For Authors

AJEM Brief Style Guide

Generally, AJEM follows American Medical Association (AMA) style. Below are some highlights and journal-specific details. Articles will be edited to conform to AJEM style; authors will asked to review the edited version before layout.

Cover page

The cover page should be the first page of the article, to make it easy to remove for the anonymous peer-review process.

  • Include a suggested title
  • For each author, please provide:
    • Full name and degree(s)
    • Institutional/Employer affiliation
    • Location (town, state for US authors; town, province, country [as applicable] for authors from other countries)

Abbreviations

Spell term out at first mention, followed by abbreviation in parentheses. Use abbreviation throughout the rest of the text. Only use an abbreviation if term is used at least 2 times in the article.

  • Abbreviations should be used in abstracts only if they appear at least 3 times in the abstract itself. Reintroduce the abbreviation in main article text by spelling out the full term again at first use
  • THC should be spelled out as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on first use; THC thereafter if 2 or more mentions
  • CBD should be spelled out as cannabidiol on first use; CBD thereafter if 2 or more mentions
  • All other cannabinoids should be spelled out on first use; acronym thereafter if 2 or more metions

Bulleted lists

  • Bulleted lists should be included in the body of the article, not as a table
  • Bulleted list items do not end in periods (as in this guide)

Correct/Preferred terms

Singular “they”

  • Use of they as a singular pronoun is allowed when rewriting the sentence as plural would be awkward or unclear; however, if the sentence can easily be rewritten, please do so:
    • “Every patient should take their medication.” Can be reworded: “Patients should take their medication.”
  • If patient identifiability is a concern (removal of sex-specific pronouns), singular they is preferred:
    • “The patient was adamant that they were not taking illicit substances.”

Drug names

Use generic names. If brand names are needed for clarification, please put in parentheses after the generic name:

  • cannabidiol oral solution (Epidiolex)

Use of “prescribe” for cannabis

  • Use “recommend” instead of “prescribe” when discussing medical cannabis with patients, as this follows current rule and regulations put forth by the US federal government.
  • In studies that are conducted in countries with different regulations, please stipulate this in the text.

Presenting research data

  • Report CIs when possible
  • For P-values between 0.001 and 0.20, please report the value to the nearest thousandth. For P-values >0.20, please report the value to the nearest hundredth. For P-values <0.001, report as “P<0.001”
  • Standard deviation: Use “mean (SD)”
  • For percentages, please round up or down (eg, 10% for 10.4% or 11% for 10.6%)
  • When possible, present full statistical results including the test run, SE, Ns, 95% CI, HR, etc

References

Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of their references and for correct text citation. For a comprehensive list of reference formats, please see the AMA Manual of Style. For journal name abbreviations, see PubMed.

  • If using referencing software, please choose AMA style for your references. Before submitting your article, please convert references embedded using referencing software to plain text
  • Number references in the order they appear in the text; do not alphabetize. Reference numbers in text should be superscript and follow sentence punctuation; the full list of references should follow the text of the article. Do not embed references within article text
  • If a reference has 6 or fewer authors, list all. If more than 6, list the first 3 followed by et al. “Et al” is not italicized
  • Capitalize only the first word of journal article and online article titles (sentence case). Capitalize each word of book and report titles except for articles (a, an, the), conjunctions (e.g., and, but), and prepositions of 3 or fewer letters (title case) that are not the first word of the title or subtitle
  • Italicize book titles and abbreviated journal names
  • For books:
    • If citing a single chapter, include chapter authors (if different from book authors), chapter title (not number), and page range
    • Publisher locations are no longer required
  • For online sources, include the date the source was published or last updated, along with the date you accessed it
  • If a doi is available, it should be included
  • Put the URL or doi as the last item in a reference
  • If a reference ends with a URL or doi, no final period should be used. Otherwise, place a period at the end of the reference

Examples:

Journal articles

  • Millar SA, Stone NL, Bellman ZD, Yates AS, England TJ, O’Sullivan SE. A systematic review of cannabidiol dosing in clinical populations. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2019;85(9):1888-1900.
  • Pauling JD, Hughes M, Pope JE. Raynaud’s phenomenon—an update on diagnosis, classification and management [E-pub ahead of print]. Clin Rheumatol. 2019. doi:10.1007/s10067-019-04745-5

Book

  • Iverson C, Christiansen S, Flanagin A, et al. AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors. 11th ed. Oxford University Press; 2019.

Online source

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Million hearts: meaningful progress 2012-2016. Published May 2017. Accessed August 9, 2018. https://millionhearts.hhs.gov/files/MH-meaningful-progress.pdf

Tables, graphs, and figures

For detailed information on types of graphs and charts, please see the most recent edition of the AMA Manual of Style.

