FAQs

Answers

1. What are the benefits of publishing in Stroke and Vascular Neurology?
  • Open Access – all articles published in Stroke and Vascular Neurology are freely available to a global audience on a number of databases, with the copyright retained by the author
  • Rapid publication – all articles are subject to stringent peer-review and fast turnaround times, ensuring prompt publication through our continuous publication policy
  • Trusted international brand – Stroke and Vascular Neurology maintains the scientific and international reputation of BMJ
  • High readership visibility – bmj.com hosting makes sure papers are noticed; exceptional articles are press released
2. How do I submit? Manuscripts should be submitted via the Stroke and Vascular Neurology online manuscript submission site, which can be found here. If your article was previously submitted to another BMJ journal and was rejected, we will happily assist in transferring the files to the Stroke and Vascular Neurology site. Please email the editorial office at svn@bmj.com for help with this (note that the manuscript must not still be under consideration by any other journal).
3. My paper has just been rejected from another BMJ Journal – will it be automatically transferred to Stroke and Vascular Neurology? Your article will not automatically be transferred to Stroke and Vascular Neurology if rejected from another BMJ Journal; however, you can choose Stroke and Vascular Neurology as an alternate journal when submitting your article.
4. What is open access and an Article Processing Charge (APC)? Open Access stands for unrestricted access and unrestricted reuse. Open Access publishing strives to facilitate the development of new medicines and healthcare, by disseminating ideas and discoveries efficiently, effectively and equitably. All articles published in Stroke and Vascular Neurology are open access, so are freely available online in a permanent universally accessible repository. The APC covers the costs of the publication process (which would traditionally be covered via subscription fees), including:
  • Rigorous peer-review through a maintained online submission system
  • Production costs, such as copy-editing, typesetting and preparation for online publication
  • Continuous hosting of the article online, available worldwide
  • Marketing efforts to increase the article’s exposure
5. What APC applies to Stroke and Vascular Neurology? Stroke and Vascular Neurology levies an Article Processing Charge (APC) that reflects the true cost of the services provided. The standard APC for a Research Article is GBP 1,500 (exclusive of VAT). There are no submission or page charges, and no colour charges. Payment of the APC may be made online by credit card, or by bank transfer following receipt of an invoice. Unless a waiver has been granted, accepted articles will not be published until payment has been received. We aim to publish articles online within 21 days following acceptance. BMJ does not refund APCs once paid.
6. How do I pay? The submitting author must confirm at the time of submission that they will organise payment should the article be accepted for publication. Prompt payment is advised as the article will not be published until payment is received. Payment can be made by any of the following methods:
  • Immediate payment online via credit card using a secure payment form as soon as the manuscript has been accepted.
  • An invoice can be raised. Following receipt of an invoice, payment must be made within 30 days.
7. Does Stroke and Vascular Neurology offer discounts and waivers on the APC? We appreciate that some authors do not have access to funding to cover publication costs. The journal will accept part payment where only limited funds are available, and offers a waiver to authors unable to pay on request. No payment information is requested before an article is accepted, so the ability to pay cannot affect editorial decisions. Requests for waivers and discounts will be considered using the following criteria:
  • Whether the research was conducted largely or entirely in a country that is in the Hinari Core Offer
  • Whether there was external funding for the research for any of the authors
  • Whether the authors could contribute from their personal account
8. Which funding agencies allow direct use of grants to cover the APC? If you received a grant to conduct your research, your first enquiry should be to whoever disburses the research funds. Much research funding is now granted on the condition that any resulting articles are published Open Access and are deposited in PMC – publishing in Stroke and Vascular Neurology means that you meet both of these criteria. To help authors complete these requirements, many funders will permit payment of APCs from grants or have separate funds available. The Open Access Directory contains a list of universities that have funds for researchers to pay APCs. The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) has something similar – both mainly cover US institutions and are not comprehensive. The Compact for Open Access Publishing Equity is a collection of universities who have pledged their support to establishing durable mechanisms for underwriting the APC model. Alternatively, contact your librarian to find out what support your institution offers. General information about BMJ’s Open Access programme, including copyright policies and institutional memberships, is available via our author website.
9. How do I subscribe? Stroke and Vascular Neurology is an open access journal and is therefore free to access for anyone with an internet connection. There is no print edition.
10. Does Stroke and Vascular Neurology impose any copyright restrictions and who retains copyright of the open access articles? Authors retain copyright. Articles are published under a Creative Commons licence to facilitate reuse of the content.
11. What is the time to publication? Stroke and Vascular Neurology aims to provide authors with a rapid peer review service. Continuous online publication ensures papers are published as soon as they are ready. All phases of the process can be tracked via our online systems.
12. How is the article cited? Stroke and Vascular Neurology publishes online though is assembled into issues and volumes; articles will be referenced by their unique article number (Digital Object Identifier or DOI) as opposed to a page number.
13. How do I sign up to email alerts about articles published in Stroke and Vascular Neurology? You can subscribe to receive Stroke and Vascular Neurology email alerts. Options available for Stroke and Vascular Neurology are:
  • Electronic table of contents alerts
  • Alerts when an article is cited
  • Alerts if corrections are posted to a specific article
  • Alerts if a letter is published in response to an article
You can also sign up for RSS feeds that will update you when new content is published.
14. Who do I contact if I would like more information about Stroke and Vascular Neurology? For all queries please contact the editorial office at svn@bmj.com.