MANUSCRIPT CRITERIA AND INFORMATION

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Manuscript Submission

Manuscripts must be submitted via our online manuscript submission and review system (http://manuscripts.archpediatrics.com). Print mail address and telephone and fax numbers of the corresponding author also should be included on the title page of the manuscript. Manuscripts submitted through our online system should not also be submitted by mail or fax. See Manuscript Checklist and details in these instructions for additional requirements.

Include a cover letter and complete contact information for the corresponding author (postal/mail address, e-mail address, and telephone and fax numbers) and whether the authors have published or submitted any related papers from the same study (see Duplicate/Previous Publication or Submission below).

On the submission form, authors will be asked to suggest 4 peer reviewers who are knowledgeable on the subject matter of the manuscript. Please provide contact information, including full name, institutional affiliation, and e-mail address for these reviewers. Do not include reviewers from your own institution.

Editorial Office Contact Information

Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Child Health Institute, University of Washington, 6200 NE 74th St, Ste 120B, Seattle, WA 98115-8160; telephone: (206) 685-3573; fax: (866) 541-3890; e-mail: archpediatrics{at}jama-archives.org.

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Categories of Articles

Archives publishes original contributions, systematic and narrative reviews, special communications, commentaries, and letters to the editor. Topics of interest include all subjects that relate to the practice of pediatrics and the betterment of child and adolescent health. The most frequent categories of articles are described below.

Original Articles. New observations that have not been submitted or published elsewhere. Each manuscript should clearly state an objective; the design and methods (including the study setting and time period, patients or participants with inclusion and exclusion criteria, or data sources and how these were selected for the study); the essential features of any interventions; the main outcome measures; the main results of the study; a “Comment” section, placing the results in the context of published literature. Manuscripts reporting the results of randomized controlled trials should include the CONSORT flow diagram as a figure in the manuscript to illustrate the progress of all patients in the study (Figure). In addition, the CONSORT checklist should be completed and submitted with the manuscript. Typical length: 2000 to 3000 words (exclusive of title, abstract, references, tables, and figure legends.). Any manuscript over 3000 words will not be considered unless this has been previously discussed with the editor.

In concert with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine will require, as a condition of consideration for publication, registration of all trials in a public trials registry that is acceptable to the ICMJE (ie, the registry must be owned by a not-for-profit entity, be publicly accessible, and require the minimum registration data set as described by the ICMJE). Acceptable trial registries include http://www.clinicaltrials.gov, http://www.anzctr.org.au, http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr, http://isrctn.org, and http://www.trialregister.nl/trialreg/index.asp.^2-5 Trials must be registered at or before the onset of patient enrollment. This policy applies to any clinical trial starting enrollment after July 2005. For trials that began before July 2005 but that were not registered before September 13, 2005, trials must have been registered before journal submission. For this purpose, the ICMJE defines a clinical trial as any research project that prospectively assigns human subjects to intervention or comparison groups to study the cause-and-effect relationship between a medical intervention and a health outcome. Studies designed for other purposes, such as to study pharmacokinetics or major toxicity (eg, phase 1 trials), are exempt. The trial registry and URL and the registration number should be included at the end of the abstract and also in the space provided on the online manuscript submission form.

Systematic Reviews. Systematic, critical assessments of literature and data sources pertaining to clinical topics, emphasizing factors such as cause, diagnosis, prognosis, therapy, or prevention. All articles or data sources should be selected systematically for inclusion in the review and critically evaluated, and the selection process should be described in the article. Typical length: 2000 to 3500 words (not including tables, figures, and references). Any manuscript over 4000 words will not be considered unless this has been previously discussed with the editor.

Narrative Reviews. Narrative reviews on clinical topics provide an up-to-date review for clinicians on a topic of reasonably common interest. Focus will be an update on current understanding of the physiology of the disease, diagnostic consideration, and treatment. These reviews should be evidence-based, with therapy recommendations relying on recent systematic reviews, if available, emphasizing factors such as cause, diagnosis, prognosis, therapy, or prevention. Typical length: 3000 words, with no more than 75 references. Any manuscript over 3000 words will not be considered unless this has been previously discussed with the editor.

Picture of the Month. This will be presented on 2 sides of a page, with one side being the photograph(s) presented as an unknown and the reverse side being the denouement. We would like to receive common problems presenting uncommonly, rather than zebras. These cases should be of interest to practicing pediatricians; they should be problems that practicing pediatricians are likely to at least occasionally encounter in the office or hospital setting, and have outstanding images to illustrate the disorder. Submissions should be high-quality photographs in either 35-mm slide or electronic format (see Technical Requirements for Figures for more details). Parent or patient permission to use the photograph must accompany the submission (see Patient Consent Form). The discussion should be no more than 750 words.

