|
Manuscript Criteria and Information
 | |
Manuscript Submission
Manuscripts must be submitted via our online manuscript submission and review system (http://manuscripts.archophthalmol.com). Print mail address and telephone and fax numbers of the corresponding author also should be included on the title page of the manuscript. A total word count should be provided with each manuscript (including the abstract, all text, tables, figure legends, and references). See details in these instructions for additional requirements. Please adhere to the following guidelines when submitting your manuscript electronically.
- 1. Signed authorship forms should be sent by regular mail or fax.
- 2. Signed copyright transfer forms are required at the revision stage. Please do not fax the copyright transfer form at the time of submission.
Editorial Office Contact Information. Daniel M. Albert, MD, MS, Editor, Suite 202, 3310 University Ave, Madison, WI 53705; (608) 262-7769; fax: (608) 265-5896 (archophthalmol{at}jama-archives.org).
Archives Express. Archives Express provides rapid peer review and publication of original research of exceptional clinical or public health importance, particularly the results of randomized clinical trials (Albert DM. Editors note. Arch Ophthalmol. 2000;118[9]:1242). All such manuscripts must be screened and approved for Archives Express before submission. Authors who wish to have manuscripts considered for Archives Express should call (608) 262-7769 or send a letter of request and the manuscript file to archophthalmol{at}jama-archives.org.
Manuscript Categories
Clinical Science. Clinical Science manuscripts should not exceed 3000 words. References, figures, and tables are not limited but may be deleted at the discretion of the editor. Refer to the general Instructions for Authors for other requirements.
Clinical Trials. Manuscripts considered for the Clinical Trials section usually report on large, randomized controlled trials that have sufficient statistical power to properly test the intervention in question. The CONSORT Checklist included in these instructions is required at the time of submission. These manuscripts do not have specific length restrictions and will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Please see the editorial on this topic (Beck RW. Reporting the results of randomized clinical trials: a priority of Archives of Ophthalmology. Arch Ophthalmol. 2004;122[7]:1038-1039).
Commentaries. Commentaries on articles from other journals are generally solicited. A copy of the abstract of the article referred to in the Commentary is required. Commentaries should not exceed 500 words and should have no more than 10 references.
Controversies. Controversial topics in ophthalmology are discussed in a pro/con format in this section. Suggestions for topics and potential authors should be submitted to Lee Jampol, MD, Northwestern University Medical School, Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology, 645 N Michigan Ave, Suite 440, Chicago, IL 60611 (l-jampol{at}northwestern.edu).
Editorials. Editorials provide a forum for reflective, analytical, or interpretive opinions related to clinical, scientific, or socioeconomic matters. The editorialist must be objective, dispassionate, and informative and should provide alternative points of view. Editorials should not exceed 1350 words, with no more than 20 references.
Epidemiology. Manuscripts should not exceed 3000 words. References, figures, and tables are not limited but may be deleted at the discretion of the editor.
History. Suggestions for topics or authors can be submitted to James Ravin, MD, 3000 Regency Ct, Suite 100, Toledo, OH 43623 (}{jamesravin{at}aol.com}{).
Laboratory Science. Manuscripts submitted for this section should describe cutting-edge science applied to a clinically relevant topic. They must describe original findings that are likely to lead to a major advance in their field. The Archives can publish far fewer basic science manuscripts than are submitted, and thus only highly significant papers can be accepted. Manuscripts should not exceed 3000 words. Please suggest 4 to 6 potential reviewers and provide their valid e-mail addresses when submitting your manuscript for consideration for the Laboratory Science section.
Letters. Letters to the Editor should not exceed 250 words, 5 references, and 2 figures or tables.
Mechanisms of Ophthalmic Disease. Articles in this section are written by scientists who study aspects of the visual system relevant to clinical ophthalmology. The target reader is the ophthalmologist desiring a current understanding of the pathophysiology of a visual disorder. Articles for this section are usually solicited. Queries may be addressed to the section editor, Leonard A. Levin, MD, PhD, 3310 University Ave, Suite 202, Madison, WI 53705 or e-mailed to archophthalmol{at}jama-archives.org.
New Instruments. New Instrument manuscripts should not exceed 2000 words. References, figures, and tables are not limited but may be deleted at the discretion of the editor.
Ophthalmic Images. Submissions should consist of 1 or 2 images of unusual or striking examples of clinical entities, laboratory/radiological studies, or therapeutic procedures. Legends should be 40 words or less. All submissions are reviewed by our editors and, if accepted, published when space allows in the journal. Published submissions will not be indexed in the table of contents, but the authors’ names will be published with the images.
