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Manuscript Submission and Review: Perspective of an Editor and Author

Manuscript Submission and Review: Perspective of an Editor and Author. Jim Neaton PubH 8400 December 12, 2012. Perspective of an Editor: How it Works. Controlled Clinical Trials (now Clinical Trials ) 25 Associate Editors; a Book Review Editor; and a 4 person Advisory Board

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Manuscript Submission and Review: Perspective of an Editor and Author

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  1. Manuscript Submission and Review: Perspective of an Editor and Author Jim Neaton PubH 8400 December 12, 2012

  2. Perspective of an Editor: How it Works • Controlled Clinical Trials (now Clinical Trials) • 25 Associate Editors; a Book Review Editor; and a 4 person Advisory Board • Publisher: Elsevier Science (now Sage) • 150 submissions per year • 6 issues/year; 8 articles; 90 pages • 2,052 subscribers; 528 institutional

  3. Steps in the Process • When a paper arrives: • Editor reviews (rarely rejects) and assigns Associate Editor (AE). • AE reviews and rejects or recommends 4 referees. • Editorial Assistant contacts 2 referees to review paper. • Referees submit review. • Editor reviews and sends comments to AE. • AE makes recommendation. • Editor makes final decision and prepares letter to author. • Accept unconditionally • Accept provisionally • Reject with invitation to resubmit • Reject (sometimes with recommendation to a more appropriate journal)

  4. For Provisional Acceptance and Reject with Invitation to Resubmit • Author modifies paper and resubmits with point by point response. • Editor reviews and sends to AE with recommendation (accept, reject, or back to referees). • AE reviews and notifies Editor. • If accepted, paper is copyedited and sent back to authors; otherwise reject letter or re-review by referees. • Upon receipt of paper with copyedits made, paper is sent to publisher for typesetting. • Publisher prepares galleys for author and Editor’s office. • Publication (usually 3-4 months after galleys returned).

  5. How it Really Works • Editor beats the bushes for good papers (e.g., presentations at major meetings). • Editorial Assistants regularly harass Editor, AEs and referees. • Frequent hand-holding with authors.

  6. Advice from Editor to Authors • Spell-check your paper. • State clearly the purpose of the paper. • Be concise. • Read papers in the journal to which you are submitting. • Respond as requested – point by point to comments made by referee, AE and Editor. • Respond quickly. • Carefully review the galleys. • Read conditions of submission and authorship responsibilities.

  7. Perspective of an Author: Publishing the Results of a Clinical Trial – Which Journal? • Top general medicine journals (impact factor) • New England Journal of Medicine (53) • Lancet (38) • Journal of the American Medical Association (30) • Annals of Internal Medicine (17) • 2nd tier journals, examples in my area (impact factor) • Circulation (15) • Clinical Infectious Diseases (9.2) • Hypertension (6) • Journal of Infectious Diseases (6.4) • PLoSOne, an Open Access Journal (4.1)

  8. Publishing Results of a Clinical Trial: Some Tips • Make sure trial is registered with clinicaltrials.gov (a legal requirement for most trials within 21 days of 1st enrollment; a requirement for publication for most journals). • Review CONSORT guidelines for clinical trials, e.g., flow diagram and checklist (most journals require flow diagram and many ask authors to complete the checklist as part of submission) (www.consort-statement.org).

  9. See also N Engl J Med 2012; 367:1355-1360

  10. Publishing Results of a Clinical Trial – More Tips • Major trials are typically reviewed by 3-4 referees, one of whom is a statistician. • Some journals (e.g., Lancet) guarantee peer review if protocol is submitted for review in advance (they also post a study abstract on their website). • Major medical journals have a “fast track”. • Once accepted, there is an embargo imposed during which the contents of the paper cannot be shared. • Major trials almost always have an accompanying editorial. • Expect letters to the editor.

  11. Not All Trials Are Published, But… • Many clinical trials are conducted and not published (more common for industry funded than NIH-funded trials). • However, results of clinical trials now have to be submitted to clinicaltrials.gov within 12 months of completion (this is very time-consuming). • A movement is afoot to make raw data available for trials (e.g., YODA Project).

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