Submission guidelines

These submission guidelines will help you prepare to publish your research successfully in Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health.

First steps

Before you submit your manuscript, we recommend you familiarise yourself with the following:

• Aims and scope - Make sure you submit to the most suitable journal
• Fees and funding - Understand costs and funding options
• Licensing and copyright - Understand the copyright agreement

Get ready to submit

To give your manuscript the best chance of publication, follow these editorial policies and formatting guidelines:

• Prepare your manuscript - Formatting rules for article types
• Language editing - Make sure your manuscript is accurate and readable 
• Prepare supporting information - Everything you need to complete your submission
• Editorial policies - Read our editorial policies 

Submit and promote

Now you’re ready to submit your manuscript.

Please note that a manuscript can only be submitted by an author of the manuscript and may not be submitted by a third party.

• Peer review policy - Who decides whether my work will be accepted?
• Manuscript transfers - Want to submit to a different journal?
• Promote your publication - Spread the word about your research

Fees and funding

Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health is an open access journal.

Publishing your research open access in a journal makes your research publicly available for everyone to read. Readers do not have to pay for access; there are no subscription charges or registration barriers. This means more readers, citations and impact for research published this way.

Benefits of open access

Publishing open access (OA) offers a number of benefits, including greater reach and readership for your work:

• Cited more

  1.6x more citations of OA articles than non-OA articles across all subjects

• Downloaded more

  4x more downloads of OA articles than non-OA articles

• Greater impact

  2.5x more Altmetric attention. OA articles attracted 1.9x more news mentions and 1.2x more policy mentions

Open access also enables compliance with many major funder policies internationally. Find out more about benefits of open access.

Publication fee

An article processing charge (APC) applies for each article accepted for publication in Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health. The APC price will be determined from the date on which the article is accepted for publication.

The current APC for Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health is £1990.00 GBP / $2690.00 USD / €2290.00 EUR.

This fee is subject to VAT or local taxes where applicable.

Visit our open access support portal and our Journal pricing FAQs for further information.

Open access funding, discounts and waivers

Funding

Springer Nature offers agreements that enable institutions to cover open access publishing costs. Learn more about our open access agreements to check your eligibility and find out whether this journal is included.

Authors may also be able to access open access funding directly from their research funders and institutions. To find out more, visit Springer Nature’s open access funding and support services.

Discounts and waivers

Springer Nature offers APC waivers and discounts for articles published in our fully open access journals whose corresponding authors are based in the world’s lowest income countries. For more information, see our APC waivers and discounts policy.

Requests for APC waivers and discounts from other authors will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and may be granted in cases of financial need. Learn more about our open access policies for journals.

All applications for discretionary APC waivers and discounts should be made at the point of manuscript submission; requests made during the review process or after acceptance are unable to be considered.

Licensing and copyright

Creative Commons licences

Open access articles in Springer Nature journals are published under Creative Commons licences. These provide an industry-standard framework to support easy re-use of open access material. Under Creative Commons licences, authors retain copyright of their articles.

Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health articles are published open access under a CC BY-NC-ND (Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 International licence) or CC BY (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence) licence.

• CC BY-NC-ND: The article can be shared for non-commercial purposes as long as the authors are credited. Permission is needed for commercial re-use or sharing adapted and derivative versions.
• CC BY: The article may be shared and adapted for any purpose, including commercially, so long as the authors are credited.

You may also wish to find out about licence variations that are available to meet funder and institutional open access licence requirements. Learn more in our guide to licensing, copyright and author rights for journal articles.

Prepare your manuscript

This section provides general style and formatting information only. Formatting guidelines for specific article types can be found below.

General formatting guidelines

• Preparing main manuscript text
• Preparing illustrations and figures
• Preparing tables
• Preparing additional files

Preparing main manuscript text

Quick points:

• Use double-line spacing
• Include line and page numbering
• Use SI units: Please ensure that all special characters used are embedded in the text, otherwise they will be lost during conversion to PDF
• Do not use page breaks in your manuscript

File formats

The following word processor file formats are acceptable for the main manuscript document:

• Microsoft word (DOC, DOCX)
• Rich text format (RTF)
• TeX/LaTeX

Please note: editable files are required for processing in production. If your manuscript contains any non-editable files (such as PDFs) you will be required to re-submit an editable file when you submit your revised manuscript, or after editorial acceptance in case no revision is necessary.

Additional information for TeX/LaTeX users

You are encouraged to use the Springer Nature LaTeX template when preparing a submission. A PDF of your manuscript files will be compiled during submission using pdfLaTeX and TexLive 2021.

