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Guidelines for contributors
This page offers advice on how to submit contributions
to The Society's journal.
Aims and scope
JRSH is a bi-monthly peer-reviewed journal for practicing health professionals,
featuring research and reviews, as well as news, opinion and feature articles.
The readership of JRSH is comprised of practicing professionals across
a broad range of disciplines, including environmental health, the food
industry, health and safety, building and engineering, health promotion,
education, medicine, dentistry, and government, amongst others.
JRSH is produced bi-monthly in January, March, May, July, September and
November. Regular features include: Current Topics, short opinion-based
articles on topical issues; peer-reviewed articles and original and secondary
research of general interest which crosses the boundaries of different
disciplines; book and software reviews; letters to the Editor; as well
as global news and features on public health and updates on The Society's
work.
We carry editorial comment, global news and feature articles to help
keep our readers informed and up to date with developments and debate
in the field of public health.
JRSH's primary aim is to be an invaluable resource for The Society's
Members, who are health-promoting professionals from many disciplines,
including environmental health, health and safety, food safety and nutrition,
building and engineering, primary care, academia and government.
News and features are produced by in-house staff. Unsolicited contributions
will not be considered.
Book and software reviews are commissioned by editorial staff. Unsolicited
reviews will not be considered. Commissioned contributors should refer
to the separate JRSH book review
guidelines. Books or software for review can be sent to the usual
Society address marked for the Publications Department.
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Guidelines for submission
Authors are asked to read these guidelines carefully as the editors
reserve the right to reject papers that do not conform to these requirements.
Manuscripts must be written in English and should be submitted in a standard
electronic format (MS Word; Rich Text; PDF; etc). The manuscript file
should be submitted on compact disc or similar format. Submissions can
be emailed directly to editorial staff by prior agreement. Authors submitting
by email must take responsibility for confirming that files have been
received by editorial staff. Submissions will only be accepted in electronic
format. Submissions by fax are not acceptable.
Figures and photographs are encouraged across all article categories.
These should be submitted electronically as standard high-resolution files
(e.g. jpeg files of over 1 mb; tif files; etc). Slides and prints may
be acceptable upon prior agreement with editorial staff.
All submissions must conform to our presentation and house style requirements
as described below.
Submission for peer review
A covering letter signed by all of the authors must be submitted with
articles, and original or secondary research papers submitted for publication
in JRSH.
Email submissions should be sent to JRSH editorial staff with record
of approval from all authors' named email accounts: either paste complete
email texts (including when sent, to whom and who from) into a new email,
or forward submission email through all author accounts before sending
to JRSH.
The letter must contain the following information:
- Why the submission is appropriate for publication in JRSH and what
it adds to existing health promotion knowledge.
- Which article category the submission is for.
- Confirmation that the paper meets with the requirements for that category
as laid out in this document, stating word count and confirming that
references have been formatted in the Vancouver style as detailed below.
- Confirmation that the paper has not been published elsewhere.
- Declaration of competing interests or the absence of competing interests
and disclosure of all sources of funding.
- Original research must declare ethical approval from an appropriate
body and consent from participants.
- Name the corresponding author and provide full contact details.
Author/s should also include written consent from those individuals being
acknowledged in their paper.
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Article categories
Original research
Original research papers are peer-reviewed by subject specialists. Submissions
will need to show appropriate ethical approval. Length: 2,000-4,000 words.
Requisites: key words, key points, structured abstract, rationale, subjects/methods/materials,
results, discussion, conclusions, references.
Secondary research
Secondary research papers are peer-reviewed by subject specialists. Length:
2,000-4,000 words. Requisites: key words, key points, abstract, rationale,
subjects/methods/materials, results, discussion, conclusions, references.
Articles
Articles must be of general interest and preference will be given to those
appropriate for publication in up-coming themed issues. Length: 2,000-4,000
words. Requisites: key words, key points, abstract, introduction, headings/subheadings
and boxed content (eg background information) as appropriate, conclusions,
references.
Current Topics and Opinions
This section provides a forum for well-referenced, expert opinion on topical
issues in public health. Appropriate submissions might be: proposals for
action; examples of good practice; criticism of current practice or policy;
or responses to published statements. Length: 500-1000 words. Requisites:
concise presentation of facts and 10-15 references. Items submitted for
this section are not subject to peer review.
Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor for publication in JRSH should reflect journal content,
giving precise details for cross-referencing purposes. Length: 350 words
maximum. Letters can include references where appropriate.
