Instructions to Authors
Table of Contents
- How We Publish
- Peer Review Process
- Publication and Research Ethics
- Publishing Agreements and Charges
- After Publication
- Manuscript Submission
- Contact Us
How We Publish
The British Journal of Radiology (BJR) is a peer-reviewed journal publishing 12 issues per year online. Once a paper is accepted and the publishing agreement is signed, the Journal will publish the Accepted Manuscript version of the paper (before copyediting and review of the final proof) within one week on the Advance Access page. This will be replaced in Advance Access with the Version of Record of the paper (after copyediting and proof review process) when it is available. The Version of Record will be removed from Advance Access when it is published into an issue. Substantial changes to the published Accepted Manuscript may require a correction notice. The Version of Record requires a correction notice for any changes after it is published , even if it is not yet placed in an issue. See the definitions of the Version of Record and other versions of the paper for more details.
Scope of the Journal
BJR is the international research journal of the British Institute of Radiology (BIR) and is the oldest scientific journal in the field of radiology and related sciences. Dating back to 1896, BJR’s history is radiology’s history, and the journal has featured some landmark papers such as the first description of CT "Computerized transverse axial tomography" by Godfrey Hounsfield in 1973. A valuable historical resource, the complete BJR archive has been digitised from 1896.
BJR is an international, multi-disciplinary journal covering the clinical and technical aspects of medical imaging, radiotherapy, oncology, medical physics, radiobiology and the underpinning sciences. BJR is essential reading for radiologists, medical physicists, radiation oncologists, radiotherapists, radiographers and radiobiologists.
The Editorial Board of BJR features a panel of international experts covering clinical radiology, radiation oncology, radiotherapy, radiobiology and medical physics. Our Editorial Board members provide their expertise and guidance in shaping the content and direction of the journal.
Peer Review Process
The Journal operates double-anonymised peer review, meaning that the identity of the authors is hidden from reviewers, and the reviewers’ identities are hidden from the authors. The editors know the identity of both the reviewers and the authors.
Once a submitted manuscript passes initial assessment by the Senior Editor, it will then be passed to an Associate Editor to undergo peer review. The Associate Editor makes a recommendation before the submission is returned to the Senior Editor for the final decision.
During the peer review phase, your manuscript is typically sent to 2 reviewers. You may suggest potential reviewers at submission. However, there is no guarantee the suggested reviewers will be selected by the Journal. Recommended reviewers should be experts in their field and able to provide an objective assessment of your manuscript without financial or interpersonal conflicts of interest with any authors. We encourage you to consider reviewers from a diverse range of backgrounds, including those from under-represented communities.
At the time of submission, you may request that specific individuals not be used as reviewers of your manuscript. Please do so in your cover letter, along with a brief explanation as to why you want them excluded. However, there is no guarantee these individuals will be excluded by the Journal.
Statistical methods should be rigorous, and reporting of statistical findings should be accurate and complete. Editors may request an expert statistical review of any submission containing statistical analysis.
If your manuscript is accepted for publication, the reviewer comments will not be published alongside the paper.
For full details about the peer review process, see Fair editing and peer review or OUP author FAQs.
Manuscript transfer
Sending transfers
In some cases, the editorial team of the Journal may offer you the option of transferring your manuscript to BJR|Artificial Intelligence or BJR|Open. If you accept this offer, the manuscript files and any reviewer reports from consenting reviewers will be sent to BJR|Artificial Intelligence or BJR|Open. The editorial team of BJR|Artificial Intelligence or BJR|Open may choose to seek additional peer review. A decision will be made on the manuscript based on the feedback from all reviewers and the judgment of the BJR|Artificial Intelligence or BJR|Open editorial team.
Screening for misconduct
All revised manuscripts will be screened using iThenticate to help detect publication misconduct including plagiarism and redundant publication.
Identity/activity detection
The Journal uses Editorial Manager’s Identity Confidence Check tool to build confidence in the identity of authors and reviewers.
Reviewer recognition
To promote recognition of the essential work done by reviewers, the Journal offers reviewers the option to have their reviews verified and automatically listed on their ORCID profile.
All BJR reviewers receive an annual certificate detailing their work as a BJR reviewer in the previous year. In addition, we offer a £20 BIR voucher to all reviewers successfully completing a review for BJR on time. The voucher will be valid for two years and can be redeemed in one of three ways:
- Set against the purchase price of a BIR Book - for a BIR member this would be the discounted price. You can buy your book online or over the phone (+44 (0) 20 3668 2234). To use your discount online please contact publications@bir.org.uk with the manuscript number of the paper you reviewed to receive your discount code.
- Set against the cost of a BIR event
- For a non-member, reduction in the cost of the first year's subscription on becoming a BIR member. Details on becoming a BIR member
Please note:
- Only one voucher applies per manuscript and vouchers for reviews of revised manuscripts may only be redeemed if the reviewer has not already reviewed a previous version of the paper.
- Only one voucher may be used per transaction and the voucher has no cash value.
- The voucher is not transferable and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer.
- The scheme will be reviewed after 12 months and, subject to usage, cost and feedback from reviewers, further flexibility in the conditions may be introduced.
Appeals and complaints
Authors may appeal an editorial decision. To do so, please contact the editorial office, providing as much specific detail as possible about why the original decision should be reconsidered. Every appeal will receive a response within a reasonable timeframe. Please do not resubmit your manuscript in the interim.
