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Overview
This guide is designed for reviewers who are submitting an e-Journal Club review for the first time or for those who may have specific questions about how one is completed.
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e-Journal Club contains two parts: a one-page summary and an accompanying abstraction of the study under review. Completion of the abstraction template is optional, unless requested by HuGENet™ staff.
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Although the completion of the abstraction template provides a critical framework for reviewing specific study issues, additional checklists for appraising the gene prevalence and gene-disease associations will be available when the following paper is published: Little J, Bradley L, Bray MS, et al. Reporting, appraising and integrating data on genotype prevalence and gene-disease associations. Am J Epidemiol. in press.
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In the last section of this document, brief instructions and templates are provided for each part of the e -Journal Club. MS Word templates, without the instructions, are available online for downloading at http://www.cdc.gov/genomics/hugenet/ejournal/template.htm. In addition, the Office of Genomics and Disease Prevention is in the process of developing a more user-friendly application that reviewers can use to edit and complete a review. This application will help place information from the e -Journal Club summary and abstract into a database.
Comment on process: behind the scenes of an e-Journal Club
E-Journal Club strives to be a timely, informal review of current literature that is available through the HuGENet™ website. However, the editorial and clearance processes that are required of all CDC documents, including those posted electronically, may sometimes prolong the time to publication. We ask for your patience as a reviewer and participant in e-Journal Club.
Clearance checklist for e-journal Club reviewers
The following is a checklist for reviewers. Find the clearance category that fits your circumstance.
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Write up e-Journal Club using the template(s).
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If applicable, make sure all fields in the abstraction template are complete.
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Make any necessary edits, changes, or requested revisions.
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Obtain the appropriate clearance for your e-Journal Club:
- Category 1, "I don't work at the CDC:" Follow the clearance procedures, if any, at your own institution.
- Category 2, "I work at CDC but not at NCEH:" Submit your draft for clearance through your CIO, marking the document is for "electronic distribution" and that "NCEH cross-clearance is needed."
- Category 3, "I work in NCEH, CDC:" Submit your draft for clearance through NCEH, marking the document is for "electronic distribution".
Questions, comments
You may contact us at
HuGENet@cdc.gov
to help you throughout the review process.
Part 1: Template with brief instructions for completing e-Journal Club summary.
[Reference for HuGENet™ e-Journal Club Review]
Reviewed by
[List name(s) of individual(s) who reviewed article for e-Journal Club]
Affiliated agency
[For each person listed above, indicate affiliation]
The Health Outcome
[Describe disease or health outcome, including information on public health significance (prevalence, morbidity, mortality). Include information about genes associated with the health outcome.]
The Findings
[Report the findings of the study. Include type of study, study participant information, a description of the genetic component to the study, major results, and the author's conclusion.]
Public Health Implications
[Describe how the information may or may not impact public health, prevention, or treatment of the disease. Identify gaps in knowledge, where additional research is needed.]
References
List references cited in the text in the following format:
[First Author Last Name] [First Name Initial], et al. [Title of Journal Article]. [Journal Title]. [Year] Month;volume(issue):pages.
Part 2: Abstraction template with instructions for e-Journal Club (optional).
| Key variables & Description |
Article |
Reference
Complete the bibliographic reference for the article according to AJE format.
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[First Author Last Name] [First Name Initial], et al. [Title of Journal Article]. [Journal Title]. [Year] Month;volume(issue): [pages] |
Category of HuGE information
Specify the types of information (from the list below) available in the article:
- Prevalence of gene variant
- Gene-disease association
- Gene-environment interaction
- Gene-gene interaction
- Genetic test evaluation/monitoring
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Study hypotheses or purpose
The authors study hypotheses or main purpose for conducting the study.
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Gene(s)
Identification of the following:
- Gene name
- Chromosome location
- Gene product/function
- Alleles
- OMIM #
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Gene:
Chromosome location:
Gene product/function:
Alleles:
OMIM #:
#: Gene name: [Repeat for second gene, if applicable] . |
Environmental factor(s)
Identify of the major environmental factors studied (infectious,chemical, physical, nutritional, and behavioral)
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[List numerically] |
Health outcome(s)
Identify of the major health outcome(s) studied
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[List numerically] |
Study design
Specify the types of study designs (from the list below) in the article
- Case-control
- Cohort
- Cross-sectional
- Descriptive or case-series
- Clinical trial
- Population screening
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[Insert all that apply] |
Case definition
For study designs 1, 4, and 5, define the following if available:
- Disease case definition
- Exclusion criteria
- Gender
- Race/ethnicity
- Age
- Time period
- Geographic location
- Number of participants
(% of total eligible)
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[Note: Depending on the study design being discussed, this cell may not apply]
Disease case definition:
Exclusion Criteria:
Gender:
Race/ethnicity:
Age:
Time period:
Geographic location: [if not specified, insert 'not specified']
Number of participants: N (% of total eligible) |
Control definition
For study design 1, define the following if available:
- Control selection criteria
- Matching variables
- Exclusion criteria
- Gender
- Race/ethnicity
- Age
- Time period
- Geographic location
- Number of participants N (% of total eligible)
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[Note: Depending on the study design being discussed, this cell may not apply]
Control selection cirteria:
Matching variables:
Exclusion Criteria:
Gender:
Race/ethnicity: [if not specified, insert 'not specified']
Age:
Time period:
Geographic location:
Number of participants: N (% of total eligible) |
Cohort definition
For study designs 2, 3, and 6, define the following if available:
- Cohort selection criteria
- Exclusion criteria
- Gender
- Race/ethnicity
- Age
- Time period
- Geographic location
- Number of participants
(% of total eligible)
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Note: Depending on the study design being discussed (i.e., case control), this cell may not apply]
Cohort selection criteria:
Exclusion criteria:
Gender:
Race/ethnicity: [if not specified, insert 'not specified']
Age:
Time period:
Geographic location: [if not specified, insert 'not specified']
Number of participants: N (% of total eligible) |
Assessment of environment factors
For studies that include gene- environment interactions, define the following, if available:
- Environmental factor
- Exposure assessment
- Exposure definition
- Number of participants with exposure data (% of total eligible)
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Environmental factor:
Exposure assessment:
Exposure definition:
Number of Participants with exposure data: N (% of total eligible)
Environmental factor: [Repeat for additional environmental factor, if applicable]
... |
Genotyping
Specify the following:
- Gene
- DNA source
- Methodology
- Number of participants
genotyped (% of total eligible)
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Gene:
DNA source:
Methodology:
Number of participants genotyped:
Gene: [Repeat for each additional gene, if applicable]
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Analysis
Comment on the analysis carried out by the author(s). E.g. matching, modeling or statistical test used. Were the analyses appropriate?
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Results
Describe the major results under each of the following HuGE categories. Include tables when data are provided:
- Prevalence of gene variant
- Gene-disease association
- Gene-environment interaction
- Gene-gene interaction
- Genetic test evaluation/monitoring
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Conclusion
State the author's overall conclusions from the study.
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Comments
Provide additional insight, including methodologic issues and/or concerns about the study. |
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Review
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