Drug and Alcohol Review

Drug and Alcohol Review is the official journal of APSAD, and was first published in 1982. The Journal is an international forum for the views, expertise and experience of all those involved in the study of treatment of alcohol, tobacco and drug problems. The journal represents an important source of information to clinicians, drug and alcohol agency staff, researchers, policy makers and alcohol service administrators.

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SUBSCRIPTION

Members of APSAD can enjoy free online access by logging on to the Members section and following the link to the journal website.

Accessing the Drug and Alcohol Review online for Members  - Enter your username and password in the logon fields located on the left hand side of the home page. Your login name (your email) and password are set up by you when you join APSAD.

If you don't remember your password use the forgot password link to create a new one. Your username is you email address, if you are unsure which email you used, please contact the APSAD office between 8:00am and 4:30pm Monday to Friday. Once you are logged in go to the Member's Area tab on the home page of the website and select Drug and Alcohol Reveiw Online.

CONTRIBUTORS/AUTHORS

Contributors to the journal examine and report on alcohol and drug abuse from a wide range of clinical, psychological and sociological standpoints. The principal criterion for publication of papers is their quality.

The Drug and Alcohol Review features articles in the following categories:

• Original Papers – reports of new research findings or conceptual analyses that make a significant contribution to knowledge (guideline of 3500 words). Papers analysing qualitative fieldwork or documentary materials (normally without tables) have a guideline of 5000 words (see under “Reporting Guidelines” below for further details). Ordinarily, original papers should aim to have no more than 40 references.
  
  
• Commentaries and For Discussion – evidence-based opinion pieces involving areas of broad interest (guideline of 1500 words) and invited commentaries. Comments are pieces where the editors have decided to invite comments (guideline of 1000 words) from scholars on another paper.
  
  
• Reviews: Drug and Alcohol Review accepts submissions of all types of reviews, provided they include: a clear description of how studies were identified and included; a synthesis of research findings; and implications of findings for research, clinical practice and/or policy. Registration of review protocols is strongly encouraged. Reporting guidelines for the selected review type should be followed and the completed checklist submitted with the manuscript. Reporting guidelines for most study types can be found at https://www.equator-network.org/. Authors may also wish to consult Sutton et al. to understand different types of reviews and their requirements. Additional guidance for specific types of reviews:

  • Systematic reviews of quantitative data with or without meta-analysis (guideline of 5000 words). Systematic reviews with a meta-analysis should be reported in line with the PRISMA statement. Systematic reviews of quantitative data without a meta-analysis should follow the SWiM reporting guideline in addition to PRISMA.

  • Rapid reviews (guideline of 2000 words). Rapid reviews should be reserved for emerging areas in the alcohol and other drugs field and related matters. To enable timely summaries of critical topics for clinicians, service managers, policy makers and/or researchers, components of the systematic review process may be simplified or omitted (e.g. limiting time frames, databases, bias assessments or other methodological aspects of a typical systematic review) to produce an information summary in a short period of time (Tricco et al. 2015). A rapid review article would typically be commissioned and follow normal peer review processes, although authors are welcome to contact the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with a brief proposal for consideration.

  • Narrative reviews (guideline of 5000 words). Narrative reviews should summarise literature comprehensively but may not be explicitly systematic. They should include structured headings, with text on the purpose of the review; information sources consulted; how information was integrated, analysed and synthesised; key findings (and recommendations, if any); and limitations. For key findings and recommendations, a statement on the strength of the evidence, and how this was determined, should be included.

  • Other types of reviews (including but not limited to qualitative evidence syntheses, scoping reviews, realist syntheses and mixed methods reviews) are welcome and have a guideline of 5000 words. Authors should refer to methodological guidance and/or reporting guidelines for their selected review type as appropriate.

• Brief Reports – preliminary findings or studies with substantive findings that require fewer words and tables/figures to give a complete account of the research (guideline of 1500 words). Ordinarily, Brief Reports should aim to have no more than 20 references.
  
  

• Case Reports and Case Series – Drug and Alcohol Review will only publish a limited number of case reports and case series (guideline of 1500 words), limited to high quality descriptions of cases that make a unique contribution to the literature through description of an unusual presentation, support or contest a hypothesis, or offer new insights into a condition or treatment. The submission should provide new information on diagnosis or clinical care that can lead to practice change care relating to drug and alcohol use. See under “Reporting Guidelines” below for further details.

• Obituaries –Drug and Alcohol Review will publish obituaries related to the life and works of prominent researchers and others who have substantially contributed to the alcohol and other drugs field (approximately 350-500 words). Typically commissioned, obituaries are brief overviews of the deceased person’s life and major contributions. Along with an appreciation of their work and personal traits, please include the person’s birth and death years, place of birth, names and cities of the major institutions where the person worked, positions of importance held, and other interests outside work in the field. Approaches to publish obituaries should be made to the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

• Editorials – are usually commissioned but unsolicited material may be considered. Please approach the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. before submitting this material.

• Letters to the Editor – are welcomed and will be summarily reviewed (guideline of 1000 words).

• Critiques – reviews of books or grey literature are welcomed, but please approach the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. before submitting a review (up to 800 words).
  
  Special Issues and Special Sections on topics of interest are also regularly published. A proposal must be approved by the Editorial Board, which should initially be sent to the Editorial Office. Papers for a Special Issue or Section should be submitted as the appropriate article type (e.g. Original Paper, Review). Please include a note in the cover letter to indicate which Special Issue or Section the paper is intended for.

If you are submitting a paper for publication in Drug and Alcohol Review please read the author guidelines.

All manuscripts are to be submitted electronically on the Drug and Alcohol Review manuscript submissions website. New users should first create an account. Once you are logged onto the site, submissions can be entered via the Author Centre.

Please feel free to contact the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have any queries.

PEER REVIEWERS

The scientific quality and professional standards of the Drug and Alcohol Review are guaranteed by the editors and a panel of expert peer reviewers. The Editorial team endeavours to continually expand its panel of reviewers, and is particularly interested in identifying younger researchers, academics and research-oriented clinicians whose scientific reputation may not yet have received international recognition. The Editorial team is immensely grateful to the Journal's reviewers, on the basis of whose efforts the international reputation of the Drug and Alcohol Review is founded.