To register a complaint regarding non-editorial decisions, the Journal’s policies and procedures, editors, or staff, please contact us. Complaints will be taken seriously and will be carried forward following COPE guidelines and processes and/or sanctions will be enacted if deemed appropriate.
Publication and Research Ethics
Authorship
Authorship is limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the design and execution of the work described. Any contributors whose participation does not meet the criteria for authorship should be acknowledged but not listed as an author. The Journal will contact all listed authors at the point of submission to confirm their role. For a detailed definition of authorship, please see the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) definitions of authors and contributors.
The Journal does not allow ghost authorship, where an unnamed author prepares the article with no credit, or guest/gift authorship, where an author who made little or no contribution is listed as an author. The Journal follows Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidance on investigating and resolving these cases. For more information, please see the OUP Publication Ethics page.
Natural language processing tools driven by artificial intelligence (AI) do not qualify as authors, and the Journal will screen for them in author lists. The use of AI (for example, to help generate content, write code, or process data) should be disclosed both in cover letters to editors and in the Methods or Acknowledgements section of manuscripts. Please see the COPE position statement on Authorship and AI for more details.
After manuscript submission, no authorship changes (including the authorship list, author order, and who is designated as the corresponding author) should be made without the approval of the editor. All co-authors must agree on the change(s), and neither the Journal nor the publisher mediates such disputes. If individuals cannot agree on the authorship of a submitted manuscript, contact the editorial office. The dispute must be resolved among the individuals and their institution(s) before the manuscript can be accepted for publication. If an authorship dispute or change arises after a paper is accepted, contact OUP’s Author Support team. COPE provides guidance for authors on resolving authorship disputes.
If you intend to use Read and Publish funding to publish your manuscript under an open access licence, note that changing the corresponding author to access those funds is not permissible. For more information on Read and Publish funding, see the open access charges section.
ORCID
Submitting authors are required to provide an ORCID iD (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) at submission. All authors are encouraged to provide their ORCID iDs (Open Researcher and Contributor IDs) at submission and take advantage of the benefits of participating in ORCID. If you do not already have an ORCID iD, you can register for free via the ORCID website.
As ORCID identifiers are collected, they are included in papers and displayed online, both in the HTML and PDF versions of the publication, in compliance with recommended practice issued by ORCID.
ORCID functionality online allows users to link to the ORCID website to view an author’s profile and list of publications. ORCID iDs are displayed on web pages and are sent downstream to third parties in data feeds, where supported.
If you have registered with ORCID, you can associate your ORCID iD with your submission system account by going to your account details, entering your ORCID iD, and validating your details. Learn more about ORCID and how to link it to your account.
CRediT
The Journal uses the contributor roles taxonomy (CRediT), which allows authors to describe the contributor roles in a standardised, transparent, and accurate way. Authors should choose from the contributor roles outlined on the CRediT website and supply this information upon submission. You may choose multiple contributor roles per author. Any other individuals who do not meet authorship criteria and made less substantive contributions should be listed in your manuscript as non-author contributors with their contributions clearly described. Following manuscript submission, any changes to contributor roles require the approval of the editor.
Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest
Authors
The Journal requires all authors to disclose any potential conflict of interest at the point of submission. Conflicts of interest should be clearly labeled and included on the title page. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to ensure that conflicts of interest of all authors are declared to the Journal.
A conflict of interest exists when the position, activities, or relationships of an individual, whether direct or indirect, financial or non-financial, could influence or be seen to influence the opinions or activities of the individual. For more information, refer to OUP’s definition of conflict of interest. The Journal follows the COPE guidance for any undisclosed conflict of interest that emerges during peer review, production, or after publication.
Peer reviewers
Individuals that have a conflict of interest relating to a submitted manuscript should recuse themselves and will not be assigned to oversee, handle, or peer review the manuscript.
If during peer review an editor, reviewer, or author becomes aware of a conflict of interest that was not previously known or disclosed they must inform the Editor-in-Chief immediately.
Editors and Editorial Board members
At initial submission, the corresponding author must declare if the Editor-in-Chief, an Editor, or an Editorial Board Member of the Journal is an author of or contributor to the manuscript. Another Editor without a conflict of interest will oversee the peer review and decision-making process. If accepted, a statement will be published in the paper describing how the manuscript was handled.
Previously published material
You should only submit your manuscript(s) to the Journal if:
- It is original work by you and your co-author(s).
- It is not under consideration, in peer review, or accepted for publication in any other publication.
- It has not been published in any other publication.
- It contains nothing abusive, defamatory, derogatory, obscene, fraudulent, or illegal.
The submitting author must disclose in their cover letter and provide copies of all related or similar preprints, dissertations, manuscripts, published papers, and reports by the same authors (i.e., those containing substantially similar content or using the same, similar, or a subset of data) that have been previously published or posted electronically or are under consideration elsewhere at the time of manuscript submission. You must also provide a concise explanation of how the submitted manuscript differs from these related manuscripts and papers. All related previously published papers should be cited as references and described in the submitted manuscript.
The Journal does not discourage you from presenting your findings at conferences or scientific meetings but recommends that you refrain from distributing complete copies of your manuscripts, which might later be published elsewhere without your knowledge.
For previously published materials including tables and figures, please see the Reusing copyrighted materials section.
Preprints
As an author, you retain the right to make an Author’s Original Version (preprint) available through various channels and this does not prevent submission to the Journal. If accepted, the authors are required to update the status of any preprint, including adding your published paper’s DOI. For full details on allowed channels and updating your preprint, please see our Author self-archiving policy.
