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Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals

International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, Canada Medical Assoc. Web

Contents

Introduction

 A small group of editors of general medical journals met informally in Vancouver in 1978 to establish guidelines for the format of manuscripts submitted to their journals. The group became known as the Vancouver Group. Its requirements for manuscripts, including formats for bibliographic references developed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), were first published in 1979. The Vancouver Group expanded and evolved into the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which meets annually; gradually it has broadened its concerns.

The committee has produced four previous editions of the uniform requirements. Over the years, issues have arisen that go beyond manuscript preparation. Some of these issues are now covered in the uniform requirements; others are addressed in separate statements. Each statement has been published in a scientific journal. [The statements were published in the Feb. 15 issue of CMAJ.]

This fifth edition is an effort to reorganize and reword the uniform requirements in order to increase clarity and address concerns about rights, privacy, descriptions of methods and other matters. The total content of the document may be reproduced for educational, not-for-profit purposes without regard for copyright; the committee encourages distribution of the material.

Journals that agree to use the uniform requirements (over 500 do so) are asked to cite the 1997 document in their instructions to authors.

Inquiries and comments should be sent to Kathleen Case, ICMJE Secretariat Office, Annals of Internal Medicine, American College of Physicians, Independence Mall West, Sixth Street at Race, Philadelphia PA 19106-1572, USA; tel. 215 351-2661, fax 215 351-2644, e-mail mhs:kathyc(at)acp.

Publications represented on the ICMJE in 1996 were the following: Annals of Internal Medicine, British Medical Journal, Canadian Medical Association Journal, Journal of the American Medical Association, The Lancet, Medical Journal of Australia, New England Journal of Medicine, New Zealand Medical Journal, Tidsskrift for Den Norske Laegeforening, Western Journal of Medicine and Index Medicus.

It is important to emphasize what these uniform requirements do and do not imply. First, the uniform requirements are instructions to authors on how to prepare manuscripts, not to editors on publication style. (But many journals have drawn on them for elements of their publication styles.)

Second, if authors prepare their manuscripts in the style specified in these requirements, editors of the participating journals will not return the manuscripts for changes in style before considering them for publication. In the publishing process, however, the journals may alter accepted manuscripts to conform with details of their publication style.

Third, authors sending manuscripts to a participating journal should not try to prepare them in accordance with the publication style of that journal but should follow the uniform requirements.

Authors must also follow the instructions to authors in the journal as to what topics are suitable for that journal and the types of papers that may be submitted (e.g., original articles, reviews or case reports).* In addition, the journal's instructions are likely to contain other requirements unique to that journal, such as the number of copies of a manuscript that are required, acceptable languages, length of articles and approved abbreviations.

[CMAJ's instructions appear in the first issue of each volume.]

Participating journals are expected to state in their instructions to authors that their requirements are in accordance with the uniform requirements and to cite a published version.

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Issues to consider before submitting a manuscript

Redundant or duplicate publication

 Redundant or duplicate publication is publication of a paper that overlaps substantially with one already published.

Readers of primary source periodicals deserve to be able to trust that what they are reading is original unless it is clearly stated that the article is being republished by the choice of the author and editor. The bases of this position are international copyright laws, ethical conduct and cost-effective use of resources.

Most journals do not wish to receive papers on work that has already been reported in large part in a published article or is described in a paper that has been submitted or accepted for publication elsewhere, in print or in electronic media. This policy does not preclude the journal considering a paper that has been rejected by another journal, or a complete report that follows publication of a preliminary report such as an abstract or poster displayed for colleagues at a professional meeting. Nor does it prevent journals considering a paper that has been presented at a scientific meeting but not published in full or that is being considered for publication in a proceedings or similar format. Press reports of scheduled meetings will not usually be regarded as breaches of this rule, but such reports should not be amplified by additional data or copies of tables and illustrations.

When submitting a paper, an author should always make a full statement to the editor about all submissions and previous reports that might be regarded as redundant or duplicate publication of the same or very similar work. The author should alert the editor if the work includes subjects about whom a previous report has been published. Any such work should be referred to and referenced in the new paper. Copies of such material should be included with the submitted paper to help the editor decide how to deal with the matter.