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The peer review process
All manuscript submissions are acknowledged on receipt and are given
an identification number. Manuscripts are evaluated in the first instance
by in-house editorial staff, and may be rejected after in-house evaluation
alone. If the paper is considered to be of interest, it will be passed
on to two expert referees for peer review. Manuscripts will not be accepted
for publication until approval has been obtained from two referees.
Should the two original referees express opposing views, the manuscript
will be sent to a third referee. Manuscripts will be sent to a third referee
when either of the first two referees request that approval is sought
from a specialist in a different area (such as a statistician).
Authors may not request that their manuscript be sent to a third or subsequent
referee on grounds of a failure to gain clear approval or rejection from
referees originally selected by editorial staff. Editorial staff will
use their discretion to adjudge when a referee has failed to review a
manuscript to a satisfactory standard and will in such cases pass the
manuscript to an additional referee.
Manuscripts will be rejected if they fail to gain approval from two referees
after a fourth draft. Manuscripts will be rejected if the peer review
process goes beyond nine months from original receipt due to revisions
or delays on the part of the author(s). Editorial staff will use a points
system to determine whether a manuscript will be rejected when: two referees
have recommended revision; one referee has recommended revision and a
second has rejected; two or more of three referees have recommended revision.
Referees are asked to comment on and recommend changes to the original
manuscript. Their comments are an invitation to the author(s) to revise
the original manuscript and do not represent acceptance or a promise of
publication, and subsequent drafts can and may be rejected by the referees
or by editorial staff if the author(s) fail to satisfactorily address
issues raised by referees or editorial staff.
When submitting revisions, changes made should be indicated on the revised
draft. It is also necessary for the author(s) to outline their responses
to the referees' comments in a covering letter.
JRSH operates a 'double-blind' review process, which means that the identities
of the referees and the authors are kept confidential from one-another.
Anything that can potentially reveal the identity of the referee to the
author or vice-versa is omitted from all communications.
The Managing Editor has the final say in whether or not a paper is accepted
or rejected for publication.
In the case of rejection, final comments will be passed on to the author(s).
Authors are informed of the final decision, which is normally reached
around three months after original receipt.
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Publication
Before publication author(s) will be asked to transfer the copyright
of their contribution to The Society.
Material accepted for publication will be edited at the discretion of
editorial staff.
Each author will receive one complimentary copy of JRSH.
No guaranteed publication date can be given. Editorial decisions are
made by the Managing Editor, Honorary Editor and, in the case of themed
issues, the Guest Editor, in order to best serve the interests of JRSH
and The Society. JRSH editorial policy is set by the Editorial Board.
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Presentation and house style
Text must be doubled spaced.
All pages must be numbered.
The first page should include the title of the submission, and the full
names of all authors with degrees and institutional affiliations at the
time of writing, postal and email addresses, telephone and fax number
for correspondence. The corresponding author should be clearly labeled
as such and listed first.
The second page should only have the title of the paper, the abstract
and five key words.
The main body of text should start on the third page.
References and acknowledgements should each start on a new page.
Tables, figures and text boxes should appear on separate pages at the
end of the document and be labeled appropriately.
Abstract
Abstracts should be concise and to the point. Abstracts for original research
papers should be structured under the following headings: aims, methods,
results, and conclusions. Abstracts should be no more than 400 words.
Key words
The author(s) must provide 5 key words.
Key points
The author(s) must provide key points noting the original contribution
made by their article/paper.
Text boxes
Text boxes should be used for tangential information, such as contact
details or background information of organizations relevant to the article,
lists, very short case studies or descriptions of related research/projects,
and details of elements of a study or project, such as a survey, which,
for reasons of clarity, are best removed from the main body text.
Acknowledgements
The author(s) must include written consent from the individuals being
acknowledged in their paper. The 'Acknowledgement' page will not be forwarded
to the referees.
Acronyms/abbreviations
Spell out abbreviation and acronyms on first use in the text and abbreviate
subsequently.
Numbers
Spell out numbers one to ten, unless a measurement. Always have a zero
before a decimal point. Do not use a comma in thousands but do use one
in tens of thousands and above. Spell out and hyphenate one-half, two-thirds,
etc.
Measurements
Use standard SI abbreviations. Leave a space between a value and its unit
except for % and oC.
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References
JRSH follows the Vancouver referencing style.
