Author Guidelines

Instructions for authors

Hematopathology considers all manuscripts at the Editors’ discretion; the Editors’ decision is final. Hematopathology considers all manuscripts on the strict condition that they are the property (copyright) of the submitting author(s) and have been submitted only to Hematopathology and that they have not been published already, nor are they under consideration by another journal, nor in press elsewhere. For authors who fail to adhere to this condition, their papers will not be published.


Types of Submissions

Hematopathology publishes the following types of papers:

  • Article – Basic and clinical studies whose conclusions represent a substantial advancement in understanding of an important question related to hematological diseases. An Article will have a title page, abstract (no more than 250 words), main body of text less than 5000 words (excluding references), references, tables (no more than 4), and figures (no more than 6).
  • Review – Survey recent developments in topical areas of scientific research and clinical practice or, on occasion, more wide-ranging subjects. A Review should have a title page; abstract (no more than 250 words); main text less than 5000 words (excluding references); references, tables (optional, 3 or less), and reviews (optional, 3 or less).
  • Case Study – Reports of one or two individual cases with unique scientific merit or educational value, which impact and enhance clinical practice or diagnostic skills. Case studies should contain a title page, abstract of no more than 150 words; main body of text of no more than 3000 words (excluding references); 20 or less references; 4 or less tables and/or figures combined.
  • Theory or Hypothesis – Build theory or propose hypothesis based on the current scientific knowledge. The theory or hypothesis should help overcome the obstacles in science and provide potential solutions to the contemporary scientific problems. Theory or hypothesis should contain a title page, abstract of no more than 150 words, main body of text of no more than 3000 words (excluding references), and references. There should be no more than 3 figures.
  • Correspondence – Short and concise comments from readers on topics either related to previously published articles in Hematopathology or topical / controversial issues in the hematological field. It should not include an abstract, nor exceed 1500 words and 10 references.
  • HemeImage – Concise report of classic or unusual images of blood disease, leukemia, and lymphoma. It emphasizes the value of microscopic findings for pathology diagnosis. HemeImage is an educational resource to physicians, pathologists and residents. Each submission must contain a single, high-resolution figure (may be a composite) and a concise discussion of no more than 250 words. Each submission should have a maximum of three authors and should not contain references. There will be no submission fee for publication if accepted.

General Guidelines

Submissions should be made using the Hematopathology online Submission form.

Please write clearly and concisely, stating your objectives and defining your terms. Your arguments should be substantiated with well reasoned supporting evidence.

Manuscripts should be written in English. Authors whose native language is not English are requested to have their manuscript checked for linguistic correctness before submission.

Before submitting a manuscript all of the authors should make sure they have read, understood and complied with all Journal Editorial Policies (see below).


Format and Preparation

File types: Manuscripts are preferred in Microsoft Word format (.docx files). Documents must be double-spaced, with margins of one inch on all sides.

Language: Papers are accepted only in English. Please use American spelling rather than British (e.g. hematology rather than haematology).

Length: Ideally papers should occupy between 10 and 15 typeset pages.

Required elements - In order of presentation:

  1. Title page
    Title page should contain: type of submission, the title, author names and affiliations, the contact information of the corresponding author (name, institution, mailing address, telephone, fax number, and email), running title (no more than 50 characters, including spaces), and keywords.
  2. Abstract
  3. Introduction
  4. Materials and Methods (optional)
  5. Results
  6. Discussion
  7. Acknowledgements
    • To identify the source(s) of funding for the research, if applicable.
    • To acknowledge contributions from research assistants and/or others who provided help during the research (e.g., carrying out the literature review; producing, computerizing and analyzing the data; or providing language help, writing assistance or proof-reading the article, etc.) but who are not included among the authors.
    • To acknowledge the help of all individuals who have made a significant contribution to improving the paper (e.g. by offering comments or suggestions).
    • At the time of submission, all of the authors need to reveal any financial interests or connections, direct or indirect, that might cause any bias in the work submitted. The examples include, but are not limited to, sources for consulting fees, sources for research funding, employment by a related company, holding stocks or shares in a related company, reimbursement for attending a related symposium or meeting, personal relationships, and direct academic competition. Further guidelines can be found on ICMJE website. If the manuscript was accepted for publication, relevant Conflict of Interest declaration needs to be included in the section of Acknowledgements.
  8. References (see below for more details)
  9. Figure legend
  10. Tables
    • Embed tables after the section of references, or send as separate Microsoft Word files
    • Number tables with consecutive Roman numerals, according to the order of their citations in the manuscript.
    • Include a descriptive caption at the top of each table.
    • Do not use vertical rules in tables.
    • Type footnotes to a table directly beneath the table.
    • All abbreviations in a table should be explained in the footnotes.
    • When referring to a table in the text, always use the full name: "Table I, Table II."
    • Format the tables using the Table function of Microsoft Word, or in Microsoft Excel
  11. Figures
    • Submit figures as separate image files. Don't embed the figure in the text.
    • Number figures with consecutive Arabic numbers, according to the order of their citations in the manuscript.
    • Include descriptive captions.
    • All the figures should be citated in the text.
    • Recommended figure formats include: TIFF, PDF, JPEG, EPS. Powerpoint files with high resolution photos are also acceptable.
    • Please AVOID sending figures in Microsoft Word, which deteriorate the resolution.
    • The names of figure files should clearly indicate the order of citation in the manuscript, such as "Figure-1.jpg", or "Figure-2.tif", etc.
    • Figures with multiple panels should be assembled into a single file before submission.
    • Each figure file should be no more than 20 MB. For exceptional situations, please contact the editor(s) for suggestions.
    • The resolution of digital images should be at least 300 dpi at the desired print size. Most of the composite figures will be approximately 7-inch wide.
    • For color images, it should be encoded as RGB.
    • Original magnifications are recommended to be included in legends to figures.
    • When referring to a figure in the text, always use the full name: "Figure 1", "Figure 2B", "Figure 4A", etc.

