Author Guidelines
III. Peer-Review Process and Timeline
I. Article Types
The Columbia University Journal of Global Health publishes the following article types:
Articles will be published online on a continuous basis to ensure dissemination of timely, up-to-date information. However, manuscripts submitted after September 30th will be considered for the Spring issue, and manuscripts submitted after February 1st will be considered for the Fall issue. Please carefully review the article type specifications prior to submission. The word count excludes the title page, abstract, tables, acknowledgements, contributions and references. Manuscripts exceeding the word count limit will be considered at the discretion of the editor.
Original Research
Original research papers address specific questions and/or social phenomena of global health, as defined by Koplan et al., in-depth in a clear and articulate manner backed by research conducted by the authors.
Full research papers should have an appropriate structure with elements of abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, conclusion, references, and tables and figures all contained in the manuscript.
Research on human subjects must have been approved by the appropriate ethics committee and conformed to principles in the Declaration of Helsinki. An author’s statement acknowledging this must be included in the methods section.
Use of the Sex and Gender Equity in Research (SAGER) guidelines for reporting of sex and gender information in the research paper is encouraged. Omission of sex and/or gender information should be explained.
SAGER: https://researchintegrityjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s41073-016-0007-6
Sex and gender reporting in global health: new editorial policies: https://gh.bmj.com/content/3/4/e001038
Authors must submit a cover letter along with their manuscript in their initial submission stating the title of the manuscript and the name of the authors, describing the rationale behind the study and major findings from the research, and explaining the significance of the study, including an explanation of what is already known, what are the new findings, and what the new findings imply.
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Word count: up to 5000; not including title page, abstract, figures/tables, acknowledgments, contributions, or references Requests to exceed our word count must be made to the editor prior to submission and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Structured or unstructured abstract: up to 300 words; Structured abstracts should have the following structure: Introduction, Methods, Results, Conclusion Figures/Tables: up to 5 References: up to 100 |
Reviews
Review papers discuss topical issues in global health, analyzing new or existing data or the extant literature. They should be engaging and impartial in evaluating data, with a clear argument and meaningful conclusion.
Authors should tailor their article for a broad and general audience with the goal of introducing a topic or field and perspectives at the prevailing edge of research. Authors should avoid jargon and explain any terminology as needed.
Review papers should have an introduction and conclusion, with thematic headings in between the two. Authors should not use traditional research paper headings such as methods and results/findings.
Authors must complete a summary with 4 to 5 sentences of the main ideas in their review.
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Word count: up to 5000; not including title page, abstract, figures/tables, acknowledgments, contributions, or references Requests to exceed our word count must be made to the editor prior to submission and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Unstructured abstract: up to 300 words Figures/Tables/Illustrations: up to 5 References: up to 100 |
Field Notes
Field Notes papers detail a field experience specific to a certain setting and may include novel data. They should be written in an engaging style with a clearly outlined problem, discuss how one might address similar problems elsewhere, and have a meaningful conclusion.
Authors should tailor their article for a broad and general audience. Authors should avoid jargon and explain any terminology as needed.
Authors must complete a summary with 3 to 5 sentences of the main ideas in their review.
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Word count: up to 3000; not including title page, abstract, figures/tables, acknowledgments, contributions, or references. Requests to exceed our word count must be made to the editor prior to submission and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Unstructured abstract: up to 300 words Figures/Tables/Illustrations: up to 5 References: up to 50 |
Perspectives
Perspectives papers are opinion-based essays that address a large issue or topic in global health, especially in the frame of policy decisions or a specific setting. Perspectives papers make a strong, well-argued point that is compelling and insightful.
Authors should tailor their article for a broad and general audience. Authors should avoid jargon and explain any terminology as needed.
If authors choose to use headings, there should be an introduction and conclusion, with thematic headings throughout the body.
Authors must complete a summary with 3 to 5 sentences of the main ideas in their review.
