ASNR Publication Policies
Editorial Policies
Types of articles AJNR will consider for publication include Original Research, Clinical Reports, Brief/Technical Reports, Letters to the Editor, and special papers including Review Articles and Radiology-Pathology Correlations. Other items such as Book Reviews are solicited and approved by the Editors as well. Letters and Book Reviews are published online only. Neurographics will consider Review Articles and Case Reports for publication. Please note that manuscripts presenting research supported by any government funding source from any nation will be published in an open access manner with no restriction of content from initial on-ine posting. The content of AJNR and Neurographics are determined by their Editors.
Submitted manuscripts must not contain previously published material or material under consideration for publication elsewhere unless specific permission is obtained. Accepted manuscripts become the property of ASNR and may not be republished without its consent. Manuscripts will undergo peer review, and an Editor will then make a decision relative to publication.
AJNR encourages and will give particular attention to investigations that are prospective in nature and in which specific hypotheses are proposed. Neurographics encourages image-rich educational content that is high-yield for practicing neuroradiologists.
Peer Review Policies
ASNR journals use a peer review process. AJNR uses a double-blind review process. Neurographics uses a single-blind review process; manuscripts are assigned to two independent reviewers by the Section Editor, and following the receipt of those reviews, the Section Editor performs a third review prior to all reviews being provided to the Editor-in-Chief. Manuscripts are assigned to a Senior or Section Editor by the Editor-in-Chief. In some instances, the Editor-in-Chief will also act in the role of a Senior Editor. The Senior/Section Editor will initially review a manuscript for its suitability for publication and, if appropriate, the manuscript is sent to reviewers. The identity of these reviewers will be permanently unknown to the authors. Both Senior/Section Editors and reviewers are required to disclose any conflict of interest that would affect their ability to objectively evaluate a manuscript. Reported conflicts will result in re-assignment to a different Senior Editor or reviewer. All editors and reviewers are expected to permanently keep confidential the content of the submissions they review as well as the feedback they provide.
Advertising Policy
ASNR reserves the right to refuse any material it deems inappropriate and require publication prepayment. The journals do not accept advertising for credit/debit cards, insurance, or travel. The advertiser agrees to assume all liability for content of ads printed and must be fully authorized for use of the ad’s content. In consideration of the publication of advertisements, the advertiser will indemnify and hold the publisher harmless from any loss or expense arising out of an advertisement. Advertisers will be billed for any modifications or file manipulation that needs to be done to meet print requirements. Advertising representatives and the Society assume no financial responsibility for any error or omission occurring in the publication of an advertisement if the electronic file does not meet our published standards and/or a press proof is not supplied. All claims for errors in advertisements must be made in writing and received within 10 days of the invoice date and will be considered only for the first insertion of the advertisement containing the error. An error that does not materially affect the value or content of an advertisement will not quality for a credit, nor will any credit be allowed if the customer has seen and approved a proof, or if a proof was not supplied.
Research Ethics Policy
All investigators should ensure that the planning, conduct, and reporting of human research are in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration as revised in 2013. All authors should seek approval to conduct research from an independent local, regional, or national review body (e.g., ethics committee, institutional review board). If doubt exists whether the research was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration, the authors must explain the rationale for their approach and demonstrate that the local, regional, or national review body explicitly approved the doubtful aspects of the study. Approval by a responsible review body does not preclude editors from forming their own judgment whether the conduct of the research was appropriate.
When reporting experiments on animals, authors should indicate whether institutional and national standards for the care and use of laboratory animals were followed. Further guidance on animal research ethics is available from the International Association of Veterinary Editors’ Consensus Author Guidelines on Animal Ethics and Welfare.
Informed Consent Policy
Patients have a right to privacy that should not be violated without informed consent. Identifying information, including names, initials, or hospital numbers, should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, or pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. Informed consent for this purpose requires that an identifiable patient be shown the manuscript to be published. Authors should disclose to these patients whether any potential identifiable material might be available via the Internet as well as in print after publication. Patient consent should be written and archived with the journal, the authors, or both, as dictated by local regulations or laws.
Nonessential identifying details should be omitted. Informed consent should be obtained if there is any doubt that anonymity can be maintained. For example, masking the eye region in photographs of patients is inadequate protection of anonymity. If identifying characteristics are de-identified, authors should provide assurance, and editors should so note, that such changes do not distort scientific meaning.
Corrections, Retractions, and Editorial Expression of Concern
The Council of Science Editors defines redundant publication as "reporting (publishing or attempting to publish) substantially the same work more than once, without attribution of the original source(s)" (CBE Views 1996;19 (4):76-77). Characteristics of reports that are substantially similar include (a) "at least one of the authors must be common to all reports; (b) "the subject or study populations are often the same or similar"; (c) "the methodology is typically identical or nearly so"; and (d) "the results and their interpretation generally vary little, if at all."
Should any member of the Editors of AJNR or Neurographics become aware of the possibility of redundant/duplicate publication, the Editor-in-Chief will:
- If the article is still in the process of peer review, suspend it until final determination is made. A determination of redundant/duplicate publication will result in immediate rejection of the article and notification of the Editor(s) of other journals involved.
- If the article(s) in question has already been published:
- Compare and study both publications to determine their content.
- Ask one or more Senior Editors and/or a member(s) of the Editorial Board to determine if the article in question falls into the category of redundant/duplicate publication.
- If the article is considered as redundant/duplicate, retract it from publication and PubMed and notify the author(s).
- Publish a notification of the retraction and give authors(s) involved the opportunity to respond.
- Further sanctions to be considered by the Editor-in-Chief and Senior Editors on an individual basis include:
- A flexible time ban for material by any of the authors.
- Notification of the authors' department chairs and other authorities of their respective universities.
- If redundancy, duplication, or plagiarism occurs in an article(s) arising from research funded by a government means, the Office of Research Integrity from Department of Health and Human Services will be notified.