Focus and Scope

This Journal publishes editorials, original articles, review articles, case reports, and images related to medicine with an emphasis on respiratory and critical care medicine. Manuscripts on all aspects of clinical medicine will be considered for publication. The Journal also publishes articles about public policy and medicine, statistics, medicine in art, medical education, and regional medicine.

Peer Review Process

For almost all submissions, two peer reviewers evaluate each submission within two to six weeks and submit a written report to the editors. During peer review, all manuscripts are considered privileged communications; copying them, showing them to anyone, and discussing personal evaluations or recommendations are prohibited without approval of the editorial staff. Manuscripts are to be destroyed after the review is completed. Peer reviewers also are asked to report immediately to the editors any possible personal, professional, or financial conflicts of interest with authors or related to the topic; when a conflict exists, SRCCC editors then find another reviewer in their place.

Publication Frequency

This Journal publishes quarterly.

Open Access Policy

This Journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

Data Sharing Policy

Deidentified data sets may be shared with other investigators upon request provided that the purpose involves clinical investigation. Please contact the editor who will then contact the corresponding author for the particular article in question.

Article Processing Charge

The Journal does not have any article processing charges.

Reviewers

The reviewers' names will be listed at the end of each published article.

Conflicts of interest/human subjects/animal research

1. Authors are expected to list any important and relevant conflicts of interest related to submissions to the Journal. Potential conflicts of interest could include salary and research support from public and private corporations and recommendations for the off label use of medications and/or medical devices. Reviewers are expected to report potential conflicts of interest with the authors of submitted articles.

2. Studies involving human subjects are expected to be in compliance with policies and regulations of the institutional review boards at the institutions where the authors work. Prospective studies are expected to obtain written and informed consent from participants. Retrospective studies are expected to meet the criteria for the parent institutional review board for retrospective studies. In general, no identifying information will be provided regarding any patient or participant in the study. Review articles, case reports, and image studies do not require subject consent except under unusual circumstances in which a subject is unavoidably identified in a photo.

3. Studies based on the use of animal models are required to be compliant with animal use policies at the investigators’ home institutions and have approval for the study based on the review process used for these studies.

4. Authors shoulduse inclusive language throughout. 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.

Unusual Situations

The Journal has a formal policy for handling publications which require correction, retraction, or an editorial expression of concern. These situations are referred to a subcommittee of the editorial board which then provides a written report to the editor. The corresponding author is also contacted and asked to clarify the concern which might involve fraudulent data, plagiarism, duplicate publication, or inadequate consent for clinical studies. The corresponding author is asked to provide a written report which should be accompanied by a letter from his academic supervisor at his/her home institution. The editor then reviews these responses to make a decision. If there is still uncertainty about the publication, the issue can be referred to senior faculty or to legal counsel in the School of Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. The outcome of this review depends on the status of the publication. If it is an unpublished manuscript undergoing review, it can be withdrawn or revised to address the concern. If it is a published manuscript, it can be retracted or revised. If it is there a revision, the revision will need a new publication date and an editorial note at the bottom of the manuscript outlining the concern and the response. The corresponding author should be fully involved in this process.

Publishing Credentials

The Southwest Respiratory and Critical Care Chronicles is published by The J.T. & Margaret Talkington Department of Internal Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, Texas. TTUHSC is a large, state supported health sciences center with extensive experience in education, medical care, and research.

The editorial board maintains the scientific integrity of this Journal and its operation. All members of the editorial board have significant experience in teaching, clinical care, and/or clinical research. The editor has worked in pulmonary and critical care medicine for 40 plus years. His research experience includes basic science studies using animal models and in vitro techniques and clinical studies using prospective and retrospective designs and literature reviews. The editorial board has a significant aggregate experience in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, critical care medicine, and data analysis. All editorial board members are based in departments of internal medicine at medical schools or large health care organizations or in departments of statistics at universities. The editorial board has over 300 years of experience working in academic positions and more than 300 peer reviewed publications, not counting publications in this Journal. The editorial board has a broad geographical distribution in the United States.

The Journal has the administrative, technical, and academic support of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.

Sources of Support