On My Mind. Creative expressions of personal opinion or moving experiences in either poetry or prose form. Manuscripts should be limited to 800 words.

The Pediatric Forum. A mixture of brief, peer-reviewed observations or investigations and letters to the editor. Letters discussing a recent Archives article should be submitted within 4 weeks of the article’s publication and should not exceed 400 words of text and 5 references. Alternatively, comments on papers published in the Archives can be submitted to Readers Reply using the “Reply to Article” link on the right-hand side of the article page. Readers Reply promotes discussion among readers and authors but is not indexed in PubMed.

Research Letters. Research Letters reporting original research should not exceed 600 words of text and 6 references and may include a table or figure. Letters must not duplicate other material published or submitted for publication. In general, Research Letters should be divided into the following sections, to follow a brief introduction: Methods, Results, and Comment. They should be double-spaced and a word count should be provided with each letter. They should not include an abstract, but otherwise should follow all of the guidelines in Manuscript Preparation and Submission Requirements. Research Letters considered for publication undergo external peer review.

Other. In addition, Archives will publish some unsolicited reviews on books, journals, videos, and Web sites pertaining to child and adolescent health. Potential contributors should contact the editorial office at archpediatrics{at}jama-archives.org, however, before submitting a review.

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Editorial Policies for Authors

Authorship Requirements. With the cover letter include (1) the statement on and checklist for authorship responsibility, criteria, and contributions, (2) the statement on financial disclosure, and either the statement on copyright or the statement on federal employment. Each of these 3 statements must be read and signed by all authors.^6(pp127-134) The corresponding author must sign the acknowledgment statement (3).

Designate a corresponding author and provide a complete address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address. The corresponding author will be identified as such in the published article. Authors are required to identify each author’s contributions to the work described in the manuscript.

Group Authorship. If authorship is attributed to a group (either solely or in addition to 1 or more individual authors), all members of the group must meet the full criteria and requirements for authorship described in the form at the end of these instructions. If that is not the case, a group must designate 1 or more individuals as authors or members of a writing group who meet full authorship criteria and requirements and who will take responsibility for the group, in which case the other group members are not authors, but may be listed in an acknowledgment.^{6(pp135-137),7}

Conflict of Interest. A conflict of interest may exist when an author (or the author’s institution or employer) has financial or personal relationships that could inappropriately influence (or bias) the author’s decisions, work, or manuscript. All authors are required to report potential conflicts of interest, including specific financial interests relevant to the subject of their manuscript, in their cover letter and on Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine’s financial disclosure form or in an attachment to the form. Authors without relevant financial interests in the manuscript should indicate no such interest.^8,9

Authors are required to report detailed information regarding all financial and material support for the research and work, including but not limited to grant support, funding sources, and provision of equipment and supplies. Each author also is required to sign and submit the following financial disclosure statement: “I certify that all my affiliations with or financial involvement, within the past 5 years and foreseeable future (eg, employment; consultancies; honoraria; speakers bureau; stock ownership or options; expert testimony; grants; patents filed, received, pending, or in preparation; royalties; or donation of medical equipment) with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript are completely disclosed.”

Authors are expected to provide detailed information about any relevant financial interests or financial conflicts within the past 5 years and for the foreseeable future, particularly those present at the time the research was conducted and up to the time of publication, as well as other financial interests, such as relevant filed or pending patents or patent applications in preparation, that represent potential future financial gain. Although many universities and other institutions and organizations have established policies and thresholds for reporting financial interests and other conflicts of interest, Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine requires complete disclosure of all relevant financial relationships and potential financial conflicts of interest, regardless of amount or value. If authors are uncertain about what might constitute a potential financial conflict of interest, they should err on the side of full disclosure and should contact the editorial office if they have questions or concerns. In addition, authors who have no relevant financial interests are asked to provide a statement indicating that they have no financial interests related to the material in the manuscript.

This information is for the editorial office and is not shared with peer reviewers. However, for all accepted manuscripts, each author’s disclosures of relevant financial interests and declarations of no relevant financial interests will be published. Decisions about whether financial information provided by authors should be published, and thereby disclosed to readers, are usually straightforward. Although editors are willing to discuss disclosure of specific financial information with authors, the policy of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine is one of complete disclosure of all relevant financial interests.

The policy requesting disclosure of conflicts of interest applies for all manuscript submissions, including letters to the editor and book reviews.

Funding /Support and Role of Sponsor. All financial and material support for the research and the work should be clearly and completely identified in an acknowledgment. The role of the funding organization or sponsor in each of the following should be specified: design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; and preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript.

