Guide for Authors
The mission of Clinical Imaging is to publish, in a timely manner, high quality, impactful, innovative radiology research, reviews and editorials with special attention to the impact of medical imaging on patient care. The journal's publications cover all imaging modalities, radiology issues related to practice improvements, policy and education, as well as clinically-oriented imaging physics and informatics. The periodical is the official journal of the New York Roentgen Society (NYRS) , a component of the New York State Radiological Society, which is a chapter of the American College of Radiology (ACR).
Thank you for considering Clinical Imaging as a venue for your work. We strive to provide outstanding services for our authors with subject editors who are leaders in their fields, reviewers who are experts in their subspecialties, and the possibility of accompanying social media promotion for a select number of accepted articles.
For all types of submissions listed below, Clinical Imaging seeks manuscripts in the following 10 subjects:
Body Imaging
Breast Imaging
Cardiothoracic Imaging
Imaging Physics and Informatics
Molecular Imaging and Nuclear Medicine
Musculoskeletal and Emergency Imaging
Neuroradiology
Practice, Policy and Education
Pediatric Imaging
Vascular and Interventional Radiology
All submissions to Clinical Imaging will be screened by the editors for scientific integrity, clinical impact, novelty, relevance, and interest to our readership. Editors may choose to send the manuscript for external double-blinded peer review or determine its disposition based on their own review.
Types of Article
Clinical Imaging accepts the following manuscript types:
Manuscript type
Word count maximum
Abstract type and word count maximum
Reference maximum
Key words
Highlights*
Original research
3000
Structured**; 250
50
3-5 required
Required
Reviews
4000
Unstructured 250
100
3-5 required
Required
Editorials/Commentary
2000
Not required
8
3-5 required
Required
Brief communications
1750
Not required
8
3-5 required
Required
Case reports and series
1500
Unstructured; 250
10
3-5 required
Required
Letters to the Editor
500
Not required
8
Not required
Required
*Highlights: 3-5 principal findings and conclusion(s) of the manuscript in bullet point format, each limited to 200 characters (including spaces). **Structured abstract: Purpose, Methods, Results, Conclusion.
Original research
Manuscripts submitted as Original Research should, as the name implies, be original research and follow the traditional "IMRAD" format (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion; the latter should contain a formal limitations section). Any related work previously published by the authors or others should be clearly referenced. Submissions should be no more than 3,000 words in length, not including references. Articles utilizing the following standards for reporting original research will be prioritized:
randomized trials: CONSORT
for observational studies: STROBE
for quality improvement studies: SQUIRE
An excellent reference for writing an organized original research manuscript is as follows:
Kliewer MA. Writing it up: a step-by-step guide to publication for beginning investigators. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2005 Sep;185(3):591-6.
Additionally, Clinical Imaging follows the guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and therefore clinical trials on which an article may be based must be registered as detailed in the ICMJE guidelines (www.icmje.org). The clinical trial registration number must also be included at the end of the abstract of the article.
Reviews
Manuscripts submitted as Reviews should represent a critical review of already published literature, without the introduction on any new original research. The title should clearly identify the manuscript as a review and/or meta-analysis. Articles utilizing the following standard for systematic reviews will be prioritized:
for systematic reviews: PRISMA
In addition to PRISMA, as a starting point for considering writing a review, the following article may be of interest:
Pautasso M. Ten simple rules for writing a literature review. PLoS Comput Biol. 2013;9(7):e1003149. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003149. Epub 2013 Jul 18.
Editorials / Commentary
Editors may choose to invite commentary for related articles in upcoming issues, however non-invited commentary on topics of interest expressing author opinions are also welcome. Editorials / Commentary should be no more than 2000 words, not counting references, and always maintain a collegial tone.
Brief Communications
Brief communications may be particularly utilized for our "Practice, Policy and Education" section to convey information regarding best practices for patient care, health care policy issues, quality assurance projects or topics in resident, fellow or medical student radiology-related education. This category of manuscript could also be utilized for technical notes and informatics-related topics. Manuscripts utilizing a "Point-counterpoint," "Lessons Learned" or "How to" approach would also fall under Brief Communications. Brief communications should have a maximum of 1750 words, not including an unstructured abstract (250-word maximum), key words and highlights.