Reusing copyrighted material
As an author, you must obtain permission for any material used within your manuscript for which you are not the rightsholder, including quotations, tables, figures, or images. In seeking permissions for published materials, first contact the publisher rather than the author. For unpublished materials, start by contacting the creator. Copies of each grant of permission should be provided to the editorial office of the Journal. The permissions agreement must include the following:
- Nonexclusive rights to reproduce the material in your paper in BJR
- Rights for use in print and electronic format at a minimum, and preferably for use in any form or medium
- Lifetime rights to use the material
- Worldwide English-language rights
If you have chosen to publish under an open access licence but have not obtained open access re-use permissions for third-party material contained within the manuscript, this must be stated clearly by supplying a credit line alongside the material with the following information:
- Title of content
- Author, Original publication, year of original publication, by permission of [rightsholder]
- This image/content is not covered by the terms of the Creative Commons licence of this publication. For permission to reuse, please contact the rights holder.
Our publisher, Oxford University Press, provides detailed Copyright and Permissions Guidelines, and a summary of the fundamental information.
Misconduct
Authors should observe high standards with respect to research integrity and publication ethics as set out by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Falsification or fabrication of data including inappropriate image manipulation, plagiarism, including duplicate publication of the author's own work without proper citation, and misappropriation of work are all unacceptable practices. Allegations of ethical misconduct, both directly and through social media, are treated seriously and will be investigated in accordance with the relevant COPE guidance.
If misconduct has been established beyond reasonable doubt, this may result in one or more of the following outcomes, among others:
- If a submitted manuscript is still under consideration, it may be rejected and returned to the author.
- If a paper has already been published online, depending on the nature and severity of the infraction, either a correction notice will be published and linked to the paper, or retraction of the paper will occur, following the COPE Retraction Guidelines.
- The relevant party’s institution(s) and/or other journals may be informed.
Manuscripts submitted to the Journal may be screened with plagiarism-detection software. Any manuscript may be screened, especially if there is reason to suppose that part or all the of the manuscript has been previously published.
COPE defines plagiarism as “when somebody presents the work of others (data, words or theories) as if they were their own and without proper acknowledgment.”
COPE defines redundant/overlapping publication as “when a published work (or substantial sections from a published work) is/are published more than once (in the same or another language) without adequate acknowledgment of the source/cross-referencing/justification, or when the same (or substantially overlapping) data is presented in more than one publication without adequate cross-referencing/justification, particularly when this is done in such a way that reviewers/readers are unlikely to realise that most or all the findings have been published before.”
COPE defines citation manipulation as “behaviours intended to inflate citation counts for personal gain, such as: excessive self-citation of an authors’ own work, excessive citation to the journal publishing the citing article, and excessive citation between journals in a coordinated manner.”
Data fabrication is defined as intentionally creating fake data or misrepresenting research results. An example includes making up data sets.
Data falsification is defined as manipulating research data with the purpose of intentionally giving a false representation. This can apply to images, research materials, equipment, or processes.
Examples include cropping of gels/images to change context and omission of selected data.
If notified of a potential breach of research misconduct or publication ethics, the Journal editor and editorial office staff may inform OUP and/or the author’s institutional affiliation(s).
Ethical research
The Journal follows Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines on ethical oversight. We take research integrity seriously, and all research published in the Journal must have been conducted in a fair and ethical manner. Wherever appropriate, the Journal requires that all research be done according to international and local guidelines.
Human subjects
When reporting on human subjects, you should indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Helsinki Declaration (1964, amended most recently in 2013), which were developed by the World Medical Association. For non-interventional studies, where ethical approval is not required or where a study has been granted an exemption by an ethics committee, this should be stated within the manuscript with a full explanation. Otherwise, manuscripts must include a statement in the Methods section that the research was performed after approval by a local ethics committee, institutional review board and/or local licencing committee, or that such approval was not required. The name of the authorising body and any reference/permit numbers (where available) should also be stated there. Please be prepared to provide further information to the editorial office upon request.
Human subjects must give written informed consent, or if they are minors or incapacitated, such consent must be obtained from their parents or guardians. Consent forms should cover not only study participation but also the publication of the data collected. Also, any patient or provider information should be anonymised to the extent possible; names and ID numbers should not be used in the text and must be removed from any images (X-rays, photographs, etc.). Please note blanking out an individual’s eyes in a photograph is not an effective way to conceal their identity. In studies where verbal, rather than written, informed consent was obtained, this must be explained and stated within the manuscript. If informed consent is not required or where a study has been granted an exemption, this must be included in the Methods section along with the name of the authorising body. The Journal does not routinely collect consent forms, but authors should be prepared to provide written consent forms signed by the participants or other appropriate documentation to the editorial office upon request. For further guidance and examples, please refer to COPE’s guidance on consent.
Clinical trials
Clinical trials should be registered before enrollment of the first subject in accordance with the criteria outlined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). When reporting primary or secondary analyses from a clinical trial, follow these criteria:
- Provide the trial registration number.
- When the trial acronym is first used in the manuscript, provide the registration number and a link to the trial registration, which should be cited as a reference.
- If your data have been deposited in a public repository and/or are being used in a secondary analysis, please state the unique, persistent data set identifier, and repository name and number.
