Instructions to Authors

Contents

• General Comments
• How We Publish
  • Scope of the Journal
• Editorial Policies
  • Peer Review Process
  • Self-Archiving Policy
  • Availability of Data and Materials
• Publication and Research Ethics
  • Authorship
  • Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest
  • Previously Published Material
  • Reusing Copyrighted Material / Third Party Permissions
  • Misconduct
  • Ethical Research
  • Authors' Professional and Ethical Responsibilities
• Submission
  • How to Submit
  • Article Types
  • Manuscript Formatting Guidelines
  • Other Formatting Topics
  • Reporting Standards Required
  • Submission Checklists
• Presubmission Language Editing
• Indexing
• Publication Agreements and Charges
  • Licenses
  • Charges

General Comments

Although every manuscript is evaluated individually, key criteria that are used to evaluate the worthiness of publication include the following:

• Is it novel? Topics that have been published extensively are much less likely to get published. If the article is on a topic that has been heavily discussed previously, it needs to provide new information or otherwise represent a more definitive study than prior works.
• Are the methods appropriate? The study methods need to be designed in a way to specifically address the study hypothesis. For example, if the intent is to prove whether a certain therapy achieves an effect, this would require an interventional study design such as a randomized controlled trial.
• Is the study interesting? The study needs to be applicable for the journal’s readership. Topics that are very niche, vague, or have little broad applicability will be considered lower than those that have more broad appeal.
• Does it change practice or alter the current paradigm? Studies may report findings that are statistically significant that may not be clinically relevant or in any way alter our current understanding of a disease state or process. Studies that highlight findings that are more likely to impact current medical practice or significantly advance the scientific field are more likely to be considered.

How We Publish

The Journal of Sexual Medicine (JSM) is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes 12 issues per year online. After copyediting and review of the final proof, the Version of Record of the paper will publish on the Advance articles page. The Version of Record will be removed from Advance articles when it is published into an issue.

Please read these instructions carefully and follow them closely. The Editors may return manuscripts that do not follow these instructions.

Scope of the Journal

The Journal of Sexual Medicine (JSM) publishes multidisciplinary basic science and clinical research to define and understand the scientific basis of male, female, and couple’s sexual function and dysfunction. As an official journal of the International Society for Sexual Medicine and the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health, it provides healthcare professionals in sexual medicine with essential educational content and promotes the exchange of scientific information generated from experimental and clinical research.

JSM includes basic science and clinical research studies in the psychologic and biologic aspects of male, female, and couple’s sexual function and dysfunction, and highlights new observations and research, results with innovative treatments and all other topics relevant to clinical sexual medicine.

At the present time, with few exceptions, JSM does not routinely publish articles in the infertility, sexually transmitted infection, or obstetric space unless there is a specific sexual medicine component to the research.

The objective of JSM is to serve as an interdisciplinary forum to integrate the exchange among disciplines concerned with the whole field of human sexuality. The journal accomplishes this objective by publishing original articles, as well as other scientific and educational documents that support the mission of the International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM).

Specifically, the ISSM aims: To establish a scientific Society to benefit the public by encouraging the highest standards of practice, education, and research in the field of human sexuality; To develop and assist in developing scientific methods for the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of conditions affecting human sexual function; To promote the publication and encourage contributions to the medical and scientific literature in the field of sexual function.

Editorial Policies

Peer Review Process

The Journal operates with double-anonymized peer review, meaning that the identity of the authors is hidden from reviewers, and the reviewers’ identities are hidden from the authors. The editors know the identity of both the reviewers and the authors.

Appeals and Complaints

Authors may appeal an editorial decision. To do so, please contact the editorial office ([email protected]), providing as much specific detail as possible about why the original decision should be reconsidered. Every appeal will receive a response within a reasonable timeframe. Please do not resubmit your manuscript in the interim.

To register a complaint regarding non-editorial decisions, the Journal’s policies and procedures, editors, or staff, please contact us ([email protected]). Complaints will be taken seriously and will be carried forward following COPE guidelines and processes and/or sanctions will be enacted if deemed appropriate.

Self-Archiving Policy

Self-archiving refers to posting a copy of your work on a publicly accessible website or repository. Under certain circumstances, you may self-archive versions of your work on your own webpages, on institutional webpages, and in other repositories. For information about the Journal's policy, and to learn which version(s) of your paper are acceptable for self-archiving, please see our Author self-archiving policy.

Availability of Data and Materials

Where ethically feasible, the Journal strongly encourages authors to make all data and software code on which the conclusions of the paper rely available to readers. Whenever possible, data should be presented in the main manuscript or additional supporting files or deposited in a public repository. Visit OUP’s Research data page for information on general repositories for all data types, and resources for selecting repositories by subject area. When data and software underlying the research article are available in an online source, authors should include a full citation in their reference list. For details of the minimum information to be included in data and software citations see the OUP guidance on citing research data and software.

Publication and Research Ethics

Authorship

Authorship is confined to those who have made a significant contribution to the design and execution of the work described. The Journal will contact all listed authors at the point of submission to confirm their role. Any contributors whose participation does not meet the criteria for authorship should be acknowledged but not listed as an author. For a detailed definition of authorship, please see the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) definitions of authors and contributors.

