Instructions for Authors
General information
Bridging science, care, and implementation
Advances in Clinical and Experimental Medicine (Adv Clin Exp Med) is an international, peer-reviewed journal that highlights the full translational pathway of biomedical research – from laboratory discoveries (“bench”), through clinical application (“bedside”), to real-world practice and policy (“implementation”). The journal welcomes original research articles, reviews/meta-analyses, clinical recommendations/guidelines, research-in-progress reports, research letters, and study protocols authored by recognized experts in the fields of clinical and experimental medicine.
By embracing this translational continuum, Adv Clin Exp Med serves as a platform for studies that not only advance scientific knowledge but also demonstrate a clear potential for improving patient outcomes and healthcare systems. We particularly value contributions that bridge gaps between experimental insights, clinical trials, and the implementation of evidence-based practices in diverse medical settings, especially those developed by international, multi-center research teams.
Indexed in major databases including Scopus, MEDLINE/PubMed, Web of Science (Science Citation Index Expanded, Journal Citation Reports), and Index Copernicus, the journal maintains a strong international presence. Its current 5-year Impact Factor is 2.0 (2024) and CiteScore 4.3.
General rules
Please note that this journal employs an article processing charge. More about the amount of this charge and waivers here. The journal offers no discounts, including discounts for lower-income countries and countries against whom international sanctions have been imposed.
If accepted for publication, please note that your paper will initially be published online as an ahead-of-print article (with active DOI, registered in PubMed, but without page numbers) as soon as possible. You can see what an ahead-of-print published paper looks like here. Later, the same paper will appear in an issue (the DOI does not change) with numbered pages (the contents of our issues are set in advance).
We offer neither fast-track nor priority publication in any form. We do not pre-assess papers sent by e-mail regarding their scope or publication possibility.
Please note that papers that do not conform to the rules listed below will not be peer-reviewed until the authors adjust them appropriately. Conformity to the instructions for authors is the author’s responsibility, not the editors’.
The Editorial Board accepts manuscripts written in US English for publication only. Authors not entirely familiar with English usage are advised to seek the assistance of an English speaker; the author's responsibility is to choose the correct style. The journal does not offer translation services.
How to avoid desk rejection? [This material is a short version of the presentation given by Prof. Donata Kurpas at the 13th Congress of the Polish Society for Surgery of the Hand and 3rd Congress of the Polish Society for Hand Therapy(Wrocław, Poland, October 9–11, 2025)]
Types of manuscripts
Manuscripts may be considered for publication in the following sections:
-
Original papers – including experimental research
-
Reviews
-
Meta-Analyses
-
Research-in-Progress
-
Clinical recommendations/guidelines
-
Editorials (by invitation only)
-
Editorial commentaries (by invitation only)
-
Research letters.
By reviews, we understand various types of reviews listed here. Advances in Clinical and Experimental Medicine (Adv Clin Exp Med) DOES NOT ACCEPT case reports. Priority will be given to original papers developed as part of international cooperation.
We strongly encourage authors of systematic reviews to register their detailed protocols before data extraction commences, in a public registry such as PROSPERO (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/). The number obtained during the registration should be provided in the submitted paper.
More information here: Guidance notes for registering a systematic review protocol with PROSPERO and here: PROSPERO registry for protocols of systematic reviews.
Prospective registration of systematic reviews promotes transparency, helps reduce the potential for bias, and avoids unintended duplication of reviews.
By Research-in-progress (RIP), we understand papers concerning research that has commenced but has not yet been completed.
A research letter is a brief, but scientifically important study, a shorter form of Original paper. The text structure (Background – Objectives – Material and methods – Discussion – Limitations – Conclusions) remains the same. Research letters are peer reviewed and subject to stringent editorial review as well. They are also indexed in all databases, including PubMed and Scopus, and the number of points assigned for such publication is identical to that of Original papers. However, a research letter contains a maximum of 1500 words, as opposed to 4000 words in an original article, and at most 2 tables or figures (2 tables and 2 figures at most in one paper). The number of authors and the number of references are not limited. It is important to note that research letters are priority papers in our journal and the waiting time for publication is shorter. Authors of Original papers considered by the editors to be too brief to be published will be asked to change the category of the manuscript into a research letter. The Editorial Office reserves the right to change the category of the manuscripts if their contents require it – e.g., from Original paper into Meta-analysis or Research letter.
