Notes for Contributors - Chronic Illness

Original articles, editorial correspondence, and suggestions for review and discussion articles should be sent to: 
 
The Editor, Professor Christopher Dowrick, School of Population, Community and Behavioural Science, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GB, UK (Email: cfd@liverpool.ac.uk)

Authors are invited to submit papers on disk, by email, or as hard copy. Electronic submissions are particularly encouraged. The Editor cannot accept responsibility for damage or loss of material or disks.

Articles submitted to Chronic Illness should comprise original, unpublished material and should not currently be under consideration for publication elsewhere. 

Ethics committee approval should have been granted for all studies involving human participants and a statement to this effect should be included in the paper. The Editor reserves the right to seek a copy of the authorising letter from the relevant ethics committee.  

The Editor reserves the right to make editorial and literary corrections. Any opinions expressed or policies advocated do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the Editor. 

REVIEWING AND EDITORIAL PROCESS

All original submissions, including those commissioned by the editorial team, will be initially assessed by the Editor or one of the Co-editors.  

Contributions considered relevant to the aims and scope of the journal and likely to be of adequate quality will be sent out for external review. The journal's policy is to obtain at least two independent reviews of each article. The peer review process will be double-blind, i.e. neither reviewers nor authors will be informed of the identity of each other. Referees will be encouraged to provide substantive, constructive reviews that provide suggestions for improving the work and distinguish between mandatory and non-mandatory recommendations.

The Editor, in consultation with the Co-editors, will then make a decision about publication in the journal. He will inform the contributors in writing of his decision, and the reasoning behind it, and will provide contributors with anonymised copies of the external reviews.  

All manuscripts accepted for publication are subject to editing for presentation, style and grammar. Any major redrafting is agreed with the author but the Editor's decision on the text is final.

COPYRIGHT 
In order for us to ensure maximum dissemination and copyright protection of material published in the Journal, copyright must be explicitly transferred from author to publisher. A form for this purpose will be sent to the principal author, and must be signed by the principal author before any paper can be published. We assure you that no limitation will be put on your personal freedom to use material contained in the paper without requesting permission, provided acknowledgement is made to the Journal as the original source of publication.

PRESENTATION OF SUBMISSIONS  
These instructions are in accordance with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals (the 'Vancouver' system).BMJ 1991;302 (6772). See also: http://www.icmje.org/index.html

Word length 

• Review papers, discussion papers, and papers including substantive qualitative research should be no more than 5000 words in length, excluding               structured abstracts, quantitative tables and figures, and references.  
• Quantitative research papers should be no more than 3000 words in length, excluding structured abstracts, tables and figures, and references. 
• Short reports, commentaries on classic papers and patients' comments should be no more than 1000 words in length, including abstracts, tables and figures, and references.

Authors wishing to submit lengthier papers should first discuss their work with the Editor. 

Review papers

We welcome systematic reviews and syntheses on areas of interest and importance to those concerned with chronic illness. A clear research question and a description of methods, including search strategies and quality appraisal, should be provided. Methods for synthesis, including meta-analysis, narrative summary, meta-ethnography etc., should be clearly explained.   

Discussion papers

These will normally be commissioned, but the Editor will be pleased to receive recommendations for new topics. Discussion papers need to be a statement of a new idea or controversial matter where the opinion being expressed is at least partly based on published evidence. Unlike reviews, there is no obligation for authors of discussion papers to be impartial in citing the available literature.

Short reports

These are a useful method for reporting circumscribed research where the study or the results may not justify a full report. It does not imply a lower standard for the quality of the work reported. The guidance is the same as for original articles with the following exceptions:

• The summary need not be a structured abstract. 

• Authors should limit themselves to no more than ten references and two figures or tables. 

Patient comments

We welcome submissions of articles, including comments on published papers, from people who experience chronic illness or their carers. 

Commentaries on classic papers

These will normally be commissioned, but the Editor will also be pleased to consider unsolicited copy. 

FULL PAPERS 
Papers should be set out as follows, with each section beginning on a separate sheet: title page, abstract, text, acknowledgements, references, tables, captions to illustrations. 
 
