Canadian Association of Radiologists Journal

Canadian Association of Radiologists Journal Instructions to Authors

Please use the following guidelines to prepare your article for submission to the Canadian Association of Radiologists Journal. At the online submission site ( http://ees.elsevier.com/carj/ ), you will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading of the various files. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor's decision and requests for revision, takes place by e-mail and via the author's homepage.

All manuscripts submitted for publication, including solicited articles and supplements, are subject to editorial review and revision. Material submitted to the Journal must not be under consideration for publication elsewhere. All accepted manuscripts become property of the Journal and may not be reproduced without the permission of the Publisher.

Article Types Considered for Publication

Major Papers
Major papers should contain original research of interest to the Journal's readership.
Abstract: Maximum of 250 words with headings for purpose, methods, results, and conclusions, with no abbreviations and no references.

Introduction: Briefly describes the purpose of the investigation and explains its importance.
Methods: Describes the materials used or subjects, as well as the imaging protocols and other methods.
Outlines in detail any statistical methods used. The names and locations (as city and province or state) of equipment manufacturers are given. Generic names are provided for drugs and contrast media.
Results: Presents the results in a clear and logical fashion. If tables and graphs are used, they should summarize the data presented in the text.
Discussion: Describes the relevance of the findings outlined in the Results section, presents the limitations of the statistics and other methods, and clearly elucidates the important outcomes of the study.
References: No more than 35.

Critically Appraised Topic (CAT)
A CAT is a concise 800-word summary of the best evidence in answer to a clinical question. It enhances literature searching and critical appraisal skills and promotes the practice of evidence-based radiology.
Clinical Problem: One sentence summarizing the clinical problem. Research Question: Rephrases the problem as a question that guides the appraisal.
Evidence: Summary of the key evidence in the best articles, including patient types, inclusion/exclusion criteria, key methods, main results and validity of findings. May be summarized in a table.
Clinical Applicability: Description of clinical actions that can be taken, based on your critical appraisal.
Comments: Relevant issues in methodology, cost, or consequences of findings.
References: Main article and any additional articles, if included in the evidence section.

Pictorial Essays
A pictorial essay is an article of no more than 2,000 words that conveys its message primarily through illustrations and legends.
Introduction: Clearly defines the message of the article in about 200 words.
The remainder of the essay can be organized with section headers of the author's choosing.
References: No more than 15.
Figures: Up to 30 parts with clear legends and arrows if appropriate

Essays
Essays of up to 1,000 words may deal with controversial issues or current affairs relevant to radiologists in Canada, which cannot be presented under other formats.
Introduction: Provides the context of the issue or argument.
Other headings may be used (but no abstract).
Conclusion: Summarizes the issue or argument and its context.
References: No more than 10
Figures: Up to 2 parts.

Guest Editorials
Although most editorials are written at our invitation, we welcome unsolicited proposals. Please contact the Editor for further guidelines.

Technical Notes
A technical note provides a brief (1,000 words maximum) description of a technique or procedure. It may also refer to the modification of a technique, procedure, or piece of equipment relevant to radiologists.
Literature reviews and case reports are not appropriate to include.
Introduction: One paragraph describing the general background.
Methods: As per major papers.
Results and Discussion: Includes the uses of the technique or equipment.
References: No more than eight.
Figures: No more than 2 parts.

Letters to the Editor and Replies
Letters to the Editor by up to four authors may discuss subjects of general interest to radiologists. They may also offer constructive criticism of a published article. In the latter situation, critiqued authors will be given an opportunity to reply. Letters and replies should be under 500 words in length and contain a short title that relates to the subject of the letter. They should not comment on the integrity, competence, or sincerity of others. Authors' names and their affiliations should appear at the end of the letter.
References: No more than four.
Figures: No more than 2 parts.