Study Protocol articles provide a comprehensive overview of prospective research design, aiming to facilitate the dissemination of ongoing studies and enhance transparency in clinical and biomedical research. These articles outline the study's hypothesis, rationale, methodology, and ethical considerations, serving as a valuable resource for researchers and clinicians. MORE INFORMATION HERE
The submitted manuscripts should meet the general standards and requirements agreed upon by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, known as “Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals”. They should also conform to high-quality editorial procedures and practices (formulated by the Index Copernicus International Scientific Committee as Consensus Statement on Good Editorial Practice 2004).
All research presented in papers accepted for publication in Adv Clin Exp Med should be conducted in strict adherence to rules, guidelines, international conventions/declarations and other regulations pertaining to research on humans, animals and cell lines.
Include the number and registration date if your submission relates to a clinical trial.
A paper summarizing our policy concerning types of manuscripts has been published in Adv Clin Exp Med:
Anonymization of the manuscript
The manuscript should be anonymized – please remove all names and affiliations of the authors from the main text. Please ensure that all authors' names and affiliations are registered in the Editorial System during the submission.
There should be no title page – either as the first page of the paper or as a separate file. All authors should be registered in the Editorial System during the submission of the paper and the Editorial System will generate a title page. An “Authors' contributions” section should not appear at the end of the paper.
Submission of manuscripts
All manuscripts should be submitted to the Editorial Office via the Editorial System.
We do not accept manuscripts sent by post or e-mail.
There should be no cover letter.
The Author(s) should provide a short title that does not exceed 45 characters and spaces.
Both acknowledgements and information on funding sources and conflicts of interest should be registered in the Editorial System during submission and removed from the main body of the paper.
Manuscripts not adequately prepared will be returned to the corresponding Author and rejected if we do not receive proper revisions within 30 days.
We have prepared a useful tool for our journal's authors, including guidelines needed while working on a new article. We hope that the provided instructions will address any of your concerns. Before uploading a new manuscript, read the above guidelines and get acquainted with all the necessary information.
How to create an account in the Editorial System
The editorial staff of Advances in Clinical and Experimental Medicine is aware that creating an account in the Editorial System [https://www.editorialsystem.com/acem/], which we use, i.a., for manuscript and review submission, is not always easy from the perspective of authors and peer reviewers. Therefore, we offer a guideline in PDF linked below, which presents the whole process using screenshots and comments.
Guideline – How to create an account in the Editorial System
Should any problems arise, do not hesitate to contact the Managing Editor of Advances in Clinical and Experimental Medicine – Marek Misiak: marek.misiak@umw.edu.pl [alternative e-mail for Chinese authors: marek.misiak@friend.pl]. He will establish an account for you and you will only need to log in.
Preprints
Adv Clin Exp Med endorses and encourages the posting of manuscript preprints on non-profit preprint servers such as BioRxiv, MedRxiv, ResearchSquare, or Authorea, as well as on authors’ or institutional websites. Posting preprints is not considered a prior publication, and the manuscript can enter peer review at Adv Clin Exp Med following the regular procedure.
Preprints may be posted before or during the peer review process (the deposited version must, however, be a version existing before submission and cannot be altered due to peer reviewers' comments), but not after acceptance in the journal. When the preprint has been posted after the manuscript had been submitted to Adv Clin Exp Med, the authors should inform the editorial office about this fact by e-mail.
Preprints are defined as an author’s version of a research manuscript before formal peer review at a journal, which is deposited on a public server. If the article is already accessible online as a registered preprint on any website or in any database, and has already been assigned a DOI, such information, together with a URL of the registered preprint, has to be provided during submission of the paper as well as appear in the cover letter.
Once the preprint is published in Adv Clin Exp Med, it is the author’s responsibility to ensure that the preprint record is updated with a publication reference, including the DOI and a URL link to the published version of the article on the journal website. The editors of Adv Clin Exp Med periodically screen the preprints of papers already published in this journal for such amendments.
A paper summarizing up-to-date knowledge on preprints and our preprint policy has been published in Adv Clin Exp Med:
Supporting open science: Advances in Clinical and Experimental Medicine and preprints
Funding sources
The Author(s) should disclose all financial and material support when registering the paper in the Editorial System. Information about funding sources should be reported while submitting the manuscript in a dedicated section of the submission procedure, not in the Acknowledgements section or the main text.
Gathering these details before submission is important because your financial disclosure statement cannot be changed after initial submission without journal approval. If your manuscript is published, your statement will appear in the Funding sources section of the article.
All affiliations or financial involvement (e.g., employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants, patents received or pending, royalties) with any organization or entity with a financial interest in, or in financial competition with, the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript must be completely disclosed in the submitted manuscript. All financial and material support for the research and work must be identified, including listing of support that might constitute or give the appearance of influencing the findings. Report all support for the work reported in your manuscript without a time limit.
