Substance Use & Addiction Journal

Manuscript Submission Guidelines: Substance Use & Addiction Journal 

Instructions for Authors

Thank you for submitting a manuscript for consideration of publication in the Substance Use & Addiction journal (SAj). SAj is the official journal of AMERSA, Inc. (Association for Multidisciplinary Education and Research in Substance use and Addiction).

The mission of Substance Use & Addiction journal (SAj) is to advance science through dissemination of high-quality, innovative research, and commentary related to substance use and substance use disorders by and for a broad range of stakeholders including clinicians, researchers, educators, policy makers, persons and advocates of persons who use substances, and public health and healthcare staff and leaders worldwide.

The journal’s abbreviation is Subst Abus and the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) are 2976-7342 (print) and 2976-7350 (online). There exist several journals with a similar name of Substance Use & Addiction; please make sure you are submitting your manuscripts to the correct journal. In addition, please review the SAj regarding what we review and publish (see below for mission and themes of SAj). Current and prior issues of SAj may be accessed via the https://journals.sagepub.com/home/saj. Additional questions that cannot be answered using this guide may be directed to the Editorial Team (saj@amersa.org).  

As a member of the International Society of Addiction Journal Editors (ISAJE; www.isaje.net), SAj supports and follows the principles of the ISAJE and Farmington Consensus, https://www.isaje.net/farmington-consensus.html). The Farmington Consensus describes the ethical responsibilities of authors, peer reviewers, and editors. Authors submitting to SAj must also adhere to the consensus statements to 1) promote the quality of publications to the field, 2) emphasize the quality and processes of peer review, and 3) improve the efficiency and integrity of the peer-review process and publications of scientific results or opinion. This Journal recommends that authors follow the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (http://www.icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf) formulated by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). For research manuscripts (e.g.., original research, brief reports, review articles, case studies, qualitative work) the journal recommends authors to report their research results using reporting guidelines such as those on the EQUATOR Network (www.equator-network.org/).

The SAj Editorial Team and Sage disseminates high-quality research and engaged scholarship globally, and we are committed to diversity and inclusion in publishing. We encourage submissions from a diverse range of authors from across all countries and backgrounds.

Only manuscripts of sufficient quality that meet the aims and scope of SAj will be reviewed. Please read the guidelines below then visit the Journal’s submission site to upload your manuscript: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/saj. Please note that manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines may be returned. Remember you can log in to the submission site at any time to check on the progress of your paper through the peer review process.

There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this Journal. Open Access options are available - see section 3.3 below.

As part of the submission process you will be required to warrant that you are submitting your original work, that you have the rights in the work, and that you have obtained and can supply all necessary permissions for the reproduction of any copyright works not owned by you, that you are submitting the work for first publication in the Journal and that it is not being considered for publication elsewhere and has not already been published elsewhere. Please see our guidelines (https://www.sagepub.com/prior-publication) and note that SAj will consider submissions of papers that have been posted on preprint servers; please alert the Editorial Office when submitting and include the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for the preprint in the designated field in the manuscript submission system and the Cover Letter attached to the submission. Authors should not post an updated version of their paper on the preprint server while it is being peer reviewed for possible publication in SAj. If the article is accepted for publication, the author may re-use their work according to the Journal's author archiving policy. If your paper is accepted, you must include a link on your preprint to the final version of your paper.

Please see specific guidance and instructions to submit a manuscript to SAj below.

1. What do we publish?
   1.1 Aims & Scope
   1.2 Article types
   1.3 Writing your paper
2. Editorial policies
   2.1 General Article Editorial Flow and Peer Review Policies
   2.2 Peer Reviewers
   2.3 Authorship
   2.4 Declaration of conflicting interests
   2.5 Acknowledgements
   2.6 Artificial Intelligence
   2.7 Funding
   2.8 Compliance, Ethical Standards, and Ethical Approval
   2.9 Copyright and author rights
   2.10 Clinical trials
   2.11 Reporting guidelines
   2.12 Research data
3. Publishing policies
   3.1 Publication ethics
   3.2 Contributor’s publishing agreement
   3.3 Open access and author archiving
4. Preparing your manuscript
   4.1 Formatting
   4.2 Tables, artwork, figures and other graphics
   4.3 Identifiable information
   4.4 Supplemental material
   4.5 Reference style
   4.6 English language editing services
   4.7 Declaration of word count, ethical statements, and anonymization
5. Submitting your manuscript
   5.1 ORCID
   5.2 Information required for completing your submission
   5.3 Permissions
6. On acceptance and publication
   6.1 SAGE Production
   6.2 Online First publication
   6.3 Access to your published article
   6.4 Promoting your article
7. Further information
   7.1 Appealing the editor’s or publication decision
   7.2 Contact Information for any inquiries

 

1. What do we publish?

1.1 Aims & Scope

Before submitting your manuscript to SAj, please read and ensure you understand the mission and scope of SAj.

The mission of Substance Use & Addiction journal (SAj) is to advance science through dissemination of high-quality, innovative research, and commentary related to substance use and substance use disorders by and for a broad range of stakeholders including clinicians, researchers, educators, policy makers, persons and advocates of persons who use substances, and public health and healthcare staff and leaders worldwide. SAj is committed to improving health, health care, and health equity for vulnerable populations.

SAj strives to obtain, publish, and promote high-quality, innovative research, and commentary regarding substance use and substance use disorder in the following thematic areas:

1. Substance use and substance use disorder prevention, identification, assessment, treatment, and recovery [clinical theme]
2. Innovations and evaluation of education and training modalities regarding substance use and substance use disorder for the community, students, trainees, and health care professionals [education theme]
3. The impact, influence, prevention, and treatment of substance use, and substance use disorders among vulnerable, marginalized, and/or populations that suffer health inequity [equity theme]
4. The impact, influence, prevention, and treatment of substance use, and substance use disorders within the international community [international theme]
5. Substance use and substance use disorder health policy and public health research [policy/public health theme]
6. Implementation of evidence-based prevention, identification, assessment, and treatment within health care, community, and geographic environments [implementation theme]
7. Innovative methods to evaluate substance use and substance use prevention, harm reduction, identification, assessment, treatment, and recovery [harm reduction theme]

In this mission and these themes, we underscore the importance of incorporating the lived experiences of persons who use substances and peer interventions—including peer recovery coaches and community-based participatory research approaches—to enhance knowledge, science, and impacts.

1.2 Article types

SAj accepts the following manuscript/article types and are further described below:

1. Original Research
2. Brief Report
3. Review
4. Case Report
5. Commentary
6. Commentary with Study Protocols
7. Letter to the Editor
8. Editorial

In general, authors are expected to adhere to word count limits for initial submissions to the journal unless prior approval has been granted by the SAj Editor-in-Chief. Please note that when submitting to S1 you will be required to declare your word count.

Regarding word count limits, please see the specific instructions for each manuscript type. The word count limits for any article type include the body of the manuscript (including headings) and do NOT include the abstract, highlights, title page, references, tables, figures, captions, or supplemental material. All titles have a word limit of 50 words. All abstracts have a word count limit of 300 words (either structured or unstructured, see below). There are no limits on the number of references cited.

