Journal of Integrative Medicine Guide for Authors

Guide for Authors

Determine Your Article Type	Format Your Manuscript
Manuscript Publication Process	Article Processing Charges
Language	Preprint

Determine Your Article Type

Original Article-Clinical Research or Randomized Controlled Trials

Manuscript should follow the relevant reporting guidelines, i.e. CONSORT (http://www.consort-statement.org/) for randomized controlled trials (RCT), STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) for observational studies, TREND (Transparent Reporting of Evaluations with Nonrandomized Designs) for non-randomized trials, etc. Human experiments must be performed in accordance with international ethical standards such as the Declaration of Helsinki, and the research protocol must be approved by an institutional review board (IRB) or equivalent human ethics committee. Documented informed consent must be obtained from all human subjects of clinical research prior to any experiment; the confidentiality of patients’ information must be preserved and a statement to that effect must be included.

It should include Title, Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, Conflict of Interest, Acknowledgements, and References. Submissions of study protocol are (following SPIRIT, Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials) recommended to be included as supporting information, or if already published should be referenced appropriately in the text of the article. Ethics should be included in the Materials section.
Abstracts of RCTs should consist of seven paragraphs, labeled Background; Objective; Design, setting, participants and interventions; Main outcome measures; Results; Conclusion; and Trial registration.
Abstracts of other types of clinical research papers should consist of four paragraphs, labeled Objective, Methods, Results and Conclusion.
[Sample Article-RCT]
[Sample Article-non-RCT]
[Sample Article-Cross-sectional Study]

Original Article-Experimental Research
Manuscript based on original experimental research. Laboratory research involving animals must comply with guidelines for animal care and use; the experimental protocol must be approved by the institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC), and a statement to that effect must be included. For preparing a manuscript of animal pre-clinical study, authors should refer to the ARRIVE guidelines.
Submissions should include: Title, Abstract (consists of 4 paragraphs, labeled as Objective, Methods, Results and Conclusion), Keywords, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, Conflict of Interest, Acknowledgements, References, Tables and Figures. Ethics statements should be included in the Materials section.
[Sample Article]

Review/Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Research review, systematic review, and literature research articles are welcome and undergo the same peer-review and editorial process as original research reports. The author(s) of a review article should provide a comprehensive and critical but balanced view of the field. Review papers may be up to 5 000 words.
A research review article discusses a focused topic of recent research in integrative medicine, with commentary and analysis concerning the topic; a single-paragraph summary of fewer than 250 words should be included.
For systematic review and meta-analysis authors should refer to the PRISMA Statement. Submissions should include: Title, Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, Conflict of Interest, Acknowledgements, References. Abstracts of systematic review and meta-analysis should consist of seven paragraphs, labeled Background; Objective; Search strategy; Inclusion criteria; Data extraction and analysis; Results; and Conclusion, and should not exceed 350 words.
[Sample Article-Systematic Review]
[Sample Article-Systematic Review and Meta-analysis]

Case Report
Case reports will be considered if of particular interest. These should be less than 2 000 words, and should include a brief introduction and concise discussion describing the value of the report. A single-paragraph summary of fewer than 250 words should be included. For preparing a manuscript of Case Report, authors should refer to the CARE guidelines.

[Sample Artcle]

Commentary
A commentary is a personal experience or opinion of the author from his own point of view. Submissions should include: Title, Abstract (one paragraph about the main ideas), Keywords, Introduction, Discussion/Conclusions, Conflict of Interest, Acknowledgements, References.
[Sample Article]

Global Views
Global Views may address an important topic about any aspects of integrative medicine, such as acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda medicine, herbal medicine, homeopathy, nutrition, chiropractic, mind-body medicine, Taichi, qigong, meditation, and any other modalities of complementary and alternative medicine.
Submissions should include: Title, Abstract (one paragraph about the main ideas), Keywords, Introduction, Discussion/Conclusions, Conflict of Interest, Acknowledgements, References.
[Sample Article]

Letter to the Editor
Letters to the editor should be no more than 2 000 words. Preference is given to criticisms or comments related to articles published in JIM. Submissions do not include an abstract.
[Sample Article]

Conference Summary
Announcements of forthcoming regional conferences will be published free of charge. Please specify the title of the meeting, the dates and venue, organizers, and correspondence or secretariat address.
[Sample Article]

Format Your Manuscript

Manuscript Preparation and Submission Requirements

All manuscripts must be submitted online via the ScholarOne System. Authors will be able to track the status of their manuscripts via the online system.

Before submission, please prepare the following files:

Manuscript Checklist: Please click to download template: JIM Manuscript Checklist Template.doc

Title Page: Please click to download template: JIM Title Page Template.doc

Cover letter: Please include complete contact information for the corresponding author (affiliation, postal/mail address, e-mail address, and telephone number) and whether the authors have published, posted, or submitted any related papers from the same study. Please click to download template: JIM Cover Letter Template.doc

Main Document: Please submit the manuscript as a Word document. Details of the format and content for different article types see in “Determine Your Article Type” category. On the abstract page, authors should provide 3 to 8 keywords that capture the main topics of the article. Terms from Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list of MEDLINE/PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh) should be used. Information of the authors’ name and institution cannot appear in the main document text. Please note: JIM conducts blinded peer-review. When uploading your manuscript you need to upload a manuscript file with no identifying author information (designate as Main Document) and a separate title page with author details (designate as Title Page).