Do not submit tables, charts, and graphs as non-editable images (eg, jpegs); create them in Word or an appropriate program. All tables, charts, and graphs will be recreated by the journal designer to match the journal’s style. Therefore, the need to rekey information should be kept to a minimum, and colors, fonts, and other formatting are subject to change and should be kept as simple as possible.

Numbering

  • All tables and figures should be cited sequentially in the body of the article
  • Tables and figures are numbered separately from each other
    • Example: “Patient data were collected at baseline (Table 1, Figure 1) and at 6 weeks (Table 2, Figure 2).”

Abbreviations

  • Abbreviations may be used in tables and figures for space, but must be defined in a footnote (for tables) or caption (for figures), even if defined in the main article Abbreviations should be listed in alphabetical order
    • Example: CBD, cannabidiol; THC, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol
  • The abbreviation list does not need to be called out as a footnote (see Footnotes)
  • Abbreviations of common units of measure do not need to be defined

Footnotes

AEJM uses symbols to call out footnotes in tables and figures. Symbols must appear in the following order: *, †, ‡, §, ||, ¶, #, **, ††, ‡‡. Please note that the * is the only symbol that should not be superscripted.

Referencing

If a reference is used for the first time anywhere in a table or figure, it should be numbered in sequence based on where the table or figure is first referred to in the text. For example, if references 1 through 5 have been cited in text and reference 6 is in Table 1, the next reference cited in text will be reference 7.

Tables

  • Tables must have at least 2 columns
  • Data should read across columns, not down
  • Each table should have a brief but descriptive title, beginning with “Table [number].”

Figures

Figures include all types of visual elements, such as photographs, illustrations, flowcharts, charts, and graphs.

  • Each figure should have a brief but descriptive caption, beginning with “Figure [number].”
  • Other information in the caption might include:
    • For graphs: Definition of all symbols, colors, and lines used. This information could also be included in a key
    • For photomicrographs: Specimen type, original magnification, and stain used. A scale bar may be included in the image
    • Explanation of any digital enhancement or manipulation of the original image (eg, CT scan, MRI, photograph, x-ray) such as adjustment of the entire image for brightness or contrast. Alterations to an image that highlight, move, or obscure any specific details, other than cropping to remove identifying patient information or irrelevant background, are not permitted.
    • Abbreviation definitions (see Abbreviations)
  • Information that could identify a patient must be removed from photographs or other types of patient images (eg, scans, x-rays) through image cropping or blacking out. If the patient’s face is visible, a black box over the eyes is not adequate to obscure identity.

American Journal of Endocannabinoid Medicine Author Guidelines

Case Report

  • Word count: ∼1400 words (as assigned by editorial team) + references, tables, figures.
  • Consent: Provide a statement to AJEM confirming that the patient has given their written informed consent to the author for the case report to be published. Do NOT submit the written consent to AJEM (because of privacy issues). Author should keep the written consent in their personal records, allowing the editor-in-chief to request review if necessary. If the patient is a minor, or unable to provide consent, then consent must be obtained from the patient’s parents or legal guardians.
  • Patient privacy: Authors should remove information from photographs and manuscripts that might identify a patient.
  • Manuscripts are considered for publication with the understanding that no part of their contents are under consideration for publication elsewhere; have not been published or posted elsewhere; and will not be posted or published elsewhere.

Elements

  • Summary: ∼300 words describing the clinical case, treatment, key findings, and conclusions, including what the reader should learn from this case.
  • Introduction: 1-2 paragraphs describing the clinical question or issue discussed in the case report and its importance in clinical practice or public health. Provide background on what was previously known about this topic from other research (with references).
  • History: Provide a concise medical history in chronological order beginning with the primary complaint and including duration of signs/symptoms, medication history, physical examination and laboratory testing findings, comorbidities, and relevant sociodemographic information.
  • Results: Provide a timeline of treatment regimen, observations, physical examination and laboratory testing results, and follow-up.
  • Conclusion: Provide a concise summary of the findings and clinical implications. Describe what value this case provides for practicing clinicians, any study limitations, and suggest avenues for future research.
  • Disclosure: Provide full disclosure information. List any funding/grant information.
  • References: See section below “References.”
  • Permissions: Author must secure permission to reprint fables/figures/images previously published, and send permission information to AJEM.

Original Research

  • Word count: ∼2100 words (as assigned by editorial team) + references, tables, figures.
  • Manuscripts are considered for publication with the understanding that no part of their contents are under consideration for publication elsewhere; have not been published or posted elsewhere; and will not be posted or published elsewhere.

