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Instructions for Authors

1. Manuscript Submission Overview

Authors are encouraged to prepare manuscripts in accordance with the relevant guideline listed below:

1.1 Types of Publications

Manuscripts submitted to Alpha Psychiatry (AP) should neither be under consideration for publication in another journal nor previously published in another journal. The main article types considered for publication are:

Original Article: Original Article provides new information based on original research. The acceptance of research articles is typically based on the originality and importance of the research. The main text of a Original Article should be structured with subheadings, including Introduction, Material and Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusions. Limitations, drawbacks, and the shortcomings of original articles should be mentioned in the Discussion section before the conclusion paragraph.

  • Abstract: Structured
  • Word limit: Maximum of 6000 words recommended (excluding references)
  • Figures: 12
  • Tables: No more than 6

Study Protocols: Study Protocols documents the design of a prospective study, aimed at promoting the dissemination of ongoing research and enhancing transparency. AP will consider a limited number of observational studies or clinical trials based on the novelty and potential impact for clinical practice and research. The main text of the study protocols should be structured with subheadings, including Introduction, Materials and Methods, and Discussion, in which possible study impact and limitations are addressed. The abstract of Study Protocols should be structured with subheadings (Background/Objective, Study design, Methods, Results, Conclusion). The study protocols undergo peer review.

  • Abstract: Structured
  • Word limit: Maximum of 6000 words recommended (excluding references)
  • Figures: 12
  • Tables: No more than 6

Review: Review articles that are written by authors with extensive knowledge and expertise in a particular field and a strong track record of publication are welcomed. These authors may even be invited to contribute a review article to the journal. Review articles should provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge on a topic in psychiatry and mental disorder, and should include discussions and evaluations of relevant research. The subheadings of the review articles can be planned by the authors. However, each review article should include an “Introduction” and a “Conclusion” section. Please check the limitations for Review Articles.

  • Abstract: Unstructured
  • Word limit: Maximum of 8000 words recommended (excluding references)
  • Figures: 10
  • Tables: No more than 6

Systematic Review: A systematic review is a specialized form of literature review that requires a thorough and comprehensive search of the literature on relevant topics. Its main purpose is to systematically identify, select, assess, and integrate all relevant high-quality research evidence related to specific research questions, topics, or phenomena. It emphasizes factors such as etiology, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, or prevention. Researchers conducting systematic reviews should adhere to the EQUATOR reporting guidelines. For systematic reviews with a focus on randomized controlled trials (RCTs), it is recommended to adhere to the PRISMA guidelines. Conversely, when conducting systematic reviews involving observational studies, it is advisable to follow the MOOSE guidelines. Authors are recommended to complete the flow diagram and include it with their submission. AP encourages authors to complete flow diagrams and include them with their submissions. Each systematic review submission should include the PRISMA Checklist as supplementary material, with the relevant page/line and section/paragraph number stated for each item on the checklist. It's important to note that all papers containing meta-analyses will be published as Systematic Reviews in AP.

  • Abstract: Structured
  • Word limit: Maximum of 6000 words recommended (excluding references)
  • Figures: 10
  • Tables: No more than 6

Short Communication: Short communications serve as short papers detailing noteworthy outcomes of novel methods or original experiments, facilitating rapid dissemination. AP welcomes authors to submit the completed research and clinical studies that, while not full papers, embody significant contributions in the format of short communications. 

  • Abstract: Structured
  • Word limit: Maximum of 2500 words recommended (excluding references)
  • Figures: 3
  • Tables: No more than 3

Letters to the Editor: A "Letter to the Editor" is a type of manuscript that discusses important or overlooked aspects of a previously published article.  Readers can also use the "Letter to the Editor" format to share their comments on published manuscripts. The manuscript that is being commented on must be properly cited within the "Letter to the Editor".

  • Abstract: No abstract
  • Word limit: Maximum of 1000 words recommended (excluding references)
  • Figures: 1
  • Tables: No more than 1

Editorial: Editorials are opinion articles from the editor or an invited author. When submitted by an invited contributor, Editorials may introduce the subject being brought into focus in a thematic section. Editorials may comment on one or more articles in the same AP issue or on an area of current interest in Psychiatry. They should be brief and focused. Editorials may have a maximum of 3 authors. The body of the Editorial can be continuous text or divided into subsections. Editorials on topics of current interest are welcome.

