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Journal of Clinical Urology

Published in Association with British Association of Urological Surgeons
Formerly British Journal of Medical and Surgical Urology
Other Titles in:
Surgery | Urology

eISSN: 20514166 | ISSN: 20514158 | Current volume: 16 | Current issue: 3 Frequency: Bi-monthly

The Journal of Clinical Urology, formerly British Journal of Medical and Surgical Urology, is a clinically orientated journal of urology and is an official publication of the British Association of Urological Surgeons. To reflect recent major changes in the field of urology, in particular the increasing importance of non-surgical management, considerable input is expected from medical urology as well as from the more surgically focused aspects of the specialty.

The journal covers the whole scope of urology in five sections to align it with the BAUS specialist sections: oncology; endourology; female neurological and urodynamic urology; andrology and genito-urethral surgery; and academic/basic science. It publishes high-quality original audit and research, commissioned reviews, comment articles and relevant case reports, with the overall aim of being readable, educational and clinically relevant to everyday urological practice. The audience is primarily consultant and trainee urologists, but in the longer term it will attract specialists in fields allied to urology including uro-radiology, uro-oncology, genito-urinary medicine and nursing.

This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)

The Journal of Clinical Urology (JCU), formerly British Journal of Medical and Surgical Urology, is a clinically orientated journal of urology and is an official publication of the British Association of Urological Surgeons. To reflect recent major changes in the field of urology, in particular the increasing importance of non-surgical management, considerable input is expected from medical urology as well as from the more surgically focused aspects of the specialty.

The journal covers the whole scope of urology in five sections to align it with the BAUS specialist sections: oncology; endourology; female neurological and urodynamic urology; andrology and genito-urethral surgery; and academic/basic science. It publishes high-quality original audit and research, commissioned reviews, comment articles and relevant case reports, with the overall aim of being readable, educational and clinically relevant to everyday urological practice. The audience is primarily consultant and trainee urologists, but in the longer term it will attract specialists in fields allied to urology including uro-radiology, uro-oncology, genito-urinary medicine and nursing.

 

