Instructions to Authors

About the Journal

European Journal of Endocrinology (EJE) is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes 12 issues per year in print and in online formats. Some papers in EJE may have associated charges. Please refer to the Charges section below. Once a paper is accepted, EJE will publish a precopyedited, preproofed version of the paper online within 48 hours of receiving a signed licence. This is replaced by a copyedited, proofed version of the paper as soon as it is ready. Please read these instructions carefully and follow them closely. The Editors may return manuscripts that do not follow these instructions.

Scope of the Journal

EJE is dedicated to the publication of high quality clinical and translational research across adult and paediatric endocrinology.

Topics covered include but are not limited to the following:

Adrenal and Steroids
Bone and Mineral Metabolism
Cardiovascular Endocrinology
Endocrine mechanisms in Diabetes and Obesity
Endocrine mechanisms of Salt and Electrolyte Balance
Growth and Development
Hormones and Cancer
Pituitary and Hypothalamus
Reproductive Endocrinology
Thyroid

Editorial Policies

Details of Oxford University Press’s editorial policies are available.

Peer Review

This journal uses single blind peer review. Full details about the peer review process are available.

Due to the high volume of submissions received, the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board operate a rapid triage system and only the top 30% of papers undergo full external peer review. This workflow is in place to allow authors to submit to a more appropriate journal with minimal delay.

The journal aims to return a decision on a peer-reviewed paper in less than a month.

Data Policy

Availability of Data and Materials

Where ethically feasible, EJE strongly encourages authors to make all data and software code on which the conclusions of the paper rely available to readers. We suggest that data be presented in the main manuscript or additional supporting files, or deposited in a public repository whenever possible. Information on general repositories for all data types, and a list of recommended repositories by subject area, is available here.

Data Citation

EJE supports the Force 11 Data Citation Principles and requires that all publicly available datasets be fully referenced in the reference list with an accession number or unique identifier such as a digital object identifier (DOI). Data citations should include the minimum information recommended by DataCite:

[dataset]* Authors, Year, Title, Publisher (repository or archive name), Identifier

*The inclusion of the [dataset] tag at the beginning of the citation helps us to correctly identify and tag the citation. This tag will be removed from the citation published in the reference list.

Preprint Policy

Authors retain the right to make an Author’s Original Version (preprint) available through various channels, and this does not prevent submission to the journal. For further information see our Online Licensing, Copyright and Permissions policies. If accepted, the authors are required to update the status of any preprint, including your published paper’s DOI, as described on our Author Self-Archiving policy page [link to existing journal-specific policy].

Self-Archiving Policy

You may self-archive versions of your work on your own webpages, on institutional webpages, and in other repositories. If you want more information about the reuse rights you retain if you publish with us, please visit our Author Self Archiving Policy page.

Conflict of Interest

When submitting a paper, you and your co-authors must declare any potential conflicts of interest. You must do this by including a Conflict of Interest statement in your submitted manuscript.

A detailed definition of conflicts of interest is available.

Group authorship: collaborators

Results of multicentre studies may be reported under the name of the organizing group. A core organizing and writing group may be listed as authors on the cover page of the article. This group should identify other collaborators who accept direct responsibility for the manuscript; they should meet all the criteria for authorship described above. Groups who wish individuals to be credited as collaborators should list them under the heading of ‘Collaborators’ in the main manuscript file. Each collaborator will be tagged individually, so that they will be picked up by PubMed and credited accordingly. If there is a long list of collaborators, it may be published online only. Please note that EJE will not publish errata or corrigenda for errors in lists of collaborators, so the corresponding author is responsible for ensuring the list is accurate before publication.

Contributors

Authors must acknowledge any assistance they received (for example, provision of writing assistance, literature searching, data analysis, administrative support, supply of materials). If/how this assistance was funded should be described and included with other funding information. Contributors who do not qualify as authors or collaborators should be listed and their particular contribution described in the Acknowledgements section of the article. On submission of the article, the corresponding author will be asked to confirm how all individuals listed as authors and collaborators meet the appropriate authorship criteria, that no-one who qualifies for authorship has been omitted from the list, that written authorization has been received from all co-authors and contributors, and that all funding sources (for authors and contributors) have been properly acknowledged.

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all authors and collaborators have seen, approved and are fully conversant with the contents of the manuscript. All authors are responsible for the accuracy of the manuscript, including all statistical calculations and drug doses.

Submission

We will consider your manuscript as long as:

it is your own original work and does not duplicate any previously published work, including your own;
it is not under consideration, in peer review, or accepted for publication in any journal other than EJE;
it has not been published in any other journal; and
it contains nothing abusive, defamatory, libelous, obscene, fraudulent, or illegal.