  • Abstract: No abstract
  • Word limit: Maximum of 1000 words recommended (excluding references)
  • Figures: 1
  • Tables: No more than 1

Expert Opinion on Guidelines/Expert Opinion: Expert Opinion on Guidelines/Expert Opinion is a type of article that provides critical commentary and further discussion on guidelines or current trends in the psychiatry field. These articles should be written by senior researchers and clinicians with expertise in the relevant area. They may be invited by the journal or submit their manuscript for review by the Editor in Chief. Please refer to the limitations of Expert Opinion on Guidelines/Expert Opinion.

  • Abstract: Unstructured
  • Word limit: Maximum of 8000 words recommended (excluding references)
  • Figures: 10
  • Tables: No more than 6

Debate: A "Debate" is a type of article that presents different perspectives on a single issue, aiming to be thought-provoking and engaging. These articles should focus on one or two salient points about the topic of discussion and provide different perspectives on these points. Please refer to the limitations of "Debate".

  • Abstract: No abstract
  • Word limit: Maximum of 1500 words recommended (excluding references)
  • Figures: 1
  • Tables: No more than 1

Starting from Volume 23, Issue 1 (2022), AP does not accept case report types of manuscripts.

1.2 Accepted File Formats

Authors may use the Microsoft Word template available on our website to prepare their manuscript. If this requirement presents a problem, please contact the Editorial Office (AP@imrpress.com). Accepted file formats are:

  • Microsoft Word: Manuscripts must be converted into a single file before submission. When preparing manuscripts in Microsoft Word, please ensure the use of the AP Microsoft Word template in the following formats: Original Article Manuscript Template, Review Article Manuscript Template, and Editorial Manuscript Template.
  • LaTeX: Prepared in LaTeX must be collated into one ZIP folder (including all source files and images, so that the Editorial Office can recompile the submitted PDF).
  • Figures:  Please save and submit figures as jpg. or tif. files (see below Link to 2.2 for further details).
  • Supplementary Materials: These materials may be in any format, but it is recommended that authors use common, non-proprietary formats where possible (see below Link to 3 for further details).

1.3 Submission Process

  • Manuscripts that are ready for submission should be scientifically sound and without significant errors in the formatting and language usage (including spelling, grammar, proper sentence flow, etc.).
  • Properly-formatted manuscripts should be submitted using the online submission & editorial system. Figures and Tables should be inserted into the main text close to their first citation and must be numbered following their number of appearance.
  • Manuscripts for AP should be submitted online at online submission & editorial system. The submitting author, who is generally the corresponding author, is responsible for the manuscript during the submission and peer-review process. The submitting author must ensure that all eligible co-authors have been included in the author list and that they have all read and approved the submitted version of the manuscript. To submit your manuscript, register and log in to the submission website.
  • ORCID is an optional field which the submitting author can fill in. AP uses ORCID to clearly link authors and reviewers—and all their name variants—with their research work, by embedding ORCID IDs into their publication metadata and displaying them on finished publications. Therefore, we recommend that the author complete this optional field.
  • When a manuscript is submitted, the corresponding author will receive a response within a few days regarding the suitability of the manuscript for publication in AP. All manuscripts passed desk check will be sent to peer review, and the final acceptance/rejection depends on both reviewers and Editor-in-Chief, Editorial Board members or guest editors for special issues if the Editor-in-Chief allows’ decision.

Note: The only official website for this journal is the link https://www.imrpress.com/journal/AP. Any other website claiming to be affiliated with this journal is unauthorized and may be fraudulent.

 

2. Manuscript Preparation

2.1 The First Page – Title Page

Title. Should contain a concise but informative title, typically not exceeding 110 characters. The use of abbreviations should be avoided. A running title not exceeding 60 letters and spaces should be included.

Author information. The authors' names should be listed below the title, with the first or middle name of each author spelled out in full. Following the names, provide the address of the laboratory (or laboratories) where the work was carried out, either in the language of the country or in English. Affiliations should follow the PubMed/MEDLINE standard format, including complete address information such as city, zip code, state/province, and country. If the work was conducted in multiple laboratories, authors' names should be followed by superscript numbers, which correspond to the names of the respective laboratories. Equal contributions can be indicated by a dagger symbol (†). Designate at least one author as the corresponding author and provide their full postal address and other relevant details. AP encourages the listing of authors’ ORCID and keep their Contributor Identification information updated, ensuring that their identity is uniquely linked to their research work.

Please note that the corresponding author should respond promptly to the editor's inquiries and any feedback during the submission and peer review process. They must also cooperate with the journal's requirements to provide any necessary data or other relevant information to prevent issues after the paper is published.