Editor-in-Chief
Prof Bhaskar Somani University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK
Previous Editors
Prof Ian Pearce (2012-2021) Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK
Mr. Justin Vale (2008-2011) Imperial College London, London, UK
Prostate Cancer
Prof Hashim Ahmed Imperial College London, UK
Prof Sanjeev Madaan Darent Valley Hospital, Dartford, UK
Mr Bhavan Rai Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Bladder Cancer
Mr James Douglas University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK
Mr Nikhil Vasdev Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire Urological Cancer Centre, UK
Reconstructive Urology
Mr Mohammed Belal Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, UK
Miss Melissa Davies Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Endourology
Prof Joe Philip Bristol Urological Institute, UK
Miss Robyn Webber Queen Margaret Hospital, Fife, UK
Urinary tract infection
Mr Chris Harding Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Dr. Annie Joseph Nottingham University Hospital, UK
Bladder outflow obstruction
Mr Feras Al Jaafari Queen Margaret Hospital, Fife, UK
Andrology
Mr Vaibhav Modgil Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Mr Rowland Rees University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Education
Miss Claire Taylor Guys and Kings College Hospitals London, UK
Mr Dominic Hodgson Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, UK
Uro-Technology
Dr Andrea Gallioli Fundacio Puigvert, Barcelona, Spain
Mr Hari Ratan Nottingham City Hospital, UK
Oncology
Prof Simon Crabb University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Renal cancer
Mr Alexander Laird Western General Hospital, Edinburgh
Miss Maxine Tran Royal Free Hospital, London, UK
Ambulatory and Diagnostic Urology
Prof Vincent Gnanapragasam University of Cambridge, UK
Paediatric Urology
Prof Ann-Françoise Spinoit University Hospital Ghent, Belgium
General Urology (Residents corner)
Mr Patrick Jones Haukeland University Hospital, Norway
Uro-Radiology
Dr Sachin Modi University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Social Media
Miss Sarika Nalagatla West of Scotland, UK
Mr Omar El- Taji  
Statistics
Prof Graeme MacLennan University of Aberdeen, UK
Mr Robert Geraghty North East Deanery, UK
Editorial Board
Anuruddha Abeygunasekera MBBS, MS, FRCS (Edin), FRCS (Eng) Colombo South Teaching Hospital, Dehiwala, Sri Lanka
Vineet Agrawal Guthrie Corning Hospital, USA
Jonathan Aning Bristol Urological Institute, Bristol, UK
Ben Ayres St. Georges Hospital, London, UK
Rachel Barratt University College London, UK
Christian Beisland Haukeland University Hospital, Norway
Rupesh I Bhatt MA(Hons), MB BChir(Cantab), FRCS(Urol), MD University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Suzanne Biers Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, UK
Chris Blick DPhil, FRCS (Urol) Royal Berkshire Foundation Trust, Reading, UK
Ananda Dhanasekaran Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, UK
Garrett Durkan MD FRCSI (Urol) University Hospital Galway, Galway, Ireland
Michael S Floyd (Jr) MCh FRCS (Urol) St Helens & Knowsley NHS Trust, UK
Mikkel Fode MD, PhD, FECSM Roskilde Hospital, Roskilde, Denmark
Vineet Gauhar Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, Singapore
Peter Grice East Midlands Deanery, UK
Sarah Howles Churchill Hospital, Oxford, UK
Etienne X. Keller University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland
Sanjeev Madaan Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust, UK
Miss Anna Mainwaring FRCS (Urol) Morriston Hospital, Swansea
Teng Aik Ong MBBS, MS, FEBU, FRCS (Urol) University of Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Juan Pablo Valdevenito, MD Hospital Clinico Universidad de Chile, Chile
Nicholas Rukin MBChB, MD, FRCS (Urol) Metro North Hospital, Brisbane, Australia
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Manuscript Submission Guidelines: Journal of Clinical Urology

This Journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics.

This Journal recommends that authors follow the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals formulated by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

Please read the guidelines below then visit the Journal’s submission site http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/URO to upload your manuscript. Please note that manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines may be returned.

Only manuscripts of sufficient quality that meet the aims and scope of Journal of Clinical Urology will be reviewed.

There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this journal.

As part of the submission process you will be required to warrant that you are submitting your original work, that you have the rights in the work, that you are submitting the work for first publication in the Journal and that it is not being considered for publication elsewhere and has not already been published elsewhere, and that you have obtained and can supply all necessary permissions for the reproduction of any copyright works not owned by you.

Read the Journal of Clinical Urology's Clinical Research Toolkit, here!

  1. What do we publish?
    1.1 Aims & Scope
    1.2 Article types
    1.3 Writing your paper
  2. Editorial policies
    2.1 Peer review policy
    2.2 Authorship
    2.3 Acknowledgements
    2.4 Funding
    2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests
    2.6 Research ethics and patient consent
    2.7 Clinical trials
    2.8 Reporting guidelines
    2.9 Data
    2.10 Guarantor
    2.11 Contributorship
    2.12 Statistical analysis
  3. Publishing policies
    3.1 Publication ethics
    3.2 Contributor's publishing agreement
    3.3 Open access and author archiving
  4. Preparing your manuscript
    4.1 Formatting
    4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics
    4.3 Supplementary material
    4.4 Reference style
    4.5 English language editing services
  5. Submitting your manuscript
    5.1 ORCID
    5.2 Information required for completing your submission
    5.3 Publication of Twitter handles
    5.4 Permissions
  6. On acceptance and publication
    6.1 Sage Production
    6.2 Online First publication
    6.3 Access to your published article
    6.4 Promoting your article
  7. Further information

1. What do we publish?

1.1 Aims & Scope

Before submitting your manuscript to Journal of Clinical Urology, please ensure you have read the Aims & Scope.

