Applied Clinical Trials welcomes manuscripts that provide sound, practical ideas and advice about the day-to-day activities of readers involved in the clinical trials process. Appropriate topics include: recruiting and working with human subjects; managing data; dealing with IRBs and ethical issues; training, educating employees; FDA and International compliance, GCP guidelines, and partnerships strategies between sponsors, CROs, labs, and IT. Articles should engage and inform readers involved in all phases of trials and with diverse levels of professional knowledge and expertise. We do not accept advertorial articles or articles that are overly promotional toward a company or its product.

Who reads Applied Clinical Trials?

Each month, more than 18,000 clinical trials professionals in about 40 countries receive Applied Clinical Trials, and many more access articles at our Web site http://www.actmagazine.com/. Readers are involved in all phases of clinical research. They are professionals, executives, and managers with pharmaceutical, biologics, and biopharmaceutical companies; contract research organizations; academic, medical, and research institutions; clinical study sites; clinical laboratories; and state, provincial, and national regulatory agencies. Applied Clinical Trials readers design and develop clinical study plans; they manage, coordinate, and monitor trials. They are involved in every aspect of clinical research, including QA/QC, data management, project management, academic research and teaching, and corporate management.

Clinical trials professionals write for Applied Clinical Trials to share their experience and expertise with their colleagues and to explain innovative approaches to common problems. Industry observers describe research trends and developments. Regulators and regulatory affairs professionals outline regulations in individual countries and the harmonized regulatory guidelines developed by ICH. Suppliers of clinical trials products and services who submit manuscripts need to take particular care to avoid any appearance that their article is an attempt to sell products or services.

What types of articles does Applied Clinical Trials publish?

Feature articles are fact-based, how-to articles about some specific aspect of conducting a clinical trial—for example, preparing for an audit, negotiating a contract, recruiting subjects, or selecting an investigative site. The best articles on conducting trials in a specific country include information not only on regulations, but also on cultural and logistical issues. Review articles can update readers on the state of the art or on industry trends. Although not necessarily focused on the details of a single project, review articles should still emphasize practical information:

Why are various techniques or approaches successful or unsuccessful in certain situations? What does this trend mean for readers? How can clinical trials professionals use the information in their own work? Feature articles should be about 1500 to 2000 words, with perhaps 3 carefully selected graphic illustrations such as charts, tables, photos, and diagrams that support the topic.

Letters to the Editor may respond to published articles, comment on issues of significance to clinical trials professionals, or open a debate on a topic of interest to Applied Clinical Trials readers. Each letter should address one topic and be limited to 350 words.

A Closing Thought is a brief thought piece of 600 to 650 words that addresses an important issue in the world of clinical trials. The purpose is to provide fresh views or ideas for the readers.

How quickly can an article be published?

Getting an article from idea to publication takes approximately three to six months. The typical time between an initial inquiry and a published magazine article is four to six months. Timely subjects of immediate interest may occasionally be rushed through in less time. Articles may be slated to appear online prior to a scheduled magazine appearance and online articles may not yet be peer-reviewed.