The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine: Research on Paradigm, Practice, and Policy is a peer-reviewed journal. It includes observational and analytical reports, ideas, commentary, and opinions on therapies currently thought to be outside the realm of conventional Western biomedicine that are gaining interest and warranting research to assess therapeutic value. The Journal includes current concepts in clinical care, including case reports, which will be valuable for physicians and other health care professionals who are seeking to evaluate and integrate these therapies into patient care protocols.
A primary goal of this international peer-reviewed journal is the establishment of rigorous and appropriate research methodologies; the Journal will develop and encourage publication standards to foster effective and reliable measurement, data collection, analysis, and interpretation. The Journal does not publish papers that have been submitted elsewhere.
MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION AND COPYRIGHT AGREEMENT FORM
The Copyright Agreement form (available from website at www.liebertpub.com/media/content/transfer_of_copyright.pdf) should be submitted once your paper has been accepted for publication. Manuscripts cannot be published without this form. The corresponding author is responsible for obtaining signatures of coauthors. Authors not permitted to release copyright must still return the form signed under the statement of the reason for not releasing the copyright. Upon acceptance of your paper, please fax the Copyright Agreement form to 914-740-2101.
Please read all the instructions to authors before submitting.
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Important
Please upload individual files of all manuscript material—do NOT upload a single PDF file containing all text, figure, and table files of your paper. Once all individual files are uploaded onto Manuscript Central, the system will automatically create a single PDF proof for you and the peer-review process.
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Please suggest of up to five potential reviewers familiar with the field. Anyone whom you do not want to be considered should also be named.
All material published in the Journal will be copyrighted by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., and may not be republished without written permission.
Authorship. All authors, including co-authors, should be responsible for a significant part of the manuscript. All authors and co-authors should have taken part in writing the manuscript, reviewing it, and revising its intellectual and technical content. Any author whose name appears on a paper assumes responsibility and accountability for the results.
Preparation of Manuscript. Manuscripts should be submitted double spaced in Microsoft Word format. Leave ample margins on both sides, top, and bottom.
For controlled trials of acupuncture, use our preferred reporting criteria based on the STRICTA Guidelines, which are at: www.ftcm.org.uk/stricta.htm or in: MacPherson et al. Standards for reporting interventions in controlled trials of acupuncture: The STRICTA recommendations. J Altern Complement Med 2002;8(1):85–89.
For randomized controlled trials of homeopathy, use our preferred reporting criteria based on the supplement to the CONSORT Guidelines in: Dean et al. Reporting data on homeopathic treatments (Red Hot): A supplement to CONSORT. J Altern Complement Med 2007;13(1):19–23.
Guidelines on Length. Original research papers would normally be less than 3000 words; review papers may (exceptionally) be longer (up to 5000 words and should have a 150-word summary); case studies would normally be less than 2000 words; and short reports should be less than 1000 words with no more than one table or illustration and up to ten references. We may accept unsolicited editorials of up to 1000 words, which will be externally peer reviewed. Letters to the Editor should be no longer than 500 words with no more than five references except in exceptional circumstances and in which case the argument for this should be laid out in an accompanying letter. One table or illustration may accompany a letter. Personal view papers, drug/therapy/intervention reports, critical reviews and debates, and reports drawing attention to potential clinical problems will be welcomed.
Title Page. Include a title page as part of the main text file. The title page should include the contributors’ names with highest academic degrees, affiliations, and a running head of no more than 45 characters.
Abstract. Provide a structured abstract as part of the main text file, double spaced, of no more than 300 words with the following headings when applicable: Objectives, Design, Settings/Location, Subjects, Interventions, Outcome Measures, Results, and Conclusions. Do not place references in the abstract.
Text. Organize the text as follows: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, Acknowledgments, and References. Use only standard abbreviations from the AMA’s Manual for Authors & Editors or the Council of Biology Editors Style Manual. At the first usage, spell out each term and give the abbreviation in parentheses. Thereafter, use only the abbreviation. It is not necessary to spell each standards of measure, even at first usage. For botanical names, use the Linn. classification in its first appearance in the text; thereafter, use either the common or Latin name. Use generic names for drugs if possible. If you use a proprietary drug name the first time it appears, use the generic name followed by the proprietary name, manufacturer, city, and state in parentheses. Spell out all characters not on your keyboard. Our typesetter will convert the text to symbols (e.g., Greek alpha would become a).
Acknowledgments. Acknowledge only those people and institutions that have made significant contributions to the study. Details of sources of funding must be given.