1.2 Article Types

Journal of Clinical Urology accepts the following kinds of articles:

Original Research Article
Including: Case Series; Case-Control Studies; Cohort Studies; Cross-Sectional Studies and Randomised Control Trials.

Papers should be as concise as possible and generally not exceed 2,500 words (excluding references). Each paper should be formatted as follows:

Title page: The title should be concise with no abbreviations. Please provide the surname, initials, department, institution, city and country of each author, and the name, email address, full mailing address, telephone number and fax number of the corresponding author to whom proofs should be sent. 
Abstract: The second page of the manuscript must contain only the abstract, which should be of no more than 200 words and must be clearly written and comprehensive to readers before they have to read the paper.

The abstract should be sub-divided into:
Objective: a short statement of the aims, not a long paragraph of background information 
Subjects/patients (or materials) and methods
Results: Please avoid long lists of detailed values, but state the main findings
Conclusion: Please state whether the aims have been met. References should be avoided, but if essential, they must be cited in full. Non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself.

Immediately after the abstract, please provide a list of 3-6 keywords, using English spelling and avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, `and’, `of’). Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in the field are eligible. These keywords will be used for indexing purposes.

Any manuscripts submitted without a structured abstract will be returned to the author immediately without peer review, thus delaying the evaluation process.

Abbreviations: Define abbreviations that are not standard in this field at their first occurrence in the article. Ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article. (Please also see section 4.1 below)

Introduction: (max 300 words) The introduction should assume that the reader is knowledgeable in the field and aim to be concise.
State the objectives of the work and provide an adequate background, avoiding a detailed literature survey or a summary of the results.

Experimental/Materials and Methods: Provide sufficient detail to allow the work to be reproduced. Methods already published should be indicated by a reference: only relevant modifications should be described.

Results

Discussion: (max 800 words). This should explore the significance of the results of the work, not repeat them. A combined Results and Discussion section is sometimes appropriate. Avoid extensive citations and discussion of published literature. 

Conclusions: The main conclusions of the study should be presented

References: Please see section 4.4 below

Reviews/comments
Including: critical reviews, literature reviews and meta-analysis

These articles are generally commissioned by the Editor and the length agreed with the prospective author. In all other aspects a review should comply with the general guidelines in terms of nomenclature, title page, figures and references. If you have suggestions for a review please contact the editorial office (uro@sagepub.com).

Role of the Expert Witness
These articles should not exceed 1,500 words.

MDT Article
MDT articles should include multidisciplinary discussion around an area of urology that generates debate over current investigation and management.  This can be benign and malignant conditions.  The article should focus around a case, or several cases, which demonstrate the complexities of the disease process, the investigations required and the different management options.  More than 1 case may be required to cover the different management options for the condition described.  The authors should include at least 2 consultant urologists with recognised expertise in managing the described condition.

Papers should be as concise as possible and generally not exceed 2,500 words (excluding references). Each paper should be formatted as follows:
 

Title page: The title should be concise with no abbreviations. Please provide the surname, initials, department, institution, city and country of each author, and the name, email address, full mailing address, telephone number and fax number of the corresponding author to whom proofs should be sent.
 

Abstract: The second page of the manuscript must contain only the abstract, which should be of no more than 200 words and must be clearly written and comprehensive to readers before they have to read the paper.  It should summarise the reason why this has been chosen as an MDT Article outlining the areas of debate.  References should be avoided, but if essential, they must be cited in full. Non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself.
Immediately after the abstract, please provide a list of 3-6 keywords, using English spelling and avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, `and’, `of’). Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in the field are eligible. These keywords will be used for indexing purposes.
Any manuscripts submitted without a structured abstract will be returned to the author immediately without peer review, thus delaying the evaluation process.
 