All relevant editable source files must be uploaded during the submission process. Failing to submit these source files will cause unnecessary delays in the production process.

Data and materials 

All BioMed Central journals strongly encourage or require authors to provide all datasets on which the conclusions of their manuscripts rely. You may either deposit datasets in publicly available repositories (where available and appropriate) or present them in the main paper or in additional supporting files. Please provide datasets in a machine-readable format (such as spreadsheets rather than PDFs). You will find data repository guidance in our editorial policies.

To find out if providing data is an absolute requirement for your submission, please read the relevant article-type information.

Where there is a widely established research community expectation for data archiving in public repositories, submission to a community-endorsed public repository is mandatory.

For all manuscripts, information about data availability should be detailed in an ‘Availability of data and materials’ section. For more information on the content of this section, please see the ‘Declarations’ section of the relevant journal’s article type page in the submission guidelines. Read more about our policies on data availability.

Formatting the 'Availability of data and materials' section of your manuscript

The following format for the 'Availability of data and materials section of your manuscript should be used:

"The dataset(s) supporting the conclusions of this article is(are) available in the [repository name] repository, [unique persistent identifier and hyperlink to dataset(s) in https:// format]."

The following format is required when data are included as additional files:

"The dataset(s) supporting the conclusions of this article is(are) included within the article (and its additional file(s))."

BioMed Central endorses the Force 11 Data Citation Principles and requires that all publicly available datasets be fully referenced in the reference list with an accession number or unique identifier such as a DOI.

For databases, this section should state the web/ftp address at which the database is available and any restrictions to its use by non-academics.

For software, this section should include:

• Project name: e.g. My bioinformatics project
• Project home page: e.g. https://sourceforge.net/projects/mged/
• Archived version: DOI or unique identifier of archived software or code in repository (e.g. Zenodo)
• Operating system(s): e.g. Platform independent
• Programming language: e.g. Java
• Other requirements: e.g. Java 1.3.1 or higher, Tomcat 4.0 or higher
• License: e.g. GNU GPL, FreeBSD etc.
• Any restrictions to use by non-academics: e.g. licence needed

Information on available repositories for other types of scientific data, including clinical data, can be found in our editorial policies.

References

See our editorial policies for author guidance on good citation practice.

Please also check the submission guidelines for the relevant journal and article type.

What should be cited?

Only articles, clinical trial registration records and abstracts that have been published or are in press, or are available through public e-print/preprint servers, may be cited.

Unpublished abstracts, unpublished data and personal communications should not be included in the reference list, but may be included in the text and referred to as "unpublished observations" or "personal communications" giving the names of the involved researchers. Obtaining permission to quote personal communications and unpublished data from the cited colleagues is the responsibility of the author. Only footnotes are permitted. Journal abbreviations follow Index Medicus/MEDLINE.

Any in-press articles cited within the references and necessary for the reviewers' assessment of the manuscript should be made available if requested by the editorial office.

How to format your references

Please check the Instructions for Authors for the relevant journal and article type for examples of the relevant reference style.

Web links and URLs: All web links and URLs, including links to the authors' own websites, should be given a reference number and included in the reference list rather than within the text of the manuscript. They should be provided in full, including both the title of the site and the URL, as well as the date the site was accessed, in the following format:

If an author or group of authors can clearly be associated with a web link, such as for weblogs, then they should be included in the reference.

Authors may wish to make use of reference management software to ensure that reference lists are correctly formatted.

Preparing illustrations and figures

When preparing figures, please follow the formatting instructions below.

• Figures should be numbered in the order they are first mentioned in the text, and uploaded in this order. Multi-panel figures (those with parts a, b, c, d etc.) should be submitted as a single composite file that contains all parts of the figure.
• Figures should be uploaded in the correct orientation.
• Figure titles (max 15 words) and legends (max 300 words) should be provided in the main manuscript, not in the graphic file.
• Figure keys should be incorporated into the graphic, not into the legend of the figure.
• Each figure should be closely cropped to minimise the amount of white space surrounding the illustration. Cropping figures improves accuracy when placing the figure in combination with other elements when the accepted manuscript is prepared for publication on our site. For more information on individual figure file formats, see our detailed instructions.
• Individual figure files should not exceed 10 MB. If a suitable format is chosen, this file size is adequate for extremely high-quality figures.
• Please note that it is the responsibility of the author(s) to obtain permission from the copyright holder to reproduce figures (or tables) that have previously been published elsewhere. In order for all figures to be open access, authors must have permission from the rights holder if they wish to include images that have been published elsewhere in non open access journals. Permission should be indicated in the figure legend, and the original source included in the reference list.