1. ORIGINAL RESEARCH articles

Original Research articles are articles that present research findings. Original Research Articles typically include randomized trials, intervention studies, cohort studies, case-control studies, epidemiologic assessments, other observational studies, surveys with high response rates, cost-effectiveness analyses and decision analyses, and studies of screening and diagnostic tests. Each manuscript should clearly state an objective or hypothesis; the design and methods (including the study setting and dates, patients or participants with inclusion and exclusion criteria and/or participation or response rates, or data sources, and how these were selected for the study); the essential features of any interventions; the main outcome measures; the main results of the study; a discussion section placing the results in context with the published literature and addressing study limitations; and the conclusions and relevant implications for clinical practice or health policy. Data included in research reports must be original and should be as timely and current as possible.

Manuscripts involving qualitative or mixed methods studies are welcomed at the journal. The word limit is increased for these manuscripts. In addition, the SAj welcome online appendices to assist in publishing more content that may be prohibited based on word counts.

Word Count Limit:

3,500 words

Qualitative articles are allowed up to 4,000 words (this word limit includes quotations)

Required Sections for Main Document:

Abstract, Highlights, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion (including subheading of Conclusions), References

Required Abstract Section Headings [structured]:

Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions.

2. BRIEF REPORT articles

Brief Report manuscripts are short reports of original studies. Brief reports are articles that report on focused research findings that can be succinctly described. Brief reports may also be an option for studies or curricular innovations where outcomes are emerging. Otherwise, types of research appropriate for brief reports are like Original Research manuscript types (see above).

Word Count Limit:

2,000 words

Required Sections for Main Document:

Abstract, Highlights, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion (including subheading of Conclusions), References

Required Abstract Section Headings [structured]:

Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions.

3. REVIEW articles

The journal seeks to publish Review articles related to recent innovations in addiction research, education, policy, and treatment. These types of Review articles differ by the scope and level of analysis of the literature searches and the titles used. For example, systematic reviews require a complete systematic search of the literature using multiple databases, covering many years, and grading of the quality of the cited evidence. Narrative Review articles do not require a rigorous literature search but should rely on evidence. It is essential that the manuscripts follow reporting guidelines, such as those from the EQUATOR Network (www.equator-network.org/). Typically, authors seeking to submit Review articles to SAj contact the Editor-In-Chief to inquire about the appropriateness of Review subject to the journal.

Word Count Limit:

4,000 words

Required Sections for Main Document:

Abstract, Highlights, Introduction, Methods (if a formal review), Results, Discussion (including subheading of Conclusions), References

Required Abstract Section Headings [structured]:

Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions

4. CASE REPORT articles

The journal is looking to publish case reports or a series of clinical cases under the heading Case Report Case Report articles. Case Report articles are generally short descriptions of clinical cases that uniquely enhance the clinical understanding or emerging understanding of addiction-related clinical issues. In general, SAj prefers articles that describe several clinical cases versus a single case. A good review of the literature is important in the writing of Case Report articles; authors should emphasize how the case study or case studies represent novel findings or new clinical information.

Importantly, we recognize there is no universal consensus regarding consent for publication of case reports, except cases that are identifiable can only be published when consent has been obtained. Note that such consent is different from research participant consent, which applies to systematic investigation of a subject or subjects with intent to generalize the findings. Consent to publish the details of an individual’s case is obtained to respect the person’s right to privacy. Institutional review and ethics boards make determinations about consent for research. However, even if consent is waived for research and even if a case report is deemed to not constitute research, consent is often required for other reasons (privacy). If a case report or case series is deemed to be research (systematic collection of data with an intent to generalize the findings), report of approval and relevant consent should be stated like all other research. When two cases are reported, institutional review or ethics board review is recommended; in general, such review is required when three or more cases are reported.

Consent from the subject (or parent/guardian) should be obtained for all case reports. Consent can be on an institutional document or one like the examples below (modified as appropriate), and should be stored for seven years and made available to the editors and publisher on request. State in the cover letter that written consent to publish a report of the case has been obtained by the subject and that it is available for review by the editors and publisher of the journal.

If the subject is deceased, consent should be provided by family or significant others (next-of-kin). If consent has not been obtained, the authors must describe the circumstances of how they attempted to obtain consent or why it was not possible.

If consent is not obtained, the editors, alone or in consultation with the publisher and/or peer reviewers, will consider the extent to which the case appears to be anonymous and the exhaustive and reasonable nature of attempts to obtain consent, and whether there is any reason to suspect that a patient might have objected to publication. The authors should carefully attempt to protect the patient’s identity. Then the journal will attempt to balance the risk of deductive disclosure with the benefit to public health and science. Authors should keep in mind however, that even without the inclusion of identifiers, real cases can often be identified by people in the community since cases worthy of reporting are often recognizable.

Case report manuscripts must state whether consent was obtained, along with any relevant circumstances as described above.

In summary, if identifiable information, such as photographs or radiographic material, is included as part of the submission, written informed consent must be obtained from the patient or the patient’s legal guardian/representative, and the authors should affirm this in the Consent section. Furthermore, care should be taken when determining which potentially identifying details to include: the description should be adequate to allow for proper interpretation by the readers, but the authors should omit non-essential details. The Editor-in-Chief may request proof of written informed consent.

Word Count Limit:

2,500 words

Required Sections for Main Document:

Abstract, Highlights, Introduction, Case, Discussion, References

Required Abstract Section Headings:

Background, Case(s), and Discussion

5. LETTER TO THE EDITOR articles

This is a flexible format intended to quickly share information of interest to SAj readers. These letters to the editor may include responses to an article previously published in SAj, peer reviewed journals, or non-peer reviewed published materials; discussion of new tools, technology, and ideas; announcements and policy statements from organizations or other stakeholders; responses to recent research, commentary, or policy; implications of recent research or forthcoming research to the addictions field; and primary research data in summary form, The Letter to the Editor format is not intended for full presentation of data.

Letters discussing a recent article in this journal should be submitted within four weeks of publication of the article in print. Letters must not duplicate other material published or submitted for publication and should not include unpublished data. Letters being considered for publication ordinarily will be sent to the authors of the original article, who will be given the opportunity to reply, in written format. The letters received in reply to an original article will be sent anonymously to the authors, unless the letter writers wish not to be anonymous. Replies to letters to editors will be published, if reviewed and accepted to the journal. Letters will be published at the discretion of the editors and are subject to abridgement and editing for style and content.

Word Count Limit:

1,500 words

Required Sections for Main Document:

Abstract, Highlights, Main Body (section headings determined by authors), References

Required Abstract Section Headings:

None. Abstracts generally are brief (less than 200 words)

6. COMMENTARY articles

Commentaries are intended to offer expert insights into important or controversial topics related to addiction in clinical medicine, medical economics, policy, ethics, or related issues. When appropriate, SAj expects authors to acknowledge a limited amount of supporting or opposing literature. Priority is given to novel thought, clear and creative writing, and the relevance of the manuscript to the interests of SAj’s readers. SAj strongly encourages submission of commentary related to addiction health policy and thought pieces that seek to advance the clinical or scientific fields.

Word Count Limit:

3,000 words

Required Sections for Main Document:

Abstract, Highlights, Main Body (section headings determined by authors), References

Required Abstract Section Headings:

Abstract required but section headings are not necessary.