- When submitting the manuscript, you must disclose any protocol alterations and all posting of results of the submitted work or closely related work in registries.
- In reporting randomized clinical trials, you must comply with published CONSORT guidelines. Complete the recommended checklist and provide it to the editorial office upon submission.
- In accordance with the CONSORT guidelines and the ICMJE recommendations, all clinical trials submitted to BIR publications must be registered in a public trials registry at or before the onset of patient enrolment.
- The trial registration number should be included in your manuscript, in the main body of the text.
- In reporting observational studies, you much comply with published STROBE guidelines. Complete the recommended checklist and provide it to the editorial office upon submission.
- In reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses, you much comply with published PRISMA guidelines. Complete the recommended checklist and provide it to the editorial office upon submission.
- In reporting diagnostic/prognostic studies, you much comply with published STARD guidelines. Complete the recommended checklist and provide it to the editorial office upon submission.
- Present the recommended trial flow diagram as a figure in the manuscript or as supplementary material.
- If your manuscript reports on a randomised Phase II/III trial, you must provide a brief description of the statistical plan of the original study that includes the primary and secondary endpoints, power calculation, and sample size.
Where available, registration numbers should be provided not only for the trial you are reporting but also for any other trial mentioned in the manuscript. When the trial acronym is first used in the manuscript, provide the registration number and a link to the trial registration, which should be cited as a reference.
Animal subjects
Studies involving animals require approval from the relevant institutional ethics committee or institutional animal use and care committee, and the research must be conducted in accordance with applicable national and international guidelines. All such manuscripts must include a statement in the Methods section providing details of the name of the committee(s) that approved the study, as well as the permit or animal licence numbers where available. Where a study has been granted an exemption, this must be stated in the Methods section along with the name of the authorising body. Please be prepared to provide further information to the editorial office upon request.
ARRIVE guidelines
You are encouraged to consult the ARRIVE guidelines recommended by the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3R).
Euthanasia or anesthesia methods
Where applicable, any euthanasia or anesthesia methods must be carried out in accordance with applicable veterinary guidelines. These methods must be described in detail in the manuscript.
Laboratory animals
Manuscripts describing research involving laboratory-based animals must include details on housing, husbandry, and steps taken to reduce suffering. In studies where experimental animals were euthanised, details must be provided on humane endpoints. Details on the planned behavioral observations or physiological measurements used to determine the humane endpoint must be described. You are advised to consult the NC3Rs guide on Humane Endpoints and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Guidelines for the Humane Slaughter of Animals.
C4DISC partnership
The Journal and OUP aim to create a community that fosters diversity, equity, and inclusion. As part of our commitment to these principles, OUP is a proud partner of the Coalition for Diversity & Inclusion in Scholarly Communications (C4DISC). C4DISC works with organisations and individuals within the scholarly communications landscape to foster equity, inclusion, diversity, and accessibility across the publishing industry and its published outputs.
The Journal is proud to adopt the Joint Statement of Principles of C4DISC.
Inclusive language
As defined by the Linguistic Society of America, “Inclusive language acknowledges diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to differences, and promotes equal opportunities”. We encourage you to consider using inclusive language and images when preparing your manuscript. For guidelines, please see the C4DISC Guidelines on inclusive language and images.
Accessibility
Written, visual, and audio content in your submission should be accessible to all. Please see the C4DISC guidelines for making text, images, charts, tables, and audio and video accessible.
Availability of data and materials
Where ethically feasible, the Journal strongly encourages authors to make all data and software code on which the conclusions of the paper rely available to readers. Whenever possible, data should be presented in the main manuscript or additional supporting files or deposited in a public repository. Visit OUP’s Research data page for information on general repositories for all data types, and resources for selecting repositories by subject area. When data and software underlying the research article are available in an online source, authors should include a full citation in their reference list. For details of the minimum information to be included in data and software citations see the OUP guidance on citing research data and software.
Digital preservation
Content published in the Journal will automatically be deposited into digital preservation services, including CLOCKSS, the Global LOCKSS Network, and Portico. This ensures the long-term preservation of your work. Through LOCKSS, participating institutions can sustain access to content if the Journal were to otherwise be unavailable, even for a short period of time. Should the Journal ever cease to publish, or content would otherwise become permanently unavailable, long-term access to the archives of CLOCKSS and Portico would be triggered. Until such a trigger event were to occur, this content is not available to the public through CLOCKSS and Portico.
Self-archiving policy
Self-archiving refers to posting a copy of your work on a publicly accessible website or repository. Under certain circumstances, you may self-archive versions of your work on your own webpages, on institutional webpages, and in other repositories. For information about the Journal's policy, and to learn which version(s) of your paper are acceptable for self-archiving, please see our Author self-archiving policy.
Publishing Agreements and Charges
Authors, please read each section on the publishing agreement (also called a licence) and charges carefully.
Publishing agreements
After your manuscript is accepted, you will be asked to sign a licence to publish through the Journals Licencing and Online Payments portal. The Journal offers the option of publishing under either a non-open access (standard) licence or an open access (Creative Commons) licence. There is a charge to publish under an open access licence, which allows your paper to be freely accessible to all readers immediately upon online publication. Editorial decisions occur prior to this step and are not influenced by payment or ability to pay. The standard licence makes your paper available only to Journal subscribers and there is no licence charge. This licence grants OUP an exclusive licence to publish and distribute the content. There is no transfer of ownership of the copyright. You, the author, retain copyright for the content.