Data Access and Responsibility. For all reports (regardless of funding source) containing original data, at least 1 author (eg, the principal investigator) who is independent of any commercial funder should indicate that she or he “had full access to all the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.”⁹ For industry-sponsored studies, this statement must be provided by an investigator who is not employed by any commercial funder, and an independent data analysis must be conducted by statisticians at an academic institution with access to the raw data set, rather than only by statisticians employed by the company sponsoring the research. Details of this independent statistical analysis, the name and institutional affiliation of the independent statistician, and whether compensation or funding was received for conducting the analyses should be reported in the Acknowledgment.

Duplicate/Previous Publication or Submission. Manuscripts are considered with the understanding that they have not been published previously in print or electronic format and are not under consideration by another publication or electronic medium. Copies of possibly duplicative material that has been previously published or is being considered elsewhere must be provided at the time of manuscript submission.^6(pp148-155) Duplication may arise if 2 or more manuscripts by overlapping authors use the same source of data and either (a) the manuscripts address essentially the same question, or (b) the 2 publications could be readily combined into 1, thereby presenting more information in less space.¹⁰ Final decision on what is duplicative rests with the editors.

Reporting Race/Ethnicity. If race or ethnicity is reported, indicate who classified the individuals as to race/ethnicity and whether the options were defined by the investigator or by the participant. Explain why race or ethnicity was assessed in the study.^11,12

Studies Involving Children With Chronic Illness and Children With Special Health Care Needs. When analyzing data on children with chronic conditions or special health care needs, authors should clearly specify the definitions used and, in most reports, should stratify the analyses by the presence or absence of functional limitations. Authors are urged to consult the editorial by Davis and Brosco on this topic.¹³

Gene Names, Symbols, and Accession Numbers. Authors describing genes or related structures in a manuscript should include the names and official symbols provided by the US National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) or the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee. Before submission of a research manuscript reporting on large genomic data sets (eg, protein or DNA sequences), the data sets should be deposited in a publicly available database, such as NCBI’s GenBank, and a complete accession number (and version number, if appropriate) must be provided in the “Methods” section or the Acknowledgments section of the manuscript.

Survey Research. Manuscripts reporting survey data, such as studies involving patients, clinicians, the public, or others, should report data collected as recently as possible, ideally within the past 2 years.⁸ Survey studies should have sufficient response rates (generally at least 60%) and appropriate characterization of nonresponders to ensure that nonresponse bias does not threaten the validity of the findings. For most surveys, such as those conducted by telephone, personal interviews (eg, drawn from a sample of households), mail, e-mail, or via the Web, authors are encouraged to report the survey outcome rates by using standard definitions and metrics, such as those proposed by the American Association for Public Opinion Research.¹⁴

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval. For studies involving data derived from animals or humans, state in the “Methods” section of the manuscript that the study has been reviewed by an appropriate IRB. Only an IRB should judge whether a study is exempt from the need for IRB approval.¹⁵

Patient Descriptions, Photographs, and Pedigrees. Include a signed statement of informed consent to publish (in print and online) patient descriptions, photographs, videos, and pedigrees from all persons (parents or legal guardians for minors) who can be identified in such written descriptions, photographs, videos, or pedigrees. (See Patient Consent Form.)

Personal Communications and Unpublished Data. Include a signed statement of permission from each individual identified as a source of information in a personal communication or as a source for unpublished data, and specify the date of the communication and whether the communication was written or oral.^6(pp198-199)

Permissions Required to Reproduce or Adapt Material. Reprinted tables and figures are discouraged. Original material should be provided, except under extraordinary circumstances. Acknowledge all text, illustrations, videos, and tables adapted or reproduced from other publications and submit permission from the original publishers (or other copyright owner) to republish in print and online editions of the Archives and its licensed versions.^6(pp197-200) (See Permission to Reproduce Copyright-Protected Material Form.)

Manuscripts That Pose Security Risks. Authors and reviewers are expected to notify editors if a manuscript could be considered to report dual use research of concern (ie, research that could be misused by others to pose a threat to public health and safety, agriculture, plants, animals, the environment, or material). The editor in chief will evaluate manuscripts that report potential dual use research of concern and, if necessary, consult additional reviewers. (Journal Editors and Authors Group. Statement on scientific publication and security. Science. 2003;299(5610):1149. http://www.sciencemag.org/site/feature/data/security/statement.pdf. Accessed July 12, 2011.)

Embargo Policy. All information regarding the content and publication date of accepted manuscripts is strictly confidential. Information contained in or about accepted articles cannot appear in print, on radio or television, or in electronic form or be released by the media until 3 pm CST on the first Monday of the month.

