British Journal of Learning Disabilities

Official Journal of the British Institute of Learning Disabilities

Edited by:
Professor Duncan Mitchell

Print ISSN: 1354-4187
Online ISSN: 1468-3156
Frequency: Quarterly
Current Volume: 38 / 2010

TopAuthor Guidelines

INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS

1. GENERAL
The British Journal of Learning Disabilities is an international peer-reviewed journal which aims to be the leading practice-focussed journal in the field. It covers debates and developments in research, policy and practice. It welcomes papers aimed at (i) emphasising the lived experiences and views of people with learning disabilities, their families, allies and supporters and (ii) highlighting from reviews and research how best policy and practice can improve the health and wellbeing of people with learning disabilities and their families. It publishes original refereed papers, themed issues on controversial or contemporary topics and specially commissioned keynote reviews. The readership consists of academics, researchers, practitioners and many others interested in learning disability from a personal or professional perspective.

The British Journal of Learning Disabilities crosses all professional groups and all academic disciplines concerned with learning disability. The opinions expressed in articles, whether editorials or otherwise, do not necessarily represent the official view of the British Institute of Learning Disabilities and the Institute accepts no responsibility for the quality of goods or services advertised.

Please read the instructions below for brief details on the Journal's requirements for manuscripts. Please visit the Journal website: http://interscience.wiley.com/journal/bld for full and updated Author Guidelines and Wiley-Blackwell Publishing's Author Services website, http://authorservices.wiley.com/bauthor, for further information on the preparation and submission of articles and figures. Manuscripts in an incorrect format may be returned to the author.
Please note that we also welcome articles by or with people with learning disabilities. Accessible and friendly guidelines are available on request.

2. ETHICAL GUIDELINES
Acceptance of papers is based on the understanding that authors have treated research participants with respect and dignity throughout. Papers based on original research involving people with learning disabilities must include an ethical statement to confirm either that the research has received formal ethical approval from an appropriate ethics committee or that the research has taken appropriate steps with regard access, informed consent, confidentiality and anonymity.

Copyright Transfer Agreement. Authors will be required to sign an 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. (US Federal 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. Please return your completed form to: BLD Production Editor, Journal Content Management, Wiley-Blackwell, Wiley Services Singapore Pte Ltd, 600 North Bridge Road, #05-01 Parkview Square, Singapore 188778. Alternatively, a scanned version of the form can be emailed to BLD@wiley.com or faxed to +65 6295 6202.

Permissions: If all or parts of previously published illustrations are used, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder concerned. It is the author's responsibility to obtain these in writing and provide copies to the Publisher.

3. SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPTS

The British Journal of Learning Disabilities has now adopted ScholarOne Manuscripts (formerly known as Manuscript Central), for online manuscript submission and peer review. The new system brings with it a whole host of benefits including:

• Quick and easy submission
• Administration centralised and reduced
• Significant decrease in peer review times

From now on all submissions to the journal must be submitted online at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/BLD. Full instructions and support are available on the site and a user ID and password can be obtained on the first visit. If you require assistance then click the Get Help Now link which appears at the top right of every Manuscript Central page. If you cannot submit online, please contact Lydia Webb in the Editorial Office by telephone +44 1 865 476 519 or by e-mail BLDeditorialoffice@oxon.Blackwellpublishing.com .

3.1. Getting Started

• Launch your web browser (supported browsers include Internet Explorer 6 or higher, Netscape 7.0, 7.1, or 7.2, Safara 1.2.4, or Firefox 1.0.4) and go to the journal's online Submission Site: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/BLD
• Log-in or click the 'Create Account' option if you are a first-time user.
• If you are creating a new account:
  - After clicking on 'Create Account', enter your name and e-mail information and click 'Next'. Your e-mail information is very important.
  - Enter your institution and address information as appropriate, and then click 'Next.'
  - Enter a user ID and password of your choice (we recommend using your e-mail address as your user ID), and then select your area of expertise. Click 'Finish'.
• If you have an account, but have forgotten your log in details, go to Password Help on the journals online submission system http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/BLD and enter your e-mail address. The system will send you an automatic user ID and a new temporary password.
• Log-in and select 'Author Center'.