Please note that some funders require open access publication as a condition of funding. If you are unsure whether you are required to publish open access, please check with your funder or institution before selecting your licence.
Papers can be published under the following:
- Standard licence to publish (Oxford University Press (OUP) Journals, Standard Publication Model)
- Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY)
- Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial licence (CC BY-NC)
Please see the OUP guidance on Licences, copyright, and re-use rights for more information regarding these publishing agreement options.
Complying with funder mandates
Please note that some funders require open access publication as a condition of funding. If you are unsure whether you are required to publish open access, please do clarify any such requirements with your funder or institution before selecting your licence. Further information on funder mandates and direct links to a range of funder policies.
Charges
Open access charges
Please see the details of open access licences and charges. If you select an open access licence, you must pay the open access charge or request to use an institutional agreement to pay the open access charge through the Journals Licencing and Online Payments portal
- CC BY or CC BY NC licence: £2,170
Member discounts
Corresponding authors who are members of the British Institute of Radiology may be eligible for discounts on publication charges. Please provide your member identifier when prompted as you submit your manuscript.
- CC BY or CC BY NC licence for BIR members: £1,735
Read and Publish
OUP has a growing number of open access agreements with institutions and consortia, which provide funding for open access publishing (also known as Read and Publish agreements). This means corresponding authors from participating institutions can publish open access, and the institution may pay the charge. Find out if your institution has an open access agreement.
To be eligible for one of OUP’s Read and Publish agreements, the corresponding author must provide their qualifying institution as their primary affiliation when they submit their manuscript. After submission, changing the corresponding author in order to access Read and Publish funding is not permissible.
Colour charges
The Journal does not charge for colour.
Page charges
The Journal does not have page charges.
After Publication
Changes to published papers
The Journal will only make changes to published papers if the publication record is seriously affected by the academic accuracy of the published information. Changes to a published paper will be accompanied by a formal correction notice linking to and from the original paper. As needed, we follow the COPE guidelines on retractions.
For more information and details of how to request changes, including for authors who wish to update their name and/or pronouns, please see OUP’s policy on changes to published papers.
Promoting your work
As the author, you are the best advocate for your work, and we encourage you to be involved in promoting your publication. Sharing your ideas and news about your publication with your colleagues and friends could take as little as 15 minutes and will make a real difference in raising the profile of your research.
While you’re writing take a moment to consider your readers - what words and key phrases would they enter in to a search engine to find articles on the topic you’re writing on?
- Choose a clear, descriptive title. Search engines weight the words in your title most heavily in determining what your article is about, so make sure anyone reading it would get a good idea of the article content from your title.
- Use key words and phrases consistently throughout your article. The more these appear in the text, the more likely your article is to be returned high up in the results list of a search for those words/phrases (and related ones).
A word of caution, while it’s prudent to think about how someone might search on the topic of your article, and how to maximise the chances of them finding your article, don’t let that get in the way of your writing style and make your work repetitive.
You can promote your work by:
- Sharing your paper with colleagues and friends. If your paper is published open access, it will always be freely available to all readers, and you can share it without any limitations. Otherwise, use the toll-free link that is emailed to you after publication. It provides permanent, free access to your paper, even if your paper is updated.
- Signing up for an ORCID iD author identifier to distinguish yourself from any other researchers with the same name, create an online profile showcasing all your publications, and increase the visibility of your work.
- Using social media to promote your work. To learn more about self-promotion on social media, see our social media guide for authors.
Find out how Oxford University Press promotes your content.
Manuscript Submission
How to submit
Authors must submit their papers via our web-based submission system, Editorial Manager. If authors have not published with BJR before, they will need to create an account. Questions about submitting can be sent to the editorial office.
You should contact the BJR editorial office and indicate in the "Author Comments" section, at the point of submission, if your article exceeds any of these listed content limits, including the reasons for this.
Article types
This journal publishes several different article types:
Research Article—maximum word count: 3,000
Research Articles should describe your novel original research in a clear, reproducible way. Any ethical approval statements should be included where relevant. Appropriate statistical analysis of results should be carried out where relevant.
If your original research is a randomised clinical trial, in accordance with the EQUATOR CONSORT guidelines for reporting clinical trials, and the ICMJE recommendations: All clinical trials submitted to BIR Publications journals must be registered in a public trials registry at or before the onset of patient enrolment. The trial registration number should be included in your manuscript, in the main body of the text. You must also include a completed CONSORT checklist among your submitted materials.
If your original research is an observational study, you must include a completed STROBE checklist among your submitted materials. If your original research is a diagnostic/prognostic study, you must include a completed STARD checklist among your submitted materials.
Each piece should include:
- Structured abstract—maximum word count: 250
- Should use these subheadings: Objectives, Methods, Results, Conclusions, Advances in knowledge
- Advances in knowledge should be one or two sentences describing why the paper is novel and what it adds to the current research in that field
- Keywords—maximum of 10, minimum of 3
- References—maximum references: 50
- May include tables and figures—maximum of 10 figures and 5 tables
Must include following sections within the text (and should use these section headers): Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion.
Review— maximum word count: 4,000
Reviews should provide a broad overview and update on a particular topic, specifically discussing recent research in that area (ca. the past 1–3 years). The authors are invited to comment on the state of the field to date and speculate on possible future directions, supported by references.