Authors should observe high ethical standards and obey publication best practices. The following are all unacceptable:

data falsification or fabrication
plagiarism, including duplicate publication of your own work without proper citation
misappropriation of work

We treat any case of ethical or publication malpractice very seriously. We will address them in accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines. Further information about OUP’s ethical policies is available.

CRediT

The Journal uses the contributor roles taxonomy (CRediT), which allows authors to describe the contributor roles in a standardized, transparent, and accurate way. Authors should choose from the contributor roles outlined on the CRediT website and supply this information upon submission. You may choose multiple contributor roles per author. Any other individuals who do not meet authorship criteria and made less substantive contributions should be listed in your manuscript as non-author contributors with their contributions clearly described. Following manuscript submission, any changes to contributor roles require the approval of the editor.

How to Submit

You must submit your paper via our web-based submission system, which may be found here. If you have not published with EJE before, you will need to create an account. More information is available on the ScholarOne Manuscripts FAQ and help page. Questions about submitting can be sent to the editorial office.

Article Type

This journal publishes several different article types

Third-Party Permissions

If you wish to reproduce any material for which you do not own the copyright—including quotations, tables, or images—you must obtain permission from the copyright holder. The permissions agreement must include the following documents:

nonexclusive rights to reproduce the material in your article in EJE
both print and electronic rights, preferably for use in any form or medium
lifetime rights to use the material
worldwide English-language rights

Further information on obtaining permissions is available.

Manuscript Preparation: Format, Structure, and Style

Presubmission Language Editing

If you are not confident in the quality of your English, you may wish to use a language-editing service to ensure that editors and reviewers understand your paper. Oxford University Press partners with Enago, a leading provider of author services. Prospective authors are entitled to a discount of 30% for editing services at Enago, via the Enago-OUP Partner page.

Enago is an independent service provider, who will handle all aspects of this service, including payment. As an author you are under no obligation to take up this offer. Language editing is optional and does not guarantee that your manuscript will be accepted. Edited manuscripts will still undergo peer review by the journal.

Title Page

Please include the following:

the title of your paper (maximum 85 characters)
all author names and affiliations
mailing address and email address of one corresponding author
A minimum of four keywords describing the manuscript
a short running head of 50 characters or less
A word count of the full article (maximum length 3500 words, excluding references, figure legends, abstract, significance statement and acknowledgements).

Style

The journal follows AMA style. Please refer to these requirements when preparing your manuscript. More information on the style guide is available. [UK/US] spelling can be used consistently throughout, except in quotations and in references.

Abbreviations

Please define nonstandard abbreviations at the first occurrence.

Tables

You must number all tables (e.g., table 1, table 2, table 3) and reference them in the text. You must place all tables at the end of the main text. Tables should be in an editable format, and not embedded as an image file.

Acknowledgments and Funding

Acknowledgments and funding information should be included at the end of your manuscript. Please fully cite any relevant funding information, including specific grant numbers.

Please detail all of the sources of funding relevant to the research reported in the following format:

This work was supported by the Medical Research Council (grant numbers xxxx, yyyy); the Welcome Trust (grant number xxxx); and Tommy’s Baby charity (grant number xxxx).

Where research has not been funded please state the following:

This research did not receive any specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sector.

LaTeX

Information on LaTeX files and formatting is available.

Figures

You must include figure titles and legends within the manuscript file—they should not be included in the image file. You must submit each figure as an individual image file. Submit all panels of a multipanel figure on a single page as one file. For example, if the figure has 3 panels, the figure should be submitted as one file. Each panel should be labeled as a letter (A, B, C, D, etc.) in the upper-left corner of each panel. Accepted formats include: .jpeg, .jpg,.tiff, and .eps.

minimum resolution required for printed images or pictures: 350dpi
minimum resolution for printed line art: 600dpi (complex or finely drawn line art should be 1200dpi)
minimum resolution for electronic images (i.e., for on-screen viewing): 72dpi

Images of maps, charts, graphs, and diagrams are best rendered digitally as geometric forms called vector graphics. Common file types are .eps, .and ai. Vector images use mathematical relationships between points and the lines connecting them to describe an image. These file types do not use pixels; therefore resolution does not apply to vector images.

Figure accessibility and alt text

Incorporating alt text (alternative text) when submitting your paper helps to foster inclusivity and accessibility. Good alt text ensures that individuals with visual impairments or those using screen readers can comprehend the content and context of your figures. The aim of alt text is to provide concise and informative descriptions of your figure so that all readers have access to the same level of information and understanding, and that all can engage with and benefit from the visual elements integral to scholarly content. Including alt text demonstrates a commitment to accessibility and enhances the overall impact and reach of your work. 

Alt text is applicable to all images, figures, illustrations, and photographs.

Alt text is only accessible via e-reader and so it won’t appear as part of the typeset article.

Detailed guidance on how to draft and submit alt text.

