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Guidelines for Authors on Preparing Manuscripts
 Peer Review
Manuscript Preparation Specifications
Articles
Commentary
Other Communications
Submission Procedure
Copyright Transfer
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Academic Psychiatry
is the premier peer-reviewed journal focused on psychiatric education
and professional development in academic psychiatry. The American Association
of Chairs of Departments of Psychiatry, the American Association of Directors
of Psychiatric Residency Training, the Association for Academic Psychiatry,
and the Association of Directors of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry
have joined together to sponsor Academic Psychiatry, which is published
bimonthly by American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. Formerly the Journal
of Psychiatric Education, Academic Psychiatry is dedicated
to the publication of work concerning educational and professional development
efforts by and for psychiatrists. Articles that address teaching, research,
administrative, clinical, organizational, and economic issues relevant
to the academic missions of departments of psychiatry are welcomed by
the journal. The Editors invite high-quality submissions that further
knowledge in psychiatric education, stimulate improvements in academic
psychiatry, and foster professional development of academic psychiatrists
at every career stage.
Peer
Review 
Submissions are reviewed by experts to determine the originality, validity, and importance to
the field of their content and conclusions. Authors will be sent reviewer
comments that are judged to be useful to them. Academic Psychiatry
has initiated a rapid review procedure, and authors can expect to receive
notification of the Editor’s decision regarding their submission
within three months of receipt of the submission by the journal
office. To foster rapid publication, any required revisions are expected
to be accomplished by the authors within an additional one-month period.
Manuscript
Preparation Specifications
Manuscripts must be prepared according
to the manuscript specifications of Academic Psychiatry. (Please note that Academic
Psychiatry does not publish color figures.) All manuscripts will be
edited for clarity, conciseness, and conformity to Journal style. Empirical
reports of data derived from studies with human participants should briefly
but explicitly describe in the methods section what ethical safeguards
were in place in the study, e.g., Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval,
confidentiality protections, informed consent, conflict of interest disclosure.
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Articles
Original reports of empirical research
or critical analyses of important topics in psychiatric education or academic
psychiatry may be submitted in one of the following formats:
- Special Articles are overview
articles that bring together important information on a topic of general
interest to academic psychiatrists. Authors who wish to write a Special
Article are advised to check with the Editor to ensure that a similar
work has not already been submitted or invited. Special Articles may
not exceed 6,000 words (24 double-spaced pages), including any tables,
figures, and appendices; a structured abstract of no more than 300 words;
and no more than 100 references. Any tables, figures, and appendices should be included in the total word count. A table or figure that fills one-half of a vertical manuscript page equals 150 words of text; a table or figure that fills one-half of a horizontal page equals 300 words of text; an appendix equals two-thirds of its actual word count.
- Original Articles may not
exceed 3,500 words (14 double-spaced pages), including any tables, figures, and appendices; a structured abstract of no
more than 300 words; and no more than 40 references. Any tables, figures, and appendices should be included in the total word count. A table or figure that fills one-half of a vertical manuscript page equals 150 words of text; a table or figure that fills one-half of a horizontal page equals 300 words of text; an appendix equals two-thirds of its actual word count. Original Articles may be conceptually or empirically
oriented.
- Brief Reports may not exceed
1,750 words (7 double-spaced pages), 10 references, 2 tables
or figures, and a structured abstract of no more than 150 words. Brief Reports
may be conceptually or empirically oriented.
The structured abstract should include information under the following
headings: Objective: the primary purpose of the article. Methods:
subjects, design, setting, interventions if any, measurements, data analysis;
for review articles: data sources, study selection, data extraction.
Results: key findings. Conclusions: potential implications,
future directions. Authors should use the active voice and third person.
Below the abstract, authors should provide,
and identify as such, at least 2 keywords that will assist
indexers in cross-indexing the article and that may be published with
the abstract. Terms from the medical subject headings (MeSH) list of Index
Medicus should be used; if suitable MeSH terms are not yet available for
recently introduced terms, present terms may be used.
Please format the references according to the style of the American Journal of Psychiatry, that is, numbered throughout the text, with the text citation followed by the appropriate reference number in parentheses within the end-of-sentence punctuation and not superscript, and the full reference text listed at the end of the manuscript by order of appearance in the text (not arranged alphabetically).
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Media Column
The Media Column of Academic Psychiatry is a regular feature. Year-round, we seek original papers regarding the relationship between media and psychiatry. Many of our previous papers have focused on media in psychiatric education, the impact of media on mental health and illness, how mental illness and psychiatry are portrayed in media, and how media may be used for public education, among other topics. These papers are peer reviewed and are encouraged to be evidence-based, educational, creative, innovative, or exploratory. They should be approximately 2,500 words, including references.
Educational Resource Column
The Educational Resource Column is intended for contributions to the Journal of direct utility to the practicing medical educator. Material encompassing psychiatry education at all levels (including medical students, residents, faculty, community practitioners and leaders) will be considered. The specificity of the column results from its direct utility and translation into daily educational practices. Thus the articles in this column, being of a practical nature, might analyze, whether descriptively or ethnographically, how a particular teaching practice was applied in a particular setting. Examples of topics include the unexpected and subtle discoveries made during the development of an innovative teaching method, repetitive attempts to reform a curriculum, or the launching of a new course.
