Author Guidelines

Scandinavian Journal of Urology is an international, peer-reviewed journal for clinical urologists, publishing high-quality original urological research within all fields of urology, with an emphasis on clinically relevant research. Experimental studies related to clinically relevant research questions are also welcome.

Scandinavian Journal of Urology publishes the following types of papers: Original research articles, Review articles, case reports, Research letters, Editorial comments, and Letters to the Editor. 

From volume 58 in 2023, all content will be published fully Open Access, and according to a continuous publication model, ensuring that the valuable and clinically relevant content is published swiftly and that it is freely accessible to all. For information about publication fees, please click here.

Preparing for submission in Scandinavian Journal of Urology

All authors submitting to medicine, biomedicine, health sciences, allied and public health journals should conform to the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals, prepared by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

Please note that submission of a manuscript is held to imply that it has not previously been published and is not otherwise submitted for publication (except as an abstract to a meeting, which in that case has to be stated).

Authorship: All persons designated as authors in a paper must participate sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for its contents. Everyone meeting the ICMJE requirements for authorship should be included as an author of a paper. Individuals who have contributed to the article but who do not meet these criteria for authorship should be listed by name and affiliation in an ‘Acknowledgments’ section instead. The journal may require authors to justify assignments of authorship. 

Length: Article length limitations will depend on the article type. Word limits of the main text (excluding abstract, references, figures, and tables) and limitations in the number of references are as follows:

• Original research article: An Original research article includes an abstract of max 250 words and the text should consist of no more than 3000 words. This limit does not include abstract, tables, references, or figure captions There is a maximum of 30 references, and a maximum of five figures and/or tables, with the possibility to append supplemental material available online. 
• Review article: A Review article should contain no more than 3500 words. This limit does not include, tables, references, or figure captions. There is a maximum of 50 references and a maximum of five figures and/or tables, with the possibility to append supplemental material available online 
• Research letter: A Research letter should contain no more than 1500 words. This limit does not include tables, references, or figure captions. There is a maximum of two moderate-sized tables or figures, and there should be no more than 10 references. There should be no abstract in a research letter.
• Case report: A case report should contain no more than 1000 words and there should be no more than 10 references. There should be no abstract in a case report. One table or figure can be included in a case report.
• Editorial comment: An Editorial comment is an invited comment to an article or review. It should consist of no more than 1500 words, with no more than 10 references; this limit does not include a table or figure, references, or figure captions. One table or figure is allowed and counts as 250 words.
• Letter to the Editor: A Letter to the editor should contain no more than 1000 words and no more than 10 references. One table or figure is allowed and counts as 250 words.
• News and views: News and views is a report on a publication in another journal and should be no more than 750 words, have no more than 5 references, and should contain no tables or figures. The text should have these headings; ‘context’, ‘news’ with a report of the cited articles, and ‘view’ in which the author comments on the ‘news’. This type of ms is by invitation.

Language: High-quality English language is of primary importance when submitting your manuscript so that reviewers and editors can fully understand the content and give your work a fair review. All papers should be written in English (British English is preferable but American English can be accepted if written by Americans). Before you submit your manuscript, we strongly recommend that you have it checked by an English-speaking colleague and/or use a professional language editing service.

Using third-party material in your paper: You must obtain the necessary permission to reuse third-party material in your article. The use of short extracts of text and some other types of material is usually permitted, on a limited basis, for the purposes of criticism and review without securing formal permission. If you wish to include any material in your paper for which you do not hold copyright, and which is not covered by this informal agreement, you will need to obtain written permission from the copyright holder prior to submission.

Clinical Trials Registry: In order to be published, all clinical trials must have been registered in a public repository at the beginning of the research process (prior to patient enrolment). Trial registration numbers should be included in the abstract, with full details in the methods section. The registry should be publicly accessible (at no charge), open to all prospective registrants, and managed by a not-for-profit organization. The registration of all clinical trials facilitates the sharing of information. In order to be published, all clinical trials must have been registered in a public repository at the beginning of the research process (prior to patient enrolment). Trial registration numbers should be included in the abstract, with full details in the methods section. The registry should be publicly accessible (at no charge), open to all prospective registrants, and managed by a not-for-profit organization. The registration of all clinical trials facilitates the sharing of information among clinicians, researchers, and patients. This aids in enhancing public confidence in research and is in accordance with the ICMJE guidelines. More information regarding the ICTRP Registry Network list of registries that meet these requirements can be found here: https://www.who.int/clinical-trials-registry-platform/networkmation among clinicians, researchers, and patients. This aids in enhancing public confidence in research and is in accordance with the ICMJE guidelines. More information regarding the ICTRP Registry Network list of registries that meet these requirements can be found here: https://www.who.int/clinical-trials-registry-platform/network