Since February 2025, the journal has not encouraged the listing of more than two co-first authors or co-corresponding authors. If there is a special reason to list more than two corresponding authors, please submit a cover letter providing a reasonable justification.

Availability of data and materials. This section is strongly encouraged that all datasets on which the conclusions of a manuscript depend should be available to readers, unless they are already provided as part of the submitted article. Authors who do not wish to share their data must state this fact, and also provide an explanation as to why the data are unavailable. More information about Availability of Data and Materials Policy.

Author contributions. The individual contributions of authors to the manuscript should be specified, and initials should be used to refer to each author’s contribution, AP encourages the use of the roles defined in the Contributor Roles Taxonomy from CRediT (CRediT in no way changes the journal’s criteria to qualify for authorship). See more details about the criteria to qualify for authorship.

Ethics approval and consent to participate. In this section, please add the Institutional Review Board Statement and approval number for studies involving humans or animals. Please note that the Editorial Office might ask you for further information.

Acknowledgment. In this section you can acknowledge any support given which is not covered by the author contribution or funding sections. This may include administrative and technical support, or donations in kind (e.g., materials used for experiments).

Funding. List funding sources. As this section contains important information and many funding bodies require inclusion of grant numbers here, please check carefully that manuscript details are accurate and use standard spelling of funding agency names at https://search.crossref.org/funding, as errors may affect your future funding.

Conflicts of interest. All authors should disclose in their paper any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the results or their interpretation in the paper. In particular, any sources of financial support must be disclosed and reported in the appropriate section of the published version. This section is required for all manuscripts. If there are no interests to declare, please use the following wording: “The authors declare there are no conflicts of interest” or “The author declares there are no conflicts of interest”. The text in this section should match the text provided in the Declaration of Interests form in the publishing agreement. In addition, the ICMJE has also developed a uniform Disclosure Form (www.icmje.org/coi_disclosure.pdf) that AP has adopted. See more about the Conflict of Interest policies.

Declaration of AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process. In accordance with COPE’s stated position on AI tools and ICMJE‘s authorship criteria, artificial intelligence chatbots, such as ChatGPT and similar AI tools based on large language models (LLMs), cannot be listed as an author of a paper. If the author(s) have used AI tools in drafting of the manuscript, production of images or graphical elements of the paper, or in the collection and analysis of data, the authors must be transparent concerning the use of AI tools. Furthermore, AI tool use must be disclosed in this section. Authors are fully responsible for the content of their manuscript, even those portions produced by an AI tool, and are thus liable for any breach of publication ethics. Final decisions concerning whether the use of an AI tool is appropriate, or permissible, in a submitted manuscript lies with the journals’ editors. Specifically, the Editor-in-Chief is responsible for decisions concerning regular journal submissions, or an Editorial Board member may be appointed by the Editor-in-Chief to make such judgements in the case of a conflict of interest or for other circumstances.

Word count. A word count for the paper’s text, excluding its abstract, acknowledgments, tables, figure legends, and references, allows editors and reviewers to assess whether the information contained in the paper warrants the paper’s length, and whether the submitted manuscript fits within the journal’s formats and word limits. A separate word count for the abstract is useful for the same reason.

Specification of number of figures and tables. These numbers allow editorial staff and reviewers to confirm that all figures and tables were actually included with the manuscript.

2.2 Main Text

  • Abstract

Must not exceed 350 words and should be intelligible without reference to other parts of the paper. Abbreviations that appear once only, should be defined in full, unless they correspond to a gene name. If abbreviations appear more than once, the definition should be provided once, and then subsequently used throughout the abstract. Please do not cite references, figures or tables, website, equations or other graphical elements included. The abstract should give both a qualitative but also a quantitative summary of the work, including number of replicates or animal/human subjects involved, and major results (numbers and p-values), followed by a more general conclusion. An abstract should be submitted with all submissions except for Letters to the Editor, Debate and Editorials. The abstract of Research Articles should be structured with subheadings (Background/Objective, Methods, Results, and Conclusion). Please check Types of Publications below for word count specifications. When applicable, include a fifth heading, “Clinical Trial Registration”. Please include the Unique Identifier and the URL of the publicly accessible website on which the trial is registered. If the data have been deposited in a public repository and/or are being used in a secondary analysis, authors should state at the end of the abstract the unique, persistent data set identifier; repository name; and number.

