Clinical Ethics 
Guidelines for Authors
Aims and scope
Clinical Ethics is concerned with all aspects of ethics relating to health care delivery, research and policy. It provides a forum for cross-disciplinary research, discourse and debate on issues of contemporary relevance and concern. Articles will reflect the contributions made by practitioners and service users, academics and researchers, medical lawyers and policy makers to the developing field of clinical ethics.
Categories of article
It is anticipated that the length of contributions will be in the range of 3000- 4500 words (plus references and, if relevant/appropriate, up to 5 tables/images), but given the mission of the journal to encourage and disseminate innovative and interdisciplinary research, discourse and debate, the Editors would not wish to discourage, and in fact would be pleased to consider, much shorter contributions.
Articles in the following broad categories are welcomed:
Case Studies: Appropriately anonymised case study material with accompanying analysis from health care professionals, service users, academic commentators/educators and postgraduate students in relevant disciplines. Such contributions may include discussion around the use of case study material in the context of clinical ethics whilst at the same time promulgating the highest possible standards of practice in relation to the use of personal information.
Public Policy and Law: Report, analysis or comment on recent legislative, legal and public policy developments with a bearing on the provision of health care and the principles upon which health care systems are based. Commentaries on the decisions of the courts are welcomed.
Clinical Ethics: Articles on a variety of topics that reflect on the challenging issues within contemporary clinical ethics, including both the intellectual development and practical implementation of the discipline. This section will also be a vehicle for the sharing of good practice with ethical committees and health care trusts. It will also be a route to the dissemination of protocols, guidance and relevant innovations.
Empirical Ethics: The journal is committed to encouraging and publicising cross-disciplinary research on the ethics of health care. Research reports, original articles, personal reflections on the research process, or accounts of work in progress are encouraged.
Other: As well as work falling clearly under the above headings, any work which helps develop debate and increase understanding of the complex ethical issues confronting contemporary providers and consumers of health care will be considered. This includes articles that either offer a detailed critique of a recent publication or provide a comprehensive survey of work in a particular field.
Editorial policy
All contributions to Clinical Ethics will be considered for publication on the understanding that they are not under consideration/accepted for publication or already published elsewhere. All will be peer-reviewed, and the final decision on acceptance or rejection will remain with the Editors. The authors of all material accepted for publication will be required to assign copyright to the publisher, Royal Society of Medicine Press, and a form for this purpose will accompany the proofs.
Submission
Please prepare your manuscripts in accordance with the guidelines below and submit it to the Editors:
* by email (with manuscript and image files attached) to
Clinical Ethics
* by post (on floppy disk or CD-ROM with printout) to:
Editorial Office, Clinical Ethics, c/o Royal Society of Medicine Press, 1 Wimpole Street, London W1G 0AE
There should be a designated corresponding author. Confirmation that all authors have consented to publication and that the paper has not been nor will be published elsewhere should accompany the submission.
Preparation of manuscripts
Format
The manuscript may be prepared using any word-processing software, but please save and submit as a Microsoft Word document or an RTF file (i.e. ‘rich text format’). Use double-spaced, unjustified text throughout, with principal subheadings in bold upper and lower case (not underlined); lower-level subheadings should be in italics. Press ENTER only at the end of each paragraph, each subheading, and each entry of a list. Avoid using footnotes and automatically numbered notes and paragraphs. Tables and the list of figure legends should appear on separate pages at the end of the manuscript. Please number all pages consecutively.
Figures should be saved as separate image files (see below) and must not be embedded in the manuscript file.
Title page
The first page of the manuscript must include (1) the full title of the paper; (2) a short title of not more than 40 characters for page headings; (3) the initials and last names of all authors; (4) the department's) and the institution's) where the work was carried out; (5) the name, postal address, email, telephone and fax numbers of the corresponding author.
Text
An Abstract (maximum 150 words) and up to five keywords must be provided for all contributions. Appropriate subheadings should be provided to highlight the content of different sections of the rest of the article. Reports of original research should be structured in conventional style (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgements, References). Where human investigations are being reported, the Methods section must include a statement confirming approval of the protocol by an ethics committee.
Abbreviations and measurements
Abbreviations must be defined in full at their first mention in the text, e.g. ‘electrocardiogram (ECG)’. The 24-hour clock should be used for times and SI units for all other measurements (exception: mmHg for blood pressure).
