Submissions

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Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.
  • I have read the Instructions to Authors for Impact Surgery.
  • I confirm that this manuscript has not been previously published and it is not submitted to any another journal.
  • I have confirmed the authorship details of all authors are correct and understand that authorship details cannot be changed after a manuscript is accepted.

Author Guidelines

This page provides a brief overview of submission requirements. Authors should consult the full guidance pages linked below before submission.

Formatting and initial submission

Impact Surgery accepts non-formatted initial submissions. Manuscripts do not need to follow journal formatting requirements at first submission. If a manuscript is invited for revision, authors will be required to format the revised version in line with journal guidance. Full details are provided in Instructions for Authors.

Article types

When submitting a manuscript, authors must select the appropriate article type. Impact Surgery accepts original research papers, brief papers, editorials, educational articles, images, conference abstracts (by invitation), protocols, meeting reports, guidance documents, profiles, and community engagement reports. Word limits, reference limits, and structural requirements vary by article type and are described in Instructions for Authors. Case reports are not accepted by Impact Surgery and should be submitted to Impact Case Reports.

Ethics and reporting requirements

All submissions must meet the journal’s ethical and governance requirements. This includes appropriate ethical approval, informed consent where required, trial or review registration where applicable, and adherence to relevant reporting guidelines. Detailed requirements are set out in Article Ethics Requirements.

Peer review

Impact Surgery operates an editor-led, single-blind peer review process. Research manuscripts are normally reviewed by at least two independent external reviewers, with editorial decisions made by the handling editor. A full description of the process is available in Peer Review Process.

Data sharing

All research articles must include a data sharing statement explaining whether and how the data underlying the findings can be accessed. Expectations and examples are provided in Data Sharing and Availability.

Copyright and licensing

Impact Surgery is an open access journal. Authors retain copyright and articles are published under a Creative Commons licence. Full details are provided in Copyright and Licensing.

Submission system

Manuscripts must be submitted via the online submission system. Authors should ensure that all required files are uploaded, including the main manuscript, figures (where applicable), and supplementary material.

Case Report

This is for interesting or novel cases. Please include a 100 word abstract without subheadings. The main case report should be a maximum of 250 words. Authors should hold full written consent from the patient involved, they should state this in the article, and they should state any additional approvals. No patient identifying material should be included (e.g. name, date of birth, addresses, photographs showing complete face). 

Editorial

These are short editorial-style articles that can focus on an original research paper published in Impact Surgery, discuss recent scientific developments, or discuss wider policy issues relating to surgery and perioperative care. If you are not sure whether your idea for a comment is within Impact Surgery's remit, please email us at editor@impact-journals.org. These manuscripts may be peer-reviewed and can include up to a maximum of 800 words, 10 references, and either a  table or figure (optional). Editorials do not include an abstract; on the online submission system please enter leave the abstract box blank.

Original research paper

Original research papers should include original data. They can include up to a maximum of 3000 words (excluding abstract), 20 references, and up to 6 tables and figures in total. The information in the main manuscript should be sufficient for readers to understand the rationale for the study, methods, key results, and interpretation; however, any additional text or tables and figures can be included in a supplement.

Brief research paper

Brief papers should include original data with a concise and clear message. They can include up to a maximum of 1000 words (excluding abstract), 10 references, and up to 2 tables and figures in total. Additional text or tables/ figures can be included in the supplement. The information in the main manuscript should be sufficient for readers to understand the rationale for the study, methods, key results, and interpretation; however, any additional text or tables and figures can be included in a supplement.

Conference abstract

Please only submit to this section if you are invited to submit a Research for Greener Surgery Conference abstract.

Community Engagement

This section is for reports of Community Engagement/Public Involvement activities. 

Protocols

This section is for study protocols, which should have the following sections: Abstract (Introduction, Methods, Discussion), and the main body (Introduction, Method, Discussion). Please make sure you have included a detailed sample size calculation/estimation/justification. 

Meeting Report

500 words on a meeting report, no subheading needs, 1-2 images/pictures

Guidance

Clinical guidelines, scientific guidlines, consensus documents. Please include a structured 250 word abstract (introduction, methods, results, conclusion). Main text should be 1000-2500 words.

Profile

Up to 800 words on the career and life profile of influential people. 

Correspondence

Maximum 300 words, one table OR figure, maximum 10 references 

Copyright Notice

All articles published in Impact Surgery are open access and made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY 4.0). Under this licence, authors retain copyright and readers are permitted to copy, distribute, adapt, and reuse the work in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Privacy Statement

The names, email addresses, and other personal information entered on this journal site are used solely for the purposes of the operation and management of Impact Surgery, including manuscript submission, peer review, publication, and related communication. Such information will not be shared with third parties or used for purposes unrelated to the journal, except where required by law or with the consent of the individual concerned.