Abbreviations: Define abbreviations that are not standard in this field at their first occurrence in the article. Ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article. (Please also see section 4.1 below)

Introduction: (max 300 words) The introduction should assume that the reader is knowledgeable in the field and aim to be concise.
 

State the objectives of the work and provide an adequate background, avoiding a detailed literature survey or a summary of the results.
 

Case Presentation: The case(s) should be presented and any standard imaging or investigations presented.
 

Discussion of Investigations, Management and Follow Up:  This can be done after each case presentation if there is more than one.  This should include the opinions of at least 2 consultant urologists considered experts in the area under discussion. If possible a consensus should be reached to allow readers to use the MDT discussion in clinical practice.
 

Conclusions: The main points from the case discussion should be presented.
 

References: Please see section 4.4 below.
 

For all article types please note:

Nomenclature and units: Please supply, as a separate list, the definitions of field-specific terms used in your article. Follow internationally accepted rules and conventions: use the international system of units (SI). If other quantities are mentioned, give their equivalent in SI (please also see section 4.1 below)

Declarations
Please note that all manuscripts should be accompanied by a separate document entitled ‘Declarations’.

Please read the Declarations guideline for authors available here: http://journals.sagepub.com/pb-assets/cmscontent/URO/declaration_policy_document-jcu.pdf  carefully before submitting your Declarations document.

This should be submitted under the file designation ‘Declarations’. This must include each of the below headings with the corresponding information. Please note that manuscripts which do not include these Declarations will be returned. These headings will be published at the end of every accepted manuscript, where one of these headings is not applicable please indicate as such under the heading.  

DECLARATIONS
1. Conflicting interests 
2. Funding 
3. Informed consent
4. Ethical approval
5. Guarantor 
6. Contributorship
7. Acknowledgements

Example of a completed Declarations document:

DECLARATIONS
Conflicting interests: MS is an employee of XXX. BF has received grants from XXX. 
Funding: This work was supported by the Medical Research Council [grant number XXX]
Informed consent: Written informed consent was obtained from the patient(s) for their anonymized information to be published in this article.
Ethical approval: The ethics committee of  XXXX approved this study (REC number: XXXX)
Guarantor: BF
Contributorship: BF and NP researched literature and conceived the study. MS was involved in protocol development, gaining ethical approval, patient recruitment and data analysis. BF wrote the first draft of the manuscript. All authors reviewed and edited the manuscript and approved the final version of the manuscript
Acknowledgements: We would like to thank XXX XXXX for his assistance and guidance in this research.
Please read the following information carefully for additional information regarding these declarations. 

Levels of Evidence

Please supply a Level of Evidence according to the Oxford Centre for Evidence-based Medicine Levels of Evidence (March 2009) and the end of the abstract of all submissions. If a level of evidence is not applicable please include a statement declaring this this at the end of the abstract.

1.3 Writing your paper

The Sage Author Gateway has some general advice and on how to get published, plus links to further resources.

1.3.1 Make your article discoverable

When writing up your paper, think about how you can make it discoverable. The title, keywords and abstract are key to ensuring readers find your article through search engines such as Google. For information and guidance on how best to title your article, write your abstract and select your keywords, have a look at this page on the Gateway: How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online.

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2. Editorial policies

2.1 Peer review policy

Journal of Clinical Urology operates a single-anonymize reviewing policy in which the reviewer's name is always concealed from the submitting author. Each manuscript is reviewed by at least two referees. Referees will be encouraged to provide substantive, constructive reviews that provide suggestions for improving the work and distinguish between mandatory and non-mandatory recommendations. All manuscripts are reviewed as rapidly as possible, and an editorial decision from the Editor-in-Chief, based on the reviewers’ recommendations and his own analysis of the article, is generally reached within 4-6 weeks of submission.

When submitting your article in Sage track, you will be required to select the main topic of your manuscript. It is important that you choose a category from the drop-down menu. This will ensure that your article is dealt with and reviewed as quickly as possible.

