Authors Services
Manuscript Submission – Author Instructions
Journal of Food Allergy
Publisher
OceanSide Publications, Inc.
Phone: (401)331-2510 FAX: (401)331-0223
Email: [email protected]
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Introduction
The Journal of Food Allergy (JFA) is a peer-reviewed, open-access publication that publishes under the Creative Commons License: (Attribution – Non-Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). JFA belongs to OceanSide Publication’s collection of journals, along with Allergy and Asthma Proceedings (AAP) and the Journal of Precision Respiratory Medicine (JPRM). JFA is the official journal of the Eastern Food Allergy & Comorbidity Conference (EFACC); however, its governance is independent of EFACC. JFA’s revenue sources include subscriptions, advertising, reprints, permissions, and conference/society support. JFA does not charge article processing fees. Its aim is to distribute timely information regarding advancements in food allergy to medical professionals interested in the science and medicine of food allergy. JFA seeks to publish original research articles characterized by a predominantly clinical scope and having the potential to directly impact the quality of patient care. JFA welcomes the submission of original works related to food allergy, including review articles, original research, and clinical trial results.
JFA follows the guidelines and policies of COPE, WAME, and the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals formulated by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and, as such, it requires authors to adhere to the highest standards in ethical publishing.
Please review OceanSide’s Journal Ethical Publishing Policies, Statements, and Other Policies and follow the Manuscript Submission Guidelines (below) to upload your manuscript together with the required publication forms at the JFA’s submission site. Upon submitting your manuscript, it will immediately be screened; and only manuscripts of sufficient quality and consistency with the JFA aim and scope (described above) will advance to the formal peer review process. Additionally, please note that manuscripts that do not conform to the Manuscript Submission Guidelines will be returned to the author(s) for revision before initiating peer review. Please contact the editorial offices with any questions regarding the submission process.
MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
JFA utilizes an online system for manuscript submission and peer review. This system allows authors to submit their work electronically and check on the review process’s status. To access the electronic system, visit http://jfa.msubmit.net. This technology requires all manuscript files to be uploaded separately as follows:
- cover letter
- manuscript (including title page, abstract, text, references, and figure legends only), excluding table and figure files
- tables (can be consolidated into one “tables” file or uploaded separately)
- figures (uploaded each as a separate file)
- Publication Forms
As further detailed below, it is a prerequisite that Publication Rights Agreement forms and Conflict of Interest (CoI) documents be submitted (uploaded) to be considered for peer review. Download blank “PUBLISHING RIGHTS AGREEMENT forms” from the JFA website and blank “CoI forms” from the ICJME website here. Submit completed forms via electronic transmission (as directed below), or alternatively by email or fax to the JFA editorial staff; important – do not submit your completed ICJME “disclosure form” to ICJME. To submit your forms electronically, please visit the JFA manuscript submission website and upload them to the manuscript submission page (http://jfa.msubmit.net).
Electronic manuscript submission is a four-step process that is described step-by-step at www.jfa.msubmit.net. JFA does not accommodate the submission of paper manuscripts.
SELECTING A MANUSCRIPT TYPE: When uploading your completed manuscript, you will be required to designate your work as one of the following manuscript types.
- Solicited Meeting paper: (Restricted to solicited/invited manuscripts) If the solicited manuscript was written based upon an invitation to present information at a specific conference (such as EFACC), please select this manuscript type. Components indicated by a checkmark below should appear in the order they are presented here (i.e. title page, abstract, manuscript text, acknowledgment, references, figure legends, tables). Figures should be uploaded separately. If your work was previously presented, the corresponding scientific meeting should be included on the title page. Word limit: 3,000 words
- Original manuscript: Defined as papers that provide the results of original laboratory and/or clinical research. Components indicated by a checkmark below should appear in the order they are presented here (ie. title page, abstract, manuscript text, acknowledgment, references, figure legends, tables). Figures should be uploaded separately. Please see OceanSide’s policy statements regarding the reporting of various manuscript types, including the results of randomized controlled trials, observational trials, and diagnostic studies. Word Limit: 2500 words (exceptions allowed under special circumstances)
- Review: Defined as a manuscript that provides a systemic review of previously published literature. Components indicated by a checkmark below should appear in the order they are presented here (ie. title page, abstract, manuscript, text, acknowledgment, references, figure legends, tables). Figures should be uploaded separately. Please refer to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) for guidance: prisma-statement.org Word limit: 3000 words
- Short Communication: An original manuscript that has a limit of 2000 words in length, (approx. 4 pages, figure and table count 200 words each) and with no more than 20 references. Components indicated by a checkmark below should appear in the order they are presented here (ie. title page, abstract, manuscript text, acknowledgment, references, figure legends, tables). Figures should be uploaded separately.
