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Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography

Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography

Official Publication of the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography

eISSN: 15525430 | ISSN: 87564793 | Current volume: 40 | Current issue: 3 Frequency: Bi-monthly

Creating and interpreting clear and precise sonographic images is both an art and a science. The Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (JDMS) which is the official journal of the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography, provides peer-reviewed innovative publications in all specialties including but not limited to abdominal, women’s health, pediatric, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and in all fields where new applications for ultrasound are being explored.

The JDMS is published bimonthly for diagnostic medical sonographers, students, educators, and other ultrasound users who are seeking more information about the newest ultrasound technologies, and latest ultrasound techniques, interpretation methods, and research applications.

The JDMS is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and is included in the following abstracting and indexing databases.

  • CINAHL
  • Clarivate Analytics: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI)
  • EMBASE/Excerpta Medica
  • InfoTrac (full text)
  • Scopus

Mission:

The JDMS is dedicated to publishing evidence-based research and clinical best practices for the sonography and medical communities.

Vision:

The JDMS will be the leading educational and scientific resource for advancing the use of ultrasound in sonography clinical practice, education, and research.

Scope:

The Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (JDMS) is the only peer-reviewed journal written for diagnostic medical sonographers and other ultrasound users across all specialties. The Journal explores the use of ultrasound technology to enhance diagnosis, intervention, and other clinical applications. It does this through the publication of original research findings, evidence-based scientific information related to clinical practice, and the identification of emerging technology in the field of diagnostic medical sonography.