The Journal does not allow ghost authorship, where an unnamed author prepares the article with no credit, or guest/gift authorship, where an author who made little or no contribution is listed as an author. The Journal follows Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidance on investigating and resolving these cases. For more information, please see the OUP Publication Ethics page.

After manuscript submission, no authorship changes (including the authorship list, author order, and who is designated as the corresponding author) should be made without the approval of the editor. All co-authors must agree on the change(s), and neither the Journal nor the publisher mediates such disputes. If individuals cannot agree on the authorship of a submitted manuscript, contact the editorial office ([email protected]). The dispute must be resolved among the individuals and their institution(s) before the manuscript can be accepted for publication. If an authorship dispute or change arises after a paper is accepted, contact OUP’s Author Support team ([email protected]). COPE provides guidance for authors on resolving authorship disputes.

JSM limits the number of authors to 8 except in certain circumstances. When submitting papers with longer author lists, the senior should notify the Chief Editor and request permission for such.

ORCID

Authors are encouraged to provide their ORCID iDs (Open Researcher and Contributor IDs) at submission and take advantage of the benefits of participating in ORCID. If you do not already have an ORCID iD, you can register for free via the ORCID website.

As ORCID identifiers are collected, they are included in papers and displayed online, both in the HTML and PDF versions of the publication, in compliance with recommended practice issued by ORCID. ORCID functionality online allows users to link to the ORCID website to view an author’s profile and list of publications. ORCID iDs are displayed on web pages and are sent downstream to third parties in data feeds, where supported.

If you have registered with ORCID, you can associate your ORCID iD with your submission system account by going to your account details, entering your ORCID iD, and validating your details. Learn more about ORCID and how to link it to your account.

CRediT

The Journal uses the contributor roles taxonomy (CRediT), which allows authors to describe the contributor roles in a standardized, transparent, and accurate way. Authors should choose from the contributor roles outlined on the CRediT website and supply this information upon submission. You may choose multiple contributor roles per author. Any other individuals who do not meet the authorship criteria and made less substantive contributions should be listed in your manuscript as non-author contributors with their contributions clearly described and listed only in the Acknowledgments section. Following manuscript submission, any changes to author/contributor roles require the approval of the editor.

The submitting author is required to declare the contributions of each author to the article at the submission phase; this declaration should follow the CRediT taxonomy. This Statement of Authorship is to be added to the separately uploaded Title Page.

Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest

Authors

The Journal requires all authors to disclose any potential conflict of interest at the point of submission. Conflicts of interest should be clearly labeled and included on the title page and in the appropriate box of the ScholarOne submission system. Additionally, conflicts should be listed in a de-identified way in the manuscript itself. These statements will be published if the article is accepted. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to ensure that conflicts of interest of all authors are declared to the Journal.

A conflict of interest exists when the position, activities, or relationships of an individual, whether direct or indirect, financial, or non-financial, could influence or be seen to influence the opinions or activities of the individual. For more information, refer to OUP’s definition of conflict of interest. The Journal follows the COPE guidance for any undisclosed conflict of interest that emerges during peer review, production, or after publication.

If an undisclosed competing interest comes to light after publication, the journal will take action in accordance with COPE guidelines in consultation with journal, publisher, and society policies; after investigation, this could include the publication of a correction notice or complete retraction of the article. Repeated occurrences of undisclosed conflicts of interest may lead to more significant consequences.

Although authors are not expected or required to submit conflicts of interest that do not relate to the current study being published, if in doubt, disclose.

Peer Reviewers

Individuals that have a conflict of interest relating to a submitted manuscript should recuse themselves and will not be assigned to oversee, handle, or peer review the manuscript.

If during peer review an editor, reviewer, or author becomes aware of a conflict of interest that was not previously known or disclosed they must inform the Editor-in-Chief immediately.

Editors and Editorial Board Members

At initial submission, the corresponding author must declare if the Editor-in-Chief, an Editor, or an Editorial Board Member of the Journal is an author of or contributor to the manuscript. Another Editor without a conflict of interest will oversee the peer review and decision-making process.

Previously Published Material

You should only submit your manuscript(s) to the Journal if:

• It is original work by you and your co-author(s).
• It is not under consideration, in peer review, or accepted for publication in any other publication.
• It has not been published in any other publication.
• It contains nothing abusive, defamatory, derogatory, obscene, fraudulent, or illegal.

The submitting author must disclose in their cover letter and provide copies of all related or similar preprints, dissertations, manuscripts, published papers, and reports by the same authors (i.e., those containing substantially similar content or using the same, similar, or a subset of data) that have been previously published or posted electronically or are under consideration elsewhere at the time of manuscript submission. You must also provide a concise explanation of how the submitted manuscript differs from these related manuscripts and papers. All related previously published papers should be cited as references and described in the submitted manuscript.

For previously published materials including tables and figures, please see the Reusing copyrighted materials section.

Preprints

As an author, you retain the right to make an Author’s Original Version (preprint) available through various channels and this does not prevent submission to the Journal. If accepted, the authors are required to update the status of any preprint, including adding your published paper’s DOI. If accepted, the authors are required to update the status of any preprint, including adding your published paper’s DOI. For full details on allowed channels and updating your preprint, please see our Author Self-Archiving policy page.

