June K. Robinson, MD, Editor, Archives of Dermatology, 132 E Delaware Pl, #5806, Chicago, IL 60611 USA; fax: (866) 542-4861; e-mail: archdermatol@jamanetwork.org. Send inquiries about submitting manuscripts by e-mail.
Editorial Policies for Authors
Authorship Responsibility, Criteria, and Contributions; Financial Disclosure; Acknowledgment Statement; and Copyright Transfer/Publishing Agreement
Designate 1 author as corresponding author and provide a complete address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address. The editorial office will ONLY correspond with the corresponding author. Provide the e-mail addresses of all authors. Authors may add a publishable sentence explaining order of authorship.1,2
Authors are required to identify each author's contribution to the work described in the manuscript. On the title page include (1) statement on authorship responsibility, (2) statement on financial disclosure/conflict of interest, (3) statement of all professional relationships, and (4) a statement of acknowledgment of the contributions of others, eg, medical writers who prepared the draft of the manuscript. These statements on the title page reiterate the information provided by all authors on the authorship form on which the statements must be read and signed by all authors. The corresponding author must sign the fourth statement, the acknowledgment statement.
Please do not send authorship forms to the editorial office before you have received an e-mail with your personalized form.
Group Authorship
If authorship is attributed to a group (either solely or in addition to 1 or more individual authors), all members of the group must meet the full criteria and requirements for authorship. A group must designate at least 1 or more individuals as authors or members of a writing group who meet full authorship criteria and requirements and who will take responsibility for the group, in which case the other group members are not authors, but may be listed in an acknowledgment.3
Conflict of Interest
A conflict of interest may exist when an author (or the author's institution or employer) has financial or personal relationships that could inappropriately influence (or bias) the author's decisions, work, or manuscript. All authors are required to report all professional financial relationships, with specific financial interests relevant to the subject of their manuscript, on the title page and on the Archives' financial disclosure form or in an attachment to the form. Authors without relevant financial interests in the manuscript should indicate no such interest.4,5 Authors are encouraged to use the following template to report all professional relationships during the period from the conception of the study or work until the publication of the manuscript.
Funding/Support: Indicate who supported the study.
Role of the Sponsors: Indicate the role of the sponsors in design and conduct of the study as well as the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the preparation of the manuscript; or in the review or approval of the manuscript. If the sponsors had no role, then state the following: The sponsors had no role in the design and conduct of the study; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the preparation of the manuscript; or in the review or approval of the manuscript.
See the sections Funding/Support and Role of Sponsor and Data Access and Responsibility.
Financial Disclosures: Financial disclosure should be divided between those relevant to this manuscript and all other relationships by providing the following 2 lists on the title page: (1) Relevant to This Manuscript and (2) All Other Relationships.
State that the authors have no relevant financial interest in this article OR indicate which authors served as consultants and to whom OR which authors were employed by whom. Use the checklist below to assist in the preparation of this section.
Indicate all financial interests, extending from 3 years before the conception of the work to the publication of the article, including pharmaceutical and device products, and employment:
- Consultancies
- Honoraria
- Speakers bureau
- Stock ownership or options
- Expert testimony
- Grants
- Patents filed, received, pending, or in preparation
- Royalties
- Donation of medical equipment
Acknowledgment: Provide acknowledgments.
Authors are required to report detailed information regarding all financial and material support for the research and work, including but not limited to grant support, funding sources, and provision of equipment and supplies. Each author also is required to sign and submit the following financial disclosure statement: "I certify that all my affiliations with or financial involvement, from the conception of the study or work until the publication of the manuscript (eg, employment, consultancies, honoraria, speakers bureau, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants received or pending, patents filed, received, pending, or in preparation, royalties, or donation of medical equipment) with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript are completely disclosed."
Authors are expected to provide detailed information about any relevant financial interests or financial conflicts and all professional relationships from the period 3 years prior to the conception of the study or work until the publication of the manuscript, particularly those present at the time the research was conducted and up to the time of publication, as well as other financial interests, such as relevant filed or pending patents or patent applications in preparation, that represent potential future financial gain. Although many universities and other institutions and organizations have established policies and thresholds for reporting financial interests and other conflicts of interest, the Archives requires complete disclosure of all relevant financial relationships and potential financial conflicts of interest, regardless of amount or value. If authors are uncertain about what might constitute a potential financial conflict of interest, they should err on the side of full disclosure and should contact the editorial office by e-mail if they have questions or concerns. In addition, authors who have no relevant financial interests are asked to provide a statement indicating that they have no financial interests related to the material in the manuscript.
This information is shared with peer reviewers. For all accepted manuscripts, each author's disclosures of relevant financial interests and declarations of no relevant financial interests will be published. Decisions about whether financial information provided by authors should be published, and thereby disclosed to readers, are usually straightforward. Although editors are willing to advise by e-mail about disclosure of specific financial information with authors, the Archives' policy is one of complete disclosure of all relevant financial interests.
The policy requesting disclosure of conflicts of interest applies for all manuscript submissions, including letters to the editor, Editorials, Off-Center Fold, Cutting Edge, Reviews, and Evidence-Based Dermatology submissions.
All financial and material support for the research and the work should be clearly and completely identified in an Acknowledgment. The role of the funding organization or sponsor in each of the following should be specified: design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; and preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript.
Data Access and Responsibility
For reports containing original data, at least 1 author (eg, the principal investigator) should indicate that he or she "had full access to all the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis."4 The statistician who performed the data analysis should be identified and it is preferred that he or she be at an academic center.
For industry-sponsored studies, an analysis of the data (based on the entire raw data set and evaluation of the study protocol) must be conducted by an independent statistician at an academic institution, rather than by statisticians employed by the sponsor or by a commercial contract organization. The independent biostatistician must be a faculty member at a medical school or academic medical center, or an employee of a government research institute, that has oversight over the person conducting the analysis and that is independent of the commercial sponsor. Details of this independent statistical analysis, the name and institutional affiliation of the independent statistician, and whether compensation or funding was received for conducting the analyses should be reported in the disclosure on the title page of the manuscript. The results of the independent statistical analysis should be the results reported in the manuscript.
Duplicate/Previous Publication or Submission
Manuscripts are considered with the understanding that they have not been published previously, in total or in part (eg, cases, figures, or tables), in print or electronic format and are not under consideration by another publication or electronic medium. A complete report following presentation or publication of preliminary findings elsewhere (eg, in an abstract) can be considered. Include copies of possibly duplicative material that has been previously published or is currently being considered elsewhere.6 Authors submitting manuscripts or letters to the editor regarding adverse drug or medical device reactions, reportable diseases, and the like should also report such to the relevant government agency.