Editor-in-Chief
Abdominal and General Sonography
Dora D. DiGiacinto, MEd, RDMS, RDCS, FSDMS University of Oklahoma, USA
Cardiovascular Imaging
Joy Guthrie, PhD, ACS, RDMS, RDCS, RVT, RCS, RCCS, RVS, FSDMS Community Regional Medical Center, USA
Musculoskeletal and Research Methodologies
Shawn C. Roll, PhD, RMSKS, FAOTA, OTR/L, FAIUM University of Southern California, USA
Women's Health
Angela N. Butwin, MS, RT(R), RDMS The Ohio State University, USA
Vascular Technology
Cathie Scholl, DHSC, RDMS, RVT, FSDMS, RVT Nova Southeastern University, USA
Editorial Board
Sharlette Anderson, MHS, RDMS, RVT, RDCS, FSDMS Toltech University of Missouri; SSM St. Mary's Hospital in Jefferson City, USA
Laurinda Andrist, MBA, FSDMS Consultant, Eugene, Oregon, USA
Amanda Auckland, BS, RT(R), RDMS, RVT, RDCS University of Colorado Hospital, USA
Jennifer Bagley, MPH, RDMS, RVT, FSDMS, FAIUM The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, USA
Tara L. Bartholomay, MS, RT(R), RDMS, RVT Mid Dakota Clinic - Bismarck, USA
Jim Baun, BS, RDMS, RVT, FSDMS Mindray Innovation Center, USA
Tatyana Beaves, MD, RDCS, RDMS Grand Valley State University, USA
Michelle Bierig, PhD, RDMS, RDCS, ACS, FSDMS, FASE University of Southern Indiana, USA
Karen S. Bubb, MBA-HCA, BSRT, RVT, RDMS, RT(R) Oklahoma State University, USA
Derek C. Butler, BS, RVT, RDMS, RDCS, RT Anna Jaques Hospital, USA
Renee Cheung, BHS, RDMS, RVT Mobile Sono Pro, LLC
Douglas W. Clem, PhD, EDS, RDCS, RVT University of Missouri, USA
M. Robert DeJong, RDMS, RDCS, RVT, FSDMS, FAIUM Ultrasound Educational Services, USA
Douglas Dunstatter, PhD, RDMS, RDCS, RVT Cosound Solutions, LLC, USA
Stephanie Ellingson, MS, RT(R), RDMS, RDCS, RVT University of Iowa, USA
Hamad Ghazle, EdD, RDMS Rochester Institute of Technology, USA
Renee Hathaway, PhD, RVT Bryan College of Health Sciences, USA
Amanda N. Hogan, DHSc, MHA, RDMS, RVT, RT(R) Bellin College, USA, JDMS Editorial Assistant
Harry H. Holdorf, PhD, RDMS, RVT Eastern Florida State College, USA
Talisha M. Hunt, BSRT, RDMS, RDCS, RVT, FSDMS Mayo Clinic, USA
Randee L. Hunter, PhD The Ohio State University, USA
Eric Kallstrom, DSL, ACS, FASE, FAIUM, FACC Parkland Health, USA, JDMS Editorial Assistant
Ann Marie Kupinski, PhD, RVT, RDMS, FSVU North Country Vascular Diagnostics Inc., Albany, NY, USA
Tony Y. Li RDMS, RVT, RMSKS, CRGS, CRVS Albany Medical Clinic, Canada
Joan C. Main, BS, MBA, RDCS, FASE Consultant, Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA
Kimberly Michael, MA, RT(R), RDMS, RVT, FSDMS University of Nebraska Medical Center, USA
Marsha M. Neumyer, BS, RVT, FSDMS, FSVU, FAIUM Consultant; Vascular Diagnostic Education Services, USA
Margaret M. Park, BS, ACS, RDCS, RVT, FSDMS, FASE Cleveland Clinic Heart and Vascular Institute, USA
Heidi Perera, RT(R), RDMS, RVT, RDCS Consultant, Rye, New York, USA
Carolyn M. Sommerich, PhD, CPE The Ohio State University, College of Medicine, USA
Neha Soni-Patel, BSME, RDCS Cleveland Clinic Children's, USA
A. Nicole Stigall-Weikle, PhD, RDMS, RVT CVS Health, USA
Kevin R. Volz, PhD, RVT Medpace, Inc., USA
Kathryn Wampler, MA, RT(R), RDMS, RVT University of Nebraska Medical Center, USA
Kerry E. Weinberg, PhD, MA, MPA, RDMS, RDCS, RT(R), FSDMS Long Island University, USA
David M. Williams, MS, RDCS, RVT, FSVU Medical University of South Carolina, Health Florence Medical Pavilion - Cardiovascular Surgery, Florence, SC, USA
Michelle Wilson, EdD, RDMS, RDCS, FSDMS University of Southern Indiana, USA
Mulubrhan Woldemariam, MS, RDMS, RVT Veterans Health Administration, USA
Menglin Xu, PhD The Ohio State University
Buwen Yao, PhD, MBBS University of Southern California, USA
Kathryn E. Zale, MS, RDMS, RVT Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences, USA
Editors Emeritus
Phillip J. Bendick, PhD, RVT, FSDMS Consultant, Vass, North Carolina, USA
S. Michelle Bierig, PhD, ACS, RDCS, RDMS, RCS, CPHQ, FSDMS, FASE Hillcrest Hospital South, USA
Jean Lea Spitz, MPH, RDMS, CAE, FSDMS Perinatal Quality Foundation, USA
Dale Cyr, MBA, CAE, RDMS, RDCS, FSDMS Consultant, Inteleos, USA
Julia A. Drose, BA, RDMS, RDCS, RT, FSDMS, FAIUM University of Colorado, USA
Mimi Berman-Sandler, PhD, RDMS, FSDMS Consultant, New York, New York, USA
  • CINAHL
  • Clarivate Analytics: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI)
  • EMBASE/Excerpta Medica
  • InfoTrac (full text)
  • Scopus
  • The Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (JDMS) is the official journal of the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography. It is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes original research, review articles, and case reports pertinent to diagnostic medical sonography. The JDMS Author’s Manual and additional guides for authors are available at https://www.sdms.org/membership/jdms.

    Please read the author guidelines, then submit your paper electronically at https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/sdms-jdms. Please note that manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines may be returned.

    JDMS is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics.