Reusing Copyrighted Material / Third Party Permissions

As an author, you must obtain permission for any material used within your manuscript for which you are not the rightsholder, including quotations, tables, figures, or images. In seeking permissions for published materials, first contact the publisher rather than the author. For unpublished materials, start by contacting the creator. Copies of each grant of permission should be provided to the editorial office of the Journal. The permissions agreement must include the following:

• Nonexclusive rights to reproduce the material in your paper in JSM
• Rights for use in print and electronic format at a minimum, and preferably for use in any form or medium
• Lifetime rights to use the material
• Worldwide English-language rights

If you have chosen to publish under an open access license but have not obtained open access re-use permissions for third-party material contained within the manuscript, this must be stated clearly by supplying a credit line alongside the material with the following information:

• Title of content
• Author, Original publication, year of original publication, by permission of [rightsholder]
• This image/content is not covered by the terms of the Creative Commons license of this publication. For permission to reuse, please contact the rights holder.

Our publisher, Oxford University Press, provides detailed Copyright and Permissions Guidelines, and a summary of the fundamental information.

Misconduct

Authors should observe high standards with respect to research integrity and publication ethics as set out by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Falsification or fabrication of data including inappropriate image manipulation, plagiarism, including duplicate publication of the author's own work without proper citation, and misappropriation of work are all unacceptable practices. Allegations of ethical misconduct, both directly and through social media, are treated seriously and will be investigated in accordance with the relevant COPE guidance.

If misconduct has been established beyond reasonable doubt, this may result in one or more of the following outcomes, among others:

• If a submitted manuscript is still under consideration, it may be rejected and returned to the author.
• If a paper has already been published online, depending on the nature and severity of the infraction, either a correction notice will be published and linked to the paper, or retraction of the paper will occur, following the COPE Retraction Guidelines.
• The relevant party’s institution(s) and/or other journals may be informed.

Manuscripts submitted to the Journal may be screened with plagiarism-detection software. Any manuscript may be screened, especially if there is reason to suppose that part or all of the manuscript has been previously published.

Plagiarism includes self-plagiarism or text recycling from authors’ own published work.

COPE defines redundant/overlapping publication as “when a published work (or substantial sections from a published work) is/are published more than once (in the same or another language) without adequate acknowledgment of the source/cross-referencing/justification, or when the same (or substantially overlapping) data is presented in more than one publication without adequate cross-referencing/justification, particularly when this is done in such a way that reviewers/readers are unlikely to realize that most or all the findings have been published before.”

COPE defines citation manipulation as “behaviors intended to inflate citation counts for personal gain, such as: excessive self-citation of an authors’ own work, excessive citation to the journal publishing the citing article, and excessive citation between journals in a coordinated manner.”

Data fabrication is defined as intentionally creating fake data or misrepresenting research results. An example includes making up data sets.

Data falsification is defined as manipulating research data with the purpose of intentionally giving a false representation. This can apply to images, research materials, equipment, or processes.

Examples include cropping of gels/images to change context and omission of selected data.

If notified of a potential breach of research misconduct or publication ethics, the Journal editor and editorial office staff may inform OUP and/or the author’s institutional affiliation(s).

Ethical Research

The Journal follows Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines on ethical oversight. We take research integrity seriously, and all research published in the Journal must have been conducted in a fair and ethical manner. Wherever appropriate, the Journal requires that all research be done according to international and local guidelines.

Authors' Professional and Ethical Responsibilities

Should possible scientific misconduct or dishonesty in research submitted for review be suspected or alleged, JSM reserves the right to forward any submitted manuscript to the sponsoring or funding institution or to other appropriate authorities for investigation. The journal also screens manuscripts for incidents of plagiarism; please ensure that manuscripts present original data written in unique language.

Human Subjects

When reporting on human subjects, authors should indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Helsinki Declaration, which were developed by the World Medical Association. For non-interventional studies, where ethical approval is not required or where a study has been granted an exemption by an ethics committee, this should be stated within the manuscript with a full explanation. Otherwise, manuscripts must include a statement in the Methods section that the research was performed after approval by a local ethics committee, institutional review board and/or local licensing committee, or that such approval was not required. The name of the authorizing body and any reference/permit numbers (where available) should also be stated there. Please be prepared to provide further information to the editorial office upon request.

Human subjects must give written informed consent, or if they are minors or incapacitated, such consent must be obtained from their parents or guardians. Consent forms should cover not only study participation but also the publication of the data collected. Also, any patient or provider information should be anonymized to the extent possible; names and ID numbers should not be used in the text and must be removed from any images (X-rays, photographs, etc.). Please note, censoring an individual’s eyes in a photograph is not an effective way to conceal their identity. In studies where verbal, rather than written, informed consent was obtained, this must be explained and stated within the manuscript. If informed consent is not required or where a study has been granted an exemption, this must be included in the Methods section along with the name of the authorizing body. Please be prepared to provide written consent forms signed by the participants or other appropriate documentation to the editorial office upon request.

