Guidance for authors

Ophthalmology in practice publishes content that is primarily commissioned to a structured publication plan developed by the Editorial Board.
Commissioned content is reviewed and approved by the Board prior to publication.Ophthalmology in practice will also consider unsolicited submissions.
All authors should refer to the guidance for authors below when developing and submitting their articles.

Articles should be original, topical and not previously published. When writing, please bear in mind that the audience includes all members of the multidisciplinary team.

Please refer to the frequently asked questions below for information about submitting, article style, and the editorial process.

All articles and accompanying materials must be submitted in English, in Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format using the online submission form.
Please email edit@hayward.co.uk if you have any questions about the submission process.

Articles should be between 1,200 and 1,800 words long, and should be divided into sections using subheadings, including the following elements:

Title page
In addition to a concise, informative title, the title page must contain the following:

  • The full names of all authors, their qualifications, current position and institutional affiliations.
  • The name, preferred contact address, email and telephone number of the corresponding author, including any upcoming absences, such as holidays. These personal details will not be published but are essential for the editorial process.

Abstract
A stand-alone summary of no more than 200 words.

Keywords
Please provide up to 10 keywords relevant to the content of the article.

Introduction
Please include an opening paragraph(s) providing the context or background to the article. The introduction should not include data or conclusions of the work being reported but should cite appropriate references, where relevant.

Conclusion
Please include a succinct conclusion, summarising the main findings, identifying gaps in knowledge and suggesting future initiatives.

Key points
Please provide up to six bulleted points encapsulating the content of the article.

Acknowledgments
Only the help of those who have made substantial contributions to an article (excluding secretarial assistance) should be acknowledged.

References
Statements and claims should be supported with clear and appropriate primary references. Due to the nature of articles published within Ophthalmology in practice and because of space constraints, ideally, no more than 15–20 references should be cited.

References should be listed in the Vancouver style:
  • References are numbered consecutively in order of appearance in the text, identified by superscript Arabic numerals.
  • For journal articles, the reference list should include:
  • Names and initials of all authors (if more than five, only the first three are given, followed by et al)
  • The title of the journal article
  • The Abridged Index Medicus (AIM; https://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/aim.html) or NLM Catalog (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals) journal title
  • The year of publication; volume number (and issue/supplement number if applicable) and first and last page numbers
  • References to books or reports should include:
  • The names and initials of all authors
  • The book/report title
  • The place of publication and publisher
  • The year of publication and relevant page numbers
  • Books of multiple authorship should also include the chapter or article title, first and last page numbers, and name(s) and initial(s) of editor(s)
  • References to web pages should include:
  • The name of the organisation or author(s)
  • The web page title and URL
  • The date of last access
Examples:
1. Friesema EC, Docter R, Moerings EP et al. Identification of thyroid hormone transporters. Biochem Biophys ResCommun 1999; 254(2): 497–501.
2. Kohner EM, McLeod D, Marshall J. Diabetic eye disease. In: Keen H, Jarret H (eds). Complications of Diabetes. London: Edward Arnold, 1982: 57–58.
3. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Clinical Knowledge Summaries: Asthma. http://cks.nice.org.uk/asthma (last accessed 01/11/16).

The Publisher reserves the right to ask the authors to clarify any discrepancies between statements made in the article and the references listed, in order to support the statement in the text.

Declaration of interest
All authors must provide a brief declaration of any competing interests, which will be published at the end of the article. A competing interest is anything that interferes with, or could reasonably be perceived as interfering with, the full and objective presentation, review, acceptance, or publication of an article submitted to Ophthalmology in practice.

If you have no interests to declare, we recommend the statement ‘The author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest’. If no declaration is made, the statement ‘None declared’ will be added.

 

Authors are encouraged to include appropriate and relevant supporting figures and/or tables, along with an explanatory caption. Allowances should be made for their inclusion by reducing the wordage accordingly (for example, a half-page illustration is equal to approximately 400 words).

Please provide figures and tables either separately or at the end of the article, and provide a placeholder within the main text (e.g., insert fig 1 here). Tables should not duplicate information unless a useful summary is desirable. Tables should be typed on a separate page, with headings for each column.

Images should be provided as high-resolution (minimum 300 dpi at final intended size) JPEG, TIFF or EPS files. If supplying images with overlaid text, please also supply a separate image file with the text removed.

All sources must be referenced. It is the author’s responsibility to obtain written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce figures, tables and illustrations. This documentary evidence may be requested.

Patient consent
Under the Data Protection Act, authors are required to obtain informed consent when submitting articles that include identifiable patient information, whether textual or illustrative. Consent forms can be provided upon request.

Intellectual property/copyright
Copyright in all languages and all media lies with the Publisher on acceptance for publication. The Publisher grants the author(s) the right to use the published article for personal use only.

All material is accepted for publication on the understanding that it has not been published before, is not due for publication elsewhere and is not under consideration by another publisher.

All submissions are subject to review by the editor and/or the editorial board. As such, publication cannot be guaranteed. The editor and editorial board reserve the right to revise material or request amendments. Once accepted for publication, articles may be amended for clarity, consistency and in accordance with house style, or shortened for reasons of space.

Prior to publication, artworked PDF proofs will be sent to the corresponding author, so that edited material can be reviewed and editorial queries addressed. The corresponding author is responsible for reviewing the edited article, proofreading content to ensure accuracy and providing answers to queries within the proofs.