Acknowledgements
Only the help of those who have made substantial contributions to the study and/or the preparation of the paper should be acknowledged. The sources of financial support, or of donated equipment, must be acknowledged. Potential conflicts of interest should be disclosed.
References
Only essential references should be included and authors should verify them against the original source material. References should be numbered sequentially according to their first mention in the text and identified by superscript Arabic numerals after any punctuation. Any sort of automatic numbering should be avoided. References cited in tables or figures (or their footnotes or legends) should be numbered according to the place in the text where the table or figure is first cited. Papers in preparation, personal communications and unpublished observations should be referred to as such in the text only, with the name of the source and year in parentheses.
In the list at the end of the manuscript, references should be numbered and listed in the order in which they are first cited in the text. Papers accepted for publication but not yet published should be included in the list followed by ‘(in press)’.
All references in the list should include the last names and initials of all authors (unless there are more than six, in which case only the first three should be given, followed by et al.). Publications for which no author is apparent may be attributed to the organization from which they originate. Punctuation in references should be kept to a minimum and follow the style shown in the examples given below.
References to journal articles should include the title of the paper, the Medline abbreviation for the journal title, year of publication, volume number, first/last page numbers. (If the journal is not listed in Medline its title should be given in full.)
1 Kaldjian LC, Jekel JF, Bernene JL, Rosenthal GE, Vaughan-Sarrazin M, Duffy TP. Internists’ attitudes towards terminal sedation in end of life care. J Med Ethics 2004;30:499–503
References to books and reports should give the title, place of publication, publisher and year.
2 Beauchamp TL, Childress JF. Principles of Biomedical Ethics. 5th edn. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001
References to chapters in books and papers in conference proceedings should additionally include the chapter or paper title, the names and initials of the editors, and the first/last page numbers of the chapter/paper.
3 Husted J. Autonomy and a right not to know. In: Chadwick R, Levitt M, Shickle D, eds. The Right to Know and the Right to Not Know. Aldershot: Ashgate, 1997:55–68
Tables
If Tables are included they should not duplicate information given in the text. The tables feature of the word processor should be used to prepare them. They should be numbered in the order in which they are mentioned in the text, each be given a brief title, and each appear on a separate page at the end of the manuscript. Each column of the table should have a short heading and footnotes should be used for explanatory matter (e.g. abbreviations). Vertical rules and/or background shading should not be used.
Figures
There is no requirement to include images (i.e. graphs/charts/photographs), but if such illustrative material is submitted, each image should be named ‘Figure’ and should be numbered in the order in which it is mentioned in the text. A list of legends (one for each Figure) should appear on a separate page at the end of the manuscript file.
The Figures themselves, however, must not be embedded in the Microsoft Word/RTF manuscript text file. Both line and photographic images should be supplied as separate TIFF files at a resolution of at least 600 dpi. They should be black and white, and supplied as camera-ready artwork with redundant areas removed. Line artwork should be professionally drawn and labelled (freehand lettering is not acceptable), with lettering/numbering sufficiently large to ensure legibility after reduction for publication.
Consent
The consent of patients and approval of the protocol by an ethics committee must be confirmed for human investigations (include in Methods section).
- Where a patient might be identified via an illustration or from the text, it is essential that written permission is obtained from that patient and forwarded with the manuscript.
- Any statements which might be construed as being potentially defamatory must be avoided.
- Original textual matter quoted from other authors must have formal citation and be appropriately referenced.
- Any tables or illustrations previously published should be accompanied by the written consent of the copyright holder to replication, an acknowledgement included in the caption, and the full reference included in the list.
Proofs and Eprints
Click here to go back to the main Clinical Ethics page.
Click here to go back to the RSM Press home page.
Click here to go to the Clinical Ethics Editorial Board page.
Click here to view RSM Press policy on depositing articles into institutional and central repositories.
Full List of Journals
Online licensing information
Clinical Ethics is concerned with all aspects of ethics relating to health care delivery, research and policy. It provides a forum for cross-disciplinary research, discourse and debate on issues of contemporary relevance and concern. Articles will reflect the contributions made by practitioners and service users, academics and researchers, medical lawyers and policy makers to the developing field of clinical ethics.