If redundant or duplicate publication is attempted or occurs without such notification, authors should expect editorial action to be taken. At the least, prompt rejection of the submitted manuscript should be expected. If the editor was not aware of the violations and the article has already been published, then a notice of redundant or duplicate publication will probably be published with or without the author's explanation or approval.

Preliminary release, usually to public media, of scientific information described in a paper that has been accepted but not yet published violates the policies of many journals. In a few cases, and only by arrangement with the editor, preliminary release of data may be acceptable -- for example, if there is a public health emergency.

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Acceptable secondary publication

Secondary publication in the same or other language, especially in other countries, is justifiable and can be beneficial, provided all of the following conditions are met.

Permission for such secondary publication should be free of charge.

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Protection of patients' rights to privacy

Patients have a right to privacy that should not be infringed without informed consent. Identifying information should not be published in written descriptions, photographs or pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. Informed consent for this purpose requires that the patient be shown the manuscript to be published.

Identifying details should be omitted if they are not essential, but patient data should never be altered or falsified in an attempt to attain anonymity. Complete anonymity is difficult to achieve, and informed consent should be obtained if there is any doubt. For example, masking the eye region in photographs of patients is inadequate protection of anonymity.

The requirement for informed consent should be included in the journal's instructions for authors. When informed consent has been obtained it should be indicated in the published article.

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Requirements for submission of manuscripts

Summary of technical requirements

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Manuscripts on diskettes

For papers that are close to final acceptance, some journals require authors to provide a copy in electronic form (on a diskette); they may accept a variety of wordprocessing formats or text (ASCII) files.

When submitting disks, authors should:

  1. Be certain to include a print-out of the manuscript version on the diskette.
  2. Put only the latest version of the manuscript on the diskette.
  3. Name the file clearly.
  4. Label the diskette with the file format and the file name.
  5. Provide information on the hardware and software used.

Authors should consult the journal's instructions to authors for acceptable formats, conventions for naming files, number of copies to be submitted and other details.

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Preparation of manuscripts

The text of observational and experimental articles is usually (but not necessarily) divided into sections with the headings Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion. Long articles may need subheadings within some sections (especially the Results and Discussion sections) to clarify their content. Other types of articles, such as case reports, reviews and editorials, are likely to need other formats. Authors should consult individual journals for further guidance.

Type or print out the manuscript on white bond paper 216  × 279 mm (8 1/2  × 11 in) or ISO A4 (212  × 297 mm), with margins of at least 25 mm (1 in). Type or print on only one side of the paper. Use double spacing throughout, including title page, abstract, text, acknowledgements, references, tables and legends for illustrations. Number the pages consecutively, beginning with the title page. Put the page number in the upper or lower right-hand corner of each page.

Title page

The title page should carry (a) the title of the article, which should be concise but informative; (b) the name by which each author is known, with his or her highest academic degree(s) and institutional affiliation; (c) the name of the department(s) and institution(s) to which the work should be attributed; (d) disclaimers, if any; (e) the name and address of the author responsible for correspondence about the manuscript; (f) the name and address of the author to whom requests for reprints should be addressed or a statement that reprints will not be available from the authors; (g) the source(s) of support in the form of grants, equipment, drugs or all of these; and (h) a short running head or foot line (no longer than 40 characters, counting letters and spaces) at the foot of the title page.

Authorship

All persons designated as authors should qualify for authorship. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for the content.

Authorship credit should be based only on substantial contributions to (a) either the conception and design or the analysis and interpretation of data and to (b) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content and on (c) final approval of the version to be published. All three conditions must be met. Participation solely in the acquisition of funding or the collection of data does not justify authorship. General supervision of the research group is not sufficient for authorship. Any part of an article critical to its main conclusions must be the responsibility of at least one author.

Editors may ask authors to describe what each contributed; this information may be published.

Increasingly, multicentre trials are attributed to a corporate author. All members of the group who are named as authors, either in the authorship position below the title or in a footnote, should fully meet the above criteria for authorship. Group members who do not meet these criteria should be listed, with their permission, in the Acknowledgement or in an appendix (see Acknowledgements).