For all manuscripts reporting data from studies involving human participants, formal review and approval, or formal review and waiver, by an appropriate institutional review board or ethics committee is required and should be described in the "Methods" section.7(p226) For those investigators who do not have formal ethics review committees, the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki should be followed.8 For investigations of humans, state in the "Methods" section the manner in which informed consent was obtained from the study participants (ie, oral or written). Editors may request that authors provide documentation of the formal review and recommendation from the institutional review board or ethics committee responsible for oversight of the study. (See also the editorial by Callen and Robinson.9)
Patient Descriptions, Photographs, Videos, and Pedigrees
Include a signed statement of informed consent to publish (in print and online) patient descriptions, photographs, videos, and pedigrees from all persons (parents or legal guardians for minors) who can be identified in such written descriptions, photographs, videos, or pedigrees. Such persons should be offered the opportunity to see the manuscript before submission. (See Patient Consent Form.) Please do not send masked photographs of patients.
Personal Communications
Include a signed statement of permission from each individual identified as a source of information in a personal communication, either written or oral.
A complete report following presentation at a meeting or publication of preliminary findings elsewhere (eg, an abstract) is eligible for consideration for publication. Authors considering presenting or planning to present the work at an upcoming scientific meeting should indicate the name and date of the meeting on the manuscript submission form. For accepted papers the editors may be able to coordinate publication with the meeting presentation. Authors who present information contained in a manuscript that is under consideration by the Archives during scientific or clinical meetings should not distribute complete reports (ie, copies of manuscripts) or full data presented as tables and figures to conference attendees or journalists. For manuscripts under consideration by the Archives, publication of full reports in proceedings or online, issuing detailed news releases reporting the results of the study, or participation in formal news conferences will jeopardize chances for publication of the submitted manuscript in the Archives. Media coverage of presentations at scientific meetings will not jeopardize consideration, but direct release of information through press releases or news media briefings may preclude consideration by the Archives. Rare instances of papers reporting public health emergencies should be discussed with the editor. Authors submitting manuscripts or letters to the editor regarding adverse drug or medical device reactions, reportable diseases, etc, should also report this information to the relevant government agency.
Embargo Policy
Information regarding the content and publication date of accepted manuscripts is confidential. Information contained in or about accepted articles cannot appear in print, radio, television, or in electronic form or be released to the media until 3 pm CST on the third Monday of the month.
Depositing Research Manuscripts With an Approved Public Repository
All Archives Journal articles reporting original research are made freely available 12 months after publication, from 1998 forward, subject to certain conditions. The Archives Journals' Editors and Publishers believe that the public is best served by accessing the freely available research articles on the journal site, to ensure access to the final published version, any corrections, and related Web features. However, some funding organizations require that authors of manuscripts reporting research deposit those manuscripts with an approved public repository, such as PubMed Central. Authors have the Archives Journals' permission on the following conditions:
- Permission is granted only for manuscripts reporting research funded by not-for-profit organizations to be deposited in not-for-profit, publicly available repositories.
- Permission is granted to post only the manuscript reporting research that was submitted and accepted for publication but not the final, edited, formatted, and published article.
- Authors must ensure that the posted manuscript links back to the published article on the Archives Journals website to provide readers with access to the final reviewed and edited version plus any corrections and letters, as well as the article-related features only available on the Archives Journals website.
- Authors who submit their manuscripts to an approved public repository, such as PubMed Central, must indicate that the manuscript may not be made available to the public sooner than 12 months after publication in the Archives Journals.
If authors adhere to these requirements, they may submit the final accepted version of the manuscript to the repository, if and only if the repository ensures that the deposited manuscript will not be made available to the public during the 12-month embargo following publication in the Archives Journals.
The published article is protected by copyright at the time of publication and thereafter (see http://jamanetwork.com/public/ConditionsOfUse.aspx). This research access policy does not include permission to use the Archives Journal logo and trademarks. The Archives Journal article of record is the final published version; the Archives Journals assume no responsibility for earlier versions because substantive changes and corrections may occur during the post acceptance editing process. Authors may contact the Archives Journals with any questions at jama-comments@jamanetwork.org.
Unauthorized Use
Accepted manuscripts become the permanent property of the American Medical Association (AMA) and may not be published elsewhere without written permission from the publisher (AMA), which may be obtained by sending a request by e-mail to permissions@ama-assn.org.
Editorial Review and Publication
The Archives of Dermatology is an international, peer-reviewed, dermatologic journal, with distribution to readers in more than 95 countries. Manuscripts submitted to the Archives of Dermatology should meet the following criteria: the material is original; the writing is clear; the study methods are appropriate; the data are valid; the conclusions are reasonable and supported by the data; the information is important; and the topic has general clinical dermatology relevance. From these basic criteria, we assess a paper's eligibility for publication. We receive approximately 1600 papers each year, but publish only about 21% of unsolicited manuscripts. Because of this competition for space in the Archives of Dermatology, we advise authors to follow these instructions and to keep papers as brief as possible while still meeting the quality criteria described herein.
Editorial and Peer Review
All submitted manuscripts are reviewed initially by an Archives editor. Those manuscripts with insufficient priority for publication are rejected promptly. Other manuscripts are sent to expert consultants for peer review. Peer reviewer identities are kept confidential. Author identities are not kept confidential. Reviews and decisions on manuscripts in which the editor or an associate editor is a coauthor are managed independently by an associate editor or editor from another institution.
The existence of a manuscript under review is not revealed to anyone other than peer reviewers and editorial staff. Information from submitted manuscripts may be systematically collected and analyzed as part of research to improve the quality of the editorial or peer review process. Identifying information remains confidential.
Editing
Accepted manuscripts are copyedited according to AMA style7 by the publishing office and returned to the author via e-mail for approval. Authors are responsible for all statements made in their work, including changes made by the copy editor and authorized by the corresponding author.
Reprints
Reprints may be ordered from Reprints Desk when the edited manuscript is sent for approval to the corresponding author.
Categories of Articles
The Archives of Dermatology publishes original contributions (Studies), case reports and series (Observations), review articles, commentaries, letters to the editor, and many other categories of articles. Topics of interest include all subjects that are related to the practice of dermatology and the betterment of public dermatologic health worldwide. The most frequent categories of articles are described below.
Studies
Randomized controlled trials (see Instructions for Preparing Reports of Randomized Controlled Trials), intervention studies, studies of screening and diagnostic tests, outcome studies, cost-effectiveness analyses, case-control series, and surveys with high response rates. Each manuscript should clearly state an objective or hypothesis; the design and methodology (including the study's setting and time period, patients or participants with inclusion and exclusion criteria, or data sources and how these were selected for the study); the essential features of any interventions; the main outcome measures; the main results of the study; a discussion placing the results in the context of published literature; and the conclusions. For more information, see Instructions for Preparing Structured Abstracts. Studies must be 8 to 12 double-spaced manuscript pages (not including title page, abstract, tables, figures, and references). Material must be accompanied by the required copyright transfer statement. Please indicate in your cover letter that the manuscript is a Study. You may suggest reviewers. Please include their e-mail addresses.