The statement should include:
- Specific grant numbers
- Initials of authors who received each award
- Full names of commercial companies that funded the study or authors
- Initials of authors who received salary or other funding from commercial companies
Also, state whether any sponsors or funders (other than the named authors) played any role in:
- Study design
- Data collection and analysis
- Decision to publish
- Preparation of the manuscript
If they had no role in the research, include this sentence: “The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.”
Conflict of interest
Any conflict of interest should be reported while submitting the manuscript in a dedicated section of the submission procedure in our Editorial System, not in the Acknowledgements section or in the paper itself. All authors must provide disclosures before submission for inclusion in the “Conflict of Interest” statement. A conflict of interest exists when one’s professional judgment about the execution of the research and/or the presentation of the content is, or could reasonably be perceived to be, influenced by other interests.
Items included in the disclosure statement should cover: consulting fees or paid advisory boards (for the past 3 years or the known future), equity ownership/stock options (publicly or privately traded firms, excluding mutual funds), lecture fees when speaking at the invitation of a commercial sponsor (for the past 3 years or the known future), employment by the commercial entity that sponsored the study, grant support from industry, patents and/or royalties, expert witness, and other activities performed for a commercial sponsor.
More about conflict of interest here.
Declarations
All manuscripts must contain the following sections under the heading 'Declarations':
- Data availability
See the Data sharing section below.
https://advances.umw.edu.pl/en/data-sharing
- Consent for publication of personal information
We often find that authors have confused consent for publication with consent for participation in their study. Here, 'consent' refers to consent to publish personal information about an individual, and not informed consent for participation in a study.
- Use of AI and AI-assisted technology
See the Data sharing section below and our AI policy.
If any sections are irrelevant to your manuscript, please include the heading and write 'Not applicable' for that section.
Copyright declaration
The Author/Author(s) declare that:
a) they are copyright holders of the scientific work/publication;
b) they are entitled to dispose of copyright for the concluded license/publishing agreement with the Wroclaw Medical University;
c) they created the work/publication on their own;
d) the work/publication does not violate the rights of third parties.
Should a third party file a claim against Wroclaw Medical University due to the inconsistency of the Author's statements or assurances, the Author is obliged to immediately cover the full amount of all damages, costs, and expenses incurred by Wroclaw Medical University in connection with such claims. This includes damages and costs awarded by a competent court or resulting from the content of the settlement concluded with the aggrieved party, as well as costs of legal services.
Authorship
Please do not provide a list of Authors' contributions in the manuscript's main text – neither with full names nor with initials. No information allowing for authors' identification, in particular authors' names, should appear anywhere in the main body of the paper.
The authorship should be based on the following criteria:
-
substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work;
-
drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content;
-
final approval of the version to be published.
Authors should meet all 3 above criteria. If a large, multi-center group conducted the research, the group should identify the individuals who accept direct responsibility for the manuscript. The author submitting a collectively authored manuscript should establish the authorship order, provide all individual authors of the particular group, and provide the group's name. All those designated as Authors should meet all criteria for authorship, and all who meet the criteria should be identified as Authors. The contribution of each Author must be documented to the extent to take public responsibility for appropriate portions, the content and the conflict of interests.
Other individuals who have participated in the generation of the research paper but who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the Acknowledgments section with a brief indication of the nature of their contribution. Any editing services used in the preparation of the manuscript should be disclosed in the Acknowledgments.
All Authors who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors and their authorship should be disclosed in the Editorial System under the following list:
A – research concept and design; B – collection and/or assembly of data; C – data analysis and interpretation; D – writing the article; E – critical revision of the article; F – final approval of the article.
The submitting author is NOT automatically designated as the corresponding author in the submission system. The corresponding author is the primary contact for the journal office and the only Author able to view or change the manuscript while it is under editorial consideration. The corresponding author role may be transferred to another co-author. However, note that transferring the corresponding author role also transfers access to the manuscript. The corresponding author cannot be changed after acceptance of the paper. There cannot be one corresponding author for contacts with editors and another for contacts with readers following publication, since it is not an honorary but a practical role.
The order of Authors in the Editorial System is also the order in which the Authors will appear on the title page of the published paper. Therefore, the first author in the Editorial System will also be considered the paper's first author. Before submitting the paper, please check whether the order of the Authors in your manuscript, as registered in the Editorial System reflects the order you intend. Changes of authorship (including the order of authors) following the acceptance of the manuscript for publication are not permitted.
