Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals

I. About the Recommendations A. Purpose of the Recommendations B. Who Should Use the Recommendations? C. History of the Recommendations II. Roles and Responsibilities of Authors, Contributors, Reviewers, Editors, Publishers, and Owners A. Defining the Role of Authors and Contributors 1. Why Authorship Matters 2. Who Is an Author? 3. Non-Author Contributors B. Author Responsibilities—Conflicts of Interest 1. Participants a. Authors b. Peer Reviewers c. Editors and Journal Staff 2. Reporting Conflicts of Interest C. Responsibilities in the Submission and Peer-Review Process 1. Authors a. Predatory Journals 2. Journals a. Confidentiality b. Timeliness c. Peer Review d. Integrity 3. Peer Reviewers D. Journal Owners and Editorial Freedom 1. Journal Owners 2. Editorial Freedom E. Protection of Research Participants III. Publishing and Editorial Issues Related to Publication in Medical Journals A. Corrections and Version Control B. Scientific Misconduct, Expressions of Concern, and Retraction C. Copyright D. Overlapping Publications 1. Duplicate Submission 2. Duplicate Publication 3. Acceptable Secondary Publication 4. Manuscripts Based on the Same Database E. Correspondence F. Fees G. Supplements, Theme Issues, and Special Series H. Sponsorship of Partnerships I. Electronic Publishing J. Advertising K. Journals and the Media L. Clinical Trial Registration IV. Manuscript Preparation and Submission A. Preparing a Manuscript for Submission to a Medical Journal 1. General Principles 2. Reporting Guidelines 3. Manuscript Sections a. Title Page b. Abstract c. Introduction d. Methods i. Selection and Description of Participants ii. Technical Information iii. Statistics e. Results f. Discussion g. References i. General Considerations ii. Style and Format h. Tables i. Illustrations (Figures) j. Units of Measurement k. Abbreviations and Symbols B. Sending the Manuscript to the Journal