Arthritis Care & Research
Information for Authors
(Note: The information that follows is also available
online at http://www.interscience.wiley.com.)
Manuscripts should be submitted online at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rheumjournal
Editorial office contact information:
Patricia P. Katz, PhD, and Edward H. Yelin, PhD, Editors, Arthritis
Care & Research
Mailing address: UCSF, Box 0920, San Francisco, CA 94143-0920
Courier address: UCSF, 3333 California Street, Suite 270, San Francisco,
CA 94118
Phone (415) 476-9028, Fax (415) 476-9030, e-mail bwong@itsa.ucsf.edu.
Articles are accepted for publication on the condition that
they are submitted to this
journal only. Articles should pertain to the field of rheumatic
disease.
Manuscripts not in compliance with the following instructions
may be subject to a
delay in the review process.
Format and organization
Submit all new manuscripts online. Launch your web browser
and go to http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rheumjournal.
Check for an
existing account. If you are submitting for the first time,
create a new
account. Follow all instructions. At the end of a successful
submission, a confirmation screen with manuscript number
will appear and you will
receive an e-mail confirming that the manuscript has been
received by
the journal. If this does not happen, please check your submission
and/or contact tech support at edsupport@wiley.com.
Submit manuscript and all figures as one file if possible.
You do
not need to mail any copies.
An electronic cover letter should accompany the manuscript.
Note in cover letter what type of manuscript is enclosed
(Full-Length Article, Case Report, or Trainee Rounds,
Contributions from the Field,
Review Article, or Letter to the Editor). Confirm that
the manuscript has
not been submitted or is not simultaneously being submitted
elsewhere, and that no portion of the data has been or
will be published in proceedings
or transactions of meetings or symposium volumes. The
publication of data in abstracts, and presentation in oral or
poster sessions at meetings, do not constitute previous publication.
Indicate any financial
support or other benefits from commercial sources for
the work reported on in the manuscript, or any other financial
interests that any of
the authors may have, which could create a potential
conflict of interest
or the appearance of a conflict of interest with regard
to the work.
Corresponding author should include address, telephone
number, fax
number, and E-mail address if applicable.
Type all pages of the manuscript, including those containing
references, tables, and figure legends, double space
in 12-point type,
with 1- to 11⁄2-inch margins. Number all sheets in succession,
including
references, tables, and figure legends. Title page is page 1. On
the first
page, type the title, name(s) of the author(s) and their major
degrees,
grant supporter(s), address for reprint requests, and corresponding
author’s
telephone and fax numbers and E-mail address. Also indicate the
total word count for the manuscript (not including abstract, references,
tables, figure legends). The word and table/figure limits are outlined
below.
Full-Length Articles
Definition: Full-Length Articles are descriptions of original research
that adds to the body of knowledge in arthritis and the rheumatic diseases.
On the second page of Full-Length Articles, include an abstract
of fewer than 250 words. The abstract should be divided into the
following sections: Objective, Methods, Results, and Conclusion.
On the third page, begin the introduction (no heading is necessary).
Follow this plan of organization: Materials and Methods (or
Patients and Methods), Results, Discussion, References, Tables,
and Figure Legends.
Full-Length Articles should not exceed 3,800 words from introduction
through discussion (not including references, tables, and figure
legends). The total number of tables and figures combined may not
exceed 6, and the number of references may not exceed 50.
Clinicopathologic Conferences (CPCs)
Definition: CPCs emphasize new ideas in medical science that shed light on the approach to diagnosis, disease management, or an emerging aspect of pathophysiology. The editors welcome queries about cases that might be appropriate subjects for CPCs, and invite submissions of CPCs.
No abstract is necessary. On the second page, begin the case presentation using the following headings (as applicable): Case Presentation (history of the present illness, past medical history, social and family history, review of systems, physical examination, laboratory evaluation) Case Summary, Differential Diagnosis, Discussion, the Patients’ Course, Final Diagnosis.