Ghostwriting and guest authorship are manifestations of scientific misconduct, and any detected cases will be investigated, including notification of the relevant entities (institutions employing the authors, scientific societies, associations, scientific editors, etc.). Editors require the identification of funding sources of publications, information about contributions to research from institutions, associations and other entities (the rule: financial disclosure). Editors continuously monitor and document any signs of scientific misconduct, especially violations and breaches of ethics applicable in the study. Please read our ethics statement.
Author names will be published exactly as they appear in the manuscript file. Please double-check the information carefully to ensure it is correct, especially regarding the sequence of name and surname. In English, the given name always goes first and the surname goes second. Please provide always full names, never initials. Patronymic names (e.g., Ukrainian or Russian) should not be used. Names and surnames should be capitalized (including Chinese names).
Please note that there can be only 1 first author and 1 corresponding author for each manuscript (a single person can also hold both functions). Adv Clin Exp Med does not permit co-first authorship and co-corresponding Authors for any reason. However, we offer to mark the names of 2 chosen Authors on the first page of the paper with asterisks [*] and to place a disclaimer [X and Y contributed equally to this work] on the same page.
All authors who have an ORCID should provide it during submission.
ORCID
Authors submitting their manuscripts to Wroclaw University Press journals are advised to use a unique ORCID number (Open Researcher and Contributor ID). This popular digital tool allows for identifying the author and their research work in scientific communication. You can register for an ORCID number for free at https://orcid.org.
Changes to authorship
You can only add, remove, or change the authors' order before the manuscript is accepted. However, the editors should always approve each change.
Changes of authorship (including the order of authors) following the acceptance of the manuscript for publication are not permitted.
To make authorship changes, send to the Editorial Office a document containing the following information:
1) list of original authors;
2) list of current authors;
3) the reason for the change in the author list; and
4) identification of the current corresponding author (if the modification includes changing the person fulfilling this role).
The document must also include signed consent from all authors stating that they agree with the addition, removal or rearrangement in the list. In other words, all the original and current authors must sign it. We require such signatures from all authors, even those who have been added or removed. The document should be sent to the Managing Editor: marek.misiak@umw.edu.pl [alternative e-mail for Chinese authors: marek.misiak@friend.pl].
Acknowledgements
Those who contributed to the work but do not meet our authorship criteria should be listed in the Acknowledgments with a contribution description. Include individuals or companies that have assisted with your study, including advisors, administrative support and suppliers who may have donated or given materials used in the study. Research funding should be disclosed in the Funding sources section, not in Acknowledgements. Conflict of interest should be disclosed in the Conflict of interest section, not in Acknowledgements. The Acknowledgements should not appear in the main text.
Title of the manuscript
Titles should be written in sentence case (only the first word of the text, proper nouns, and genus names are capitalized). If possible, avoid specialist abbreviations in titles. The title should include the study design for clinical trials, systematic reviews, or meta-analyses.
Abstract
Abstract of ORIGINAL PAPERS, META-ANALYSES and RESEARCH LETTERS should contain 200–300 words and consist of 5 separate parts introduced by separate subheadings in the following order:
-
Background;
-
Objectives;
-
Materials and methods;
-
Results;
-
Conclusions.
An unstructured abstract of 150–250 words is required for REVIEWS and EDITORIALS.
Abstracts should be registered only in the system – please do not paste them into the main body of the paper. None of the abstract sections should be filled with N/A (not applicable).
Graphical abstract
Adv Clin Exp Med requires graphical abstracts (GAs) for papers accepted for publication. The editorial office of Adv Clin Exp Med does not offer graphic design or DTP services – the authors have to provide GAs in a finished form. The GAs should be submitted as a separate file in the submission system.
Requirements regarding graphical abstracts
An extensive paper on GAs was published in Adv Clin Exp Med:
In the blink of an eye: Graphical abstracts in Advances in Clinical and Experimental Medicine
Key words
Abstract should be followed by 3–5 key words written in the manuscript's language and recommended by the Index Medicus Subject Headings (MeSH).
Main text
Manuscripts should be submitted in the following formats: DOCX, DOC or RTF.
The manuscripts – the main text and reference list – should be formatted as follows: Times New Roman 12, spacing 1.5. Do not format text in multiple columns.
The main body of the manuscript should not exceed 4000 words (for original papers, research-in-progress articles and study protocols), 1500 words (for research letters) and 7000 words (for reviews and meta-analyses).
The main body of the text should not contain the names and affiliations of the authors or the abstract. Tables, figures and reference list should be submitted as separate files and not be pasted into the main text. All numbers of the references in the text should be in superscript and without parentheses.
