Medical Sociology Online
Style guidelines for authors
Authors are strongly advised to read the style guidelines carefully. Manuscripts that are not prepared in strict accordance with the guidelines will be returned.
Authorship: Only those who have made an active contribution to the research and the writing of the paper should be included as an author.
Language: Articles should be written in clear, concise style, in English language (UK). They should have been corrected for errors and will be regarded as accurate; authors are responsible for factual content. Gender specific nouns and pronouns should not be used to refer to people of both sexes. No language which is discriminatory should be used.
Layout: Headings should begin from the left margin. Paragraphs should not be indented and a clear line should separate two paragraphs. Please use 12 point Arial and double-spaced text. Authors are encouraged to make use of the opportunities afforded by an on line journal, such as links to other materials and sites. We could add ‘visual material and clips’
Dates: should be cited in the following format: 29 July, 2007.
Punctuation: Please use single quotation marks only (except for quotes within quotes). All quotes longer than 10 words should be indented.
Referencing: References in both the text and in any notes should use the Harvard referencing style. For example:
Allen, D. (1997) The nursing-medical boundary: a negotiated order? Sociology of Health and Illness, 19, 4, 498–520.
Only articles referenced in the text should be cited in the bibliography. Please ensure that references are complete, i.e. that they include, where relevant, author’s name, article or book title, volume and issue number, publisher, date and page reference. Where the referenced article can be accessed electronically, please also include the url, for example:
Craigie, M., Muncer, S., Loader, B. and Burrows, R. (2002) Reliability of health information on the net: an examination of experts' ratings, Journal of Medical Internet Research, 4, 1, http://www.Jmir.Org/2002/1/E2/.
Notes: Where possible, footnotes should be avoided. In situations where they are necessary, please insert as normal using number format, in order to produce a ‘printable’ full document. If required, some hyperlinks can be used for footnotes.
Tables and illustrations: Place all diagrams, tables and photographs where you wish them to appear in the paper. It is the responsibility the author to ensure that consent has been obtained for publishing all such materials.
Acknowledgements: Authors should indicate sources of funding, where applicable, and any restrictions on publication placed on them by sponsors. They should also indicate if ethics committee approval was granted for the study. It is the duty of the author(s) to clear copyright on empirical, visual and oral data.