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Information for Authors

Alcohol Research: Current Reviews (ARCR) currently accepts submissions by invitation only. If you have been invited to submit a review article or a Perspective article, you can learn more about submission guidelines and the peer review process on this page.

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Invitation

ARCR editorial staff emails invitations to authors through Editorial Manager, a manuscript submission and peer-review tracking system. Authors are provided a link to the ARCR Editorial Manager site for manuscript submission, both within the invitation and in a follow-up email after they accept the invitation.

Types of ARCR Articles

ARCR currently accepts article submissions by invitation only; the journal currently publishes narrative and scoping reviews and Perspective articles. Authors do not have the option to submit an article type other than what they have been invited to submit. Authors should download and carefully review all submission requirements in the Narrative and Scoping Reviews Instructions for Authors and Perspectives Instructions for Authors prior to beginning their literature searches to ensure they follow ARCR guidelines.

Reviews

Authors who have accepted the invitation to write an ARCR review have the choice to submit either a narrative review or a scoping review.

Note: Authors who have accepted the invitation to write either a narrative review or a scoping review may not submit a Perspective article in lieu of a review article.

Narrative Reviews

Narrative reviews, ARCR's standard article type, provide a non-exhaustive synthesis of primary research done in a field, identify any gaps, and suggest areas for future research. ARCR narrative reviews use a systematic approach to search the literature but are not systematic reviews, as narrative reviews provide an unbiased overview of a topic instead of answering a specific clinical question. The main body of a narrative review typically consists of 6,000 words or less. This does not include the abstract, which is typically 200 to 400 words. There is a recommended limit of 200 citations.

Scoping Reviews

ARCR welcomes the submission of scoping reviews for authors who are interested in submitting one. Scoping reviews are exhaustive reviews that map evidence to identify main concepts, theories, sources, and knowledge gaps in a field. Scoping reviews often set the stage for systematic reviews by confirming the relevance of potential questions and criteria for inclusion or exclusion. Scoping reviews must follow ARCR guidelines and the guidelines outlined by Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) for Scoping Reviews. There is no word or citation limit for scoping reviews.

Perspectives

Perspective articles are meant to present a fresh point of view on an established or emerging topic of interest to the alcohol research community with the purpose of propelling the field forward in a new or different direction. Submissions should be unbiased, fully referenced, and supported by currently available evidence, encompassing important, diverse, and high-impact findings from across the area of study. Manuscripts should not primarily describe the authors' own work or a single initiative, consortium, or project. However, authors are encouraged to provide alternative interpretations of existing work, outline weaknesses and strengths of scientific hypotheses and modalities, and develop novel proposals to overcome existing problems. Perspectives fall into two categories:

  • Emerging concepts in alcohol research present a forward-thinking view of an emergent area of alcohol research with potentially limited extant literature, or a novel outlook on an established area of research with the aim to guide and propel the field forward.
  • Methodological considerations discuss the latest developments, critiques, and best practices related to methodological and analytical tools relevant to alcohol research.

The main body of a Perspective article typically consists of 3,000 words or less. This does not include the abstract, which is typically 200 to 400 words. There is a recommended limit of 75 citations. Articles are permitted up to two display items.

Note: Authors who have accepted the invitation to write a Perspective article may only submit this article type.

Other Types of Publications

ARCR does not accept original research articles or other types of reviews, such as systematic reviews or meta-analyses.

Manuscript Preparation

ARCR Instructions for Authors provides general requirements that apply to each respective manuscript type.

Download Instructions for Authors:

Narrative and Scoping Reviews Instructions for Authors [PDF – 1.8 MB]
Perspectives Instructions for Authors [PDF – 1 MB]

Below are templates and checklists available for download to help prepare manuscripts:

Narrative Review Template [Word – 328 KB]
Narrative Review Checklist [PDF – 280 KB]

Scoping Review Template [Word – 337 KB]
Scoping Review Checklist

Perspectives Template [Word – 334 KB]
Perspectives Checklist [PDF – 831 KB]

Authorship

Coauthors: The invited author may ask others to collaborate on the manuscript if their expertise will yield better breadth and balance to the article, or the collaboration provides coauthor opportunities for early career investigators. The invited author is ultimately responsible for the quality of the manuscript.

Authors are encouraged to review International Committee of Medical Journal Editors' Defining the Role of Authors and Contributors for more information on authorship criteria.

Authorship Changes: After article submission, any changes in authorship—such as adding, removing, or reordering authors—must be agreed upon by all authors. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to obtain confirmation from all coauthors and to provide a completed Authorship Change Request Form to the ARCR editorial office.

Generative Artificial Intelligence in Scientific Writing: Artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT or large language models cannot be listed as authors in research publications, in accordance with Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines. Any use of AI tools must be disclosed in the Search Methods of the paper (i.e., how and which AI tool was used). Authors are fully responsible for the content of their manuscript, even those parts produced by an AI tool. The final decision about whether use of an AI tool is appropriate or permissible in a submitted manuscript lies with the journal's editor.

Target Audience and Topics

As feasible, reviews and Perspectives should be written in a style that is accessible and understandable to a broad audience of scientists and clinicians, including trainees, with varying specialties and degrees of expertise in alcohol research.

Article topics are proposed by members of the ARCR Editorial Advisory Board or NIAAA staff and cover a wide range of areas relating to the effects of alcohol use and misuse on health, function, and well-being across the life span, in addition to basic science, genetics, epidemiology, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of alcohol-related conditions.

Submission

When submitting manuscripts in Editorial Manager, authors also must include the following items:

  • A completed checklist to ensure submissions comply with ARCR guidelines. The required checklists are available for download below.
    Narrative Review Checklist [PDF – 280 KB]
    Scoping Review Checklist
    Perspectives Checklist [PDF – 831 KB]
  • Disclosure of Interest forms for each author. The form can be downloaded from the manuscript submission page in Editorial Manager or at http://www.icmje.org/disclosure-of-interest. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to obtain the Disclosure of Interest forms from all coauthors and to upload them when submitting the manuscript.

Invited authors are given instructions for logging into the ARCR Editorial Manager site for manuscript submission in the emailed invitation and in a follow-up email once authors accept the invitation.

Submit Invited Manuscript: https://www.editorialmanager.com/arcr

Peer Review and Manuscript Revision

All submissions to ARCR, whether reviews or Perspectives, are subjected to independent peer review by experts in the field. A team of reviewers (including ARCR editors, NIAAA staff, and external researchers) review each submission. Based on the provided recommendations, authors may be asked to revise their manuscript. Authors should address all comments, revise their manuscript accordingly, and resubmit by the deadline provided to them in Editorial Manager.

Copyediting

ARCR editorial staff copyedits accepted manuscripts for clarity, grammar, punctuation, journal style, and format. The ARCR managing editor emails the corresponding author a copyedited Word document with tracked changes to resolve any queries. All queries are to be addressed by the authors, and the corresponding author emails the revised manuscript back to the managing editor within 7 days.

The ARCR managing editor emails a PDF proof of the manuscript, including tables and figures, to the corresponding author for final review. Authors are urged to review this draft for any errors; however, only the most critical changes to the accuracy of the content may be made at this point in the process. Rewriting sections of text, revising tables and figures, adding or subtracting references, and making stylistic changes are not permitted unless approved by ARCR. The corresponding author should return any final comments within 7 days. Final edits will be incorporated by ARCR editorial staff and the manuscript will be published online with open access.

Contact Us

For more information or to contact journal staff, please email arcriq@iqsolutions.com.

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