Psychosomatic Medicine Instructions for Authors

Manuscripts for review should be submitted over the World Wide Web at http://psymed.editorialmanager.com. They should be addressed to the attention of David S. Sheps, M.D., Editor-in-Chief, Psychosomatic Medicine. Postal Correspondence should be mailed to the Psychosomatic Medicine Editorial Office at 1215 Claymore Street, Inverness, FL 34450, USA. The editorial office telephone number is (352) 476-9552. The e-mail address is: PsychosomaticMedicine{at}gmail.com.

The Journal welcomes original research articles, literature reviews, and case reports. The Journal's Statistical Corner series is generally reserved for invited articles, but authors may submit a detailed query to the Editorial Office to gauge interest in a topic. Original data manuscripts may be considered for Rapid Communication if the text including references and tables is no longer than 3,200 words and the manuscript does not require major revision. If a major revision is required, the manuscript will be processed as a regular submission. Note that this category is for succinct manuscripts of unusual interest, not for pilot data or work in progress.

Manuscripts are reviewed with the understanding that they are original, have not been published other than in an abstract form, and are not under simultaneous review elsewhere. All authors must approve of the submission, and before publication, the corresponding author should secure permission to name anyone listed under acknowledgments. Most manuscripts are sent to outside peer reviewers, but a significant percentage are evaluated only in-house and may be rejected if they are not suitable for the journal or up to the journal's quality standards. Psychosomatic Medicine requests authors to adhere to the journal’s statistical guidelines, available on the Web at: http://www.psychosomaticmedicine.org/misc/stat.shtml. The journal endorses several statements developed to improve the quality of medical research reports. Authors are encouraged to consult the CONSORT, MOOSE, and QUOROM statements, available on the World Wide Web at: http://www.consort-statement.org.

Electronic manuscripts should be formatted so text is double-spaced (including references and tables) on 8 1/2"x 11" paper size. When submitting a manuscript, describe in a brief cover letter the paper's objectives and significance. The editor welcomes, but is not bound by, suggestions for possible peer reviewers.

On the cover page, include the title, full names of author(s), with degrees and academic or professional affiliations, and the complete address, telephone number, fax number, and email address of the author to whom proofs and correspondence should be sent. Indicate the total number of words contained in the manuscript, and the number of tables and figures; the word count should include the body of the paper, the references and the tables. If the title exceeds 45 characters, supply an abbreviated running title of fewer than 46 spaces. Indicate whether the work was supported by the National Institutes of Health; Wellcome Trust, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, or others. If no support was received, please indicate that as well. Potential conflicts of interest should also be reported. A second cover page should restate the title and full names of all authors, with no degrees listed. Number pages consecutively beginning with the abstract page. Manuscripts should be no longer than 6,500 words.

Abstract: All papers should include a brief initial abstract of not more than 250 words followed by up to 6 key words for indexing. All abstracts should be submitted in outline format, using the bolded headings of Objective, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. After the keywords, list all acronyms used in text, e.g., DBP = diastolic blood pressure; BMI = body mass index.

Tables and Illustrations: Tables should be double-spaced, including all headings, and should have a descriptive title. Each table should be numbered sequentially in Arabic numerals and begin on a new page. Do not use vertical lines. When preparing tables, if appropriate to the data, include the number of subjects, the statistical tests or estimation techniques used, p values, and some measure of variability (standard deviations, standard errors or confidence intervals) for any estimates (e.g., means, differences, proportions) presented. For figures, please do not use three-dimensional graphs for two-dimensional data.

For line artwork, submit black ink drawings of professional quality, high-contrast glossy photographs of original drawings, or laser proofs of either 300 dpi or 600 dpi (please, no screens behind graphs). Please do not embed digital art in Microsoft Word or other word-processor files. For publishing, we require TIFF, EPS, or PowerPoint files. A separate sheet of legends for illustrations should be included. Authors wishing to use color figures will incur a fee to defray the associated printing costs. For further graphical details, see http://cpc.cadmus.com/da/guidelines.asp.

References and Footnotes: In the text, citation of references is by full-sized numbers in parentheses. Footnotes to the text are indicated by Arabic numeral superscripts numbered consecutively throughout the paper and placed at the foot of each page on which they are cited. List references in the order cited in the text. Number references consecutively, using Arabic numerals. References should be typed double-spaced and placed at the end of the text beginning on a separate page. List all authors; do not use "et al." The reference list should not include personal communications or manuscripts submitted but not accepted for publication. References should be styled as follows:

Book: Tomb DA. Psychiatry. 5th ed. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins; 1994.

Edited Book: Gorman JR, Locke SE. Neural, endocrine, and immune interactions. In: Kaplan HI, Sadock BJ, editors. Comprehensive textbook of psychiatry. vol 1. 5th ed. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins; 1989. p. 111-25.

Journals: Irvine J, Baker B, Smith J, Jandciu S, Paquette M, Cairns J, Connolly S, Roberts R, Gent M, Dorian P. Poor adherence to placebo or amiodarone therapy predicts mortality: results from the CAMIAT study. Psychosom Med 1999;61:566-75.

Periodical abbreviations should follow those given by Index Medicus. Correct journal abbreviations can be found by searching at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=journals

Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to transfer copyright to the American Psychosomatic Society to ensure the widest possible dissemination of information under the U.S. Copyright Law. After acceptance, manuscripts are forwarded to the publisher, and questions regarding publication, reprints, proofs, etc. should be addressed to LWW. The corresponding author receives proofs approximately 6 weeks prior to publication. Corrections should be to the publisher within 48 hours of receipt.

Compliance with NIH and Other Research Funding Agency Accessibility Requirements:
Some research funding agencies now require or request authors to submit the post-print (the article after peer review and acceptance but not the final published article) to a repository that is accessible online by all without charge. As a service to our authors, Psychosomatic Medicine publisher LWW will identify to the National Library of Medicine (NLM) articles that require deposit and will transmit the post-print of an article based on research funded in whole or in part by the National Institutes of Health, Wellcome Trust, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, or other funding agencies to PubMed Central. Additional details are available in the copyright transfer form at http://edmgr.ovid.com/psymed/accounts/copyrightTransfer.pdf.

Reprints: Reprints may be ordered prior to publication through the publisher using the order form that accompanies proofs. Post-publication orders cannot be filled at regular reprint prices.