Each piece should include:
- Unstructured abstract—maximum word count: 200
- Should outline the topics for discussion and conclusions in the article
- Keywords—maximum of 10, minimum of 3
- References—maximum references: 100
- May include tables and figures—maximum of 12 figures and 5 tables
Systematic Review— maximum word count: 3,000
Systematic Reviews and meta-analyses submitted to BJR should follow the PRISMA guidelines for structure and reporting as recommended by the EQUATOR network. You must include a completed PRISMA checklist within your submitted materials. BIR Publications recommends that Systematic Reviews should have been carried out in accordance with a pre-specified protocol, which should have been registered on the PROSPERO database. The registration number, or where the protocol can be accessed, should be included in the manuscript.
Each piece should include:
- Structured abstract—maximum word count: 250
- Should use these subheadings: Objectives, Methods, Results, Conclusions, Advances in knowledge
- Advances in knowledge should be one or two sentences describing why the paper is novel and what it adds to the current research in that field
- Keywords—maximum of 10, minimum of 3
- References—maximum references: 50
- May include tables and figures—maximum of 10 figures and 5 tables
Must include following sections within the text (and should use these section headers): Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion.
Authors are encouraged to include supplementary material for Systematic Reviews, when appropriate. This will help with meeting the requirements of PRISMA for example, providing data extraction tables or list of excluded studies and reasons for exclusion, without detracting from the key details and message in the manuscript.
Pictorial Review— maximum word count: 1,500
The aim of a pictorial review is to provide an up-to-date visual portrayal of a topical issue, having particular educational value with a short description of the images. The amount of text should be kept to a minimum.
Each piece should include:
- Unstructured abstract—maximum word count: 200
- Should outline the guidelines being presented in the article
- Keywords—maximum of 10, minimum of 3
- References—maximum references: 15
- May include tables and figures—maximum of 15 figures and 4 tables
Guidelines and Recommendations— maximum word count: 4,000
Guidelines and Recommendations should provide evidence-based guidance for clinical practice and should aim towards providing appropriate, efficient and cost-effective health care to provide the best possible outcomes for patients.
Each piece should include:
- Unstructured abstract—maximum word count: 200
- Should outline the guidelines being presented in the article
- Keywords—maximum of 10, minimum of 3
- References—maximum references: 100
- May include tables and figures—maximum of 12 figures and 5 tables
Short Communication— maximum word count: 2,000
Short Communications are brief articles describing original research that is in its early stages and not ready to be written up as a Research Article. This category encompasses work-in-progress, technical notes, feasibility studies, initial descriptions of a new technique, procedure or piece of equipment and should not have the same level of detail, especially in terms of its introduction and discussion, as a Research Article.
Each piece should include:
- Structured abstract—maximum word count: 250
- Should use these subheadings: Objectives, Methods, Results, Conclusions, Advances in knowledge
- Advances in knowledge should be one or two sentences describing why the paper is novel and what it adds to the current research in that field
- Keywords—maximum of 10, minimum of 3
- References—maximum references: 15
- May include tables and figures—maximum of 5 figures and 2 tables
Must include following sections within the text (and should use these section headers): Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion.
Commentary— maximum word count: 1,500
Commentary articles are short pieces based on a current hot topic. Our authors are encouraged to succinctly describe the issue and its current status, before going on to express their opinions, present criticism and/or address controversy.
Each piece should include:
- Unstructured abstract—maximum word count: 200
- Should outline the guidelines being presented in the article
- Keywords—maximum of 10, minimum of 3
- References—maximum references: 15
- May include tables and figures—maximum of 4 figures and 2 tables
Letter to the Editor— maximum word count: 750
Letters to the editor should comment on an article that has appeared in a previous issue of BJR. These will be forwarded to the authors of that article to allow them to reply. If accepted, the letters will be published together. All authors of a letter should sign it.
Each piece should include:
- Keywords—maximum of 10, minimum of 3
- References—maximum references: 10
- Correspondence should not, unless absolutely necessary, contain tables or figures
- May include a maximum of 2 figures
Manuscript preparation instructions
General guidelines on preparing your manuscript for publication can be found on OUP’s Preparing and submitting your manuscript page. Specific instructions for BJR can be found below.
Pre-submission language editing
You may wish to use a language-editing service before submitting to ensure that editors and reviewers understand your manuscript. Our publisher, Oxford University Press, partners with Enago, a leading provider of author services. Prospective authors are entitled to a discount of 30% for editing services at Enago, through the OUP-Enago partner page.
Enago is an independent service provider, who will handle all aspects of this service, including payment. As an author you are under no obligation to take up this offer. Language editing is optional and does not guarantee that your manuscript will be accepted. Edited manuscripts will undergo the regular review process of the Journal.
Title page
The title page should be a separate submission item from the main manuscript and must provide the following information:
- The title of the paper. Abbreviations other than standard terms understood by their abbreviations (specifically, CT, DNA, MR, MRI, PET, RNA, or SPECT) should not be used in the title.
- Type of manuscript
- All full author names (in the format: First Name Initial(s) Last Name), academic degrees, and affiliations (with department/division, institution/organization, city, state abbreviation, postal code/zip code, and country)
- Full mailing address (including department/division, institution/organization, full street/road address, city, state abbreviation, postal code/zip code, and country) and email address of one corresponding author
- Author conflicts of interest and a statement indicating any source of funding or financial interest should be included
- Cover letter or statement can be included on the title page, but please note that this is not a compulsory item
- Acknowledgments: these should be brief and should include any individuals who contributed to the research described in the paper or to the development of the manuscript but who do not fulfil the criteria to be listed as an author.