Observations
Short reports of original case series or evaluations of high didactic value. Clinical cases (individual or a series) that are unique because they report a finding that has not been previously published in the worldwide literature. Observations must be 3 to 8 double-spaced manuscript pages (not including title page, abstract, tables, figures, and references). Material must be accompanied by the required copyright transfer statement. Please indicate in your cover letter that the manuscript is an Observation. You may suggest reviewers. Please include their e-mail addresses.
Cutting Edge
Clinicians, residents, and fellows are invited to submit cases of challenges in management of medical or surgical therapeutics to this section. Manuscripts should describe a novel (ie, newly applied to this condition or not previously published) treatment for the patient's condition. A Cutting Edge article consists of 7 components: (1) title page, (2) case report up to the novel therapeutic intervention, (3) therapeutic challenge, (4) solution to the problem, (5) discussion, (6) references, and (7) figures. An abstract is not needed. Manuscript components 2 through 5 should be no more than 6 double-spaced pages with unjustified (ragged) right margins. There is no need to review all of the published literature on the subject. References should be limited to a maximum of 20. Pages are numbered consecutively with the title page separated from the text (see Manuscript Preparation and Submission Requirements for information about preparation of the title page). Clinical photographs are essential and must include before-and-after therapeutic intervention images with careful attention to the composition of the image in the "after" picture so that it is the same as in the "before" picture. Limit photographs to 2 to 4 per article. Clinical photographs, photomicrographs, and illustrations must be sharply focused and submitted as separate JPG files with each file numbered with the figure number. Material must be accompanied by the required copyright transfer statement. (See Electronic Submission for guidelines on submission.) Please indicate in your cover letter that the manuscript is a submission to Cutting Edge and what is novel about the case.
Off-Center Fold
Clinicians, local and regional societies, and residents and fellows in dermatology are invited to submit quiz cases to this section. Cases should follow the established pattern of the case report of less than 150 words, followed by the Diagnosis, Microscopic Findings, and Discussion. On the title page, include a word count for each section. The discussion should be between 285 and 350 words. Figures are limited to 3 images. Inset into figures cannot be done. References are limited to 9. The text should be submitted double-spaced, with unjustified (ragged) right margins. Photomicrographs and illustrations must be wider than they are tall (horizontal orientation), sharply focused with good color balance, and submitted as separate JPG files with each file numbered with the figure number. Please see the "Figures" subsection in Electronic Submission. Material must be accompanied by the required copyright transfer statement. Manuscripts should be submitted electronically. (See Electronic Submission for guidelines on submission.) Please indicate in your cover letter that the manuscript is a submission to Off-Center Fold.
Correspondence
The Correspondence section of the Archives provides a forum for exchange of ideas about cutaneous medicine and surgery and is divided into 3 sections: Research Letters, Comments, and Vignettes (Case Reports). Correspondence should not contain more than 5 references and 2 figures and must include a copyright transfer statement when submitted. Please include the word count on the title page. You may suggest reviewers. Please include their e-mail addresses.
The Research Letter section is intended as a form of rapid publication for pilot studies and observations of clinical interest lacking the data to qualify as full journal articles. Pilot studies require Institutional Review Board approval. Research Letters are formatted with the following headings: Methods, Results, and Comment, and should not exceed 700 words.
The Comments section is intended for responses to articles previously published in the journal. If an Archives article is discussed, the letter should contain this reference and be received within 4 months of the article's publication. Comments and Opinions should not exceed 500 words.
The Vignettes section contains very short case reports. Acceptance is contingent on editorial review and available space. Vignettes are formatted with introductory sentences, then followed by the following headings: Report of a Case and Comment; they should not exceed 500 words. Each figure should be submitted as a separate JPG file, numbered with the figure number. (See guidelines for Electronic Submission elsewhere in these Instructions.)
Readers may comment in response to some articles (indicated by the presence of a Comment tab). Click on the Comments tab of the article to submit a comment. Readers must be logged in (free registration is available) and provide any conflicts of interest to submit a comment. Readers whose comments are posted agree to transfer copyright to the AMA by virtue of submitting their comments. Comments are moderated and will appear on the site at the discretion of Archives of Dermatology editors.
Notable Notes
Notable Notes appear in the issue as space is available. They are intended to feature humanities items with dermatologic relevance, eg, historical notes of interest, practice pearls, definitions of dermatologic terms and signs. These should not exceed 450 words and should have no more than 3 references. They may include 1 figure (with legend) or a link to a video on our Web site. Notable Notes must include a title page and a copyright transfer statement when submitted. Please include the word count on the title page. You may suggest reviewers. Please include the e-mail addresses of any reviewers suggested.
Evidence-Based Dermatology
The 5 features of the Evidence-Based Dermatology section are:
Evidence-Based Dermatology: Study is a major manuscript, eg, a randomized controlled trial (see Instructions for Preparing Reports of Randomized Controlled Trials), studies of screening and diagnostic tests, outcome studies, cost-effectiveness analyses, or case-control and cohort studies. The manuscript style follows all of the other requirements for a Study. The section editor, Michael Bigby, MD, may choose to write a 2- to 3-paragraph analysis that will be boxed and published with the Study.
Evidence-Based Dermatology: Research Commentary is a critical analysis of a major paper with relevance to dermatology that is published in another journal, usually outside of dermatology. It begins with a structured abstract, under the following headings: Question (a precise statement of the primary objective of the study written in a question format), Design, Setting, Patients or Other Participants, Intervention(s), Outcome Measures, Results, and Conclusions, and continues with the critical analysis. The manuscript should not exceed 3 to 5 pages (not including the abstract, title page, references, and figure legends). References are limited to a maximum of 20. The Research Commentary is forwarded to the author of the published manuscript. If the author chooses to prepare a reply, it is reviewed and, if accepted, is published in the same issue as the Research Commentary.
