May 25, 2013

INFORMATION FOR CONTRIBUTORS

Mission of The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry

Established in 1956, The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry (The CJP) is the official journal of the Canadian Psychiatric Association (CPA). Publishing 12 issues a year, The CJP contains peer-reviewed scientific articles related to all aspects of Canadian and international psychiatry.

Types of Manuscripts

The following describes the different types of submissions published in The CJP, including specific requirements for each, such as maximum word counts and numbers of tables and figures. These restrictions are enforced so The CJP can publish as many papers in each issue as possible.

In Review
The Editor-in-Chief invites Guest Editors to take part in the In Review series. Unsolicited manuscripts are not accepted. The In Review series provides an updated and authoritative statement about a specific area of psychiatry. The papers define the issues, identify parameters, provide a brief history highlighting the main research findings and clinical applications, and identify remaining issues and the efforts being made to address them. The Guest Editorial should be 700 to 1500 words (not including references). Review papers must not exceed 3500 words (not including structured abstracts, acknowledgements, references, tables, and figures), with a maximum combined total of 5 figures and tables.

Original Research and Review Papers
Original research and systematic literature review manuscripts must not exceed 3500 words (not including structured abstracts, acknowledgements, references, tables, and figures), with a maximum combined total of 5 figures and tables.

Brief Communications
Preliminary reports and secondary studies from previous publications may be accepted as Brief Communications. These will be no more than 1500 words total (not including structured abstracts, acknowledgements, references, tables, and figures), with a maximum combined total of 3 figures and tables. The CJP does not publish case reports.

Book Reviews
The Book Review Associate Editor invites authors to review books of interest to The CJP readers, including general psychiatry, specific areas of psychiatry and the subspecialties, and other non-fiction works dealing with mental health issues. Book Reviews must be no more than 750 words (including publication information, reviewer rating, body text, and references). Tables and figures are not accepted. Direct quotes should include page numbers in the reference.

Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor must be no more than 500 words (including references). Tables and figures are not accepted. Letters to the Editor will only be accepted when they relate to published articles in The CJP. Case reports are not accepted. After a letter has been accepted, the editorial office will contact the corresponding author of the originally published article to reply. The letter and the reply will be published together.

Preparing the Manuscript

With some exceptions, manuscript requirements are based on
• International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals: writing and editing for biomedical journals [Internet]. ICMJE. [updated 2010 Apr; cited 2010 Sep 3]. Available from: http://www.icmje.org/urm_main.html
Council of Science Editors, Style Manual Committee. Scientific style and format: the CSE manual for authors, editors and publishers. 7th ed. Reston (VA): The Council; 2006.
• Barber K, editor. Canadian Oxford dictionary. 2nd ed. Don Mills (ON): Oxford University Press; 2004.

Avoid unnecessary formatting of text. Automatic endnote and footnote functions are not acceptable. Text should be double-spaced, upper and lower case, and have no paragraph indents. All 4 margins of the 8.5-by-11-inch paper should be 1 inch. Arrange the parts of the manuscript in the following order:
1. Title Page
2. Abstract, Clinical Implications and Limitations, and Key Words
3. Body Text
4. Acknowledgements
5. References
6. Tables and Figures
7. Abbreviations List

1. Title Page
Make the title brief and informative without using acronyms.

Limit authors listed in the byline to those who substantially contributed to the concept and design, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data; drafted or critically revised the article for important intellectual content; and approved the final version for publication. People who referred patients; assisted with data collection, statistical analysis, or writing of the manuscript; or supervised and provided general support should not be included as authors but thanked in the Acknowledgement section.

Include the full names (not just initials) of each author. Provide academic degrees as well as professional, academic, and financial affiliations (job titles and [or] positions) of each coauthor. Include the full address, phone and fax numbers, and email address of the corresponding author.

If the paper has been presented at a meeting, provide the name, place, and date of the meeting.

2. Abstract, Clinical Implications and Limitations, and Key Words
Abstracts must not be more than 250 words and should be structured under the following headings: Objective, Method, Results, and Conclusions. References are not acceptable in the Abstract. If applicable, the clinical trial registration number should appear at the end of the Abstract (see Clinical Trial Registration below). The CJP translates the Abstract into the alternate language (French or English).

Provide 2 to 3 Clinical Implications and 2 to 3 Limitations of the study. These should be short, complete sentences (less than 20 words each) that do not repeat the Abstract Results or Conclusions, but rather put the results into context so readers can apply the information in their practice or research. Emphasize what is new and important about the research.

Include 3 to 10 key words or short phrases for indexing purposes. MeSH terms are preferred.

3. Body Text
Refer to the Types of Manuscripts for the maximum words, tables, and figures allowed for each.

The introduction should clearly state the objective of, or the hypothesis tested by, the research.

