Conflict of Interest
Sources of outside support for research, including funding, equipment, and supplies, must be named in the cover letter. In addition, the author must disclose any financial interest or other benefit(s), direct or indirect, that reviewers or readers might consider to affect the conduct or reporting of the work. If the author is uncertain about what might be considered a conflict of interest, he or she should err on the side of full disclosure. Information about conflict of interest may be made available to reviewers at the editor’s discretion. The role(s) of the support organization, if any, in the collection of data, its analysis and interpretation, and in the right to approve or disapprove publication of the finished manuscript must be described in the text. In the event the support agency requires the right to approve/disapprove publication, the author should complete this process before submitting the manuscript for review. If, in the editor’s judgment, there is a conflict of interest, information concerning such a conflict and right of review may be acknowledged when the manuscript is published. Authors will be informed of this decision before publication.
Dual Submission
Information will be posted shortly—check back soon for ASHA's policy.
Color Figures
It is ASHA policy that only those figures that require the extra dimension of color to convey essential information will be published as color figures. The editor will determine the need for color. Authors of articles in which color figures appear will be billed for 50% of the cost of those color figures. Payment of these charges is voluntary and does not affect the publication of the figures in color. This information is published in the "Information for Authors" section of all the journals and of the Web site.
Page Charges
It is ASHA policy to bill authors of articles and letters published in the journals for page charges. Payment of these charges is voluntary and does not affect the publication of the article or letter.
ASHA assesses page charges to authors whose published manuscripts in the scholarly journals exceed four pages, and the charge per page be determined by the Publications Board and periodically adjusted on the basis of costs to ASHA and of charges assessed by comparable journals. As of January 1996 the charge became $100/page.
Implementation of this policy is accomplished via an acknowledgment letter sent to authors by the production editor when the manuscript is received in the National Office. This letter alerts the authors to the policy. After publication ASHA's Business Management unit sends a letter (and an invoice) so worded as to make it clear to authors that they are asked but not required to pay the page charges. Individuals whose institutions have funding for publication expenses and individuals who have external funding that covers publication costs may elect to pay all or a portion of the page charges. These monies become available to the publications program to underwrite the cost of additional journal pages beyond those allocated by the Executive Board.
Animals in Research
Animal experiments are to be undertaken only with the purpose of advancing knowledge. Consideration should be given to the appropriateness of experimental procedures, species of animals used, and number of animals required.
Animals in the laboratory must receive every consideration for their comfort; they must be properly housed, fed, and their surroundings kept in a sanitary condition.
Only animals that are lawfully acquired shall be used in the laboratory, and their retention and use shall be in every case in compliance with federal, state, and local laws and regulations and in accordance with the NIH guide.
Appropriate anesthetics must be used to eliminate sensibility to pain during all surgical procedures. Where recovery from anesthesia is necessary during the study, acceptable technique to minimize pain must be followed. Muscle relaxants or paralytics are not anesthetics, and they should not be used alone for surgical restraint. They may be used for surgery in conjunction with drugs known to produce adequate analgesia. Where use of anesthetics would negate the results of the experiment such procedures should be carried out in strict accordance with the NIH Guide.1 If the study requires the death of the animal, the animal must be killed in a humane manner at the conclusion of the observations.
The postoperative care of animals shall be such as to minimize discomfort and pain, and in any case shall be equivalent to accepted practices in schools of veterinary medicine.
This information is published in the "Information for Authors" section of all the journals and on the Web site.
1. Office of Science and Health Reports, DRR/NIH. (1980). Guide for the care and use of laboratory animals (DHEW Publication No. NIH 80-23). Bethesda, MD: Author.
Protection of Human Subjects
All research to be submitted for publication in journals of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association in which human subjects are used must adhere to the basic ethical considerations for the protection of human subjects in research. The basis for these considerations can be found in The Belmont Report: Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects (1979). Where applicable by law or institutional affiliation, authors must provide assurance of approval by an appropriate Institutional Review Board or equivalent review process.
This information is published in the "Information for Authors" section of all the journals and on the Web site.
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