As part of the submission process you will be asked to provide the names of peers who could be called upon to review your manuscript. Recommended reviewers should be experts in their fields and should be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. Please be aware of any conflicts of interest when recommending reviewers. Examples of conflicts of interest include (but are not limited to) the below: 

  • The reviewer should have no prior knowledge of your submission
  • The reviewer should not have recently collaborated with any of the authors
  • Reviewer nominees from the same institution as any of the authors are not permitted

Please note that the Editor(s) are not obliged to invite any recommended/opposed reviewers to assess your manuscript. As part of this process you will also be asked to explain to the journal Editor why each person is recommended or opposed.

Journal of Clinical Urology is committed to delivering high quality, fast peer-review for your paper, and as such has partnered with Publons. Publons is a third party service that seeks to track, verify and give credit for peer review. Reviewers for Journal of Clinical Urology  can opt in to Publons in order to claim their reviews or have them automatically verified and added to their reviewer profile. Reviewers claiming credit for their review will be associated with the relevant journal, but the article name, reviewer’s decision and the content of their review is not published on the site. For more information visit the Publons website.

2.2 Authorship

Papers should only be submitted for consideration once consent is given by all contributing authors. Those submitting papers should carefully check that all those whose work contributed to the paper are acknowledged as contributing authors.

The list of authors should include all those who can legitimately claim authorship. This is all those who:

  1. Made a substantial contribution to the concept or design of the work; or acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data,
  2. Drafted the article or revised it critically for important intellectual content,
  3. Approved the version to be published,
  4. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content.

Authors should meet the conditions of all of the points above. When a large, multicentre group has conducted the work, the group should identify the individuals who accept direct responsibility for the manuscript. These individuals should fully meet the criteria for authorship.

Acquisition of funding, collection of data, or general supervision of the research group alone does not constitute authorship, although all contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the Acknowledgments section. Please refer to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) authorship guidelines for more information on authorship.

Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools.

2.3 Acknowledgements

All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an Acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or a department chair who provided only general support.

Please supply any personal acknowledgements as part of your declarations document (see section 1.2) to facilitate anonymous peer review.

2.3.1 Third party submissions

Where an individual who is not listed as an author submits a manuscript on behalf of the author(s), a statement must be included in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript and in the accompanying cover letter. The statements must:

•    Disclose this type of editorial assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input 
•    Identify any entities that paid for this assistance 
•    Confirm that the listed authors have authorized the submission of their manuscript via third party and approved any statements or declarations, e.g. conflicting interests, funding, etc.

Where appropriate, Sage reserves the right to deny consideration to manuscripts submitted by a third party rather than by the authors themselves.

2.3.2 Writing assistance

Individuals who provided writing assistance, e.g. from a specialist communications company, do not qualify as authors and so should be included in the Acknowledgements section. Authors must disclose any writing assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input – and identify the entity that paid for this assistance. It is not necessary to disclose use of language polishing services.

2.4 Funding

Journal of Clinical Urology requires all authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent fashion within their declarations document (see section 1.2).  Please visit the Funding Acknowledgements page on the Sage Journal Author Gateway to confirm the format of the acknowledgment text in the event of funding, or state that: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. 

2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests

It is the policy of Journal of Clinical Urology to require a declaration of conflicting interests from all authors enabling a statement to be carried within the paginated pages of all published articles.

Please ensure that a ‘Declaration of Conflicting Interests’ statement is included as part of your declarations document (see section 1.2). If no conflict exists, please state that ‘The Author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest’. For guidance on conflict of interest statements, please see the ICMJE recommendations here.

2.6 Research ethics and patient consent

Medical research involving human subjects must be conducted according to the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki.

Submitted manuscripts should conform to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, and all papers reporting animal and/or human studies must state in the methods section and as part of the declarations document that the relevant Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board provided (or waived) approval. Please ensure that you have provided the full name and institution of the review committee, in addition to the approval number.