Evidence-Based Dermatology: Review is a major manuscript, often the work of a large research group that has performed a systematic review. Systematic critical assessments of literature and data sources pertaining to clinical topics, emphasizing factors such as cause, diagnosis, prognosis, therapy, or prevention. The 3 types of clinical reviews and their formats are described in the editorial by Robinson et al10 (see Table 2, the top 3 categories). All articles or data sources should be selected systematically for inclusion in the review and critically evaluated; the selection process should be described in the article. Critical evaluation of articles and data sources reviewed should include information about the specific type of study or analysis, population, intervention, exposure, and tests or outcomes, with levels of evidence to support the grade of the recommendation as described in the editorial by Robinson et al10 (see Table 3). Meta-analyses also will be considered as systematic reviews and need to include graded recommendations and levels of evidence. A structured abstract, using the following headings: Question, Data Sources, Study Selection, Data Extraction, Data Synthesis, and Conclusions, is required. Typical length: 12 to 15 double-spaced manuscript pages (not including tables, figures, and references). Authors of reports of meta-analyses of randomized trials are encouraged to submit the PRISMA Checklist.
Evidence-Based Dermatology: Critically Appraised Topic (CAT) is about a clinical, patient-oriented question, the answers to which are not easy to find in a textbook or in the literature. For example, after a clinical encounter with an outpatient, a patient-oriented question might be created, followed by a search for relevant, high-quality information to answer the question. The studies are appraised using the evidence-based approach and then a commentary relevant to the clinical problem is written. These manuscripts should not exceed 3 to 5 pages without title page, references, figure legends, and table. References are limited to a maximum of 20. If a summary of studies table is submitted, the table needs to have a column grading the quality of evidence of the study (A, B, C). The quality of the levels of evidence is described in the editorial by Robinson et al10 (see Table 3).
Evidence-Based Dermatology: Consensus Conference comments on a disease, public health policy, or therapy/intervention using the evidence-based approach; these often result from the work of a consensus conference convened to offer recommendations or to set policy about a clinical conundrum. These manuscripts should not exceed 15 pages, 2 tables, 2 figures, and 30 references.
These papers may address virtually any important topic in medicine, public health, research, ethics, health policy, or health law and generally are not linked to a specific article. Commentaries should be well focused, scholarly, and clearly presented and must have no more than 2 authors. Maximum length: up to 1200 words of text—or 1000 words of text with 1 small table or figure—and no more than 10 references. No abstract is required. Commentaries not meeting these guidelines will not be considered.
Manuscript Preparation and Submission Requirements
Manuscript Preparation
Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the American Medical Association Manual of Style7 and/or the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals.11
Manuscript Components
Submit the original manuscript electronically (see Electronic Submission). For digital images, submit initially as a single JPG file for each figure. Manuscripts are double-spaced throughout, including abstract, text, references, legends for illustrations, and tables. The manuscript should be organized in the following order: the title page, abstract, text or body of the manuscript, references, legends, and tables, with each of these sections on a new page, numbered consecutively, beginning with the title page. Use only Times New Roman 12-point font size. Ample margins of at least 2.5 cm (1 inch) should be used all around. Do not use proportional spacing; use unjustified (ragged) right margins and spell-check the manuscript prior to submission.
Title Page
The title page should be the first page of your main manuscript file. It should include the following, in order: title, authors and authors' advanced degrees, author affiliation, corresponding author, author attribution and financial disclosure, and word count (if required). The title page should be single spaced, 12 point, Times New Roman font. We will not accept other fonts or text size.
In the interest of transparent disclosure, the Archives of Dermatology requires that the corresponding author provide the following information about all authors: (1) the statement on authorship responsibility and contributions, (2) a statement on financial disclosure/conflicts of interest, and (3) acknowledgment of the help of colleagues. See the Template for Author Attribution and Financial Disclosure. It contains the required method/format for disclosing author attribution and financial conflicts. Copy and paste the template to the title page, and fill in the information. For more information on the title page format, refer to Manuscript Preparation and Submission Requirements.
Text
Text should be 12 point, Times New Roman font. Body text, references, figure legends, and tables should be double-spaced. Text should have a "paper size" of 8.5 x 11 inches and 1-inch margins all around. Text should also have unjustified (ragged) right margins. Save the text in Microsoft Word. Microsoft Vista users should save the text as a Microsoft Word 97-2003 file (.doc NOT .docx).
Instructions for Preparing Reports of Randomized Controlled Trials
The CONSORT Checklist should be completed and submitted with the manuscript. In addition, include a flow diagram illustrating the progress of patients throughout the trial (Figure).
The checklist and flow diagram will be reviewed along with the manuscript. If the manuscript is accepted, the flow diagram will be published.
Figure. Flow diagram of subject progress through the phases of a randomized trial. Adapted from Moher D, Schulz KF, Altman D, for the CONSORT Group. The CONSORT statement: revised recommendations for improving the quality of reports of parallel-group randomized trials. JAMA. 2001;285(15):1987-1991.
Instructions for Preparing Structured Abstracts
All reports of original data, reviews, including meta-analyses, and consensus statements should be submitted with structured abstracts as described below. The following is adapted from Haynes RB, Mulrow CD, Huth EJ, Altman DG, Gardner MJ. More informative abstracts revisited. Ann Intern Med. 1990;113(1):69-76.
Reports of Research Studies
Authors submitting manuscripts reporting original data should prepare an abstract of no more than 250 words under the following headings: Objective, Design, Setting, Patients (or Other Participants), Interventions (if any), Main Outcome Measure(s), Results, and Conclusions. The content following each heading should be as follows:
1. Objective.—The abstract should begin with a clear statement of the precise objective or question addressed in the report. If more than 1 objective is addressed, the main objective should be indicated and only key secondary objectives stated. If an a priori hypothesis was tested, it should be stated.
2. Design.—The basic design of the study should be described. The duration of follow-up, if any, should be stated. As many of the following terms as apply should be used.
- Intervention studies: randomized control trial; nonrandomized control trial; double-blind; placebo control; crossover trial; before-after trial.
- For studies of screening and diagnostic tests: "gold standard" (ie, a widely accepted standard with which a new or alternative test is being compared); blinded or masked comparison.
- For studies of prognosis: inception cohort (subjects assembled at a similar and early time in the course of the disorder and followed thereafter); cohort (subjects followed forward in time, but not necessarily from a common starting point); validation cohort or validation sample if the study involves the modeling of clinical predictions.
- For studies of causation: randomized control trial; cohort; case-control; survey (preferred to "cross-sectional study").
- For descriptions of the clinical features of medical disorders: survey; case series.
- For studies that include a formal economic evaluation: cost-effectiveness analysis; cost-utility analysis; cost-benefit analysis.
- For new analyses of existing data sets, the data set should be named and the basic study design disclosed.
3. Setting.—To assist readers to determine the applicability of the report to their own clinical circumstances, the study setting(s) should be described. Of particular importance is whether the setting is the general community, a primary care or referral center, private or institutional practice, ambulatory or hospitalized care.
4. Patients or Other Participants.—The clinical disorders, important eligibility criteria, and key sociodemographic features of patients should be stated. The numbers of participants and how they were selected should be provided (see below), including the number of otherwise eligible subjects who were approached but refused. If matching is used for comparison groups, characteristics that are matched should be specified. In follow-up studies, the proportion of participants who completed the study must be indicated. In intervention studies, the number of patients withdrawn for adverse effects should be given.