IMR Press encourages authors to provide a Graphical Abstract to visually present the core content and key findings of the manuscript. The Graphical Abstract should clearly convey the main message of the paper, attract readers' attention, and be suitable for display in the journal's table of contents. For detailed requirements, please refer to the “Preparing Graphical Abstracts”.

  • Keywords

Each submission must be accompanied by a minimum of three to a maximum of six keywords for subject indexing at the end of the abstract. The keywords should be listed in full without abbreviations. It is recommended to select keywords from the National Library of Medicine's Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) database.

  • Main Points

All submissions except letters to the editor, debate and editorials should be accompanied by 3 to 5 “main points.” These main points should highlight the most important results of the study and emphasize the main message of the manuscript. The main points should be structured as a list and should be written in a clear and straightforward manner. Since the main points are intended for experts and specialists in the field, they should be written in plain language that is easy to understand. By including main points with the manuscript, authors can help ensure that the most important findings and messages of their study are conveyed clearly to the reader.

  • Introduction

State the objectives of the work and provide an adequate background to clarify why the study was undertaken and what hypotheses were tested, avoiding a detailed literature survey or a summary of the results. The information in this section should always be referenced and must discuss the literature.

  • Materials and Methods

The materials used and procedures conducted should be described with sufficient detail to allow others to replicate and build on published results. The materials used should specify the sources upon first mention. All instruments, pharmaceuticals, reagents, and other items should include the supplier and manufacturer's location [city, state (if applicable), and country], along with the availability of special equipment, reagents, kits, etc. New methods and protocols should be described in detail while well-established methods can be briefly described and appropriately cited. Methods that have been published in detail elsewhere should not be described in detail and avoid unnecessary detailed descriptions of widely used techniques. SI Units should be used throughout the text. Reports of experiments involving patients and healthy volunteers must describe the steps taken to obtain consent and to maintain confidentiality. Experiments involving animals must conform to accepted ethical standards.

Statistical analyses should provide the name of the statistical test used, the number for each analysis, the comparisons of interest, the alpha level and the actual p-value for each test. It should be clear which statistical test was used to generate every p-value. Error bars on graphs should be clearly labeled, and it should be stated whether the number following the ± sign is a standard deviation or a standard error. The word ‘significant’ should only be used when referring to statistically significant results and should be accompanied by the relevant p-value. Significance indicators should be used on graphs and tables, and should be described in the figure or table legend, clearly indicating which groups are being compared. Describe any statistical software used to perform analyses.

  • Results

Results may also be presented in tables or figures and especially figures are encouraged to enhance reader-friendliness, but many simple findings can be mentioned directly in the text. Results should be presented separately from the discussion. Reporting results in the text that are presented in figures/tables should be avoided.

Tables

Tables should be included in the main document, after the reference list, and they should be numbered consecutively in the order they are referred to within the text. Each table should have a descriptive title placed above it, and any abbreviations not in the terminology list are used in the table should be defined below the table by footnotes (even are defined in the main text). Tables should be created using the "insert table" command of the Word processing software, and they should be arranged clearly to make the data easy to read and understand. The data presented in the tables should not be a repetition of the data presented in the main text, but should support and enhance the main text.

Figures and Figure Legends

Figures should be submitted as separate files in TIFF or JPEG format, and they should not be embedded in the Word document or the main manuscript file. If a figure has subunits, each subunit should be submitted as a separate file, and the subunits should not be merged into a single image. The figures should not be labeled (a, b, c, etc.) to indicate subunits. Instead, the figure legend should be used to describe the different parts of the figure. Thick and thin arrows, arrowheads, stars, asterisks, and similar marks can be used on the images to support figure legends. Images should be anonymized to remove any information that may identify individuals or institutions. The minimum resolution of each figure should be 300 dpi, and the figures should be clear and easy to read. Figure legends should be listed at the end of the main document. Figures should be referred to within the main text, and they should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are mentioned. Abbreviations not in the terminology list but used in the figure should be identified at the end of each legend.

  • Discussion

This section should explore the significance of the results of the work, not repeat them. A combined Results and Discussion section is often appropriate. Avoid extensive citations and an overly discussion of published literature.

  • Conclusions

This section is mandatory for all submissions.

2.3 Cover Letter

Summarize briefly the important points of the submitted work including a brief description of the study to be submitted, that it is an original study presenting novel work, that it has not been previously submitted to or accepted by any other journal, that is has been approved by all authors, that ethics approval and written informed consent have been obtained, and explain whether any author has a conflict of interest.

