
the submitted article. All funding sources
supporting the work must be
acknowledged in a footnote on the title page. All affiliations with or
financial involvement in any organization
on entity with a direct financial
interest in the subject matter or materials of the research discussed (eg,
employment, consultancies,
stock ownership or other equity interest,
patent-licensing arrangements) should be cited in the cover letter.
Human Research and
Informed Consent
When appropriate, manuscripts reporting the results of experimental
investigations on human subjects should
include a statement indicating
approval by the institution's Human Research Committee.
Author Approval
All accepted manuscripts
are subject to copyediting. Authors will
receive page proof of their article before publication.
Manuscript Submission
As of
September 1, 2005, all manuscripts (including figures) must
be submitted to AJEM through our Web site ( http://ees.elsevier.com/ajem/
). Submission items should include separate files for a cover letter,
title page, abstract, manuscript text, references, legends
for table/figure,
tables, and figures. Revised manuscripts should also be accompanied by
a unique file (separate from the covering letter)
with responses to
reviewers' comments.
The preferred order of files for electronics submission is as follows:
cover letter, response
to reviews (revised manuscripts only), title page,
manuscript file(s), table(s), figure(s). Files should be labelled with
appropriate
and descriptive file names (e.g., SmithText.doc, Fig1.eps, Table3.doc). Upload text, tables and graphics as separate files. Do not
import
figures or tables into the text document; submit them as separate
files. Complete instructions for electronic artwork submission can
be
found on the Author Gateway, accessible through the journal home page.
All manuscripts must be submitted double-spaced in English.
Please visit http://ees.elsevier.com/ajem to submit your manuscript electronically. The website guides authors stepwise
through the creation and uploading of the various files. Note that original source files, not PDF files, are required (except for the
scanned version of letter with author signatures). Once the submission files are uploaded the system automatically
generates electronic
(PDF) proof, which is then used for reviewing.
All correspondence, including the Editor's decision and request for
revisions, will be
by e-mail.
Copyright
A copyright transfer agreement will be sent to corresponding authors
of each manuscript accepted for
publication. Authors are responsible
for applying for permission for both print and electronic rights for all
borrowed materials and
are responsible for paying any fees related to
the application of these provisions.
Title Page
On the title page include
(1) the title (no more than 100 characters); (2) a short running head of
fewer than 50 characters/spaces placed at the foot of the
page; (3)
author(s) names (no more than 10 authors), highest degrees, department(s) and institution(s); (4)
name and address of
author to whom reprint requests should be sent;
(5) source(s) of support in the form of equipment, drugs, or grants
(including grant
numbers); (6) the name of organization and date of
assembly if the article has been presented; and (7) "Key Words," a list
of three to
ten important words or phrases for indexing. Whenever possible,
use terms from the medical subject heading of Index Medicus.
To ensure
blinded, impartial review, do not indicate the authors of the
article on any other page.
Abstract
On the second page
include an abstract of fewer than 250 words stating the purposes, basic procedures, main findings, and principal conclusions. Be concise
yet detailed.
Author's Inquiries
For inquiries relating to the submission of articles (including electronic submission where
available), please visit www.elsevier.com/authors. This site also
provides the facility to track accepted articles and set up e-mail alerts to inform you of when an article's status has changed, as
well as detailed artwork guidelines, copyright information, frequently asked questions, and more. Please see Information for Authors
for individual journal requirements. Contact details for questions arising after acceptance of an article, especially those relating
to proofs, are provided after registration of an article for publication.
Text
When appropriate, divide the text into Introduction,
Methods, Results,
and Discussion.
Introduction: Clearly state the purpose of the article, summarize the
rationale for the
study or observation, give only strictly pertinent
references, and do not review the subject extensively.Methods: Identify
the methods, apparatus, and procedures in sufficient
detail to allow other workers to reproduce the results. Give references to
established
methods, including statistical method; provide references and
brief descriptions of methods that have been published but may not be
well
known; describe new or substantially modified methods, giving
reasons for using them and evaluating their limitations.Results:
Present your results in logical sequence in the text, tables, and
illustrations. Do not repeat in the text all of the data in the tables
and/or
illustrations; emphasize or summarize only important observations.Discussion: Emphasize the new and important aspects
of the study and
conclusions that follow from them. Do not repeat in detail data given in
the Results sections. Include in the Discussion
the implications of the
findings and their limitations and 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 your
data. Avoid claiming priority
and alluding to work that has not been
completed. State new hypotheses when warranted, but clearly label them
as such. Recommendations,
when appropriate, may be included.
Acknowledgments
Acknowledge only people who have made substantive contributions
to the
study, and specify the contributions. Authors are responsible for
obtaining written permission from everyone acknowledged by name
because
readers may infer their endorsement of the data and conclusions.
Abbreviations, Symbols, and Nomenclature
Usage should conform
to that recommended in Council of Biology
Editors Style Manual (5th ed., 1983) available from the American
Institute of Biological
Sciences, 1950 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD
20814. Avoid abbreviations. Do not abbreviate names of organizations,
institutions, symptoms,
diseases, or anatomic characteristics. A list
of
acceptable abbreviations is included in "Uniform Requirements for
Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals." Generic
names
of drugs are preferred; a brand name may be given
only with the first use of generic name. When the brand name of a
product or pharmaceutical
is used, supply the manufacturer's
name and location (city and state).
Units of Measurement
Use SI units for linear
dimensions, weight, clinical chemistry, and
hematology. Use the Celsius scale for all temperatures. The use of
other SI units is encouraged.
References
Cite references consecutively in the text. Do not cite review
articles. Use the same number each time the reference
appears in
the text. At the conclusion of the article, list references in numerical
order, typed double spaced. Abbreviate journal titles
according toIndex Medicus style. Please provide inclusive pagination Punctuation
is shown below.
Journal articles:
List all authors when three or fewer; when four or
more, list first three and add et al.
Abraham E, Baraff LJ: Oral versus parenteral
therapy of pyelonephritis.
Curr Ther Res 1982;31:536-542
Books: Capitalize all important words in title.
Ludwig S, Fleisher
GR, Henretig FM, et al (eds): Pediatric
Emergency Medicine. Baltimore, MD, Williams & Wilkins,
1983, pp 203-209.
Chapter in
a book: List editors of book.
Eliastam M: Cardiac emergencies. In Eliastam M, Sternbach
GL, Bresler MJ (eds): Manual of Emergency
Medicine. Chicago,
IL, Yearbook, 1983, pp 1-28
References to unpublished information should be included parenthetcally
in the text.
Do not cite review articles.
Tables
Type tables double-spaced on separate sheets with number and title.
Do not submit tables
as photographs. Omit internal horizontal and
vertical rules. Cite each table in the text in consecutive order.
Figures
Submit
figures electronically as separate files. Complete instructions
for electronic artwork submission can be found on the Author Gateway,
accessible through the journal home page, http://ees.elsevier.com/ajem/ .
Editorial Inquiries
Authors are strongly
encouraged to use the Journal gateway for all
inquiries regarding submitted manuscripts for the fastest response and most
current information/status.
Other inquiries (i.e., unrelated to a submitted
manuscript) can be directed to ajemeditor@aol.com. |
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