Submission:  Your manuscript file should be submitted as one Microsoft Word file using 12-point font (Times New Roman); 1.5-spacing; utilizing italics, rather than underlining for headings, etc. Tables should be placed at the end of the paper, after the references. Figure captions should also be included at the end of the manuscript file. The manuscript file should be uploaded as the article text file in the system. Figures should be uploaded as separate EPS or TIFF files. Supplemental material is to be submitted as a separate submission file and should be uploaded as supplementary material.

Arrangement of manuscript

Your paper should be structured according to the following order:
Title page (including author affiliations and ORCID)
Abstract
Keywords
Introduction (including a clear statement of the aim of the study)
Materials and methods
Results
Discussion
Acknowledgments
References
Tables
Figures
Figure legends

All tables and figures should appear on their own respective pages which should appear at the end of the manuscript file after the references. Figure legends should be included on the last page of the manuscript file.  
High-resolution versions of figures should also be submitted as separate TIFF, JPEG, or EPS submission files. 

Appendices/supplementary material is to be uploaded as a separate submission file.

Word limit: Please include a word count for your paper.

Abbreviations/Acronyms: All abbreviations/acronyms (with the exception of standard units of measurement) should be written in full the first time they are used, and their use should be consistent throughout the rest of the paper. Please avoid using non-standardised two and three-letter acronyms as far as possible as they decrease readability. For example, “LR” should be written out as “low risk”, or “TRBx” should be written out as “transrectal biopsy”. In special cases where non-standardised acronyms are deemed to be necessary, such as in cases where expressions are very wordy, for example; Papillary urothelial neoplasm of low malignant potential (PUNLMP), they should be written in full the first time they are used in each section. Accepted acronyms such as PSA, should be written out in full the first time they are used in the abstract as well as in the manuscript.

Keywords: Keywords are used to index your article on search engines and are vital for good searchability of your work. Read through your paper and highlight keywords that are most relevant to the focus of your work. Narrow down your keywords to make sure they are as accurate as possible and are effective for indexing the article. It is recommended that you run a search with your keywords to make sure the results fit with your article and will be useful when others conduct searches.

Title: Please consider incorporating at least two of the keywords within the first 65 characters in order for the title to appear in search engines. The title should also be easily understood by laymen. Avoid abbreviations, formulae, and numbers. One-liners that divulge the main result should also be avoided.

Abstract: The abstract should be structured and consist of no more than 250 words. Please structure the abstract according to the following headings: Objective, Material and Methods, Results, and Conclusions. Make sure that your abstract is a concise summary that makes sense on its own. Include keywords throughout, but make sure the writing still flows naturally. Avoid background information or technical terms.

For original research articles, you should describe your method and procedures.

For reviews, you should first state the primary objective of the review, the reasoning behind your choice, the main outcomes and results of your review, and the conclusions that might be drawn, including their implications for further research, application, or practice.

Introduction: State the purpose of the article and justify the study, and why is it needed. Summarize the rationale for the study. Give only pertinent references; do not review the subject extensively.

Methods: Describe the selection of the subjects and present the characteristics of the subjects. Describe methods for any blinding of the observations. Identify methods, equipment/materials, and procedures in sufficient detail, including pertinent references, to allow others to reproduce the study.

Results: Present results in logical sequence in the text, tables, and figures. It is strongly encouraged to present the main results as a figure. Avoid duplicating information available in tables or figures in text. Use figures as an alternative to tables with many entries. Regarding precision of reporting: In general, decimals should not be presented for percentages in text or tables since they decrease readability and gives an impression of unrealistic precision. For example, write: ‘112 /120 (93%) patients underwent surgery’ not 112/120 (93.3%). By convention use two decimals when reporting risk estimates such as odds ratios. For example, write: ‘odds ratios (OR) 0.54 (95%CI 0.35-0.86)’.