For selection procedures, these terms should be used, if appropriate: random sample (where "random" refers to a formal, randomized selection in which all eligible subjects have a fixed and usually equal chance of selection); population-based sample; referred sample; consecutive sample; volunteer sample; convenience sample. These terms assist the reader to determine an important element of the generalizability of the study. They also supplement (rather than duplicate) the terms used by professional indexers when articles are entered into computerized databases.
6. Intervention(s).—The essential features of any interventions should be described, including their method and duration of administration. The intervention should be named by its most common clinical name (for example, the generic term chlorthalidone). Common synonyms should be given as well to facilitate electronic textword searching. This would include the brand name of a drug if a specific product was studied.
7. Main Outcome Measure(s).—The primary study outcome measurement(s) should be indicated as planned before data collection began. If the paper does not emphasize the main planned outcomes of a study, this fact should be stated and the reason indicated. If the hypothesis being reported was formulated during or after data collection, this information should be clearly stated.
8. Results.—The main results of the study should be given. Measurements that require explanation for the expected audience of the manuscript should be defined. Important measurements not included in the presentation of results should be declared. As relevant, it should be indicated whether observers were blinded to patient groupings, particularly for subjective measurements. Due to the current limitations of retrieval from electronic databases, results must be given in narrative or point form rather than tabular form if the abstract is to appear in computerized literature services such as MEDLINE. The results should be accompanied by confidence intervals (for example, 95%) and the exact level of statistical significance. For comparative studies, confidence intervals should relate to the differences between groups. For nonsignificant differences for the major study outcome measure(s), the clinically important difference sought should be stated and the confidence interval for the difference between the groups should be given. When risk changes or effect sizes are given, absolute values should be indicated so that the reader can determine the absolute as well as relative impact of the finding. Approaches such as "number needed to treat" to achieve a unit of benefit are encouraged when appropriate; reporting of relative differences alone is usually inappropriate. If appropriate, studies of screening and diagnostic tests should use the terms sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratio. If predictive values or accuracy is given, prevalence or pretest likelihood should be given as well. No data should be reported in the abstract that do not appear in the rest of the manuscript.
9. Conclusions.—Only those conclusions of the study that are directly supported by the evidence reported should be given, along with their clinical application (avoiding speculation and overgeneralization), and indicating whether additional study is required before the information should be used in usual clinical settings. Equal emphasis must be given to positive and negative findings of equal scientific merit.
To permit quick and selective scanning, the headings outlined above should be included in the abstract. For brevity, parts of the abstract can be written in phrases rather than complete sentences. (For example: "2. Design. Double-blind randomized trial," rather than "2. Design. The study was conducted as a double-blind, randomized trial.") This technique may make reading less smooth but facilitates selection scanning and allows more information to be conveyed per unit of space.
11. Clinical Trial Registration.—In concert with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), Archives of Dermatology will require, as a condition of consideration for publication, registration of clinical trials in a public trials registry that is acceptable to the ICMJE (ie, the registry must be owned by a not-for-profit entity, be publicly accessible, and require the minimum registration data set as described by the ICMJE). Acceptable trial registries are http://clinicaltrials.gov/, http://isrctn.org, http://www.anzctr.org.au/, http://www.trialregister.nl/trialreg/index.asp, and http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr. For this purpose, the ICMJE defines a clinical trial as any research project that prospectively assigns human subjects to intervention or comparison groups to evaluate the cause-and-effect relationships between a medical intervention and a health outcome. Studies designed for other purposes, such as to study pharmacokinetics or major toxicity (eg, phase 1 trials), are exempt. The trial registry name and URL and the registration number should be included at the end of the abstract and also in the space provided on the online manuscript submission form. Trials must be registered at or before the onset of patient enrollment. This policy applies to any clinical trial starting enrollment after July 2005. For trials that began before July 2005 but that were not registered before September 13, 2005, trials must have been registered before journal submission. Click here for more information about trial registration (ie, which trials must be registered and the minimum data that need to be registered): http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/293/23/2927. See also the editorial by Callen and Robinson.12
Observation Manuscripts
Abstracts that accompany publication of Observations should be no longer than 200 words and described under 3 headings.
1. Background.—Give an overview of the topic and discuss the main objective or reason for this report. Why was this manuscript submitted for publication and how is the information included unique?
2. Observations.—State the principal observations, findings, or results. Numerical results should include confidence intervals and levels of statistical significance if applicable.
3. Conclusions.—Give the conclusions of the report that are supported by the information, along with clinical applications, avoiding overgeneralization. The need for further studies or additional research may be suggested.
Authors submitting review manuscripts and reports of the results of meta-analyses should prepare an abstract of no more than 250 words under the following headings: Objective, Data Sources, Study Selection, Data Extraction, Data Synthesis, and Conclusions. The manuscript should also include a section addressing the methods used for data sources, study selection, data extraction, and data synthesis. Each heading should be followed by a brief description:
1. Objective.—The abstract should begin with a precise statement of the primary objective of the review. The focus of this statement should be guided by whether the review emphasizes factors such as cause, diagnosis, prognosis, therapy, or prevention. It should include information about the specific population, intervention, exposure, and test or outcome that is being reviewed.
2. Data Sources.—A succinct summary of data sources should be given, including any time restrictions. Potential sources include experts or research institutions active in the field, computerized databases and published indexes, registries, abstract booklets, conference proceedings, references identified from bibliographies of pertinent articles and books, and companies or manufacturers of tests or agents being reviewed. If a bibliographic database is used, the exact indexing terms used for article retrieval should be stated, including any constraints (for example, English language or human subjects).
3. Study Selection.—The abstract should describe the criteria used to select studies for detailed review from among studies identified as relevant to the topic. Details of selection should include particular populations, interventions, outcomes, or methodologic designs. The method used to apply these criteria should be specified (for example, blind review, consensus, multiple reviewers). The proportion of initially identified studies that met selection criteria should be stated.
4. Data Extraction.—Guidelines used for abstracting data and assessing data quality and validity (such as criteria for causal inference) should be described. The method by which the guidelines were applied should be stated (for example, independent extraction by multiple observers).
5. Data Synthesis.—The main results of the review, whether qualitative or quantitative, should be stated. Methods used to obtain these results should be outlined. Meta-analyses should state the major outcomes that were pooled and include odds ratios or effect sizes and, if possible, sensitivity analyses. Numerical results should be accompanied by confidence intervals, if applicable, and exact levels of statistical significance. Evaluations of screening and diagnostic tests should address issues of sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratios, receiver operating characteristic curves, and predictive values. Assessments of prognosis should include summarizations of survival characteristics and related variables. Major identified sources of variation between studies should be stated, including differences in treatment protocols, co-interventions, confounders, outcome measures, length of follow-up, and dropout rates.