References are numbered consecutively in the order in which they appear
in the text. A list of references at the end of the article should give
full details of the publications referenced, including authors' names
and initials of all authors (unless there are more than six, in which
case only the first six should be given followed by et al); the title
of the journal (abbreviated according to 'Index Medicus'); the year of
publication; the volume number; and the first and last page numbers.
The examples below are given as a guide. If in doubt, or if you need more
information on the Vancouver referencing style, please contact the Managing
Editor.
Examples:
Journal articles
Details should be arranged in the following sequence:
Authors' name and initials
Title of article
Title of journal (abbreviated according to 'Index Medicus')
Year of publication
Volume number
First and last page numbers
Article with 1 to 6 authors
Aston G. Food hygiene in hospitals - are we training the right people?
J Roy Soc Health 2000;120:211
Article with more than 6 authors
Dennis CM, McNeil KD, Dunning J, Stewart S, Friend PJ, Alexander G, et
al. Heart lung liver transplantation. J Heart Lung Transplant 1996;15:536-8
Journal article with no author
Cancer in South Africa. S Afr Med J 1994;84:15
Organisation as author
The Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand. Clinical exercise stress
testing. Safety and performance guidelines. Med J Aust 1996;164:282-4
Newspaper article
Godinez V. Men slowly gravitating to nursing professions - Traditions,
salaries among factor impeding change. Dallas Morning News 2001,
18 March
Books
References to books should give the names of editors, place of publication,
publisher, and year.
Details should be arranged in the following sequence:
Author/editor(s)
Title of book
Edition of book
Place of publication
Publisher
Date of publication
Book with a personal author
Ashton L. Accident Prevention Among Older People: Approaches in Practice,
A Series of Case Studies. First edition. London: Health Education Authority,
1998
Book with editor as author
Norman IJ, Redfern SJ, editors. Mental Health Care for Elderly People.
New York: Churchill Livingstone, 1996
Organisation as author and publisher
Prescription Pricing Authority. PACT Standard Report, BNF Version No 34.
London: Prescription Pricing Authority, NHS, 1999
Conference proceedings
Kimura J, Shibasaki H, editors. Recent Advances in Clinical Neurophysiology.
Proceedings of the 10th International Congress of EMG and Clinical Neurophysiology;
15-19 October 1995, Kyoto, Japan. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1996
Scientific or technical report
Smith P, Golladay K. Payment for Durable Medical Equipment Billed During
Skilled Nursing Facility Stays. Final report. Dallas (TX): Department
of Health and Human Services (US), Office of Evaluation and Inspections;
1994 Oct.Report No.: HHSIGOEI69200860.
Dissertation
Kaplan SJ. Post-hospital Home Health Care: the Elderly's Access and Utilization
[dissertation]. St Louis (MO): Washington University, 1995
Chapters in books
Details should be arranged in the following sequence:
Author of article/chapter
Chapter title
Editor(s) of book
Title of book
Place of publication
Publisher
Year of publication
Article or chapter pages
Chapter with personal author
Cribb A, Dines A. What is Health? In: Dines A, Cribb A, editors. Health
Promotion: Concepts and Practice. London: Blackwell, 1993. p. 112-4
Chapter with no author
Solving the Y2K problem. In Bowd D, editor. Technology today and tomorrow.
New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1997. p. 27
World Wide Web page
Clarke C. UIAA Mountain Medicine Centre Information Sheet 1. Mountain
Sickness, Oedema and Travel to High Altitudes. International Union of
Alpine Associations (UIAA) Mountain Medicine Centre, 1999. Available online
at: www.thebmc.co.uk/mm/mm1.html (accessed 21 February 2002)
World Wide Web page (no author)
Educating America for the 21st Century: Developing a Strategic Plan for
Educational Leadership. Available online at: www.ilt.columbia.edu/CONF/EdPlan.html
(accessed 15 May 1999)
World Wide Web Home page
Curtin University of Technology. Homepage of the Curtin University of
Technology: www.curtin.edu.au (accessed 12 June 2000)
In press
Avoid using personal communications and information from manuscripts
not yet 'in-press'. Need to obtain written permission to cite such papers
as well as verification that they have been accepted for publication.
Information from manuscripts submitted but not accepted should be cited
in the text as 'unpublished observations' with written permission from
the source.
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Contact details
Please send submissions to the following address:
Publications department, The Royal Society of Health, RSH House, 38A
St George's Drive, London SW1V 4BH
Tel: +44 (0)20 7630 0121 x 204 Fax: +44 (0)20 7976 6847
Email: publications@rsph.org
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