http://www.uk.sagepub.com/sageopen.spInstructions to Authors
________________________________________
All submissions should be made online at the The British Journal of Diabetes & Vascular Disease SAGETRACK website http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/bjdvd
The British Journal of Diabetes and Vascular Disease is pleased to consider original papers, reviews, discussions of topical issues, case studies, meeting reports, and other contributions relevant to the understanding, treatment and care of diabetes and vascular disease.
Original papers and reviews are sent for independent peer-review.
Material is accepted for publication on the understanding that it has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. Authors will be asked to confirm this in writing and transfer copyright to the journal. A signed contributor agreement will be required. Failure to return a signed agreement when the manuscript is submitted will result in a delay to publication. A contributor agreement form will be provided should you manuscript be accepted for publication.
Conflict of Interest Statement
As most, if not all responsible adults in professional positions have potential conflicts of interest, the Journal has decided to instigate the following policy. By conflicts of interest we mean relationships, allegiances or hostilities to particular groups, organizations or interests, which may influence excessively one's judgements or actions. The issue is particularly sensitive when such interests are private and/or may result in personal gain.
Our expectation is that authors will always endeavour to recognize such interests and to act independently when giving their opinions or presenting data.
Informed Consent
Authors are required to ensure the following guidelines are followed, as recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors ("Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals").
Patients have a right to privacy that should not be infringed without informed consent. Identifying information, including patients' names, initials, or hospital numbers, should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. Informed consent for this purpose requires that a patient who is identifiable be shown the manuscript to be published. Authors should identify Individuals who provide writing assistance and disclose the funding source for this assistance.
Identifying details should be omitted if they are not essential. Complete anonymity is difficult to achieve, however, and informed consent should be obtained if there is any doubt. For example, masking the eye region in photographs of patients is inadequate protection of anonymity. If identifying characteristics are altered to protect anonymity, such as in genetic pedigrees, authors should provide assurance that alterations do not distort scientific meaning and editors should so note.
When informed consent has been obtained it should be indicated in the submitted article.
Ethics
When reporting experiments on human subjects, indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional or regional) or with the Declaration of Helsinki 1975, revised Hong Kong 1989. Do not use patients' names, initials or hospital numbers, especially in illustrative material. When reporting experiments on animals, indicate whether the institution's or the National Research Council's guide for, or any national law on, the care and use of laboratory animals was followed
Peer Review Policy
The British Journal of Diabetes and Vascular Disease operates a single-blind reviewing policy in which the reviewer's name is always concealed from the submitting author, although authors are given the opportunity to suggest reviewers.
How to submit your manuscript
British Journal of Diabetes and Vascular Disease has a fully web-based system for the submission and review of manuscripts. All submissions should be made online at the British Journal of Diabetes and Vascular Disease SAGETRACK website (http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/bjdvd)
All submissions should be made online at the The British Journal of Diabetes & Vascular Disease SAGETRACK website http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/bjdvd
Note: Online submission and review of manuscript is now mandatory for all types of papers.
New User Account
Please log onto the website. If you are a new user, you will first need to create an account. Follow the instructions and please ensure to enter a current and correct email address. Creating your account is a three-step process that takes a matter of minutes to set up. When you have finished, your User ID and password is sent via email immediately. Please edit your user ID and password to something more memorable by selecting 'edit account' at the top of the screen. If you have already created an account but have forgotten your details type your email address in the 'Password Help' to receive an emailed reminder. Full instructions for uploading the manuscript are provided on the website.
New Submission
Submissions should be made by logging in and selecting the Author Center and the 'Click here to Submit a New Manuscript' option. Follow the instructions on each page, clicking the 'Next' button on each screen to save your work and advance to the next screen. If at any stage you have any questions or require the user guide, please use the 'Get Help Now' button at the top right of every screen. Further help is available through ScholarOne's® Manuscript CentralTM customer support at +1 434 817 2040 x 167.