3.2. Submitting Your Manuscript

• After you have logged in, click the 'submit a Manuscript' link in the menu bar.
• Enter data and answer questions as appropriate. You may copy and paste directly from your manuscript and you may upload your pre-prepared covering letter.
• Click the 'Next' button on each screen to save your work and advance to the next screen.
• You are required to upload your files.
  - Click on the 'Browse' button and locate the file on your computer.
  - Select the designation of each file in the drop-down menu next to the Browse button.
  - When you have selected all files you wish to upload, click the 'Upload Files' button.
• Review your submission (in HTML and PDF format) before sending to the Journal.
• Click the 'Submit' button when you are finished reviewing.

3.3. Manuscript Files Accepted

Manuscripts should be uploaded as Word (.doc) or Rich Text Format (.rft) files (not write-protected) plus separate figure files. GIF, JPEG, PICT or Bitmap files are acceptable for submission, but only high-resolution TIF or EPS files are suitable for printing. The files will be automatically converted to HTML and PDF on upload and will be used for the review process. The text file must contain the entire manuscript including title page, accessible summary, summary, text, references, tables, and figure legends, but no embedded figures. Figure tags should be included in the file. Manuscripts should be formatted as described in the Author Guidelines below.

Please note that any manuscripts uploaded as Word 2007 (.docx) will be automatically rejected,. Please save any .docx file as .doc before uploading.

3.4. Suspension of Submission Mid-way in the Submission Process

You may suspend a submission at any phase before clicking the 'Submit' button and save it to submit later. The manuscript can then be located under 'Unsubmitted Manuscripts' and you can click on 'Continue Submission' to continue your submission when you choose to.

3.5. E-mail Confirmation of Submission

After submission you will receive an e-mail to confirm receipt of your manuscript. If you do not received the confirmation e-mail after 24 hours, please check your e-mail address carefully in the system. If the e-mail address is correct please contact your IT department. The error may be caused by spam filtering software on your e-mail server. Also, the e-mails should be received if the IT department adds our e-mail server (uranus.scholarone.com) to their whitelist.

3.6. Manuscript Status

You can access ScholarOne Manuscripts (formerly known as Manuscript Central) any time to check your 'Author Center' for the status of your manuscript. The Journal will inform you by e-mail once a decision has been made.

4. MANUSCRIPT FORMAT AND STRUCTURE
All manuscripts submitted to The British Journal of Learning Disabilities should include: Accessible Summary, Summary, Keywords, Main Text (divided by appropriate sub headings) and References. Articles should be no more than 5,000 words in length including references.

Title Page: This should include: a short title to indicate content with a sub-title if necessary; the full names of all the authors; the name(s) and address(es) of the institution(s) at which the work was carried out (the present addresses of the authors, if different from the above, should appear in a footnote); the name, address, telephone and fax numbers, and email addresses of the author to whom all correspondence and proofs should be sent; a suggested running title of not more than 50 characters, including spaces; and up to six key words to aid indexing.

Accessible Summary: Authors must now include an easy-to-read summary of their papers. This innovation was effective from 2005 and is in the spirit of making research findings more accessible to people with learning disabilities. It should also make scanning the Journal contents easier for all readers. From now on, therefore, authors are asked to:
• Use bullet points (3 or 4 at most) to help summarise the content
• Express ideas in straightforward language
• Say why the research matters to people with learning disabilities.

Summary: should be a comprehensive summary of the contents of the manuscript, of approximately 150 words.

Keywords: these are words which have relevance to the type of paper being submitted, this is for reviewing and citing purposes. You are asked by Manuscript Central to input keywords when submitting a paper, but up to 6 keywords must also be included within the 'main document' underneath the Accessible Summary.

Style
Abbreviations and symbols:
All symbols and abbreviations should be clearly explained. Abbreviations should not be used when they refer to people (e.g. learning disabilities, not LD; developmental disabilities, not DD; intellectual disabilities, not ID). Please also use "people with learning disabilities" wherever possible, not "learning disabled people".