Headings or subheadings should not be numbered. Please limit manuscript sections and sub-sections to 3 heading levels (bold for level 1, bold and italic for level 2 and italic for level 3). Make sure heading levels are indicated in the manuscript text.
Footnotes are not permitted (apart from footnotes in tables).
To add symbols to the manuscript, use the Insert → Symbol function in your word processor or paste in the appropriate Unicode character. Do not paste graphical files (e.g., JPG, PNG, TIFF, BMP) with symbols in the text. Equations should be generated using the appropriate functions in your word processor, not pasted as uneditable graphic files.
The main body of the text (regardless of its type) should consist of the following sections introduced by separate subheadings in the following order:
-
Background/Introduction (at least 1 page long);
-
Objectives;
-
Limitations of the study;
-
Conclusions.
For Original papers and Research letters, the main body of the text should consist of the following sections introduced by separate subheadings in the following order:
-
Background (at least 1 page long);
-
Objectives;
-
Materials and methods;
-
Results;
-
Discussion;
-
Limitations of the study;
-
Conclusions.
For cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies within the Original papers category, the structure of the Materials and Methods sections should conform to the STROBE checklist's stipulations (see below). For Meta-analyses, the structure of the Materials and Methods sections should conform to the PRISMA checklist's stipulations (see below).
The Author(s) should not use italics (apart from names of the genes and taxonomy), bold or underlined words in the text. Please use only generic names of drugs.
When the study involves humans or animals, please include the disclaimer about the approval of the bioethical committee or about the reason why such consent was waived. When the study involves humans, please include a disclaimer about compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki (or why the Declaration is not applicable), and information about informed consent provided by the subjects or lack thereof. More about our ethical stipulations here.
Highlights
The “Highlights” section is the first in the main body of the paper – it should appear before the Background/Introduction section.
The "Highlights" section summarizes the most significant findings and the article's relevance. It aims to help readers quickly understand the study's key aspects and enhance the article’s visibility in scientific databases.
Guidelines for preparing “Highlights”
Checklist
In addition, when preparing the manuscript, it is obligatory to structure the article according to one of the checklists below:
It is obligatory to refer to the EQUATOR site when selecting the appropriate checklist for the study: https://www.equator-network.org/. A FILLED checklist needs to be uploaded in the Editorial System separately. Please note that the STROBE checklist has to be submitted in a fillable version (https://www.strobe-statement.org/checklists/). We do not assess manuscripts without a checklist. We do not assist in choosing or filling in a checklist.
Please note that the CASP checklist should be used in a given manuscript. It should not be chosen simply because another checklist (e.g., STROBE or ARRIVE) appears too complicated.
If you experience problems in choosing a checklist, use THIS LINK.
An extensive paper on checklists was published in Adv Clin Exp Med:
Names of species and genes
Write in italics (e.g., Homo sapiens). Write out the genus and species in full, both in the title of the manuscript and at the first mention of an organism in a paper. After the first mention, the first letter of the genus name followed by the full species name should be used (e.g., H. sapiens) (apart from situations when the name of the species begins a sentence).
All names of genes should be in italics.
Laboratory equipment, reagents and software
If any equipment, software, reagents, antibodies, or anything else obtained from external entities was used, the following information should be provided:
-
exact model of equipment, full name of assay or reagent, catalog number of antibody, etc.;
-
name of the manufacturer;
-
location of the manufacturer (country and city (not state/province – e.g., Los Angeles, not California);
-
in case of software – exact version of the software (e.g., IBM SPSS v. 24.0);
-
in case of freeware software or databases (like KEGG or Gene Ontology) – a direct URL from which the used version of the software can be downloaded is sufficient.
Abbreviations
If an abbreviation is introduced in the text, it should be explained when a given term or name of the institution appears in the text for the first time; then, only the abbreviation should be used, not the full expression (unless the expression appears at the beginning of the sentence). Do not begin a sentence with an abbreviation or acronym.
All abbreviations in the abstract should be explained in the abstract and then again in the main text (the abstract and the main text are treated as separate texts). All abbreviations appearing in a table/figure or its caption must be explained in the legend of a given table/figure, even if they appear also in the main text or in other tables/figures – each table/figure has to be fully comprehensible when viewed outside the context of the whole paper.
Nonstandard abbreviations should be avoided. Do not use abbreviations in manuscript titles (except when space considerations require otherwise) or figure legends and table titles. In rare cases, when the abbreviation is more familiar than the expansion, the abbreviation alone can be used (in our journal, this applies to DNA, USA and SPSS, but not to, e.g., DMSO, DMEM or PBS). Be careful not to introduce abbreviations already widely used with other meanings (e.g., SD is usually understood as ‘standard deviation’, OS as ‘overall survival’ and OD as ‘optical density’).
