Preparing your manuscript

All submitting authors in the Journal of Patient-Reported Outcomes have the opportunity to include a Plain English summary in addition to the Abstract. This should be a summary of the article written in language suitable for stakeholders with no or a limited background in research, as well as the wider public to easily understand. It should not contain technical terminology or complicated statistics. It should convey the key messages of your paper. The recommended length for these summaries is between 100 and 200 words. They should not exceed 250 words in length.

Please include your plain English summary as a separate submission file, and additionally within the main body of your manuscript file. The plain English summary should be inserted immediately after the official scientific abstract within the manuscript file under the heading "Plain English summary".

By adding a plain English summary, we hope to broaden the reach of the article and bring it to the attention of a more general audience. Researchers are trained to be highly focused, specific, and conservative with extrapolation and speculation. These attributes are useful for scientific publications, but not for wider public understanding. Many non-scientists have difficulty understanding technical terms and jargon, and the public requires more context-setting by way of introduction and more help drawing a conclusion.

The following resources provide further information:

The Importance of Submitting a Plain English Summary

Tips for Writing a Plain English Summary

Plain English Summary Example