Clinical Trials

Clinical trials should be registered before enrollment of the first subject in accordance with the criteria outlined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). When reporting primary or secondary analyses from a clinical trial, follow these criteria:

• Provide the trial registration number at the end of the Abstract.
• When the trial acronym is first used in the manuscript, provide the registration number and a link to the trial registration, which should be cited as a reference.
• If your data have been deposited in a public repository and/or are being used in a secondary analysis, please state at the end of the Abstract the unique, persistent data set identifier, and repository name and number.
• When submitting the manuscript, you must disclose any protocol alterations and all posting of results of the submitted work or closely related work in registries.

In general, randomized, interventional, prospective clinical trials that were not previously registered with an entity such as clinicaltrials.gov or an equivalent will not be considered acceptable for publication.

Animal Subjects

Studies involving animals require approval from the relevant institutional ethics committee or institutional animal use and care committee, and the research must be conducted in accordance with applicable national and international guidelines. All such manuscripts must include a statement in the Methods section providing details of the name of the committee(s) that approved the study, as well as the permit or animal license numbers where available. Where a study has been granted an exemption, this must be stated in the Methods section along with the name of the authorizing body. Please be prepared to provide further information to the editorial office upon request.

You are encouraged to consult the ARRIVE guidelines recommended by the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3R).

Where applicable, any euthanasia or anesthesia methods must be carried out in accordance with applicable veterinary guidelines. These methods must be described in detail in the manuscript.

Manuscripts describing research involving laboratory-based animals must include details on housing, husbandry, and steps taken to reduce suffering. In studies where experimental animals were euthanized, details must be provided on humane endpoints. Details on the planned behavioral observations or physiological measurements used to determine the humane endpoint must be described. You are advised to consult the NC3Rs guide on Humane Endpoints and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Guidelines for the Humane Slaughter of Animals.

Submission

We will consider your manuscript as long as:

• It is your own original work and does not duplicate any previously published work, including your own;
• It, and any part of it, is not under consideration, in peer review, or accepted for publication in any journal other than JSM;
• It has not been published in any other journal in English or any other language; and
• It contains nothing abusive, defamatory, libelous, obscene, fraudulent, or illegal.

Authors should observe high ethical standards and obey publication best practices. The following are all unacceptable:

• Data falsification or fabrication
• Plagiarism, including duplicate publication of your own work without proper citation
• Misappropriation of work

We treat any case of ethical or publication malpractice very seriously. We will address them in accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines. Further information about OUP’s ethical policies is available.

How to Submit

You must submit your paper via our web-based submission system ScholarOne. If you have not published with JSM before, you will need to create an account. More information is available on the ScholarOne Manuscripts FAQ and help page. Questions about submitting can be sent to the editorial office at [email protected].

Article Types

This journal publishes several article types:

Original Research—Approximate Word Count: 2,500

Original research papers are scientific reports from original research in sexual medicine. Please note: the word count is a guide; we will consider papers over this word limit.

Each submission should include:

• Title Page
• Abstract
• References—no limit on number
• Tables and figures—no limit on number
• Conflicts of interest and funding statements: de-identified in the manuscript file (e.g., *** - Consultant for Boston Scientific and Coloplast) and complete statements on the separately uploaded Title Page.
• Completed reporting guideline checklist to demonstrate the completeness of reporting in your manuscript.
• Failure to adhere to reporting best practices will result in revisions being requested ahead of publication. For more information on relevant reporting guidelines, please see the section below entitled Reporting Standards Required.

Review—No length limit

In general, JSM only accepts systematic and meta-analytic reviews. Review articles should represent a timely, in-depth treatment of an issue. Systematic reviews should adhere to PRISMA and PRISMA-S reporting guidelines.

Each submission should include:

• Title Page
• Abstract
• References—no limit on number
• Tables and figures—no limit on number
• Conflicts of interest and Funding statements: de-identified in the manuscript file (e.g., *** - Consultant for Boston Scientific and Coloplast) and complete statements on the separately uploaded Title Page.
• Completed reporting guideline(s) to demonstrate the completeness of reporting in your manuscript.
• Failure to adhere to reporting best practices will result in revisions being requested ahead of publication. For more information on relevant reporting guidelines, please see the section below entitled Reporting Standards Required.

Brief Communication—Maximum Word Count: 1,200

Brief communication papers are appropriate for things such as negative clinical studies, studies with limited data, studies that were closed early due to poor enrollment, or otherwise highly niche topics which may not otherwise be published.

Each submission should include:

• Title Page
• No abstract
• Executive Summary uploaded as supplemental material (please see the section below entitled Executive Summary for content, structure, and length)
• The manuscript should not use structured headings (e.g., Introduction, Methods, etc.), but should use narrative text only
• Any figures / tables can only be included as supplementary materials (and must be referred to in the text as supplemental material, eg, Figure S1, Table S1, etc.)
• Conflicts of interest and Funding statements: de-identified in the manuscript file (e.g., *** - Consultant for Boston Scientific and Coloplast) and complete statements on the separately uploaded Title Page.
• Maximum number of references 4

Complications and Cases (C&C) – Maximum Word Count: 1,200

This article type is reserved for things such as case reports, descriptions of previously unreported complications, or other similar types of studies. These are not in-depth reviews and do not meet the rigorous criteria of an original article. Rather, they are areas where authors can report uncommon findings and observations.

