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Online Submission Instructions for Authors
(Last Modified November 16, 2009)
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (IOVS), published monthly in print and online, is an official journal of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), an international organization whose purposes are to encourage and assist research, training, publication, and dissemination of knowledge in vision and ophthalmology. Included are original contributions that emphasize clinical and laboratory hypothesis-based research with statistically good results that clearly advance the fields of ophthalmic and vision research. IOVS de-emphasizes purely descriptive research.
Contact Information for IOVS Editorial Office
| Address: | 12300 Twinbrook Parkway |
| Suite 250 | |
| Rockville, MD 20852-1606 | |
| Phone: | +1.240.221.2920 |
| Fax: | +1.240.221.0355 |
| E-mail: | iovs{at}arvo.org |
Contents
Accepted Manuscripts | ARVO Animal Statement | Commercial Relationships Policy
Clinical Trials |
Copyright | Declaration of Helsinki | Manuscript Preparation | Manuscript Review
Manuscript Types | Permissions | Publication Costs | Volunteer Editor Program
ARVO/IOVS TERMS AND POLICIES
Articles present new data in one or more areas of vision research and are written concisely for a broad rather than a highly specialized audience. To be considered for publication, papers that are merely descriptions of new methods must be exceptional contributions, with implications extending beyond the particular applied area. Summaries of meetings/symposia, case reports, obituaries, and general review articles are not considered.
Lectures are written versions of ARVO awardees' presentations given at each Annual Meeting.
Letters to the Editor will be considered for publication whether their relevance is to material published in IOVS or to issues of general interest to vision scientists. Letters about material published in IOVS may correct errors; provide support or agreement; and offer different points of view, clarification, or additional information. Letters will be reviewed and the author(s) whose article is discussed in a Letter will be given an opportunity to reply. Letters are published online and referenced in the printed journal.
New Developments in Vision Research are solicited short reviews of new research findings or new general methodologies that are of broad interest to the ophthalmic and vision research community.
SCIENTIFIC SECTIONS
ARVO is organized into 13 Scientific Sections. IOVS authors are asked to select and indicate the section code that best suits their research area.
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR RESPONSIBILITIES
IOVS will not consider any paper or component of a paper that has been published or is under consideration for publication elsewhere. The only exception is when a manuscript submitted to IOVS will also be part of an American Ophthalmological Society thesis. See the IOVS Statement on "Double Publication." Do not submit a new manuscript more than once; this constitutes a double submission and is a violation of the IOVS copyright statement. Distribution on the Internet may be considered previously published material and may compromise the originality of the paper as a submission to IOVS.
All authors must sign the Copyright Transfer Form. The form(s) may be uploaded to Manuscript Central or e-mailed, faxed, or mailed to the Editorial Office.
If you plan to include figures, photographs, or tables from other publications, obtain written permission from the copyright holder to reprint such items in IOVS, and submit this permission to the Editorial Office.
For research involving human subjects, IOVS requires that authors state in the Methods section of their manuscript that their research adhered to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki.
If experimental animals were used in the research, IOVS requires that authors confirm adherence to the ARVO Statement for the Use of Animals in Ophthalmic and Vision Research in the Methods section of their manuscript.
The ARVO Commercial Relationships Policy ("Policy") for authors, revised as of June 22, 2006, is intended to clarify and simplify the reporting procedures with respect to financial interests in order to promote a better understanding of, and enhanced compliance with, the Policy.
Beginning July 1, 2006, IOVS will no longer consider articles dealing with clinical trials that were not registered before the first subject was enrolled. Trials that began before this date and were not registered must be registered by July 1, 2006. Please include the following information in a cover letter: (1) beginning date of the trial, (2) date of registration, (3) trial registration number, and (4) registration site.
