Resources for authors

TInformation for authors guide coverhis page is designed to aid authors in preparing and submitting final reports to the Health Technology Assessment journal series, and provide a collection of useful forms and documents which will be required throughout the editorial review and publication process. These forms, mentioned in the Resources for authors guide, must be completed by authors before finalised reports can be sent to the HTA publisher.

Authors are required to use the following Resources for authors guide when completing final reports. It contains a wealth of advice and information on subjects including formatting, processes, timelines and publication policies. There is also a section at the back of the guide containing useful web references.

Information for authors is provided on the NIHR Journals Library resources for authors page.

Administration forms

All of the required administration forms are available on the NIHR Journals Library resources for authors page.

Guidance on creating output files for forest plots using RevMan

Guidance for creating output files for forest plots using RevMan 4.2 (word, 231kb)


Please note that since the above guidance was written a newer version of the software has been produced, RevMan 5, which offers you more vector file format options. Please view the users guide below for details on the best way to save figures as files. If you need anymore details please email: edit@southampton.ac.uk

RevMan 5 Users Guide - saving a figure as a file (pdf, 141kb) (produced by Cochrane Collaboration)

Screening-related projects

Authors of screening-related reports are also required to complete an appraisal criteria document devised by the National Screening Committee (NSC). This should be included as an appendix to your final report.

View the NSC appraisal criteria

Requirements for submission to other journals

Some medical journals, through the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), require a clinical trial to be registered with an authorised register before they will accept it for publication.

Currently, the registries that meet all of the ICMJE’s criteria for an acceptable registry are:

• www.clinicaltrials.gov
• ISRCTN register

All HTA-funded randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are registered free of charge with the ISRCTN register. Non-RCTs are encouraged to register for free with clinicaltrials.gov to ensure publication.


If you have any questions relating to the information on this page, please email edit@southampton.ac.uk

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