The order of authorship should be a joint decision of the coauthors. Because the order is assigned in different ways, its meaning cannot be inferred accurately unless it is stated by the authors. Authors may wish to explain the order of authorship in a footnote. In deciding on the order, authors should be aware that many journals limit the number of authors listed in the table of contents and that the NLM lists in MEDLINE 25 authors (it lists 24 and the last author if there are more than 25 authors).

Abstract and key words

The second page should carry an abstract (of no more than 150 words for unstructured abstracts or 250 words for structured abstracts). The abstract should state the purposes of the study or investigation, basic procedures (selection of study subjects or laboratory animals, observational and analytical methods), main findings (specific data and their statistical significance, if possible) and the principal conclusions. It should emphasize new and important aspects of the study or observations.

Below the abstract authors should provide, and identify as such, 3 to 10 key words or short phrases that will assist indexers in cross-indexing the article and that may be published with the abstract. Use terms from the medical subject headings (MeSH) list of Index Medicus; if suitable MeSH terms are not yet available for recently introduced terms, present terms may be used.

Introduction

State the purpose of the article and summarize the rationale for the study or observation. Give only strictly pertinent references and do not include data or conclusions from the work being reported.

Methods

Describe clearly your selection of the observational or experimental subjects (patients or laboratory animals, including controls). Identify the age, sex and other important characteristics of the subjects. The definition and relevance of race and ethnicity are ambiguous. Authors should be particularly careful about using these categories.

Identify the methods, apparatus (give the manufacturer's name and address in parentheses) and procedures in sufficient detail to allow other workers to reproduce the results. Give references to established methods, including statistical methods (see Statistics); provide references and brief descriptions for methods that have been published but are not well known; describe new or substantially modified methods, give reasons for using them and evaluate their limitations. Identify precisely all drugs and chemicals used, including generic name(s), dosage(s) and route(s) of administration.

Reports of randomized clinical trials should present information on all major study elements including the protocol (study population, interventions or exposures, outcomes and the rationale for statistical analysis), assignment of interventions (methods of randomization, concealment of allocation to treatment groups) and the method of masking (blinding).

Authors submitting review manuscripts should include a section describing the methods used for locating, selecting, extracting and synthesizing data. These methods should also be summarized in the abstract.

Ethics

When reporting experiments on human subjects, indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional or regional) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 1983. Do not use patients' names, initials or hospital numbers, especially in illustrative material. When reporting experiments on animals, indicate whether the institution's or the National Research Council's guide for, or any national law on, the care and use of laboratory animals was followed.

Statistics

Describe statistical methods with enough detail to enable a knowledgeable reader with access to the original data to verify the reported results. When possible, quantify findings and present them with appropriate indicators of measurement error or uncertainty (such as confidence intervals). Avoid relying solely on statistical hypothesis testing, such as the use of p values, which fails to convey important quantitative information. Discuss the eligibility of experimental subjects. Give details about randomization. Describe the methods for and success of any blinding of observations. Report complications of treatment. Give numbers of observations. Report losses to observation (e.g., dropouts from a clinical trial). When possible, references for the study design and statistical methods should be to standard works (with page numbers stated) rather than to papers in which the designs or methods were originally reported. Specify any general-use computer programs used.

Put a general description of methods in the Methods section. When data are summarized in the Results section, specify the statistical methods used to analyse them. Restrict tables and illustrations to those needed to explain the argument of the paper and to assess its support. Use graphs as an alternative to tables with many entries; do not duplicate data in graphs and tables. Avoid nontechnical uses of technical terms in statistics, such as "random" (which implies a randomizing device), "normal," "significant," "correlation" and "sample." Define statistical terms, abbreviations and most symbols.

Results

Present your results in logical sequence in the text, tables and illustrations. Do not repeat in the text all the data in the tables or illustrations; emphasize or summarize only important observations.

Discussion

Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study and the conclusions that follow from them. Do not repeat in detail data or other material given in the Introduction or the Results section. Include in the Discussion section the implications of the findings and their limitations, including implications for future research. Relate the observations to other relevant studies.

Link the conclusions with the goals of the study but avoid unqualified statements and conclusions not completely supported by the data. In particular, authors should avoid making statements on economic benefits and costs unless their manuscript includes economic data and analyses. Avoid claiming priority and alluding to work that has not been completed. State new hypotheses when warranted, but clearly label them as such. Recommendations, when appropriate, may be included.

