Biological Psychiatry: Quick facts and submission tips
Aims and scope |
Biological Psychiatry publishes contributions, both basic and clinical, on a range of topics related to the pathophysiology and treatment of major neuropsychiatric disorders. |
Publisher |
Elsevier, for the Society of Biological Psychiatry (Jacksonville, Florida) |
Frequency of publication |
Twice a month (24 issues a year, divided into two equal volumes) |
Editorial information |
Dr John H Krystal is the Editor. He is with the Yale University School of Medicine and VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut. His research has focused on alcoholism, schizophrenia, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The editor is supported by a large team, which includes eight deputy editors, an editorial committee comprising six members, a large (90+ members) editorial board, an administrative editor, a managing editor, and a publication coordinator. More information here: |
CRITERIA FOR PUBLICATION
Biological Psychiatry encourages both basic and clinical contributions, particularly those related to genetic and environmental risk factors, neural circuitry and neurochemistry, and important new therapeutic approaches. Contributions are considered under the following categories:
- Archival reports: full-length research papers, typically in the IMRaD format, main text no more than 4000 words, and a 250-word structured abstract
- Priority communications: similar to archival reports but limited to conceptual advances in the field and not for preliminary results
- Reviews: concise (up to 4000 words) overviews of recent topics, unstructured abstract of 250 words, up to 150 references
- Techniques and methods: ‘new, improved, or noteworthy comments about techniques or methods relevant to basic or clinical research in, or treatment of, psychiatric disorders’, up to 3000 words of main text, unstructured abstract of 250 words, half a page of tables or figures
- Correspondence: online only, related to contributions published in the journal, up to 1000 words, no abstract
- Comments and editorials: generally invited, up to 1500 words and no more than 10 references
- Early career investigator commentaries: provide publishing opportunities to early career investigators, online only and with only one author, up to 1500 words and no more than 10 references
EDITORIAL POLICIES AND SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
All manuscripts must be uploaded through the Elsevier Editorial System at http://ees.elsevier.com/bps after logging in as an author (new authors are required to register first). The journal welcomes pre-submission enquiries (email biol.psych@utsouthwestern.edu along with an abstract).
MANUSCRIPT REVIEW PROCESS
Biological Psychiatry has a very high rejection rate (about 90%): roughly 60% of the submissions are rejected without editorial review in about 5 days; the other 40% are sent for regular review. Authors may suggest up to six names as potential reviewers but none should share the author’s affiliation. Each paper is usually reviewed by three independent reviewers.
GOOD PUBLISHING PRACTICES
Biological Psychiatry has a useful FAQ page for authors:(www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/content/faqs). Although word limits for different categories are strictly enforced, the limits apply from the first revision onwards. The journal promotes good writing: ‘A focused and clearly written manuscript is more likely to appeal to the readership. The brevity and clarity of the presentation will be taken into consideration by the Editors.’
Accepted articles go online immediately, within one week of final acceptance and before they are copy-edited, and can be cited (each is assigned a DOI, or digital object identifier). The final edited and proof-read versions follow in about four weeks. Overall, most articles are published with 4–5 months after submission.
INDEXING & METRICS
The impact factor for 2014 is 10.255.
USEFUL LINKS
Journal homepage: http://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/
For submissions: http://ees.elsevier.com/bps
Instructions to authors: http://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/
content/bps-authorinfo
Editorial board: http://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/content/edboard
Frequently asked questions by authors:
www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/content/faqs
Published on: Apr 15, 2016
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