    It is recommended that authors follow the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals formulated by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

    Only manuscripts of sufficient quality that meet the aims and scope of JDMS will be reviewed.

    There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this Journal. Open Access options are available - see section 3.3 below.

    As part of the submission process you will be required to warrant that you are submitting your original work, that you have the rights in the work, and that you have obtained and can supply all necessary permissions for the reproduction of any copyright works not owned by you, that you are submitting the work for first publication in the Journal and that it is not being considered for publication elsewhere and has not already been published elsewhere. Please see our guidelines on prior publication and note that JDMS may accept submissions of papers that have been posted on pre-print servers; please alert the Editorial Office when submitting (contact details are at the end of these guidelines) and include the DOI for the preprint in the designated field in the manuscript submission system. Authors should not post an updated version of their paper on the preprint server while it is being peer reviewed for possible publication in the journal. If the article is accepted for publication, the author may re-use their work according to the journal's author archiving policy.

    If your paper is accepted, you must include a link on your preprint to the final version of your paper.

     

     

    1. What do we publish?

    1.1 Aims & Scope

    1.2 Article types

    1.3 Writing your paper

    2. Editorial policies

    2.1 Peer review policy

    2.2 Authorship

    2.3 Acknowledgements

    2.4 Funding

    2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests

    2.6 Research ethics and patient consent

    2.7 Clinical trials

    2.8 Reporting guidelines

    2.9 Research Data

    3. Publishing polices

    3.1 Publication ethics

    3.2 Contributor’s publishing agreement

    3.3 Open access and author archiving

    3.4 Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

    4. Preparing your manuscript

    4.1 Formatting

    4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics

    4.3 Supplemental material

    4.4 Reference style

    4.5 English language editing services

    5. Submitting your manuscript

    5.1 ORCID

    5.2 Information required for completing your submission

    5.3 Permissions

    6. On acceptance and publication

    6.1 Sage Production

    6.2 Online First publication

    6.3 Access to your published article

    6.4 Promoting your article

    7. Further information

     

    1. What do we publish?

    1.1 Aims & Scope

    Before submitting your manuscript to JDMS, please ensure you have read the Aims & Scope.

    1.2 Article types

    Case Study
    A case study paper allows the sonographer to draw on the knowledge and skills that they use daily. Unusual or rare pathologies are interesting to the journal, but an unusual presentation of a common pathology may also be of interest.

    Literature Review
    A literature review article summarizes the pertinent research findings that have been reported in textbooks and journal articles. It provides a basic description of the topic being reviewed as well as current findings and theories. The value of review articles is their synthesis of the most current information.

    Original Research
    An original research project is an extensive project that uses scientific methods to support the findings. The project begins by asking a research question or stating a hypothesis. Topics for original research may stem from a trend you have noticed and you want to learn if your observation is real or just a coincidence.

    Symposia
    Symposia include “Energizing Education,” “Professional Issues,” “Policy,” and “Advances in Technology.” The editors will work with authors interested in these areas.

    1.3 Writing your paper

    The Sage Author Gateway has some general advice and on how to get published, plus links to further resources. Sage Author Services also offers authors a variety of ways to improve and enhance their article including English language editing, plagiarism detection, and video abstract and infographic preparation.

    1.3.1 Make your article discoverable

    For information and guidance on how to make your article more discoverable, visit our Gateway page on How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online

    2. Editorial policies
    2.1 Peer review policy

    JDMS adheres to a rigorous double-anonymize reviewing policy in which the identity of both the reviewer and author are always concealed from both parties.

    JDMS is committed to delivering high quality, fast peer-review for your paper, and as such has partnered with Publons. Publons is a third party service that seeks to track, verify and give credit for peer review. Reviewers for JDMS can opt in to Publons in order to claim their reviews or have them automatically verified and added to their reviewer profile. Reviewers claiming credit for their review will be associated with the relevant journal, but the article name, reviewer’s decision and the content of their review is not published on the site. For more information visit the Publons website.