Depositing Research Manuscripts With an Approved Public Repository. All Archives Journal articles reporting original research are made freely available 12 months after publication, from 1998 forward, subject to certain conditions. The Archives Journals’ Editors and Publishers believe that the public is best served by accessing the freely available research articles on the journal site, to ensure access to the final published version, any corrections, and related Web features. However, some funding organizations require that authors of manuscripts reporting research deposit those manuscripts with an approved public repository, such as PubMed Central. Authors have the Archives Journals’ permission on the following conditions:

1. Permission is granted only for manuscripts reporting research funded by not-for-profit organizations to be deposited in not-for-profit, publicly available repositories.

2. Permission is granted to post only the manuscript reporting research that was submitted and accepted for publication but not the final, edited, formatted, and published article.

3. Authors must ensure that the posted manuscript links back to the published article on the Archives Journals Web site to provide readers with access to the final reviewed and edited version plus any corrections and letters, as well as the article-related features only available on the Archives Journals Web site.

4. Authors who submit their manuscripts to an approved public repository, such as PubMed Central, must indicate that the manuscript may not be made available to the public sooner than 12 months after publication in the Archives Journals.

If authors adhere to these requirements, they may submit the final accepted version of the manuscript to the repository, if and only if the repository ensures that the deposited manuscript will not be made available to the public during the 12-month embargo following publication in the Archives Journals.

The published article is protected by copyright at the time of publication and thereafter (see http://pubs.ama-assn.org/misc/conditions.dtl). This research access policy does not include permission to use the Archives Journal logo and trademarks. The Archives Journal article of record is the final published version; the Archives Journals assume no responsibility for earlier versions because substantive changes and corrections may occur during the post acceptance editing process. Authors may contact the Archives Journals with any questions at jama-comments{at}jama-archives.org.

Unauthorized Use. Unauthorized use of the Archives logo or any content for commercial purposes or to promote commercial goods and services (in any format, including print, video, audio, and digital) is not permitted by the Archives or the AMA.

Accepted manuscripts become the permanent property of the American Medical Association (AMA) and may not be published elsewhere without written permission from the publisher (AMA), which may be obtained by sending a request by e-mail to permissions{at}ama-assn.org.

Previous or Planned Meeting Presentation or Release of Information. A complete report following presentation at a meeting or publication of preliminary findings elsewhere (eg, an abstract) is eligible for consideration for publication. Authors considering presenting or planning to present the work at an upcoming scientific meeting should indicate the name and date of the meeting on the manuscript submission form. For accepted papers, the editors may be able to coordinate publication with the meeting presentation. Authors who present information contained in a manuscript that is under consideration by the Archives during scientific or clinical meetings should not distribute complete reports (ie, copies of manuscripts) or full data presented as tables and figures to conference attendees or journalists. Publication of abstracts in print and online conference proceedings, as well as postings of slides or videos from the scientific presentation on the meeting Web site, is acceptable. However, for manuscripts under consideration by the Archives, publication of full reports in proceedings or online, issuing detailed news releases reporting the results of the study, or participation in formal news conferences will jeopardize chances for publication of the submitted manuscript in the Archives. Media coverage of presentations at scientific meetings will not jeopardize consideration, but direct release of information through press releases or news media briefings may preclude consideration by the Archives. Rare instances of papers reporting public health emergencies should be discussed with the editor. Authors submitting manuscripts or letters to the editor regarding adverse drug or medical device reactions, reportable diseases, etc, should also report this information to the relevant government agency.

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Editorial Review and Publication

Peer Review. All submitted manuscripts are reviewed initially by an Archives editor. Manuscripts with insufficient priority for publication are rejected promptly. Other manuscripts are sent to expert consultants for peer review. Peer reviewer identities are kept confidential. Author identities are not kept confidential. The existence of a manuscript under review is not revealed to anyone other than peer reviewers and editorial staff. Information from submitted manuscripts may be systematically collected and analyzed as part of research to improve the quality of the editorial or peer review process. Identifying information remains confidential.

Reviews and decisions on manuscripts in which the editor or one of the associate editors is a coauthor are managed independently by an associate editor from another institution, in conjunction with a member of the editorial board.

Revised Manuscripts. Authors are encouraged to consult our publication on how to respond to reviewers’ comments.¹⁶ Provide an updated electronic file of your revised manuscript in which the revisions have been marked using the “edit” feature in most word-processing programs. Please provide a detailed letter outlining your responses to the reviewers’ comments and specify the page and line numbers where these changes have been made in the marked copy. Tables must be included in the article text file; figures should be provided as individual electronic files. Please see the sections below on Tables and Figures for further information about preparing table and figure files.

