Manuscript format
Cover letter
Title page
Manuscript format
Filenaming convention
Statistics
Style
Figures/illustrations
Tables
References
Supplementary files
All manuscripts must be submitted via Bench>Press.
All material submitted is assumed to be submitted exclusively to the journal unless the contrary is stated. Submissions may be returned to the author for amendment if presented in the incorrect format.
If you are submitting a randomised controlled trial, please send with your manuscript the following:
The registration number of the trial and the name of the trial registry - in the last line of the paper's structured abstract. Trials that begin enrolment of patients after 1 July 2005 must register in a public trials registry at or before the onset of enrolment to be considered for publication. Trials that began patient enrolment on or before 1 July 2005 must register before 13 September 2005 to be considered for publication. Please see the Statement from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.
Cover letter
Your cover letter should inform the Editor of any special considerations regarding your submission, including but not limited to:
1. Details of related papers published or submitted for publication.
- Copies of related papers should be submitted as supplementary data to help the Editor decide how to handle the matter.
2. Details of previous reviews of the submitted article.
- The previous Editor's and reviewers' comments should be submitted as supplementary data along with your responses to those comments. Editors encourage authors to submit these previous communications and doing so may expedite the review process.
Whether any of the material could be published as data supplements rather than in the print version of the article.
Title page
The title page must contain the following information:
1. The title.
2. The name, postal address, e-mail, telephone and fax numbers of the corresponding author.
3. The full names, institutions, city and country of all co-authors.
4. Up to five keywords or phrases suitable for use in an index (it is recommended to use MeSH terms).
5. Word count - excluding title page, abstract, references, figures and tables.
Manuscript format
The manuscript format must be presented in the following order:
1. Title page
2. Abstract (or summary for case reports)
3. Main text (tables should be in the same format as your article and embedded into the document where the table should be cited; images must be uploaded as separate files)
4. Acknowledgments, Competing interests, Funding
5. Copyright licence statement
6. References
7. Appendices
Do not use the automatic formatting features of your word processor such as endnotes, footnotes, headers, footers, boxes etc.
Provide appropriate headings and subheadings as in the journal. We use the following hierarchy: BOLD CAPS, bold lower case, Plain Text, Italics.
Cite illustrations in numerical order (fig 1, fig 2 etc) as they are first mentioned in the text.
Tables should be in the same format as your article and embedded into the document where the table should be cited.
Images must not be embedded in the text file but submitted as individual files (view further details in File Formats.)
Filenaming convention
Where possible, please name your manuscript and image files as shown below. (Please note: the manuscript ID # appears at the top of each submission page as soon as you start your submission; author refers to the corresponding author's last name.)
1. Your manuscript file should be named as: yr_manuscript id number_author
(for example: 2005_001234_clark)
2. Your image file should be named as: yr_manuscript id number_F#
(for example: 2005_001234_F1)
Statistics
Statistical analyses must explain the methods used.
Guidelines on presenting statistics.
Guidelines on RCTs: CONSORT, QUORUM, MOOSE, STARD, and Economic submissions.
Style
Abbreviations and symbols must be standard and SI units used throughout except for blood pressure values which are reported in mm Hg.
Whenever possible, drugs should be given their approved generic name. Where a proprietary (brand) name is used, it should begin with a capital letter.
Acronyms should be used sparingly and fully explained when first used.
View more detailed style guidelines.
Figures/illustrations
Black and white images should be saved and supplied as GIF, TIFF, EPS or JPEG files, at a minimum resolution of 300 dpi and an image size of 9 cm across for single column format and 18.5 cm for double column format.
Colour images should be saved and supplied as GIF, TIFF, EPS or JPEG files, to a minimum resolution of 600 dpi at an image size of 9 cm across for single column format and 18.5 cm for double column format.
Images should be mentioned in the text and figure legends should be listed at the end of the manuscript.
During submission, when you upload the figure files please label them as Figure 1, Figure 2, etc. The file label will not appear in the pdf but the order in which the figures uploaded should be sufficient to link them to the correct figure legend for identification.