Ophthalmic Molecular Genetics. These manuscripts should not exceed 3000 words. References, figures, and tables are not limited but may be deleted at the discretion of the editor. Questions may be addressed to the section editor, Janey L. Wiggs, MD, PhD, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Ophthalmology, 243 Charles St, Boston, MA 02411 (janey_wiggs{at}meei.harvard.edu).
Research Letters. Research Letters reporting original laboratory or clinical observations should not exceed 600 words of text and 6 references and may include 1 table or 2 figures. Letters must not duplicate other material published or submitted for publication. In general, Research Letters should be divided into the following sections: To the Editor (which serves as an introduction), Methods, Results, and Comment. Reports of clinical cases may use “Case Description” instead of “Methods” and “Results.” Research Letters should not include an abstract, but otherwise should follow all of the guidelines in Manuscript Preparation and Submission Requirements. Research Letters considered for publication undergo external peer review. Items formerly submitted as Case Reports or Clinicopathologic Reports should now be submitted for consideration as Research Letters.
Small Case Series. Small Case Series of 2 to 5 cases should not exceed 1000 words, 5 references, and 4 figures or tables. Refer to the general Instructions for Authors for other requirements. Please see the editorial on this topic (Levin LA, Bressler N. The case report: small is beautiful. Arch Ophthalmol. 1996;114[11]:1413).
Socioeconomics and Health Services. These manuscripts should not exceed 3000 words. References, figures, and tables are not limited but may be deleted at the discretion of the editor.
Surgical Techniques. These manuscripts should not exceed 2000 words. References, figures, and tables are not limited but may be deleted at the discretion of the editor.
Note: Manuscripts in any category with particular relevance to ophthalmic surgery will be considered for inclusion in the Surgeon’s Corner section.
TOP
Editorial Policies for Authors
Authorship Requirements. Beginning September 1, 2005, authors will be required to identify each author’s contributions to the work described in the manuscript (see the Authorship Form).
The following 3 statements must be signed by all listed authors and submitted in a cover letter (or by using the Authorship Form) prior to our sending a manuscript out for review: (1) statement on authorship responsibility, (2) statement on financial disclosure, and (3) 1 of the 2 statements on copyright or federal employment.
Authorship Responsibility. “I certify that I have participated sufficiently in the conception and design of this work and the analysis of the data (when applicable), as well as the writing of the manuscript, to take public responsibility for it. I believe the manuscript represents valid work. I have reviewed the final version of the submitted manuscript and approve it for publication. Neither this manuscript nor one with substantially similar content under my authorship has been published or is being considered for publication elsewhere, except as described in an attachment. If requested, I shall produce the data upon which the manuscript is based for examination by the editors or their assignees.”
Financial Disclosure. “I certify that any affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with a direct financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript (eg, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, expert testimony) are disclosed below.”
Research or project support should be listed in an acknowledgment.
Copyright Transfer. “In consideration of the action of the American Medical Association (AMA) in reviewing and editing this submission (manuscript, tables, figures, videos, audio, and other supplemental files for publication), the author(s) undersigned hereby transfers or otherwise conveys all copyright ownership to the AMA in the event that such work is published by the AMA.”
Federal Employment. “I was an employee of the US federal government when this work was conducted and prepared for publication; therefore, it is not protected by the Copyright Act and there is no copyright, thus ownership cannot be transferred.”
Acknowledgments. To ensure accuracy, if individuals are listed in an acknowledgment at the end of the manuscript, the corresponding author must submit the following signed statement: “I have obtained written permission from all persons named in the acknowledgment.” Note: Research or project support should be listed in an acknowledgment in the manuscript.
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 described in the following paragraphs. 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 (Flanagin A, Fontanarosa PB, DeAngelis CD. Authorship for research groups. JAMA. 2002;288[24]:3166-3168). To save space, if group members have been listed in the Archives, the article will be referenced rather than reprinting the list.
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 potential conflicts of interest, including specific financial interests relevant to the subject of their manuscript, in their cover letter and on the Archives of Ophthalmology’s financial disclosure form or in an attachment to the form. Authors without relevant financial interests in the manuscript should indicate no such interest (see the Authorship Form).
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, within the past 5 years and foreseeable future (eg, employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, royalties) 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 within the past 5 years and for the foreseeable future, 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 of Ophthalmology 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 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 for the editorial office and is not shared with peer reviewers. However, 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 discuss disclosure of specific financial information with authors, the Archives of Ophthalmology’s 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 and book reviews.
If an author’s disclosure is incomplete, a correction will be published to rectify the incomplete disclosure by the author.