Registration must be done on a publicly available database. ICMJE-recognized registries as of January 2006 are:
http://www.actr.org.au (Australia)
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov (US)
http://isrctn.org (UK)
http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/index/htm (Japan)
http://www.trialregister.nl/trialreg/index.asp (Netherlands)
For the purposes of this policy, a "clinical trial" consists of any study involving a new therapy of any kind, whether medical, surgical, psychological or sociological, in which subjects are concurrently divided into one or more treatment or control groups. Several treatments may be compared simultaneously, or one or more treatment groups may be compared to a simultaneous, untreated control group. Although the division into such groups in most such trials is presently by random assignment, randomization is not a part of the requirement for registration but only the evaluation, in the trial, of concurrent control groups. The size of a clinical trial is not a relevant consideration as to whether it must be registered. This policy applies not only to large, multi-institutional clinical trials sponsored by pharmaceutical companies or other organizations, but also to individual investigators at a single institution who are conducting their own trials. The only consideration is whether the trial is comparing an experimental therapy, or therapies with a simultaneous control group, or groups.
Beginning with papers published January 1, 2010, accepted manuscripts will be subject to a $70 per PDF page charge for the first eight (8) pages and $150 per PDF page thereafter. The following guidelines may be used to estimate the length of your manuscript in journal pages:
3 double-spaced manuscript text pages/12 point type size=1 typeset journal page
45 references=1 typeset page
Each figure or table=1/4 to 1/2 typeset page
Title, authors' names, and abstract=1/2 typeset page
The cost for color illustrations, $100 per PDF page beginning with papers published January 1, 2010, is borne entirely by the authors. It is recommended that authors submit images in color only if they are prepared to pay the color charge. Authors of accepted manuscripts will be asked to mail or fax a signed Color Charge Approval Statement to the Editorial Office. Please note: if more than one color figure is submitted, it may be necessary to print them on separate pages.
a. Title Page
b. Structured Abstract: 250-word limit
c. Text
d. Acknowledgments
e. References
f. Figure legends, tables, and figures, if not embedded in text
Pages should be numbered.
The title page, which must be part of the main manuscript file, should include the title, authors' names and institutions, and other manuscript information such as word count and grant information. The title must contain no more than 150 characters, including punctuation and spaces.
A structured abstract of fewer than 250 words is required for articles and should be arranged under the following headings: Purpose, Methods, Results, Conclusions. Define abbreviations at first mention, and do not include references. The abstract must be included as part of the main manuscript file.
IOVS recommends a 3,500 or fewer word count, excluding title page, legends, and references. The text should be double-spaced.
In a brief Introduction (don't use any subheadings), provide the research rationale and objectives without extensively reviewing the literature.
In the Methods section, describe the experimental design, subjects used, and procedures followed. Previously published procedures should be identified by reference only. Provide sufficient detail to enable others to duplicate the research. Use standard chemical or nonproprietary pharmaceutical nomenclature. In parentheses, identify specific sources by brand name, company, city, and state or country.
If human subjects were involved in the investigation, the Methods section must confirm that: (1) the research followed the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki; (2) informed consent was obtained from the subjects after explanation of the nature and possible consequences of the study; and (3) where applicable, the research was approved by the institutional human experimentation committee or institutional review board (IRB).
If experimental animals were used in the investigation, the Methods section must confirm adherence to the ARVO Statement for the Use of Animals in Ophthalmic and Vision Research and, where applicable, approval by the appropriate IRB.
Present the Results with a minimum of discussion. Cite all tables and figures in numerical order.
Limit the Discussion to statistically significant data and their limitations. Do not reiterate results.
Please review your manuscript carefully prior to submission. Authors needing or seeking assistance with English grammar and usage may utilize the IOVS Volunteer Editor Program (see http://www.iovs.org/misc/voleds.shtml).
Acknowledgments should be written in the third person and be limited to colleagues and research assistants. Acknowledgments are not meant to recognize appreciation for personal or manuscript production support. Including dedications to individuals or groups is not permitted by IOVS journal policy.
List references numerically by order of citation in the text, not alphabetically. All references must be cited in the text or tables, shown as superscript numbers. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of references.
