Author Guidelines
Accepted manuscripts that are not in the correct format specified in these guidelines will be returned to the author(s) for correction, and will delay publication.
AUTHORSHIP
Named authors must consent to publication. Authorship should be based on substantial contribution to: (i) conception, design, analysis and interpretation of data; (ii) drafting or critical revision for important intellectual content; and (iii) approval of the version to be published. These conditions must all be met (uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals; refer to www.icmje.org).
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Authors must declare all sources of support for the research and any association with a product or subject that may constitute conflict of interest.
RESEARCH ETHICS COMMITTEE APPROVAL
Provide evidence of Research Ethics Committee approval of the research where relevant.
PROTECTION OF PATIENT'S RIGHTS TO PRIVACY
Identifying information should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives informed written consent for publication. The patient should be shown the manuscript to be published. Refer to www.icmje.org.
ETHNIC CLASSIFICATION
References to ethnic classification must indicate the rationale for this.
MANUSCRIPTS
Shorter items are more likely to be accepted for publication, owing to space constraints and reader preferences.
Original articles not exceeding 3 000 words, with up to 6 tables or illustrations, are usually observations or research of relevance to communication disorders. Please provide a structured abstract not exceeding 250 words (subheadings are recommended) with up to six accompanying keywords for the manuscript.
Scientific letters/short reports, which include case reports and brief or negative research findings, should preferably be 1500 words or less, with 1 table or illustration and no more than 6 references. Please provide an accompanying abstract not exceeding 150 words.
MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION
Refer to articles in recent issues for the presentation of headings and subheadings.
Manuscripts must be provided in UK English.
Qualification, affiliation and correspondence details of ALL authors must be provided in the manuscript and in the online submission process.
Abbreviations should be spelt out when first used and thereafter used consistently, e.g. 'intravenous (IV)' or 'Department of Health (DoH)'.
Scientific measurements must be expressed in SI units. Numbers should be written as grouped per thousand-units, i.e. 4 000, 22 160...
Quotes should be italicised and placed in single quotation marks: i.e. The respondent stated: 'There is no use to writing...'
Round brackets (parentheses) should be used, as opposed to square brackets.
General formatting
The manuscript must be in Microsoft Word or RTF document format. Text must be single-spaced, in 12-point Times New Roman font, and contain no unnecessary formatting (such as text in boxes, with the exception of Tables).
ILLUSTRATIONS AND TABLES
If tables or illustrations submitted have been published elsewhere, the author(s) should provide consent to republication obtained from the copyright holder.
Tables may be embedded in the manuscript or provided as 'supplementary files'. Tables must be numbered in Arabic numerals (1,2,3...) and referred to in the text (e.g. 'Table 1'). Table footnotes must be indicated with the use of the following symbols (in order): * † ‡ § ¶ || then ** †† ‡‡ etc.
Figures must be numbered in Arabic numerals and referred to in the text e.g. '(Fig. 1)'. Figure legends: Fig. 1. 'Title...'
All illustrations/figures/graphs must be of high resolution/quality: 300 dpi or more is preferable but images must not be resized to increase resolution. Unformatted and uncompressed images must be attached as 'supplementary files' upon submission (not embedded in the accompanying manuscript). TIFF and PNG formats are preferable; JPEG and PDF formats are accepted, but authors must be wary of image compression. Illustrations and graphs prepared in Microsoft Powerpoint or Excel must be accompanied by the original workbook.
REFERENCES
Strict adherence to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th Ed, 2001) is required.
References must be cited in the text by the name(s) of the author(s) and the date, e.g. 'Van Riper (1971)...' or '...(Ryan & Bernard, 2000)'.
Where there are more than 2 authors, after the first occurrence et al. may be used, e.g. '...(Jones et al., 2010)'.
Authors are responsible for verification of references from the original sources.
The names of all authors should appear in the reference list, which must be listed in alphabetical order at the end of the manuscript.
Manuscripts accepted but not yet published can be included as references followed by (in press).
Unpublished observations and personal communications may be cited in the text, but not in the reference list.
Journal references:
Locke, J.L. (1983). Clinical Psychology: The explanation and treatment of speech sound disorders. J. Speech Hear Disord., 48, 339-341.
Book references:
Weinstein, L. & Swartz, M. (1974). Pathogenic properties of invading microorganisms. In W. Sodeman (Ed.), Pathologic Physiology: Mechanisms of Disease. Philadelphia: WB Saunders
PROOFS
Proofs will be forwarded to the author before publication and if not returned within 2 weeks will be regarded as approved. Alterations at this stage are costly and may be charged to the authors.
CHANGE OF ADDRESS
Please notify the Editorial Department of any address changes so that proofs etc. may be sent without delay.
CPD POINTS
Authors can earn up to 15 CPD points for published articles. Certificates may be requested after publication of the article.
HMPG
SAMA