7. COMMENTARY with STUDY PROTOCOL articles

Commentary with Study Protocol articles are intended to offer insights into critical decisions when designing and implementing scientific protocols. In general, all study protocols that are published in SAj must have been approved by an institutional review board (IRB) and/or ethics committee; study protocols without ethical approval, will generally not be considered for publication.

The Study Protocol consists of two documents: 1) A Brief Narrative and 2) Supplement – Approved Protocol.  We recommend that a Brief Narrative is provided (2,000 words) that 1) introduces the justification for the study (e.g., text (or modified text) the narrative of the grant application), 2) relates the specific aims of the study, and 3) provides insights into uniqueness of the study design or critical decisions the authors made in the design of the study. Authors can additionally comment on important edits or amendments they made to the study once implemented.

Brief Narratives thus may read like a commentary or editorial. Brief Narratives should have a trial registration number (if available) noted in the text or in the acknowledgment section. An abstract should briefly describe the study, aims, and protocol. This abstract does not require formal headings. The abstract should not be more than 300 words.

Authors will append to the Brief Narrative their institutionally approved protocol that will be a web-based supplement to the article if it is published (named “Supplement – Approved Protocol”). It is NOT necessary to edit the approved protocol from what the institution has approved, and it can be uploaded “as is” or as amended. However, the Supplement – Approved Protocol should be a complete representation of the approved protocol. It is expected that the protocols will be variably formatted. If authors wish to reformat their protocol in the Supplement – Approved Protocol document, the SAj recommends using the SPIRIT guidelines (https://www.spirit-statement.org/). The Supplement – Approved Protocol document ideally should have a date of last ethical or institutional approval near the beginning of the supplemental file.

In addition, the authors of Commentary with Study Protocol submissions should submit the ethical or institutional approval document attesting to the approval of the submitted protocol.

Study protocols will be peer reviewed by at least one Editorial Board member. The review will primarily consist of evaluating the text of the Brief Narrative; the protocol itself (within the Supplement – Approved Protocol) will not be critically reviewed. The review of Commentary with Study Protocols manuscripts will assess the uniqueness of the study and/or critical decisions made by the investigators in the study design. In general, Commentary with Study Protocols will be reviewed more favourably if the proposed or ongoing trials that have not completed patient recruitment at the time of submission. However, for instance, if a study was poorly designed, had methodologic concerns, or the protocol hampered the implementation of the study and these factors are discussed in sufficient detail in the Brief Narrative, these protocols will be welcomed for review.

Word Count Limit:

2,000 words (Brief Narrative) and no word limit (Supplement – Approved Protocol)

Required Sections for Main Document:

Abstract, Highlights, Main Body (section headings determined by authors), References

Required Abstract Section Headings:

None. Abstracts generally are brief (less than 200 words)

Required Additional Documents:

1) Supplement – Approved Protocol (or edited) and

2) Letter from institution indicating ethical or institutional approval for the narrative described in the Supplement – Approved Protocol

8. EDITORIAL

Submission of editorials is by invitation from or prior arrangement with the Editor-in-Chief. Most editorials will comment on other material (e.g., an innovative original article) appearing in the same issue of SAj or on changes in journal activities or policies. SAj also publishes freestanding editorials commenting on other topics, such as major changes in addiction clinical medicine or addiction health care policy, that were not originally introduced within the pages of SAj. Final acceptance of any editorial, even an invited editorial, is at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editors.

 Word Count Limit:

2,000 words

Required Sections for Main Document:

Abstract, Highlights, Main Body (section headings determined by authors), References

Required Abstract Section Headings:

None. Abstracts generally are brief (less than 200 words)

1.3 Writing your paper

The SAGE Author Gateway has some general advice and on how to get published, plus links to further resources. SAGE Author Services also offers authors a variety of ways to improve and enhance their article including English language editing, plagiarism detection, and video abstract and infographic preparation.

1.3.1. Non-Pejorative Language

SAj supports the mission AMERSA which is “to improve health and well-being through interdisciplinary leadership in substance use education, research, clinical care, and policy.” The SAj Editorial Team believes that improving health and well-being requires interdisciplinary leadership regarding the language that we use in our scholarship. We ask authors, reviewers, and readers to carefully and intentionally consider the language used to describe alcohol and other drug use and disorders, the individuals affected by these conditions, and their related behaviours, comorbidities, treatment, and recovery in our publication. Specifically, we make an appeal for the use of language that:

• Respects the worth and dignity of all persons (“people-first language”)
• Focuses on the medical nature of substance use disorders and treatment
• Promotes the recovery process
• Avoids perpetuating negative stereotype biases using slang and idioms

For an overview of each of the above principles, examples of preferred and non-preferred terms, and discussion of some the nuances and tensions that inherently arise as we give greater attention to the issue of how we talk and write about substance use and addiction, please refer to our 2014 editorial in SAj (Broyles LM, Binswanger IA, Jenkins JA, Finnell DS, Faseru B, Cavaiola A, Pugatch M, Gordon AJ. Confronting inadvertent stigma and pejorative language in addiction scholarship: a recognition and response. Subst Abus. 2014;35(3):217-21. doi: 10.1080/08897077.2014.930372. PMID: 24911031; PMCID: PMC6042508) which is available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24911031/. In addition, see the International Society of Addiction Journal Editors (ISAJE) comment on addiction terminology (https://www.isaje.net/addiction-terminology.html).

Our reviewers are very cognizant of pejorative language and often comment on misuse of language. In sum, the SAj Editorial Team does not seek to issue a formal or final dictum on language use for authors and reviewers, but instead, to encourage thoughtful and deliberate consideration of language that is most consistent with operationalizing respect for personhood in SAj’s policies and practices.

1.3.2. General Content to Provide in Articles

• In general, manuscripts submitted to SAj should have the following content. =All article types should have an abstract. =
• Cover Page (e.g., Title, Authors, Affiliations, Contact information, ORCID identifications)
• Abstract
• Highlights
• Key Words
• Manuscript Narrative (subheadings specified in the Article Types above)
• Author Contributions
• Declaration of Conflicting Interests
• Acknowledgements [optional]
• Funding
• Compliance, Ethical Standards, and Ethical Approval
• References
• Tables
• Figures
• Online Supplementary Material

1.3.3. Highlights. After the abstract, please include a highlights section that lists 2-4 short bullet-point sentences summarizing the article’s main takeaway points. The bullet point should describe, in plain and direct language, the article’s primary contribution. When appropriate, we encourage key points that refer specifically to the audience(s) who will benefit from understanding the article’s findings and explicitly tell them why they should care about this work.

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2. Editorial policies

2.1 General Article Editorial Flow and Peer Review Policies

SAj uses a web-based portal to review submissions. Please follow the web-based portal instructions to avoid administrative rejection of a submission or delays in the review process. We understand that it is often difficult to reformat articles that have been reviewed by one journal when submitting to our journal, thus, as a courtesy to authors, minor infractions in author instructions will not preclude internal or external peer review.