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Word count: up to 2000; not including title page, figures/tables, acknowledgments, contributions, or references. Requests to exceed our word count must be made to the editor prior to submission and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Figures/Tables/Illustrations: up to 3 References: up to 20 |
II. Preparing the Manuscript
Authors must submit the following as separate documents in their initial submission: Cover Letter, Title Page, Anonymous Manuscript, Figures and Tables, Supplementary Information (if applicable), Conflicts of Interest Disclosure.
- Cover Letter
- The cover page is a single-spaced, one-page letter addressed to the current journal editor(s) submitted along with the initial manuscript that contains the following information:
- Title of the manuscript
- Rationale, major findings, and significance of the study
- Corresponding author name, affiliation, email address, mailing address, and phone number
- Assurances that all authors agree with the content of the manuscript and with the order of authorship
- Assurances that the corresponding author will take responsibility for informing coauthors of editorial decisions, reviews received, and any changes or revisions made
- Notice of any conflicts of interest or activities that might be seen as influencing the research
- Authors may suggest up to 5 reviewers in the "Comments for the Editor" section of the submission form.
- The cover page is a single-spaced, one-page letter addressed to the current journal editor(s) submitted along with the initial manuscript that contains the following information:
- Title Page
- Manuscript Title
- Full Author Names & Titles (highest academic degree, professional designation only)
- Authors must all fulfill the following criteria: 1) contributed to concept, design, or analysis and interpretation of the data, 2) drafted or critically revised the manuscript for important intellectual content, and 3) approved the final version
- Note: In the "Enter Metadata" section of the submission form, all authors must be added as contributors with all necessary information entered including name, email, country, affiliation, suffix, and contributor role. Other blanks are optional.
- Academic Affiliation: department, city, state/province, country.
- Corresponding author information must have full name, postal address, and email address.
- Please indicate the corresponding author also in the "Enter Metadata" section of the submission form.
- Funding Sources: If none, write “No funding.”
- Conflict of Interests: If none, write “The authors have no conflicts of interest.”
- Disclose any previous presentation of the underlying manuscript content
- Ethical Approval: Include IRB/Ethical Board approval and protocol number
- Author Contributions: Must be formatted according to CRediT Taxonomy.
- Acknowledgments (optional)
- Wordcount (excluding title page, abstract, references, and figures)
- Anonymous Manuscript
- Formatting and Style
- Submit manuscripts in double-spaced, size 12, Times New Roman font in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx only).
- Include continuous line numbers on the left side of the page. Tutorial here.
- Acronyms and abbreviations must be explained when first used, and should be standard. Drugs should be referenced by their approved generic name and any brands should be capitalized.
- Ensure the anonymous manuscript is appropriately anonymized. Guidelines for removing identifying information may be found here.
- The following hierarchy should be followed: BOLD CAPS > bold lower case > Plain text > Italics for main text headings and sub-headings.
- Abstract
- Manuscript title
- Structured or unstructured abstract according to article type guidelines.
- 3-5 keywords
- Note: Keywords must also be inputted in the "Enter Metadata" portion of the submission form.
- Text
- Research manuscripts (original research and Field Notes) contain the following sections in order: Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion (optional).
- Literature reviews contain an Abstract, Introduction, Literature Review sections with thematic headings, and Conclusion.
- Perspectives contain an Introduction, Body with thematic headings, and Conclusion.
- References must be numbered sequentially as they appear in the text. References cited in figures or tables should appear at the end of the reference list to avoid any difficulties if figures are moved around during the editing process. Reference numbers should be inserted immediately after punctuation with no word spacing. For example:
Correct: This…..idea[2].
Incorrect: This...idea [2].
Citations with multiple references should be separated by a comma. References with consecutive numbers should contain the first and last number separated by a hyphen.
Multiple references: [1, 3, 7]
Consecutive references: [1-7]
- References
- List References sequentially in standard format starting on a separate page after the manuscript.
- References must be in APA style.