For research articles, authors are also required to state in the methods section whether participants provided informed consent and whether the consent was written or verbal.

Information on informed consent to report individual cases or case series should be included in the manuscript text and as part of your declarations document (see section 1.2). A statement is required regarding whether written informed consent for patient information and images to be published was provided by the patient(s) or a legally authorized representative.

Please also refer to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Protection of Research Participants.

All research involving animals submitted for publication must be approved by an ethics committee with oversight of the facility in which the studies were conducted. The Journal has adopted the ARRIVE guidelines.

2.7 Clinical trials

Journal of Clinical Urology conforms to the ICMJE requirement that clinical trials are registered in a WHO-approved public trials registry at or before the time of first patient enrolment as a condition of consideration for publication. The trial registry name and URL, and registration number must be included at the end of the abstract and within the separate declarations document.

2.8 Reporting guidelines

The relevant EQUATOR Network reporting guidelines should be followed depending on the type of study. For example, all randomized controlled trials submitted for publication should include a completed CONSORT flow chart as a cited figure and the completed CONSORT checklist should be uploaded with your submission as a supplementary file. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses should include the completed PRISMA flow chart as a cited figure and the completed PRISMA checklist should be uploaded with your submission as a supplementary file. The EQUATOR wizard can help you identify the appropriate guideline.

Other resources can be found at NLM’s Research Reporting Guidelines and Initiatives.

2.9 Data

Sage acknowledges the importance of research data availability as an integral part of the research and verification process for academic journal articles.

Journal of Clinical Urology requests all authors submitting any primary data used in their research articles alongside their article submissions to be published in the online version of the journal, or provide detailed information in their articles on how the data can be obtained. This information should include links to third-party data repositories or detailed contact information for third-party data sources. Data available only on an author-maintained website will need to be loaded onto either the journal’s platform or a third-party platform to ensure continuing accessibility. Examples of data types include but are not limited to statistical data files, replication code, text files, audio files, images, videos, appendices, and additional charts and graphs necessary to understand the original research. The editor may consider limited embargoes on proprietary data. The editor can also grant exceptions for data that cannot legally or ethically be released. All data submitted should comply with Institutional or Ethical Review Board requirements and applicable government regulations. For further information, please contact the editorial office at URO@sagepub.com

2.10 Guarantor

The Guarantor is the person willing to take full responsibility for the article, including for the accuracy and appropriateness of the reference list. This will often be the most senior member of the research group and is commonly also the author for correspondence. Please state this person’s name as initials within your declarations document (see section 1.2).

2.11 Contributorship

For multi-authored papers this statement should outline what each party contributed to the authorship of the paper within the declarations document (see section 1.2). Authors should be identified by their initials. An example is shown below.

BF and NP researched literature and conceived the study. MS was involved in protocol development, gaining ethical approval, patient recruitment and data analysis. BF wrote the first draft of the manuscript. All authors reviewed and edited the manuscript and approved the final version of the manuscript.

2.12 Statistical analysis

Where statistical analyses have been carried out please ensure that the methodology has been accurately described. In comparative studies, power calculations are usually required. In research papers, requiring complex statistics, the advice of an expert statistician should be sought at the design/implementation stage of the study.

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3. Publishing Policies

3.1 Publication ethics

Sage is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics page on the Sage Author Gateway.

3.1.1 Plagiarism

Journal of Clinical Urology and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software. Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarised other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where the authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article; taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; or taking appropriate legal action.

3.1.2 Prior publication

If material has been previously published it is not generally acceptable for publication in a Sage journal. However, there are certain circumstances where previously published material can be considered for publication. Please refer to the guidance on the Sage Author Gateway or if in doubt, contact the Editor at the address given below.