Figure file types

We accept the following file formats for figures:

• EPS (suitable for diagrams and/or images)
• PDF (suitable for diagrams and/or images)
• Microsoft Word (suitable for diagrams and/or images, figures must be a single page)
• PowerPoint (suitable for diagrams and/or images, figures must be a single page)
• TIFF (suitable for images)
• JPEG (suitable for photographic images, less suitable for graphical images)
• PNG (suitable for images)
• BMP (suitable for images)
• CDX (ChemDraw - suitable for molecular structures)

For information and suggestions of suitable file formats for specific figure types, read more about data presentation.

Figure size and resolution

Figures are resized during publication of the final full text and PDF versions to conform to the BioMed Central standard dimensions, which are detailed below.

Figures on the web:

• width of 600 pixels (standard), 1200 pixels (high resolution).

Figures in the final PDF version:

• width of 85 mm for half page width figure
• width of 170 mm for full page width figure
• maximum height of 225 mm for figure and legend
• image resolution of approximately 300 dpi (dots per inch) at the final size

Figures should be designed such that all information, including text, is legible at these dimensions. All lines should be wider than 0.25 pt when constrained to standard figure widths. All fonts must be embedded.

Figure file compression

• Vector figures should if possible be submitted as PDF files, which are usually more compact than EPS files.
• TIFF files should be saved with LZW compression, which is lossless (decreases file size without decreasing quality) in order to minimise upload time.
• JPEG files should be saved at maximum quality.
• Conversion of images between file types (especially lossy formats such as JPEG) should be kept to a minimum to avoid degradation of quality.

If you have any questions or are experiencing a problem with figures, please contact our customer service team at info@biomedcentral.com.

Preparing tables

When preparing tables, please follow the formatting instructions below.

• Tables should be numbered and cited in the text in sequence using Arabic numerals (i.e. Table 1, Table 2 etc.).
• Tables less than one A4 or Letter page in length can be placed in the appropriate location within the manuscript.
• Tables larger than one A4 or Letter page in length can be placed at the end of the document text file. Please cite and indicate where the table should appear at the relevant location in the text file so that the table can be added in the correct place during production.
• Larger datasets, or tables too wide for A4 or Letter landscape pages can be uploaded as additional files. Please see [below] for more information.
• Tabular data provided as additional files can be uploaded as an Excel spreadsheet (.xls ) or comma-separated values (.csv). Please use the standard file extensions.
• Table titles (max 15 words) should be included above the table, and legends (max 300 words) should be included underneath the table.
• Tables should not be embedded as figures or spreadsheet files, but should be formatted using ‘Table object’ function in your word processing program.
• Color and shading may not be used. Parts of the table can be highlighted using superscript, numbering, lettering, symbols or bold text, the meaning of which should be explained in a table legend.
• Commas should not be used to indicate numerical values.

If you have any questions or are experiencing a problem with tables, please contact our customer service team at info@biomedcentral.com.

Preparing additional files

As the length and quantity of data is not restricted for many article types, authors can provide datasets, tables, movies, or other information as additional files.

All additional files will be published along with the accepted article. Do not include files such as patient consent forms, certificates of language editing, or revised versions of the main manuscript document with tracked changes. Such files, if requested, should be sent by email to the journal’s editorial email address, quoting the manuscript reference number. Please do not send completed patient consent forms unless requested.

Results that would otherwise be indicated as "data not shown" should be included as additional files. Since many web links and URLs rapidly become broken, BioMed Central requires that supporting data are included as additional files, or deposited in a recognised repository. Please do not link to data on a personal/departmental website. Do not include any individual participant details. The maximum file size for additional files is 20 MB each, and files will be virus-scanned on submission. Each additional file should be cited in sequence within the main body of text.

If additional material is provided, please list the following information in a separate section of the manuscript text:

• File name (e.g. Additional file 1)
• File format including the correct file extension for example .pdf, .xls, .txt, .pptx (including name and a URL of an appropriate viewer if the format is unusual)
• Title of data
• Description of data

Additional files should be named "Additional file 1" and so on and should be referenced explicitly by file name within the body of the article, e.g. 'An additional movie file shows this in more detail [see Additional file 1]'.

For further guidance on how to use additional files or recommendations on how to present particular types of data or information, please see How to use additional files.

Language editing

Presenting your work in well-written English gives the best chance for editors and reviewers to understand it and evaluate it fairly.

Help with writing in English

If you need help with writing in English, you can:

• Watch our English language tutorial which covers common mistakes when writing in English.
• Ask a colleague who is a native English speaker to review your manuscript for clarity.
• Use a professional language editing service.