2.4 Format of Manuscript

  2.4.1 General Formatting Guidelines

  • Format, revise, and correct the manuscript and save it as a MS Word document (not as a text or any other type of file). It is important that manuscripts should be written in clear, concise English and should be submitted free of grammar, spelling or scientific errors. Subsequent to submission of the manuscript, please do not send any other revised form of the same document. Such documents will not be used.
  • If you are including or referring to previously published text, tables, or figures, please obtain permission from the publisher by contacting them and add the comment "Reproduced with permission from, (ref #)" to the text, figure, or table legend.
  • All terms such as et al., in situ, in vitro, in vivo should be italicized.
  • Please do not use automatic numbering in sections, sub-sections, titles, subtitles or references. The numbering used by Word is proprietary and does not allow conversion to HTML documents. Please remove automatic numbering and manually number numbered items in text.
  • All supplementary materials (where applicable) should be submitted through online submission & editorial system as separated files. All supplementary figures and tables must be referred to by sequential numbers in text.
  • Do not include footnotes directly within the main text. If footnotes are present, handle them as follows: reference-related footnotes should be replaced with standard in-text citations consistent with the reference list. Explanatory footnotes should retain the superscript number, and the explanatory note should appear immediately after the superscript within the main text. 
  • All files must be scanned for viruses prior to submission.
  • Page Layout: General.
  • Times New Roman. Font size 10.5. 1.2 line spacing. Alignment Justified.
  • The first line indents 2 characters of a new paragraph.
  • Sub-headings and general headings should be presented in upper case letters (capitalize the initials of all substantives).
  • Use either British English or American English spelling throughout your manuscript, but not both.
  • Do not use page breaks in your manuscript.
  • Divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, ...), 1.2, etc. Use this numbering also for internal cross-referencing: do not just refer to 'the text'. Any subsection may be given a brief heading.
  • Figure Legends (do not place the reference to figure legends in sections and sub-sections).
  • Tables (do not place the references to tables in sections and sub-sections).

Notes:

  • Place a hard return after each paragraph.
  • Please cite references throughout the text in sequential numbers and place references inside square brackets at the end of sentences throughout the text.

  2.4.2 References

  • The reference list should be sorted numerically. The reference list should be limited to only those citations essential to the presentation.
  • Please verify the accuracy of all references and check that all references have been cited in the text.
  • Please list all authors’ names in the reference if the authors number fewer than six. For more than six authors, please list the first six authors’ names, then use “et al.”.
  • Please list the standard journal title, do not omit abbreviate the page number.
  • Use [number] for references in the text.
  • The use of Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) is recommended, as they provide a permanent link to the referenced electronic article.

Sample reference citation (Download EndNote style).

(1) Journal:

① Less than 6 authors

[1] Prueser TF, Braun PG, Wiacek C. Dried microalgae–an overview about microbiological standards and values. Journal of Food Safety and Food Quality. 2023, 74: 70–79. http://10.53194/0003-925X-74-70.

② More than 6 authors

[2] Anntar AC, Barka MS, Benamar I, Bendimered N, Boumediene K, Mayo B, et al. Assessment of the efficiency of cleaning and disinfection protocols against Enterococcus faecalis biofilms recovered from milk pipes. Journal of Food Safety and Food Quality. 2022, 73: 172–179. http://10.53194/0003-925X-73-172.

(2) Book:

[1] Su QY, Lu J, Huang XY, Yao JG, Wu XM, Huang BC, et al. CBX4 expression and AFBl-related liver cancer prognosis. In Lemamy GJ (ed.) Cancer Prognosis (pp. 51-67). Ist edn. InTech: London. 2018.

(3) Patent:

[1] Cho ST, inventor; Hospira, Inc., assignee. Microneedles for minimally invasive drug delivery. USA: United States patent US 6,980,855. 27 December 2005.

(4) If there are non-English journals in the reference, please insert the journal language as the ending:

[1] Zhou Y, Liu M, Liang WN. Progress on the epidemiological study of epilepsy. Zhonghua Liu Xing Bing Xue Za Zhi. 2007; 28: 92–94. (In Chinese)  

(5) Website:

[1] Miech RA, Johnston LD, Patrick ME, O'Malley PM, Bachman JH, Schulenberg JE. Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use, 1975–2022: Secondary school students. 2022. Available at: https://monitoringthefuture.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/mtf2022.pdf (Accessed: 29 September 2023).