The manuscript should be arranged under the headings Method, Results, Discussion, and Conclusions.

The Method section should only include information available during the planning phase of the research, providing enough detail to allow others to reproduce the results or compare results. If applicable, state which research ethics committee approved the research and whether written informed consent was obtained from the patients. Describe how research participants were selected, including recruitment method, inclusion and exclusion criteria, and a description of the source population. Review papers should briefly state the systematic approach to the literature review (what key word searches were conducted on which databases for what period of time, how many files were found, and inclusion and exclusion criteria). Any statistical methodology that was used, including software, must be referenced.

Information obtained during the study should be included in the Results section. The text should not repeat data presented in the tables. Rather, summarize the most important observations.

The Discussion section should emphasize new and important aspects of the research. Do not repeat information from the introduction or Results.

Link the Conclusions to the objective or hypothesis discussed in the introduction.

4. Acknowledgements

Authors must disclose any potential or perceived conflict of interest, submitting an Author Disclosure Form with their manuscript. Conflicts of interest can include, but are not limited to: ownership of stocks, stock options, or other financial instruments; receipt of consulting fees; employment; honorarium or other fee for writing the article or conducting similar research; speakers fees; educational grants; or travel assistance during the previous 24 months. All sources of funding and support for the research described in the manuscript should be included. For grant support, please include the full name of the granting agency and the grant number. If no funding was received, this should be clearly stated.

Authors may thank people who were involved with specific content of the work but who do not qualify as authors (people who referred patients; assisted with data collection, statistical analysis, or writing; or supervised and provided general support).

If a personal communication is referenced in the manuscript (as a parenthetical statement, not in the reference list), the Acknowledgements section should include a statement that the person being quoted gave permission for the information to be used. A copy of the email or letter granting permission should be sent to the editorial office for its records.

5. References
Accuracy of citations, exact spelling, accents, and punctuation of the original reference is the author’s responsibility.

The CJP follows a citation sequence referencing style with superscript numbers based on the Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers. Number references in the order of their first appearance in the text, using the same number when repeating the reference. Direct quotes should include the page number (for example4, p 3).

In the reference list, do not include personal communications, unpublished manuscripts, or manuscripts submitted but not yet accepted for publication. Note these parenthetically in the text as follows: (name, date, and personal communication) or (unpublished observation). Accepted, but as-yet unpublished, manuscripts may be cited in the reference list as “forthcoming”: include the journal title (or book publisher and location) and tentative print date. Authors must provide the editorial office with a letter or email indicating that permission to publish the information was granted from the source of the personal communication or from the publisher.

Type references in the style below, noting punctuation and capitalization. References that do not conform to The CJP style will be returned to the corresponding author for appropriate adjustment.
• List the first 3 authors, followed by et al.
• Note punctuation conventions with author names (for example, Doe J, not Doe, J).
• Place book and article titles in sentence case, capitalizing only the first word, acronyms, and proper nouns.
• Use Index Medicus abbreviations but do not abbreviate journals that are not included in Index Medicus.
• Do not italicize titles.
• When citing journal articles, include both the volume and the issue number and do not include a space after colons and semicolons.
• Separate page ranges with an en-dash and do not omit any digits of the closing page number.

Standard Journal Article Style and Sample
1. Author(s). Article title. Journal title. Year;volume(issue):page–range.
1. Spaeth-Rublee B, Pincus HA, Huynh PT. Measuring quality of mental health care: a review of initiatives and programs in selected countries. Can J Psychiatry. 2010;55(9):539–548

Book Chapter Style and Sample
2. Author(s). Chapter title. In: editor(s) name(s), editor. Book title. Place Published: Publisher; Year published. Page–range.
2. Addington D, Addington J. First-episode psychosis. In: Mueser KT, Jeste DV, editors. Clinical handbook of schizophrenia. New York (NY): Guildford Press; 2008. p 367–379.

Conference Presentation Style and Sample
3. Author(s). Title. Paper presented at (name of conference); conference dates; place of conference.
3. Bergeron L, Smolla N, Valla JP, et al. Psychometric properties of the Dominic Interactive in children aged 6–11. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; 2008 Oct 23–28; Boston (MA).

Internet Document Style and Sample
4. Author(s). Title [Internet]. Place of publication: publisher; year of publication [date updated; date cited]. Available from: URL.
4. Health Canada. Health Canada advises Canadians of stronger warnings for SSRIs and other newer anti-depressants [Internet]. Ottawa (ON): Health Canada; 2005 [cited 2010 Mar 31]. Available from: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/advisories-avis/_2004/2004_31-eng.php.

