For authors
Instructions for Authors
How to prepare and submit a manuscript to the Journal of Death: submission routes, article types, manuscript structure, reporting standards, ethics statements and fees.
- Open access, CC BY 4.0
- Authors retain copyright
Submission
Submission routes
- Primary routeManuscriptZoneThe publisher's online submission and review system. Register or sign in, choose the Journal of Death and upload the manuscript files.
- Alternative routeSimple manuscript submission formA single-page form that opens with the Journal of Death selected.
- Assisted routeinfo@openaccesspub.orgEditorial email, for authors who are unable to use either online route. Send the manuscript files with a cover letter to the editorial office.
Authors must use only one submission route for the same manuscript.
Formats
Article types
JOD publishes the article types below. Requirements depend on the format: hypotheses, outcomes and a Methods and Results structure apply where the design calls for them. The scope of each type is set out in the Aims and Scope.
| Article type | Description | Abstract | Main text and reporting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original Research | Empirical studies using quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods, including clinical, health-services, survey, interview, ethnographic and evaluation designs. | Structured: Background, Methods, Results, Conclusions. | Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions. State the research question and, where applicable, hypotheses and outcomes. Follow the reporting guideline for the design, for example STROBE, CONSORT, COREQ or SRQR. |
| Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis | Systematic syntheses of evidence on a defined question, with or without meta-analysis. Scoping reviews are included in this type. | Structured. | Introduction; Methods (eligibility criteria, information sources and the full search strategy, study selection, data extraction, appraisal and synthesis); Results with a flow diagram; Discussion. Give the protocol registration where applicable. PRISMA 2020; PRISMA-ScR for scoping reviews. |
| Review | Narrative or critical reviews of a defined body of literature, including historical, philosophical and legal analysis. | Brief, unstructured. | Free structure with descriptive headings. State how the literature was identified and selected, and keep conclusions proportionate to the evidence. |
| Methods | New, adapted or validated research methods, instruments or theoretical frameworks, and protocols for planned studies. | Structured, with headings adapted to the method. | Rationale; a description of the method with the detail or materials others need to apply it; validation or a worked application; limitations. A protocol sets out the design, outcomes, analysis plan, ethics approval and registration, and has no Results section. SPIRIT or PRISMA-P for protocols, where applicable. |
| Short Communication | A concise report of a focused or preliminary finding. | Brief, structured. | A condensed Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion centered on the main finding. Reporting as for Original Research, where applicable. |
| Case Report | An individual case or short case series that offers insight for care, practice or policy. | Brief, unstructured. | Introduction; case presentation, with a timeline where useful; discussion. Hypotheses do not apply. CARE reporting. Consent for publication from the person concerned or a legal guardian, or a waiver documented by the ethics committee, where applicable; identifying details removed. |
| Perspective or Commentary | An evidence-based scholarly argument on a question in the field or on published research. | Brief, unstructured. | Free structure with descriptive headings; claims supported by cited evidence and conclusions proportionate to it. Methods and Results sections are not required. |
| Book Review | A critical review of a recent book relevant to the journal's scope. | None. | Give the full bibliographic details of the book, an account of its argument and a reasoned assessment of its contribution. |
| Letter | A brief response to an article published in JOD, or a short observation of scholarly interest. | None. | Short text without section headings and with a small number of references. A letter about a published article cites it in full, and its authors may be invited to reply. |
Length. There are no fixed length limits for any article type; manuscripts should be concise and proportionate to their content.
Choosing a type. Where a manuscript sits between types, choose the closest type and explain the choice in the cover letter; the editors confirm the classification. A short case series is classified as a Case Report, a scoping review as a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, and a study protocol as Methods.
Manuscript
Preparing the manuscript
These requirements apply to every article type. The structure of the main text follows the guidance for the type above.
- Files
- The main text as an editable word-processing file (for example, Microsoft Word), with figures, tables that cannot be edited in the text, and supplementary material supplied as separate files.
- Title page
- A concise, informative title; full names, affiliations and ORCID iDs (recommended) of all authors; and the corresponding author's contact details.
- Double-blind review
- For double-blind review, remove author names, affiliations, acknowledgments, funding details, institution names, and other identifying information from the reviewer manuscript. Provide identifying information separately in the title-page file or submission form.
- Abstract
- As set for the article type. Structured abstracts use the headings Background, Methods, Results and Conclusions.
- Keywords
- A short list of specific, searchable terms.
- Statistics and qualitative methods
- Describe statistical methods in enough detail for replication, report effect estimates with confidence intervals, and name the software and version. Qualitative studies describe the sampling, data collection, analytic approach and the researchers' position.
- Language and terminology
- Clear English, with abbreviations defined at first use. Describe people who are dying, bereaved or affected by suicide in respectful, non-stigmatizing language.
- Declarations
- Author contributions (CRediT), funding, conflicts of interest, ethics approval and consent where applicable, data availability and any use of AI tools.
- Cover letter
- States the article type and the relevance of the work to the journal's scope, confirms that the manuscript is not under consideration elsewhere, and notes any preprint and any request for double-blind review.