Financial/Proprietary Interest. If the article discusses in any way a device, equipment, an instrument, or a drug, the authors must state in a footnote whether they do or do not have any commercial or proprietary interest in the product or company. Likewise, they must reveal whether they have any financial interest or receive payment as a consultant, reviewer, or evaluator.
Funding/Support and Role of Sponsor. 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” (DeAngelis CD, Fontanarosa PB, Flanagin A. Reporting financial conflicts of interest and relationships between investigators and research sponsors. JAMA. 2001;286[1]:89-91).
Statistical Consultation. We recommend that statistical consultation be obtained as early as possible for studies with statistical content. The name and affiliation of the statistical consultant (if different from the author) should be included.
Prior Publication. Manuscripts are received with the understanding that they have not been published previously in print or electronic format and are not under consideration by another publication or electronic medium. A complete manuscript submitted following oral presentation that results in the publication of substantive information elsewhere, including magazines, or “tabloids,” may be deemed ineligible for publication in the Archives. The Archives is willing to receive and evaluate manuscripts submitted following presentation or publication of preliminary findings (eg, in an abstract) at a major meeting, but only if publication in other print media is not under consideration. Press reports of the meeting should not be amplified by additional data or copies of tables and illustrations. When submitting a paper, authors should include copies of possibly duplicative material that has been previously published or is currently being considered elsewhere. If after submission but before publication of a manuscript, publication of the findings occurs in press reports, interviews, or other formats, the Editors should be notified.
If there is a question of author misconduct (eg, duplicate publication), submission may be disclosed to a third party.
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.
Ethical Considerations. For experimental investigations of human or animal subjects, state in the “Methods” section of the manuscript that an appropriate institutional review board approved the project. For those investigators who do not have formal ethics review committees (institutional or regional), the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki (41st World Medical Assembly. Declaration of Helsinki: recommendations guiding physicians in biomedical research involving human subjects. JAMA. 1997;277[11]:925-926) should be followed. For investigations of human subjects, state in the “Methods” section the manner in which informed consent was obtained from the subjects (parents or legal guardians for minors).
Animal Experimentation. In the case of animal experimentation, please indicate in the “Methods” section what animal-care protocols were followed, eg, “Institutional guidelines regarding animal experimentation were followed.”
Authorized Use of Photographs. Recognizable photographs may be published only if specifically consented to by the patient. To facilitate proof, the consent must be in writing. Any restrictions or limitations on the consent must be strictly observed, eg, eyes are blocked out only as a condition of consent. Consent forms must include a specific statement that photographs and information related to a case may be published (in print or online) either separately or in connection with each other, in professional journals or medical books, provided that it is specifically understood that the patient shall not be identified by name. Parental consent for the above must include signatures of both living parents. Consent releases for minors without living parents must be signed by the legally appointed guardian. Submit consent forms with the manuscript. See “Informed Consent” above. (See Patient Consent Form.)
Embargo Policy. Information regarding the content and publication date of accepted articles cannot appear in print, radio, television, or in electronic form or be released to the media until 3 pm Central Time on the second Monday of the month.
Accepted Manuscripts. Accepted manuscripts become the permanent property of the Archives and may not be published elsewhere without permission from the publisher (AMA).
TOP
Editorial Review and Publication
Peer Review. Manuscripts are sent to expert consultants for peer review. Peer reviewer identities are kept confidential. Authors, by special request, may keep their identities confidential but must submit a second electronic file of the manuscript with all identifying information edited out. Reviews and decisions on manuscripts in which the editor or one of the associate editors is a coauthor are managed independently by an editor, in conjunction with a member of the editorial board.
Suggestions for Peer Reviewers. At the time of submission, list the names of at least 5 potential reviewers who are expert in the area and could give an unbiased review of the manuscript. Please do not list close associates, collaborators, or family members. The name, e-mail address, and institution of suggested reviewers are requested in the section of the electronic submission form marked “Suggested Reviewers to Include.”
Editing. Accepted manuscripts are edited according to AMA style and returned to the author for approval. Authors are responsible for all statements made in their work, including changes made by the manuscript editor and authorized by the corresponding author. If you wish to receive page proofs for approval, contact the manuscript editor assigned to your paper within 2 days of receiving the typescript.