- Pro/con debate: An original manuscript discussing both the pro and con side of a controversial issue in food allergy that is important to clinical practice. Limited to 1500 words and with an optional figure or table.
- Letters to the Editor: Letters are limited to brief communications which specifically relate to a recently published article in the Journal. Letters to the editor will be reviewed by the Editor and in most cases responded to by the author(s) of the referenced publication. Letters to the Editor are limited to 500 words and 5 references. Because letters to the editor are sometimes cited, keywords are required for submission. Letters to the Editor will be published exclusively online, with exceptions per the Editor
- Case Reports: Except by invitation, the JFA does not encourage the submission of case reports.
- Data Reporting: Please see the Journal Ethical Publishing Policies, Statements, and Other Policies page for specific policies regarding clinical trial registration, data sharing, and the reporting of various study designs (clinical trials, observational, diagnostic studies, and systemic review and meta-analysis).
MANUSCRIPT COMPONENTS
- Cover letter:
The cover letter should declare: 1) the authors’ intentions to publish in JFA; 2) the Work is an original; 3) all authors have met all four requirements for authorship per ICJME Recommendations; 4) the Work is not currently under consideration by another journal; 5) while the Work is under consideration by the Journal, it shall not be submitted elsewhere; 6) the Work does not infringe upon any copyrighted or proprietary rights; and 7) neither the submitted Work nor a similar manuscript has been previously published (except for clinical trial results on a clinical trial registry site, data contained in assessment reports published by regulatory agencies or in abstract form). If a similar manuscript has been published, please provide an explanation as to how the Work differs.
- Title page:
- Relevant and concise (no more than 15 words) title in sentence format (capitalize only proper nouns). Do not include abbreviations or use trade names in the title. A 7-word running title will also be required at time of submission.
- First name, middle initial, and last name of each author with the highest academic degrees included (do not include fellowships). All contributing authors should be listed, including professional writers who meet authorship criteria (see OceanSide Ethical Publishing Policies).
- Name of departments, institutions, and/or corporate affiliations of each author to which the work should be attributed; (see Conflict of Interest below).
- Please list any disclaimers, disclosures, and conflicts of interest for each author pertaining to this work. Please reconcile conflicts of interest for each author to match those submitted with each author’s submitted conflict of interest form (see OceanSide Ethical Publishing Policy).
- If this work is supported through NIH funding, this must be noted in the footnote.. If the author(s) indicates that their research was sponsored by the NIH, the manuscript will be sent to PubMed Central in compliance with the public access posting requirement.
- Acknowledgment of Financial Support/Funding. (see Conflict of Interest below)
- IRB Statement: As per ICMJE guidelines, when submitting manuscripts to JFA that involve human subjects, or human-derived data, it is required to include a statement describing the informed consent and approval by the institutional ethics committee or the Institutional Review Board (IRB) including the full name of the institution that provided approval and the approval number. Statements describing IRB/ethics committee approval as well as informed consent and/or ethical treatment of animal must be included in the methods section of the manuscript.
- Key Words: (7 key words are mandatory) Selecting appropriate key words is essential to your research being discovered by others.
- If your work was previously presented, the corresponding scientific meeting should be included on the title page in the format of, “name of the meeting, date of presentation, city, and state (or country)”. i.e. “Presented at the “Eastern Food Allergy & Comorbidity Conference, January 1, 2023, Palm Beach, Florida”.
- Include the corresponding author’s email address and telephone number.
- Abstract: All manuscript types with the exception of the “Letters to the Editor” should include a structured abstract, no longer than 300 words, to precede article. Only include acronyms or abbreviations if the phrase appears more than three times in the abstract. The abstract should NOT contain brand names, trademarks or references. Clinical trial registration numbers should be listed at the end of the abstract. The abstract of original manuscripts should be structured into sections as described below. For other manuscript types (solicited meeting manuscript, review, pro/con debate), structuring may be optional.
- Background – Describe the problem that prompted the study
- Objective – Describe the purpose of the study
- Methods – Describe how the study was conducted
- Results – Describe the most important findings
- Conclusion – Describe the most important conclusion drawn from the study
- Text: The specified lengths (word counts) for the manuscript types listed above do not include word counts of the abstract and references. However, please include the abstract and references in the same file as the text when uploading. Please insert line numbers into text for the ease of peer review. The manuscript should be typed double-spaced in a standard font such as Times New Roman, Arial, Courier, or Helvetica, in size 12. Text should be written in clear and concise English. For authors whose primary language is not English, it is recommended to obtain professional writing assistance to avoid grammatical and syntax issues. In your summary/conclusion, please refrain from self-laudatory language and qualitative characterizations of your work such as claims of priority or novelty.
- Acknowledgment: General acknowledgments of manuscript contributors not meeting the criteria of “authorship” such as consultants and statisticians should be listed at the end of the text before the references. Include full names of individuals. This section is not for disclosures of conflicts of interest. Acknowledgments of funding must be disclosed on the title page.