We can accept multi-page Powerpoint files. Alternatively, Powerpoint files can be saved as JPEG files and submitted as a standard image file.
Histograms should be presented in a simple, two-dimensional format, with no background grid.
Please note: Do not submit colour figures unless you are willing to pay the cost of publishing your figures in colour. If you do not wish to pay the colour charges please submit your figures in black and white.
The journal charges authors for the cost of reproducing colour images on all unsolicited articles. This charge is heavily subsidised by the journal and covers origination costs only. If an image is supplied as a composite figure that contains numerous parts (for example, fig 1A-D), the image will be considered as a single image, provided that all the parts are supplied within a single file that prints out at an overall size no larger that A4 (210 mm x 297 mm). The charge for colour processing will be £100 + VAT for the figure. Multi-part colour images supplied as separate files will be charged at £100 + VAT for each file. The charge only applies to images accepted for print publication and not online only or data supplement files.
Care should be taken in planning composites because combining different images with widely varying colours can lead to contamination or loss of colour and poor quality results. When submitting your manuscript, please ensure to include a name and address where the invoice should be sent for the colour reproduction costs. If an address is not included, the invoice will be sent to the corresponding author.
Unacceptable file formats
Any file using OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) technology to display information or embed files, Bitmap (.bmp), PICT (.pict), Photoshop (.psd), Canvas (.cnv), CorelDRAW (.cdr); Excel (.xls); and locked or encrypted PDFs are not acceptable.
Tables
Tables should be submitted in the same format as your article and embedded into the document where the table should be cited. Please note: Bench>Press cannot accept Excel files. If your table(s) are in Excel, copy and paste them into the manuscript file. In extreme circumstances, Excel files can be uploaded as supplementary files; however, we advise against this as they will not be acceptable if your article is accepted for publication.
Tables should be self-explanatory and the data they contain must not be duplicated in the text or figures.
References
Authors are responsible for the accuracy of references cited: these should be checked against the original documents before the paper is submitted. It is vital that the references are styled correctly so that they may be hyperlinked.
In the text
References must be numbered sequentially as they appear in the text. References cited in figures or tables (or in their legends and footnotes) should be numbered according to the place in the text where that table or figure is first cited. Reference numbers in the text must be given in square brackets immediately after punctuation (with no word spacing) - for example, .[6] not [6].
Where more than one reference is cited, separate by a comma - for example, [1, 4, 39]. For sequences of consecutive numbers, give the first and last number of the sequence separated by a hyphen - for example, [22-25]. References provided in this format are translated during the production process to superscript type, which act as hyperlinks from the text to the quoted references in electronic forms of the article.
In the reference list
References must be double spaced (numbered consecutively in the order in which they are mentioned in the text) in the [slightly modified] Vancouver style. Only papers published or in press should be included in the reference list. (Personal communications or unpublished data must be cited in parentheses in the text with the name(s) of the source(s) and the year. Authors should get permission from the source to cite unpublished data.)
Punctuation of references must follow the [slightly modified] Vancouver style:
12 Surname AB, Surname CD. Article title. Journal abbreviation. Year;Vol:Start page-End page.
Use one space only between words up to the year and then no spaces. The journal title should be in italic and abbreviated according to the style of Medline. If the journal is not listed in Medline then it should be written out in full.
Check journal abbreviations using PubMed.
List the names and initials of all authors if there are 3 or fewer; otherwise list the first 3 and add et al.
Example references:
Journal
13 Koziol-Mclain J, Brand D, Morgan D, et al. Measuring injury risk factors: question reliability in a statewide sample. Inj Prev 2000;6:148-50.
Chapter in book
14 Nagin D. General deterrence: a review of the empirical evidence. In: Blumstein A, Cohen J, Nagin D, eds. Deterrence and incapacitation: estimating the effects of criminal sanctions on crime rates. Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences 1978:95-139.