Case Reports and Series
Clinical Imaging publishes very few case reports and case series, and only those limited to novel findings with explicit statements of importance. Specifically, they should have a "clear focus to make explicit to the audience why a particular observation is important in the context of existing knowledge?. The most important rule for writing a good case report is to be very clear about the single message that you want to bring." * Case reports must be structured as follows: Introduction (explaining the importance of the case or single message to be conveyed), Case Description (providing concise relevant information with a focus on imaging), and Discussion. Article should be limited to 1500 words. For more information about writing a compelling case report or series, please see:
*Vandenbroucke JP. In defense of case reports and case series. Ann Intern Med. 2001 Feb 20;134(4):330-4.
Letters-to-the-Editor
The Editors welcome letters commenting on previously published articles. Accepted manuscripts in this category will be forwarded (blinded) to the primary author of the article discussed in the letter with the option to reply. Letters and replies will be published back-to-back in the same issue of the journal, however will not be considered for publication if the tone is not respectful and collegial.
Online Submission and Peer Review System
Clinical Imaging uses Editorial Manager, a manuscript submission system that allows journal authors to submit and then track their manuscript from initial submission through publication. The system can be accessed at: https://www.editorialmanager.com/clm/ Prior to submitting your paper, please follow the instructions given below. If you do not follow the instructions your manuscript will not be reviewed and will be returned to you when a technical check is performed. Please note that you must have an e-mail address to use the system. If you need any further help, please visit our Support Center.
Submission Checklist
You can use this list to carry out a final check of your submission before you send it to the journal for review. Please check the relevant section in this Guide for Authors for more details.
Ensure that the following items are present:
One author has been designated as the corresponding author with contact details:
• E-mail address
• Full postal address
All necessary files have been uploaded:
Cover letter:
One page maximum
If the article has been invited or discussed prior to submission with the Editor-in-Chief, this information should be included in bold in the first sentence.
Title page (separate from the manuscript)
Manuscript:
• Include keywords
• All figures (include relevant captions)
• All tables (including titles, description, footnotes)
• Ensure all figure and table citations in the text match the files provided
• Indicate clearly if color should be used for any figures in print
Graphical Abstracts / Highlights files (where applicable)
Supplemental files (where applicable)
Further considerations
• Manuscript has been 'spell checked' and 'grammar checked'
• All references mentioned in the Reference List are cited in the text, and vice versa
• Permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources (including the Internet)
• A competing interests statement is provided, even if the authors have no competing interests to declare
• Journal policies detailed in this guide have been reviewed
• Referee suggestions and contact details provided, based on journal requirements:
Please suggest potential reviewers for this submission and provide specific reasons for your suggestion in the comments box for each person.
Suggested reviewers should be from a different institution than the authors, institutional emails should be used when possible and suggested reviewers should not be contacted by the authors regarding the fact that they have been listed as a potential reviewer in order to preserve the journal's double blinded peer review system.
Precis
A summary sentence or phrase that best represents the purpose or main conclusion to be derived from the article, limited to 30 words or 200 characters.
The precis may also be used in the event your article is promoted on @CI_Journal's Twitter
Ethics in publishing
Please see our information pages on Ethics in publishing and Ethical guidelines for journal publication.
Declaration of Interest
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential competing interests include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. Authors must disclose any interests in two places: 1. A summary declaration of interest statement in the title page file. If there are no interests to declare then please state this: 'Declarations of interest: none'. This summary statement will be ultimately published if the article is accepted. 2. Detailed disclosures as part of a separate Declaration of Interest form, which forms part of the journal's official records. It is important for potential interests to be declared in both places and that the information matches. More information.
Submission declaration and verification
Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract, a published lecture or academic thesis, see 'Multiple, redundant or concurrent publication' for more information), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, including electronically without the written consent of the copyright-holder. To verify originality, your article may be checked by the originality detection service Crossref Similarity Check.