All articles submitted to SAj will undergo a peer review process, either internal (via the Associate Editors) or external (with an Associate Editor and external peer reviewers). SAj uses a double-anonymous reviewing process. Thus, authors should take care to anonymize all potentially identifying information within the body of the article. Commonly overlooked identifying information includes: the description of the setting/study site, IRB affiliation, and references to “our” prior research. The SAj Editor will assist in “anonymizing” the manuscript prior to the review, if needed, but authors should try to anonymize their papers prior to submission. All identifying author information should be included in the title pages (see below); the title pages will not be shared with reviewers.

The SAj conducts a semi double-anonymous review of manuscripts (see rationale our editorial: Gordon AJ. Substance Use & Addiction journal: new beginnings. Subst Abus. 2013;34(4):339-41. doi: 10.1080/08897077.2013.825220. PMID: 24159902. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24159902/); the external reviewers will not know the name, institution, or country of the authors and the authors will not know the name, institution, or country of the external reviewers or Associate Editors who reviewed the work. The Editor and the Associate Editors know the name of the authors, their institutions, or countries of origin (thus the process is “semi” double-anonymous review process rather that a complete double-anonymous review process). The Associate Editors and Editor in Chief do not make any determination on the quality of the work based on any factor (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender, country of origin, funding source, etc.) other than the merits of the manuscript submitted.

Authors will be asked at the submission stage to BLIND their papers. This can include using a [BLINDED] tag or any other means to provide author anonymity.

Once submitted, the peer review process includes (generally in the following order):

1. ADMINSTRATIVE REVIEW: a review from the Managing Editors regarding attentiveness to the authors in adhering to the author instructions and helping anonymize the submitted manuscript for peer review (see below). Those submissions not adhering to the author instructions may be administratively rejected. Acceptable submissions are sent to the Editor-in-Chief to be evaluated for content.
2. EDITOR REVIEW: a review from an Editor regarding appropriateness for the journal and for external peer review. The Editor-in-Chief may make an immediate decision to reject the submission because the work is not appropriate to publish in SAj. Otherwise, the Editor-in-Chief will forward the article to an Associate Editor for review.
3. ASSOCIATE EDITOR REVIEW: Associate Editors will review the article for merit. If the manuscript is appropriate for external peer review, the manuscript is sent for external review.
4. PEER REVIEW: Peer reviewers will be asked to review the manuscript; articles of interest will be assigned peer reviewers with expertise relevant to the submission. Peer reviewers will not know the authors and institutions of the authors in the solicitation process. In most cases, in addition to editorial review, at least two peer reviews will occur for each submission.
5. ASSOCIATE EDITOR/EDITOR RE-REVIEW and INITIAL DETERMINATION NOTIFICATION. The Editors will consider reviewer comments and make a determination. Upon receiving reviews of the external peer reviewers, the Associate Editor will recommend a decision of the manuscript to the Editor-in-Chief. Final review of the reviews (both external reviews and Associate Editor(s) recommendations) occurs by the Editor in Chief. One of the four possible decisions – accept as is, accept with revision, revise, and resubmit, or reject – will be communicated to the corresponding author. 

The Editor-in-Chief is ultimately responsible for the peer review process. At any point in the review process, authors may have their paper returned to them for corrections or with an initial decision. SAj aims for a six-week turnaround from author submission to the initial Editor-in-Chief decision. As of this writing, our time to first decision or all manuscripts are, on average, less than 40 days and our time to final decision is, on average, less than 60 days. After an initial decision, papers may be resubmitted, and the above review cycle usually repeats.

Decisions can be 1) accept as is, 2) accept with revision (usually minor revisions requested), 3) revise and resubmit (moderate or major revisions requested), or 4) rejection. These decisions are returned to by email to the authors with specific instructions for resubmission (unless the decision is rejection).

In general, if the decision is “accept as is” the authors will be instructed to complete a final edit (and potentially change the narrative based on the Associate Editor instructions) and send the completed manuscript to the managing editor for processing. If the decision is “accept with revision”, the authors will be instructed to submit a revised manuscript in two formats, 1) a “clean” copy, and 2) “a tracked changes” copy. A cover letter and/or a response letter is NOT required for “accept with revision” decisions.

If the decision is a “revise and resubmit”, the authors will be instructed to submit a revised manuscript in two formats, 1) a “clean” copy, and 2) “a tracked changes” copy (as above). In addition, the authors should submit a detailed response document (either in the cover letter or in a separate response document) documenting and justifying the revisions to the manuscript based on the prior reviews. SAj does not request a specific format for this response document thus, the responses can be in narrative or table form. SAj strongly recommends that if the text of the revised manuscript is changed in responding to a comment, that the authors copy and paste the new (edited) text in the detailed response document. This allows the SAj editors to assess the responses of the authors to the comments of the editors and reviewers more easily.

SAj allows a limited amount of time for authors to submit a revision without it being considered a new submission; authors receiving an “accept with revision” or “revise and resubmit” decisions are generally given six weeks to make changes and resubmit their work. Authors are expected to provide a tracked changes version of their previous submission and thoroughly address reviewer concerns when submitting a revised manuscript. SAj will also request a point-by-point response to reviewer comments from authors whose manuscripts receive a “revise and resubmit” decision. Resubmitted manuscripts may undergo an additional round of peer review. In addition, if concerns that have been identified that require a new reviewer, SAj retains the right to send the revised manuscripts to new reviewers who were not part of the original reviewer team.

2.2 Peer Reviewers

Sage does not permit the use of author-suggested (recommended) reviewers at any stage of the submission process, be that through the web-based submission system or other communication. SAj does not allow authors to designate or suggest that certain scholars not review their work; SAj does not allow suggested “opposed reviewers.”

Reviewers are generally experts in their fields and should be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. SAj policy is that reviewers should not be assigned to a paper if:

• The reviewer is based at the same institution as any of the co-authors
• The reviewer is based at the funding body of the paper
• The author has recommended the reviewer
• The reviewer has provided a personal or corporate email account and an institutional email account cannot be found after performing a basic Google search (name, department, and institution).

The Editor or members of the Editorial Team may occasionally submit their own manuscripts for possible publication in the Journal. In these cases, the peer review process will be managed by alternative members of the Board and the submitting Editor/Board member will not be involved in the decision-making process.

Inadequate or improper or poor-quality external reviews may be edited or not provided to authors for consideration. In thanking the reviewers for their voluntary work, reviewers are provided all the anonymous reviews provided to the authors as well as a statement of the decision on the manuscript.

2.2.1 SAj statement of the value and recognition of peer reviewers

SAj values the peer review process and its peer reviewers. The overall quality of the journal is largely in the hands of our cadre of peer reviewers, whose volunteer efforts provide the Editorial Team with the information necessary to ensure that only the highest quality work appears in SAj. Comments and suggestions from peer reviewers can turn a marginal paper into a publishable work that advances the field.

The Editorial Team recognizes the incredible value of peer review. To this end, all SAj peer reviewers are recognized in an annual appreciation editorial in the journal, if they wish. In addition, SAj presents a “Best Peer Review” award at the annual AMERSA conference in recognition of a particularly outstanding review or a meritorious body of reviews during the year. All peer reviewers are eligible for this annual award and will be recognized on the AMERSA website and SAj twitter feed. We encourage all reviewers to indicate on their CV that they have reviewed for SAj.

SAj is committed to ensuring that the peer-review process is as robust and ethical as possible. The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines regarding peer review can be found at the following link. Reviewers are suggested to read the guidelines before accepting or declining to review for SAj. (http://publicationethics.org/files/Ethical_guidelines_for_peer_reviewers_0.pdf).

2.2.2 Sage Recognition of peer reviewers

In recognition of the peer reviewers’ support, SAj have arranged with our publisher Sage to offer peer reviewers free access to all Sage journals for 60 days upon receipt of a completed review and a 25% book discount on all Sage books ordered online. 

As part of Sage's commitment to supporting the reviewer community, Sage is partnered with Web of Science Reviewer Recognition peer recognition service (https://clarivate.com/products/scientific-and-academic-research/research-publishing-solutions/reviewer-recognition-service/), a service that gets recognition for peer review contributions. You can also use ORCID to gain recognition for your reviews (https://support.orcid.org/hc/en-us/articles/360006971333-Peer-Review). If you need to provide evidence that you have reviewed for a Sage journal, such as for funding, promotions, jobs, or green card applications, peer reviewers can download their Web of Science CV. Alternatively, peer reviewers can share the email sent to you confirming your review has been received.

Web of Science Reviewer Recognition is a free service that enables you to effortlessly record, verify, and showcase peer review contributions. Web of Science Reviewer Recognition records the number of papers peer reviewers have reviewed for a journal while maintaining reviewer anonymity in accordance with each journal’s review policy. Our partnership with Web of Science Reviewer Recognition enables you to quickly and easily get the recognition for peer reviewers.

For Sage's integrated journals, which includes SAj, peer reviewers can opt-in to receive recognition on Web of Science Reviewer Recognition when peer reviewers submit your review; peer reviewers receive an email inviting peer reviewers to set up a profile on Web of Science Reviewer Recognition and claim their reviews; peer reviewers can choose the ‘auto-add’ option in their profile, meaning peer reviewers reviews for this and any other integrated journals will automatically be added to your Web of Science Reviewer Recognition profile in the future, with no further action required. For any journal, peer reviewers can set up their profile on Web of Science Reviewer Recognition and can manually add any reviews completed from throughout the peer reviewers entire career by forwarding the peer reviewer’s receipt email to reviews@webofscience.com or filling out the online form from the peer reviewer’s account.

2.3 Authorship

Papers should only be submitted for consideration once consent is given by all contributing authors. Those submitting papers should carefully check that all those whose work contributed to the paper are acknowledged as contributing authors. The list of authors should include all those who can legitimately claim authorship. This contribution should consist of all the following:

1. Made a substantial contribution to the concept or design of the work, or acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data
2. Drafted the article or revised it critically for important intellectual content
3. Approved the version to be published
4. Participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content.

Authors should meet the conditions of all the points above. When a large, multicenter group has conducted the work, the group should identify the individuals who accept direct responsibility for the manuscript. These individuals should fully meet the criteria for authorship.

Acquisition of funding, collection of data, or general supervision of the research group alone does not constitute authorship, although all contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the Acknowledgments section. Please refer to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) authorship guidelines for more information on authorship (http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html).

SAj articles have a section of “Author Contributions” in each published article. This section allows the authors to specify their specific contributions to the published work. Authors are identified by their initials. An example of this section could be:

AJG, BCS, HY originated the project and AJG, BCS, HY, and GB obtained funding. BCS and AJG drafted the initial manuscript. BCS, WC, and JH secured the data and conducted the analyses. All authors participated in interpreting the results, contributed to the writing of the manuscript, provided critical feedback to the manuscript, and approved the final manuscript draft for submission.

All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an Acknowledgements section (see below). Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or a department chair who provided only general support.

Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools.

2.3.1 Authorship Changes

If the named authors for a manuscript change at any point between submission and acceptance, an Authorship Change Form must be completed and digitally signed by all authors (including any added or removed). An addition of an author is only permitted following feedback raised during peer review. Completed forms can be uploaded at Revision Submission stage or emailed to the Journal Editorial Office contact. All requests will be moderated by the Editor and/or Sage staff.

Important: Changes to the author by-line by adding or deleting authors are NOT permitted following acceptance of a paper.

2.4 Declaration of conflicting interests

Each SAj article has an “Declaration of Conflicting Interests” section. It is the policy of SAj to require a declaration of conflicting interests from all authors enabling a statement to be carried within the paginated pages of all published articles. The submitting author is required to disclose whether conflicts of interest exist for any authors on the manuscript prior to peer review. It is important to note that the presence of a potential conflict of interest does not preclude publication of a paper.

The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) states in its Guidelines on Good Publication Practice (2003) that:

‘Conflicts of interest arise when authors, reviewers, or editors have interests that are not fully apparent and that may influence their judgments on what is published. They have been described as those which, when revealed later, would make a reasonable reader feel misled or deceived.’

Please ensure that a ‘Declaration of Conflicting Interests’ statement is included at the end of your manuscript, after any acknowledgements and prior to the references. If no conflict exists, please state that “The Author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest”. For guidance on conflict of interest statements, please see the ICMJE recommendations http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/author-responsibilities--conflicts-of-interest.html#two.

Authors should err on the side of disclosing all potential conflicts, even if these conflicts may not be pertinent to the manuscript. An example a “Disclosures” statement could be:

AJG receives an honorarium for an online chapter on alcohol management in the perioperative period from Wolters-Kluwer; is on the board of directors (not-for profit; not remunerated) for the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), the Association for Multidisciplinary Education and Research in Substance use and Addiction (AMERSA), and the International Society of Addiction Journal Editor (ISAJE), all non-for profit organizations; and receives current grant support from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and NIH. LMB reports current ownership of stock in medical product companies unrelated to this topic, Zimmer Biomet, Dow and Thermo Fisher.

2.4.1 Third party submissions

Where an individual who is not listed as an author submits a manuscript on behalf of the author(s), a statement must be included in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript and in the accompanying cover letter. The statements must:

• Disclose this type of editorial assistance – including the individual’s name, company, and level of input
• Identify any entities that paid for this assistance
• Confirm that the listed authors have authorized the submission of their manuscript via third party and approved any statements or declarations, e.g., conflicting interests, funding

Where appropriate, SAj and Sage reserves the right to deny consideration to manuscripts submitted by a third party rather than by the authors themselves.

2.4.2 Writing assistance

Individuals who provided writing assistance, e.g., from a specialist communications company, do not qualify as authors and so should be included in the Acknowledgements section. Authors must disclose any writing assistance – including the individual’s name, company, and level of input – and identify the entity that paid for this assistance. It is not necessary to disclose use of language polishing services.

2.5 Acknowledgements

SAj articles can have an “Acknowledgements” section. It is not mandatory to include this section in the manuscript. This section allows for the authors to acknowledge critical contributions to the published work. Per ICMJE recommendations, it is best practice to obtain consent from non-author contributors who you are acknowledging in your paper. An example of an “Acknowledgements” section could be:

We thank Mr. Greenjeans who carefully edited the work for clarity prior to submission. We thank the staff of the NIDA Clinical Trials Network for their participation in the study design and execution. We also thank the staff of the University of Lofty Ideas and all the subjects who consented to participate in this study.

2.6 Artificial Intelligence

2.6.1 Use of Large Language Models and generative AI tools in writing your submission

Sage recognizes the value of large language models (LLMs) (e.g. ChatGPT) and generative AI as productivity tools that can help authors in preparing their article for submission; to generate initial ideas for a structure, for example, or when summarizing, paraphrasing, language polishing etc. However, it is important to note that all language models have limitations and are unable to replicate human creative and critical thinking. Human intervention with these tools is essential to ensure that content presented is accurate and appropriate to the reader. Sage therefore requires authors to be aware of the limitations of language models and to consider these in any use of LLMs in their submissions:

• Objectivity: Previously published content that contains racist, sexist or other biases can be present in LLM-generated text, and minority viewpoints may not be represented. Use of LLMs has the potential to perpetuate these biases because the information is decontextualized and harder to detect.
• Accuracy: LLMs can ‘hallucinate’ i.e. generate false content, especially when used outside of their domain or when dealing with complex or ambiguous topics. They can generate content that is linguistically but not scientifically plausible, they can get facts wrong, and they have been shown to generate citations that don’t exist. Some LLMs are only trained on content published before a particular date and therefore present an incomplete picture.
• Contextual understanding: LLMs cannot apply human understanding to the context of a piece of text, especially when dealing with idiomatic expressions, sarcasm, humor, or metaphorical language. This can lead to errors or misinterpretations in the generated content.
• Training data: LLMs require a large amount of high-quality training data to achieve optimal performance. However, in some domains or languages, such data may not be readily available, limiting the usefulness of the model.

2.6.2 Guidance for authors

Authors are required to:

• Clearly indicate the use of language models in the manuscript, including which model was used and for what purpose. Please use the methods or acknowledgements section, as appropriate.
• Verify the accuracy, validity, and appropriateness of the content and any citations generated by language models and correct any errors or inconsistencies.
• Provide a list of sources used to generate content and citations, including those generated by language models. Double-check citations to ensure they are accurate, and are properly referenced.
• Be conscious of the potential for plagiarism where the LLM may have reproduced substantial text from other sources. Check the original sources to be sure you are not plagiarizing someone else’s work.
• Acknowledge the limitations of language models in the manuscript, including the potential for bias, errors, and gaps in knowledge.
• Please note that AI bots such as ChatGPT should not be listed as an author on your submission.

We will take appropriate corrective action where we identify published articles with undisclosed use of such tools.

2.7 Funding

Each SAj article has an “Funding” section. SAj requires all authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent fashion under a separate section.  Please visit page on the Sage Journal Author Gateway (https://www.sagepub.com/funding-acknowledgements) to confirm the format of the acknowledgment text in the event of funding, or state that: “This research [or editorial] received no specific funding or grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.” 

Funding sources for the research process and for manuscript preparation must be listed. Please provide the grant number, if applicable. Authors should also specify the degree to which the funding agency was involved in the work reported in the manuscript or in the composition of the submission. The authors should indicate funding for the work contained in the manuscript. An example of a “Funding” statement is provided below:

This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Veterans Health Administration; the Program for Addiction Research, Clinical Care, Knowledge, and Advocacy (PARCKA) at the University of Utah; the Vulnerable Veteran Innovative PACT (VIP) Initiative at the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System; the VA Center of Excellence in Substance Addiction Treatment and Education (CESATE); the VA Health Services Research and Development (HSR&D) Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) Partnered Evaluation Center (PEC) grants #19-001 and #18-203. Supporting organizations had no further role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the paper for publication.

2.8 Compliance, Ethical Standards, and Ethical Approval

Each article of SAj must have a “Compliance and Ethical Standards” section. General guidance for this section can be found here (https://www.sagepub.com/ethical-statements-guidance).

Medical research involving human subjects should be conducted according to the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki (see: https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medical-research-involving-human-subjects/). SAj requires that authors submitting work involving human subjects research adhere to the ethical principles expressed by the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki (https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medical-research-involving-human-subjects/). Submitted manuscripts should conform to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (http://www.icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf) and all papers reporting animal and/or human studies must state in the methods section that the relevant ethics committee or institutional review board provided (or waived) approval.

For research articles, authors are also required to state in the methods section whether participants provided informed consent and whether the consent was written or verbal.

Information on informed consent to report individual cases or case series should be included in the manuscript text. A statement is required regarding whether written informed consent for patient information and images to be published was provided by the patient(s) or a legally authorized representative. Please do not submit the patient’s actual written informed consent with your article, as this breaches the patient’s confidentiality. SAj may request that authors confirm to us, in writing, that you have obtained written informed consent but the written consent itself should be held by the authors/investigators themselves, for example in a patient’s hospital record. The confirmatory letter may be uploaded with your submission as a separate file. Please also refer to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Protection of Research Participants (http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/protection-of-research-participants.html).

Authors must indicate that an independent research ethics committee (e.g., Institutional Review Board) reviewed and approved, or exempted the study protocol. A short description of the informed consent process should also be included. Please ensure that you have provided the full name and institution of the review committee. If ethics committee approval and/or informed consent were not obtained, a brief explanation must be provided.

Examples of how this section could be written is as follows. Further examples of how to state this section and IRB approval are located at https://www.sagepub.com/ethical-statements-guidance.

This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. The Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the University of Last Resort acted as the central IRB, whose review was accepted by all participating institutions’ IRBs (Ref. XYZ123). The central IRB determined that this research involved no greater than minimal risk and approved a waiver for informed consent.

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of XXXX University (Ethics Code: XYZ123) on January 12, 2023. All participants provided written informed consent prior to enrolment in the study. This research was conducted ethically in accordance with the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki.

2.9 Copyright and author rights

Submitting authors are required to confirm that they have seen, read, and understood the publisher’s guidelines on copyright and author rights. Further copyright information will be provided to the authors during the post-acceptance process.

2.10 Clinical trials

SAj conforms to the ICMJE requirement (http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/publishing-and-editorial-issues/clinical-trial-registration.html) that clinical trials are registered in a WHO-approved public trials registry at or before the time of first patient enrolment as a condition of consideration for publication. The trial registry name and URL, and registration number must be included in the “Funding” section of the manuscript.

2.11 Reporting guidelines

The relevant EQUATOR Network reporting guidelines (http://www.equator-network.org/) should be followed depending on the type of study. For example, all randomized controlled trials submitted for publication should include a completed CONSORT flow chart as a cited figure and the completed CONSORT checklist should be uploaded with your submission as a supplementary file. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses should include the completed PRISMA flow chart as a cited figure and the completed PRISMA checklist should be uploaded with your submission as a supplementary file. The EQUATOR wizard (http://www.peneloperesearch.com/equatorwizard/) can help you identify the appropriate guideline.

Other resources can be found at the National Library of Medicine’s website (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/research_report_guide.html).

2.12 Research data

SAj is committed to facilitating openness, transparency, and reproducibility of research, and has the following research data sharing policy. For more information, please see https://www.sagepub.com/research-data-sharing-policies. Subject to appropriate ethical and legal considerations, authors are encouraged to:

• Share your research data in a relevant public data repository
• Include a data availability statement linking to your data. If it is not possible to share your data, use the statement to confirm why it cannot be shared.
• Cite this data in your research

Peer reviewers may be asked to peer review the research data prior to publication.