Editing. Accepted manuscripts are copyedited according to AMA style⁶ and returned to the author for approval. Authors are responsible for all statements made in their work, including changes made by the copy editor and authorized by the corresponding author.

Reprints. Reprints may be ordered from Reprints Desk when the edited manuscript is sent for approval to the corresponding author. AMA does not charge a permission fee to authors who wish to use their articles or parts thereof in other books or journals. However, an author must obtain permission from AMA, as the copyright holder, for such use. To do so, send written request to Rhonda Bailey Brown, Department of Licensing and Permissions, AMA, 515 N State St, Chicago, IL 60654; fax: (312) 464-5835 (permissions{at}ama-assn.org). In the permission you receive, the proper credit line will be indicated.

e-Prints. Corresponding authors who provide an e-mail address for publication will receive an electronic link that provides 25 free online accesses to the PDF view of their article.

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Manuscript Preparation and Submission Requirements

Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the AMA Manual of Style⁶ and/or the “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals.”²

• • Authors are encouraged to consult “Writing for Publication in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.”¹⁷
• • Double-space throughout using 1-inch margins, including title page, abstract, text, acknowledgments, references, figure legends, and tables. Start each of these sections on a new page, numbered consecutively, beginning with the title page.
• • Figure legends and tables, in that order, should be on separate numbered sheets at the end of the manuscript, after the references.
• • Do not use line numbering. Line numbers will be added to your manuscript during the PDF conversion process.
• • On the title page, include a word count for text only, exclusive of title, abstract, references, figure legends, and tables.
• • Use only standard 12-point font size.
• • On the title page include the full names, highest academic degrees, and affiliations of all authors. If an author’s affiliation has changed since the work was done, list the new affiliation as well.
• • Laboratory values are expressed using conventional units of measure, with relevant Système International (SI) conversion factors expressed secondarily (in parentheses) only at first mention. Articles that contain numerous conversion factors may list them together in a paragraph at the end of the “Methods” section. In tables and figures, a conversion factor to SI units should be provided in a footnote or legend. The metric system is preferred for the expression of length, area, mass, and volume. A Conversion Table is available on the Web site for the AMA Manual of Style. Use nonproprietary names of drugs, unless the specific trade name of a drug is directly relevant to the discussion.^6(pp567-569)
• • Do not use abbreviations in the title or abstract and limit their use in the text. Expand all abbreviations at first mention in the text.

Manuscripts that do not follow these guidelines will be returned without review.

Abstract. Include a structured abstract of no more than 250 words for reports of original data, reviews, meta-analyses, and consensus statements. For other major manuscripts, include an unstructured abstract of no more than 150 words that summarizes the objective, main points, and conclusions. Abstracts are not required for editorials or commentaries. Abstracts should have the following 8 sideheads: Objective(s), Design, Setting, Participants, Intervention(s) or Main Exposure(s), Outcome Measures, Results, and Conclusion(s). For review articles and meta-analyses, abstracts should have the following sideheads: Objective(s), Data Sources, Study Selection, Intervention(s) or Main Exposure(s), Main Outcome Measure(s), Results, and Conclusions. Authors are encouraged to consult “Writing Informative Abstracts for Journal Articles.”¹⁸

Statistics. Authors are encouraged to consult “Reporting Statistical Information in Medical Journal Articles.”¹⁹ Describe statistical methods with enough detail that a knowledgeable reader can understand how the study was done. Give citations for methods not in common use. Focus on estimation rather than on hypothesis testing; describe the most important results using estimates of quantities such as means, proportions, rates, areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve, etc, or estimates of association (also called estimates of effect) such as rate, risk, or hazard ratios, or differences in rates, risks, or means. Present precision intervals, such as confidence intervals, for the important estimates that address the study objectives. Try to discuss and interpret results using estimates and precision intervals, rather than P values.^20,21 Avoid nontechnical uses of statistical terms, such as random, normal, significant, and correlation.

Missing Data. Data needed for a study may be missing because the study subjects refused to participate, could not be located, refused to answer a specific question, or for other reasons. When data are missing completely at random, this will not bias study results. But missingness is often not completely random and an analysis based only on subjects with complete data may result in biased estimates. Authors should report the number of study subjects who should have been in the analysis and the number who actually were used in the main analysis. When possible, subjects with missing data should be compared with subjects with complete data, using information known for both groups. Description and reporting of missing data usually belong in the “Methods” section of the manuscript. Advice is available for reporting study participation and data completeness.^22,23 Statistical methods for dealing with missing data have been described in many books and articles.^24-28

References. Number references in the order they appear in the text; do not alphabetize. In text, tables, and legends, identify references with superscript arabic numerals. When listing references, follow AMA style^6(pp39-79) and abbreviate names of journals according to Index Medicus. Note: List all authors and/or editors up to 6; if more than 6, list the first 3 and “et al.”

