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Editorial PolicyThis document is also available in Portable Document Format (PDF – 152K). Learn more about PDFs. One or more documents on this Web page is available in
Microsoft Word Format (DOC). You will need Microsoft Word to view and print these documents. When an author submits a manuscript to Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD), the journal's editorial staff evaluates it for overall quality and appropriateness for the journal's readership. Once cleared at this level, the manuscript undergoes confidential peer review. The journal's editor in chief makes final publication decisions, and then staff members edit accepted papers for grammar, style, format, and clarity prior to publication. An Editorial Board, whose members represent a wide spectrum of public health expertise, advises the journal's editorial staff. We are committed to evaluating and publishing submitted papers promptly and to upholding the highest standards of ethical conduct. Papers expressing novel ideas of interest to a broad public health audience receive priority. Redundant or duplicate publicationPCD is a primary-source periodical. The journal requires authors to submit an Author's Statement (DOC–61K), which verifies that PCD is the only journal to which the authors have submitted their manuscript. Authors seeking guidance on this matter may want to consult the section on "Redundant or Duplicate Publication" in Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals*, produced by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE, also known as the Vancouver Group). Preliminary reports in the MMWR generally do not constitute duplicate publication. Authors may also consult the editors of PCD. Ultimately, the journal's editors decide what constitutes prior or duplicate publication. AuthorshipWe follow the criteria for authorship detailed in Uniform Requirements*, beginning with the recommendation, "All persons designated as authors should qualify for authorship, and all those who qualify should be listed." The three criteria for authorship defined by ICMJE are:
Individuals must fulfill all three conditions to qualify for authorship credit. General supervision, data collection, acquisition of funding, and substantial contributions to writing and editing are not grounds for authorship. Authors should recognize these participants in Acknowledgments, with participant permission. All authors of a manuscript submitted to PCD must agree to its submission, take responsibility for its content, and agree in writing to any corrections or retractions. All parties must also agree in writing to changes in authorship (for example, adding or deleting names, or changing the order in which they appear in the by line) after the paper has been submitted. The Author's Statement (DOC–61K), which each author must sign, provides verification of the responsibilities claimed by each author. We may choose to publish explanations of specific author contributions along with articles. Peer reviewA member of the journal's editorial staff first reviews manuscripts submitted to PCD. If we determine that the manuscript has sufficient priority and warrants peer review, we submit it to at least two peer reviewers who possess expertise in the subject covered by the manuscript. Some papers may require assessment by expert statistical reviewers. Peer reviews are conducted in complete confidence. We have a single-blind review process; while authors are identified to reviewers, reviewers remain anonymous to authors. We ask reviewers to give detailed comments (with references whenever possible) that will help authors to improve their papers and PCD editors to decide whether or not to publish. For each article reviewed, we ask reviewers to complete the Reviewer's Confidential Manuscript Assessment for the Editor. Reviewers serve as advisors to PCD editors, who make final decisions. We ask reviewers to disclose any conflicts of interest or personal or professional biases that may render them unable to provide a fair and objective assessment of the manuscript under review. We welcome suggestions from authors for appropriate peer reviewers. To recommend a peer reviewer, please e-mail us at pcdeditor@cdc.gov. Conflicts of interestWe require authors to disclose any and all financial, professional, or personal conflicts of interest in an accompanying cover letter. Details of this information will remain confidential to the journal's editors and will not be provided to peer reviewers. We may, however, choose to disclose certain financial interests to readers upon publication. Disclosure encompasses information about author affiliations that may potentially be regarded as having biased the research or results described in a manuscript. Financial conflicts include employment, salary, consulting fees, honoraria, stock or equity interests, expert testimony, and intellectual property rights (patent grants and pending applications for patent grants, royalties, and copyrights). In addition, it is the responsibility of the authors to state all sources of funding for the work described in the manuscript and to include this information in the manuscript's Acknowledgments. If any undisclosed conflicts or financial interests are identified after publication, we may choose to publish notices of failure to disclose such information. We also ask reviewers to disclose any conflicts of interest and personal or professional biases that may render them unable to provide a fair and objective evaluation of the manuscript under review. Reviewers may wish to consult with the editor in chief if they have any questions about such matters, and we ask reviewers to disqualify themselves if they consider themselves unable to give an impartial assessment. Access to manuscript dataBy submitting a manuscript to PCD, authors agree to provide access to data that may be needed during the editorial and external peer review process prior to publication as well as after publication, should questions arise during either time. Journal editorial staff and peer reviewers would use such data for the sole purpose of further evaluation. CopyrightsPCD is published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a U.S. government agency. Thus, any report, article, or other paper submitted to PCD becomes a work of the United States Government for which copyright protection under Title 17 of the United States Code is not available. All materials become part of the public domain and may be used and reproduced freely without special permission. Proper citation, however, is requested. PermissionsAuthors must obtain written permissions in these four situations:
Corresponding authors are responsible for maintaining these written permissions and making them available to the editors at PCD upon request. Use of human subjects or animalsManuscripts that describe projects involving human or animal subjects must indicate clearly in the Methods section that the appropriate ethics committee or institutional review board approved the project. For investigations involving human subjects, state also in the Methods section the manner in which adult subjects and parents or legal guardians of minors or incapacitated adults provided informed consent. ErrorsOur policy is to correct mistakes within the on-line text of the article as soon as we know of them. We also post mistakes in the Errata section, documenting the correction and the date it was made. MisconductThe editors of PCD adhere to the policy stated by the ICMJE in Uniform Requirements*: "If substantial doubts arise about the honesty or integrity of work, either submitted or published, it is the editor's responsibility to ensure that the question is appropriately pursued, usually by the authors' sponsoring institution. However, it is not ordinarily the task of editors to conduct a full investigation or to make a final determination; that responsibility lies with the institution where the work was done or with the funding agency." Opinions and endorsementsThe opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above. News media inquiriesOnce a manuscript is accepted, its content remains strictly confidential and cannot appear in print, on radio or television, or in electronic form, or be released by the news media until publication. After publication, all inquiries from members of the news media will be directed toward the corresponding author. * Links to non-Federal organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. Links do not constitute an endorsement of any organization by the CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. The CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at this link. |
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Privacy Policy | Accessibility This page last reviewed August 04, 2004 United States Department of Health and Human Services
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