Book
(personal author or authors) (all book references should have specific page numbers)
15 Howland J. Social norms and drunk driving countermeasures. In Graham JD, ed. Preventing automobile injury: new findings from evaluative research. Dover, MA: Auburn House Publishing Company 1988:163-96.
Abstract/supplement
16 Roxburgh J, Cooke RA, Deverall P, et al. Haemodynamic function of the carbomedics bileaflet prosthesis [abstract]. Br Heart J 1995;73 (suppl 2):P37.
Electronic citations
Basically, websites are referenced with their URL and access date, and as much other information is given as is available. Access date is important as websites can be updated and URLs change. The "date accessed" can be later than the acceptance date of the paper, and it can be just the month accessed. See the 9th edition of the AMA Manual of Style for further examples.
electronic journal articles:
Morse SS. Factors in the emergency of infectious diseases. Emerg Infect Dis 1995 Jan-Mar;1(1). www.cdc.gov/nciod/EID/vol1no1/morse.htm (accessed 5 Jun 1998).
Use as much information as the author gives. The volume/number information in the URL will take the user to the start of the individual document; ask the author to supply or confirm. Also ask authors to supply the date they accessed the file.
Online First
Each Online First article has a unique Digital Object Identifier (DOI). This should be included in all citations.
BEFORE the article has appeared in an issue
Use the citation format:
Sabin MA, Ford AL, Holly JMP, Hunt LP, Crowne EC, Shield JPH. Characterisation of morbidity in a UK, hospital based, obesity clinic. Arch Dis Child. Published Online First: 24 October 2005. doi:10.1136/adc.2005.083485
AFTER the article has appeared in an issue
Use the citation format:
Sabin MA, Ford AL, Holly JMP, Hunt LP, Crowne EC, Shield JPH. Characterisation of morbidity in a UK, hospital based, obesity clinic. Arch Dis Child 2006; 91:126-130 doi:10.1136/adc.2005.083485 [published Online First: 24 October 2005].
Electronic Letters
Author. Title of letter. Journal name Online [eLetter] Date of publication. url
eg: Krishnamoorthy KM, Dash PK. Novel approach to transseptal puncture. Heart Online [eLetter] 18 September 2001. http://heart.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/86/5/e11#EL1
Check your citation information using PubMed.
Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs)
DOIs are a unique string created to identify a piece of intellectual property in an online environment, particularly useful for articles which have been published online before appearing in print (therefore the article has not yet been assigned the traditional volume, issue and page number reference).
The DOI is a permanent identifier of all versions of an article, whether raw manuscript or edited proof, online or in print. Thus the DOI should ideally be included in the citation even if you want to cite a print version of an article.
How to cite articles before they have appeared in print
To cite an electronic article that has not yet appeared in print please use the following citation format:
1. Alwick K, Vronken M, de Mos T, et al. Cardiac risk factors: prospective cohort study. Ann Rheum Dis. Published Online First: 5 February 2004. doi:10.1136/ard.2003.001234
How to cite articles once they have appeared in print
Once the article has been printed the citation should also include the traditional year, volume and page numbers, as well as the DOI and original date of publication.
1. Vole P, Smith H, Brown N, et al. Treatments for malaria: randomised controlled trial. Ann Rheum Dis 2003;327:765-8 doi:10.1136/ard.2003.001234 [published Online First: 5 February 2004].
More comprehensive guidance about DOI's.
PLEASE NOTE: RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS OF REFERENCES RESTS ENTIRELY WITH THE AUTHORS.
Supplementary files
You may submit supplementary material which may support the submission and review of your article. This could include papers in press elsewhere, published articles, appendices, video clips, etc.
Online only material
Additional figures and tables, methodology, references, video clips, raw data, etc may be published online only to supplement the printed article. If your paper exceeds the word count you should consider if any of the article could be published online only as a "data supplement". These files will not be copyedited or typeset.
Bench>Press
All supplementary data files should be uploaded to Bench>Press using the supplementary file section. These files are not converted to PDF but will be provided to reviewers and editors in the format in which you supply them.