Guidelines for Authors

The Editorial Board requires authors to be in compliance with the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (URMs), which are compiled by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

The below described instructions for authors are mandatory. Any manuscript not prepared according to these instructions will be returned immediately to the author(s) without review.

Article Categories

The categories of articles that are published in the Journal are listed and described below. If your paper does not fit into any of these categories, please contact the Editorial Office.

Original Articles / Scientific Studies include randomized trials, studies of screening and diagnostic tests, cohort studies, case-control studies and surveys with high response rates as well as metaanalyses, all representing significant new contributions to medical imaging in the domains of interest.

Sections are: Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, Conflicts of Interest Statement (if any), Acknowledgments (if any), and References.

The Introduction should provide a brief background to the subject of the paper, explain the importance of the study, and state a precise study question or purpose.

The Materials and Methods section should describe the study design and methods (including the study setting and dates, patients/participants with inclusion and exclusion criteria, patient samples or animal specimens used, the essential features of any interventions, the main outcome measures, the protocols applied or data sources and how these were selected for the study), and state the statistical procedures employed in the research, as well as the null hypothesis (if applicable). The description of the method should provide all the information necessary to replicate the study.

The Results section should comprise the data presented in a logical sequence, supplemented by tables and/or figures. The text should not repeat data that are presented in tables and/or figures. Only emphasize and summarize the essential features of the main results.

The Discussion section should be used to outline the new and important aspects of the study, placing the results in context with published literature, the implications of the findings.

The Conclusions must relate to the assumed purpose of the paper, as stated in the introduction.

Case Reports

These are short discussions of a case or cases with unique features not previously described that make an important teaching point or scientific observation. They may describe novel techniques or use of equipment, or new information on diseases of importance. Section headings should be: Abstract, Introduction, Case Report(s), Discussion, Conclusion, Conflicts of Interest Statement (if any), Acknowledgments (if any), and References.

The Introduction should describe the purpose of the present report, the significance of the disease and its specificity.

The Case Report(s) should include the general data of the case(s), medical history, family history, chief complaint, present illness, clinical manifestation, methods of diagnosis and treatment, and outcome.

The Discussion should compare, analyze and discuss the similarities and differences between the reported case(s) and similar cases reported in other published articles. The importance or specificity of the case(s) should be restated when discussing the differential diagnoses.

Format guidelines: Word limit: 2000; Abstract: Unstructured, up to 300 words; References: up to 25.

Detailed guidelines for case reports

Brief Communications

These reports should be concise presentations of preliminary experimental results or technical aspects of clinical or experimental practice that are not fully investigated, verified or perfected but which may be of widespread interest or application.

A new method, procedure, technology with a practical approach may be described, or a recommendation for improving scanning may be presented, with a description of how the technique should be implemented, detailing the technique's limitations, and explaining why the technique is important and how it will enhance clinical practice. The manuscript may be prepared according to the format of original articles.

Format guide: Word limit: 1500 words; References: up to 12.

Letters to the Editor

Letters are welcome in response to previously published HNI articles, or to present your views on a particular subject in this field of imaging. It may include some review of the literature in making a point, although it is clearly an opinion piece rather than a review of the subject. Letters to the editor should be objective, constructive and educational. Letters should have a title, include appropriate references and the corresponding author’s mailing and e-mail addresses. Letters are edited, sometimes extensively, to sharpen their focus. They may be sent for peer review at the discretion of HNI Editors.

Format Guide - Word limit: 500 words; References: up to 5; Tables/Figures: 1 maximum.

Review Articles

Should provide the reader with a balanced overview of an important and topical subject related to the domains of interest. They should cover aspects of a topic in which scientific consensus exists as well as aspects that remain controversial and are the subject of ongoing scientific research. All articles and data sources reviewed should include information about the specific type of study or analysis, population, intervention, exposure, and tests or outcomes. All articles or data sources should be selected systematically for inclusion in the review and critically evaluated.

If you plan to submit a review, first check with the editorial office for interest and space availability.

Detailed guidelines for review articles

Pictorial Essays

The message in a pictorial essay is contained in the images presented. The text is short, but the figure legends are key. No introduction, methods or discussion sections are required as the message is conveyed through unique, exceptional and timely images.

