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Manuscript Requirements
The editorial staff of Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD) uses the
AMA Manual of Style, 10th Edition, to review
and revise manuscripts before publication for organization, clarity,
accuracy, and style. Please consult this reference book on such matters as usage,
nomenclature,
punctuation, and other standards and conventions.
If you do not follow the general
guidelines and requirements outlined below, your manuscript will be
returned.
- Create manuscript in Microsoft Word or save as a .doc file. Other file
extensions are not acceptable.
- Use 12-point Times New Roman font.
- Double space every page.
- Do not indent the first word of each paragraph; leave an extra line between
paragraphs.
- Put only one space after punctuation marks, including periods.
- Use left justification for all text; do not center article titles or
author names.
- Number each page in sequence.
- Use italics (rather than underline) for scientific names.
- Submit figures (with figure legends placed below figures) in a file separate
from the text.
- For manuscripts requiring sections, use the following order:
Title page
- Include full name, graduate degree(s), and affiliated institution of
each author. Provide the name of the institution where the work was done, if
different from author’s present institution.
- Identify clearly the corresponding author and his or her mailing address,
telephone number, and e-mail address.
- Provide separate word counts for the abstract and for the full text.
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Key words
Provide up to 10 key words; use terms listed in the Medical
Subject Headings from Index Medicus.
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Abstract
- An abstract must be submitted for Original Research, Special Topics,
Reviews, Community Case Studies, Tools & Techniques, Step-by-Step,
Essays, and Editorials. Abstracts are not required for Book Reviews,
Letters to the Editor, or Announcements.
- Maximum number of words depends on the type of article. See Types
of Articles.
- For reports on original research, use a structured format with the
following headings: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Conclusion.
Consult Types of Articles for
information on requirements for other types of articles.
- Do not cite references in the abstract.
- Do not use acronyms, abbreviations, or initialisms in the abstract.
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Text
- See Types of Articles for exact
specifications.
- For Original Research articles, use the following subheadings in the
body of the text: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion.
- For Community Case Studies, use the following subheadings in the body
of the text: Background, Context, Methods, Consequences, and
Interpretation.
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Acknowledgments
This section identifies sources of financial support for the work being
published. If there are no such acknowledgments, we will assume that you
received no such support. In addition, this section lists donors of
equipment or supplies, technical assistance, and other important contributions from individuals who do not qualify for authorship. It also
includes any statements disclaiming endorsement or approval of any views or
products mentioned in the paper. The AMA describes contributions
commonly recognized in Acknowledgments. Individuals identified in
Acknowledgments must provide written consent to be acknowledged;
corresponding authors are responsible for obtaining these permissions.
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References
- Verify all references using
PubMed. Authors are responsible for the accuracy
and completeness of their references.
- Follow
Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts
Submitted to Biomedical Journals, published by the
International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (also known as the
Vancouver Group), for guidance on how to format references.
- For journal articles, give year of publication, as well as
volume, issue, and page number(s).
- Number in-text reference citations, using parentheses, in the order they appear in the
text, figures, or tables. If a reference citation occurs in a
table, it should be numbered consecutively according to the table's
mention in the text.
- Do not use superscripts (e.g, Endnotes).
- If you have used automatic bibliographic software, eliminate all
automatic links between citation numbers and references.
- Consult
List of Journals Indexed in Index
Medicus for accepted journal abbreviations. If a journal is not
listed, spell out the journal title in full.
- List the first six authors followed by “et al.”
- For material that has been submitted for publication but not yet
accepted, note within the text using the following format: (EL Smith, PhD,
unpublished data, December 2003).
- For personal communications, written or oral, use this format: (MW
Johnson, MD, oral [or written] communication, December 2003).
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Tables
- Publishers of figures or tables included in the manuscript and
previously published (or adapted from previously published figures or
tables) must provide signed consent to the authors to publish this
information in PCD. Authors are responsible for obtaining
permission to reprint.
- Create tables with Microsoft Word's table tool. Use “Table
Grid” format. Tables should fit into Portrait orientation rather
than Landscape.
- Do not use paragraph returns or tabs to create tables; tables formatted in this
way will be returned to the author for proper formatting.
- Each piece of data must be contained in its own cell.
- Do not align cells with paragraph returns or extra spaces.
- No cell should contain a paragraph return or tab.
- Minimize the width of tables.
- Number tables in the order they are cited in the text.
- Because tables should be clearly understood without reference to the
text, titles and legends should include details of place of study, dates
of study, study population (if applicable), and definitions
of all abbreviations and symbols.
