Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology

Affiliated to the Society for Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiologic Research

Edited by:
J. Golding and T.J. Peters

Print ISSN: 0269-5022
Online ISSN: 1365-3016
Frequency: Bi-monthly
Current Volume: 24 / 2010
ISI Journal Citation Reports® Ranking: 2008: 33/61 Obstetrics & Gynecology; 32/86 Pediatrics; 58/105 Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Impact Factor: 1.66

TopAuthor Guidelines

The Journal welcomes discussion documents, review articles, book reviews and correspondence as well as original research reports. The last of these should deal with original research not previously published or being considered for publication elsewhere.

Topics likely to be of interest include the application of epidemiological methods to studies of pregnancy complications, birth outcomes, fertility, genetic susceptibilities, and the influence of the fetal and early environment on child or adult health and development.

Authors will be required to sign a Copyright Transfer Agreement (CTA) for all papers accepted for publication. Signature of the CTA is a condition of publication and papers will not be passed to the publisher for production unless a signed form has been received.

All authors are expected to meet the criteria for authorship which they confirm by their signature on the letter of submission.

Manuscript Submission

Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology prefers to receive all manuscript submissions electronically using ScholarOne Manuscripts. To submit a manuscript, please go to Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology's ScholarOne Manuscripts homepage (http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/PPE). Log-in or click the 'Create Account' option if you are a first-time user of ScholarOne Manuscripts. Full instructions and support for authors and reveiwers are available on the site. Support can be contacted by phone (+1 434 817 2040 ext. 167), E-mail at support@scholarone.com or at http://blackwellsupport.custhelp.com. If you are unable to submit online, please contact the Editorial Office for Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology by E-mail at: L.E.Wilson@bristol.ac.uk. If you do not have Internet access or cannot submit online, the Editorial Office will help with online submissions.

Copyright Transfer Agreement

Authors will be required to sign a Copyright Transfer Agreement (CTA) for all papers accepted for publication. Signature of the CTA is a condition of publication and papers will not be passed to the publisher for production unless a signed form has been received. Please note that signature of the Copyright Transfer Agreement does not affect ownership of copyright in the material. (Government employees need to complete the Author Warranty sections, although copyright in such cases does not need to be assigned). After submission authors will retain the right to publish their paper in various medium/circumstances (please see the form for further details). To assist authors an appropriate form will be supplied by the editorial office. Alternatively, authors may like to download a copy of the form here. Could you kindly complete and return a hard copy of the form to Linda Wilson at the address below:

Linda Wilson
Editorial Assistant, Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology
Centre for Child and Adolescent Health,
Department of Community Based Medicine,
University of Bristol,
Barley House,
Oakfield Grove,
Bristol BS8 2BN,
UK

Authors are themselves responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyright material from other sources.

Structure of Manuscripts

Manuscripts in English, should be typed with double spacing on A4 paper (297 x210 mm) or US equivalent 8 1 /2 x11 ) with wide margins, on one side of the paper only. Pages should be numbered consecutively. For to the American office only, authors are also requested to send an electronic version of their manuscript. It may be submitted on a floppy disk or on a CD in either Word or Wordperfect.

Main subdivisions of papers should be entitled Summary, Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion. On acceptance of their paper, authors will be asked to submit a disk of the final version.

The Title Page of the article should have:

• The title of the paper.
• List of authors (excluding qualifications), each followed by a superscript letter to link with an affiliation.
• The affiliations of the authors preceded by superscript letters denoting which author is at each institution.
• Address for correspondence (give name with designation e.g. Dr/Professor if appropriate, full postal address, telephone and fax numbers. In addition, give e-mail address).

The Second Page should be entitled Summary, and written as continuous text, not as a structured Abstract.

Text and references should be printed in double spacing, with indented paragraphs.

Tables should be typed with double spacing, each on a separate sheet, numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals, containing only horizontal lines, and with a concise legend. Place explanatory matter in footnotes which should be indicated alphabetically in superscript. Tables should be created such that it is easy to determine what is being shown.

P-values: For results of regression analyses, give the P-value of the whole variable, not of each individual item. In general, actual P-values should be quoted, particularly for those of marginal significance. Where, in addition, levels of statistical significance are indicated in a table, use the following symbols: *P P P P
The reference category should always be labelled 'reference' (not 'ref').

Confidence intervals in tables or text should be put in square brackets, separated by a comma not a dash.

Figures: authors' original outwork will be used; labelling should be in sans serif typeface so that after reduction it is no smaller than 8pts; symbols and lines should be distinct after reduction; histograms should be black, white or hatched in distinctive ways; background rules should not be used. Photographs should be good quality, unmounted glossy prints. Legends for figures should be typed on a separate sheet. In the full-text online edition of the journal, figure legends may be truncated in abbreviated links to the full-screen version. Therefore, the first 100 characters of any legend should inform the reader of key aspects of the figure.