All abbreviations used in the text should be explained in the article, not on a separate list.
Tables
We accept up to 10 tables (2 tables in Research letters). Tables should be placed in separate files, not pasted into the main body of the text. They should be editable (not inserted as pictures in JPG, TIF or PDF format). References to Tables should be placed according to the cited sequence in the manuscript. The text should include references to all tables.
All tables must be consecutively numbered. Separate tables must have separate numbers (i.e., Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, not Table 1A, Table 1B, Table 1C, etc., or Table 1.1, Table 1.2, Table 1.3, etc.). One table cannot be divided into "subtables" (Table 1A, 1B, 1C, etc,. or Table 1.1, Table 1.2, Table 1.3, etc.).
If you need to present more than 10 tables, the additional ones should be available as supplementary data – both in the Editorial System and in a repository (see our data sharing policy).
Do not place captions for tables and figures within the text, but only in the file(s) containing tables.
Please do not attempt to point out where exactly a given table or figure is to appear. We cannot guarantee that they will be placed exactly in the places in the paper you planned them – they will appear on the same page they are first referred to (or on the same fold-out), but not necessarily below a given sentence.
Allowed formats: DOC and DOCX [not XLS or XLSX]. The same data should not be provided twice – both in the text and in the table, but only in the table, while the text should include only a reference to a given table. Include a brief and self-explanatory title with any explanations essential to understanding the table given in footnotes at the bottom. There cannot be empty cells in the table – if no information is given, fill in a cell with a hyphen (–).
All abbreviations used in a given table/figure should be explained below it or in the caption, even if a given abbreviation has already been explained in the text – each table/figure has to be fully comprehensible when viewed outside the context of the whole paper.
Citations in the tables should be numbered and included in the Reference list. When you cite references in the tables, you have to provide the numbers of the references also in the table. The references in the tables should be in the order they appear on the reference list. If there are 2 authors, both surnames should be provided. If there are more than 2 authors, the surname of the first author and et al. should be provided. References in tables should fit into the consecutive numeration of the references in the place where a given table is first mentioned. Do not provide a separate reference list for a table or tables – a manuscript can have only one reference list.
Figures
We accept up to 10 figures (2 figures in Research letters). If you need to present more than 10 figures, the additional ones should be available as supplementary data – both in the Editorial System and in a repository (see our data sharing policy).
Overtly complex figures will be divided into smaller ones, and the number of figures will be counted again. A single figure can have no more than 6 panels (A–F). One panel means one chart – multiple charts cannot be combined into a single panel. All elements of each figure must be legible when viewed on an A4 page in a PDF file in full-screen mode, without zooming; overtly complex figures with multiple charts/graphs combined into single panels cannot fulfill this requirement. Do not combine several already complex graphs or charts into one figure – it’s simply unpublishable and we cannot include such figures in the published manuscript. Papers with such figures will not be published, even if accepted by peer reviewers. Figures deemed too complicated by our editors will have to be divided into smaller ones, preferably following the rule: one chart = one figure.
Figures should be placed in separate files, not pasted into the main body of the text. All figures must be consecutively numbered. Separate figures must have separate numbers (i.e., Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3, not Fig. 1A, Fig. 1B, Fig. 1C, etc. or Fig. 3.1, Fig. 3.2, Fig. 3.3, etc. when separate figures are considered). A single figure can have multiple panels (up to 6), but separate figures cannot be considered panels of one figure. One figure cannot be divided into "subfigures" (Fig. 1A, 1B, 1C, etc. or Fig. 3.1, Fig. 3.2, Fig. 3.3, etc.).
References to figures should be placed according to the cited sequence in the manuscript. The text should include references to all figures.
Please refer to tables and figures in the text; do not place captions for tables and figures within the text. Please do not attempt to point out where exactly a given table or figure is to appear. We cannot guarantee that they will be placed exactly in the places in the paper you planned them – they will appear on the same page they are first referred to (or on the same fold-out), but not necessarily below a given sentence.
Each figure should have a concise, self-explanatory caption describing accurately what the figure depicts. Captions for the figures should be placed at the end of the main body of the text. Do not embed the captions in the graphical files (JPG, PNG, TIFF, etc.) – they become uneditable. When applicable, be sure that both the figure captions and the figures contain corresponding labels for multiple panels (A, B, C, etc.). Identify all elements found in the figure in the figure caption, and use boxes, circles, etc., as coordinate points in graphs. If any magnification is used in the photographs, indicate this by using scale bars within the figures themselves. All abbreviations used in a given table/figure should be explained below it or in the caption, even if a given abbreviation has already been explained in the text – each table/figure has to be fully comprehensible when viewed outside the context of the whole paper.