3.2 Contributor's publishing agreement

Before publication, Sage requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. Sage’s Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement is an exclusive licence agreement which means that the author retains copyright in the work but grants Sage the sole and exclusive right and licence to publish for the full legal term of copyright. Exceptions may exist where an assignment of copyright is required or preferred by a proprietor other than Sage. In this case copyright in the work will be assigned from the author to the society. For more information please visit the Sage Author Gateway.

3.3 Open access and author archiving

Journal of Clinical Urology offers optional open access publishing via the Sage Choice programme. For more information on Open Access publishing options at Sage please visit Sage Open Access. For information on funding body compliance, and depositing your article in repositories, please visit Sage’s Author Archiving and Re-Use Guidelines and Publishing Policies.

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4. Preparing your manuscript for submission

4.1 Formatting

The preferred format for your manuscript is Word. LaTeX files are also accepted. Word and (La)Tex templates are available on the Manuscript Submission Guidelines page of our Author Gateway.

For detailed advice please refer to the guidelines in Baron, DN (1988). Units, symbols and abbreviations, 4th edn. (Obtainable from The Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole Street, London W1M 8AE, UK). Note that the SI system of units is preferred. Because of the multidisciplinary nature of the readership and to avoid confusion, the number of abbreviations in the text should be kept to a minimum. Standard abbreviations acceptable without definition are limited to the following:

CNS (central nervous system); CSF (cerebrospinal fluid); DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid); HLA (human leukocyte antigen; MRI (magnetic resonance imaging); CT (computerized tomography); MS (multiple sclerosis); RNA (ribonucleic acid). Nonstandard definitions must be defined in full at their first usage in the abstract and again at their first use in the text.

4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics

For guidance on the preparation of illustrations, pictures and graphs in electronic format, please visit Sage’s Manuscript Submission Guidelines.  

Figures supplied in colour will appear in colour online and in the print issue. There is no charge for reproducing figures in colour in the printed version.

Tables
Tables should be submitted in Word, typed on separate pages. Tables should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals, and cited as such in the manuscript.

The preferred placing of tables in the main text should be indicated. Tables should include a brief descriptive title and be self-explanatory. Footnotes to tables indicated by lower-case superscript letters are acceptable, but they should not include extensive experimental details.

4.3 Supplementary material

This journal is able to host additional materials online (e.g. datasets, podcasts, videos, images etc) alongside the full-text of the article. For more information please refer to our guidelines on submitting supplementary files.

4.4 Reference style

Journal of Clinical Urology adheres to the Sage Vancouver reference style. View the Sage Vancouver guidelines to ensure your manuscript conforms to this reference style.

If you use EndNote to manage references, you can download the Sage Vancouver EndNote output file.

4.5 English language editing services

Authors seeking assistance with English language editing, translation, or figure and manuscript formatting to fit the journal’s specifications should consider using Sage Language Services. Visit Sage Language Services on our Journal Author Gateway for further information.

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5. Submitting your manuscript

Journal of Clinical Urology is hosted on Sage Track, a web based online submission and peer review system powered by ScholarOne™ Manuscripts. Visit http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/uro to login and submit your article online.

When making a submission, the following separate, unpaginated documents should be uploaded. Please do not submit one combined document. The separate files will be combined into a pdf in the online system.

  1. Title page (title, names of authors, affiliations, keywords, corresponding author)
  2. Main document (includes structured abstract, main text, acknowledgements, references)
  3. Tables (each as a separateWord document)
  4. Figure legends (Word document)
  5. Figures (as separatetiff, jpg or eps files)
  6. Any supplementary files
  7. Declarations (please see section 1.2)

IMPORTANT: Please check whether you already have an account in the system before trying to create a new one. If you have reviewed or authored for the journal in the past year it is likely that you will have had an account created.  For further guidance on submitting your manuscript online please visit ScholarOne Online Help.

5.1 ORCID

As part of our commitment to ensuring an ethical, transparent and fair peer review process Sage is a supporting member of ORCID, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID. ORCID provides a unique and persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from every other researcher, even those who share the same name, and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between researchers and their professional activities, ensuring that their work is recognized.