Full details of submission of figures in electronic format are available at htp://www.blackwellpublishing.com/bauthors/illustration.asp

It is the policy of Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology for authors to pay the full cost for the reproduction of their colour artwork. Therefore, please note that if there is colour artwork in your manuscript when it is accepted for publication, Blackwell Publishing require you to complete and return a colour work agreement form before your paper can be published. This form can be downloaded as a PDF from the internet. The web address for the form is http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/pdf/SN_Sub2000_X_Cow.pdf. If you are unable to access the internet, or unable to download the form, please contact the Editorial Office and they will be able to e-mail or fax the form to you. Once completed, please return the form to the relevant editorial offce. Any article received by Blackwell Publishing with colour work will not be published until the form has been returned.

Acknowledgements (including details of funding) should be put at the end of the text.

References in the text should be referred to by a superscript number after the punctuation. We recommend the use of a tool such as EndNote for reference management and formatting. Go to http://www.interscience.wily.com/endnotes/ to download the most up-to-date EndNote reference style for Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology.

The list of references at the end of the paper should be listed in the order in which they appear in the text. Note that journal names and page numbers should be in full. References to personal communications, unpublished data or manuscripts 'in preparation' should not be included. If essential, such material may be incorporated at the appropriate place in the text. The style should be as follows:

For articles, give authors' names followed by initials, full title of the article, full name of journal, year of publication, volume number, first and last relevant page numbers. List all authors and if the number exceeds six give the first six, followed by et al.

For books, give authors' names followed by initials, title of chapter/article, title of book preceded by 'In:', 'Editor(s):' followed by name(s) and initial(s), place of publication, publisher's name, year of publication, first and last relevant page numbers.

Examples

• Sophist J, Paradigm K. The variation in infant sex ratio according to degree of maternal pedantry. International Journal of Perinatal Variation 1979; 7:143-152.
• Cart A. Patterns of illness in children living in an area of heavy pollution. In: Horse Sense. Editors: Loh J, Mee K, Soh AH. Solihull: Khyber Press, 1984; pp. 14-83.

We recommend the use of a tool such as EndNote or Reference Manager for reference management and formatting.

EndNote reference styles can be searched for here: http://www.endnote.com/support/enstyles.asp
Reference Manager reference styles can be searched for here: http://www.refman.com/support/rmstyles.asp

Proofs will be sent via E-mail as an Acrobat PDF (portable document format) file. They should be returned to the publisher within 3 days of receipt. Major alterations to the text and illustrations are only allowable in exceptional circumstances and the additional cost may be charged to the author.

The following house style is used:

• Birthweight not birth weight; stillbirth not still birth
• Breast feeding (noun) not breastfeeding; and breast-feeding mothers (adjective)
• Preterm or low birthweight never premature
• Confidence intervals not confidence limits
• Multivariable not multivariate, for regression models with a single outcome variable
• Parity to refer to the number of viable previous pregnancies. Definitions vary - always define the term in the methods. Use parity 0 if the pregnant or delivering woman has had no previous viable pregnancies, and refer to her as a primipara (plural primiparae). A woman who has had at least one prior viable pregnancy is a multipara (plural multiparae).

Race, ethnicity and nationality

When race, ethnicity or nationality are identified as research variables, the authors should make clear the purpose for using such variables.
Authors should describe their methods of definition and classification of racial, ethnic or national groups.
Ethnocentricity should be avoided. For example, in choosing a reference group, it should not be assumed that the majority racial, or ethnic group is necessarily the best choice. Care should be taken to explain the choice of referent.
Limitations of race, ethnicity and nationality data and measurement should be clearly stated.
Known or potential causes of the observed differences between groups should be explored and discussed.

NEW: Online production tracking is now available for your article through Blackwell's Author Services
Author Services enables authors to track their article - once it has been accepted - through the production process to publication online and in print. Authors can check the status of their articles online and choose to receive automated e-mails at key stages of production. The author will receive an e-mail with a unique link that enables them to register and have their article automatically added to the system. Please ensure that a complete e-mail address is provided when submitting the manuscript. Visit www.blackwellpublishing.com/bauthor for more details on online production tracking and for a wealth of resources including FAQs and tips on article preparation, submission and more.

Offprints
A PDF offprint of the online published article will be provided free of charge to the corresponding author, and may be distributed subject to the Publisher's terms and conditions. Paper offprints of the printed published article may be purchased if ordered via the method stipulated on the instructions that will accompany the proofs. Printed offprints are posted to the correspondence address given for the paper unless a different address is specified when ordered. Note that it is not uncommon for printed offprints to take up to eight weeks to arrive after publication of the journal.

Author Material Archive Policy
Please note that, unless specifically requested, Blackwell Publishing will dispose of all hardcopy or electronic material submitted 2 months after publication. If you require the return of any material submitted, please inform the editorial office or production editor as soon as possible if you have not yet done so.

Note to NIH Grantees
Pursuant to NIH mandate, Wiley-Blackwell will post the accepted version of contributions authored by NIH grant-holders to PubMed Central upon acceptance. This accepted version will be made publicly available 12 months after publication. For further information, see www.wiley.com/go/nihmandate.