  2.4.3 Abbreviations

All acronyms and abbreviations used in the manuscript should be defined at first use, both in the abstract and in the main text. The abbreviation should be provided in parentheses following the definition, and it should be used consistently throughout the paper. 

Standard abbreviations (see list) do not need to be expanded at first mention; this includes all metric and SI unit abbreviations used with a value (units without a value should be spelled out). You may refer to the following list for guidance, though it is not exhaustive. You may also choose to define these abbreviations for clarity.

  2.4.4 Identifying products

When mentioning a drug, product, hardware, or software program in a manuscript, it is important to provide detailed information about the product in parentheses. This should include the name of the product, the producer of the product, and the city and country of the company. For example, if mentioning a Discovery St PET/CT scanner produced by General Electric in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, the information should be presented in the following format: "Discovery St PET/CT scanner (General Electric, Milwaukee, WI, USA)." Providing this information helps to ensure that the product is properly identified and credited.

  2.4.5 Label Styles, Units and Symbols

Labels must be prepared according to our in‐house style, be phrased in accordance to the manuscript, and free of spelling and other language errors.

*: Correspondence.

†: These authors contributed equally.

§: The author's own special request.

The SI system of units is preferred. For detailed advice please refer to the guidelines in Baron DN, Clark HM. Units, Symbols, and Abbreviations: A Guide for Authors and Editors in Medicine and Related Sciences, 6th edn (2008). CRC Press, ISBN 9781853156243.

 

3. Supplementary Materials

Supplementary materials, including audio files, videos, datasets, and additional documents (e.g., appendices, additional figures, tables), are intended to complement the main text of the manuscript. These supplementary materials should be submitted as a separate section after the references list. Concise descriptions of each supplementary material should be included to explain their relevance to the manuscript. Page numbers are not required for supplementary materials.

 

4. Multimedia Materials

The author may submit all relevant multimedia materials with the initial submission to enhance the manuscript's dynamism and readability. For more details, please refer to "Preparing Multimedia Materials".

 

5. Original Images for Blots and Gels Requirements

In order to ensure the integrity and scientific validity of blotting techniques (including, but not limited to, western blots) and gel data reporting, original, uncropped, and unadjusted images should be uploaded as Supporting Information files at time of initial manuscript submission.

A single PDF file or a zip folder containing all the original images reported in the main figure and supplemental figures is suggested. Authors should annotate each original image, corresponding to the figure in the main article or supplementary materials, and label each lane or loading order. All experimental samples and controls used for one comparative analysis should be run on the same blot/gel image. Different images should not be spliced together to illustrate the results.

 

6. Research and Publication Ethics

6.1 Publication Ethics

AP aims to adhere to the guidelines and core practices set forth by several organizations, including the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines, the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (joint statement by COPE, DOAJ, OASPA, WAME), and Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals by ICMJE. These guidelines and recommendations are designed to promote transparency, integrity, and best practices in scholarly publishing. By adhering to these standards, the journal aims to ensure that the research it publishes is of high quality and meets the ethical standards of the scientific community.

Medical research involving human subjects including research on identifiable human material and data should follow the WMA Declaration of Helsinki amended in 2013 to provide guidance on issues such as obtaining informed consent from participants, protecting their privacy and confidentiality, and avoiding harm to study participants.  

AP also adheres to the WAME’s Recommendations on Publication Ethics Policies for Medical Journals. These recommendations provide guidance on how to handle conflicts of interest, how to deal with suspected research misconduct, and how to ensure the integrity and transparency of the peer review process. By following these recommendations, the journal helps to ensure that the research it publishes meets the highest ethical standards.

Authors are advised to use EASE Ethics Checklist for Authors to ensure that their manuscripts comply with ethical standards and practices. 

6.2 Human and Animal Rights

All research involving human subjects, medical records, or human tissues must be reviewed and approved by a reviewer board, such as an institutional review board (IRB) or ethics committee, before it is conducted. The name of the ethics committee that reviewed and approved the research, as well as the ethics committee approval number and date, should be included in the Methods section of the manuscript when it is submitted for publication. Additionally, the journal may require authors to provide a copy of the ethics committee approval as part of the manuscript submission process. This is to ensure that the research has been properly reviewed and approved, and to allow the journal to verify that the research meets the ethical standards required for publication. 

If a study is exempted from the ethics committee approval, the authors must present a statement from the ethics committee explaining the reason for the exemption. This is to ensure that the research was reviewed by an ethics committee and that the decision to exempt the study was made in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations. 