Graphical Abstracts

Authors submitting an Original Research Article, Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Article, or a Review Article may choose to provide a Graphical Abstract as part of their submission.

Graphical Abstracts are not compulsory and will not influence the decision to accept or reject a submission.

Graphical Abstracts should concisely communicate your paper’s main findings and reflect key parts of the Abstract.
Text should be kept to a minimum – the Abstract is the written summary of your work while the Graphical Abstract should focus on imagery.
We encourage you to use images relevant for the Graphical Abstract, rather than re-using figures from your paper.
Please upload your Graphical Abstract as a separate document, titled ‘Graphical Abstract’ at the time of submission. Your Graphical Abstract will be peer reviewed, so please ensure you retain an editable copy. If your manuscript is accepted, then the Graphical Abstract will appear in both the print and online versions of your article.

Supplementary Material

You must submit supplementary data or supplementary material at the same time as the main manuscript.

Supplementary material must be cited in the text of the main manuscript.
Supplementary material will be available online only and will not be copyedited or typeset.
Style and formatting of supplementary material should be consistent with that of the manuscript.
Supplementary material should be formatted to function on any internet browser.
Supplementary material files should be no larger than 2MB each.

Gene and protein nomenclature

Wherever possible, manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with approved gene nomenclature.

In gene and protein symbols, substitute Greek letters with the corresponding roman letter, eg TGFBR2 not TGFβR2
Avoid hyphens unless they are part of the approved symbol, eg IGF1 not IGF-1
Use Arabic rather than Roman numerals, eg BMPR2 not BMPRII

Follow species-specific formatting standards as follows:

Humans, non-human primates and domestic species

Gene symbols should be in italics with all letters capitalised, eg SOX2
Protein designations should be the same as the gene symbols but not italicised, eg SOX2
Please use symbols approved by the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)

Mice and rats

Gene symbols should be in italics with only the first letter capitalised, eg Sox2
Protein designations should be the same as the gene symbols except that all letters should be capitalised and in roman (ie not italicised), eg SOX2
Please use symbols approved by the International Committee on Standardized Genetic Nomenclature for Mice and the Rat Genome and Nomenclature Committee, which can be queried at the MGI website

Appeals

If authors believe there to be significant errors in the review process for their manuscript they may submit a letter of appeal to the journal. A letter of appeal should clearly state the authors’ main concerns and be sent to [email protected] within one month of the final decision on the manuscript.

For papers rejected without external review at the triage stage, we will aim to respond to appeals within a few days. The Lead Editor will ask another of the Lead Editors to conduct an independent triage assessment.

For papers rejected following full peer review, we will aim to respond within one week. The appeal will be referred to the original handling Associate Editor and Lead Editor. Where necessary, an independent member of the Editorial Board who was not connected to the original decision will be consulted.

If an appeal is successful then the decision will be rescinded and the peer review process will continue. Where an appeal is unsuccessful, the original rejection decision stands and there will be no further consideration of the article.

Production

Licence to Publish and Open Access Options

You will have the option to pay an open access fee so that your paper will be made freely available online immediately upon publication.

After your manuscript is accepted, you must sign a licence to publish agreement on our Author Services website. You may choose between the open access options, which carry a charge and allow your paper to be freely accessibly to all users; or a standard licence, which does not carry a charge and makes your paper available to journal subscribers.

EJE articles can be published under the following types of licences:

Standard licence to publish (Oxford University Press (OUP) Journals, Standard Publication Model)
Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY)
Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial licence (CC BY-NC)

Your funding agencies may have specific requirements for what type of open access licence to use. Please see Creative Commons licences for more information, and please see the Licences, copyright and re-use rights page for more information about our standard licence to publish. Please check with your funding body if you are unsure of any licence requirements.

Manuscript Charges

Author Services

You can pay open access, page, and colour charges on the same Author Services site you used to sign your licence to publish. You can pay immediately online or request an invoice by email or post. You may also refer the charges to an institutional prepayment account. Any applicable discounts can also be applied prior to payment.

You can pay your open access charges immediately after you sign your licence. You cannot pay page or colour charges until production of your manuscript is complete.

OA Licence Charges

Charges for the open access licence options offered by EJE are listed below. The standard licence to publish does not carry a charge.

Non-member Charges:

Charges for CC BY:

Regular charge: €3,617
Reduced rate developing country charge*: €1,809
Free developing country charge*: €0

Charges for CC BY−NC:

Regular charge: €3,617
Reduced rate developing country charge*: €1,809
Free developing country charge*: €0

*Visit our Developing Countries page for more information and a list of qualifying countries.

ESE Member Discount Charges

Member charges for CC BY:

€1,809

Member charges for CC BY−NC:

€1,809

Page and Colour Figure Charges

Page Charges: €135 per estimated page
Colour Figure Charges: €800 per colour figure