- Construct the table so that comparisons between groups are read
horizontally.
- Use footnotes to define all abbreviations and symbols. Use superscripted
lowercase letters to designate footnotes.
- Cite references. Designate references with superscript Arabic numbers
if they appear within the body
of table or with nonsuperscripted numbers in parentheses if they appear in
the footnotes.
- Identify all variables and units of measure.
- Explain with a footnote why numbers may not sum to group totals or why
percentages do not total to the expected value.
- If you have an empty cell, please indicate with a footnote why the
cell is empty (e.g., data missing, data not available, does not apply).
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Appendices
Appendices contain supplementary information to clarify an
article’s contents for readers. We encourage authors to relegate highly
technical material to appendices.
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Figures
- Publishers of figures or tables included in the manuscript and
previously published (or adapted from previously published figures or
tables) must provide signed consent to the authors to publish this
information in PCD. Authors are responsible for obtaining
permission to reprint.
- Number figures in the order that they are cited in the text.
- Color as well as black-and-white images are accepted.
- Send graphics in native, high-resolution (200 dpi minimum) TIF
(Tagged Image File), EPS (Encapsulated Postscript), or JPG format.
- Send graphics in a separate electronic file from text file.
- Convert Macintosh files into PC format.
- Place figure key within the figure.
- Label x-axis and y-axis clearly and consistently.
- Send data in table format as well, so that we can create alternative
text for the visually impaired.
Figure legends
- Place figure legends below figures. Double
space, number, and title the legend.
- Because figures should be clearly understood without reference to the
text, titles and legends should include details of place of study, dates
of study, study population (if applicable), and definitions
of all abbreviations and symbols.
- Identify all variables and units of measure.
- Symbols, letters and numbers should be clear and large enough to
remain legible when reduced.
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P values
- Report exact numbers for P values (e.g., P = .03); do
not express P values as inequalities (e.g., P
< .05).
- Report P values
≥.01
to two digits past the decimal point, regardless of
significance (e.g., P = .31, P = .04, P = .01).
- If P < .01, express to three digits past the decimal point.
- If P < .001, express as P < .001.
- Do not express P values as numbers with more than three decimal places.
- P values cannot equal 0 or 1.
- Refer to the AMA for more detailed information on reporting P
values correctly.
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Use of first person
We encourage authors to use the pronouns I and we as
well as the active voice.
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Verb tense
The past tense is typically used to narrate past events, such as the
procedures used to carry out a study. The present tense is used for
generally accepted facts, authors' conclusions, and the conclusions of
previous researchers. Generally, most of the abstract, methods, and results
are in past tense, and most of the introduction and some of the discussion
are in present tense. For a discussion of the proper use of verb tense in
scientific publications, please refer to the AMA style guide.
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Footnotes
Do not use footnotes except in tables and figures. Indicate footnotes in
tables and figures with superscripted lowercase letters (e.g., a,
b, c, d).
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Race, national origin, and ethnicity
PCD follows the guidelines of the Office of
Management and Budget, which published standards (October 30, 1997)
for collecting data on race and ethnicity. Five races and two categories of
ethnicity are listed.
- Races:
- American Indian or Alaska Native
- Asian
- Black or African American
- Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
- White
- Ethnicities:
- Hispanic or Latino
- Not Hispanic or Latino
American Indian
A person whose origins are in any of the original people
of North, Central, or South America (except Alaska) and who maintains
cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community attachment.
Whenever possible, specify the nation or peoples (e.g., Navajo, Nez Perce,
Inuit) rather than use the more general term.
Alaska Native, Alaskan
Alaska Native is a person whose origins are in any
of the original peoples of Alaska and who maintains cultural identification
through tribal affiliation or community attachment. Alaskan is anyone who
was born in Alaska or who is a long-term resident of Alaska.
Asian
A person whose origins are in any of the original people of the Far East,
Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia,
China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, The Philippines, Thailand,
and Vietnam.
black, African American
A person whose origins are in any of the black
racial groups of Africa. If appropriate, specific terms such as Haitian or
Bahamian may also be used. When discussing scientific data, use the term
that was used when the research (the source of the data) was being
conducted. Note that black is not
capitalized (nor is white).
Pacific Islander
A person whose origins are in any of the original
peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific islands. Other terms such
as Native Hawaiian may also be used when appropriate.
white
A person whose origins are in any of the original peoples of Europe, the
Middle East, or North Africa. Note that white
is not capitalized (nor is black).
Hispanic, Latino
A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or
Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
The term Spanish origin may also be used.
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