AAR Process for Approving Internal White Papers or Manuscripts Intended for Publication
I. Purpose:
To establish a formal process for AAR evaluation for possible approval of AAR internal white papers or manuscripts intended for publication.
II. Process
This process applies to internal white papers or manuscripts that are work products of an AAR Affinity group or Task Force and articulate a position of the AAR (e.g., AAR position on Climate Change or RRA Task Forces), and are intended for submission to a peer-reviewed journal.
Journals to be initially targeted shall be determined by corresponding author in consultation with the other authors and subject to approval by the AAR publication committee.
This process does not apply to original manuscripts from AAR grant recipients unless the topic of the manuscript articulates a position of the AAR. It is presumed that the AAR support will be acknowledged in the manuscripts from AAR grant recipients.
III. Initial Approval Process for Prospectively Proposed Manuscripts:
- Prior to beginning work or at earliest time after project initiation when it is determined that a project will result in a positional statement, the chair of an affinity group or task force (hereafter called the “author”) should submit a proposal of concept to the AAR via this form.
- Staff Review: Upon receipt of the application, staff will review the proposed project for potential conflicts of interest or conflicts with existing policies, projects on similar topics elsewhere within AAR. Staff will also facilitate collaboration to ensure compatibility of AAR products and determine whether resources are available to support the work. This initial staff review should occur within a timely fashion. The staff will communicate concerns to the applicant, who may make appropriate modifications.
- Publication committee review: The publication committee will review the application using the following criteria:
- Is the topic of importance to AAR members and congruent with the strategic plan?
- Does the proposed document conflict with existing policy or establish new policy?
- Are sufficient budgeted resources available to support the document or does funding require higher approval according to Board policy?
- Is the application methodology reasonable?
- Does the writing group have sufficient expertise to complete the project?
- Executive committee review: The publication committee will notify the AAR Executive committee on their decision regarding the application and the executive committee will review and approve the application.
The final decision will be reported promptly via the publication committee through e-mail to the author and supporting AAR staff. The publication committee may recommend that the application be approved and allowed to proceed or modified based on suggestions.
IV. Document Completion and Approval Process for Manuscripts to be Submitted to Journal, including Internal Review:
- Completed manuscripts will be submitted to the publication committee for initial internal review. The reviewers will be asked to ensure that the articulated AAR position is appropriate, reasonable, and consistent with the principles of the organization.
- After initial review, the authors will be notified by the publication committee whether they need to make additional modifications. If modification is needed, the revised manuscript shall be re-reviewed by the publication committee. The recommendation for approval by the publication committee will be sent to the AAR Executive Committee for final review prior to journal submission.
- Approved manuscripts by publication committee and AAR Executive Committee will be submitted by the author to the pre-approved Journal Editor of choice.
- Prior to final acceptance, edited manuscripts that underwent any revision will be sent to publication committee for a final review prior to submission of revision to the journal, and the authors will be asked to incorporate any suggested modifications into the revised work product prior to submission of the revision.
- The final work product will be submitted to the executive committee for approval and documentation prior to publication or presentation at the identified meeting.
- Until final approval of the completed document is secured, distribution of the contents of the document should be limited to individuals participating in the drafting, revision and approval processes.
- Upon approval of the completed document, it may be resubmitted to the Editor for publication and/or presented at an AAR-approved meeting.
- If the manuscript is rejected, the authors must receive approval by the publication committee to submit to another journal.
V. Application Review and Approval Process for Submitted Manuscripts Retrospectively Identified by the Academic Radiology Editor as Articulating a Position of AAR and not Having Undergone AAR Review:
The Academic Radiology Editor will be responsible for identifying manuscripts he/she believes should have but did not undergo the approval and review process (if applicable) outlined above and for notifying the AAR publication committee. If they agree with the Editor’s assessment, the Editor will notify the authors to submit the manuscript to the relevant process(es) outlined above.