Case Reports and Trainee Rounds
Definitions: Case Reports and Trainee Rounds are reports of
single cases that contribute to the body of knowledge of rheumatic diseases
by reporting in-depth observations, descriptions of new procedures,
techniques, devices, educational programs, or equipment may reveal
etiopathogenetic mechanisms of a broader significance, or by presenting
a concise discussion of an infrequently encountered problem that
emphasizes a particular clinical point not generally available
in the literature.
Emphasis will be placed on the scholarship of discussion. Trainee
Rounds are case reports written by a trainee in rheumatology
or related
area with the assistance and advice of his or her mentors.
On the second page, begin the introduction (no heading is
necessary). After the introduction, include a description of
the case, followed by a general discussion.
Case Reports and Trainee Rounds should not exceed 2,500
words from introduction through references. The total number
of tables
and figures combined may not exceed 3, and the number of
references may not exceed 15.
Contributions from the Field
Definition: Contributions from the Field are short articles describing
observations either made in the context of larger studies or made
of a
few patients that would be of interest to clinicians and/or researchers.
Contributions from the Field should not exceed 2,500 words
from introduction through references. The total number of tables
and
figures combined may not exceed 3, and the number of references
may
not exceed 15.
Review Articles
Definition: Review Articles are discussions of clinical, economic,
or basic
science issues involved in arthritis care and research.
Review Articles should not exceed 2,500 words from introduction
through references. The total number of tables and figures combined
may
not exceed 3. This category does not apply to Systematic Reviews. Please submit Systematic Reviews as Original Articles and follow the format for Original Articles.
Letters to the Editor
Definition: Letters to the Editor should be limited to commentaries on previous articles published in Arthritis Care & Research and issues affecting rheumatology and the American College of Rheumatology. Letters that are commentaries on previous articles must be submitted within 6 months after publication of the article. Length of Letters to the Editor should be no more than 2 pages, including references. Only 1 table or figure may accompany a Letter to the Editor.
Compliance with research ethics standards
Research carried out with human subjects must be in compliance
with the Helsinki Declaration (http://www.wma.net/e/policy/b3.htm). A statement to this effect must appear in the Methods
section
of the manuscript, including the name of the body that gave approval.
Clinical research studies must be registered with the appropriate national body. Compliance with Open Access regulations required by funding bodies, such as the National Institutes of Health, is required.
The journal reserves the right to subject any submitted text or figures to electronic scrutiny to ensure that text has not been plagiarized and images have not been inappropriately manipulated.
Illustrations
Images should be submitted with the manuscript in one of the following formats: .tif (preferred), .eps, .xls, or .doc. In the event a manuscript is accepted for publication, a set of hard-copy, publication-quality figures will be required.
Each figure must contain no more than 4 panels. Each
figure
must be small enough that it can be reduced such that the figure,
including the legend below it, will occupy no more than half of
a journal
page. Lettering and symbols on figures should be large enough,
and
shading distinct enough, to remain readable after the figure is
reduced.
Lengthy descriptions of methods should appear in
the Methods section of the article and not in figure legends.
Do not write on the back of any figure, but attach
a label to each with the figure number and first author’s name. Include on
the label an arrow indicating which end is the top of the figure.
Although the letter of a multiple-part figure may be printed
directly on the figure, the main figure number should not be (i.e.,
for
Figure 2A, an “A” may appear on the figure, but “2” may
not); the
number will appear in the text of the figure legend.
Obtain releases from any patients whose pictures
will be printed in the journal. Blinders on the eyes are not a
substitute for patient’s
permission.
An article may include one page of color at no charge
to the author. For subsequent pages of color, the author will
be billed $500 per page.
Tables
Type tables entirely in double space. Do not include any vertical
lines in tables. Include horizontal lines below the title and headings
and
above the table footnotes only; there should be no horizontal lines
separating the individual lines of data in the table body. Limit
the width
of each table (number of columns) such that it will fit in portrait
(not landscape) orientation on a journal column (31⁄4 inches)
or page (7 inches) and will not exceed the height of the page. Refer to current
issues of the journal for further guidance regarding table style.
