How to submit to Journal of Radiological Protection

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How to submit to Journal of Radiological Protection
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2011 J. Radiol. Prot. 31
(http://iopscience.iop.org/0952-4746/31/1/M05)
View the table of contents for this issue, or go to the journal homepage for more
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How to Submit to Journal of Radiological Protection
Journal of Radiological Protection publishes articles (in English) on all aspects of radiological protection,
including non-ionising as well as ionising radiation. Fields of interest range from research, development
and theory to operational matters, education and training. The very wide spectrum of its topics includes:
dosimetry, instrument development, specialised measuring techniques, epidemiology, biological effects
(in vivo and in vitro) and risk and environmental impact assessments.
Contributions will be considered for publication in Journal of Radiological Protection provided they (or
substantially similar articles) have not been published previously, and they are not under consideration for
publication elsewhere. Reports that are not available to the general public will not be regarded as prior
publications. Articles based on theses or dissertations for degrees may be submitted, and articles
expanding significantly on preliminary reports (such as abstracts or posters presented at conferences) are
also acceptable.
Articles that have been published previously in another language, or in a journal that is not widely
available, may be submitted for consideration provided the editor of the source journal and the copyright
holder give written approval and the origin of the article is declared in the manuscript. A copy of the
original article and appropriate approvals must be included with the submitted manuscript.
Journal of Radiological Protection subscribes to the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to
Biomedical Journals of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Authors should
consult the latest version of the Uniform Requirements that may be found at www.icmje.org.
Special requirements
Authors of all articles are required upon submission to disclose any potential conflict of interest with
regards to the work reported (e.g. through employment, consultancies, industrial research contracts, stock
ownership, equity interests, patent-licensing arrangements, honoraria, expert testimony etc) in their
covering letter. This information may be made available, in confidence, to the referees during the peer
review process. Further details on conflict of interest can be found at www.icmje.org. Authors should
include all relevant information on conflict of interest in the Acknowledgments section of the manuscript.
Manuscripts reporting studies of humans or animals should pay due attention to the ethical aspects of the
study. Such studies must conform with local statutory requirements. Journal of Radiological Protection
endorses fully the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki on Ethical Principles for Medical
Research Involving Human Subjects, the latest version of which may be found at
www.wma.net/e/policy/b3.html. Where appropriate, a statement should be made that the study has been
carried out with ethical committee approval. Studies involving experimental animals must attend to the
welfare of the animals and the guidelines of the United Kingdom Co-ordinating Committee on Cancer
Research (UKCCCR), www.nature.com/bjc/UKCCCR_Guidelines.pdf, provide a basis for welfare
considerations. Authors should also be aware of Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the
Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources which may be found at
www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/labrats. Please state if the work has been subject to animal ethics
committee approval. The journal publishes software-based articles in good faith, and is not responsible for
any QA problems. Authors are encouraged to declare the QA status of their software.
Once an article has been submitted it should not be discussed publicly, particularly with the media, until
published. This is to ensure that any article that attracts publicity is fully available to those wanting
further information. Pre-publication discussion at scientific meetings not open to the public and
circulation of pre-prints to professional colleagues is permissible, provided the status of the article is
made clear. Pre-publication presentation of results to interested parties, such as the subjects of an
epidemiological study, is acceptable, but the confidential nature of the results prior to publication should
be emphasised. Articles should not be discussed with journalists before publication unless this has been
agreed by the Editor. All material relating to articles to be published is embargoed until the day of
publication. Further details can be found at www.icmje.org.
Article types
Articles in Journal of Radiological Protection are classified as follows:
Paper
Full reports of original research on a theoretical or practical subject. The work covered should be
substantive in nature and the description should be comprehensive, allowing the reader to follow the study
throughout all its stages, so that the work could be repeated from the description given in the paper. The
context of the study within the general body of knowledge of the subject should also be given. A paper
should not normally exceed the equivalent of 8500 words, including tables and illustrations.
Review
An authoritative article that comprehensively summarises the current state of knowledge in a particular
area of relevance to radiological protection.
Note
A brief report of a single piece of work or technique or a short discussion of some aspect of radiological
protection that adds to the existing literature. Notes can add information to previously published papers,
or contain the early important results from work which is later written up as a paper. A Note should not
normally exceed the equivalent of 2500 words, including tables and illustrations.
Practical Matter article
An account of a particular radiological protection problem encountered in industry, medicine or the
environment, and a description of the resolution of this problem. Practical Matter articles are intended to
provide assistance to those operational health physicists, hospital physicists, etc, who may encounter the
same, or a similar, problem in their work.
Opinion article
Allows the discussion of an issue of topical interest in radiological protection which is broader and less
formal than would be acceptable in a Paper or Review. Opinion articles should be concise and deal with a
specific matter of relevance.
Memorandum
A report from an authoritative committee or organisation which provides information for those working in
radiological protection.
Letter to the Editor
Comments upon work published previously in the Journal, or comments upon matters of interest, such as
proposed changes to legislation or to international recommendations. A title for the Letter should be
included. Letters to the Editor should be clearly marked ‘For Publication’. If a Letter to the Editor
comments upon an article previously published in the Journal (with the exception of another Letter to the
Editor), then the author(s) of that article will be invited to reply to the Letter, and the Reply will normally
appear in the same issue of the Journal in which the Letter is published.