Language editing and manuscript preparation services

Many researchers find that Springer Nature Author Services can improve how their manuscripts are read and make it easier for readers to appreciate the work.

Our expert-provided services cover:

• English language improvement 
• scientific in-depth editing and strategic advice 
• table formatting 
• manuscript formatting to match your target journal 
• specialist academic translation to English from Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, or simplified Chinese

We offer authors publishing with us a 15% discount the first time they use this service.
Get started and save 15%.

Language quality checker

You can also upload your manuscript and get a free language check from our partner AJE. The software uses AI to make suggestions that can improve writing quality. Trained on 300,000+ research manuscripts from more than 400+ areas of study and over 2000 field-specific topics the tool will deliver fast, highly accurate English language improvements. Your paper will be digitally edited and returned to you within approximately 10 minutes.
Try the tool for free now.

Please note that using these tools, or any other service, is not a requirement for publication and does not imply or guarantee that editors will accept the article, or even select it for peer review.

Prepare supporting information

Please make sure you have the following information available before you submit your manuscript:

Author information

Full names and email addresses of all co-authors on your manuscript.

Cover letter

A cover letter that includes the following information, as well as any additional information requested in the instructions for your specific article type (see Prepare your manuscript):

• An explanation of why your manuscript should be published in Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health
• An explanation of any issues relating to journal policies
• A declaration of any potential competing interests
• Confirmation that all authors have approved the manuscript for submission
• Confirmation that the content of the manuscript has not been published, or submitted for publication elsewhere (see our Duplicate publication policy)
• If you are submitting a manuscript to a particular special issue, please refer to its specific name in your covering letter

Peer reviewers

In your cover letter, you may suggest potential peer reviewers for your manuscript. If you wish to do so, please provide institutional email addresses where possible, or information which will help the Editor to verify the identity of the reviewer (for example an ORCID or Scopus ID). Intentionally falsifying information, for example, suggesting reviewers with a false name or email address, will result in rejection of your manuscript and may lead to further investigation in line with our misconduct policy.

You may also enter details of anyone who you would prefer not to review your manuscript, in your cover letter.

Editorial policies

Visit the BioMed Central website to read our full editorial policies.

Manuscript transfers

A manuscript transfer provides a convenient way of resubmitting your manuscript file and any reviewer comments to another journal within our publishing portfolio.

We are committed to helping you find the right home for your research and we’ll provide you with guidance and technical support through all stages of the transfer process.

What are the benefits of a transfer?

Choice – A transfer offer provides a selection of suitable alternative journals within Springer Nature. This helps ensure that you find an appropriate home for your research, so that it reaches the right audience.

Save time – No reformatting is necessary and files can be automatically transferred.

What is the Transfer Desk?

The Transfer Desk helps authors who have not been successful in their original submission.

If your research is of good quality, it may be suitable for another journal.

The Transfer Desk aims to deliver choice and support to you as an author, by presenting a range of publication options and information about suitable journals, and providing personal assistance to help you find the best home for your research.

How does the Transfer Desk work?

A Transfer Desk Editorial Submission Advisor will combine your preferences and any editor recommendations with our journal-matching technology to find the best journal for your work within our portfolio.

If you choose to follow the steps to transfer your manuscript to a new journal, your input will be needed, both to agree to the transfer and to complete the submission to the new journal.

What if I do not want to transfer my manuscript at all?

Your manuscript will not be transferred without your input. After an editor rejects a manuscript and suggests it may be suitable for a transfer, the editor will send out their decision letter including details of transfer options.

If you want to decline a transfer, you can follow a link within the decision letter and your file will be closed. Likewise, if you don’t take any action regarding the offer, your file will remain closed.

Withdrawing a transfer

You can withdraw a transfer at any point during the transfer by contacting the Transfer Desk. You are under no obligation to submit your manuscript to the journals suggested by the Editor or Transfer Desk Assistant.

Any questions?

Please contact the Transfer Desk at transfersdesk@biomedcentral.com

Promote your publication

Individual articles are widely promoted by our marketing and communications teams. This could be through email updates, table of contents email alerts, posts on publisher homepages, social media, blogs and/or press releases to the general and scientific press. These may result in higher levels of views and downloads for each article.

Springer Nature also promotes journals at many major scientific conferences to raise awareness of the journal and its content.

All of our journals are also indexed within SpringerNature Link, the world's most comprehensive online collection of scientific, technological and medical journals, books and reference works.

We encourage you to promote your article using email, social media, Listservs, distribution at conferences, via your institutional research office or using other methods you find fitting for your research community.