Disclosure Statement. Immediately following the Acknowledgments section, include a section entitled “Author Disclosure Statement.” In this portion of the paper, authors must disclose any commercial associations that might create a conflict of interest in connection with submitted manuscripts. This statement should include appropriate information for EACH author, thereby representing that competing financial interests of all authors have been appropriately disclosed according to the policy of the Journal. It is important that all conflicts of interest, whether they are actual or potential, be disclosed. This information will remain confidential while the paper is being reviewed and will not influence the editorial decision. Please see the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals at www.icmje.org/index.htlm#conflicts for further guidance. If no conflicts exist, the authors must state: “No competing financial interests exist.”
References. Cite references within the text by a superscripted Arabic number as in the following example:
[ . . . as described previously.1,4]. List references by number (1,2, etc.) in the order in which they appear. Use journal abbreviations as provided by the MEDLINE,® National Library of Medicine. List all authors up to four authors. If there are more than four authors, list three and then et al. Do not put personal communications or unpublished data (e.g., theses, dissertations, and submitted articles) in the list of references. They should be referred to in the text in parentheses or as footnotes in the text. Include, among the references, articles accepted but not yet published; designate the journal, as “in press.” Please send a copy of related articles listed as “in press,” particularly if they include methods published elsewhere. If it is necessary to cite an abstract, this should be so designated. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the references, and are reminded that inaccurate references are highly frustrating to the reader, the cited author, and indexing services. Please follow the samples below. Translate titles of papers into English and place the original language in brackets.
Sample References: Journal article: Jobst KA. Acupuncture in asthma and pulmonary disease: An analysis of efficacy and safety. J Altern Complement Med 1996;2:179–206.
Book: Ersser SJ. Nursing as a Therapeutic Activity: An Ethnography. Avebury, UK: Aldershot, 1997:371.
Edited book: Fulford KWM, Ersser SJ, Hope T, eds. Essential Practice in Patient-Centered Care. Oxford: Blackwell Science, 1996.
Chapter in a book: Van Wijk R, Wiegant FA. Physiological effects of homeopathic medicines in closed phials: A critical evaluation. In: Endler PC, Schulte J, eds. Ultra High Dilution Physiology and Physics. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1994:81–98.
Website: List up to four authors or three authors and et al. and initials, title of article, name of site, and URL, starting with www. Include month, date, and year accessed.
Corresponding Address. Following the references, provide the name, complete postal address, and e-mail address of the person to whom correspondence should be sent.
Legends. Double space legends for art in a separate file. Provide explanations for any abbreviations, arrows, etc., on the artwork. If the art is taken from a copyrighted publication, credit must be given in the legend.
Tables. Double space each table in a separate file (labeled like this example: Jones.Table 1), and provide a short title for each table. Cite tables in sequence in the text. Explain abbreviations used in the table in footnotes. If the table is taken from a copyrighted publication, give credit in a footnote.
ILLUSTRATIONS
All illustrations should be numbered and labeled. The top of the illustration should be indicated. A legend should be supplied for each illustration and all legends should be numbered consecutively and provided (double spaced). Figures should be numbered in the order cited in the text. Images should not show the name of the manufacturer. Figures will be reduced, so please do not submit large figures/graphs that contain small type because the text within the figure will not be readable after reduction.
Please follow these guidelines for submitting figures:
- Do NOT embed art files into a Word or PDF document.
- Line illustrations should be submitted at 1200 dpi.
- Halftones and color should be a minimum of 300 dpi.
- Save as either .tiff or .eps files.
- Color art must be saved as CYMK—not RGB.
- Submit black and white art as grayscale—not RGB.
- Do NOT submit PowerPoint, .pdf, Bitmap, or Excel files.
Please name your figure and table files with the first author’s name (i.e., SmithFig1.tif SmithTable2.doc). Label figures and tables inside the files in addition to naming the file with the figure or table number.
In order to expedite your submission as quickly and efficiently as possible we ask that all artwork be checked using Digital Expert before submitting. This is a free tool that will ensure that you prepare and submit quality digital materials suitable for print. Go to http://dx.sheridan.com to check your image files for directions for correcting files that do not pass. Convert Word or Excel files by scanning them at 100% size. To convert a PowerPoint slide to acceptable format go to www.liebertpub.com/MEDIA/pdf/ppconvert.pdf
PERMISSIONS
Materials taken from other sources must be accompanied by a written statement from both author and publisher giving permission to the Journal for reproduction. Obtain and submit written permission from authors to cite unpublished data or papers still in press.
REPRINTS
Reprints may be ordered by following the special instructions that will accompany the page proofs. Reprints ordered after the issue is printed will be charged at a higher rate.
PUBLISHER
The Journal is published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., 140 Huguenot Street, 3rd Floor, New Rochelle, NY 10801. Telephone: 914-740-2100; Fax: 914-740-2108; E-mail: info@liebertpub.com; Website: www.liebertpub.com