Each submission should include:

• Title Page
• No abstract
• Executive Summary uploaded as supplemental material (please see the section below entitled Executive Summary for content, structure, and length)
• The manuscript should not use structured headings (e.g., Introduction, Methods, etc.), but should use narrative text only
• Any figures / tables can only be included as supplementary materials (and must be referred to in the text as supplemental material, eg, Figure S1, Table S1, etc.)
• Conflicts of interest and Funding statements: de-identified in the manuscript file (e.g., *** - Consultant for Boston Scientific and Coloplast) and complete statements on the separately uploaded Title Page.
• Maximum number of references 4

Expert Opinion—Maximum Word Count: 1,200

Opinions present potentially controversial viewpoints, with the aim of encouraging debate. These are science-based, opinion pieces that may either be commissioned or directly submitted to JSM and are subjected to peer review.

Each submission should include:

• Title Page
• No abstract
• The manuscript should not use structured headings (e.g., Introduction, Methods, etc.), but should use narrative text only
• Any figures / tables can only be included as supplementary materials (and must be referred to in the text as supplemental material, eg, Figure S1, Table S1, etc.)
• Conflicts of interest and Funding statements: de-identified in the manuscript file (e.g., *** - Consultant for Boston Scientific and Coloplast) and complete statements on the separately uploaded Title Page.
• Maximum number of references 4

How I Do It – Unlimited Word Count

The How I Do It section is by invitation only. In this section, we will invite experts who have contemporary publications on a particular subject to describe their technique with given procedures. The author selection will be done in a methodological manner to minimize bias. All authors who are invited to submit will be included on the manuscript and will be considered as having equal status on the manuscript (i.e., shared first author). The submission will be performed by a single author and will collate the information gathered from the various experts.

Each submission should include:

• Title Page
• Abstract
• References—no limit on number
• Tables and figures—no limit on number
• Conflicts of interest and Funding statements: de-identified in the manuscript file (e.g., *** - Consultant for Boston Scientific and Coloplast) and complete statements on the separately uploaded Title Page.

Innovations – Maximum Word Count: 1,200

The Innovation section is intended to be used for novel descriptions of treatments, techniques, or other similar, first-of-its kind descriptions. The articles are not comprehensive reviews but rather just first types of descriptions. They are peer reviewed and do need to meet the criteria of being a substantive improvement overall. As such, authors are welcome to present preliminary data demonstrating superiority over existing techniques or otherwise describing how this builds upon prior techniques and procedures. These do not need to be limited to surgical techniques and could include descriptions of novel classification systems, etc.

Each submission should include:

• Title Page
• No abstract
• Executive Summary uploaded as supplemental material (please see the section below entitled Executive Summary for content, structure, and length)
• The manuscript should not use structured headings (e.g., Introduction, Methods, etc.), but should use narrative text only
• Any figures / tables can only be included as supplementary materials (and must be referred to in the text as supplemental material, eg, Figure S1, Table S1, etc.)
• Conflicts of interest and Funding statements: de-identified in the manuscript file (e.g., *** - Consultant for Boston Scientific and Coloplast) and complete statements on the separately uploaded Title Page.
• Maximum number of references 4

Letter to the Editor—Maximum Word Count: 1,000

Letters to the Editor generally consist of unsolicited or solicited comments on particular JSM articles. The Letters may be critical, laudatory, or just provide perspective or commentaries on the articles themselves. Letters will be considered by the Editors and may be published after consultation or peer review. The authors of the original article will be given the option of providing a Response.

Each submission should include:

• Title Page
• No abstract
• The letter should not use structured headings (e.g., Introduction, Methods, etc.), but should use narrative text only
• Any figures / tables can only be included as supplementary materials (and must be referred to in the text as supplemental material)
• Conflicts of interest and Funding statements: de-identified in the manuscript file (e.g., *** - Consultant for Boston Scientific and Coloplast) and complete statements on the separately uploaded Title Page.
• Maximum number of references 4

Surveys – Maximum Word Count: 1,200

The Surveys section is intended to be used to report results of surveys. In many cases, these types of studies are not large enough or representative enough to merit an Original Article, and this area allows for reporting of these types of studies. Specifically, whenever a convenience sample is used, online forums, relatively low response rates, small overall numbers, or other similar limitations are present, the Survey article type would be preferred.

Each submission should include:

• Title Page
• No abstract
• Executive Summary uploaded as supplemental material (please see the section below entitled Executive Summary for content, structure, and length)
• The manuscript should not use structured headings (e.g., Introduction, Methods, etc.), but should use narrative text only
• Any figures / tables can only be included as supplementary materials (and must be referred to in the text as supplemental material, eg, Figure S1, Table S1, etc.)
• Maximum number of references 4

Manuscript Formatting Guidelines

Specific instructions for JSM can be found below. General guidelines on preparing your manuscript for publication can be found on OUP’s Preparing and submitting your manuscript page.

Title Page

• Upload a title page for your manuscript that is separate from the rest of the main document (uploaded as a Title Page submission item in .doc format), including:
  1. Full author names and the highest qualifications (PhD, MD, etc.) for all authors
  2. Institution, city, and country details for each author
  3. Address of corresponding author (including the email address for the person to whom the proof notification is to be sent).
  4. 4-10 keywords (MeSH headings should be used whenever possible)
  5. Acknowledgements (e.g., providing language help, writing assistance, etc.)
  6. Funding statement
  7. Other statements: complete conflict of interest disclosures, author contributions, other statements, etc.
     • If any: Preprints, presentation/s of work at conferences, etc.