Acknowledgements

At an appropriate place in the article (title-page footnote or appendix to the text; see the journal's requirements) one or more statements should specify (a) contributions that need acknowledging but do not justify authorship, such as general support by a department chair; (b) acknowledgements of technical help; (c) acknowledgements of financial and material support, which should specify the nature of the support; and (d) relationships that may pose a conflict of interest (this topic will be covered in the statements in the Feb. 15 issue).

Persons who have contributed intellectually to the paper but whose contributions do not justify authorship may be named and their function or contribution described (e.g., "scientific adviser," "critical review of study proposal," "data collection" or "participation in clinical trial"). Such persons must have given their permission to be named. Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission from persons acknowledged by name, because readers may infer their endorsement of the data and conclusions.

Technical help should be acknowledged in a paragraph separate from those acknowledging other contributions.

References

References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. Identify references in text, tables and legends for illustrations by arabic numerals in parentheses. References cited only in tables or in legends should be numbered in accordance with the sequence established by the first identification in the text of the particular table or illustration.

Use the style of the examples that follow, which are based on the formats used by the NLM in Index Medicus. The titles of journals should be abbreviated according to the style used in Index Medicus. Consult the List of Journals Indexed in Index Medicus, published annually as a separate publication by the library and as a list in the January issue of Index Medicus. The list can also be obtained through the library's Web site (http://www.nlm.nih.gov).

Avoid using abstracts as references. References to papers accepted but not yet published should be designated as "in press" or "forthcoming"; authors should obtain written permission to cite such papers as well as verification that they have been accepted for publication. Information from manuscripts submitted but not accepted should be cited in the text as "unpublished observations" with written permission from the source.

Avoid citing a "personal communication" unless it provides essential information not available from a public source, in which case the name of the person and date of communication should be cited in parentheses in the text. For scientific articles, authors should obtain written permission and confirmation of accuracy from the source of a personal communication.

The references must be verified by the author(s) against the original documents.

The uniform requirements style (the Vancouver style) is based largely on an ANSI standard style adapted by the NLM for its databases (e.g., MEDLINE). Notes have been added where Vancouver style differs from the style now used by the NLM.

Articles in journals

As an option, if a journal carries continuous pagination throughout a volume (as many medical journals do) the month and issue number may be omitted. [Note: For consistency, this option is used throughout the examples in this document. NLM does not use the option.]

Vega KJ, Pina I, Krevsky B. Heart transplantation is associated with an increased risk for pancreatobiliary disease. Ann Intern Med 1996;124:980-3.

More than six authors

Parkin DM, Clayton D, Black RJ, Masuyer E, Friedl HP, Ivanov E, et al. Childhood leukaemia in Europe after Chernobyl: 5 year follow-up. Br J Cancer 1996;73:1006-12.

Books and other monographs

[Note: Previous Vancouver style incorrectly had a comma rather than a semicolon between the publisher and the date.]

Other published material

Unpublished material

  • In press [Note: NLM prefers "forthcoming" because not all items will be printed.]

    Leshner AI. Molecular mechanisms of cocaine addiction. N Engl J Med. In press 1996.

    Electronic material

  • Journal article in electronic format

    Morse SS. Factors in the emergence of infectious diseases. Emerg Infect Dis [serial online] 1995 Jan-Mar [cited 1996 Jun 5];1(1):[24 screens]. Available from: URL: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/eid.htm

  • Monograph in electronic format

    CDI, clinical dermatology illustrated [monograph on CD-ROM]. Reeves JRT, Maibach H. CMEA Multimedia Group, producers. 2nd ed. Version 2.0. San Diego: CMEA; 1995.

  • Computer file

    Hemodynamics III: the ups and downs of hemodynamics [computer program]. Version 2.2. Orlando (FL): Computerized Educational Systems; 1993.

    Tables

    Type or print out each table double spaced on a separate sheet. Do not submit tables as photographs. Number tables consecutively in the order of their first citation in the text and supply a brief title for each. Give each column a short or abbreviated heading. Place explanatory matter in footnotes, not in the heading. Explain in footnotes all nonstandard abbreviations that are used in each table. For footnotes use the following symbols, in this sequence: *, †, ‡, §, ||, ¶, **, ††, ‡‡, etc.

