Guidelines for Authors www.karger.com/ned_guidelines Introduction Submission Conditions Conflicts of Interest Ethics Categories of Manuscripts Reporting Guidelines Arrangement Color Illustrations References Digital Object Identifier (DOI) Author's ChoiceTM, NIH-Funded Research, Self-Archiving Page Charges Proofs Reprints Introduction 'Neuroepidemiology' is a peer-reviewed international journal that publishes manuscripts on all aspects of epidemiology of neurological disorders, including clinical trials and systematic reviews. Its primary focus is on chronic and acute neurological disorders of major importance to clinical medicine, public health, and health care delivery. The journal encourages the use of epidemiology in a multidisciplinary approach to the understanding of neurological disease distribution and determinants of frequency in human populations. The journal also welcomes manuscripts dealing with methodological issues in neuroepidemiological studies. Fast-track evaluation and publication will be secured by online submission, evaluation, and prompt decision, as well as by fast on-line publication of accepted manuscripts, followed by their hard-copy publication. Submission Only original papers written in English are considered and should be submitted online: Online Manuscript Submission Should you experience problems with your submission, please contact: jaf@missiondesign.co.nz Editorial Office 'Neuroepidemiology' National Research Centre for Stroke Applied Neurosciences and Neurorehabilitation Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences Auckland University of Technology AA254, 90 Akoranga Drive, Northcote 0627 Private Bag 92006, Auckland 1142 New Zealand Fax +64 9 47314 45 All manuscripts must be accompanied by a short cover letter to the Editor signed by all authors stating that they agree to the publication of the manuscript. The cover letter should be uploaded during the online submission process. Conditions All manuscripts are subject to editorial review. Manuscripts are received with the explicit understanding that they have not been previously published elsewhere and are not under simultaneous consideration by any other publication. Submission of an article for publication implies transfer of copyright from the author to the publisher upon acceptance. Accepted papers become the permanent property of ‘Neuroepidemiology’ and may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without the written consent of the publisher. It is the author’s responsibility to obtain permission to reproduce illustrations, tables, etc. from other publications. Conflicts of Interest Authors are required to disclose any sponsorship or funding arrangements relating to their research and all authors should disclose any possible conflicts of interest. Conflict of interest statements will be published at the end of the article. Ethics Published research must comply with the guidelines for human studies and animal welfare regulations. Authors should state that subjects have given their informed consent and that the study protocol has been approved by the institute’s committee on human research. Further, they should also state that animal experiments conform to institutional standards. Categories of Manuscripts (Word limits include tables, illustrations and references) Original Papers are full-length research papers which will be considered for the journal. Articles cover topics relevant to neuroepidemiological studies (max. 2,500 words). Reviews are comprehensive, state-of-the-art papers (systematic reviews or meta-analyses) of important epidemiological or clinical problems relevant to neurological disorders. Reviews may be invited by the Editor or they may be unsolicited views (max. 5,000 words), although in the latter, we ask the author to send the Editor a short outline first (300–400 words) to ensure that a review on a similar subject has not already been commissioned. Manuscripts will be assessed in-house and those judged suitable will be peer reviewed before an editorial decision is made. Editorials are usually invited by the Editor (max. 1,000 words). Please send suggestions to the Editor. Methods in Neuroepidemiology papers dealing with methodological issues in current neuroepidemiologic studies (e.g. recruitment, exclusion and inclusion criteria, methodological evaluation, novel approaches to clinical trials, statistical analyses and follow-up problems and solutions), particularly with regard to on-going large population-based studies, controlled clinical trials, cohort and case-control studies are welcome (max. 5,000 words). Letters to the Editor and Opinions. Manuscripts of max. 500 words, 1 figure or table and max. 10 references are considered for publication provided they describe a novel observation or add pertinent new information into the epidemiology or health care of a neurological disease. Reporting Guidelines According to the type of the article, we recommend authors to adhere to the following reporting guidelines: Observational non-experimental studies (cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies): The STROBE (STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology) statement (www.strobe-statement.org). Reporting randomized controlled trials: The CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) statement (www.consort-statement.org). Randomized controlled trials of herbal interventions: The elaborated CONSORT statement (Annals of Internal Medicine 2006;144:364–367). Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials: The Cochrane Collaboration guidelines (www.cochrane.org/resources/handbook). Meta-analysis of observational studies in epidemiology: The MOOSE (Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) statement (JAMA 2000;283:2008–2012). All systematic reviews must describe search strategy, data sources (databases, journals, books, etc) and criteria used to include or exclude studies. Arrangement All manuscripts should be arranged in the following order: title key words and abstract text acknowledgments and funding references tables figure legends figures All manuscripts must be typed in double-space, including references, figure legends, and tables, with 1-inch (2.54 cm) margins on all sides. Number every page, beginning with the abstract, including tables, figure legends, and figures, and cite each figure and table in the text numerically. All references must be cited in the text consecutively and be listed in the References. Title page: The first page of each paper should indicate the title, the authors' names, the institute where the work was conducted, and a short title for use as running head. The number of figures and tables should also be indicated. NB: Authors wishing to preserve the phonetic meaning of diacritics (PubMed reduces diacritics to their root characters) must spell their names accordingly when submitting manuscripts (e.g. Müller should be Mueller). Full address: The exact postal address of the corresponding author complete with postal code must be given at the bottom of the title page. Please also supply phone and fax numbers, as