- Funding information, where relevant
- Abstract: please include a copy of the abstract on the title page
Abstracts
The abstract should be an accurate and succinct summary of the paper. The abstract should: indicate the specific objective or purpose of the article; describe the methods used to achieve the objective, stating what was done and how it was done; present the findings of the methods described – key statistics should be included; present the conclusion of the study based solely on the data provided, and highlight the novelty of the work. Text abstracts must be written in English.
Abstracts have a maximum length of 200-250 words (depending on the article type) and must not contain reference citations or abbreviations. A copy of the abstract should appear both on the detailed title page and in the main manuscript file. All article types except Letters to the Editor and Editorials require an abstract.
For Research Articles, Short Communications, and Systematic Reviews, the 250 word abstract should be structured with the following subheadings which should appear in the text of the abstract:
- Objectives
- Methods
- Results
- Conclusions
- Advances in knowledge: should be 1 or 2 sentences describing why the paper is novel and what it adds to the current research in that field.
For Guidelines and Recommendations, Reviews, Commentary, and Pictorial Reviews, the 200 word abstract should be unstructured and should outline the guidelines being presented in the article.
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments (if relevant) should be clearly labeled and included on the title page.
Study funding
You must fully declare all funding information relevant to the research work or towards publication of your article, including specific grant numbers, under a separate subheading on the title page. This applies to all article types and all sources of funding, including government, private or commercial sources, as well as funding towards publication support (including article processing charges or editorial assistance). If the funder is listed in the Crossref funder registry, the funder name should appear exactly as it appears in that database. Where grants were received by specific members of the author group, they should be identified by initial.
Main text
Authors' names or their affiliations should not appear anywhere on the manuscript pages (or in the images, tables, etc.) to ensure anonymised peer-review.
Please organise your paper in a logical structure with clear subheadings to indicate relevant sections. It is up to the authors to decide the specific nature of any subheadings as they see fit. Research papers typically follow the structure: Introductory section; Methods and materials/patients; Results; Discussion; Conclusion; Acknowledgments (if relevant).
Present results in a clear logical sequence. The conclusions drawn should be supported by the results obtained and the discussion section should comment critically on the findings and conclusions as well as any limitations of the work.
Mathematical formulae or method details of interest to readers with specialist knowledge of the area should be included as supplementary material and will feature alongside the article online.
BJR has an international and multidisciplinary readership. All works of scientific merit which are framed by the national practices/guidelines of the authors will be considered for publication. The practice described should be evaluated for patient safety and adhere to best and appropriate practice within the country where the work was carried out. Techniques described should be fully referenced and the country/location where the work was carried out highlighted in the text.
Please note:
- Avoid repetition between sections.
- Avoid repetition of text featured in tables and the main body of the article.
- The names and locations (town, country) of manufacturers of all equipment and non-generic drugs must be given.
- Avoid the use of footnotes.
Style
The journal follows AMA style. Please refer to these requirements when preparing your manuscript. More information on the style guide is available here. UK spelling should be used throughout, except in quotations and in references.
Abbreviations
Abbreviations and acronyms may be used where appropriate but must always be defined at the first occurrence.
Units, symbols, and statistics
Authors should use the International System of Units (SI). Units of radiation should be given in SI, e.g. 1 Sv, 1 Gy, 1 MBq. Exceptions are mmHg for blood pressure and g dL for haemoglobin. For guidance, authors can refer to the publication, Units, Symbols and Abbreviations. A guide for medical and scientific authors.
- All radiation factors (dose/time/fractionation) must be listed.
- Equations should be numbered (1), (2), etc. to the right of the equation.
- Do not include dots to signify multiplication – parameters should simply be typed closed up, or with a multiplication sign if necessary to avoid ambiguity.
Tables
Authors must number all tables (e.g., table 1, table 2, table 3) and reference them within the text. Tables should be supplied in an editable format (such as Microsoft Word), and not embedded as an image file. Authors must place all tables at the end of the main text. Avoid excessive formatting such as the use of colour and shading (which are not replicated in the published web version) and the use of tabbed spacing to indicate alignment. Ensure that any formatting or superscript symbols such as asterisks are explained in the table footnote. Provide units in column or row headers, rather than in the table body.
Figures
Figures should be submitted in one of the following file formats: .jpeg, .jpg, .png, .tiff, .svg, .pdf, or .eps. Images prepared as .bmp, .gif, or .doc/.docx files will not be accepted. You must include figure titles, legends, and captions within the manuscript file—they should not be included in the image files.
Figure files should be named simply to match their citation, eg. fig1.tiff, fig2.eps. You must submit each figure as a single individual image file. Submit all panels of a multi-panel figure as one single figure file; each panel should be labeled with a letter (A, B, C, D, etc.) in the upper-left corner of each panel. Please also ensure you have permission to re-use or adapt any third-party image materials.
Images of maps, charts, graphs, shapes, and diagrams are best rendered digitally as geometric forms called vector graphics. Vector images use mathematical relationships between points and the lines connecting them to describe an image. These file types do not use pixels; therefore resolution does not apply to vector images. Save vector images as .eps, .pdf, or .svg files and embed the fonts.