    Identify statistical measures of variations such as standard deviation and standard error of the mean.

    Do not use internal horizontal or vertical rules.

    Be sure that each table is cited in the text.

    If you use data from another published or unpublished source, obtain permission and acknowledge fully.

    The use of too many tables in relation to the length of the text may produce difficulties in the layout of pages. Examine issues of the journal to which you plan to submit your paper to estimate how many tables can be used per 1000 words of text.

    The editor, on accepting a paper, may recommend that additional tables containing important backup data too extensive to publish be deposited with an archival service, such as the National Auxiliary Publication Service in the United States, or be made available by the authors. In that event an appropriate statement will be added to the text. Submit such tables for consideration with the paper.

    Illustrations

    Submit the required number of complete sets of illustrations, or "figures." Figures should be professionally drawn and photographed; freehand or typewritten lettering is unacceptable. Instead of original drawings, x-ray films and other material, send sharp, glossy, black-and-white photographic prints, usually 127 × 173 mm (5 × 7 in) but no larger than 203 × 254 mm (8 × 10 in). Letters, numbers and symbols should be clear and even throughout and of sufficient size that when reduced for publication will still be legible. Titles and detailed explanations belong in the legends, not on the illustrations themselves.

    Each figure should have a label pasted on its back indicating its number, the first author's name and the top of the figure. Do not write on the back of figures or scratch or mar them by using paper clips. Do not bend figures or mount them on cardboard.

    Photomicrographs should have internal scale markers. Symbols, arrows or letters used in photomicrographs should contrast with the background.

    If photographs of persons are used, either the subjects must not be identifiable or their pictures must be accompanied by written permission to use the photographs (see Protection of Patients' Rights to Privacy).

    Figures should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they have been first cited in the text. If a figure has been published, acknowledge the original source and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material. Permission is required irrespective of authorship or publisher, except for documents in the public domain.

    For illustrations in colour, ascertain whether the journal requires colour negatives, positive transparencies or colour prints. Accompanying drawings marked to indicate the region to be reproduced may be useful to the editor. Some journals publish illustrations in colour only if the author pays for the extra cost.

    Legends for illustrations

    Type or print out legends for illustrations double spaced, starting on a separate page, with arabic numerals corresponding to the illustrations. When symbols, arrows, numbers or letters are used to identify parts of an illustration, identify and explain each one clearly in the legend. Explain the internal scale and identify the method of staining in photomicrographs.

    Units of measurement

    Measurements of length, height, weight and volume should be reported in metric units (metre, kilogram, litre etc.) or their decimal multiples.

    Temperatures should be given in degrees Celsius. Blood pressures should be given in millimetres of mercury.

    All hematological and clinical chemistry measurements should be reported in the metric system in terms of the International System of Units (SI). Editors may request that alternative or non-SI units be added by the authors before publication.

    Abbreviations and symbols

    Use only standard abbreviations. Avoid abbreviations in the title and abstract. The full term for which an abbreviation stands should precede its first use in the text unless it is a standard unit of measurement.

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    Sending the manuscript to the journal

    Send the required number of copies of the manuscript in a heavy-paper envelope, enclosing the copies and illustrations in cardboard, if necessary, to prevent bending of photographs. Place photographs and transparencies in a separate heavy-paper envelope.

    Manuscripts must be accompanied by a covering letter signed by all coauthors. This must include (a) information on prior or duplicate publication or submission elsewhere of any part of the work, as defined earlier in this document; (b) a statement of financial or other relationships that might lead to a conflict of interest; (c) a statement that the manuscript has been read and approved by all the coauthors, that the requirements for authorship as stated earlier in this document have been met and that each coauthor believes that the manuscript represents honest work; and (d) the name, address and telephone number of the corresponding author, who is responsible for communicating with the other authors about revisions and final approval of the proofs. The letter should give any additional information that may be helpful to the editor, such as the type of article in the particular journal that the manuscript represents and whether the author(s) would be willing to meet the cost of reproducing colour illustrations.

    The manuscript must be accompanied by copies of any permissions to reproduce published material, to use illustrations of or report information about identifiable persons or to name persons for their contributions.

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