well as e-mail address. Key words: For indexing purposes, a list of 3–10 key words in English is essential, and should be included at the bottom of the title page. Abstract: The Abstract is essential. It should be printed on a separate page (up to 200 words; any abbreviations must be explained) and structured as follows: Background: Rationale and purpose of the study Methods: How the study was performed (samples and/or population, procedures, analytical methods) Results: The main findings with specific data and their statistical significance, when applicable Conclusions: A succinct interpretation of the data presented Text: The following are typical main headings used in the text: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion. Abbreviations must be defined where first mentioned in the abstract and the main text. Footnotes: Avoid using footnotes in the text. When essential, they are numbered consecutively and typed at the bottom of the appropriate page. In the tables, footnotes are indicated by superscript numerals. Acknowledgments and funding: This section (when appropriate) should list all sources of funding for the research presented in the manuscript, and substantive contributions of individuals for assistance with the research or manuscript (authors are responsible for ensuring that all persons acknowledged have seen and approved mention of their names in the manuscript). All possible conflicts of interest should also be given here, or state ’no conflicts of interest‘. Tables and illustrations: Tables and illustrations (both numbered in Arabic numerals) should be prepared on separate pages. Tables require a heading and figures a legend, also prepared on a separate page. For the reproduction of illustrations, only good drawings and original photographs can be accepted; negatives or photocopies cannot be used. Due to technical reasons, figures with a screen background should not be submitted. When possible, group several illustrations in one block for reproduction (max. size 180 x 223 mm) or provide crop marks. Electronically submitted b/w half-tone and color illustrations must have a final resolution of 300 dpi after scaling, line drawings one of 800–1,200 dpi. Color Illustrations Online edition: Color illustrations are reproduced free of charge. In the print version, the illustrations are reproduced in black and white. Please avoid referring to the colors in the text and figure legends. Print edition: Up to 6 color illustrations per page can be integrated within the text at CHF 760.00 per page. References Accuracy of reference data is the author’s responsibility. In the text cite references consecutively in Arabic numerals [in square brackets]. Material submitted for publication but not yet accepted should be noted as ’unpublished data‘ and not be included in the reference list. 'In press' citations must have been accepted for publication and the name of the journal or book publisher should be included. The list of references should include only those publications which are cited in the text. Do not alphabetize; number references in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. The surnames of the authors followed by initials should be given. There should be no punctuation other than a comma to separate the authors. Preferably, please cite all authors. Abbreviate journal names according to the Index Medicus system (see International Committee of Medical Journal Editors: Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals. N Engl J Med 1997;336:309–315. www.icmje.org). Examples (a) Papers published in periodicals: Chatel J-M, Bernard H, Orson FM: Isolation and characterization of two complete Ara h 2 isoforms cDNA. Int Arch Allergy Immunol 2003;131: 14–18. (b) Papers published only with DOI numbers only: Theoharides TC, Boucher W, Spear K: Serum interleukin-6 reflects disease severity and osteoporosis in mastocytosis patients. Int Arch Allergy Immunol DOI: 10.1159/000063858. (c) Monographs: Matthews DE, Farewell VT: Using and Understanding Medical Statistics, ed 3, revised. Basel, Karger, 1996. (d) Edited books: DuBois RN: Cyclooxygenase-2 and colorectal cancer; in Dannenberg AJ, Dubois RN (eds): COX-2. Prog Exp Tum Res. Basel, Karger, 2003, vol 37, pp 124–137. Reference Management Software: Use of EndNote is recommended for easy management and formatting of citations and reference lists. Digital Object Identifier (DOI) S. Karger Publishers supports DOIs as unique identifiers for articles. A DOI number will be printed on the title page of each article. DOIs can be useful in the future for identifying and citing articles published online without volume or issue information. More information can be found at www.doi.org Author's ChoiceTM With this option the author can choose to make his article freely available online against a one-off fee of CHF 2,750.00. This fee is independent of any standard charges which may apply for supplementary pages, color images, etc. More information can be found at www.karger.com/authors_choice. Does your funding agency/institute require you to deposit your article in an institutional archive (e.g. PubMedCentral)? You will be pleased to hear that Karger journals are fully geared up for this requirement. All you have to do is opt for open access publication of your article through Karger's Author's ChoiceTM. Karger will also take care of the immediate deposit in the PubMedCentral archive and what's more, not of the manuscript, but of the final, published article. The article will also be available with open access right away, and not just after 12 months. The cost of Author's ChoiceTM is a permissible cost in your grant, so please take care to budget for it. Page Charges There are no page charges for manuscripts of 4 printed pages or fewer (including tables, illustrations and references). The allotted size of a paper is equal to 2,500 words or approx. 11 double-spaced manuscript pages (including tables, illustrations and references). Each additional complete or partial page is charged to the author at CHF 310.00. Invited Reviews and Methods in Neuroepidemiology papers are exempt of page charges. Proofs Unless otherwise indicated, proofs are sent to the first-named author and should be returned with the least possible delay. Alterations made in proofs, other than the correction of printer’s errors, are charged to the author. Reprints Order forms and a price list are sent with the proofs. Orders submitted after the issue is printed are subject to considerably higher prices.   Journal Home Journal Content Guidelines Editorial Board Aims and Scope Subscriptions Online Submission: Manuscript Submission Manuscript Check Peer Review: Reviewer Login Editor Login Search in this journal This journal is part of the first subject package of the Karger Journal Archive Collection Information on packages (PDF) Free sample issues For non-native English speakers and international authors who would like assistance with their writing before submission, we suggest American Journal Experts for their scientific editing service.  © 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel