Journal of Immunization

Submit Manuscript

Journal of Immunization · ISSN 2577-137X · Open Access Pub

Instructions for Authors

What to prepare, how the manuscript should be documented, which policies apply from the moment it arrives, and where to send it.

Everything on this page is a current requirement of the journal. Where a requirement is a publisher-wide policy, it is reproduced here in the exact approved wording.

Before you submit

Start with fit

Scope is what the editors assess first, so it is the most useful thing for an author to settle before preparing a submission.

The journal publishes research on immunization: vaccine science and development, evaluation and safety, population protection, programs and delivery, access, confidence and uptake, and the policy decisions those bodies of evidence inform. A manuscript is in scope when a vaccine, an immunizing agent, or an immunization program or decision is the subject of the study rather than part of its background.

The Aims and Scope page states the boundary in full. An editor is glad to advise on fit before a full submission; the editorial office can be reached through the journal's Submit Manuscript page.

Work submitted here must be original and not under consideration elsewhere. Prior dissemination as a preprint or a conference abstract is acceptable, and should be disclosed at submission so the editors can take it into account.

Publication of an accepted article carries an article processing charge, payable after acceptance. The schedule is on the Article Processing Charges page. No charge applies at submission, and none applies to a manuscript that is not accepted.

Accepted manuscript types

Article types

Use the type that accurately describes the manuscript and report the methods and findings in enough detail for assessment.

01

Original Research

Original findings that address a substantive immunization question.

02

Review Articles

Evidence syntheses relevant to immunization.

03

Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

Systematic evidence syntheses, with meta-analysis where appropriate.

04

Implementation and Program Evaluation Studies

Studies of immunization delivery, implementation or program outcomes.

05

Vaccine Safety and Surveillance Reports

Findings from vaccine-safety research or surveillance.

06

Methods, Protocols and Data Resources

Methods, protocols or data resources for immunization research.

07

Short Communications

Focused reports of immunization findings.

08

Policy and Practice Analyses

Analyses of immunization policy or practice.

09

Case Reports of Immunization Safety Events

Novel, rigorously documented events with clear immunization relevance; temporal association alone is insufficient.

Editorials, Commentaries and Letters are considered by invitation.

Preparing the manuscript

Structure and documentation

These are the journal's current preparation requirements.

01

Title and abstract

Titles should be specific, naming the elements that identify the work — the vaccine or agent, the population, the setting or the study design. Provide an abstract appropriate to the article type: for reports of original research, a structured abstract covering objectives, methods, results and conclusions. Supply keywords that reflect the vaccine type, the target population and the study setting.

02

Sections and headings

Use standard section headings for the study design being reported. Define technical terms and abbreviations at first use, and keep terminology consistent throughout.

03

Figures and tables

Every figure and table must be referred to in the text and must be interpretable on its own. Where a figure, table or instrument is reproduced from another source, obtain written permission and supply the credit line; document that permission at submission.

04

References

References must be complete and include DOIs where available, so that each cited work resolves to its record.

05

If you request 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.

Preparing to the journal's requirements

Prepare the manuscript to the requirements set out above and to the declarations in the next section. Length, structure and the depth of reporting follow what the study design needs in order to be assessed: report the work fully enough that a reader could evaluate it, and keep the presentation consistent throughout.

The editorial office is glad to confirm anything specific to your article type before you submit.

What must be declared

Ethics, interests and data

These declarations are conditions of assessment. A manuscript missing one is held until it is supplied.

Ethical approval
Research involving human participants requires approval from the relevant ethics committee and informed consent, both reported in the manuscript. Research involving animals requires the approving body and the applicable welfare standards. Identifiable individuals require documented consent to publish.
Trial registration
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.
Data availability
Every empirical research manuscript must include a data-availability statement. Where data, code or materials cannot be shared, the statement gives the reason and the conditions under which access may be arranged.
Authorship
Authorship is limited to those who made a substantial contribution and who approve the submitted version. Every listed author is accountable for the integrity of the whole. Changes to authorship after submission require the written agreement of all authors.
Competing interests
Disclose financial and non-financial interests that a reasonable reader could regard as bearing on the work. Disclosure is a condition of assessment, not an obstacle to it.
Funding
Name the funders of the work and their role, if any, in its design, conduct, analysis or reporting.
Originality
Manuscripts are screened with Crossref Similarity Check, powered by iThenticate. A similarity report informs editorial assessment and is read in context.

Review and revision

What happens after you submit

The path from submission to decision, and what a revision is expected to contain.

Screening
All submissions undergo initial editorial screening. Manuscripts that meet the journal's scope and minimum requirements proceed to independent peer review.
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.
Decisions
Editorial decisions are based on scope, scientific quality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, reporting quality, and relevance to the journal. Decisions remain independent of fees, membership, editorial roles and paid services.
Revision
A revised manuscript should be accompanied by a point-by-point response to each reviewer and editor comment, stating what was changed and where, or the reasons for not making a change.
Appeals
Authors may appeal a decision by writing to the editorial office with the specific grounds. An appeal is considered by an editor who was not responsible for the original decision.

Where to send it

Submission routes

All three routes reach the same editorial office and the same assessment. None of them is faster or more favorable than another.

Submission routes

  1. Primary route: ManuscriptZonehttps://oap.manuscriptzone.net/
  2. Alternative route: Simple manuscript submission formopenaccesspub.org/manuscript-submission-form?journal=ji
  3. Assisted route: Editorial email[email protected]

Authors must use only one submission route for the same manuscript.

Related pages

Policies, charges and scope

The editorial policies govern how a manuscript is handled once it arrives; the scope page states what the journal publishes; the charge schedule states what an accepted article costs.

Submit Manuscript Editorial Policies Aims and Scope Article Processing Charges

Menu