Examples:
Journals
Choudhury A, Palkanis VA, Bowers WE. Characterisation and functional activity of dendritic cells from rat choroid. Exp Eye Res. 1994;59:297-304.
Books
Stryer L. Biochemistry. 2nd ed. San Francisco, CA: WH Freeman; 1981:559-596.
Abstracts
1977-2001: (Otaishat NM, et al. IOVS 1997;38:ARVO Abstract 1417)
2002- : (Roska BM, et al. IOVS 2002;43:ARVO E-Abstract 1415)
In the event that your manuscript is accepted, the Editorial Office will require you to upload your figures as TIFF or EPS files for the printer. Therefore, while any type of file may be embedded within the manuscript file, it is recommended that graphics be prepared using a program which can save files in a format that can ultimately be saved and submitted as EPS or TIFF. NEW: Color graphics should be saved in RGB (Red, Green, Blue) rather than CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black). For accepted manuscripts, the minimum resolution requirement for figure files is 300 dpi. Authors of accepted manuscripts can see http://www.iovs.org/misc/accepted.shtml for further details regarding figure requirements for publication.
Manuscript files will be converted into an unalterable PDF format that will be sent to the reviewers. The main manuscript document must be submitted in one of the following formats:
Do not use other word processing systems as they are not supported by Manuscript Central, nor are they all readily available to those involved in the review process.
Follow guidelines of style, terminology, measurement, and quantitation as set forth in the American Medical Association Manual of Style (9th ed., Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins; 1998).
Submit your manuscript to IOVS online using Manuscript Central at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/iovs. Do not submit a manuscript more than once; this constitutes a double submission and is a violation of the IOVS copyright statement. Follow the directions for each screen.
MANUSCRIPT REVIEW AND PUBLICATION
MANUSCRIPT REVIEW
After an initial review of the paper, the Editor-in-Chief assigns it to an Associate Editor (AE). The AE then selects an Editorial Board Member (EBM) who is an expert in the field and who will be responsible for guiding the paper through the review process. The EBM selects several outside reviewers to ensure that two reviewers can be obtained. Once the completed reviews arrive, the EBM critiques them, synthesizing them in a coherent manner for transmission to the corresponding author. At the same time, the EBM recommends a decision to the AE. The AE reviews all material and makes the publication decision, which is then e-mailed to the author. In the case of rejections, the AE forwards their recommendation to the Editor-in-Chief, who makes the final decision. Submissions by nonmembers of ARVO will be given equal consideration. All manuscripts, including invited "New Developments" reviews, ARVO award lectures, and Letters to the Editor, are peer-reviewed.
If your manuscript has been accepted, please see the IOVS website at http://www.iovs.org/misc/accepted.shtml for instructions on how to prepare the final files for publication.
COVER SUBMISSIONS
If you wish to submit an image to be considered for an IOVS cover, please upload a high-resolution image (either EPS or TIFF). Cover submissions may accompany manuscripts or be submitted individually. The submission can be related to a particular manuscript or it can be of a more general scientific nature relevant to IOVS. If the particular image has been published elsewhere or originated as someone else's work, a copyright release or permission must be included. When selecting a picture, please keep in mind the size and shape of the journal cover and remember that the IOVS logo will block part of the image at the top. Remember that enlargement will emphasize any imperfection, so please send the clearest, sharpest image possible.
If you would like to reuse a figure or table from an article that you previously published in IOVS, you do not need written permission. When reprinting the IOVS material, however, please include a full article citation and acknowledge the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology as the copyright holder.
If you would like to use material from an IOVS article for which you were NOT an author, please obtain permission through the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC). There is a fee of $35 per figure or table plus a small CCC service fee. When reprinting the IOVS material, please include a full article citation and acknowledge the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology as the copyright holder. If you have questions or an unusual request, e.g., reuse of material online, please contact Debbie Chin at dchin{at}arvo.org.
All companies, commercial and nonprofit, should contact ARVO directly for permission to reprint articles or parts thereof. Please e-mail your request to Debbie Chin at dchin{at}arvo.org.
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