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Up to six tables or figures are permitted in an article. Close attention should be paid to ensure clear presentation
of data to help readers of the hard copy journal understand with the minimum of effort. This will normally mean
keeping the data in each table (and the number of tables) to the minimum possible. A rough guide would be no
more than five columns and rows in each table. Where the article requires more data to be presented, the larger
tables can and should be included in the electronic, and not the hardcopy version. The same general rule applies
to figures. We encourage use of graphic representation of data, if the original data is also included for the purpose
of redrafting where necessary. Pie charts are strongly discouraged. All figures and tables must have a caption.
At the end of the text and before the references we ask authors to report:
•
Funding body with reference number where appropriate;
•
Body giving ethics approval with reference number where appropriate;
•
Competing interests;
•
Acknowledgements.
Authors should include acknowledgements of all those who have helped with and contributed to the
study (including the patients) who are not authors of the paper. Individuals should only be acknowledged
with their express permission.
References are presented in Vancouver style, with standard Index Medicus abbreviations for journal titles.
References to personal communications in the text should include the date. Please do not use the
footnote/endnote facility on word processors to indicate references.
Specific guidance for original articles. Authors submitting randomised controlled trials (RCTs) should follow the
revised CONSORT guidelines, including a completed CONSORT checklist and flowchart of participants in the
trial. The checklist can be downloaded from http://www.consort-statement.org/. Guidance can also be found at
http://jama.ama-assn.org/ifora_current.dtl#SEC14 or JAMA 2004; 291: 125. Authors should also note the difficulty
outlined in making statements about an intention-to-treat analysis. We acknowledge that this is a difficult area and
ask that authors are honest about handling the data of patients lost to follow-up.
Papers describing qualitative research should conform to the guidance set out in: Murphy E, Dingwall R,
Greatbatch D, et al. Qualitative research methods in health technology assessment: a review of the literature.
Health Technology Assessment 1998; 2(16): 1-13. Illustrative quotes should be included in the results section of
the text where the themes are described. Since the quotes are, in a sense, equivalent to the tables and figures of
quantitative papers, they should be excluded from the word count. In other words, the limit of 2500 words applies
to the text with the quotes removed. To help the process of counting words, it is acceptable to put the illustrative
quotes in text boxes when submitting a paper for the first time, but you will be asked to move them into the text as
part of the revision.
Authors submitting studies concerning diagnostic tests should follow the STARD guidelines, which are available
at http://www.consort-statement.org/Initiatives/newstard.htm
Brief reports
These are a useful method for reporting circumscribed research where the study or the results may not justify a
full report. It does not imply a lower standard for the quality of the work reported. The guidance is the same as for
original articles with the following exceptions:
•
The abstract need not be structured;
•
Authors should limit themselves to no more than two figures or tables;
•
The word limit for the abstract is 80 words and for the main text it is 1200 words.
Systematic reviews
These are approximately 4000 words in length. We welcome systematic reviews on areas of interest and
importance to primary care workers. They should be written in a style suitable for the Journal but should aspire to
the quality standards set by the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Authors may find it helpful to consult
the instructions for systematic reviews given on the Cochrane Collaboration website http://www.cochrane.org/.
Systematic reviews should conform to the QUORUM statement and this can be downloaded from
http://www.consort-statement.org/QUOROM.pdf.
Reviews should include a structured abstract, a statement of the question that you are attempting to answer and a
description of the search strategy used to answer it. Researchers should attempt to synthesise results of primary
care research either quantitatively or qualitatively.
Discussion papers
These are approximately 4000 words in length. They need to be a statement of a new idea or controversial matter