6. Conclusions.—The conclusions and their applications should be clearly stated, limiting generalization to the domain of the review. The need for new studies may be suggested.
Consensus Statements
Authors submitting manuscripts reporting consensus statements should prepare an abstract of no more than 250 words under the following headings: Objective, Participants, Evidence, Consensus Process, and Conclusions. This format should also be used to report clinical practice guidelines that were developed by consensus. While the descriptions are summarized in the abstract, they should be expanded in the text. References supporting the text should be provided. The content under each heading is as follows:
1. Objective.—Describe the issue, purpose, and intended audience for the consensus statement. The issue may be framed as a series of key questions; as a targeted health problem with relevant patients and providers; or as practice options with health and economic outcomes. The purpose may be to guide clinical practice; to develop public policy; to determine whether insurance will cover innovative therapy; or to set norms for evaluating clinical performance. The audience may include primary care clinicians, specialist physicians, researchers, health planners, and/or the public.
2. Participants.—Explain how people became participants (eg, selection by staff members of the sponsoring agency, nomination by supporting associations, or self-designation). Explain whether meetings were open or closed. Describe the number of participants (particularly panel members or subgroups responsible for developing the statement) and their areas of expertise. Disclose the sponsor or funding source.
3. Evidence.—Describe data sources, selection, abstraction, and synthesis. (See Review Manuscripts (Including Meta-analyses) for more information.) If a formal literature review was prepared, describe who wrote it and whether it was reviewed. Explain the use of unpublished data and the influence of expert opinion and comments from other participants.
4. Consensus Process.—Describe the basis for drawing conclusions (some techniques involve causal pathways, decision rules, or assigning values to alternative outcomes). Explain the process by which consensus was achieved, such as voting, the Delphi technique, group meetings, or the nominal group process. Explain who wrote the statement (a single person or a writing committee); whether it was drafted before it was presented to the group or after the group had expressed its opinions; and the time during which it was written. Describe who reviewed the statement and how suggestions for revision were incorporated.
5. Conclusions.—Summarize the consensus statement. Conclusions may include what benefits, harms, and costs are expected if the recommendations were implemented. Include important minority views.
Title Page(s)
On the title page(s), include a word count for text for Research Letters, Comments, and Vignettes, exclusive of title, references, tables, and figure legends. Also on the title page include the full names, e-mail addresses, highest academic degrees, and affiliations of all authors. If an author's affiliation has changed since the work was done, list the new affiliation as well. Designate the corresponding author and provide the e-mail address, address, and telephone and fax numbers of the corresponding author. Below the information about the corresponding author, place (1) the statement on authorship responsibility and contributions, (2) a statement on financial disclosure/conflict of interest, and (3) acknowledgment of the help of colleagues. (See the Template for Author Attribution and Financial Disclosure.)
Abstract
Include a structured abstract of no more than 250 words for reports of studies, reviews (including meta-analyses), and consensus statements and no longer than 200 words for observations. (See Instructions for Preparing Structured Abstracts.) Abstracts are not required for Editorials, Commentaries, Correspondence, and special features of the Archives of Dermatology. All abstracts are structured.
Abbreviations
Do not use abbreviations in the title or abstract and limit their use in the text.
Units of Measure
Laboratory values are expressed using conventional units of measure, with relevant Système International (SI) conversion factors expressed secondarily (in parentheses) only at first mention. Articles that contain numerous conversion factors may list them together in a paragraph at the end of the "Methods" section. In tables and figures, a conversion factor to SI units should be provided in a footnote or legend. The metric system is preferred for the expression of length, area, mass, and volume. A Conversion Table is available on the Web site for the AMA Manual of Style.
Names of Drugs
Use generic names of drugs, unless the specific trade name of a drug used is directly relevant to the discussion.
Gene Names, Symbols, and Accession Numbers
Authors describing genes or related structures in a manuscript should include the names and official symbols provided by the US National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) or the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee. Before submission of a research manuscript reporting on large genomic data sets (eg, protein or DNA sequences), the data sets should be deposited in a publicly available database, such as NCBI's GenBank, and a complete accession number (and version number, if appropriate) must be provided in the "Methods" section or the Acknowledgments section of the manuscript.
References
Number references in the order they are mentioned in the text; do not alphabetize. In text, tables, and legends, identify references with superscript arabic numerals. When listing references, follow AMA style,7 abbreviating names of journals according to Index Medicus. Note: List all authors and/or editors up to 6; if more than 6, list the first 3 and "et al."
Web References
Please keep a print copy of any reference to Web-only information. If the URL changes or disappears, interested readers may contact the corresponding author for a copy of the information.
Examples of Reference Style:
- Losina E, Walensky RP, Geller A, et al. Visual screening for malignant melanoma: a cost-effectiveness analysis. Arch Dermatol. 2007;143(1):21-28.
- Arndt KA, Dover JS, eds. Controversies & Conversations in Cutaneous Laser Surgery. Chicago, IL: AMA Press; 2002.
- Kinsella K, Velkoff VA. An Aging World: 2001. http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/p95-01-1.pdf. Accessed January 11, 2008.
Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of their references and for correct text citation.
References should be a part of the main manuscript file (Article File #1). Please refer to Manuscript Preparation and Submission Requirements for further details. Figure legends should be a part of the main manuscript file, directly after references. References and figure legends should be double spaced.
Manuscript Submission
Electronic Submission
Manuscripts must be submitted to http://manuscripts.archdermatol.com. Manuscripts submitted electronically should not also be submitted by mail or fax. To ensure that the electronic submission is usable, please adhere to the following guidelines when submitting your manuscript electronically. The manuscript should be organized in the following order: the title page, abstract, text or body of the manuscript, references, legends, and tables, with each of these categories on a new page, pages numbered consecutively, beginning with the title page.
Upon proper submission of a manuscript, the corresponding author receives an acknowledgment e-mail from the editorial office. This acknowledgment e-mail gives the number assigned to the manuscript. Authorship forms will be e-mailed to authors at manuscript revision or acceptance.
At the same time, please send a signed statement of informed consent to publish (in print and online) patient photographs, videos, and pedigrees from all persons who can be identified in such photographs, videos, and pedigrees (see Patient Consent Form). The signed informed consent to publish patient photographs should have the manuscript number on it. Please do not send masked photographs of patients. Masking means black bars over the eyes or other means of concealing the eyes.