To upload your files, click on the 'Browse' button and locate the file on your computer. Select the designation of each file (i.e. main document, submission form, figure) in the drop down next to the browse button. When you have selected all files you wish to upload, click the 'Upload Files' button
Review your submission (in both PDF and HTML formats) and then click the Submit button
You may suspend a submission at any point before clicking the Submit button and save it to submit later. After submission, you will receive a confirmation e-mail. You can also log back into your author centre at any time to check the status of your manuscript.
Please ensure that you submit editable/source files only (Microsoft Word or RTF) and that your document does not include page numbers; the SAGETRACK system will generate them for you, and then automatically convert your manuscript to PDF for peer review. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor's decision and requests for revisions, will be by email.
If you would like to discuss your paper prior to submission, or seek advice on the submission process please contact the Publishing Editor: Rowena.pagdin@sagepub.co.uk
Preparation of manuscript, format and style
All submissions should be written in a clear and succinct manner, following the style of the journal. Title page should include a descriptive title; authors surname and forename, address of each author and full address, telephone, fax and email contacts for the corresponding author. In text: tables and figures are either inserted as part of sentence, for example table 1 or in parentheses for example (figure 1). Each table should carry a descriptive heading. Each figure should be submitted either electronically or as finalised hard copy with descriptive legends on a separate sheet. In text: References (where relevant) by superscript number after punctuation. References numbered in the order of appearance in the text, according to Vancouver style. For papers: Author AB, Author C, Author KGMM. The title of the article. Abbrev J Title 1999;14:172-83.
For book chapters: Author AB, Author CD. The title of the chapter in: Editor A, Editor BC, ed. Title of the book 2nd edition. Publisher, Location, 1999:133-9.
Single author articles should be accompanied by a relatively recent photograph of the author. Each photograph submitted should be no smaller than 55 mm x 70 mm in size and at a minimum resolution of 300 dpi.
Original papers
Title page as above. Abstract (<150 words) a short inclusive statement suitable for direct electronic abstracting identifying the purpose of the study, key methods, the main results and the main conclusion. Key words: maximum of 6 key words for indexing. Introduction: concise description of background, sufficient for the non-specialist to appreciate the context of the work. Clear statement of the purpose of the study. Methods: a brief description of study design, procedures, analytical techniques and statistical evaluation. Results: a clear account of the study findings using quantitative language where possible and cross referenced to tables and figures (ideally in powerpoint). Discussion: an interpretation of the study placed within the context of current knowledge leading to specific conclusions where possible. Acknowledgements. References, figures and tables as above.
Reviews
Title page as above. Abstract (<150 words) setting out the scope, key messages and conclusions of the review. Body of text liberally partitioned with headings and subheadings leading to a synopsis with conclusions at the end. Key messages in a separate box itemising 2-5 short principal statements. Acknowledgements, references tables and figures as above.
Other articles should adopt a concise style consistent with similar articles previously published in the journal. Manuscripts should include a title page, appropriate subheadings for text, style of tables, figures and references as above.
Figures
Illustrations, artwork and photographs. Illustrations should preferably be supplied on email as either eps, tiff or jpeg files (minimum resolution of 300 dpi) along with the original file they were created in. If photographs are required these must be submitted with a submission (non rasterised grey scale images), it is important to ensure that patients in photographs are not be identifiable and should have their eyes masked. Any identifiable photograph should be accompanied by written permission from the patient, parent or guardian. Ensure that you supply the original image saved as .tiff or .eps file (minimum resolution of 300 dpi). Any scanned photograph should be scanned with a resolution (raster width) of 300 dpi, a raster angle of 45° and also ensure that the scanner is set to the lightest gray scale to 5% and the darkest to 95%.
Permissions
It is the responsibility of the author(s) to obtain written consent from the original publisher and author(s) to use any material published previously elsewhere. A contributor agreement form will be provided should you manuscript be accepted for publication.
Proofs
Page proofs will be supplied to authors. Corrections should be limited to typographical amendments. Authors' approval will be assumed if corrections are not returned by the date indicated.
Editorial office
If you would like to discuss your submission please contact the editorial office:
Dan Huke
Commissioning Editor
SAGE Publications
1 Oliver's Yard
55 City Road
London
EC1Y 1SP
+44 (0) 207 324 8610
Dan.Huke@sagepub.co.uk