Format guide: Word limit: 1000 words; References: up to 10.

Imaging for Residents

These are diagnostic images of real cases that aim to be an exercise for residents to practice diagnosis. Hence, Imaging for Residents should be structured into two separate parts that will be published in two consecutive issues of the Journal:

Section 1—Quiz.

Section 2—Answer.

Section 1—Quiz must include the following information: article title; author name(s) and affiliation(s); case (description); figures; conflicts of interest statement.
The word count limit for Section 1—Quiz is 1000 words.

Section 2—Answer must include the following information: article title; author name(s) and affiliation(s);case (description);figures; interpretation; discussion (if any);references (not more than 10); conflicts of interest statement.
The word count limit for Section 2—Answer is < 800 words.

 

Manuscript Submission

Please use the submission method described below.

Submission by E-mail

Manuscripts (meaning all submission items, including all text, tables, artwork, cover letter, conflicts of interest disclosures, and any other required documents/material as detailed in Section Supporting documents) can be submitted by e-mail to: manuscripts@headandneckradiology.com.

Ethics in publishing

The author should ensure that the work described has been carried out in accordance with The Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki) for experiments involving humans; Uniform Requirements for manuscripts submitted to Biomedical journals. The privacy rights of human subjects must always be observed. For investigation of human subjects, the author must state explicitly in the methods section of the manuscript that informed consent was obtained from all participating adult subjects and from parents or legal guardians for minors or incapacitated adults, together with the manner in which informed consent was obtained (i.e., oral or written).

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

The Journal requires authors to disclose all and any potential conflicts of interest.
A conflict of interest occurs when an individual's objectivity is potentially compromised by a desire for financial gain, prominence, professional advancement or a successful outcome. Conflicts of interest may be financial or non-financial.

Submission declaration

Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis or as an electronic preprint), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere including electronically in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the copyright-holder.

Changes to authorship

Authors are expected to consider carefully the list and order of authors before submitting their manuscript and provide the definitive list of authors at the time of the original submission. Any addition, deletion or rearrangement of author names in the authorship list should be made only before the manuscript has been accepted and only if approved by the journal Editor.

Basic Criteria

Articles should be written in English, using US English spelling, and meet the following basic criteria: the material is original, the information is important, the writing is clear and concise, the study methods are appropriate, the data are valid, and the conclusions are reasonable and supported by the data.

Copyright

Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a 'Journal Publishing Agreement'. An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or a link to the online version of this agreement.

Important Information

Articles should be in Microsoft Word document format and prepared in the simplest form possible.

You may use automatic page numbering, but do NOT use other kinds of automatic formatting such as footnotes, headers and footers. References especially should NOT be formatted using the MS Word endnotes or footnotes function. Put text, references, table headings and tables, and figure legends in one file.

Figures must be submitted as separate picture files, at the correct resolution and named according to the figure number and format, e.g., Fig1.tif, Fig2.jpg. Please see section Figures for more information.

Supporting Documents

The following documents must be included in your submission (refer also to the Checklist that follows these author instructions). Items (1), (2) and(3) are mandatory. Items (4), (5), (6) and (7) are required only if they are applicable to your manuscript.

(1) Cover Letter. This must include the following information:

• title of the manuscript
• Names (spelled out in full) of all the authors*, and the institutions with which they are affiliated; indicate all affiliations with a superscripted number after the author's name and in front of the matching affiliation (*the name of each author should be written with the family name last, e.g., Peter Johnson ).
• corresponding author's details (name, e-mail, mailing address, telephone and fax numbers)
• a statement that the material contained in the manuscript has not been previously published and is not being concurrently submitted elsewhere
• persons who do not fulfill the requirements to be listed as authors but who nevertheless contributed to the manuscript (such as those who provided writing assistance, for example) should be disclosed
• the signature of the corresponding author

(2) Authorship & Conflicts of Interest Statement.
(3) Copyright Transfer Agreement.
(4) Ethics Statement.
(5) Copyright Permission. If you have reproduced or adapted material from other copyrighted sources, the letter(s) of permission from the copyright holder(s) to reproduce or adapt the copyrighted sources must be supplied.