- References: Vancouver style with modification. Authors are encouraged to use the most up to date references available, ideally from within the past 5 years. Refer to EndNote/OceanSide Publications for proper reference formatting. References in the text should be superscript numbers in order of appearance. Manuscripts in preparation, personal communications, or other unpublished information should not be cited in the reference list, but instead should be mentioned in the text in parentheses. References with more than three authors should be formatted to list only the first three authors followed by et al. (Endnote.com/downloads/styles)
Reference format example: Settipane RA. A Journal with a precise purpose. J Food Allergy. 2019; 1:1.
- Tables: You have the option of including your tables as the last component of the manuscript text file or uploading each table file as a separate file (in .doc format). Any abbreviations included in the table should be defined in the table legend. If the table is being republished with permission, proof of permission must be transmitted to the editorial office.
- Figure legends: As noted above, figure legends (without figures) should be included in the submission of the text file following the reference list (but before the tables). Figure legends should be typewritten, double-spaced, and listed (numbered) on a separate page after the tables. Legends should not appear as a component of the figures. Include figure titles at the beginning of the legend. Any abbreviations included in the figures should be defined in the figure legend.
- Figures, artwork, and illustrations: Figures included in manuscripts must be submitted in electronic format, no larger than 300MB, along with the manuscript. Each figure file should be uploaded individually as a separate electronic file(s) – not imbedded in the manuscript text file. Please follow guidelines for submission of digital artwork at this link. Image manipulation is not tolerated. All submitted figures must be true representations of research results. For any figures being “republished with permission,” proof of having obtained permission must be transmitted to the editorial office. Proof of consent (signed releases) must be transmitted to the editorial office for any and all photographs of identifiable persons. If the authors have included any copyrighted figures in their manuscript, it is the responsibility of the author to obtain the necessary rights/permissions from the copyright holder and to transmit these to the editorial office.
- Supplementary material: Authors may upload images, figures, tables, or data in other formats as supplemental files. Please consider this option when the number of tables and figures together exceeds a quantity of four or when your tables are very lengthy. Submit your material together with inclusion of the word “supplemental” in the legend. Please tag your material as a “supplemental file” during the submission process.
- Publication Rights Agreement: Because JFA is an open access publication that publishes under the Creative Commons License: (Attribution – Non-Commercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), the author(s) retain the copyright privileges to their Work (defined as manuscript, including all tables, graphs, and photos, etc.); however, as part of the submission process, the authors are requested to review and sign a Publication Rights Agreement form, indicating their agreement to certain terms and assignment of certain publication rights (for both electronic and print versions of the Work) to the publisher as further described below (in the event the Work is published):
1) agree to and accept the terms of the Creative Commons License: (Attribution – Non-Commercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
2) agree to and accept the JFA Terms and Conditions of Use;
3) retain the copyright privileges to their Work;
4) grant the Publisher exclusive license and rights for all “commercial” use regarding the Work. For the purposes of this agreement, “commercial use” means use in any manner that is primarily intended for or directed toward commercial advantage or monetary compensation.
It is a manuscript submission prerequisite that a Publication Rights Agreement be completed and uploaded during manuscript submission to be considered for peer review. MANUSCRIPTS WILL NOT BE REVIEWED UNLESS ACCOMPANIED BY AN EXECUTED PUBLICATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT. This agreement may be completed either by each author individually signing the agreement or by the signature of a single author if that author has attained the consent of each co-author.
- Conflict of Interest form (per ICJME guidelines): It is a prerequisite that conflict of interest (CoI) forms be completed and submitted (uploaded) to be considered for peer review.
- Per ICJME guidelines, all authors must submit a separate form (one for each author) listing the existence of any and all financial relationships that might pose a conflict of interest (such as employment, consultancies, stock ownership or options, honoraria, patents, and paid expert testimony). Download blank “CoI forms” from the ICJME website here and upload your completed form with your manuscript files at the manuscript submission page (http://jfa.msubmit.net). MANUSCRIPTS WILL NOT BE REVIEWED UNLESS ACCOMPANIED BY A CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE FORM SIGNED BY EACH AND EVERY AUTHOR. Disclosures will be held in strict confidence during the review process. However, if your work is accepted for publication, all relevant conflicts of interest will be disclosed in conjunction with its publication.
JOURNAL STATEMENTS AND POLICIES:
JFA adheres to the following policies established by its publisher, Oceanside Publications, Inc. Please review these Statements and Policies.
JFA adheres to Journal Ethical Publishing Policies, Statements, and Other Policies established jointly by the Journal editors and publisher. Please review and adhere to these policies.
Editorial Office
OceanSide Publications, Inc.
450 Veterans Memorial Pkwy, Building #15
East Providence, RI 02914
Email: [email protected]