Suppose the authors want to use figures, photographs, charts, tables, etc., which are not their work and are protected by copyright law. In that case, they shall be obliged to provide the Publisher with a written authorization to use such materials issued by the author’s economic rights holders. Identify previously published material by giving the source as a reference citation at the end of the figure caption.
Please read our technical requirements for figures.
References
References should be limited to the most recent positions and directly connected to the presented topic. We strongly encourage authors to cite primarily works published within the last 5 years; older papers and other materials should be cited only when necessary (e.g., when a definition is mentioned). The limit of self-citations is 10% (for all authors taken together).
The references should be consecutively numbered, not prepared in Harvard style and not marked in the text using solely links to the reference list (without numbers) or DOIs pasted into the text. The reference list should be in the order of works cited in the text, not alphabetical.
References should be identified by Arabic numerals (without parentheses) in superscript and numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the manuscript. This also includes references in tables – they should fit into the consecutive numeration of the references in the place where a given table is first mentioned. All references from the reference list should be mentioned in the text, consecutively and with no gaps (e.g., reference 16 cannot appear until reference 15 is mentioned at least once). If references are mentioned in a table, they should also appear in ascending order.
Please do not paste the reference list into the main text – it should be submitted as a separate file.
Do not include references in the abstract or headings/subheadings.
The authors are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of all references according to AMA citation style.
When you cite references in the tables, you also have to provide the numbers of the references in the table. The references in the tables should be in the order they appear on the reference list. If there are 2 authors, both surnames should be provided. If there are more than 2 authors, the surname of the first author and et al. should be provided. References in tables should fit into the consecutive numeration of the references in the place where a given table is first mentioned.
Do not cite the following sources in the reference list:
- Unavailable and unpublished work, including manuscripts that have been submitted but not yet accepted (e.g., “unpublished work” or “data not shown”). Instead, deposit such data in a publicly available database (e.g., as a preprint if it is a complete but unpublished manuscript). Articles accepted for publication but not yet published should be cited as [in press].
- Retracted papers – they cannot be cited, even as retracted articles. If the retraction occurs between the submission of the manuscript and its acceptance, you will be informed by the editors that one or more publications cited in your paper have been retracted; in such a situation, you will be asked to remove them from your reference list or replace them with other, non-retracted publications.
- Personal communications (these should be supported by a letter from the relevant authors but not included in the reference list).
Ensure that your reference list includes full and current bibliography details for every cited work at the time of your article’s submission (and publication, if accepted). If cited work is corrected or marked with an expression of concern before your article is published, and if you feel it is appropriate to cite the work even in light of the post-publication notice, include in your manuscript citations and full references for both the affected article and the post-publication notice. Email the journal office if you have questions.
Abbreviations for journal names should be cited according to Index Medicus. If a journal is not listed in Index Medicus, its full name should be given. The abbreviation et al. should be applied when there are more than 6 authors, but only the first 3 authors should be listed in such situations (e.g., Hu X, Chang J, Mao M, et al.).
Please provide DOIs to all positions on the Reference list. When possible, please also provide the PMID (ID from the PubMed database) and the DOI – it makes entering the reference list into the reference manager much easier. If a cited position lacks the DOI, please provide only the PMID. If there is no PMID, please give a direct URL to the published paper (not a database).
If you use EndNote software to manage your references, CLICK HERE.
If you use any reference manager (EndNote, Mendeley, Zotero or other), please provide the reference list as a JSON file or other format in which the reference list can be exported from the reference manager (in addition to the Word file). Please submit it as an Additional file in the Editorial System – it will make our work much easier.
This journal should be cited in lists as Adv Clin Exp Med.
Statistical analysis
Please read our new statistical guidelines thoroughly. These requirements are to be followed closely. Each paper that includes statistical analysis results in any form undergoes statistical review by a statistical editor separately from the peer review. Papers that do not pass this review are not accepted for publication.
Policy concerning data sharing
The following provisions apply only to original papers (including research letters). They do not apply to reviews, meta-analyses, study protocols, and research-in-progress papers.
Please note that the availability of data from the corresponding author on request is no longer an option (excluding cases when data sharing is impossible for ethical reasons).
