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Manuscript Preparation Guidance
JCEMS Editorial Policies & Practices provides authors with information to reference while developing their manuscript for submission. Information regarding manuscript formatting can be found on the Formatting Guidelines page. Authors are strongly encouraged to refer to our Author’s Submission Packet for a step-by-step checklist to assist with their manuscript submission preparation.
Mentorship & Assistance for Authors & Researchers
Our Editorial Board and Editors are committed to working with authors at every stage of the research and publication process, all the way from study design to manuscript preparation and review. We understand that the research and publication process can be daunting, particularly for young researchers and clinicians. Our mission is to spur research in the underrepresented field of campus-based prehospital emergency care and to develop budding researchers and clinicians.
We encourage you to contact our Editors at JCEMS@JCEMS.org if you are interested in conducting a study or writing an article relevant to the collegiate EMS community. Our Editors and Editorial Board would be thrilled to provide advice or connect you with a mentor who could answer any questions regarding topic selection, research design, data analysis, manuscript writing, submission guidelines, and the publication process. Our Editors and Editorial Board may also be able to help connect you with partners for collaboration in research and writing.
Please understand that while our Editors and Editorial Board may provide advice and determine whether your article might be of appropriate scope for JCEMS, we cannot provide insight into your chances of acceptance prior to submission.
Submission Deadlines
Manuscripts are accepted on a rolling basis. You may submit content at any time for online publication and/or publication in subsequent issues of the print journal. Deadlines for upcoming issues are released on our website.
Article Selection Criteria
All submitted content, regardless of the type of review required (peer review or editorial review), must adhere to the general principles below. Any article that violates these criteria may be subject to desk rejection. If no violations are identified at the initial stage, they may still be identified during peer or editorial review.
- Content must fit within the Aims & Scope of JCEMS. The content must be related to collegiate/ campus-based EMS, collegiate public health/safety, and collegiate emergency preparedness. JCEMS will consider submissions related to EMS and emergency medicine that are not directly connected to collegiate EMS; however, the authors must demonstrate how the content connects to the aims and scope of JCEMS.
- Content must be unique, innovative, and provide a novel perspective/methodology/contribution to the field. Authors are encouraged to review the current literature and JCEMS-published content to ensure their submission is original and is not redundant.
- Authors should not submit the same manuscript to JCEMS and other journals at the same time, regardless of the language of the manuscript. Authors submitting a manuscript, or a portion of a manuscript, that has been published, submitted, or accepted elsewhere, except for an abstract, conference proceeding, presentation, or unpublished academic thesis or paper, preprint, or poster presentation, must disclose this to the Editors on submission of the manuscript, along with a copy of the content. This policy is in accordance with the ICMJE guidelines on overlapping publications.
- Submission must follow the appropriate standards of ethical and research integrity (see Ethics in Research and Publishing).
- Submissions must follow the required JCEMS format for their corresponding manuscript type (see Formatting Guidelines).
- Appropriate citations, where necessary, must follow the American Medical Association (AMA) citation style.
Authorship & Contributorship
Authorship of a manuscript implies credit, responsibility, and accountability for the work. It is the responsibility of the authors and appropriate research institutions, not JCEMS, to appropriately assign authorship and determine authorship versus contributorship. Listing individuals as authors implies that the following four criteria are met, as detailed in the ICMJE Recommendations:
1. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
2. Drafting the work or reviewing it critically for important intellectual content; AND
3. Final approval of the version to the published; AND
4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
All individuals who meet the criteria should be listed as authors. Individuals who meet some, but not all, of the criteria should be noted in the “Acknowledgments” section after written consent is obtained from the contributing individual. All authors must be able to detail the specific contributions of the co-authors and the written consent of contributors upon request of an editor or reviewer.
Requests to add, remove, or rearrange the order of one or more authors in the authorship list after manuscript submission or publication must be made in writing with an explanation for the requested change. A written statement detailing the reason for the change must be submitted by the corresponding author to the Editor-in-Chief. All authors, including the author to be added or removed, must submit a statement of agreement with the change with their signature.