Journal articles: Tsai WS, Inge TH, Burd RS. Bariatric surgery in adolescents: recent national trends in use and in-hospital outcome. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007;161(3):217-221.

Books: Christakis DA, Zimmerman FJ. The Elephant in the Living Room: Make Television Work for Your Kids. New York, NY: Rodale Books; 2006.

Online: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration campaign to increase information on booster seats. http://www.boosterseat.gov/. Accessed March 27, 2007.

Unpublished data, personal communications, or manuscripts “in preparation” or “submitted” should not be included in the list of references. Such material, if essential, may be incorporated in the body of the article.

Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of their references and for correct text citation.

Web References. Please keep a print copy of any reference to Web-only information. If the URL changes or disappears, interested readers may contact the corresponding author for a copy of the information.

Tables and Figures. Number all tables and figures in the order of their citation in the text. Include a title for each table and figure a brief, succinct phrase, preferably no longer than 10 to 15 words. Information in the tables and figures should not be redundant with information in the text.

Tables. Title all tables and number them in order of their citation in the text. Double-space each table and start each table on a new page. If a table must be continued, repeat the title on a second sheet, followed by “(cont).” See Instructions for Table Creation.

Figures. Please refer to the instructions in Technical Requirements for Figures for guidelines at submission and acceptance. We need the figures submitted as high-resolution TIF or JPG files. Generally, each figure file should exceed 200 kB. Please submit your photographic images at 5 inches (13 cm) wide at 300 pixels per inch (120 pixels per centimeter), minimum. This applies to each part for multipart figures. Save them as TIF (with LZW compression), JPG (with “maximum quality” setting), or PSD (native Adobe Photoshop format). Please do not add arrowheads, “a,” “b,” asterisks, etc directly to the file that contains the figure. A separate composite figure in PowerPoint may be submitted to indicate the location of arrows, asterisks, etc.

Legends. Include double-spaced legends (maximum length, 40 words) on separate pages. For photomicrographs, include the type of specimen, original magnification, and stain. Include internal scale markers on electromicrographs. Indicate the method of enhancement for digitally enhanced images.

Digital Enhancement of Images. Digitally enhanced images (CT/MRI, blots, photographs, photomicrographs, ultrasound images, x-ray films, etc) must be clearly identified in the figure legends as digitally processed images. If your manuscript is accepted, you will be asked for 2 clearly labeled print copies of the processed and original images.

Image Integrity. Preparation of scientific images (clinical images, radiographic images, micrographs, gels, etc) for publication must preserve the integrity of the image data. Digital adjustments of brightness, contrast, or color applied uniformly to an entire image are permissible as long as these adjustments do not selectively highlight, misrepresent, obscure, or eliminate specific elements in the original figure, including the background. Selective adjustments applied to individual elements in an image are not permissible. Individual elements may not be moved within an image field, deleted, or inserted from another image. Cropping may be used for efficient image display but must not misrepresent or alter interpretation of the image by selectively eliminating relevant visual information. Juxtaposition of elements from different parts of a single image or from different images, as in a composite, must be clearly indicated by the addition of dividing lines, borders, and/or panel labels.

When inappropriate image adjustments are detected by the JAMA and Archives Journals staff, authors will be asked for an explanation and will be requested to submit the image as originally captured prior to any adjustment, cropping, or labeling. Authors may be asked to resubmit the image prepared in accordance with the above standards. Deliberate alteration of images that results in misrepresentation of data may be reported to the author’s institution or funding agency.

Online-Only Material. Authors may submit supporting material to accompany their article for online-only publication when there is insufficient space to include the material in the print article. This material should be important to the understanding and interpretation of the report and should not repeat material in the print article. The amount of online-only material should be limited and justified. Online-only material should be original and not previously published.

Online-only material will undergo editorial and peer review with the main manuscript. If the manuscript is accepted for publication and if the online-only material is deemed appropriate for publication by the editors, it will be posted online at the time of publication of the article as additional material provided by the authors. This material will not be edited or formatted; thus, the authors are responsible for the accuracy and presentation of all such material.

Online-only material should be submitted in a single Word document with pages numbered consecutively. Each element included in the online-only material should be cited in the text of the main manuscript (eg, see eTable) and numbered in order of citation in the text (eg, eTable 1, eTable 2, eFigure 1, eFigure 2, eMethods). The first page of the online-only document should list the number and title of each element included in the document.