• Peer reviewers may be asked to assess compliance with the research data policy
• Peer reviewers may be asked to assess research data files

If you need to anonymize your research data for peer review, please refer to Sage's website: https://www.sagepub.com/research-data-sharing-faqs and https://www.sagepub.com/Manuscript-preparation-for-double-anonymized-journal
 

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3. Publishing policies

3.1 Publication ethics

Sage is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ guidelines for editors and authors (https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Guidelines) and view the Publication Ethics page on the Sage Author Gateway (https://www.sagepub.com/ethics-responsibility).

3.1.1 Plagiarism

SAj and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism, or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the Journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software. Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarized other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where the authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article; taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; or taking appropriate legal action.

Please note that by submitting your paper to SAj you are agreeing to any necessary checks your paper may have to undergo during our peer review and production processes. Manuscripts without proper citations for direct quotations or with inadequate paraphrasing have been and will continue to be rejected by Substance Use & Addiction journal. Potential authors are encouraged to make sure that they fully understand the concept of plagiarism. There are many resources for this on the web, http://www.plagiarism.org/plagiarism-101/what-is-plagiarism/.

3.1.2 Prior publication

If material has been previously published it is not generally acceptable for publication in a Sage journal. However, there are certain circumstances where previously published material can be considered for publication. Please refer to the guidance on the Sage Author Gateway (https://www.sagepub.com/prior-publication) or if in doubt, contact the SAj Editor-in-Chief at the address given below.

3.2 Contributor’s publishing agreement

Before publication, Sage requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. Sage's Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement is an exclusive licence agreement which means that the author retains copyright in the work but grants Sage the sole and exclusive right and licence to publish for the full legal term of copyright. Exceptions may exist where an assignment of copyright is required or preferred by a proprietor other than Sage. In this case copyright in the work will be assigned from the author to the society (e.g., AMERSA). For more information, please visit the website: https://www.sagepub.com/contributor-agreement.  

3.3 Open access and author archiving

SAj offers optional open access publishing via the Sage Choice programme and Open Access agreements, where authors can publish open access either discounted or free of charge depending on the agreement with Sage. Find out if your institution is participating by visiting Open Access Agreements at Sage. For more information on Open Access publishing options at Sage please visit Sage Open Access. For information on funding body compliance, and depositing your article in repositories, please visit Sage’s Author Archiving and Re-Use Guidelines and Publishing Policies.

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4. Preparing your manuscript

SAj only accepts manuscripts written in English. The journal welcomes either US English or British English, but authors must be consistent in their usage throughout the text of the manuscript.

The preferred format for your manuscript is Microsoft Word.

The main document should contain all the required sections for each manuscript type. Do not include figures and tables in your main document. However, the text should contain a placeholder indicating the preferred location for each table and figure, e.g., [TABLE 1 HERE]. Captions for figures should also be included in the main document. Please note that any decimal must have a “0” before each decimal (e.g., 0.123 vs. .123). The number should read 0.123.

Figures supplied in color will appear in color online free of charge, regardless of whether these illustrations are reproduced in color in the printed version. If an author wishes to have the figure in color in print, the author will need to pay. It is USD $800.00 for the first color image and $200.00 for any additional color images within the same Contribution. Please notify the production team if you wish to publish your images in color in print.

4.1 Formatting

SAj only accepts manuscripts written in English. The journal welcomes either US English or British English, but authors must be consistent in their usage throughout the text of the manuscript.

The preferred format for your manuscript is Microsoft Word.

The main document should contain all the required sections for each manuscript type. Do not include figures and tables in your main document. However, the text should contain a placeholder indicating the preferred location for each table and figure, e.g., [TABLE 1 HERE]. Captions for figures should also be included in the main document. Please note that any decimal must have a “0” before each decimal (e.g., 0.123 vs. .123). The number should read 0.123.

Figures supplied in color will appear in color online free of charge, regardless of whether these illustrations are reproduced in color in the printed version. If an author wishes to have the figure in color in print, the author will need to pay. It is USD $800.00 for the first color image and $200.00 for any additional color images within the same Contribution. Please notify the production team if you wish to publish your images in color in print.

4.2 Tables, artwork, figures and other graphics

Tables and figures are to be uploaded separately from the main document, with the appropriate file type designated. Do not include figure titles and captions within your images – they will not scale appropriately. Figures should be sized to fit on a journal page and 300 DPI or higher. (Using most software, authors can check the resolution of an image by right clicking on it, selecting Properties, and viewing the Details tab). In formatting your tables and figures, please follow the following guidance:

• Tables: Microsoft Word (using the Table feature) or Excel document
• Figures: Authors who have created their own figures are encouraged to submit them in the original file formats (e.g., Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint). Images should be TIFFs with a minimum resolution of 300 DPI.

“Where superscripted lists are provided at the bottom of the table, please put lists into paragraph form at the bottom of the table i.e. a blue; b green; c red. In many tables and figures, acronyms are not defined. Please include a legend under each table that defines all the acronyms of that specific table. This should be labeled as “Legend”.” Please make sure FIGURE titles are on the bottom, and TABLE titles on the top.

For additional guidance on the preparation of illustrations, pictures and graphs in electronic format, please visit Sage's Manuscript Submission Guidelines at https://www.sagepub.com/manuscript-submission-guidelines.

4.3 Identifiable information

SAj uses double-anonymized peer review. See https://www.sagepub.com/Manuscript-preparation-for-double-anonymized-journal for detailed guidance on making an anonymous submission.

Thus, the authors are required to submit:

• A version of the manuscript which has had any information that compromises the anonymity of the author(s) removed or anonymized. This version will be sent to the peer reviewers. As above, authors will be asked at the submission stage to BLIND their papers. This can include using a [BLINDED] tag or any other means to provide author anonymity.
• A separate title page which includes any removed or anonymised material. This will not be sent to the peer reviewers.

4.4 Supplemental material

This Journal can host additional materials online (e.g., datasets, podcasts, videos, images, extra figures, extra tables, etc.) alongside the full text of the article. For more information please refer to the following website: https://www.sagepub.com/supplementary-files-on-sage-journals-sj-guidelines-for-authors. In general, all formats are accepted in files of Text, MSWord, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, Zip Archive, RealVideo, PDF, HTML, QuickTime, MPEG Video, Image, VRML, GIF Image, WAV Audio, AIFF, PDB, AVI Video, or Windows Media/Video. We strongly recommend keeping the file format simple and easily downloadable to a variety of software packages.

For materials published in our online format, the paper will have an active hyperlink to a fixed URL website where the supplemental material will be found. For the print version of the paper, there will exist a URL directing the reader to the online version to access the supplemental material. This has been used by authors within our journal to publish conference abstracts, protocols, and supplemental material that will add to the descriptions of the methods and results of the published work (e.g., more narratives justifying themes that emerged in qualitative studies, sensitivity analyses, surveys designed and/or implanted in the conduct of the study. We encourage authors to use “online supplemental material” to provide more context to the published work. In all manuscript types, materials designated as “online supplemental material” should be designated as Online Supplemental Material 1, Online Supplemental Material 2, etc. 