Discussion: Start with a one-paragraph summary of the main findings. Do not repeat in detail data that has already been presented in the Introduction or Result section. Discuss the limitations of the methods and the results and present the clinical relevance of your study and the implications for future studies.

Tables: Tables should present new information rather than duplicating what is in the text. Readers should be able to interpret information in the tables and figures without reference to the main text. This means that a non-technical heading describing the content should be included for each item. The heading for Table 1, typically presenting baseline characteristics, should include detailed data on the source of the study population, calendar year of study period, and intervention/exposure. Additional information on variables or statistical methods that were used to create data in the table is to be supplied in the text below the table. Please supply editable files.

Figures: Figures should be high quality (1200 dpi for line art, 600 dpi for grayscale and 300 dpi for colour, at the correct size). Figures should be saved as TIFF, JPEG, or EPS files. For survival curves, please present numbers at risk immediately below the x-axis.

References: Should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. Abstracts from proceedings or submitted manuscripts not in press are not allowed. Identify references in the text using Arabic numerals in parenthesis (NOT in superscript). The style of references must follow the Vancouver system. For the abbreviations of journal titles: please use the standard abbreviation of a journal’s name according to the ISSN List of Title Words available at www.issn.org/2-22661-LTWA-online.php.

• Journal article with up to 3 authors: Surname AA, Surname BB, Surname CC. Title of article. Abbreviated title of the journal. Year; volume: pages xx-xx. Tomic K, Sandin F, Wigertz A. Evaluation of data quality in the National Prostate Cancer Register of Sweden. Scand J Urol. 2015; 51:101–111.
• Journal article with more than 3 authors: Surname AA, Surname BB, Surname CC, et al. Title of article. Abbreviated title of the journal. Year; volume: pages xx-xx. Tomic K, Sandin F, Wigertz A, et al. Evaluation of data quality in the National Prostate Cancer Register of Sweden. Scand J Urol. 2015; 51:101–111.
• Reference to books: Surname AA, Surname BB, Surname CC. Title of book. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication. Handwerker H. Itch hypothesis. In: Carstens E, Akiyama T, editors. Itch: Mechanisms and Treatment. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press; 2014: p. 2-8.
• Website name [Internet]. Place: Publisher; Year [cited Date]. Available from: Web address. Kunskapsbanken [Internet]; 2021 [cited 22-09-2021]. National prostate cancer guidelines (In Swedish). Version 6.1. The Confederation of Regional Cancer Centres (RCC). Available from: https://kunskapsbanken.cancercentrum.se/globalassets/cancerdiagnoser/prostatacancer/vardprogram/nationellt-vardprogram-prostatacancer.pdf

Acknowledgments: Any individuals who have contributed to the article but who do not meet the ICMJE criteria for authorship should be listed by name and affiliation in the Acknowledgments section.

Disclosure statement and funding: Please include a disclosure of interest statement, using the subheading "Disclosure of interest." If you have no interests to declare, please state this (suggested wording: The authors report no conflicts of interest). State the funder and report the grant number(s). 

Supplementary material and Video abstracts

Supplementary material can include figures and tables that support the results presented in the main article. It can include for example video and audio files but also figures, tables, and datasets that are of relevance to the main article. Including supplementary material with your article can make it more discoverable and help maximize downloads and citations.

Video abstracts can be a good way of getting others to engage with your research and ultimately increase the visibility and impact of your work. Through a video abstract, you can introduce the article in your own words, telling readers what the unique contribution of your article is and why they should read it. We recommend keeping the video abstract short and to the point (no more than a few minutes) and that you use images, charts, or tables to help explain the focus of your article. Consider the aim of the video throughout – to get people to read your article. The best video format is MP4 although other video formats such as MOV and MPEG4 are also supported. The minimum dimension is 426 x 240 and the max dimension is 3840 x 2160.

Please ensure to include any supplementary files at the same time as submitting your manuscript, although a video abstract can be sent upon acceptance instead.

Supplemental material will be published as submitted, and will thus not be checked for scientific content, copyedited, or typeset. Please note that publishing supplementary material involves a fee of 25 €/file to cover administration costs, but video files will be published free of charge.