Tables
Save any tables in the same file as the manuscript text (Article File #1), placing the tables at the end of the manuscript, after the figure legends. In the event there are no figures, therefore, no figure legends, tables should go directly after the references. Make certain that each item in the table sits in its own table cell. Do not use paragraph returns (to start new rows) or tabs (to start new columns) to format the table. Tables must be modifiable within the manuscript file. Do not insert images of tables. Refer to Instructions for Table Creation for further guidance.
Title all tables and number them in order of their citation in the text. Double-space each table on separate pages. If a table must be continued, repeat the title on a second page, followed by "(cont)." Tables should be included after the references and/or figure legends as part of the main manuscript text file. If a table is published only electronically, it is numbered sequentially within the body of the manuscript and cited as (eTable 4, for example). For additional details, see Instructions for Table Creation.
Please refer to the instructions in Technical Requirements for Figures for general guidelines at submission and acceptance. At submission, we need the figures submitted as high-resolution, uncompressed TIF or JPG files. Generally, each figure exceeds 200 kB. Please submit your photographic images at 5 inches (13 cm) wide at 300 pixels per inch (120 pixels per centimeter), minimum. This applies to each part for multipart figures. Save them as TIF (with LZW compression), JPG (with "maximum quality" setting). Please do not add arrowheads, "a," "b," asterisks, etc, directly to the file that contains the single figure. A separate, composite figure in PowerPoint may be submitted to indicate the location of arrows, asterisks, etc.
Illustrations
Please refer to the instructions in Technical Requirements for Figures for guidelines at submission and acceptance. Submit photographs and illustrations as separate JPG files for each figure. Do not embed figures in the Word file of the manuscript.
Digital Art Submissions
Please refer to the instructions in Technical Requirements for Figures for guidelines at submission and acceptance. Please submit your photographic images at 5 inches (13 cm) wide at 300 pixels per inch (120 pixels per centimeter), minimum. This applies to each part for multipart figures. Generally, each figure file is at least 200 kB. Save them as TIF (with LZW compression) or JPG (with "maximum quality" setting). Please do not add arrowheads, "a," "b," asterisks, etc directly to the file unless they are on a separate layer in Photoshop. An accompanying composite figure with arrows, asterisks, etc may be submitted as a PowerPoint file.
Image Integrity
Preparation of scientific images (clinical images, radiographic images, micrographs, gels, etc) for publication must preserve the integrity of the image data. Digital adjustments of brightness, contrast, or color applied uniformly to an entire image are permissible as long as these adjustments do not selectively highlight, misrepresent, obscure, or eliminate specific elements in the original figure, including the background. Selective adjustments applied to individual elements in an image are not permissible. Individual elements may not be moved within an image field, deleted, or inserted from another image. Cropping may be used for efficient image display but must not misrepresent or alter interpretation of the image by selectively eliminating relevant visual information. Juxtaposition of elements from different parts of a single image or from different images, as in a composite, must be clearly indicated by the addition of dividing lines, borders, and/or panel labels.
When inappropriate image adjustments are detected by the JAMA and Archives Journals staff, authors will be asked for an explanation and will be requested to submit the image as originally captured prior to any adjustment, cropping, or labeling. Authors may be asked to resubmit the image prepared in accordance with the above standards. Deliberate alteration of images that results in misrepresentation of data may be reported to the author's institution or funding agency.
Legends
Double-space legends (maximum length, 40 words) on a single page that is separate from the rest of the manuscript text. The legends should come directly after the references, but before any tables. Indicate magnification and stain used for photomicrographs. Digitally enhanced images must be clearly identified in the figure legends as enhanced or manipulated, eg, computed tomographic scans, magnetic resonance images, photographs, photomicrographs, x-ray films.
Adapting or Reproducing Tables and Illustrations
Acknowledge all illustrations and tables adapted or reproduced from other publications and submit written permission to reproduce (in print and online) from the original publishers. (See Permission to Reproduce Copyright-Protected Material Form.)
Online-Only Supplements and Multimedia
Authors may submit supporting material to accompany their article for online-only publication when there is insufficient space to include the material in the print article. This material should be important to the understanding and interpretation of the report and should not repeat material in the print article. The amount of online-only material should be limited and justified. Online-only material should be original and not previously published.
Online-only material will undergo editorial and peer review with the main manuscript. If the manuscript is accepted for publication and if the online-only material is deemed appropriate for publication by the editors, it will be posted online at the time of publication of the article as additional material provided by the authors. This material will not be edited or formatted; thus, authors are responsible for the accuracy and presentation of all such material.
Online-only material should be submitted in a single Word document with pages numbered consecutively. Each element included in the online-only material should be cited in the text of the main manuscript (eg, see eTable) and numbered in order of citation in the text (eg, eTable 1, eTable 2, eFigure 1, eFigure 2, eMethods). The first page of the online-only document should list the number and title of each element included in the document.
Online-Only Text
Online-only text should be set in Times New Roman font, 10 point in size, and single-spaced. The main heading of the online-only text should be in 12 point and boldface; subheadings should be in 10 point and boldface.
Online-Only References
All references cited within the online-only document must be included in a separate reference section, including those that also were cited in the main manuscript. They should be formatted just as in the main manuscript and numbered and cited consecutively in the online-only material.
Online-Only Tables
Online-only tables should be inserted in the document and numbered consecutively according to the order of citation as eTable 1, eTable 2, etc. The text and data in online tables should be Arial font, 10 point in size, and single-spaced. The table title should be set in Arial font, 12 point, and bold. Headings within tables should be set in 10 point and bold. Table footnotes should be set in 8 point and single-spaced. See also instructions for Tables above. If a table runs on to subsequent pages, repeat the column headers at the top of each page. Wide tables may be presented using a landscape orientation.
Online-only figures should be inserted in the document and numbered consecutively according to the order of citation as eFigure 1, eFigure 2, etc. Figure titles should be set in Arial font, 12 point, bold, and single-spaced. Text within figures should be set as Arial font, 10 point. Figure legends should be set in 8 point and single-spaced. Graphs and diagrams should be exported directly out of the software application used to create them in a vector file format, such as WMF, and then inserted into the Word document. Image file formats such as JPG, TIF, and GIF are generally not suitable for graphs. Photographs, including all radiological images, should be prepared as JPG (highest option) or TIF (uncompressed ) files at a resolution of 300 dpi and width of 3 to 5 inches, but the resolution of photographic files with an original resolution less than 300 dpi should not be increased digitally to achieve a 300-dpi resolution. Photographs should be inserted in the document with the "Link to File" button turned off. Wide figures may be presented using a landscape orientation. See also instructions for Figures above.