References

  1. References should follow the Council of Science Editors (CSE) Citation & Sequence format, which is widely used in most journals such as Blood.
  2. Only works actually cited in the text should be included in the references.
  3. Citations should be Arabic numbers inside brackets, such as: [1], [4,5].
  4. Use number ranges for three or more consecutive citations, such as: [11-16], [34-36].
  5. Bibliography should list the references in the order they appear in the text.
  6. Author names should be "[Last name][space][first initial][middle initial(optional)]", such as: "Smith JH" for "John Henry Smith"; "Doe J" for "Jane Doe". Author names are separated by comma.
  7. If there are up to 6 authors, list all authors. If there are more than 6 authors, list the first 3 authors followed by et al.
  8. Show full range page numbers, such as: 234-239.
  9. Examples of reference formatting:
    • Journal article with 6 or less authors:
      Xu X and Fu XD. Conditional knockout mice to study alternative splicing in vivo. Methods 2005; 37(4): 387-392.
    • Journal article with more than 6 authors:
      Mitsuyasu RT, Anton PA, Deeks SG, et al. Prolonged survival and tissue trafficking following adoptive transfer of CD4zeta gene-modified autologous CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells in human immunodeficiency virus-infected subjects. Blood 2000; 96(3): 785-793.
    • Book Chapter:
      Sallan SE, Weinstein HJ. Childhood acute leukemia. In: Nathan DG, Oski FA, editors. Hematology of Infancy and Childhood. Vol 2. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders; 1987. p 1028-1039.
    • Conference Proceedings:
      Polliack A, Seymour J, Van Besien K, editors. Proceedings from the Sixth International Workshop on Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma; Nov 16-17, 2007; p73. Boston. New York: Informa Healthcare 2008.
    • Dissertations or Thesis:
      Smithers AJ. A comparative study of diet and cancer, types of cancer, effective cancer-fighting foods and nutrients and research [dissertation]. Philadelphia (PA): University of Pennsylvania; 1997. 156 p. Available from: University Microfilms, Ann Arbor MI; AAG9103322.
    • Webpage:
      British Medical Journal [Internet]. Stanford, CA: Stanford Univ; July 10 2004 - [cited Aug 12 2004]; Available from: http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/
    • Internet databases:
      ClinicalTrials.gov [internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US). 2000; [Cited February 11 2016]; Available from: http://clinicaltrials.gov/
    • When referencing a paper presented at a meeting with a published abstract, refer the published abstract with abstract number:
      Mueller MC, Gattermann N, Lahaye T, et al. Dynamics of BCR-ABL mRNA transcript expression in newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia patients treated with imatinib or interferon alpha [abstract]. Blood. 2002; 100: (Supplement). Abstract1413.
    • When referencing a paper presented at a meeting but not published in any form, include the title, the meeting name, the date of presentation, and the geographic location:
      Sholer A. Emerging technologies in treatment of pediatric leukemia. Paper presented at Annual Meeting of the Association of American Medical Colleges. October 14, 1998. Washington, DC.
    • Further examples and information can be found in The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, Seventh Edition. Periodical abbreviations should follow the style given by Index Medicus.

Production and Proofs

Proofs

Corresponding authors will receive an e-mail with the attached proof file in PDF format and the proofreading instructions (Click to download). We will do everything possible to get the articles published quickly and accurately. To avoid delays in publication, corrections to proofs must be returned within 7 days by email. If authors do not return page proofs promptly, the publisher reserves the choice to either delay publication to a subsequent issue or upon advice of the editor to proceed to press without author corrections.