Title page.The title page should give the following information: (1) title of the article; (2) first name(s) or initial(s) and surname of each author; (3) address of the department or institution to which the work should be attributed; (4) full postal address of each author; (5) name, telephone, email address and fax number of the author responsible for correspondence and to whom requests for offprints should be sent.(This is particularly important where the corresponding author is not the first named author.) 
 
Abstract.This should consist of not more than 200 words summarising the contents of the article.It is important, especially for indexing services, that this must be intelligible independently of the article. It should be presumed that the reader has some knowledge of the subject but has not read the paper.

Structured abstracts are essential for research and review papers, and should be submitted under the headings: objectives, methods, results, and discussion. 

Keywords. Authors are asked to supply up to five keywords (in alphabetical order) to be used as an aid to indexing.

Acknowledgements.Sources of support, for example in the form of grants, should be included where relevant. 
 
References.The accuracy of references is the responsibility of the author. References should be entered consecutively by Arabic numerals as superscripts following the punctuation mark (e.g. . . tested.27 The. . . ). The reference list should be listed in numerical order on a separate sheet in single spacing. Reference to journals should include the author's name and initials (list all authors when six or fewer; when seven or more, list only the first three and add et al.), full title of paper, journal title abbreviated (using Index Medicus abbreviations), year of publication, volume number, first and last page numbers.For example: 

Rosengren A, Wilhelmsen L, Orth-Gomer K. Coronary disease in relation to social support and social class in Swedish men. A 15-year follow-up in the study of men born in 1933. Eur Heart J 2004; 25: 56-63

References to books should be set out as follows:

Appleby J, Harrison A, Devlin N. What is the real cost of patient choice?  London: King's Fund, 2003

Tables.Use only one tab (not spaces) to separate each column in a table. Do not worry about the alignment of columns on the screen, but if you wish to lay the table out on the hard copy, set each tab as appropriate. Each table should also be presented on a separate page of hard copy and should contain only horizontal rules. Do not submit tables as photographs. Care should be taken to ensure that all units are included. A short descriptive title should appear above each table and any footnotes, suitably identified, should appear below. Ensure that each table is cited in the text. 

Advice on submitting original research papers 

The introduction should provide an appropriate background to the article, drawing on relevant literature and explaining the research question to be addressed. Authors should avoid obviously partisan selection and quotation of literature. 

The methods section should demonstrate a clear and documented design or strategy directed towards a specific research question. The study design should be appropriate to the aims of the study and be clearly described. The criteria for selecting the sample should be clearly described and justified. A clear description of sampling, recruitment to the study, data collection, and data analysis should be provided. Full details of interventions should be given for intervention studies. This section should also include details of approval from a named Research Ethics Committee, and any arrangements for data oversight.

Authors submitting randomised controlled trials (RCTs) should follow the revised CONSORT guidelines, including a completed CONSORT checklist and flowchart of participants in the trial.  Guidance can be found at http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/291/1/125/DC4 or JAMA 2003; 291:125. 

The results section should contain all the information required by referees and readers to assess the validity of the conclusions. The characteristics of the sample included in the study should be clearly described. For quantitative studies, the section should include details of the response rates and numbers lost to follow-up. The analysis should be clear and systematic. Results of statistical tests should be reported with confidence intervals in order to provide an estimate of precision. No more than six tables should be included.

Please include a structured discussion. We recommend that this covers the following sections, using sub-headings:

• summary of main findings; 
• the strengths and the limitations of this study; 
• how and why it agrees or disagrees with the existing literature, in particular including any papers published since the study was designed and carried out; 
• the implications for future research or clinical practice.

We will normally expect no more than 25 references for an original research paper.

Additional advice on qualitative research papers

Please consider the following additional guidelines for submitting qualitative research papers to Chronic Illness:

Choice of methods. Ensure that the study design and method of analysis are suited to, and sufficient, to address the research question being asked.

Sampling. Please explain clearly the rationale for sampling, and how the adequacy of the sample was assessed.