All persons listed as authors should have made a substantial contribution to the manuscript. Other
contributors should be listed, with their permission, in the Acknowledgments section. Further details can
be found at www.icmje.org.
There are no page charges, and 25 offprints will be supplied free of charge to the corresponding author of
each article published. Additional offprints may be purchased, in multiples of 25, provided that they are
ordered by the time proofs are returned.
Covering letter
A letter signed by all the authors should accompany each submitted manuscript. This letter should give
the classification of the manuscript (Paper, Note, etc). It should also state that the manuscript (or a similar
version) has not been published and is not being considered for publication elsewhere. If the article has
been published previously, for example in another language, then full details must be given, and a copy of
the original article and appropriate permissions (including that of the copyright holder) enclosed with the
manuscript. Copyright permission for the use of previously published material in a manuscript (e.g. a
figure) should accompany the submission. Any conflict of interest should be declared in the covering
letter as should any other special circumstances relating to the manuscript. By submitting a manuscript to
Journal of Radiological Protection, authors are acknowledging that they are meeting their obligations as
set out in these Instructions.
Articles
Full details of the requirements for articles can be found on the journal’s website at
www.iop.org/journals/jrp.
The article should include:
•
A title page with title of the article, name(s) of the author(s) and address(es) of the
establishment(s) where the work was carried out, an indication of (and e-mail address for) the
corresponding author, a short title which should not exceed 50 characters and, if not a Paper, the
classification of the article;
•
An abstract, one paragraph in length, which should not normally exceed 200 words, which is a
stand-alone, concise description of the content of the article;
•
Text broken into numbered sections, e.g. 1. Introduction, 2.Materials and Methods, 3.Results, 4.
Discussion, etc, and, where necessary, subsections numbered 2.1 etc;
•
A list of references;
•
A set of tables with captions;
•
A list of captions for illustrations;
•
A set of illustrations with lettering added.
Mathematical equations should be written on a separate line and numbered serially within the article (1),
(2), etc, or within each section, e.g. (1.1), (1.2), etc on the right-hand side of the page, where reference is
made to them in the text.
Footnotes should be avoided whenever possible. If required, they should be used only for brief notes that
do not fit conveniently into the text.
Any acknowledgments should appear in an unnumbered Acknowledgments section immediately
following the last numbered section of the article. Persons acknowledged must have given permission for
their name to appear. Sources of funding and any conflict of interest should be declared in the
Acknowledgments section.
Authors of any cited Personal Communications must have given their permission for the information
provided to be used in the paper.
Abbreviations should be defined in full where first used.
Appendices should be avoided whenever possible. If required, e.g. to describe an unusual methodology
which has not been defined elsewhere, numbered appendices should be included on separate sheets.
References and figures
Please see the online Guidelines for authors.
Tables
Tables should be typed on separate sheets and numbered with Arabic numerals. Authors should ensure
that data are arranged clearly in tables. Vertical rules should be avoided. Each table should have an
explanatory caption appearing above it which should be as concise as possible. Explanatory footnotes (if
any) should be placed immediately beneath the table.
Units
The International System of Units (SI) should be used. If it is necessary to refer to quantities in other units
then the SI equivalent should also be given.
Radionuclides
Radionuclides should be written as, e.g., 129I, 99mTc, 239Pu etc except at the beginning of a sentence when
the mass number should follow the element, e.g. `Strontium-90 concentrations were measured...’
Further details
Authors who are submitting to Journal of Radiological Protection for the first time, or who require more
details on presentation and style, should consult a recent issue of the Journal and the IOP Publishing
website: http://www.iop.org/journals/jrp.
Assessment procedure
On receipt, submitted articles will be acknowledged and a reference number assigned which will appear
in all future correspondence. Articles other than Opinion articles and Letters to the Editor will be sent to
two independent experts in the subject, who as referees, advise the Editor on the acceptability of the
article. Authors may be asked to revise their papers in the light of the referees’ comments. When
submitting a revised version of the manuscript, clearly marked as such, a covering letter should be
included detailing the response to each of the referee’s comments on a point-by-point basis. Reasons must
be given for not adopting any points made by the referees. It is the responsibility of the corresponding
author to obtain the agreement of co-authors for any amendment made to the original manuscript.
If referees give conflicting advice, a third senior referee may be asked to act as an adjudicator. If the
referees recommend rejection, the author may appeal to the Editorial Board for further consideration.
If a manuscript under revision is not received within six months, the article will be taken to have been
withdrawn, unless the authors have previously written to explain any longer delay.
Letters to the Editor and Opinion articles are published at the Editor’s discretion, although the Editor may
seek the advice of an independent expert.
Copyright
Upon acceptance, authors will be asked to complete a form assigning the copyright in their articles to IOP
Publishing Ltd. Further details may be found on the IOP Publishing website:
www.iop.org/journals/authors/jrp.
Authors must obtain written copyright permission from the relevant authority before reproducing
previously published figures, tables or other material. If an article, or a substantially similar article, has
been published previously (e.g. in another language) written copyright permission must be obtained from
the relevant authority before submitting to Journal of Radiological Protection. A copy of written
copyright permission must be included with the manuscript when submitted. The source of reproduced
material must be acknowledged in the manuscript.
News and Information
All news and information including meeting reports, book/report/software reviews and meeting notices
should be sent to the Deputy Editor at the address given on the title page of the Journal. Items should not
normally be in excess of 1000 words.