Reprints. Reprints may be ordered when the edited typescript is sent for approval to the corresponding author (download Reprint Order Form). Reprints are shipped 3 weeks after publication. AMA does not charge a permission fee to authors who wish to use their articles or parts thereof in other books or journals. However, an author must obtain permission from AMA, as the copyright holder, for such use. To do so, send written request to Rhonda Bailey Brown, Department of Licensing and Permissions, AMA, 515 N State St, Chicago, IL 60610; fax: (312) 464-5835 (permissions{at}ama-assn.org). In the permission you receive, the proper credit line will be indicated.
e-Prints. Corresponding authors who provide an e-mail address for publication will receive an electronic link that provides 25 free online accesses to the PDF view of their article.
TOP
Manuscript Preparation and Submission Requirements
The following is required upon acceptance of the manuscript:
- 1. Save the text in Word.
- 2. Tables should be included at the end of the article text file. Make certain that each item in the table is in its own table cell. Do not use paragraph returns (to start new rows) or tabs (to start new columns) to format the table.
- 3. Save any figures in a separate JPG or TIFF file. Please refer to the Technical Requirements for Figures.
- 4. Mail 2 sets of high-resolution glossy prints, clearly marked with the manuscript number, to the editorial office: Archives of Ophthalmology, 3310 University Ave, Suite 202, Madison, WI 53705.
Title Page. Give full names, highest academic degrees, and affiliations of all authors. Designate a corresponding author and include a complete mailing address, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address. Specify the address to which requests for reprints should be sent. Manuscripts should have no more than 6 authors; a greater number requires justification.
Text. The Archives requirements are in accordance with the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (http://www.icmje.org). Double-space manuscript (text, references, and tables) and leave right margins unjustified (ragged). The text should, in general, not exceed 12 double-spaced typewritten pages. Each manuscript component should begin on a new page, in the following sequence: title page, abstract, text, acknowledgments, references, figure legends, and tables (each table complete with title and footnotes on a separate page). Pages should be sequentially numbered in the upper right-hand corner, beginning with the title page. Do not use line numbering.
Titles. Titles should be short, specific, and clear and typed on a special page. They should not exceed 84 characters, including punctuation and spaces, if possible. The title page should include the first name, middle initial, and last name of all authors with their highest academic degree and the professional affiliation of all authors with city location. It should also include the address to which requests for reprints should be sent.
Abstracts. The structured abstract should be used for manuscripts in the following categories: Clinical Sciences, Epidemiology, Laboratory Sciences, Socioeconomics and Health Services, and Ophthalmic Molecular Genetics. The abstract should not exceed 200 words and should include the following headings: Objective(s), Methods or Design, Results, and Conclusions. The Methods or Design section should contain a description of setting, intervention, and main outcome measures, where applicable. Abstracts for Laboratory Science and Ophthalmic Molecular Genetics sections should also include a “Clinical Relevance” heading. Abstracts for Clinical Trial manuscripts should include a “Main Outcome Measures” and an “Application to Clinical Practice” heading. Free-form abstracts of 135 words or less will be used for Mechanisms of Ophthalmic Disease, New Instruments, Surgical Techniques, and Special Articles. No abstracts are required for Letters, Small Case Series, or Editorials.
The main point of the article should be included in the first paragraph of the discussion.
References. List references in numerical order (not alphabetically). Once a reference is cited, all subsequent citations should be to the original number. All references must be cited in the text or tables. Unpublished data and personal communications should not be listed as references but parenthetically within the text. References to journal articles should include (1) author(s) (if more than 6, write “et al” after the third name), (2) title, (3) journal name (as abbreviated in Index Medicus), (4) year, (5) volume number, (6) issue number, and (7) inclusive page numbers, in that order. References to books should include (1) author(s), (2) chapter title (if any), (3) editors (if any), (4) title of book, (5) city of publication, (6) publisher, (7) year, and (8) page(s), if indicated. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of references.
Web References. Please keep a print copy of any reference to Web-only information. If the URL changes or disappears, readers should be able to obtain a copy of the information from the corresponding author.
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.
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.
Figures. Use only those illustrations that clarify and augment the text. More than 10 total illustrations per manuscript would have to be justified. Please refer to the instructions in Technical Requirements for Figures for guidelines at submission and acceptance. We need the figures submitted as high-resolution TIF or JPG files. Generally, each figure file should exceed 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), or PSD (native Adobe Photoshop format). Please do not add arrowheads, “a,” “b,” asterisks, etc directly to the file that contains the figure. A separate composite figure in PowerPoint may be submitted to indicate the location of arrows, asterisks, etc. Because of space limitations, the editors ask that authors crop out all extraneous portions on clinical photographs, CT scans, and ultrasound images (for example, identifying features or patient names), or indicate crop marks on photo margins.
Illustrations in full color are accepted for publication at no charge to the author if the editors believe that color will add significantly to the published manuscript.
