Research Insights: Information for Contributors

Aim and Scope

Established in 2001, Research Insights is a peer-reviewed journal of mental health research at St. Joseph’s Health Care London. The journal is devoted to original scientific articles on all aspects of mental health and submitted as original research, case studies and brief reports.

Editorial Board

  • James D. Mendonça, PhD, CPsych, Editor
  • Yves Bureau PhD, CPsych, Statistical Editor
  • Verinder Sharma, MBBS, FRCP(C), Psychiatrist, St. Joseph’s Parkwood Institute
  • Richard O’Reilly, MB, FRCP(C), Psychiatrist, St. Joseph’s Parkwood Institute

Manuscript Types

Original Research 

Papers must not exceed 4,000 words with a maximum.

Reviews

Research Insights invites submission of systematic reviews with same word, table and figure limits as original research.

To ensure completeness of reporting, papers should use the PRISMA checklist and include a PRISMA flowsheet as a figure within the manuscript.

Brief Reports

Preliminary reports of on-going research may be accepted as Brief Reports.

Any case reports that are embedded in part of your article (or Brief Report) submission must be accompanied by a signed consent form.

Research Insights does not accept Letters to the Editor and Book Reviews.

Research Insights accepts submissions that conform to the following ethical guidelines:

Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts submitted for publication must follow the rules of APA Style, detailed in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition. A helpful tutorial can be found on the APA Style website.

The manuscript should include the following main sections:

  1. Title Page (The title page should include: Title, Author(s), Professional Credentials and Affiliations and Author Note indicating grant/funding information and a full correspondence address);
  2. Abstract (maximum of 250 words), and up to five key words or brief phrases. (The Abstract should be structured under the following headings: Objective, Method, Results, Conclusions and Limitations.);
  3. Introduction;
  4. Method;
  5. Results;
  6. Discussion;
  7. References; and
  8. Appendices (if appropriate).

We ask that papers not exceed 4000 words with a maximum five figures and tables combined. 


Brief Reports may be submitted for publication and should not exceed 1500 words.

The Brief Report manuscript should include the following:

  1. Title Page (as described above);
  2. Abstract (succinct with no headings);
  3. Introduction (include background highlights only, with a clear ‘purpose’ statement);
  4. Methods;
  5. Results (using a maximum of three tables or figures if necessary);
  6. Discussion (a concise outline of clinical implications and/or expected outcomes);
  7. References; and
  8. Appendix (if appropriate).

The Editor may be approached for any unique manuscript stylistic variations required by the subject matter.

Manuscript Submission and Processing

All manuscripts must be submitted to @email.  Authors will be informed by email of acceptance for review or request to re-submit with obvious clarifications/major format corrections prior to the manuscript being sent for blind review.

The cover letter for each manuscript should state: (a) that the manuscript is not, and will not be, under concurrent review by another journal; (b) that all co-authors have read and approved the manuscript and (c) that the treatment of any research participant follows the ethical standards of Western University’s Research Ethics Board.

All manuscripts are subjected to blind review. All manuscripts are reviewed for validity, relevance and salience of content and conclusions. The authors will be provided with anonymous peer reviewer’s comments to make necessary revisions before the manuscript can be accepted for publication. The author will be informed of the final decision by the Editor.

Revised manuscripts will be edited for conciseness, clarity and conformity with the Guidelines of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition.  The edited version and page proofs will be sent to the corresponding author for corrections and answers to queries.

Addresses 

In addition to postal addresses and phone numbers, the corresponding author should supply an email address for editorial communication.

Copyright 

Authors must comply with international copyright laws and obtain all the necessary permissions to reprint text, tables or figures from secondary sources.  A copy of such permission(s) should be attached to the manuscript submission.

Open Access

Research Insights is available on Lawson Health Research Institute’s website.