Journal of the American Optometric Association



Audience

Optometry-Journal of the American Optometric Association® is the official publication of the American Optometric Association (www.aoa.org). The journal is provided to all AOA members as a membership benefit. Optometry is also provided to libraries, schools and colleges of optometry, medical libraries, hospitals and government agencies.

Background

These instructions are in accordance with the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (Uniform Requirements).^1,2

Manuscripts

These instructions apply to all manuscripts. Submit original manuscript with original figures electronically at http://ees.elsevier.com/optm/ . If this method of submission is not feasible, e-mail original manuscript with original figures to optometryjaoa@elsevier.com. All editorial correspondence should be sent to Brandie Shannon, Managing Editor,Optometry-Journal of the American Optometric Association, 11830 Westline Industrial Drive, St. Louis, MO 63146; e-mail: optometryjaoa@elsevier.com. Use standard-sized paper and double- spacing throughout, including references. Contact the Managing Editor if original figures are available only as original photographs or slides. Unless specific request is made by the corresponding author on submission for return of any of the figures or illustrations provided, these are kept by Optometry and are not returned to the author.

Authorship requirements

One author should be appointed to act as correspondent and on submission of manuscript should provide his or her address, phone and fax numbers, and/or e-mail address. Manuscripts should have no more than six authors. Credit for authorship must accompany ability of each author to take public responsibility for the paper. Data collection does not in itself justify authorship. Credit for authorship must also include: (1) conception or design, analysis and interpretation of data, or both; (2) drafting (or revising) paper for critically important intellectual content; and (3) final approval of version to be published. Optometry may require authors to justify assignment of authorship.

Conflict of interest

Authors must disclose (on submission) existence of any financial arrangement with a company whose products figure prominently in manuscript or with any competitor company. For articles in which frequent references are made to namebrand devices, medications, or products—whether any of the authors has such an affiliation or not—a disclaimer should be submitted for clarification (to be published at the end of the article).

Copyright

©American Optometric Association. All rights reserved. This journal and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the American Optometric Association, and the following terms and conditions apply to their use: consideration for publication is based on assurance the manuscript (in whole or in part) is not being considered by any other publication nor been previously published. Authors must sign a statement transferring copyright to the American Optometric Association. Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier's Rights Department in Philadelphia, PA: phone 215-239-3804, fax 215- 239-3805, e-mail healthpermissions@elsevier.com. Requests may also be completed online via the Elsevier homepage ( http://www.elsevier.com/locate/permissions .) For personal and limited educational use, users may clear permissions and make payments through the Copyright Clear Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923; phone; 978-750-8400; fax: 978-750-4744, and in the UK through the Copyright Licensing Agency Rapid Clearance Service (CLARCS), 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 0LP, UK; phone: (144) 20 7631 5555; fax (144) 20 7631 5500. Other countries may have a local reprographic rights agency for payments.

Peer review and manuscript processing

Manuscripts are acknowledged on receipt; rejected manuscripts are returned within 6 to 12 weeks. Papers are peerreviewed by two or more content experts, who serve as reviewers. Reviewers' identities are kept confidential, as are author identities. Peer review cycle takes approximately 4 months (from receipt of manuscript to decision to publish/ request for revisions) before final publication. Every effort is made to publish manuscripts within 6 months of final acceptance.

Title page

Title page should contain only manuscript title, name(s) of authors, and degree( s). For U.S. optometrists, only the following earned degrees will be listed with author names: D.O., J.D., M.D., O.D., and Ph.D. Professional or institutional affiliations of authors should also be provided. Title page should also list contact information for corresponding author, including phone and fax numbers and email address.

Abstracts

Abstract should be no longer than 200 words in length, consisting of four basic sections: Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions, which should briefly describe, respectively, the problem or topic addressed; how the study was prepared/ conducted; the most important results; and what can be concluded from the results. For case reports, substitute Case Report(s) for Methods and Results, and succinctly describe the case(s). Editorials require no abstracts. Include three to eight Key Words (or short phrases) at the end of the abstract; these will help in eventual indexing of the paper. Please use terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MESH) of the Index Medicus.

Tables and illustrations

The use of too many tables, figures, or other illustrations in relation to the length of the text may produce pagelayout difficulties. In general, Optometry can publish one illustration for every 1,000 words of text. Authors should consult the CBE Style Manual for further information on preparation of tables, figures, and other illustrative material.3 Should tables or figures pose a problem in the layout of an article, the Managing Editor will contact the author and work with him or her directly.

Abbreviations

Except for units of measurement, abbreviations are discouraged (consult the CBE Style Manual for lists of standard abbreviations/ acronyms). The first time abbreviations or acronyms are used, they should be spelled out.

Generic and proprietary names

Use generic names in referring to drugs. Use proprietary names only to differentiate between drug forms, or if a specific product was used in a study or associated with an adverse drug reaction. Instruments, devices, or other products may be referred to by their proprietary names. Provide the name and location (city/state or country) of the manufacturer (domestic or foreign) and set in parentheses following the first mention of the proprietary name.

Units of measurement

Authors should express all measurements in conventional units, with System International (SI) units given in parentheses throughout the text.

References

Optometry uses the Vancouver style from Uniform Requirements throughout the manuscript. Basic examples of the Vancouver style are provided here:

Book citation:
Schepens CL, Trempe CL, Takahashi M. Atlas of vitreous biomicroscopy. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1999:83-105.

Journal citation:
Bowyer NK, Kleinstein RN. Healthy people 2010-vision objectives for the nation. Optometry 2000;71:569- 78.

References must be numbered consecutively as cited in the paper. References to personal communication, unpublished information, and papers either "in preparation" or "submitted for publication" are discouraged. A reference may be cited as "in press" only if it has been accepted for publication.

Accepted manuscripts

Accepted manuscripts are returned to authors for revisions and copy-editing changes. Authors must be able to take public responsibility for all statements in their paper, including those changes made by copy editor and authorized by corresponding author. Revised manuscripts must be returned electronically at http://ees.elsevier.com/optm/ .

Review by author(s)

Before publication, the corresponding author will receive page proofs for final review. These will be e-mailed to the corresponding author (as a pdf file). If necessary, they may be faxed. Corrections must be returned/communicated to the Journal Manager of Optometry within 48 hours.

Reprints

An offprint order form is sent to the corresponding author at time of publication and should be returned to Optometry if offprints are desired. For queries about author offprints, e-mail authorsupport@elsevier.com. To order 100 or more reprints for educational, commerical, or promotional use, contact the Commercial Reprints Department, Elsevier Inc., 360 Park Ave South, New York, NY 10010-1710; fax 212-462-1935; e-mailreprints@elsevier.com. Reprints of single articles available online may be obtained by purchasing pay-per-view access for $30 per article on the journal Web site, www.optometryjaoa.com.

References

1. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals. N Engl J Med 1997;336(4):309-15.

2. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals. JAMA 1997;277(11):927-34.

3. Style Manual Committee, Council of Biology Editors. Scientific style and format: the CBE manual for authors, editors, and publishers, 6th ed., revised and expanded. Prepared by the CBE Style Manual Committee, Bethesda, Maryland: Council of Biology Editors, 1994.