Abstract

• Abstracts are not required for all article types. Please reference the section, Article Types for information as to whether an abstract is required for your specific article type.
• Maximum word count: 400
• Abstracts for Original Research submissions should be structured as follows:
  • Background
  • Aim
  • Methods
  • Outcomes
  • Results
  • Clinical Implications
  • Strengths & Limitations
  • Conclusion
• Abstracts for Review submissions should be structured as follows:
  • Introduction
  • Objectives
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Conclusion

Executive Summary

• An Executive Summary is not required for all article types. Please reference the section, Article Types for information as to whether an Executive Summary is required for your specific article type.

For relevant article types, provide an Executive Summary of approximately 400 words, uploaded as supplemental material, following the structure below. Please note that a bulleted format is preferred for the Executive Summary rather than narrative text paragraphs. The content that would go into the Executive Summary would be similar to the content typically included in an abstract.

Background

• Background detail related to hypothesis and need for study
• Background detail related to hypothesis and need for study
• Etc.

Objective

• Primary objective
• Secondary objectives

Methods

• Method detail 1
• Method detail 2
• Method detail 3
• Etc.

Results

• Key finding 1
• Key finding 2
• Key finding 3
• Etc.

Clinical Impact

• Importance of findings and impact on clinical practice

Notable Comments

• Other notable comments, e.g., largest series of its kind
• Strengths / weaknesses / limitations

Conclusions

• 1-3 conclusion statements that are based solely on the data provided in the manuscript

Manuscript

• Use continuous line numbering throughout the manuscript.
• Please upload the main manuscript in .doc format with no identifying author information.
• Although exceptions are permitted depending on article type and based on specific topic circumstances, in general the manuscript should be structured as follows:
  1. Introduction
  2. Materials and Methods
  3. Results
  4. Discussion
  5. Conclusion
  6. Conflicts of interest and Funding statements: de-identified in the manuscript file (e.g., *** - Consultant for Boston Scientific and Coloplast) and complete unblinded statements on the separately uploaded Title Page.
  7. References
  8. Figure legend/s

Tables and Figures

• Upload each table (as a word processing document file) and each figure (in .tif, .jpg, or .eps) as a separate file under the appropriate submission item type.
• Tables and figures should be numbered in the order that the callouts appear in the text (e.g., Table 1, Table 2, etc.), including any supplementary material.
• Ideally, wherever appropriate, a figure should be provided for the key study findings.
• For interventional or cohort type studies, a demographics table should be provided.
• Please pay attention to the quality of all figures and artwork supplied:
  1. Figures should be submitted in one of the following file formats: .jpeg, .jpg, .tif or .eps. Images prepared as .bmp, .gif, .doc/.docx or .pdf files will not be accepted. You must include figure titles, legends, and captions within the manuscript file - they should not be included in the image files. Submit all panels of a multi-panel figure as one single figure file; each panel should be labeled with a letter (A, B, C, D, etc.) in the upper-left corner of each panel.
  2. Images of maps, charts, graphs, shapes, and diagrams are best rendered digitally as vector graphics. These file types do not use pixels; therefore, resolution does not apply to vector images. Save vector images as .eps files and embed the fonts.
  3. Images of photographs, paintings, or scans can be provided as raster images. Raster images should be saved as uncompressed .tiff files to avoid quality loss; .jpg/.png file formats are acceptable for raster images but may result in a lower resolution. The resolution of raster files is measured by the number of dots or pixels in a given area, referred to as “dpi” or “ppi.”
  4. Minimum resolution required for color half-tones: 300dpi
  5. Minimum resolution for grayscale half-tones: 600dpi
  6. Minimum resolution for combination half-tones and line art: 600-900dpi
  7. Minimum resolution for monochrome line art (complex or finely drawn): 1200dpi
  8. Please also consider accessibility when designing your figure, so that your images can be easily understood by color-blind and visually-impaired readers. Guidelines for preparing different image-types, including recommendations for color palettes, color contrast, image layout, and text accessibility.
  9. Should your figures originate in a PowerPoint presentation, please remove: any previous presentation effects, such as line-art color that is not of didactic value; background color or shading effects and 3-dimensional views where 2D can convey results with equal effectiveness.
  10. All text included in figure labels must be of a sufficient size to be legible should the figure be resized during typesetting.
  11. Do not include the figure title or figure identification number within the figure itself. This does not reproduce effectively and typically does not fit journal style.

References

• All references must be displayed sequentially based upon order of citation.
• You may format references in any readable style at submission; references can be in any format as long as the format is consistent and the information is correct and complete. You are responsible for the accuracy of reference information.
• In general, references to unpublished manuscripts should not be used except in rare circumstances. In those cases, the unpublished nature of the work should be highlighted in the text.
• References at the end of each manuscript should be listed in the order in which they are first cited in the text.
• References to articles in press must state name of journal and if possible, volume and year.

