Instructions to Authors Main Page
Manuscript Preparation
Parts of a Manuscript
Manuscripts should include the following sections
in this order:
Author names
Author affiliations
Name and address of corresponding author
Acknowledgments/grant support
Disclaimers/Competing Interests Declaration
Short running head
Key words
Abbreviations
Outline of manuscript section headers
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
Conclusions
References
Tables
Figure legends
Figures
Supplemental material
Manuscript pages must be numbered consecutively,
beginning with the title page, and lines should be numbered in the original
submission. Standard font types [e.g., Helvetica, Times New Roman and
size (12 point)] should be used, and all parts of the manuscript, except
tables, should be double-spaced. The reference list, tables and figure
legends should begin on separate pages.
Page 1: The first page should include a) manuscript
title, b) authors (first or second names spelled out in full), c) full
address of the institution where the work was performed, and d) affiliation
of each author. Titles should not exceed 20 words and should generally
not contain abbreviations or numerical values. Indicate the author to
whom page proofs should be sent, and include complete address for express
mail service, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address.
Page 2: The second page should include a) a running
title, not to exceed 50 characters and spaces, b) 5–10 key words
for indexing purposes, c) acknowledgments and grant information, not
to exceed 50 words, d) competing interests declaration and e) a list
of all abbreviations and definitions used in the manuscript. Nomenclature
and symbols should conform to the recommendations of the American Chemical
Society or the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.
Page 3: Authors should provide an outline of
section headers (i.e., Abstract, Introduction, Methods, etc.) to facilitate
copyediting and manuscript layout.
Page 4: All articles must include a structured abstract,
which is not to exceed 250 words and should not include references.
No information should be reported in the abstract that does not appear
in the text of the manuscript. Headings to be used in the structured
abstracts vary by article type.
- Commentaries: Background, Objectives, Discussions,
and Conclusions
- Reviews: Objective, Data Sources, Data Extraction,
Data Synthesis, and Conclusions
- Research articles: Background, Objectives,
Methods, Results, and Conclusions (with an exception for Environmental
Medicine articles: Objective, Design, Participants, Evaluations/Measurements,
Results, Conclusions, and Relevance to Clinical or Professional Practice)
- For Grand Rounds Articles or Case Reports: Context
(the relevance to environmental exposures and environmental health),
Case Presentation, Discussion, and Relevance to Clinical or Professional
Practice.
Page 5 and subsequent pages: Text should begin on
the fifth page. Concise headings (not to exceed 8 words each) may be
used to designate major sections under the headings “Materials
and Methods,” “Results,” “Discussion,”
and “Conclusions.” Do not include tables and figures in
the text; instead, place them after the References section.
Resources for assistance with research, presentation,
and language are available from the following organizations:
Required Cover Letter
A cover letter should include the following points:
- Assurances that the manuscript a) is an original
work, b) has not been previously published, and c) is not under consideration
for publication elsewhere.
- A statement that all animals used in the
research have been treated humanely according to institutional guidelines,
with due consideration to the alleviation of distress and discomfort.
The identity of the source of those guidelines must be provided.
- A statement that participation of human subjects
did not occur until after informed consent was obtained.
- Confirmation that all authors have disclosed
any potential competing interests regarding the submitted article and
the nature of those interests (required Competing Interest Declaration
form available at http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/cfi.pdf).
- If applicable, written permission from any
copyright holder (usually the publisher) to reproduce figures, tables,
questionnaires, or a substantial block of text in both print and electronic
form.
- A statement indicating that all authors a)
have read the manuscript, b) agree that the work is ready for submission
to a journal, and c) accept responsibility for the manuscript's
contents.
- The names and e-mail addresses of possible
reviewers for the manuscript.
- Information on the software programs used,
file names, and the number of tables and figures for each submission
(see “Files and Formats” for electronic file requirements).
Inquiries may be made by e-mail (EHPmanuscripts@niehs.nih.gov), telephone
(919-316-4544) or fax (919-541-0273).
- If applicable, a request to consider the
submission for inclusion in the Environmental Medicine or Children's
Health section of the journal.
Competing Interest Statement
Corresponding authors are required to submit with
the manuscript a declaration of competing interests on behalf of all
authors. The form can be downloaded at http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/cfi.pdf.
As noted above, authors must also include a sentence in the Acknowledgements
section of the manuscript identifying any competing financial or nonfinancial
interests.
Conformance to EHP Style Guidelines
Manuscripts submitted to EHP must conform
to all EHP style requirements. Authors should take special
note of requirements for citations/references, figures, and tables.
Manuscripts that do not conform to style requirements will be returned
to the authors for modification before the initiation of the peer-review
process. This step will cause a significant delay in the review and
possible acceptance of the manuscript.
References and citations should be formatted according
to EHP style (link). This will reduce copyediting time and
the number of author queries included in page proofs. Authors should
double-check all references for accuracy and completeness of information,
spelling, diacritical marks, symbols, subscripts/superscripts, and italics.
Authors are fully responsible for the accuracy of their references.
Check the final draft to make sure citations and references match.
Preparing Tables and Figures
Tables. Each table must begin on a separate page.
Tables should be numbered with Arabic numerals, followed by a brief
title (not to exceed 25 words). When setting up tables, do not use table
layouts; type tables as text and use tabs to align the columns. Tables
should contain no more than three layers of column headings, and the
entire table should fit on one journal page or less. Tables that are
more than one page may be published online as supplemental material
(link). A column heading must be provided for each column. Rather than
placing column heads in the middle of a table, a new table should be
created. List abbreviations and definitions under each table. General
footnotes to tables should be indicated by lowercase superscript letters
beginning with “a” for each table. Footnotes indicating
statistical significance should be identified by asterisks (*, **),
number signs (#, ##), and daggers (,
). Type footnotes directly after the abbreviations.
Figures. Figure legends should be typed on one page
using Microsoft Word; this page should precede the figures and be submitted
electronically in a single file at the end of the text. Graphics must
fit standard letter size paper (8.5 X 11 inches or smaller) and resolution
should be at least 300 dpi. All letters, numbers, and lines should be
clearly legible and easy to differentiate. Please provide a key defining
representational elements (e.g., dotted/dashed lines, symbols, asterisks,
error bars) for each figure. All axes should be clearly labeled, giving
both the measure and the unit of measurement where applicable. No lines
of demarcation or measurement should appear inside the graph itself,
only on the axes. Consistency among terms and styles used in figures
is desirable. Photomicrographs should include a scale bar in each image,
and the length should be specified in the typed figure legend (e.g.,
bar = 10 µm). Multiple panels within a figure should fit on one
page. If you have questions or problems, contact the journal (EHPmanuscripts@niehs.nih.gov).
Image integrity. Adjusting the image for brightness
and contrast is acceptable if it is applied to the entire image. Background
data of gels and blots must not be removed. The final image must accurately
represent the original data.
Supplemental Material
EHP welcomes material suitable for inclusion
as online documentation, such as kinetic studies, background material,
and supporting tables. Materials and Methods should be briefly described
in the manuscript, but intricate details, including tables or figures,
may be included in Supplemental Material. Supplemental Material should
be uploaded as a separate, preferrably single, pdf file and designated
as such. Questions regarding supplemental materials should be sent by
e-mail to EHPmanuscripts@niehs.nih.gov.