Reporting standards
Reporting guidelines
Report the study following the guideline that matches its design and upload the completed checklist as a supplementary file. The guidelines are available from the EQUATOR Network.
| Study design | Guideline |
|---|---|
| Randomized trials | CONSORT |
| Non-randomized evaluations of interventions | TREND |
| Observational studies (cohort, case-control, cross-sectional) | STROBE |
| Systematic reviews and meta-analyses | PRISMA 2020 |
| Scoping reviews | PRISMA-ScR |
| Trial and review protocols | SPIRIT; PRISMA-P |
| Diagnostic accuracy studies | STARD |
| Qualitative research | SRQR or COREQ |
| Mixed-methods research | GRAMMS, with the guideline for each component |
| Economic evaluations | CHEERS 2022 |
| Quality improvement studies | SQUIRE 2.0 |
| Case reports | CARE |
Presentation
References, tables and figures
- Reference style
- Numbered in order of first citation. List the first five authors, then et al., and give a DOI or stable URL where one exists. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of references.
- Tables
- Numbered consecutively, each with a descriptive title; abbreviations and symbols explained in a footnote.
- Figures
- High resolution (at least 300 dpi) in TIFF, EPS, PNG or high-quality JPEG, with a caption for each figure and text that remains legible after reduction.
- Supplementary files
- Numbered (for example, Supplementary Table S1), cited in the text and listed with short titles at the end of the manuscript. They are published as supplied, so they must be final and free of participant identifiers.
- Reused material
- Written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce or adapt published figures, tables or text, unless the material is already available under a license that permits reuse; the source is cited in the legend. See Data Archiving and Permissions.
Reference examples
- Journal article
- Author AA, Author BB, Author CC (Year) Title of the article. Journal Name. Volume(Issue):pages. DOI: 10.xxxx/xxxxx
- Book
- Author AA, Author BB (Year) Title of the Book. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher.
- Report or webpage
- Organization Name (Year) Title of the report or page. URL (accessed Month Day, Year)
- Dataset
- Author AA, Author BB (Year) Title of the dataset. Version. Repository Name. DOI or accession number
- Preprint
- Author AA, Author BB (Year) Title of the preprint. Preprint Server Name [Preprint]. DOI: 10.xxxx/xxxxx
- Trial registration
- Sponsor or Principal Investigator (Year) Title of the trial. Registry Name. Registration number. Registered Month Day, Year. URL
Research ethics
Ethics and declarations
Each manuscript includes the statements below that apply to it. The full policies are set out in the Editorial Policies.
- Human participants
- The name of the approving ethics committee or institutional review board and the approval reference number, and confirmation of informed consent, or a waiver documented by the ethics committee, where applicable. Studies of anonymized or routinely collected data state whether ethics review was required.
- Dying, bereaved and suicide-affected participants
- Where participants are dying, recently bereaved or affected by suicide, the manuscript describes how participants were protected from distress, how confidentiality was maintained, and what support was available. Reports on suicide follow safe-messaging guidance and avoid describing methods in detail.
- Clinical trials
- Interventional clinical trials must be registered in an accepted public trial registry at or before the first participant provides consent for enrollment. The registry name, registration number, and registration date must be reported in the manuscript.
- Case Reports
- Informed consent for publication from the person concerned or a legal guardian, or a waiver documented by the ethics committee, where applicable, with identifying details removed. For a deceased person, authors describe how consent or permission was obtained from the family or another appropriate authority, where applicable.
- Conflicts of interest and funding
- All financial and non-financial interests of every author, each source of funding and the role of the funder.
- Data availability
- Every empirical research manuscript must include a data-availability statement. It explains where the data can be found or the conditions for access.
- Use of AI tools
- Any use of AI tools in writing, analysis or figure preparation, with the tool named and its use described. AI tools are not listed as authors.
After submission
Peer review and decisions
All submissions undergo initial editorial screening, including a similarity check with Crossref Similarity Check. Manuscripts that meet the journal's scope and minimum requirements proceed to independent peer review.
Single-blind by default; double-blind review is available on request.
Manuscripts that proceed to external peer review are normally evaluated by at least two independent subject-matter experts. Editorial decisions are based on scope, scientific quality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, reporting quality, and relevance to the journal.
Revised manuscripts are accompanied by a point-by-point response to the reviewers' comments. After acceptance, authors check the proofs, and the article is published open access under CC BY 4.0. Authors retain copyright.
Charges
Fees
USD 1,200 article processing charge for every article type.
The article processing charge is payable only after acceptance; withdrawal after submission is subject to the journal's withdrawal policy.
No charge is made at submission. Fee-relief inquiries are considered case by case; contact the editorial office before or at submission. Full details are on the Article Processing Charges page.
Before you submit
Final checklist
A fuller checklist and the submission routes are on the Submit a Manuscript page.
- The manuscript addresses death, dying, bereavement or end-of-life care and uses one of the article types above.
- The title page, abstract, keywords and main text follow the guidance for the article type.
- For double-blind review, the reviewer manuscript is anonymized and identifying information is in the title-page file.
- Ethics approval, consent or waiver, participant safeguards and trial registration are reported where applicable.
- The completed reporting checklist is attached where applicable.
- Declarations cover contributions, funding, conflicts of interest, data availability and AI use.
- Figures, tables and supplementary files are cited in the text, and permissions are in place for reused material.
- A cover letter accompanies the submission, which is made through one route only.
Questions
Author inquiries
Questions about preparing or submitting a manuscript can be sent to the editorial office.