6. Tables and Figures
Keep the number of tables and figures to a minimum, using them to present relevant numerical data. Short tables can often be incorporated more concisely in the text. Tables and figures should complement text, not repeat it, and should be understandable without reference to the text. Cite each table and figure in the text and number them consecutively in the order of their first citation in the text. Include a brief descriptive title. Give each column a short or abbreviated heading. Explanatory matter such as nonstatistical abbreviations not included in the abbreviations list should be in the footnotes (superscript, lower-case letters), not in the heading. If data from another published or unpublished source is used, authors must obtain permission and acknowledge the source in the footnote.

Large tables and figures (3 manuscript pages, double spaced) will not be accepted for print publication but may be made available online. Tables and figures will be printed in black and white, but will be available in colour online. Authors who require their tables and figures to be printed in colour will agree to cover the additional printing costs.

Tables and figures will be edited to conform to The CJP style, so original files are preferred to image files. Acceptable formats include Excel (with data), Word (using draw tools), PowerPoint, Corel Draw, PhotoPaint, or Photoshop. Other acceptable formats (image files) are eps, tif (without text), jpg, and gif, all of which should be 300 dpi. Note: The CJP is produced in a Microsoft Windows environment.

7. Abbreviations List
Prepare an alphabetical list of all nonstatistical abbreviations used in the article. If an abbreviation is used less than 3 times in the article, it should be spelled out in the text and not abbreviated. When there are less than 3 abbreviations, an abbreviations list is not required and the abbreviations should be spelled out in the text on first use with the abbreviation in parenthesis.

Clinical Trial Registration

The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors defines a clinical trial as “any research project that prospectively assigns human subjects to intervention or concurrent comparison or control groups to study the cause-and-effect relationship between a medical intervention and a health outcome. Medical interventions include drugs, surgical procedures, devices, behavioral treatments, process-of-care changes, and the like.”p 11 To be considered for publication in The CJP, clinical trials must be registered at or before the onset of patient enrolment. The registry must meet several criteria, including:
• being accessible to the public at no charge;
• being open to all prospective registrants;
• being managed by a not-for-profit organization;
• having a mechanism to ensure the validity of the registration data; and
• being electronically searchable.

List the registration number at the end of the Abstract.

While trial methodology must be registered, trial results are not required to be registered. Should the authors decide to register the result, they must be registered in the same registry as the initial methodology to be considered previously unpublished.

Manuscript Submission and Processing

The CJP has a rapid-publication policy and uses ScholarOne Manuscripts (formerly Manuscript Central) as its online manuscript submission and peer review processing system. The CJP does not accept manuscript submissions, revisions, or reviews by mail or email. Authors can go to http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/cjp to log in or create an account to submit their articles. The website has helpful instructions, tutorials, and technical support to assist authors in uploading their manuscripts. Solicited manuscripts (for example, In Reviews and Book Reviews) are the only exception and should be emailed to CJP@cpa-apc.org.

Authors will be notified by email of successful receipt of their manuscripts and of the tracking numbers assigned to them. This number must be included in all correspondence. Authors are responsible for keeping their contact information up to date in ScholarOne Manuscripts. This includes email and mailing addresses as well as phone and fax numbers.

All manuscripts are reviewed to determine the originality, validity, and importance of content and conclusions. Authors may suggest potential peer reviewers for their manuscripts; however, The CJP is not obligated to follow the suggestion. Authors will be provided with anonymous peer reviewers’ comments to make necessary revisions before the manuscript can be accepted for publication. The authors will be informed of the final decision of the Editor-in-Chief.

Revised manuscripts, including tables and figures, are accepted with the understanding that they will be edited for conciseness, clarity, and conformity with The CJP style. Copyedited manuscript and page proofs will be sent to the corresponding author for corrections, answers to queries, and approval.

Copyright

Authors must comply with international copyright laws and obtain all necessary rights and permissions to reprint material, including tables and figures, from secondary sources. A copy of such permission(s) must be included with the manuscript submission and a footnote included with the table or figure stating from whom permission was obtained.

The CJP requires all coauthors to transfer copyright of their manuscripts to the CPA so the author(s) and the CPA are protected from misuse of copyrighted material. A copyright transfer form will be sent to the corresponding author when the manuscript has received final acceptance for publication. All coauthors are required to sign and return the copyright release form by email, fax, or mail to the editorial office. If the copyright release forms are not received from each coauthor, publication of the manuscript may be delayed.
Copyright Release Form

Permission to Redistribute

Written permission to redistribute material published in The CJP must be secured from
The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry
141 Laurier Avenue West, Suite 701
Ottawa, ON K1P 5J3
cjp@cpa-apc.org
Authors will be granted permission to archive PDFs of the final printed versions of their articles in their institutions’ archive 6 months after publication.
Permission to Redistribute Form

Reprints

Reprints are provided for a fee. An order form for reprints will be sent to the corresponding author before publication of the paper. The reprints will be mailed about 2 weeks after the article has been published.
Reprint Order Form

Media Release

The CPA has received increasing numbers of media inquiries. To meet these requests quickly, authors are asked to designate a spokesperson and permit the CPA to release that person’s telephone number and email address to the media if requested.
Media Release Form

Questions

For further information, contact The CJP editorial office at (613) 234-2815 ext 230 or
cjp@cpa-apc.org. For technical support for ScholarOne Manuscripts, call (434) 817-2040 or clicking Get Help Now in the top right corner of the ScholarOne Manuscripts screen.