Figures/Tables: Please provide independent file of Figures/Tables. More details in “Preparation of Figures” and “Preparation of Tables” categories.

Supplemental files: Each supplemental file should be prepared, such as copyright, certificate, etc.

Preparation of Figures

Each figure should be supplied in a separate electronic file. All figures should be cited in the paper in a consecutive order.
Figures legends: explain the internal scale and identify the method of staining and magnification of photomicrographs. When symbols, arrows, numbers, or letters are used to identify parts of the illustrations, identify and explain each one clearly in the legend. Abbreviations must be explained.
If photographs of people are used, either the subjects must not be identifiable or written permission from the depicted individuals must be included. If a figure has been published, acknowledge the original source and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material.
We can accept the following digital formats saved in CMYK color mode: Adobe Illustrator, EPS (Encapsulated Post-Script), TIFF (Tagged Image File Format), and JPEG. Also acceptable but not preferred: BMP for black-and-white line art only. If an outside illustrator created the figure, the Journal reserves the right to modify or completely redraw it to meet our specifications for publication.
More details of figure preparation requirements, please see in JIM Guidelines for Figure Preparation.

Preparation of Tables

Tables should be cited consecutively in the text. Every table must have a descriptive title and if numerical measurements are given, the units should be included in the column heading. Vertical rules should not be used.

Preparation of References

Please check the reference list to make sure that all references meet the specific requirements of JIM for reference style (see in JIM Guidelines for Reference Preparation). Authors should check the accuracy of all reference citations. Articles published in JIM which are accessible at the journal website (http://www.jcimjournal.com/jim; https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-integrative-medicine) can be consulted.

Unpublished data, classified periodicals, and personal communications may not be used as references. References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first cited in the text. Identify references in text, tables, and legends by Arabic numerals in square brackets ([ ]).
The titles of journals should be abbreviated according to the style used in MEDLINE/PubMed. List the first six authors (surname, initials), title of the article, name of the journal or book, year, volume (issue) and the first and last pages.
A PubMed link is required for each journal article reference, if available. Note: A link is required for each journal article reference when published online.

Manuscript Publication Process
After Submission
Manuscript Receipt: Upon the receipt of the manuscript, the JIM Editorial Office will assign a code number, which is to be used in all subsequent correspondence.
Peer Review: All submitted manuscripts are reviewed initially by editors. Manuscripts with insufficient priority for publication are rejected promptly. Other manuscripts are subject to peer review and are expected to meet standards of academic excellence. Based on the comments of the reviewers, the journal editor determines whether the manuscript is accepted, rejected, or requires revision before publication, and the decision will be sent to the authors.
During the review process, authors can check the status of their submitted manuscript via the ScholarOne system.
Revision: If revision is required, the authors should amend and resubmit the manuscript within 14 days (minor revision) or 28 days (major revision). Resubmission after deadline will be considered as a new submission. If the revision is not satisfactory to the reviewers, the author may be asked to make a second revision.

After Acceptance
Editing: Accepted manuscripts will be edited by scientific editor and language editor. Authors are responsible for all statements made in their work, including changes made during editing and production that are authorized by the corresponding author.

Typesetting & Epub ahead of print: After editing, manuscript accepted by JIM will be sent to Elsevier (Singapore) Pte Ltd for typesetting. During this process, the accepted version of the manuscript will be published online first as Epub ahead of print. These manuscripts are available to authors and readers under the category of “Articles in press” at

https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-integrative-medicine.

Proofreading: After typesetting, the submitting author or corresponding author of a manuscript to be published will receive proofs from Elsevier (Singapore) Pte Ltd. Corrected proofs must be returned to the publisher within 3 days of receipt. The publisher will do everything possible to ensure prompt publication. It will therefore be appreciated if the manuscripts and figures conform from the outset to the style of the journal.

Publication: The print issues of JIM are published bimonthly. Manuscript in press will be organized according to the accept date by the editorial team of JIM.

Assignment of copyright: The corresponding author will receive by an e-mail the copy of the license-to-publish agreement form (‘Journal Publishing Agreement’ or ‘License Agreement’ [more information]) at the time of acceptance of the manuscript. The corresponding author must complete and sign the license-to-publish agreement upon acceptance of the manuscript and return it to the editorial office. Failure to do so will result in delays to the publication of your paper.

After Publication
For published manuscripts, the corresponding author will be asked to respond to letters to the editor. Requests to publish corrections should be sent to the editorial office. Corrections are reviewed by editors and authors, published promptly, and linked online to the original article.

Article Processing Charges

Currently JIM does not levy any charges to the papers submitted to JIM unless authors choose Open Access. JIM offers authors the option to make their article freely available on the Publisher’s website. For an additional charge, your article will be freely accessible immediately upon publication (To get more detail, please see About Open Access and Open Access).

Language

Please write your text in good English (American or British usage is accepted, but not a mixture of these). Authors who feel their English language manuscript may require editing to eliminate possible grammatical or spelling errors and to conform to correct scientific English may wish to use the English language editing service available from Charlesworth Author Services or Elsevier's Author Services.

Preprint

Journal of Integrative Medicine (JIM) operates a double-blind peer review process (the peer-reviewers’ and the authors’ identities will remain anonymous to each other). Currently, JIM does not accept manuscripts that have been published at any preprint platform.

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