Tables with sections (e.g., Table 1a, Table 1b) are not acceptable
and will be handled as two separate tables unless the information
can be logically combined into one table with one set of headings.
Provide each table with an explanatory title so that it is intelligible
without specific reference to the text. Provide each table
column with an
appropriate heading. Indicate clearly any units of measure
on a table.
Lengthy descriptions of methods should appear in the Methods
section of the article and not in table footnotes.
References
Compile references numerically according to the order of
the citation. Use abbreviations for titles of medical periodicals
that conform
to those in Index Medicus.
In 1997, the journal changed its reference style to conform
to the style suggested in the Uniform Requirements for
Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals. All references
should be in this style,
which can be found in the article “Uniform Requirements for
Manuscripts
Submitted to Biomedical Journals” (N Engl J Med, January 23,
1997, pp 309-15). For a standard journal reference, the Uniform
Requirements
style is as follows: Mattey DL, Hutchinson D, Dawes PT,
Nixon NB, Clarke S, Fisher J, et al. Smoking and disease severity
in
rheumatoid arthritis: association with polymorphism at the glutathione
S-transferase M1 locus. Arthritis Rheum 2002;46:640-7.
Assignment of reviewers
Authors are asked to suggest potential reviewers of their manuscript.
If there are individuals they would prefer not to review their
manuscripts, they may also indicate.
Related manuscripts/duplicate publication
If the authors are aware of any related manuscript that has
been or will be published by or submitted to another journal
or to Arthritis Care & Research (e.g., another
manuscript resulting from the
same study), a copy of the other manuscript should be sent
along with the one that is being submitted for publication
in Arthritis
Care &
Research.
Articles are received only for exclusive publication
in Arthritis Care & Research with the understanding that
they have not been published elsewhere (in part or in full, in other words or
in the same
words, in letter or article form, or otherwise), are not at
the time of
submission under consideration by another journal or other
publication, and will not be submitted elsewhere unless rejected
by Arthritis
Care & Research. Publication of preliminary data in the form of an abstract generally is not considered duplicate publication unless the abstract exceeds two pages in length and/or is cited in PubMed.
If an author violates this requirement
or engages in other similar misconduct, the Editor may,
in addition to rejecting the manuscript, impose a moratorium
on the acceptance of new manuscripts from the author and,
if the misconduct is deemed sufficiently serious, may refer
the matter to the author’s academic institution or
hospital and/or the
appropriate state or local disciplinary body.
Disclosure of interest/copyright transfer
At the time a manuscript under consideration is sent for revision,
the corresponding author must obtain the journal’s Disclosure
of Interest forms. The corresponding author should have each individual
author fill out the form to disclose information about financial
support and consulting activities that might be interpreted as
constituting a possible conflict of interest for the study. The corresponding
author must collect the completed forms from all authors and compile
the information on authors’ financial support and consulting
activities,
as well as information on each author’s role in the study,
on one
form to be submitted to the journal editorial office along with
the
revised manuscript. The Editor will decide whether any of this
information
constitutes a possible conflict of interest, or the appearance
thereof, and should be divulged in a footnote.
The Disclosure of Interest form described above also contains a
section in which, in accordance with the 1978 Copyright Law,
authors are requested to sign a copyright transfer statement.
Author corrections on proofs
The corresponding author will be provided with page proofs
and asked to check for errors and editorial queries. Although the
correction of editorial and typographical errors will be made without
charge, the cost of excessive additional alterations may be charged
to the author.
Authors are requested to return corrected proofs
and accompanying
forms within 72 hours. Publication of the article may be delayed
if the proofs are not sent back on time.
Page charge
A $70 per page charge will be assessed for publication
in Arthritis
Care & Research.
Instructions for payment will be sent to authors
along with the proofs. In extreme cases of inability to pay, the
page charge may be
reduced or waived. There is no page charge for solicited articles,
or
letters to the editor. There is no page charge if the primary
author is a
member of ARHP (Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals).
Questions regarding the page charge should be directed to the
Managing
Editor, Arthritis Care & Research, 1800 Century
Place, Suite 250,
Atlanta, GA 30345-4300. |
