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Journal of American College Health:
Manuscript Submission
The Journal of American College Health provides information related to health in institutions of higher education. The journal publishes articles encompassing many areas of this broad field, including clinical and preventive medicine, environmental and community health and safety, health promotion and education, management and administration, mental health, nursing, pharmacy, and sports medicine.
The Journal of American College Health is intended for college health professionals: administrators, health educators, nurses, nurse practitioners, physicians, physician assistants, professors, psychologists, student affairs personnel, and students as peer educators, consumers, and preprofessionals.
The journal publishes (1) scientific or research articles presenting significant new data, insights, or analyses; (2) state-of-the-art reviews; (3) clinical and program notes that describe successful and innovative procedures; and (4) brief reports, viewpoints, book reviews, and letters to the editor.
TYPES OF ARTICLES
Major Articles
Theoretical, scientific, and research manuscripts and reviews will be considered as major articles. The preferred length is 15 to 20 double-spaced pages (4,000—6,000 words), including tables, figures, and references.
Clinical and Program Notes
Clinical and program notes report on clinical experiences, new or especially interesting ideas and services, or collaboration in clinical studies. Program notes run 5 to 7 double-spaced pages (1,500—1,800 words), including a brief abstract, but do not usually include tables or figures; references must conform to the style used in major articles.
Viewpoint:
Viewpoint is a forum for opinions. Topics may be ethical, organizational, social, professional, or economic. Debate on controversial subjects is welcome. Manuscripts vary from 4 to 10 pages (1,000—2,500 words), but we prefer concise presentations. Abstracts, tables, and figures are unnecessary. References should follow the same format as that used in major articles.
Letters to the Editor in response to published articles are also welcome. They should be brief (500—1,000 words) and they may be edited.
PREPARING YOUR MANUSCRIPT
•Prepare your manuscript, including tables, as double-spaced Word files with minimal formatting in Times. Save it as a .doc or .rtf file. Please use simple filenames and avoid special characters. Do not use word-processing styles, forced section or page breaks, or automatic footnotes or references. Number every five lines in the document.
•Follow the American Medical Association Manual of Style, 10th edition, in medical and scientific usage.
•Abstract must be no longer than 150 words and include these words as subheadings: Objective, Participants, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. As well, please include in the abstract the month(s) and year(s) of data collection. Data collection should have occurred no longer than 5 years prior to submission.
•Text in research articles must be divided into these headings: Methods, Results, and Comment (which can include the subheadings: Limitations, Conclusions, etc.).
•Proofread carefully, double-checking all statistics, numbers, symbols, references, and tables. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of all material submitted.
•Indicate approval of the appropriate institutional review board (IRB) for all studies involving human participants and describe how participants provided informed consent.
•Provide written permission from publishers and authors to reprint or adapt previously published tables or figures.
SUBMITTING YOUR MANUSCRIPT THROUGH MANUSCRIPT CENTRAL
When your files are ready, visit the online submission Web site: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/heldref/jach
•First, log into the system. Register, if you have not done so before, by clicking on the Create Account button on the log-in screen and following the on-screen instructions.
•To submit a new manuscript, go to Author Center, then click on Submit a Manuscript and follow the on-screen instructions.
•Enter your manuscript data into the relevant fields.
•When you upload your manuscript files via the File Upload screen, Manuscript Central will automatically create a PDF and HTML document of your main text and any figures and tables that you submit. This document will be used when your manuscript undergoes peer review.
•Make sure you attach 1 blinded manuscript file for review, with all identifying information removed.
EDITORIAL PROCESS
All submissions are blind reviewed by at least 1 consulting editor or ad hoc reviewer, a statistical reviewer (when appropriate), and an executive editor. The process may take up to 4 months. The managing editor will notify authors of the decision—accept, revise, or reject. Review comments will be returned to the author.
Heldref reserves the right to edit accepted manuscripts for clarity, coherence, and felicity of style. Authors receive an edited draft to proof, answer queries, and correct errors that may have been introduced in the editing process. Extensive changes and rewriting are not permitted at this stage.
Accepted manuscripts are usually published within 1 year of acceptance. Each author receives free online access to the issue in which his or her article appears. Additional copies are available to authors at a reduced price.
REFERENCES
Authors should cite references consecutively in the text, using a superscript to indicate source. References are listed by number at the end of the text, with titles of journals abbreviated in the form listed in Index Medicus. Titles of unlisted journals should be written out in full. The following are examples of reference style.
Journals
1. Enqwal D, Hunter R, Steinberg M. Gambling and other risk behaviors on university campuses. J Am Coll Health. 2004; 52: 245—255.
Books
2. Bernstein TM. The Careful Writer: A Modern Guide to English Usage. New York: Atheneum; 1965.
Other
Citations for data on a Web site should take this form: Health Care Financing Administration. 1996 statistics at a glance. Available at: http://www.hcfa.gov/stats/stathili.htm. Accessed December 2, 1996.
References to unpublished material should be noted parenthetically in the text (eg, James Jones, personal communication, September 2002).
Quoted material must include an indication of the page on which the quoted words appeared (eg, 7(p26)).
Please use current references and use hard-copy, rather than Web, references whenever possible.
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