Supplemental information will only be published online. Supplemental information will be published “as is”, i.e., the material will not be typeset or modified by the publisher and authors will not be sent proofs for supplemental material. Authors should make sure that they have permission to publish their supplemental material in an online format. Publication of online supporting material is at the discretion of the SAj Editorial Team.

4.5 Reference style

SAj adheres to the AMA 11 reference style (https://academic.oup.com/amamanualofstyle). Please review the guidelines on AMA to ensure your manuscript conforms to this reference style. View the guide to ensure your manuscript conforms to this style (https://journals.sagepub.com/pb-assets/AMA%2011%20style_April%202020-1596580950130.pdf).  

If you use EndNote (http://www.endnote.com/) to manage references, you can download the AMA output file (https://endnote.com/style_download/ama-11th-american-medical-association-11th-edition/).

Citations should be numbered in AMA style (using superscript after punctuation). 

Authors should include acronyms or full titles of websites/organizations in line with how they appear in the published versions. If an acronym is listed within the article (apart from References) then it should be defined at its first mention.

4.6 English language editing services

Authors seeking assistance with English language editing, translation, or figure and manuscript formatting to fit the Journal’s specifications should consider using Sage Language Services. Visit Sage Language Services on our Journal Author Gateway for further information (http://languageservices.sagepub.com/en/).

4.7 Declaration of word count, ethical statements, and anonymization

As part of the manuscript submission process, authors are required to submit a declaration of word count, any ethical statements in their manuscript, and a confirmation that all required information has been anonymized per the guidelines.

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5. Submitting your manuscript

SAj is hosted on SAGE Track, a web based online submission and peer review system powered by ScholarOne™ Manuscripts. Visit https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/saj to login and submit your article online.

IMPORTANT: Please check whether you already have an account in the system before trying to create a new one. If you have reviewed or authored for the Journal in the past year, it is likely that you will have had an account created.  For further guidance on submitting your manuscript online please visit https://clarivate.com/webofsciencegroup/support/scholarone-manuscripts/. 

5.1 ORCID

As part of our commitment to ensuring an ethical, transparent, and fair peer review process Sage is a supporting member of ORCID, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID (http://orcid.org/). ORCID provides a unique and persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from every other researcher, even those who share the same name, and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between researchers and their professional activities, ensuring that their work is recognized.

We encourage all authors and co-authors to link their ORCIDs to their accounts in our online peer review platforms. It takes seconds to do: click the link when prompted, sign into your ORCID account and our systems are automatically updated. We collect ORCID IDs during the manuscript submission process and your ORCID ID then becomes part of your accepted publication’s metadata, making your work attributable to you and only you. Your ORCID ID is published with your article so that fellow researchers reading your work can link to your ORCID profile and from there link to your other publications. Please note you are not able to add your ORCID ID after your manuscript is accepted and sent to the publisher to prepare for printing.

If you do not already have an ORCID ID, please visit the ORCID homepage to learn more (http://orcid.org/).

An example of how to identify an author with their ORCHID is the following:

Adam J. Gordon http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2453-8871

5.2 Information required for completing your submission

You will be asked to provide contact details and academic affiliations for all co-authors via the submission system and identify who is to be the corresponding author. These details must match what appears on your manuscript. The affiliation listed in the manuscript should be the institution where the research was conducted. If an author has moved to a new institution since completing the research, the new affiliation can be included in a manuscript note at the end of the paper. At this stage, please ensure you have included all the required statements and declarations and uploaded any additional supplementary files (including reporting guidelines where relevant).

5.3 Permissions

Please also ensure that you have obtained any necessary permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures, or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere. For further information including guidance on fair dealing for criticism and review, please see the Copyright and Permissions page on the Sage Author Gateway at https://www.sagepub.com/copyright-and-permissions

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6. On acceptance and publication

Once authors receive an acceptance notification and the accepted paper is sent to the SAj Editorial Team, the paper is considered “in press.” The decision email to the corresponding author will provide the opportunity of the authors to revise and clarify any final issues with the manuscript, ask the authors to submit this final work to the SAj Editorial Team, and ask the authors to produce a brief blurb “in the authors’ own words” about the importance of the accepted work, once it is published online (see below).

At acceptance, authors will be asked to complete a copyright transfer statement at that time. Once a signed copyright transfer is received, accepted manuscripts (unedited) will be posted online by the publisher, which generally occurs within four weeks post-acceptance. Manuscripts not fully adhering to the author instructions will likely experience a processing delay.

6.1 SAGE Production

Your Sage Production Editor will keep you informed as to your article’s progress throughout the production process. Proofs will be made available to the corresponding author via our editing portal Sage Edit or by email, and corrections should be made directly or notified to us promptly. Authors are reminded to check their proofs carefully to confirm that all author information, including names, affiliations, sequence and contact details are correct, and that Funding and Conflict of Interest statements, if any, are accurate.

If you have any questions about publishing with Sage, please visit the Sage Journal Solutions Portal at https://journalssolutions.sagepub.com/support/home.

All accepted manuscript types will be indexed (e.g., www.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) through the typical publisher processes. Please see the publisher indexing and other information relevant to the post-editorial processes on the SAj Sage website.

6.2 Online First publication

Online First allows final articles (completed and approved articles awaiting assignment to a future issue) to be published online prior to their inclusion in a journal issue, which significantly reduces the lead time between submission and publication. Visit the Sage Journals help page (http://journals.sagepub.com/page/help/online-first) for more details, including how to cite Online First articles.

6.3 Access to your published article

Sage provides authors with online access to their final article.

6.4 Promoting your article

SAj strongly believes that publication is not the end of the process! You can help disseminate your paper and ensure it is as widely read and cited as possible. The Sage Author Gateway has numerous resources to help you promote your work. Visit the Promote Your Article page on the Gateway (https://www.sagepub.com/promote-your-article) for tips and advice.

To that end, authors of accepted papers are asked to provide to the SAj Editorial Team a brief blurb (paragraph) about the impact of their work. We generally use this statement to promote a blog of “SAj Authors’ Own Words” on the SAj section of the AMERSA website (www.amersa.org). In addition, we routinely tweet a link to our published articles from SAj’s twitter account at @SAj_AMERSA (https://twitter.com/SAj_AMERSA). 

For information and guidance on how to make your article more discoverable, visit our Author Gateway page at https://www.sagepub.com/help-readers-find-your-article.

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7. Further information

7.1 Appealing the editor’s or publication decision

Editors have very broad discretion in determining whether an article is an appropriate fit for their journal. Many manuscripts are declined with a very general statement of the rejection decision. These decisions are not eligible for formal appeal unless the author believes the decision to reject the manuscript was based on an error in the review of the article, in which case the author may appeal the decision by providing the Editor with a detailed written description of the error they believe occurred.

If an author believes the decision regarding their manuscript was affected by a publication ethics breach, the author may contact the publisher with a detailed written description of their concern, and information supporting the concern, at publication_ethics@sagepub.com.

7.2 Contact Information for any inquiries

Any correspondence, queries, or additional requests for information on the manuscript submission process should be sent to the editorial office as follows:

Adam J. Gordon, MD MPH FACP DFASAM

SAj Editor-in-Chief

saj@amersa.org

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