If a manuscript is submitted to AP without ethics committee approval, the journal will review the manuscript according to the COPE’s Research, Audit and Service Evaluations guideline. This guideline provides guidance on how to handle manuscripts that do not have ethics committee approval, and allows the journal to assess the risks and potential ethical concerns associated with publishing the research.

If the journal determines that the lack of ethics committee approval is a significant concern, the manuscript may be rejected after editorial review. This is to ensure that the journal maintains high ethical standards and only publishes research that has been properly reviewed and approved by an ethics committee.

For studies involving animals, it is required to obtain approval of research protocols from an ethics committee. The ethics committee should review the research protocols to ensure that they are in compliance with relevant guidelines and regulations, such as the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (8th edition, 2011) and the International Guiding Principles for Biomedical Research Involving Animals (2012). These guidelines provide detailed information on how to conduct research involving animals in an ethical and humane manner, and are widely recognized as the standard for such research.

Authors should provide detailed information on the ethical treatment of animals in their manuscript, including the measures taken to prevent pain and suffering. They can use the ARRIVE checklist, which is designed to help authors provide this information in a clear and comprehensive manner.

In addition to the ethical treatment of animals, authors should also provide information on the measures taken to prevent pain and suffering. This is to ensure that the research is conducted in a humane manner, and to allow readers to verify that the research meets the relevant ethical standards.

6.3 Informed Consent

For manuscripts concerning research involving human subjects, it is required to include a statement indicating that written informed consent was obtained from all participants. Informed consent should be documented in writing, and a copy of the informed consent form should be retained by the researchers for future reference. In the case of research involving children under the age of 18, the parent or guardian of the child must provide informed consent on behalf of the child. This is because children are considered to be a vulnerable population and may not have the capacity to fully understand the risks and benefits of participating in research.

If the manuscript reports the findings of a survey or interviews, the author must confirm that the participants gave their informed consent to participate in the study and for their personal details to be recorded if that is the case. If quotations or other attributable statements are included, these must be deidentified, or the manuscript must state that the person agreed to be named in the manuscript.

Information on informed consent should be provided in the Methods section of the manuscript, along with any other relevant details about how the research was conducted.

It is the responsibility of the authors to protect the anonymity of study participants, and to ensure that the research is conducted in a way that respects their privacy and confidentiality. This is especially important for photographs that may reveal the identity of patients, as the publication of such photographs without proper consent could potentially violate the rights of the individuals depicted.

To protect the anonymity of patients in photographs, the authors should obtain signed releases from the patients or their legal representatives. These releases should indicate that the patients have given their consent for the publication of the photographs, and should specify any restrictions or conditions on the use of the photographs. Information on the publication approval for photographs should be provided in the Methods section of the manuscript. 

6.4 Plagiarism and Ethical Misconduct

All submissions are screened by a similarity detection software (Crossref Similarity Check Powered by iThenticate) multiple times during the peer-review and/or production processes.

When you are discussing others' (or your own) previous work, make sure that you cite the material correctly in every instance.

Authors are strongly recommended to avoid any form of plagiarism and ethical misconduct that are exemplified below.

Citation manipulation: The practice of manipulating the number of citations received by an author, journal, or other publication through various means, such as self-citation, excessive citation of articles from the same journal, or the inclusion of honorary citations or citation stacking.

Self-plagiarism (text-recycling): The practice of using overlapping sections or sentences from the author's previous publications without properly citing them. This is considered to be a form of plagiarism, as it involves using someone else's work (in this case, the author's own work) without proper attribution.

Salami slicing: The practice of using the same data from a research study in several different articles. This is considered to be unethical, as it involves reporting the same hypotheses, population, and methods of a study in multiple papers.

Data Fabrication: The addition of data that never occurred during the gathering of data or experiments. This is considered to be a form of research misconduct, as it involves presenting false or misleading information as if it were real data.

Data Manipulation/Falsification: The practice of manipulating research data with the intention of giving a false impression. This can include manipulating images, removing outliers or "inconvenient" results, changing data points, and other forms of manipulation. This is also considered to be a form of research misconduct, as it involves presenting false or misleading information as if it were real data.

In the event of alleged or suspected research misconduct such as plagiarism, citation manipulation, or data falsification/fabrication, the Editorial Board will follow the appropriate COPE flowcharts to ensure that the allegations or suspicions are handled in a fair, transparent, and consistent manner.  