The collection of ORCID iDs from corresponding authors is now part of the submission process of this journal. If you already have an ORCID iD you will be asked to associate that to your submission during the online submission process. We also strongly encourage all co-authors to link their ORCID ID to their accounts in our online peer review platforms. It takes seconds to do: click the link when prompted, sign into your ORCID account and our systems are automatically updated. Your ORCID iD will become part of your accepted publication’s metadata, making your work attributable to you and only you. Your ORCID iD is published with your article so that fellow researchers reading your work can link to your ORCID profile and from there link to your other publications.

If you do not already have an ORCID iD please follow this link to create one or visit our ORCID homepage to learn more.

5.2 Information required for completing your submission

You will be asked to provide contact details and academic affiliations for all co-authors via the submission system and identify who is to be the corresponding author. These details must match what appears on your manuscript. At this stage please ensure you have included all the required statements and declarations and uploaded any additional supplementary files (including reporting guidelines where relevant).

5.3 Publication of Twittter handles

Journal of Clinical Urology has its own Twitter account @JCUrology.

As a way of encouraging ongoing discussion within the field, Journal of Clinical Urology authors are offered the option of providing their Twitter handle to be published alongside their name and email address within their article. This way, Journal of Clinical Urology readers who have questions or thoughts regarding your paper can tweet you directly. Providing a Twitter handle for publication is entirely optional, if you are not comfortable with Journal of Clinical Urology promoting your article along with your personal Twitter handle then please do not supply it.

By providing your personal twitter handle you agree to let Journal of Clinical Urology and Sage Publications use it in any posts related to your journal article. You may also be contacted by other Twitter users. Journal of Clinical Urology and Sage Publications will have no control over you or your tweets at any time. If you would like guidance on how to promote your article yourself on Twitter or other Social Media channels please visit http://www.uk.sagepub.com/journalgateway/files/using_social_media_to_promote.doc.

For further information please also see the GMC guidance on the use of social media by doctors: http://www.baus.org.uk/Resources/BAUS/Documents/PDF%20Documents/News/Doctors__use_of_social_media.pdf.pdf 

To include your Twitter handle within your article please provide this within the Sage Track Submission form when prompted and on the separate title page in the format outlined below (please refrain from adding this to the manuscript itself to facilitate anonymous peer review). 

Joe Bloggs, Department of Urology, Urology University Hospital, JCU Town, JC1 345, UK.
Email: JoeBloggs@email.com
Twitter: @drjoebloggs 

5.4 Permissions

Please also ensure that you have obtained any necessary permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere. For further information including guidance on fair dealing for criticism and review, please see the Copyright and Permissions page on the Sage Author Gateway.

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6. On acceptance and publication

6.1 Sage Production

Your Sage Production Editor will keep you informed as to your article’s progress throughout the production process. Proofs will be sent by PDF to the corresponding author and should be returned promptly.  Authors are reminded to check their proofs carefully to confirm that all author information, including names, affiliations, sequence and contact details are correct, and that Funding and Conflict of Interest statements, if any, are accurate. 

6.2 Online First publication

Online First allows final articles (completed and approved articles awaiting assignment to a future issue) to be published online prior to their inclusion in a journal issue, which significantly reduces the lead time between submission and publication. Visit the Sage Journals help page for more details, including how to cite Online First articles.

6.3 Access to your published article

Sage provides authors with online access to their final article.

6.4 Promoting your article

Publication is not the end of the process! You can help disseminate your paper and ensure it is as widely read and cited as possible. The Sage Author Gateway has numerous resources to help you promote your work. Visit the Promote Your Article page on the Gateway for tips and advice.  

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7. Further information

Any correspondence, queries or additional requests for information on the manuscript submission process should be sent to the Journal of Clinical Urology editorial office as follows:

uro@sagepub.com

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