Method of analysis. A recognised, referenced methodology should be specified for the data analysis. It is not sufficient to use terms such as 'thematic analysis' or 'grounded theory' without identifying precisely which version of these methods is being used. There must be a clear account of how the analysis was conducted, which should show that the main principles and procedures of the methodology specified have been followed.

Quotations or other data extracts. Support your analysis with sufficient data extracts. Quotations should usually be quoted within the main text, and should be labelled to indicate their source, and to demonstrate the range of sources being used to illustrate the analysis. Care should be taken not to breach the confidentiality of participants either in the labelling of data extractions or through the data extract itself.

Reporting. There should be clear links between the data, the interpretation, and the conclusions.

ILLUSTRATIONS 
Please note that it is the responsibility of authors to produce and supply artwork at their own cost. Illustrations will be handled conventionally, unless supplied as TIFF, EPS or JPEG files on disk or via email. Please supply hard copies, as these provide the printer with guidance as to the intended appearance and may be used in cases where the electronic files cannot be opened or converted.
 
Line illustrations.All line illustrations should present a crisp black image on an even white background127x173 mm, or no larger than 203x254 mm. Figures should be submitted appropriately lettered in capitals. The size of letters should be appropriate to that of the illustration. It is important to take into account the necessary size reduction. Be certain that the symbols utilized will be distinguished after reduction. If illustrations are computer generated, please avoid the use of grey tints. Solid black, solid white, or hatched areas are acceptable. 
 
Photographic illustrations and radiographs.These should be submitted as clear, highly contrasted black and white prints (unmounted), sizes as above. Photomicrographs should have the magnification and details of staining techniques shown. X-ray film should be submitted as photographic prints, carefully made to bring out the detail to be illustrated, with an overlay indicating the area of importance. 
 
All illustrations should be clearly marked (by a label pasted on the back or by a soft crayon) with the figure number and author's name and the top of the figure should be illustrated with an arrow. Never use ink of any kind. 
 
Never use paperclips as these can scratch or mark illustrations. Illustrations in colour will only be accepted if the cost of origination and publication is paid for by the author. (For details, please contact the Managing Editor, Caitlin Meadows, Maney Publishing, Hudson Road, Leeds LS9 7DL, UK. Email: c.meadows@maney.co.uk.) Captions should be typed, double spaced, on separate sheets from the main text. 

Patient confidentiality. Where illustrations must include recognisable individuals, living or dead and of whatever age, care must be taken to ensure that consent for publication has been given. If identifiable features are not essential to the illustration, please indicate where the illustration can be cropped. In cases where consent has not been obtained and recognizable features may appear, it will be necessary to retouch the illustration to mask the eyes or otherwise render the individual 'officially' unrecognisable. 

Permission for reproduction of previously published material. Written permission to reproduce borrowed material must be obtained from the original publishers and authors, and submitted with the typescript. Borrowed material should be acknowledged in the captions in this style: 'Reproduced by the kind permission of . . . (publishers) from . . . (reference).' 

ABBREVIATIONS AND UNITS 
All measurements should be expressed in metric units. For more detailed recommendations, authors may consult the Royal Society of Medicine publication entitledUnits, Symbols and Abbreviations: A Guide for Biological and Medical Editors and Authors or USA equivalent. 

PROPRIETARY NAMES 
Proprietary names of drugs, instruments etc. should be indicated by the use of initial capital letters. 

AUTHORSHIP

The list of authors should include all those who can legitimately claim authorship. This will be all those who have made a substantial contribution to the concept and design, conduct, analysis or writing up a study. Authors may if they wish supply details of their individual contributions to the work, but we do not insist on it, and the data will not be published. Contributions would be expected to fall into one of the following categories, though one of these may not be sufficient on its own to warrant authorship

• Conceiving and designing the study 
• Obtaining funding and/or ethical approval 
• Collecting the data 
• Analysing the data 
• Interpreting the data 
• Writing the report in part or wholly 
• Revising the report 

Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for the content relevant to their own contribution. We do not require all authors to sign the initial letter accompanying submission; however, all authors must sign the declaration form sent with the Editor's response at the conclusion of peer review. In addition, at least one author should be designated as the guarantor for the integrity of the data on which the paper is based. This will normally be the author for correspondence.