Digital Enhancement of Images. Digitally enhanced images (CT/MRI, blots, photographs, photomicrographs, ultrasound images, x-ray films, etc) must be clearly identified in the figure legends as digitally processed images. If the manuscript is accepted, 3 clearly labeled copies of the processed and original images must be provided.
Legends. Legends must be typed double-spaced, beginning on a separate sheet of paper. Length should be limited to a maximum of 40 words and should allow the illustration to be fully understandable without recourse to the text. Use arrows, letters, etc, for enhanced understanding.
Reprinted Material. Reprinted tables and figures are discouraged. Original material should be provided, except under extraordinary circumstances. Acknowledge all text, illustrations, videos, and tables adapted or reproduced from other publications and submit permission from the original publishers (or other copyright owner) to republish in print and online editions of the Archives and its licensed versions. (See Permission to Reproduce Copyright-Protected Material Form.)
Drug Names. The generic (nonproprietary) name of a drug is preferred in almost all instances. If it is necessary to include the brand (proprietary or trade) name for reproduction or interpretation of the study, the brand name should be given parenthetically, following the generic name, at first mention in the abstract, text, and each figure or table in which it appears. In addition, the brand name and supplier’s name and location should be given in the “Methods” section. In the case in which a manuscript is comparing various brands of a single product, or in which an adverse event is described that might be unique to a single brand of product, both the brand name and generic name should appear at first mention and the brand name(s) should be used thereafter.
Off-Label Use of Drugs. If you are proposing an off-label use of a drug, please clearly label it as such in your article. Some drugs discussed for specific indications may not be approved for labeling and advertising for those indications by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Tables. Title all tables and number them in the order of their citation in the text. Double-space each table and start each table on a new page. If a table must be continued, repeat the title on a second sheet, followed by “(cont).” Any additional information about the tables should be included in your cover letter (see Instructions for Table Creation).
Videos. For editorial and peer review of an initial submission, submit videos in .mov, .wmv, .mpg, .mpeg, .mp4, or .avi file format. Individual videos should be less than 5 minutes long. Video dimensions should be a minimum of 320 pixels wide by 240 pixels deep. To facilitate uploading and reviewing, each video should not exceed 10 MB. Verify that all videos are viewable in QuickTime or Windows Media Player before submission.
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 at the end of the manuscript. In the video caption, specify the video file format and briefly describe the content of the video. Also, enter the same title and caption 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. If a video is accepted for publication, the video title and caption will be included on the Web page that contains the link to the video.
If the author does not hold copyright to the video, the author must obtain permission for the video to be published in Archives of Ophthalmology. This permission must be for unrestricted use in all print, online, and licensed versions of Archives of Ophthalmology. (See Permission to Reproduce Copyright-Protected Material Form.) Submit the completed form to the editorial office.
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. The journal staff may contact you to request the original full-size video without text or labels to be sent by e-mail, FTP, or CD/DVD.
TOP
Instructions for Preparing Reports of Randomized Controlled Trials
The CONSORT Checklist should be used as a guideline and submitted with the manuscript. In addition, include a flow diagram illustrating the progress of patients throughout the trial (see Figure for example).
 |
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. |
|
The checklist and flow diagram will be reviewed along with the manuscript. If the manuscript is accepted, the flow diagram will be published.
TOP
Registration of Clinical Trials
Trial Registration. In concert with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the Archives of Ophthalmology will require, as a condition of consideration for publication, registration of all trials in a public trials registry (http://clinicaltrials.gov, http://isrctn.org, http://anzctr.org.au, http://trialregister.nl, and http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/ that requires the minimum registration data set of 20 items as determined by the World Health Organization and the ICMJE. Trials must be registered at or before the onset of subject enrollment. This policy applies to any clinical trial starting enrollment after March 1, 2006. For trials that began enrollment before this date, registration will be required by June 1, 2006, before considering the trial for publication. For this purpose, the ICMJE defines a clinical trial as any study that prospectively assigns human subjects to intervention or comparison groups to evaluate the cause-and-effect relationship 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, registration number, and the URL for the registry should be included at the end of the abstract.
For details about this new policy, see the editorials by DeAngelis et al in the September 8, 2004 (2004;292[11]:1363-1364) and June 15, 2005 (2005;293[23]:2927) issues of JAMA. Additional details are provided in the September issue of Archives of Ophthalmology (Levin LA, Gottlieb JL, Beck RW, et al. Registration of clinical trials. Arch Ophthalmol. 2005;123[9]:1263-1264).
TOP
Author Responsibility Form. Each author must read and sign the Authorship Form.
Last updated February 2008.
TOP
|