Videos
For editorial and peer review of an initial submission, submit videos in .mov, .wmv, .mpg, .mpeg, .mp4, or .avi file format. To facilitate uploading and reviewing, the initial video submitted should not exceed 10 MB. Verify that all videos are viewable in QuickTime or Windows Media Player before submission. Once the video has been approved for submission, you will be asked to upload an uncompressed version of the file in .dv or similar format (no size limit), with minimum physical dimensions of 480 pixels wide by 360 pixels high, to a secure FTP server. Please be prepared to provide this larger version promptly on request.
If the author does not hold copyright to the video, the author must obtain permission for the video to be published in Archives of Dermatology. This permission must be for unrestricted use in all print, online, and licensed versions of Archives of Dermatology. (See Permission to Reproduce Copyright-Protected Material Form.) Submit the completed form to the editorial office.
Please provide a voice-over with your video, a transcript of a voice-over to be played over the video, or a written legend. A voice-over may be created based on the transcript at the journal's discretion.
For each video, provide a citation in the appropriate place in the manuscript text and include a title (a brief phrase, preferably no longer than 10-15 words) and a caption/legend (a brief description or summary of the content) at the end of the manuscript. In the video caption/legend, specify the video file format and briefly describe the content of the video. Also, enter the same title and caption/legend in the designated fields on the Web-based manuscript submission system when uploading each video. If multiple video files are submitted, number them in the order in which they should be viewed.
Note: If the manuscript and accompanying video(s) are accepted for publication, all video files will be placed into a journal video frame and may be edited by the journal staff according to journal style.
General guidelines for videography:
- White-balance the camera.
- Use plenty of diffuse light; avoid shadows.
- Avoid incandescent (yellow) light. Use fluorescent lighting if possible. Use the appropriate setting/filter on the camera and always white-balance.
- Do not overexpose the image; a bit underexposed is preferable.
- Use a tripod. This is especially important in close-ups.
- Avoid excessive zooming. Use the optical zoom only; do not use a digital zoom.
- Turn all camera special effects off.
- Avoid using auto-focus. Manual focus is more accurate. Keep the camera at a fixed distance from the subject.
- Do not include an introduction by the physician as a "talking head" explaining a procedure. All footage should be of the procedure or relevant subject matter only.
- Provide a pause after changing the camera's position. This allows for easier editing.
- When filming procedures, keep the physician's head, hands, and any instruments away from the sightline of the camera. Instruct all involved surgical staff what is going to happen. Instruct assistants to minimize reaching across the field and suction tip entry in and out of the field, and to avoid having soiled surgical sponges obscure the view of the field. You may wish to practice access into and out of the surgical field without intruding on the sightline of the camera prior to actually performing the procedure or doing the filming.
- For surgical procedures, white gloves reflect the light. If possible, use brown or tan gloves. Please do not use vividly colored surgical gloves as they distract the viewer from the teaching point of the video.
- Be slow and deliberate in your movements. If you need to demonstrate a special instrument, hold it steady in one place to allow the camera to focus on it prior to your use of the instrument.
Manuscript Checklist
- Format the manuscript as a single Word file with insertion of page breaks between each of the items listed in the order of appearance in the file as follows: title page, abstract, narrative of the body of the text, references, legends for figures, and tables. Load the Word file as 1 document. Do not add line numbering. Load each figure as a separate JPG file. If the figure requires arrows or other descriptive marks or symbols, please place them on the figure in a PowerPoint file and include an additional PowerPoint file for each JPG figure that requires arrows, etc.
- Indicate general and specific contributions from each author and financial disclosure/conflict of interest on the title page.
- Include research or project support/funding in an acknowledgment on the title page.
- Provide the address, e- mail address, telephone and fax numbers of the corresponding author on the title page
- Send statements—signed by each author—on (a) authorship criteria and responsibility, (b) financial disclosure, (c) acknowledgment statement, and either the copyright transfer/publishing agreement or the federal employment statement. Send statements signed by corresponding author that written permission has been obtained from all persons named in the acknowledgment. After you receive a manuscript number, send the authorship statements by fax to (866) 542-4861.
- Double-space manuscript (text, figure legends, and references) with unjustified (ragged) right margins.
- Check all references for accuracy and completeness. Put references in proper format in numerical order, making sure each is cited in the text.
- When submitting figures electronically, see instructions in Technical Requirements for Figures.
- Provide a structured abstract for all Studies, Observations, and Reviews.
- Send written permission from each individual identified as a source for personal communication to allow citation of that communication.
- Send informed consent forms for identifiable patient descriptions, photographs, and pedigrees (see Patient Consent Form). Do not send photographs with bars across the eyes.
- Send written permission from publishers or other copyright holders to reproduce or adapt previously published illustrations, tables, or videos in print and online editions of Archives of Dermatology and its licensed versions (see Permission to Reproduce Copyright-Protected Material Form).
- For any video submitted, include a brief legend that describes the content of the video and provide the file format.
REFERENCES
1. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Statements from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. JAMA.1991;265(20):2697-2698. Medline:2023351
2. Glass RM. New information for authors and readers: group authorship, acknowledgments, and rejected manuscripts [published correction appears in JAMA. 1993;269(1):48]. JAMA. 1992;268(1):99. Medline:1482435
3. Flanagin A, Fontanarosa PB, DeAngelis CD. Authorship for research groups. JAMA. 2002;288(24):3166-3168. FULL TEXT Medline:12495400
4. DeAngelis CD, Fontanarosa PB, Flanagin A. Reporting financial conflicts of interest and relationships between investigators and research sponsors. JAMA. 2001;286(1):89-91. FULL TEXT Medline:11434832
5. Fontanarosa PB, Flanagin A, DeAngelis CD. Reporting conflicts of interest, financial aspects of research, and role of sponsors in funded studies. JAMA. 2005;294(1):110-111. FULL TEXT Medline:15998899
6. Lundberg GD. Statement by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors on duplicate or redundant publication. JAMA. 1993;270(19):2495.
7. Iverson CL, Christiansen S, Flanagin A, et al. AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors. 10th ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2007.
8. 41st World Medical Assembly. Declaration of Helsinki: recommendations guiding physicians in biomedical research involving human subjects. JAMA. 1997;277(11):925-926. Medline:9062334
9. Callen JP, Robinson JK. Assurance of protection of human subjects’ safety and privacy. Arch Dermatol. 2009;145(2):192-194.
10. Robinson JK, Dellavalle R, Bigby M, Callen JP. Systematic reviews: grading recommendations and evidence quality. Arch Dermatol. 2008;144(1):97-99. FULL TEXT Medline:18209174
11. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals. http://www.icmje.org. Updated February 2006.
12. Callen JP, Robinson J. Clinical trial registration: a step forward in providing transparency for the positive and negative results of clinical trials. Arch Dermatol. 2005;141(1):75. FULL TEXT
Last updated: January 12, 2012