Review Article
A comprehensive or systematic review of a topic (4,000 words maximum).
Abstract: Maximum of 250 words, with no abbreviations and no references
Introduction: Briefly describes the purpose and scope of the article and explains its importance. The headings that are utilized will be dependent on the topic being reviewed.
References: No more than 80
Figures: Up to 20 figure parts with clear legends and arrows if appropriate

Format of Submission

File Format
• The manuscript should be submitted in Word (.doc) format and figures in EPS or TIFF. See details under "Figures" below.
• The manuscript should be double without justification of the right-hand margin.
• All manuscript pages should be numbered consecutively, beginning with the abstract page.
• The authors' names should not appear on any manuscript page other than the title page
• Systeme international (SI) metric measurements should be used throughout or the SI equivalent given in parentheses.

Authorship and Informed Consent
• A cover letter must accompany the initial submission stating that the manuscript has not been published previously nor is it under consideration by any other journal. The letter should disclose any commercial interest of the authors in the subject of the study.
• Letters of permission from any patient whose photograph appears in the illustrative material and any individual whose contributions to the article are acknowledged in the manuscript, as well as from the copyright holder of previously published material, should be submitted.
• Informed consent must be obtained from the patients who participated in clinical investigations, and a copy of the signed consent form provided. If experiments were performed on animals, a copy of the appropriate approval from an animal ethics committee is provided.

Title Page
• The title page should include the title of the article, the names and affiliations of all authors, and acknowledgement of all grant or other assistance. The corresponding author's full mailing address, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address should be provided .
• Supply an abbreviated version of the title.
• Provide a list of relevant key words.

References
• References must be double-spaced starting on a separate page, and numbered consecutively in the order in which they appear in the text.
• All references in the reference list must be cited in the text in brackets. Please do not use a word-processing footnote function.
• Unpublished data, including papers submitted but not yet accepted for publication, should not be cited in the reference list, but parenthetically in the text.
• Papers presented at meetings should be cited parenthetically in the text (e.g., Jones FR, "Stereotaxic mammography," presented at the 58th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association of Radiologists, June 4, 1995, Montreal).
• Journal titles are abbreviated according to Index Medicus (available at www.nlm.nih.gov/tsd/serials/lji.html). Journal titles should not be italicized.
• Full page ranges (e.g., 111-113) should be given for all references.
• The general style and punctuation of references should follow the format of the following examples (all authors are listed when there are three or fewer, or the first three followed by "et al").

Journal article:
1. Duong H, Tanpieri D, TerBrugge KG, et al. Transcranial Doppler ultrasonographic changes after embolization of cerebral arteriovenous malformations. Can Assoc Radiol J 1994;45:447-451.
Chapter in a book:
2. Rifkin MD. Prostate cancer: general considerations. In: Rifkin MD, ed. Ultrasound of the Prostate. New York: Raven Press, 1988:141-155.

Tables
• Each table should be on a separate page and have a short descriptive title.
• Number tables in the order in which they are cited in the text.
• Define abbreviations in an explanatory note below each table.
• Tables should not duplicate data given in the text or figures.

Figures and Legends
• A list of descriptive legends for all figures should be included with the double-spaced manuscript text, numbered in the order in which they are cited in the text.
• For histological photomicrographs, include the stain used and the original magnification in the legend.
• Figures should be submitted in separate files, not embedded in the manuscript text or with the legends.
• Please submit figure files in either EPS or TIF format. Graphics software such as Photoshop and Illustrator should be used to create art. Figures submitted using presentation software such as PowerPoint, CorelDraw, or Harvard Graphics are not acceptable. Colour images need to be saved as CMYK, at least 300 dots per inch (dpi). Greyscale images should be at least 300 dpi. Line art (black and white or colour) and combinations of greyscale and line art should be at least 1,000 dpi. Make sure that the figure number is part of the electronic file name (i.e., Figure1.tif). Please note that digital art created at low resolution cannot be adjusted. You must create artwork at the proper resolution. For detailed instructions on how to create artwork files, see http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.
• Images submitted in colour will appear in colour in the online version of the article at no charge to the author. Authors are responsible for colour reproduction in the print journal if desired.
• Any symbols should be uniform in size and style, large enough to be visible when the figure size is reduced.

Videos
• Supplementary videos may be accepted for posting on the Journal website.
• Each video submitted must be in MPEG format.
• Each video must be clean, with a minimum resolution of 176 x 72 and a maximum resolution of 320 x 240.
• Video files should be no more than 10 MB in size.



Updated June 2011