    The Editor or members of the Editorial Board may occasionally submit their own manuscripts for possible publication in the journal. In these cases, the peer review process will be managed by alternative members of the Board and the submitting Editor/Board member will have no involvement in the decision-making process.

    2.2 Authorship

    Papers should only be submitted for consideration once consent is given by all contributing authors. Those submitting papers should carefully check that all those whose work contributed to the paper are acknowledged as contributing authors.

    The list of authors should include all those who can legitimately claim authorship. This is all those who:

    (i) Made a substantial contribution to the concept and design, acquisition of data or analysis and interpretation of data,

    (ii) Drafted the article or revised it critically for important intellectual content,

    (iii) Approved the version to be published.

    Authors should meet the conditions of all of the points above. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content.
    When a large, multicentre group has conducted the work, the group should identify the individuals who accept direct responsibility for the manuscript. These individuals should fully meet the criteria for authorship.

    Acquisition of funding, collection of data, or general supervision of the research group alone does not constitute authorship, although all contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the Acknowledgments section.

    Please refer to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) authorship guidelines for more information on authorship.

    Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools.

    2.3 Acknowledgements

    All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an Acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or a department chair who provided only general support.

    Please supply any personal acknowledgements separately to the main text to facilitate anonymous peer review.

    You will need to acknowledge if any content is AI-generated. This needs to be clearly identified within the text and acknowledged within your Acknowledgements section. Please note that AI bots such as ChatGPT should not be listed as an author. For more details on this policy, please visit this page.

    2.3.1 Third party submissions

    Where an individual who is not listed as an author submits a manuscript on behalf of the author(s), a statement must be included in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript and in the accompanying cover letter. The statements must:

    •    Disclose this type of editorial assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input 
    •    Identify any entities that paid for this assistance 
    •    Confirm that the listed authors have authorized the submission of their manuscript via third party and approved any statements or declarations, e.g. conflicting interests, funding, etc.

    Where appropriate, Sage reserves the right to deny consideration to manuscripts submitted by a third party rather than by the authors themselves.

    2.3.2 Writing assistance

    Individuals who provided writing assistance, e.g. from a specialist communications company, do not qualify as authors and so should be included in the Acknowledgements section. Authors must disclose any writing assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input – and identify the entity that paid for this assistance. It is not necessary to disclose use of language polishing services.

    2.4 Funding

    JDMS requires all authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent fashion under a separate heading. Please visit the Funding Acknowledgements page on the Sage Journal Author Gateway to confirm the format of the acknowledgment text in the event of funding, or state that: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

    2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests

    Please ensure that a ‘Declaration of Conflicting Interests’ statement is included at the end of your manuscript, after any acknowledgements and prior to the references. If no conflict exists, please state that ‘The Author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest’.

    For guidance on conflict of interest statements, please see the ICMJE recommendations here.

    2.6 Research ethics and patient consent

    Medical research involving human subjects must be conducted according to the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki

    Submitted manuscripts should conform to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, and all papers reporting animal and/or human studies must state in the methods section that the relevant Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board provided (or waived) approval. Please ensure that you have provided the full name and institution of the review committee, in addition to the approval number.

    For research articles, authors are also required to state in the methods section whether participants provided informed consent and whether the consent was written or verbal.

    Information on informed consent to report individual cases or case series should be included in the manuscript text. A statement is required regarding whether written informed consent for patient information and images to be published was provided by the patient(s) or a legally authorized representative. Please do not submit the patient’s actual written informed consent with your article, as this in itself breaches the patient’s confidentiality. The Journal requests that you confirm to us, in writing, that you have obtained written informed consent but the written consent itself should be held by the authors/investigators themselves, for example in a patient’s hospital record. The confirmatory letter may be uploaded with your submission as a separate file.