- Authors are held responsible for the accuracy of their references. References should be checked before the submission of the manuscript.
- Only published or in-press papers should be in the reference list. Any personal communications or unpublished data should be cited in parenthesis in the text with the source name(s) and year. Citing unpublished data should be with permission from the source.
- List all authors with last name and first (and middle, if included) initials. Use only one space between words up to the year. Italicize the journal title and abbreviate it according to Medline. See here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals
If the journal is not listed there, write out its full name. DOI should be included in the citation if possible.
Example references:
Journal article: Zyra JM, Ryze R, Teem OV, Jinx A. Measuring brain injury: effects of online platforms. Riot Prev 2020;5:135-45 doi:#######.
Electronic journal article: Zyra JM, Ryze R, Teem OV, Jinx A. Measuring brain injury: effects of online platforms. Riot Prev 2020 Jan-Mar;1(3). Link to article (accessed 9 April 2020). doi:#######.
- Formatting and Style
- Figures and Tables
- Figures and Tables must be initially submitted as a single PDF file with legends below each figure or table and cited within the main text in numerical order. Authors should submit only one figure per page.
- In proofs, authors will be expected to submit figures/tables as seperate files in lossless formats (TIFF, PNG, or PDF) with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi. Line art should be at least 1200 dpi.
- Figures consisting of multiple parts must be submitted as a single image.
- If figures do not meet our standards authors will be asked to resubmit them.
- Supplementary Materials
- Additional figures and tables, methods, or raw data may be published within this section and should be submitted as a single PDF file. Note that supplementary materials will not be copy-edited or typeset and will published as is.
- Conflicts of Interest Disclosure
- Authors are asked to fill out, sign, and submit the ICJME Conflicts of Interest form which may be downloaded here. Furthemore information may be found at the ICMJE website.
III. Peer-Review Process and Timeline
- Intial Decision - The Journal aims to provide an Editorial decision to reject or send out for review within two weeks of submission.
- Review Time - The Journal aims to provide review comments within two months.
- Resubmission - Authors will be given two weeks to revise and resubmit their manuscript.
- Copyediting - The Journal will copy-edit and typeset the manuscript within a month of resubmission.
- Proofs - Authors must approve of proofs after the manuscript is typest within one week of receipt.
- Publication - Once proofs have been approved, the manuscript will be scheduled for publication on our website.
- Decision Categories:
- Accepted - No changes are necessary beyond copy editing and corrections and is ready for publication by the Journal.
- Minor Revisions - Significant revisions, as suggested by reviewers/editors are necessary before further consideration.
- Major Revisions - Serious flaws/issues must be addressed, and additional information must be provided before further consideration.
- Rejected - The editors and/or reviewers believe any flaws/issues in the manuscript cannot be corrected, and the manuscript is not suitable for publication by the Journal.
- Appeals - Appeals submitted within two weeks of the Editorial decision with significant rationale for reconsideration will be assessed by the Editorial Board.
IV. Submitting Revisions
- Authors must submit a "Response to Reviewers" document formatted in MS Word itemizing all Author Responses to each Reviewer Suggestions for revisions, and any other changes.
- To submit a revised manuscript, authors must submit the following documents separately and in this order:
- Title page - same format as new manuscript submission
- Main text (anonymous) - changes should be highlighted in yellow, including abstract, main text, references
- Figures and Tables
- Response to Reviewers
- Revisions must be submitted by the date specified in the decision notification email. Failure to do so will result in the closing of this submission. Any further submissions will be evaluated as new submissions.
V. Proofs and Publication
- After acceptance, proofs will be prepared for author review. No changes to the content are permitted. Authors should make any necessary corrections and respond to Author Queries from the editorial staff.
- This is the final opportunity for authors to proofread/copy-edit the manuscript before its publication. No substantial content changes are allowed.
- Any corrections must be submitted by the date specified to ensure timely publication.
- The manuscript will be published on our website and possibly in a print issue.