Supplementary Material

• Supplementary material must be cited in the text of the main manuscript (eg, Supplemental Details S1, Figure S1, Table S1, etc.).
• Supplementary materials will be published exactly as they are received (Excel or PowerPoint files will appear as such online).
• Style and formatting of supplementary material should be consistent with that of the manuscript.
• Supplementary material should be formatted to function on any internet browser.
  • Documentation and online appendices should be submitted in PDF file format.
  • Data files should be submitted in a .zip file format.
• Supplementary material, such as applications, images, and sound clips, can be published with your article to enhance it.
• Please submit your material together with the article and supply a concise, descriptive caption for each supplementary file. If you wish to make changes to supplementary material during any stage of the process, provide an updated file.
• Do not include author-identifying information in supplementary material.

Reporting Guideline Checklist

• Depending on article type, a reporting guideline checklist should be included with the manuscript.
• The specific checklist required based on article type is listed below in the Reporting Standards Required Section

Other Formatting Topics

Style

The journal generally follows AMA style. Please refer to these requirements when preparing your manuscript. More information on the style guide is available. US spelling should be used throughout, except in quotations and in references.

Abbreviations

Please define nonstandard abbreviations at the first occurrence. A list of acceptable abbreviations is published in the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journals (also known as the Declaration of Vancouver). For more information, refer to: International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journal (Ann Intern Med 1997;126:36-47). You may contact the Editor or publisher directly with questions.

Units

Follow internationally accepted rules and conventions: use the international system of units (SI). If other units are mentioned, please give their equivalent in SI.

Math Formulae

Please submit math equations as editable text and not as images. Present simple formulae in line with normal text where possible and use the solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line for small fractional terms, e.g., X/Y. In principle, variables are to be presented in italics. Powers of e are often more conveniently denoted by exp. Number consecutively any equations that have to be displayed separately from the text.

Use of Inclusive Language

Inclusive language acknowledges diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to differences, and promotes equal opportunities. Content should make no assumptions about the beliefs or commitments of any reader; contain nothing which might imply that one individual is superior to another on the grounds of age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability, or health condition; and use inclusive language throughout. Authors should ensure that writing is free from bias, stereotypes, slang, reference to dominant culture and/or cultural assumptions. We advise to seek gender neutrality by using plural nouns ("clinicians, patients/clients") as default/wherever possible to avoid using "he, she," or "he/she." We recommend avoiding the use of descriptors that refer to personal attributes such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability, or health condition unless they are relevant and valid. When coding terminology is used, we recommend to avoid offensive or exclusionary terms such as "master", "slave", "blacklist" and "whitelist". We suggest using alternatives that are more appropriate and (self-) explanatory such as "primary", "secondary", "blocklist" and "allowlist". These guidelines are meant as a point of reference to help identify appropriate language but are by no means exhaustive or definitive.

Figure accessibility and alt text

Incorporating alt text (alternative text) when submitting your paper helps to foster inclusivity and accessibility. Good alt text ensures that individuals with visual impairments or those using screen readers can comprehend the content and context of your figures. The aim of alt text is to provide concise and informative descriptions of your figure so that all readers have access to the same level of information and understanding, and that all can engage with and benefit from the visual elements integral to scholarly content. Including alt text demonstrates a commitment to accessibility and enhances the overall impact and reach of your work.  

Alt text is applicable to all images, figures, illustrations, and photographs. 

Alt text is only accessible via e-reader and so it won’t appear as part of the typeset article. 

Detailed guidance on how to draft and submit alt text. 

Statistical Guidelines

All submitted manuscripts containing data analyses will be evaluated for the integrity of the statistical methods as well as a sufficient description of the methodological approach. This will entail evaluation of the study design, statistical analysis and presentation and interpretation of study results. As a general guideline, readers of the manuscript should be able to replicate the analysis with the same data based on the description given in the Methods section. Authors are encouraged to carefully select language in the Discussion that is appropriate given the study design and refrain from causal inferences from observational (nonrandomized) studies.

Authors should also be explicit about the limitations of the study. Failure to disclose important limitations upon submission will be viewed with greater scrutiny than those clearly discussed. Key elements which should be consistent for all submitted manuscripts include the following:

• Report the sample size n for each study and each analysis
• Describe the power analysis to justify the sample size if appropriate
• Identify all statistical methods and verify the assumptions for all statistical tests
• Provide alpha (the probability of a Type I error) for all statistical tests
• Specify whether tests are one- or two-sided
• When multivariate analysis is used, a univariate analysis table should also be presented
• Report the descriptive statistics (n, mean, median, and standard deviation) for all continuous variables
• Report n and the sample proportion for binary variables
• Adequately explain complex statistical procedures such a multivariate logistic regression and the Cox proportional hazards regression model and verify the assumptions of each such procedure
• Report the actual P-values to two decimal places and explain what is meant by statistical significance. For p-values <0.01, the following should be used: <0.01, <0.001, or <0.0001.
• Discuss and describe adjustments for multiple testing
• State the name, version, manufacturer, and manufacturer location for all statistical or other data management software used as part of the research project

Drugs and Devices

Use of generic drug names (or generic name followed by trade name in parentheses) may be used. Include manufacturer and their location (city and country) for drugs and devices.