    Please also refer to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Protection of Research Participants

    For case reports:

    In terms of patient privacy, authors are required to follow the ICMJE Recommendations for the Protection of Research Participants. Patients have a right to privacy that should not be infringed without informed consent. Identifying information, including patients' names, initials, or hospital numbers, should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. Informed consent for this purpose requires that a patient who is identifiable be shown the manuscript to be published.

    If your research involves animals, you will be asked to confirm that you have carefully read and adhered to the ARRIVE guidelines.

    2.7 Clinical trials

    JDMS conforms to the ICMJE requirement that clinical trials are registered in a WHO-approved public trials registry at or before the time of first patient enrolment as a condition of consideration for publication. The trial registry name and URL, and registration number must be included at the end of the abstract.

    2.8 Reporting guidelines

    The relevant EQUATOR Network reporting guidelines should be followed depending on the type of study. For example, all randomized controlled trials submitted for publication should include a completed CONSORT flow chart as a cited figure and the completed CONSORT checklist should be uploaded with your submission as a supplementary file. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses should include the completed PRISMA flow chart as a cited figure and the completed PRISMA checklist should be uploaded with your submission as a supplementary file. The EQUATOR wizard can help you identify the appropriate guideline.

    Other resources can be found at NLM’s Research Reporting Guidelines and Initiatives

    2.9. Research Data

    The journal is committed to facilitating openness, transparency and reproducibility of research, and has the following research data sharing policy. For more information, including FAQs please visit the Sage Research Data policy pages

    Subject to appropriate ethical and legal considerations, authors are encouraged to:

    • share your research data in a relevant public data repository
    • include a data availability statement linking to your data. If it is not possible to share your data, we encourage you to consider using the statement to explain why it cannot be shared.
    • cite this data in your research

    JDMS requests all authors submitting any primary data used in their research articles to be published in the online version of the journal, or provide detailed information in their articles on how the data can be obtained. This information should include links to third-party data repositories or detailed contact information for third-party data sources. Data available only on an author-maintained website will need to be loaded onto either the journal’s platform or a third-party platform to ensure continuing accessibility. Examples of data types include but are not limited to statistical data files, replication code, text files, audio files, images, videos, appendices, and additional charts and graphs necessary to understand the original research. The editor may consider limited embargoes on proprietary data. The editor(s) may also grant exceptions for data that cannot legally or ethically be released. All data submitted should comply with Institutional or Ethical Review Board requirements and applicable government regulations. For further information, please contact the editorial office at jdms@sdms.org.

    3. Publishing Policies

    3.1 Publication ethics

    Sage is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics page on the Sage Author Gateway

    3.1.1 Plagiarism

    JDMS and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software. Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarized other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where the authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article; taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; or taking appropriate legal action.

    3.1.2 Prior publication

    If material has been previously published it is not generally acceptable for publication in a Sage journal. However, there are certain circumstances where previously published material can be considered for publication. Please refer to the guidance on the Sage Author Gateway or if in doubt, contact the Editor at the address given below.

    3.2 Contributor’s publishing agreement

    Before publication, Sage requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. Sage’s Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement is an exclusive licence agreement which means that the author retains copyright in the work but grants Sage the sole and exclusive right and licence to publish for the full legal term of copyright. Exceptions may exist where an assignment of copyright is required or preferred by a proprietor other than Sage. In this case copyright in the work will be assigned from the author to the society. For more information please visit the Sage Author Gateway

    3.3 Open access and author archiving

    Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography offers optional open access publishing via the Sage Choice programme and Open Access agreements, where authors can publish open access either discounted or free of charge depending on the agreement with Sage. Find out if your institution is participating by visiting Open Access Agreements at Sage. For more information on Open Access publishing options at Sage please visit Sage Open Access. For information on funding body compliance, and depositing your article in repositories, please visit Sage’s Author Archiving and Re-Use Guidelines and Publishing Policies.