Adv Clin Exp Med requires the Authors of all original papers to make all data necessary to replicate their study's results publicly available without restriction when the paper is submitted to the journal (relevant information must be registered in the Editorial System at the time of submission). All the data and related metadata underlying the reported findings should be deposited in appropriate public data repositories unless already provided as part of the submitted article. Authors must deposit the data when submitting the paper to the journal. Depositing the dataset after the manuscript has been accepted for publication is not permitted.
There are several exceptions for data sharing (more information here), but authors of each manuscript are required to provide a Data Availability Statement (DAS) describing compliance with the journal’s data policy. It should occur in the manuscript's main text, in a section titled "Declarations", after Conclusions.
Papers not including any declaration concerning data sharing will not enter peer review until such a declaration is provided.
If sharing the raw data using the Zenodo repository poses a problem, we can do it for you if you send the files to be shared to marek.misiak@umw.edu.pl or marek.misiak@friend.pl, or upload them as Additional files into the Editorial System and inform the editors that those data should be shared.
Supplementary files
Supplementary data are not raw data but any other materials that cannot be published within the paper but are necessary for the reviewers and the readers to fully understand its contents. There can be both shared data and supplementary data for one manuscript, but also only shared data or only supplementary data.
Supplementary data and shared raw data are different sets of data and have to be stored in Zenodo under separate URLs.
Please deposit the supplementary files in the free-of-charge Zenodo repository (https://zenodo.org/) and obtain a single DOI number for the whole package. Each file should be numbered (Supplementary Table 1, Supplementary Figure 1, etc.) and at least one-sentence description of the contents of each file should be provided:
Supplementary Table 1. CAPTION.
Supplementary Table 2. CAPTION.
Supplementary Figure 1. CAPTION.
Supplementary Figure 2. CAPTION.
Please paste both the DOI and the description at the end of the main text. A single description for multiple files within supplementary material package is not sufficient.
We will publish both the description and DOI at the end of the manuscript, below the Data Availability Statement.
Neither Adv Clin Exp Med nor the publisher of this journal (Wroclaw Medical University) are in any way associated with the Zenodo repository – neither financially nor organizationally. We are simply recommending this entity as a reliable and cost-free third-party data storage opportunity.
Originality check
As a part of the initial manuscript verification, each text is checked using anti-plagiarism software (iThenticate). Only manuscripts with a Similarity Index (SI) lower than 30% will be accepted for further verification – those with SI of 30% or higher will be sent back to authors for rewrite. This applies also to papers being continuations or expansions of previous publications – re-using previously published text, e.g., in the Materials and methods section, is not an accepted solution. Please note that re-using fragments of one or more publications of one or more authors of the paper is also considered plagiarism (and is called self-plagiarism).
Usage of artificial intelligence (AI) tools
These guidelines only refer to the writing process (i.e., generating text using an AI tool), and not to using AI tools to analyze and draw insights from data as part of the research process. They do not apply to basic tools for checking grammar, spelling, references, etc.
Suggested peer reviewers
Authors of each submitted manuscript are required to suggest 3 potential peer reviewers. Fulfilling this requirement is paramount to alleviating the peer-review crisis in scientific publishing and is mandatory.
Suggested reviewer has to be:
- from a different country than any of the authors;
- a specialist in a relevant field of medicine (There have been instances where the recommended reviewers were from completely unrelated scientific fields, sometimes not even within medicine.).
Please provide the following information concerning the suggested reviewers:
- name;
- institutional e-mail;
- link to the reviewer's institutional personal page (if possible).
This would facilitate proper identification and traceability to their professional profile and respective institutions.
The suggested reviewers cannot have a conflict of interest as described here:
https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-systems-and-software/policies/conflict-of-interest-guidelines-for-reviewers
Proofs
Corrections to the proofs should be restricted to printer’s errors only. Please read, correct and return the proof to the Editorial Office within 3 working days. A delay in the return of proof may result in the paper not being published without your corrections or may postpone publication. It is the authors' responsibility to ensure no errors in the proof.
Mark the corrections in the PDF file using the “comment” option. Changing the PDF file's contents or providing the corrections as a separate list is not considered appropriate. All corrections have to be made using ONLY the “comment” function. Changing anything in the PDF renders it unusable for us (this includes changes to the text and tables/figures, as well as adding watermarks). It is also unethical because the editors need to be able to track each correction you make. Do not lock the comments on the proof – we need to be able to remove them.
Please note that since October 1, 2021, after the article is published ahead of print, it cannot be changed (this also encompasses affiliations and authors’ order). Such a stipulation stems from requirements set by scientific databases in which the papers published in Adv Clin Exp Med are stored.