Contributing

Papers should be sent in triplicate and on disk to the editor:

Professor Peter Spurgeon

Institute of Clinical Leadership, Warwick Medical School

Medical School Building, The University of Warwick

Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK

Tel:  +44 (0) 2476 150453 (PA: Sue Jones)

Fax: +44 (0) 2476 528375

Email:  p.c.spurgeon@warwick.ac.uk

The International Journal of Clinical Leadership (formerly Clinician in Management) is a peer reviewed journal for those involved in research, teaching and preparation, and practice of clinical leadership.  We welcome research based papers, including short reports.  The journal seeks to encourage participation and debate with one nominated paper per edition being accessible for web-based discussion.  Comparative work from other health systems in the field of clinical leadership is encouraged. Papers can be submitted electronically (email: p.c.spurgeon@warwick.ac.uk).

General

• Submit paper electronically to: p.c.spurgeon@warwick.ac.uk or by post to the address at the base of this page. An acknowledgement of receipt will be sent to the corresponding author.

• All material submitted for publication will be subject to external peer review. Papers are assumed to be submitted exclusively to the journal. Papers that are outside the remit of the journal, that do not comply with the guidance here or are judged to be unsuitable by the editor will be rejected without peer review. Reviewers advise on the originality and scientific merit of the paper and the editor, with advice from the editorial board, will decide on publication.

• The turnaround time for papers will be 12 weeks from submission to decision and up to 12 weeks from decision to publication with a fast-track process also available. This process will be audited.

• The editor reserves the right to make minor adjustments and, if necessary, to shorten the article without changing the meaning.

• When requested one copy of a revised article should be submitted with revisions annotated. A covering letter describing changes made should also make it clear that the final manuscript has been seen and approved for publication by all authors.

• All manuscripts should be typed in double-line spacing on one side only of A4 paper, with a margin of 3cm all round and a pages numbered consecutively.

• The first page of the paper should contain the title, author(s), name(s) and an address for correspondence. Each author should indicate his/her professional discipline, current appointment and qualifications. The address of the corresponding author will be printed with the paper (if published) unless you request that it is omitted.

• When first using abbreviations in the text, the term the author wishes to abbreviate should be spelt out in full with its abbreviation in brackets. Thereafter the abbreviation in capital letters and unpunctuated should be used.

• The Journal supports the code of conduct for editors of biomedical journals drawn up by the Committee on Publishing Ethics (COPE), and available at: http://www.publicationethics.org.uk/guidelines/code   

Ethical issues

• The Journal upholds the ethical principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) which are available at http://www.publicationethics.org.uk/guidelines/code.

• Authors are referred to the need to conform to the Declaration of Helsinki and to provide confirmation that the study has been approved by a named Research Ethics Committee.

• Authors are also asked to declare that the paper has not been submitted elsewhere for publication and that duplicate publication has been avoided.

• The following declarations should be made at the end of the article before the references: ‘ethical approval(s)’, ‘acknowledgements’, ‘source of funding’ for the study, and any ‘conflict of interest’. This includes ownership of shares, consultancy, speaker's honoraria or research grants from commercial companies or professional or governmental organisations with an interest in the topic of the paper. If in doubt, disclose.

• Authors are also asked to declare, where relevant, that patient consent has been obtained and that all reasonable steps have been taken to maintain patient confidentiality.

• Once submitted authors are assured that the material under consideration will be kept confidential.

• Authors have the right to appeal against editorial decisions. Once an appeal is lodged, this will be dealt with by an editorial board member who has not been involved in the editorial progress of the paper in question.

• Misconduct is investigated and acted on according to COPE guidance. 

Length and structure of articles

• Articles should normally be up to 3000 - 4000 words excluding (usually up to 30) references. Short reports should be up to 1500 words. However, when authors are invited to submit a specific article, the editorial staff will specify the proposed length.

• Subheadings are encouraged, when suitable, to break up the text as well as to improve readability.

• A structured abstract up to 300 words to include background, aim(s), methods (include design, setting, subject and main outcome measures as appropriate), results and conclusion should be included.

• The abstract should be followed by up to five keywords recognized by Index Medicus.

Tables, figures and illustrations

• As far as possible articles should be suitably illustrated but not contain more than five tables.

• Tables should not duplicate but rather supplement information given in the text. They should be typed on a separate sheet and have a caption. Do not use vertical rules in tables.

• Tables should only be used when data cannot be expressed clearly in any other form. Figures should not duplicate information provided in the text.

• Illustrations may be line drawings or black-and-white photographs of good quality, preferably with a gloss finish. Illustrations will not be returned after publication unless specifically requested. All illustrations are submitted at the owner’s risk, the publisher accepts no liability for loss or damage while in possession of the material.