    3.4 Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) 

    The SDMS, including the JDMS, is committed to ensuring promoting and implementing ongoing improvements to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the diagnostic medical sonography profession and in its membership, leadership, volunteers, and staff. The SDMS Board of Directors recognizes the success of the SDMS’ mission depends on members, leaders, volunteers, and staff who provide diverse backgrounds, experiences, ideas, perspectives, and opinions, without regard to the characteristics outlined below.
     
    There shall be no barriers to full participation in the SDMS based on race, ethnicity, skin color, national origin, citizenship, language, ancestry, age, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, mental or physical (dis)ability, religion or religious commitment, marital status, medical condition or status, pregnancy status, socioeconomic status, veteran status, political perspective, geographic location, or any characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.
     
    In addition, the SDMS supports and encourages its members, the sonography profession, and the medical community to support efforts to:

    • Improve patient care by reducing health disparities; and
    • Ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion in sonography educational, employment, and career and professional development opportunities.

     
    SDMS Board Policy: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Adopted by the SDMS Board of Directors, December 2, 2020.

     

    4. Preparing your manuscript

    4.1 Formatting

    The preferred format for your manuscript is Word. LaTeX files are also accepted. Word and (La)Tex templates are available on the Manuscript Submission Guidelines page of our Author Gateway.

     

    Before submitting your manuscript through SageTrack, please refer to the JDMS Author Manual and make certain that it satisfies all of the listed requirements and contains the following components:

    • Title page including title of the paper, names of all authors and their hospital or work affiliation(s), address for correspondence, phone number, email address, and any included acknowledgements

    • Digital copy of the main document, including

      • Abstract of approximately 150 words

      • Three to five keywords

      • Main body of 3000+ words that conforms to AMA style

      • References, in AMA format, are numbered consecutively and all references are cited in the text

      • Tables are editable and summarized at the end of the main document

      • Figures are numbered, cited, and either properly embedded within the main document or uploaded as separate files

      • Table and figure legends are summarized on the final page of the main document

    • Figures, images, and tables (if applicable)

      • Uploaded separately in digital format or embedded within the main document

      • At least 300 dpi in resolution

      • No identifiable health information (patient names, time/date stamps, hospital name, etc.)

      • Labels or arrows to identify structures embedded within the image

      • Caption for each figure and or table is provided

    • Please review the CARE Checklist for a list of information to include when writing a case report.

    Written permission to use previously published figures, tables, or text if required. A standard Request for Permission to Reprint is available on the SDMS website at http://www.sdms.org/jdms.

     

    4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics

    For guidance on the preparation of illustrations, pictures and graphs in electronic format, please visit Sage’s Manuscript Submission Guidelines

    4.3 Supplemental material

    This journal is able to host additional materials online (e.g. datasets, podcasts, videos, images etc) alongside the full-text of the article. For more information please refer to our guidelines on submitting supplemental files

     

    4.4 Reference style

    JDMS follows the American Medical Association (AMA) Manual of Style. The following style points can serve as a general guide.

    1. Most common prefixes and common suffixes should be joined without a hyphen. (Example: postembryonic, intrapelvic, preoperative)

    2. Abbreviated terms should be spelled out the first time they are used. Latin terms such as e.g., i.e., et al., and etc. should be abbreviated with periods and set in Roman type.

    3. Follow recommended style for abbreviations of units of measure, with the exception of liters, Gauss, and Tesla. (Liters should be spelled out in text except when used in virgule constructions.) Some of the more common abbreviations are as follows: C, cc, cm, g, kHz, MHz, mm, mmHg.

    4. Omit the suffix "-al" in adjectives unless its absence changes the meaning of the word. (Example: acoustic, anatomic, neurologic, obstetric, theoretic)

    5. Spell out and italicize genus and species at first mention (Example: Escherichia coli, Treponema pallidum). After the first mention, abbreviate genus name without a period (Example: E coli, T pallidum).

    4.5 English language editing services

    Authors seeking assistance with English language editing, translation, or figure and manuscript formatting to fit the journal’s specifications should consider using Sage Language Services. Visit Sage Language Services on our Journal Author Gateway for further information.