Communication with JCEMS
JCEMS encourages authors to communicate with the Editorial Office throughout their manuscript submission, review, and publication process. When communicating with JCEMS through email, all email subject headings must abide by the following format:
“Last Name of Corresponding Author, First Name – Manuscript Type: Proposed Title”
The corresponding author will be the main point of contact for all administrative tasks of the process. Any of the authors may contact the Editors, and the responsibilities of the corresponding author may be delegated to other authors. The Editors will include all authors in any communication about the manuscript, provided they are given to the Editor upon submission of the manuscript. The corresponding author must be available by email communications at a minimum for 3 years following publication to answer any questions or concerns that may arise following publication. The corresponding author is responsible for maintaining contact with JCEMS by providing an active email address that remains available for at least the minimum required period of 3 years.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
JCEMS requires all authors to declare whether they used AI tools in producing their manuscript, including for developing language, content, and images. Authors are required to declare the use of AI on the cover page, in the respective section of the article where AI was used, and in the “Acknowledgments” section. AI may not be listed as an Author, as AI cannot take responsibility and accountability for the manuscript. AI may not be cited as a source. Authors are reminded that AI may produce biased, incorrect, or incomplete information; therefore, any information obtained must be reviewed and validated by a human.
Disclosing Conflicts of Interest for Authors
Authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest in the manuscript or provide a statement that none of the authors have a conflict of interest. Statements should be provided in the “Acknowledgments” section. Authors declaring a potential conflict of interest are required to submit the JCEMS Submission Declaration & Disclosures Form along with the manuscript. Purposeful failure to report conflicts of interest will be handled as misconduct.
Conflicts of interest include financial or personal relationships, arrangements, or interests that might influence or bias the professional judgment of the authors. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership or options, honoraria, patents, and paid expert testimony. Please contact the Editors if you are not certain whether one or more of the authors’ relationships, arrangements, or interests constitute a potential conflict of interest.
Disclosing Funding Sources for Authors
Authors must declare who provided any funding or financial support for research and manuscript preparation. Authors must describe the role, or lack thereof, of the funding source in any aspect of study design, data collection, data analysis, manuscript preparation, and the decision to submit for publication. Statements should be provided in the “Acknowledgments” section.
Duplicate Submission & Prior Publication
Authors are strictly prohibited from simultaneously submitting their manuscript to other journals. We pledge to review all submissions promptly so that authors may submit their manuscripts to other journals if their submissions are rejected. Authors are strictly prohibited from submitting previously published work written by themselves or others. Likewise, authors are prohibited from submitting articles that include previously published data or other content without an appropriate reference. Submitted content may be assessed using originality detection software. Authors may, however, submit articles containing data or content previously reported in an abstract, conference proceeding, presentation, or unpublished academic thesis or paper. In such cases, authors must appropriately reference the original source and have the supporting documentation available upon request of an editor or reviewer.
Preprints
JCEMS supports the wide dissemination of accessible, quality research through recognized preprint servers. Only the original submission, prior to any revisions or reviews by JCEMS, may be uploaded to a preprint server. The Authors must ensure that they retain copyright in their material uploaded to the preprint server, in accordance with the JCEMS Editorial Policies & Practices. The Authors must inform the Editors of the manuscript’s presence on a preprint server at the time of submission. Following publication, an Author may update the preprint server with the appropriate citation and reference to the published article.
Self-archiving
JCEMS supports authors who wish to self-archive their work in an online repository of their choice, either in its original submission version or after publication in the journal.
Long-term Digital Archiving and Preservation
JCEMS preserves its content in the Zenodo Digital Preservation services. All articles are uploaded following publication. If JCEMS becomes unavailable, content will remain available in this service’s archives.
Personal Communication
Unpublished data or other information obtained through personal communication may be included in articles, provided the individual and means of communication (written or oral) are identified in the manuscript text. An example might read: “All patient charts are reviewed weekly by the student QI/QA officer prior to review by the agency’s medical director (oral communication with Medical Director John Smith, MD).” Authors must include a signed statement from the source(s) of personal communication indicating that the individual(s) consent to being identified in the article.
Submission Declaration Form
Every listed author must complete and sign a copy of our Submission Declaration & Disclosure Form, regardless of the manuscript type being submitted. Signed copies of our Submission Declaration & Disclosure Form must be attached to the manuscript submission.
Manuscript Submission
Please ensure that the manuscript is prepared in accordance with the most up-to-date version of our Editorial Policies & Practices. Email submissions to JCEMS@JCEMS.org. The corresponding author must submit the manuscript to JCEMS. The email subject line should be “[last name of corresponding author, first name – manuscript type: proposed article title]”. A signed copy of our Submission Declaration Form should be attached to the submission email for every listed author. Tables, figures, images, videos, and other supplementary materials should be attached as separate documents. A completed copy of the Reporting Guidelines must be attached, if applicable. The corresponding author will receive notification within two weeks that the submission has been received.