Elements

  • Abstract: (∼300 words) Structured abstract to include the following sections: objective, methods, results, conclusion.
  • Introduction: 1-2 paragraphs describing the clinical question or issue and its importance in clinical practice or public health. Provide background on what was previously known about the topic from other research (with references). Discuss study rationale, goals, and hypotheses.
  • Methods: Trial design, funding, oversight, patient population and characteristics, inclusion/exclusion criteria, trial procedures, primary and secondary outcomes, statistical analysis.
  • Results: Provide primary and secondary outcome data including statistical analysis (P- values, CI, hazard ratio, etc) data when available. o ReportCIswhenpossible
    o For P-values between 0.001 and 0.20, please report the value to the nearest thousandth. For P-values >0.20, please report the value to the nearest hundredth. For P-values <0.001, report as “P<0.001” o Standard deviation: Use “mean (SD)”
  • Conclusions: Provide an overview of study findings, highlight potential clinical implications of the findings, discuss study strengths/limitations, and suggest avenues for future research on this topic.
  • References: See section below “References.”
  • Disclosure: Provide full disclosure information. List any funding/grant information.
  • Include tables and figures.
  • Avoid opinion and personal bias.
  • Permissions: Author must secure permission to reprint fables/figures/images previously published, and send permission information to AJEM.

Clinical Distillation

  • Word count: ∼700 words (as assigned by editorial team) + references, tables, art.
  • Introduction: Provide a brief summary (≤300 words) of the key study findings, written in your own words. AJEM cannot publish excerpted sections of a previously published study due to copyright restrictions.
  • The bulk of the text should include a commentary on: o The clinical implications of the findings
    o Strengths/limitationsofthestudydesign
    o Future research on the topic that is currently being conducted (including your own) or aspects of the topic that you hope will be studied in the future
    o In general, why is this study valuable for our readers to know about and how can they apply this information in clinical practice?
  • Please reference all background information and discussion of other studies (see “References” section).

Style Elements

Abbreviations

Spell out at first mention and put abbreviation in parentheses. Use abbreviation throughout the rest of the text. Only use abbreviation if term is used 2 or more times in the article.

  • Please use delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on first use; THC thereafter if 2 or more mentions
  • Please use cannabidiol (CBD) on first use; CBD thereafter if 2 or more mentions

Drug Names

Generic names should be used. If brand names are needed for clarification, please put in parenthesis after the generic name:

  • cannabidiol oral solution (Epidiolex)

References

  • Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of their references and for correct text citation. Number references in the order they appear in the text; do not alphabetize.
  • Convert all references imbedded with referencing software to plain text before submission
  • Format: AMA Manual of Style, 11th edition
  • Journal articles:

o Millar SA, Stone NL, Bellman ZD, Yates AS, England TJ, O’Sullivan SE. A systematic review of cannabidiol dosing in clinical populations. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2019;85(9):1888-1900.

o Pauling JD, Hughes M, Pope JE. Raynaud’s phenomenon—an update on diagnosis, classification and management [E-pub ahead of print]. Clin

Rheumatol. 2019. doi:10.1007/s10067-019-04745-5

  • Book:
    • Iverson C, Christiansen S, Flanagin A, et al. AMA manual of style: a guide for authors and editors. 11th ed. Oxford University Press; 2019.
  • Online source:
    • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Million hearts: meaningful progress 2012-2016. Published May 2017. Accessed August 9, 2018.
https://millionhearts.hhs.gov/files/MH-meaningful-progress.pdf

Title and Byline

  • Include a suggested title
  • Byline should include full name, degrees, title, affiliation, town/states

Permissions

It is the author’s responsibility to obtain permission to reprint or adapt previously published text/tables/figures/images. Submit proof of granted permission with manuscript.

Copyright

All materials in AJEM are protected by United States copyright laws. No part may be reproduced, transmitted, displayed, published, or broadcast without prior written consent of GreenMeds Communications.

Please contact AJEM at [email protected] to request permission to share, reprint, or adapt paper in full or in part. Republication of AJEM articles in part or in full (online or in print) should reference initial publication in AJEM.

Credit should read as follows: “From [Publication Title, Author(s), Title of Article, Volume No., Page No. Copyright © (notice year) American Journal of Endocannabinoid Medicine. Reprinted with permission.

What to Expect After Submission

  • Manuscript will be reviewed/edited internally by the editorial team
  • Peer reviewers will evaluate the manuscript
  • Author will be sent back edited article with any requests for further information/clarification/referencing from the editors and peer reviewers
  • Author will review the final version of the article as a PDF prior to publication