It is anticipated that the length of contributions will be in the range of 3000- 4500 words (plus references and, if relevant/appropriate, up to 5 tables/images), but given the mission of the journal to encourage and disseminate innovative and interdisciplinary research, discourse and debate, the Editors would not wish to discourage, and in fact would be pleased to consider, much shorter contributions.
Articles in the following broad categories are welcomed:
Case Studies: Appropriately anonymised case study material with accompanying analysis from health care professionals, service users, academic commentators/educators and postgraduate students in relevant disciplines. Such contributions may include discussion around the use of case study material in the context of clinical ethics whilst at the same time promulgating the highest possible standards of practice in relation to the use of personal information.
Public Policy and Law: Report, analysis or comment on recent legislative, legal and public policy developments with a bearing on the provision of health care and the principles upon which health care systems are based. Commentaries on the decisions of the courts are welcomed.
Clinical Ethics: Articles on a variety of topics that reflect on the challenging issues within contemporary clinical ethics, including both the intellectual development and practical implementation of the discipline. This section will also be a vehicle for the sharing of good practice with ethical committees and health care trusts. It will also be a route to the dissemination of protocols, guidance and relevant innovations.
Empirical Ethics: The journal is committed to encouraging and publicising cross-disciplinary research on the ethics of health care. Research reports, original articles, personal reflections on the research process, or accounts of work in progress are encouraged.
Other: As well as work falling clearly under the above headings, any work which helps develop debate and increase understanding of the complex ethical issues confronting contemporary providers and consumers of health care will be considered. This includes articles that either offer a detailed critique of a recent publication or provide a comprehensive survey of work in a particular field.
All contributions to Clinical Ethics will be considered for publication on the understanding that they are not under consideration/accepted for publication or already published elsewhere. All will be peer-reviewed, and the final decision on acceptance or rejection will remain with the Editors. The authors of all material accepted for publication will be required to assign copyright to the publisher, Royal Society of Medicine Press, and a form for this purpose will accompany the proofs.
Please prepare your manuscripts in accordance with the guidelines below and submit it to the Editors:
* by email (with manuscript and image files attached) to
Clinical Ethics
* by post (on floppy disk or CD-ROM with printout) to:
Editorial Office, Clinical Ethics, c/o Royal Society of Medicine Press, 1 Wimpole Street, London W1G 0AE
There should be a designated corresponding author. Confirmation that all authors have consented to publication and that the paper has not been nor will be published elsewhere should accompany the submission.
Format
The manuscript may be prepared using any word-processing software, but please save and submit as a Microsoft Word document or an RTF file (i.e. ‘rich text format’). Use double-spaced, unjustified text throughout, with principal subheadings in bold upper and lower case (not underlined); lower-level subheadings should be in italics. Press ENTER only at the end of each paragraph, each subheading, and each entry of a list. Avoid using footnotes and automatically numbered notes and paragraphs. Tables and the list of figure legends should appear on separate pages at the end of the manuscript. Please number all pages consecutively.
Figures should be saved as separate image files (see below) and must not be embedded in the manuscript file.
Title page
The first page of the manuscript must include (1) the full title of the paper; (2) a short title of not more than 40 characters for page headings; (3) the initials and last names of all authors; (4) the department's) and the institution's) where the work was carried out; (5) the name, postal address, email, telephone and fax numbers of the corresponding author.
Text
An Abstract (maximum 150 words) and up to five keywords must be provided for all contributions. Appropriate subheadings should be provided to highlight the content of different sections of the rest of the article. Reports of original research should be structured in conventional style (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgements, References). Where human investigations are being reported, the Methods section must include a statement confirming approval of the protocol by an ethics committee.
Abbreviations and measurements
Abbreviations must be defined in full at their first mention in the text, e.g. ‘electrocardiogram (ECG)’. The 24-hour clock should be used for times and SI units for all other measurements (exception: mmHg for blood pressure).
Acknowledgements
Only the help of those who have made substantial contributions to the study and/or the preparation of the paper should be acknowledged. The sources of financial support, or of donated equipment, must be acknowledged. Potential conflicts of interest should be disclosed.