 

7. Authorship

7.1 Author Contributions

According to the ICMJE guidelines, to qualify as an author a contributor should meet each of these four criteria: they have (i) made substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; and (ii) been involved in drafting the manuscript or reviewing it critically for important intellectual content; and (iii) given final approval of the version to be published. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content; and (iv) agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. Acquisition of funding, collection of data, or general supervision of the research group alone does not usually warrant authorship.

The individual contributions of authors to the manuscript should be specified, and initials should be used to refer to each author’s contribution. If any changes to the list of authors of a manuscript are necessary after the initial submission but before publication, the corresponding author must contact the journal staff and provide a clear reason for the change.

AP will individually inform anyone who is added or removed from the author list.

See more details about authorship.

 

8. Copyright/Open Access

2025 Alpha Psychiatry (Volume 26, Issue 1), published by IMR, has changed its Open Access publication model from the CC BY-NC license to the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. All papers published from Volume 1 to Volume 25 (2000–2024) are copyrighted by IMR Press, and available under a CC BY-NC license. Articles published beginning from Volume 26 Issue 1 (2025) are under the terms and conditions of the CC BY license.

IMR Press will insert the following note in the footer of the first page of the published text:

© Year The Author(s). Published by IMR Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.

 

9. Reviewer Recommendation

Authors can recommend two peers who could potentially be called upon to review the submitted 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 reviewer has prior knowledge of your submission.
  • The reviewer has recently collaborated with any of the authors.
  • Nominees from the same institution as any of the authors are not permitted.
  • Please nominate peers who you do not wish to review your manuscript (i.e., opposed reviewers).

Please note that the Editors are not obliged to invite/reject any recommended/opposed reviewers to assess your manuscript.

Journal editors will check to make sure there are no conflicts of interest before contacting reviewers, and will not consider those with competing interests. Reviewers are asked to declare any conflicts of interest. The editorial team will respect opposed reviewer requests as long as this does not interfere with the objective and thorough assessment of the submission.

 

10. Conflict of Interest

AP requires the ICMJE | Disclosure of Interest to be filled in and submitted by all contributing authors of each manuscript in order to be informed about potential conflicts of interest of authors.

AP also requires and encourages individuals involved in the peer review process of submitted manuscripts to disclose any existing or potential competing interests that might lead to potential bias.

The Editorial Board will handle cases of potential competing interests of editors, authors, or reviewers within the scope of relevant COPE flowcharts and ICMJE | Recommendations | Author Responsibilities—Disclosure of Financial and Non-Financial Relationships and Activities, and Conflicts of Interest recommendations.

 

11. Funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

In accordance with the updated National Institutes of Health (NIH) policies, all manuscripts accepted for publication that report research funded, in whole or in part, by the NIH must be submitted to PubMed Central (PMC). If your research is funded by the NIH or other organizations, we would be happy to assist you in depositing the published version of your article into the relevant repository to ensure compliance with the applicable archiving requirements. For more details, please refer to Self Archive.

 

12. Editorial Process and Peer-Review

IMR operates rigorous and transparent peer-review process and editorial process that aims to maximize quality. Peer-review is handled by researchers and scholars. For more details, see our Editorial Process.

 

13. Editorial Independence

AP is consistent with the principles of editorial independence presented by the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME). For more details, see our Editorial Policies.

 

14. Process for in-House Submissions

AP requires that editorial staff or editors not be involved in processing their own academic work.

A conflict-of-interest section is required for all manuscripts. If there are no interests to declare for a Guest Editor’s manuscript, please use the following wording: “Given their role as [Guest] Editor [in Chief], <NAME of Editor> had no involvement in the peer-review of this article and has no access to information regarding its peer-review. Full responsibility for the editorial process for this article was delegated to <NAME of delegated editor>”. See more details about Process for in-House Submissions.

 

15. Promoting Equity, Diversity and Inclusiveness within AP

AP is committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. AP will uphold these principles in high regard and endeavor to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in its editorial processes and policies. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring diversity, equity, and inclusion within the journal's editorial team, reviewers, and authors, regard to gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, religion, or socio-economic status.

 

16. Special Issues & Supplements Policy

We publish Special Issues/Supplements in accordance with Supplements, Theme Issues, and Special Series guidelines from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and Conflict of Interest Disclosure and Journal Supplements in MEDLINE by the US National Library of Medicine. For more details, see our Special Issues & Supplements Policy.

 

17. Refund Policy

Article Processing Charges are required after a manuscript has been accepted for publication. The journal will not issue refunds of any kind after the acceptance of the manuscript.

 

Updated on 4 November 2025

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