References
The Journal follows the Harvard reference style. For full details, please see the Journal website http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=1354-4187.
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:
www.endnote.com/support/enstyles.asp
Reference Manager reference styles can be searched for here:
www.refman.com/support/rmstyles.asp

Tables, Figures and Figure Legends
Tables should only be used to clarify important points. Tables must, as far as possible, be self-explanatory and should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals, e.g. Table 1, Table 2, etc, in order of their appearance in the text.
Figures: All graphs, drawings and photographs are considered figures and should be numbered in sequence with Arabic numerals. Each figure should have a legend and all legends should be typed together on a separate page at the end of the manuscript and numbered correspondingly. All symbols and abbreviations should be clearly explained.

If all or parts of previously published illustrations are used, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder concerned. It is the author's responsibility to obtain these in writing and provide copies to the Publisher.

All figures and artwork must be provided in electronic format. Please save vector graphics (e.g. line artwork) in Encapsulated Postscript Format (EPS) and bitmap files (e.g. halftones) or clinical or in vitro pictures in Tagged Image Format (TIFF). Further information can be obtained at the Journal website http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=1354-4187 and at Wiley-Blackwell's guidelines for illustrations: http://authorservices.wiley.com/bauthor/illustration.asp

Colour Charges: It is the policy of the British Journal of Learning Disabilities for authors to pay the full cost for the reproduction of their colour artwork. The Colour Work Agreement form can be downloaded from: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/pdf/SN_Upw2000_F_CoW.pdf.

Supporting Information: Supporting Information, such as data sets or additional figures or tables, that will not be published in the print edition of the Journal, but which will be viewable via the online edition, can be submitted. Please contact the Production Editor (bld@wiley.com) for further details.

5. AFTER ACCEPTANCE
Proofs: Proofs will be sent via e-mail as an Acrobat PDF (portable document format) file. The e-mail server must be able to accept attachments up to 4 MB in size. Acrobat Reader will be required in order to read this file. Corrections must be returned to the Production Editor within 3 days of receipt.

Author Services: For more substantial information on the services provided for authors, please see http://authorservices.wiley.com/bauthor/

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.

Early View
British Journal of Learning Disabilities is covered by Wiley-Blackwell Publishing's Early View service. Early View articles are complete full-text articles published online in advance of their publication in a printed issue. Articles are therefore available as soon as they are ready, rather than having to wait for the next scheduled print issue. Early View articles are complete and final. They have been fully reviewed, revised and edited for publication, and the authors' final corrections have been incorporated. Because they are in final form, no changes can be made after online publication. The nature of Early View articles means that they do not yet have volume, issue or page numbers, so Early View articles cannot be cited in the traditional way. They are therefore given a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), which allows the article to be cited and tracked before it is allocated to an issue. After print publication, the DOI remains valid and can continue to be used to cite and access the article.

OnlineOpen
OnlineOpen is a pay-to-publish service from Wiley-Blackwell that offers authors whose papers are accepted for publication the opportunity to pay up-front for their manuscript to become open access (i.e. free for all to view and download) via the website. Each OnlineOpen article will be subject to a one-off fee of $3,000 to be met by or on behalf of the Author in advance of publication. Upon online publication, the article (both full-text and PDF versions) will be available to all for viewing and download free of charge. The print version of the article will also be branded as OnlineOpen and will draw attention to the fact that the paper can be downloaded for free via the service.

Any authors wishing to send their paper OnlineOpen will be required to complete the combined payment and copyright licence form. (Please note this form is for use with OnlineOpen material ONLY.)

Once complete this form should be sent to the Editorial Office along with the rest of the manuscript materials at the time of acceptance or as soon as possible after that (preferably within 24 hours to avoid any delays in processing). Prior to acceptance there is no requirement to inform an Editorial Office that you intend to publish your paper OnlineOpen if you do not wish to.

The copyright statement for OnlineOpen authors will read:

© [date] The Author(s)
Journal compilation © [date] [Blackwell Publishing Ltd]

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