    5. Submitting your manuscript

    JDMS is hosted on Sage Track, a web based online submission and peer review system powered by ScholarOne™ Manuscripts. Visit https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/sdms-jdms to login and submit your article online.

    IMPORTANT: Please check whether you already have an account in the system before trying to create a new one. If you have reviewed or authored for the journal in the past year it is likely that you will have had an account created. For further guidance on submitting your manuscript online please visit ScholarOne Online Help.

    5.1 ORCID

    As part of our commitment to ensuring an ethical, transparent and fair peer review process Sage is a supporting member of ORCID, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID. ORCID provides a unique and persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from every other researcher, even those who share the same name, and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between researchers and their professional activities, ensuring that their work is recognized.

    The collection of ORCID IDs from corresponding authors is now part of the submission process of this journal. If you already have an ORCID ID you will be asked to associate that to your submission during the online submission process. We also strongly encourage all co-authors to link their ORCID ID to their accounts in our online peer review platforms. It takes seconds to do: click the link when prompted, sign into your ORCID account and our systems are automatically updated. Your ORCID ID will become part of your accepted publication’s metadata, making your work attributable to you and only you. Your ORCID ID is published with your article so that fellow researchers reading your work can link to your ORCID profile and from there link to your other publications.

    If you do not already have an ORCID ID please follow this link to create one or visit our ORCID homepage to learn more.

    5.2 Information required for completing your submission

    You will be asked to provide contact details and academic affiliations for all co-authors via the submission system and identify who is to be the corresponding author. These details must match what appears on your manuscript. The affiliation listed in the manuscript should be the institution where the research was conducted. If an author has moved to a new institution since completing the research, the new affiliation can be included in a manuscript note at the end of the paper. At this stage please ensure you have included all the required statements and declarations and uploaded any additional supplementary files (including reporting guidelines where relevant).

    5.3 Permissions

    Please also ensure that you have obtained any necessary permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere. For further information including guidance on fair dealing for criticism and review, please see the Copyright and Permissions page on the Sage Author Gateway

    6. On acceptance and publication

    6.1 Sage Production

    Your Sage Production Editor will keep you informed as to your article’s progress throughout the production process. Proofs will be made available to the corresponding author via our editing portal Sage Edit or by email, and corrections should be made directly or notified to us promptly. Authors are reminded to check their proofs carefully to confirm that all author information, including names, affiliations, sequence and contact details are correct, and that Funding and Conflict of Interest statements, if any, are accurate.

    6.2 Online First publication

    Online First allows final articles (completed and approved articles awaiting assignment to a future issue) to be published online prior to their inclusion in a journal issue, which significantly reduces the lead time between submission and publication. Visit the Sage Journals help page for more details, including how to cite Online First articles.

    6.3 Access to your published article

    Sage provides authors with online access to their final article.

    6.4 Promoting your article

    Publication is not the end of the process! You can help disseminate your paper and ensure it is as widely read and cited as possible. The Sage Author Gateway has numerous resources to help you promote your work. Visit the Promote Your Article page on the Gateway for tips and advice.

    7. Further information

    Any correspondence, queries or additional requests for information on the manuscript submission process should be sent to the JDMS editorial office as follows:

     JDMS administrative office at +1 800-229-9506 or email jdms@sdms.org

    7.1 Appealing the publication decision

    Editors have very broad discretion in determining whether an article is an appropriate fit for their journal. Many manuscripts are declined with a very general statement of the rejection decision. These decisions are not eligible for formal appeal unless the author believes the decision to reject the manuscript was based on an error in the review of the article, in which case the author may appeal the decision by providing the Editor with a detailed written description of the error they believe occurred.

    If an author believes the decision regarding their manuscript was affected by a publication ethics breach, the author may contact the publisher with a detailed written description of their concern, and information supporting the concern, at publication_ethics@sagepub.com

     

    For a PDF of the submission guidelines, click here.

    Please be sure to read our Conflicts of Interest Policy before submitting.

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