Preprints
Please note that preprints can be shared anywhere at any time, in line with Elsevier's sharing policy. Sharing your preprints e.g. on a preprint server will not count as prior publication (see 'Multiple, redundant or concurrent publication' for more information).
Use of inclusive language
Inclusive language acknowledges diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to differences, and promotes equal opportunities. Content should make no assumptions about the beliefs or commitments of any reader; contain nothing which might imply that one individual is superior to another on the grounds of age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability or health condition; and use inclusive language throughout. Authors should ensure that writing is free from bias, stereotypes, slang, reference to dominant culture and/or cultural assumptions. We advise to seek gender neutrality by using plural nouns ("clinicians, patients/clients") as default/wherever possible to avoid using "he, she," or "he/she." We recommend avoiding the use of descriptors that refer to personal attributes such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability or health condition unless they are relevant and valid. These guidelines are meant as a point of reference to help identify appropriate language but are by no means exhaustive or definitive.
Author contributions
For transparency, we encourage authors to submit an author statement file outlining their individual contributions to the paper using the relevant CRediT roles: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Methodology; Project administration; Resources; Software; Supervision; Validation; Visualization; Roles/Writing - original draft; Writing - review & editing. Authorship statements should be formatted with the names of authors first and CRediT role(s) following. More details and an example
Changes to authorship
Authors are expected to consider carefully the list and order of authors before submitting their manuscript and provide the definitive list of authors at the time of the original submission. Any addition, deletion or rearrangement of author names in the authorship list should be made only before the manuscript has been accepted and only if approved by the journal Editor. To request such a change, the Editor must receive the following from the corresponding author: (a) the reason for the change in author list and (b) written confirmation (e-mail, letter) from all authors that they agree with the addition, removal or rearrangement. In the case of addition or removal of authors, this includes confirmation from the author being added or removed.
Only in exceptional circumstances will the Editor consider the addition, deletion or rearrangement of authors after the manuscript has been accepted. While the Editor considers the request, publication of the manuscript will be suspended. If the manuscript has already been published in an online issue, any requests approved by the Editor will result in a corrigendum.
Article transfer service
This journal is part of our Article Transfer Service. This means that if the Editor feels your article is more suitable in one of our other participating journals, then you may be asked to consider transferring the article to one of those. If you agree, your article will be transferred automatically on your behalf with no need to reformat. Please note that your article will be reviewed again by the new journal. More information.
Copyright
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' (see more information on this). An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or a link to the online version of this agreement.
Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles including abstracts for internal circulation within their institutions. Permission of the Publisher is required for resale or distribution outside the institution and for all other derivative works, including compilations and translations. If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included, the author(s) must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the article. Elsevier has preprinted forms for use by authors in these cases.
For gold open access articles: Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a 'License Agreement' (more information). Permitted third party reuse of gold open access articles is determined by the author's choice of user license.
Author rights
As an author you (or your employer or institution) have certain rights to reuse your work. More information.
Elsevier supports responsible sharing
Find out how you can share your research published in Elsevier journals.
Role of the funding source
You are requested to identify who provided financial support for the conduct of the research and/or preparation of the article and to briefly describe the role of the sponsor(s), if any, in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication. If the funding source(s) had no such involvement then this should be stated.
Open access
Please visit our Open Access page for more information.
Elsevier Researcher Academy
Researcher Academy is a free e-learning platform designed to support early and mid-career researchers throughout their research journey. The "Learn" environment at Researcher Academy offers several interactive modules, webinars, downloadable guides and resources to guide you through the process of writing for research and going through peer review. Feel free to use these free resources to improve your submission and navigate the publication process with ease.
Language (usage and editing services)
Please write your text in good English (American or British usage is accepted, but not a mixture of these). Authors who feel their English language manuscript may require editing to eliminate possible grammatical or spelling errors and to conform to correct scientific English may wish to use the English Language Editing service available from Elsevier's Author Services.
Submission
Our online submission system guides you stepwise through the process of entering your article details and uploading your files. The system converts your article files to a single PDF file used in the peer-review process. Editable files (e.g., Word, LaTeX) are required to typeset your article for final publication. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor's decision and requests for revision, is sent by e-mail.
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