PUBLISHING ETHICS

Chronic Illness supports the ethical principles set out by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) available on their website (http://www.publicationethics.org.uk/). It is important that authors understand the need for the research undertaken to conform to the Helsinki declaration. You will normally have to confirm that the study has been approved by a named Research Ethical Committee to be considered for publication. In addition you must ensure that there is no risk of your being charged with duplicate publication. All authors of any kind of article submitted must declare any competing interests by completing a standard form, which will be sent to all authors at the conclusion of the peer review process. This should be returned with the revised manuscript. COPE has given guidance on the definition of competing interests: that they may influence the judgement of author, reviewers, and editors; that they may be personal, commercial, political, academic or financial. As a rough guide, they have been described as those which, when revealed later, would make a reasonable reader feel misled or deceived. In addition, all authors must declare that, where relevant, patient consent has been obtained and that all reasonable steps have been taken to maintain patient confidentiality report (see http://jama.ama-assn.org/ifora_current.dtl for full requirements of informed consent).

INSTRUCTIONS FOR FORMATTING ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS 

We welcome submission of the final version of your article on disk or via email. We accept 3.5" disks formatted on either PC or Macintosh computers.  Disk submissions should be accompanied by a hard copy (along with tables and illustrations) of the final version of your manuscript, which must be an exact copy of that supplied electronically.

Please ensure that all sections of your article are in a single file in the order set out below and with references in the correct style. Figures will be handled separately and should be supplied either as hard copies on separate sheets; or we welcome illustrations on disk if they can be supplied as TIFF, EPS or JPEG files. Tables, with their captions, and figure legends should be included in the main text file after the reference list.

Please read these carefully.

• Set your line spacing to double spacing. 
• Do not justify your text - range left allow it to run ragged on the right-hand margin. Many word processing packages have the justification mode automatically turned on and this must be turned off. 
• Turn off the automatic hyphenation option. Only use hyphens when they are part of a word. 
• Never use the lower case letter l for the number 1. Never use the capital letter O for the number zero 0. 
• Never use the carriage return (enter) at the end of lines within a paragraph. Use the carriage return only at the end of paragraphs or after a heading. 
• Use normal type for headings. Capitalize the first letter of the first word only. They should be ranged left and not centred. Do not underline headings. Do not type them in bold or italic, or type a colon or full stop after them. 
• Please use single quotation marks. Only use double quotation marks for quotes within quotes. 
• Use italics sparingly. 
• Always insert a space between a number and a unit, e.g. 5 mm. 
• Do not indent lists. However, if preparing a list within a list, use a tab, not a space to indent the sublist. Bullets, numbers, alphabet characters or dashes may be used but please use rationally and consistently. 
• If your submission is sent on disk, please retain a copy of the disk and the printout you send. 
• Remove any backup files from disks before submission. 
• Clearly label the disk with your name, the title of the paper, and details of the hardware and software used. 
• Ensure the disk is protected to avoid damage or X-ray inspection during transit. 

PAGE PROOFS 
PDF proofs are emailed to the corresponding author for checking. Corrections, which should be confined to essential typographical amendments only, must be returned by email, fax or post to: The Editor, Christopher Dowrick, Department of Primary Care, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GB, UK (Email: cfd@liverpool.ac.uk) promptly. All typescripts will undergo copy-editing to improve clarity, readability and consistency, so it is important to read your proofs carefully. 
 
**NEW** E-PRINTS

Under Maney's open access policy, authors will now receive a PDF file of the published version of their paper. This PDF may be forwarded to co-authors without separate permission being required from the publisher. The PDF cannot be used for commercial purposes. Chronic Illness must be cited as the original source of publication and a link to www.ingentaconnect.com/content/maney/chr included with any listing. This PDF may be posted on authors' individual websites or that of their institution. Authors are entitled to make copies of the article for reasonable personal use only. Authors may still purchase printed offprints if required; an offprint order form will be sent out to the corresponding author with their proofs.