Online-Only Text. Online-only text should be set in Times New Roman font, 10 point in size, and single-spaced. The main heading of the online-only text should be in 12 point and boldface; subheadings should be in 10 point and boldface.

Online-Only References. All references cited within the online-only document must be included in a separate reference section, including those that also were cited in the main manuscript. They should be formatted just as in the main manuscript and numbered and cited consecutively in the online-only material.

Online-Only Tables. Online-only tables should be inserted in the document and numbered consecutively according to the order of citation as eTable 1, eTable 2, etc. The text and data in online tables should be Arial font, 10 point in size, and single-spaced. The table title should be set in Arial font, 12 point, and bold. Headings within tables should be set in 10 point and bold. Table footnotes should be set in 8 point and single-spaced. See also instructions for Tables above. If a table runs on to subsequent pages, repeat the column headers at the top of each page. Wide tables my be presented using a landscape orientation.

Online-Only Figures. Online-only figures should be inserted in the document and numbered consecutively according to the order of citation as eFigure 1, eFigure 2, etc. Figure titles should be set in Arial font, 12 point, bold, and single-spaced. Text within figures should be set as Arial font, 10 point. Figure legends should be set in 8 point and single-spaced. Graphs and diagrams should be exported directly out of the software application used to create them in a vector file format, such as WMF, and then inserted into the Word document. Image file formats such as JPG, TIF, and GIF are generally not suitable for graphs. Photographs, including all radiological images, should be prepared as JPG (highest option) or TIF (uncompressed) files at a resolution of 300 dpi and width of 3-5 inches, but the resolution of photographic files with an original resolution <300 dpi should not be increased digitally to achieve a 300-dpi resolution. Photographs should be inserted in the document with the “Link to File” button turned off. Wide figures may be presented using a landscape orientation.

Videos. For editorial and peer review of an initial submission, submit videos in .mov, .wmv, .mpg, .mpeg, .mp4, or .avi file format. Individual videos should be less than 5 minutes long. To facilitate uploading and reviewing, the initial video submitted should not exceed 10 MB. Verify that all videos are viewable in QuickTime or Windows Media Player before submission. Once the video has been approved for submission, you will be asked to upload an uncompressed version of the file in .dv or similar format (no size limit), with minimum physical dimensions of 480 pixels wide by 360 pixels high, to a secure FTP server. Please be prepared to provide this larger version promptly on request.

If the author does not hold copyright to the video, the author must obtain permission for the video to be published in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. This permission must be for unrestricted use in all print, online, and licensed versions of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. (See Permission to Reproduce Copyright-Protected Material Form.) Submit the completed form to the editorial office.

For each video, provide a citation in the appropriate place in the manuscript text and include a title (a brief phrase, preferably no longer than 10-15 words) and a caption/legend (a brief description or summary of the content) at the end of the manuscript. In the video caption/legend, specify the video file format and briefly describe the content of the video. Also, enter the same title and caption/legend in the designated fields on the Web-based manuscript submission system when uploading each video. If multiple video files are submitted, number them in the order in which they should be viewed.

Note: If the manuscript and accompanying video(s) are accepted for publication, all video files will be placed into a journal video frame and may be edited by the journal staff according to journal style.

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Manuscript Checklist

• 1. On the title page, include a word count for text only, exclusive of title, abstract, references, tables, and figure legends.
• 2. Include copies of any possibly duplicate articles.
• 3. Include research or project support/funding in an acknowledgment.
• 4. Double-space manuscript (text, references, and tables) and leave right margins unjustified (ragged). Do not use line numbering.
• 5. Check all references for accuracy and completeness. Put references in proper format and in numerical order, making sure each is cited in sequence in the text.
• 6. Include a title for each table and figure a brief, succinct phrase, preferably no longer than 10 to 15 words.
• 7. For digitally enhanced images, indicate method of enhancement in legend.
• 8. Provide an abstract that conforms with the required abstract format.
• 9. Include written permission from each individual identified as a source of personal communication or unpublished data.
• 10. Include informed consent forms for identifiable patient descriptions, photographs, videos, and pedigrees (see Patient Consent Form).
• 11. Include written permission from publishers (or other copyright owner) to reproduce or adapt previously published illustrations, tables, or videos in print and online editions of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine and its licensed versions (in print and online). (See Permission to Reproduce Copyright-Protected Material Form.)
• 12. On the title page, designate a corresponding author and provide a complete address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address.