STYLE NOTES

General

Abbreviations and Acronyms
Do not use periods or spaces with abbreviations and acronyms or after the initials of a person’s name or academic degrees. Except for common abbreviations most readers are familiar with (such as DSM, ICD, US, UK, WHO, HIV, AIDS, units of measurement, etc.), spell out the term in full on first reference followed by the acronym in parenthesis.

Prefixes
Do not hyphenate most prefixes, even if this means that 2 vowels will occur together (for example, coauthor). However, use a hyphen with the prefix quasi-, compounds starting with self, and prefixes attached to capitalized words (for example, non-European).

Sensitive Language

Research subjects and those with mental disorders are unique individuals, some of whom have illnesses. Avoid terms with negative connotations. Do not write manic depressive, schizophrenic treatment programs, controls, or the like. Instead, write people with major depressive disorder, treatment programs for people with schizophrenia, and control subjects. Use “case" to mean instance or example and patient to mean person (for example, “We saw 12 patients not “cases").

Race and Ethnicity
Ethnicity distinguishes people by cultural characteristics while race distinguishes by similar visible physical characteristics and does not have a precise biological definition. Whenever possible, use more sharply definable criteria such as nationality or country/continent of origin.

Sex or Gender
Sex refers to the biological state of being male or female. Gender refers to the social, economic, and cultural characteristics of man and woman. CJP style uses the term sex unless it is clear that a socially defined role is being discussed (for example, gender identity disorder).

Male and female are categories of biological sex and are terms normally applied to animals. Use men and women wherever possible. If a group of patients includes both adults and children, subjects can be called male patients and female patients (not males and females).

Symbols, Formulas, and Equations

In general, use symbols in equations and formulas, but write terms in full in running text (for example, use the symbol in a table, but spell out chi-square when describing a statistical test in running text).

Parentheses, Brackets, and Braces
CJP style uses the order of ([{}]).

Confidence Interval (CI)
Numeric limits represented by a CI should be connected by the word "to" rather than en-dash. Do not use an equal sign (for example, 95%CI, 15 to 20, not 95% CI = 15-20). All point estimates (for example, mean, odds ratios, relative risk, etc.) should be reported with CIs.

En-Dash
In text, CJP style uses the connective “to" when linking ranges to avoid possible ambiguity with the minus symbol (for example “with temperatures of –5 to 25 C, not –5–25 C).

Numbers
Most numbers are expressed in numerals. Only write out numbers when:
• beginning a sentence
• reporting consecutive numerical expressions in which 2 classes of numbers must be differentiated (for example, five 72-kg men, not 5, 72-kg men)
• reporting large numbers in general expressions (for example, a hundred, several thousand)
• using in a general, nonnumeric way (for example, “one of the many reasons")
• reporting the whole numbers zero and one not connected to a unit of measure

Ordinal numbers are treated in the same manner as cardinal numbers: they are expressed as numerals (for example, 2nd, not second.) Do not superscript the suffix.

Use the term “to" rather than a hyphen or en-dash to report a range of numbers (for example, 2 to 5 kg, not 2-5 kg).

Use a colon for exact ratios, not if the ratio is inexact (for example, The ratio of men to women was 3:4).

Operators
Operators have a space before and after them (for example, n = 246).

P Values
Present the symbol P upper case and in italic type. Use a zero before the decimal place. A P value should be shown to 2 decimal places unless it is less than 0.01, in which case, it should be shown to 3 decimal places (for example, P = 0.002). P cannot equal 0 or 1. Do not write P = 0.000. For very small values, use P < 0.001.

P values should never appear alone. They must always be accompanied by the value of the statistical test and the degrees of freedom (for example, t = 6.25, df = 23; P < 0.001).

Do not use asterisks to indicate footnotes in tables that contain probability levels (for example, *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001). Exact P values are preferred.

Degrees of Freedom
Degrees of freedom need to be included with Student t test, analysis of variance, the F test (F ratios need the double degrees of freedom for the numerator and denominator separated by a comma), and chi-square tests.

Spaces with Units of Measurement
Include a space between the numeral and its unit of measurement (for example, 136 mm Hg).

Standard Deviation (SD)
CJP style presents standard deviation as SD 4.6, not SD = 4.6 or SD ± 4.6.

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