Images of photographs, paintings, or scans can be provided as raster images. Raster images should be saved as uncompressed .tiff files to avoid quality loss; .jpg/.png file formats are acceptable for raster images but may result in a lower resolution. The resolution of raster files is measured by the number of dots or pixels in a given area, referred to as “dpi” or “ppi.”
- Minimum resolution required for colour half-tones: 300dpi
- Minimum resolution for grayscale half-tones: 600dpi
- Minimum resolution for combination half-tones and line art: 600-900dpi
- Minimum resolution for monochrome line art (complex or finely drawn): 1200dpi
Please also consider accessibility when designing your figure, so that your images can be easily understood by colour-blind and visually-impaired readers. Guidelines for preparing different image-types, including recommendations for colour palettes, colour contrast, image layout, and text accessibility.
Figure accessibility and alt text
Incorporating alt text (alternative text) when submitting your paper helps to foster inclusivity and accessibility. Good alt text ensures that individuals with visual impairments or those using screen readers can comprehend the content and context of your figures. The aim of alt text is to provide concise and informative descriptions of your figure so that all readers have access to the same level of information and understanding, and that all can engage with and benefit from the visual elements integral to scholarly content. Including alt text demonstrates a commitment to accessibility and enhances the overall impact and reach of your work.
Alt-text is applicable to all images, figures, illustrations, photographs, and it isn’t required for tables and large datasets (unless the tables are provided as figures).
Alt-text is only accessible via e-reader and so it won’t appear as part of the typeset article.
Detailed guidance on how to draft and submit alt text.
LaTeX
Information on LaTeX files and formatting is available. For authors preparing their manuscripts using LaTeX, Overleaf RASTI LaTeX class files are available; these simulate the appearance of the journal page. Authors are encouraged to use these, although papers prepared using other class files can also be accepted.
References
Authors may format references in any readable style at submission. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of reference information. Style files for reference managers are available here.
Statistical guidelines
The aim of the study should be clearly described and a suitable design, incorporating an appropriate number of subjects, should be used to accomplish the aim. It is frequently beneficial to consult a professional statistician before undertaking a study to confirm it has adequate power, and presentation of a power calculation within the paper demonstrates the ability of the study to detect clinically or biologically meaningful effects.
Details should be provided on selection criteria, whether data were collected prospectively or retrospectively, and any exclusions or losses to follow-up that might affect the study population. Information on subject characteristics in groups being compared should be given for any factors that could potentially bias the comparison of the groups; such information is often best presented in a tabular format in which the groups are in adjacent columns. If the study was randomised, details of the randomisation procedure should be included.
Measures of variation should be included for all important results. When means are presented, the standard deviation or the standard error of the mean should also be given, and it should be clear which of these two measures is being quoted. When medians are given, measures of variation such as the interquartile range or overall range should also be included. Estimates of differences, e.g. between two means being compared, should be provided with 95% confidence limits to aid the reader and author to interpret the results correctly. Note that estimation of the size of effects, e.g. treatment or prognostic factor effects, is as important as hypothesis testing.
Statistical procedures should be described and referenced for all p-values given, and the values from which they were derived should be included. The validity of statistical procedures should also be confirmed, e.g. the t-test requires normal distribution(s) in the basic data and the chi-squared test is not valid when the expected numbers in cells are less than 5. Data may sometimes be transformed, e.g. using a log or square root transformation, to achieve normality. Non-parametric tests should be used when the conditions for normality are not met. It should be noted, however, that the Wilcoxon signed rank test (the non-parametric equivalent of the paired t-test) is semi-quantitative. If more than two groups are being compared then an analysis of variance should be performed before undertaking comparisons of pairs of groups. You are advised to seek the help of a professional statistician if you are uncertain of the appropriateness or interpretation of statistical methods.
Analysis of repeated measurements on the same subject can give rise to spurious results if comparisons are made at a large number of different time points. It is frequently preferable to represent each subject’s outcome by a single summary measure chosen for its appropriateness. Examples of such measures are the area under the curve, the overall mean, the maximum or minimum, and the time to reach a given value. Simple statistics can then be applied to these summary measures. The results of the evaluation of a test procedure should state clearly the criteria used to define positivity, and the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value should all be quoted together with their 95% confidence limits.
Supplementary material
Supplementary material is intended for material that would add value to your manuscript but is not essential to the understanding of the work. Supplementary material is typically used for material that can only be accommodated online, including large data sets, multimedia files such as dynamic images, video/audio files, etc. You must submit supplementary data or supplementary material at the same time as the main manuscript.
If your manuscript requires an appendix, it should be submitted as supplementary material, as a separate file and not part of the manuscript file itself.
- Supplementary material will be available online only and will not be copyedited or typeset.
- Style and formatting of supplementary material should be consistent with that of the manuscript.
- Supplementary material should be formatted to function on any internet browser.
- Supplementary items should be submitted as clearly-labeled files that are separate from the main article file(s).
- Documentation and online appendices should be submitted in PDF file format.
- Data files should be submitted in a .zip file format.
- Supplementary material may be hosted on OUP’s website or at one of our preferred partner sites, such as Dryad. Material hosted elsewhere (e.g. the author’s personal or institutional website, Google Docs, YouTube) is not allowed as links may expire.
Contact Us
For questions regarding submission and review, including appeals, you can reach the editorial office by email at bjroffice@bir.org.uk.
After your paper has been sent to production, you can contact oupsupport@scipris.com for questions regarding the production process or publication. Please see the Changes to Published Papers section if you need to request a substantive correction to your published paper.