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Authorship Criteria and Responsibility, Financial Disclosure, Copyright Transfer, and Acknowledgment

Before publication, each author must read and sign (1) the statement on authorship responsibility, criteria, and contributions; (2) the statement on financial disclosure; and either the statement on copyright transfer or the statement on federal employment. In addition, the corresponding author must sign (3) the acknowledgment statement.

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References

• 1. Rivara FP, Bergman AB, Christakis DA, Joffe A. New directions for the Archives. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2001;155(1):11-12. FULL TEXTMedline
• 2. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals. http://www.icmje.org. Updated February 2006.
• 3. DeAngelis CD, Drazen JM, Frizelle FA, et al; International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Clinical trial registration: a statement from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. JAMA. 2004;292(11):1363-1364. FULL TEXTMedline
• 4. Deangelis CD, Drazen JM, Frizelle FA, et al; International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Is this clinical trial fully registered? a statement from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. JAMA. 2005;293(23):2927-2929. FULL TEXTMedline
• 5. Rivara FP. Registration of clinical trials. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2005;159(7):685. FULL TEXT
• 6. Iverson CL, Christiansen S, Flanagin A, et al. American Medical Association Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors. 10th ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2007.
• 7. Flanagin A, Fontanarosa PB, DeAngelis CD. Authorship for research groups. JAMA. 2002;288(24):3166-3168. FULL TEXTMedline
• 8. Fontanarosa PB, Flanagin A, DeAngelis CD. Reporting conflicts of interest, financial aspects of research, and role of sponsors in funded studies. JAMA. 2005;294(1):110-111. FULL TEXTMedline
• 9. DeAngelis CD, Fontanarosa PB, Flanagin A. Reporting financial conflicts of interest and relationships between investigators and research sponsors. JAMA. 2001;286(1):89-91. FULL TEXTMedline
• 10. Rivara FP, Christakis DA, Cummings P. Duplicate publication. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2004;158(9):926. FULL TEXTMedline
• 11. Rivara F, Finberg L. Use of the terms race and ethnicity. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2001;155(2):119. FULL TEXTMedline
• 12. Winker MA. Measuring race and ethnicity: why and how? JAMA. 2004;292(13):1612-1614. FULL TEXTMedline
• 13. Davis MM, Brosco JP. Being specific about being special: defining children’s conditions and special health care needs. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007;161(10):1003-1005. Medline
• 14. Standard Definitions: Final Dispositions of Case Codes and Outcome Rates for Surveys. 4th ed. Lenexa, KS: American Association for Public Opinion Research; 2006. http://www.aapor.org/pdfs/standarddefs_4.pdf. Accessed March 27, 2007.
• 15. Rivara FP. Research and human subjects. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2002;156(7):641-642. FULL TEXTMedline
• 16. Cummings P, Rivara FP. Responding to reviewers’ comments on submitted articles. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2002;156(2):105-107. FULL TEXTMedline
• 17. Rivara FP, Cummings P. Writing for publication in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2001;155(10):1090-1092. FULL TEXTMedline
• 18. Cummings P, Rivara FP, Koepsell TD. Writing informative abstracts for journal articles. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2004;158(11):1086-1088. FULL TEXTMedline
• 19. Cummings P, Rivara FP. Reporting statistical information in medical journal articles. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2003;157(4):321-324. FULL TEXTMedline
• 20. Gardner MJ, Altman DG. Confidence intervals rather than P values: estimation rather than hypothesis testing. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed). 1986;292(6522):746-750. Medline
• 21. Rothman KJ, Greenland S, Lash TL. Precision and statistics in epidemiologic studies. In: Rothman KJ, Greenland S, Lash TL, eds. Modern Epidemiology. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2008:146-167.
•  22. Standard Definitions: Final Dispositions of Case Codes and Outcome Rates for Surveys. 3rd ed. Lenexa, KS: American Association for Public Opinion Research; 2004.
• 23. Olson SH, Voigt LF, Begg CB, Weiss NS. Reporting participation in case-control studies. Epidemiology. 2002;13(2):123-126. Medline
• 24. Greenland S, Finkle WD. A critical look at methods for handling missing covariates in epidemiologic regression analysis. Am J Epidemiol. 1995;142(12):1255-1264. Medline
• 25. Schafer JL. Analysis of Incomplete Data. New York, NY: Chapman & Hall; 1997.
• 26. Schafer JL. Multiple imputation: a primer. Stat Methods Med Res. 1999;8(1):3-15. Medline
• 27. Little RJA, Rubin DB. Statistical Analysis With Missing Data. 2nd ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons; 2002.
• 28. Raghunathan TE. What do we do with missing data? some options for analysis of incomplete data. Annu Rev Public Health. 2004;25:99-117. Medline

Last updated: December 2011.