References
Only essential references should be included and authors should verify them against the original source material. References should be numbered sequentially according to their first mention in the text and identified by superscript Arabic numerals after any punctuation. Any sort of automatic numbering should be avoided. References cited in tables or figures (or their footnotes or legends) should be numbered according to the place in the text where the table or figure is first cited. Papers in preparation, personal communications and unpublished observations should be referred to as such in the text only, with the name of the source and year in parentheses.
In the list at the end of the manuscript, references should be numbered and listed in the order in which they are first cited in the text. Papers accepted for publication but not yet published should be included in the list followed by ‘(in press)’.
All references in the list should include the last names and initials of all authors (unless there are more than six, in which case only the first three should be given, followed by et al.). Publications for which no author is apparent may be attributed to the organization from which they originate. Punctuation in references should be kept to a minimum and follow the style shown in the examples given below.
References to journal articles should include the title of the paper, the Medline abbreviation for the journal title, year of publication, volume number, first/last page numbers. (If the journal is not listed in Medline its title should be given in full.)
1 Kaldjian LC, Jekel JF, Bernene JL, Rosenthal GE, Vaughan-Sarrazin M, Duffy TP. Internists’ attitudes towards terminal sedation in end of life care. J Med Ethics 2004;30:499–503
References to books and reports should give the title, place of publication, publisher and year.
2 Beauchamp TL, Childress JF. Principles of Biomedical Ethics. 5th edn. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001
References to chapters in books and papers in conference proceedings should additionally include the chapter or paper title, the names and initials of the editors, and the first/last page numbers of the chapter/paper.
3 Husted J. Autonomy and a right not to know. In: Chadwick R, Levitt M, Shickle D, eds. The Right to Know and the Right to Not Know. Aldershot: Ashgate, 1997:55–68
Tables
If Tables are included they should not duplicate information given in the text. The tables feature of the word processor should be used to prepare them. They should be numbered in the order in which they are mentioned in the text, each be given a brief title, and each appear on a separate page at the end of the manuscript. Each column of the table should have a short heading and footnotes should be used for explanatory matter (e.g. abbreviations). Vertical rules and/or background shading should not be used.
Figures
There is no requirement to include images (i.e. graphs/charts/photographs), but if such illustrative material is submitted, each image should be named ‘Figure’ and should be numbered in the order in which it is mentioned in the text. A list of legends (one for each Figure) should appear on a separate page at the end of the manuscript file.
The Figures themselves, however, must not be embedded in the Microsoft Word/RTF manuscript text file. Both line and photographic images should be supplied as separate TIFF files at a resolution of at least 600 dpi. They should be black and white, and supplied as camera-ready artwork with redundant areas removed. Line artwork should be professionally drawn and labelled (freehand lettering is not acceptable), with lettering/numbering sufficiently large to ensure legibility after reduction for publication.
The consent of patients and approval of the protocol by an ethics committee must be confirmed for human investigations (include in Methods section).
- Where a patient might be identified via an illustration or from the text, it is essential that written permission is obtained from that patient and forwarded with the manuscript.
- Any statements which might be construed as being potentially defamatory must be avoided.
- Original textual matter quoted from other authors must have formal citation and be appropriately referenced.
- Any tables or illustrations previously published should be accompanied by the written consent of the copyright holder to replication, an acknowledgement included in the caption, and the full reference included in the list.
Click here to go back to the main Clinical Ethics page.
Click here to go back to the RSM Press home page.
Click here to go to the Clinical Ethics Editorial Board page.
Click here to view RSM Press policy on depositing articles into institutional and central repositories.
Full List of JournalsOnline licensing information
Royal Society of Medicine Press Ltd
1 Wimpole Street
London W1G 0AE
UK
Tel +44 (0)20 7290 2921
Fax +44 (0)20 7290 2929
Company Number : 01572720
publishing@rsm.ac.uk
Journal subscriptions
sales@portland-services.com
Tel +44 (0)1206 796351
Fax +44 (0)1206 799331
Privacy Policy
1 Wimpole Street
London W1G 0AE
UK
Tel +44 (0)20 7290 2921
Fax +44 (0)20 7290 2929
Company Number : 01572720
publishing@rsm.ac.uk
Journal subscriptions
sales@portland-services.com
Tel +44 (0)1206 796351
Fax +44 (0)1206 799331
Privacy Policy