Submissions will be judged by their originality, clarity of presentation, use of relevant references, length, importance or relevance to educators, and adequacy of discussion and conclusions. Because these contributions are equivalent to case reports, conclusions should be appropriately limited. Articles published in the Educational Resource Column are peer reviewed through the online submission process like all other articles in the Journal. The editorial process will take into account that case reports in education tend to be naturalistic and relatively lacking in empirical data and that they are valuable as qualitative and descriptive pieces. Such articles might serve as precursors to more robust empirical studies.
Priority will be given to educational case reports in the following three categories.
1) Innovative teaching approaches that apply a novel teaching concept, strategy, technology, or material. The experience at perhaps only one institution could be analyzed, and the report should not normally exceed the length of a Brief Report (1,750 words maximum).
2) New, though perhaps not innovative, teaching approaches reported from more than one institution. These articles are analogous to a small case series. For instance, courses that integrate psychiatry and neurology for first year medical students might not be innovative but may not have been widely evaluated. The director of such a course might co-author an article along with directors of at least two other schools with similar courses, allowing multiple sites to compare and contrast their experiences. These submissions will likely be longer than a Brief Report but should not exceed 3,000 words.
3) Systematically constructed reviews or annotated bibliographies on topics that directly apply to the educator. These could include, for example, reviews of teaching materials on a particular topic, such as evaluation forms, curricular outcomes or websites; methods and outcomes for teaching on a particular topic; or methods of application of a particular clinical skill. Articles should describe the analysis or application of teaching materials as opposed to simply reproducing the teaching materials. One exception to this rule would be the publication of a curricular outline for the teaching of a particular psychiatric subspecialty when it is innovative or produced by a national organization officially representing that subspecialty. Reviewers find it helpful if teaching materials are sent electronically with the manuscript for their viewing, but in general, teaching materials should not be embedded in the article due to space limitations. The article may indicate how the reader may obtain a copy of the teaching materials from the authors.
Authors are invited to contact the Editor if they want to discuss whether their manuscript would be appropriate for the column.
Down to Earth Column
Part of the mission of our Journal is to provide a forum for work that furthers knowledge in psychiatric education and stimulates improvements in academic psychiatry. The Down to Earth column offers an opportunity to provide practical, useful knowledge for our readers who are approaching the many tasks related to psychiatric education and research. These pieces are meant to be user-friendly. As such, they often provide tips, utilize tables and figures, and summarize processes in a step-by-step fashion. They do not follow the typical format of our more scholarly submissions. Rather, they clearly and comprehensively outline or highlight topics that are of particular salience to our readership.
Authors are invited to contact the Editor if they want to discuss whether their manuscript would be appropriate for the column.
Commentary
Submissions for the Commentary section
should be tightly reasoned opinion pieces not exceeding 2,500 words (10
double-spaced pages) that address an important issue in psychiatric education,
professional development, or academic psychiatry more broadly.
Other
Communications
Brief letters not exceeding 1,000 words
(4 double-spaced pages) will be considered if they include the notation
“for publication.” Editorials and pertinent notices and official
actions of the sponsoring organizations will also be published.
Submission
Procedure
Academic Psychiatry uses an electronic
manuscript submission and peer review system called “Manuscript
Central.” This system allows authors and peer reviewers to upload
and access information online, creating a virtually paperless process.
Authors upload an electronic file of their paper, peer reviewers read
and respond to papers online, and all communications regarding each paper,
including letters about interim and final decisions, occur via e-mail.
To submit a manuscript for consideration, go to Manuscript Central
and either create an account or use your existing account. Then follow
the instructions to upload your manuscript in the Author Center.
Because the journal’s peer review
process is blind, please ensure that the title page of the file you upload
does not contain any author information. Check the acknowledgments section
and delete any author-identifying information. Do not use running heads
with author names.
The journal staff and the technicians
at Manuscript Central have worked hard to make the process as user-friendly
as possible. Help information is available within the site including links
to a comprehensive question and answer database, a contact e-mail address
for online customer service, and technical support phone numbers for national
and international callers.
Manuscript Central is convenient and
easy to use for editors, authors, and reviewers, and it dramatically decreases
the length of the peer review process.
For further information regarding the
online submission process or the requirements for submission to Academic
Psychiatry, contact
the editorial office.
Copyright
Transfer
Academic Psychiatry requires
approval of manuscript submission by all authors in addition to transfer
of copyright. Upon acceptance of an article, the author(s) will be required
to assign copyright ownership in writing to Academic Psychiatry.
A copyright transfer form, which must be signed by all authors, is available
here.
Manuscripts will not be published until a completed form has
been received in the editorial office. It is the author’s responsibility
to obtain the approval of individuals before acknowledging their assistance
on the paper.
Reprints
& Permissions
Contact the Journal Editorial
Office
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