Cell Line Authentication

To ensure the highest standards of quality and accuracy, The Journal of Sexual Medicine strongly encourages the authentication of cell lines used in the research submitted. Manuscripts based on research using cell lines must include a statement addressing the following points in the Methods section of the manuscript:

• Where the cells were obtained from;
• Whether the cell lines have been tested and authenticated via the method by which the cells were tested

If cells were obtained directly from a cell bank that performs cell line characterizations and passaged in the user's laboratory for fewer than 6 months after receipt or resuscitation, re-authorization is not required. In these cases, please include the method of characterization used by the cell bank. If the cell lines were obtained from an alternate source, authors must provide authentication of the origin and identity of the cells. This is best achieved by DNA (STR) profiling. The DNA profile should be cross-checked with the DNA profile of the donor tissue (in case of a new cell line) or with the DNA profile of other continuous cell lines.

Gene Names and Genetic Profiling Data

Please mark all gene names in italics. However, only the gene names should be written in italics, to distinguish them from gene products, gene segments, clusters, families, complexes, or groups. Authors should only use the official gene name as assigned by the respective gene nomenclature committee. Regarding comprehensive data sets of genetic profiling (microarray) studies, raw data must be in a publicly available database that requires MIAME format (for example, “GEO” or “Array Express”) upon submission of a paper. Nucleotide sequence data can be submitted in electronic form to any of the three major collaborative databases: DDBJ, EMBL or GenBank. It is only necessary to submit to one database as data are exchanged between DDBJ, EMBL and GenBank on a daily basis. The suggested wording for referring to accession-number information is: ‘These sequence data have been submitted to the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases under accession number U12345.’

Reporting Standards Required

Trial Registrations

All prospective, randomized, controlled trials with patient enrollment must be registered in a public database that meets the requirements of the World Health Organization. Currently, such registries include the following:

• Australian Clinical Trials
• ClinicalTrials.gov
• ISRCTN Registry
• UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN CTR)

For more information, please refer to the ICMJE Clinical Trials guidelines. Upon submission, please provide the registration identification number and the URL for the trial’s registry in your cover letter.

Submission Checklists

For Reviews and Original Research articles, authors are required to complete one of the reporting checklists listed below. Authors should upload a completed copy of the reporting checklist(s) with their submission.

Presubmission Language Editing

You may wish to use a language-editing service before submitting to ensure that editors and reviewers understand your manuscript. Our publisher, Oxford University Press, partners with Enago, a leading provider of author services. Prospective authors are entitled to a discount of 30% for editing services at Enago, through the OUP-Enago partner page.

Enago is an independent service provider, who will handle all aspects of this service, including payment. As an author you are under no obligation to take up this offer. Language editing is optional and does not guarantee that your manuscript will be accepted. Edited manuscripts will undergo the regular review process of the Journal.

Indexing

JSM is indexed by Academic Search (EBSCO), CAS: Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), Current Contents: Clinical Medicine (Clarivate Analytics), EMBASE (Elsevier), IBIDS: International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements, Journal Citation Reports/Science Citation Index (Clarivate Analytics), Index Medicus/MEDLINE/PubMed (NLM), PsycINFO, Science Citation Index Expanded (also known as SciSearch), and Scopus (Elsevier).

Publication Agreements and Charges

Authors are responsible to carefully read each section on the publishing agreements (also called licenses) and charges carefully.

Licenses

After your manuscript is accepted, you will be asked to sign either a copyright transfer agreement or an open access (Creative Commons) license through the Journals Licensing and Online Payments portal. There is a charge to publish under an open access license, which allows your paper to be freely accessible to all readers immediately upon online publication. Editorial decisions occur prior to this step and are not influenced by payment or ability to pay. The Copyright Transfer Agreement makes your paper available only to Journal subscribers and there is no charge associated with the agreement. Please note that some funders require open access publication as a condition of funding. If you are unsure whether you are required to publish open access, please check with your funder or institution before selecting your license.

Papers can be published under the following types of licenses:

• Standard license to publish (Oxford University Press (OUP) Journals, Standard Publication Model)
• Creative Commons Attribution license (CC BY)
• Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives license (CC BY-NC-ND)

Please see the OUP guidance on Licenses, copyright, and re-use rights for more information regarding these publishing agreement options.

Complying with Funder Mandates

Please note that some funders require open access publication as a condition of funding. If you are unsure whether you are required to publish open access, please do clarify any such requirements with your funder or institution before selecting your license. Further information on funder mandates and direct links to a range of funder policies.

Charges

Open Access Charges

Please see the details of open access licenses and charges. If you select an open access license, you must pay the open access charge or request to use an institutional agreement to pay the open access charge through the Journals Licensing and Online Payments portal. Please note that you may be eligible for a discount to the open access charge based on society membership.

Read and Publish

OUP has a growing number of open access agreements with institutions and consortia, which provide funding for open access publishing (also known as Read and Publish agreements). This means corresponding authors from participating institutions can publish open access, and the institution may pay the charge. Find out if your institution has an open access agreement.

Member Discounts

Authors who are members of the International Society for Sexual Medicine may be eligible for discounts on publication charges. Please provide your member identifier when prompted as you submit your manuscript.

Open access charge discount: Please see the open access charge list.