British Journal of Visual Impairment
"The British Journal of Visual Impairment is a lively forum expressing current viewpoints, in an accessible form, on a variety of professional concerns. It is exceptional in that it encompasses a wide range of issues and perspectives related to visual impairment - some of these are special, some general, but all are significant." Linda Pring, Professor of Psychology, Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK.
"The British Journal of Visual Impairment combines a high standard of academic excellence with clarity of presentation and practical relevance. It is a most important forum and source of new knowledge for researchers, teachers, and for people who are interested in acquiring and maintaining literacy and spatial mobility." Dr. Susanna Millar, University of Oxford, UK
"The British Journal of Visual Impairment will provide a key platform for sharing knowledge between practitioners and researchers working in the field of visual impairment and blindness. It is vital that the impact of developments in diagnosis, assessment, treatment, management and policy is shared with and monitored by all working in this important arena." G. Morbey, Chief Executive, Sense Scotland.
This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
British Journal of Visual Impairment is available on SAGE Journals Online.
The British Journal of Visual Impairment is an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed publication concerned with social research, policy and practice in relation to children and adults who have visual impairment. The Journal publishes articles on visual impairment relevant to education, health, welfare, employment and the application of technology.
The journal has an international focus and seeks to publish empirical articles and scholarly comment on issues that aim to increase understanding of the potential barriers to learning and participation that may be experienced by individuals with visual impairment.
BJVI is published three times a year and submissions relevant to the focus of the journal are welcomed under the following categories (contributors should indicate under which category they wish their submission to be considered):
1. Research article (3000-5000 words) (peer reviewed)
Most research articles will be empirical submissions that are evidence based and data driven. They may also include scholarly articles such as reviews of research literature or contributions to theory.
2. Research report (1500-3000 words) (peer reviewed)
Research reports would normally meet the criteria for research articles but their shorter length might reflect a narrower scope: for examples pilot studies/studies with a small number of participants, or summaries of research in progress.
3. Practice reports - 1500 words (to be reviewed at discretion of editors)
Practice reports will include contributions from practitioners relating to innovative developments in areas such as teaching methods, curriculum development or provision.
4. Comment - 1000 words (to be reviewed at discretion of editors)
These contributions may typically initiate, or contribute to, debate on a topical issue of broad concern to the field of visual impairment and will draw upon the author's personal/professional experience. No anonymous contributions will be accepted.
| Professor John Ravenscroft | University of Edinburgh, UK |
| Elizabeth Mccann | University of Edinburgh, UK |
| Dr Torø Graven | University of Oxford, Norway |
| Dr Vassilios S Argyropoulos | University of Thessaly, Greece |
| F Barlow Brown | Kingston University, UK |
| Dr. Andrew Blaikie | University of St Andrews, UK |
| Dr Naomi Dale | Great Ormond Street Hospital, UK |
| Dr Pauline Davis | University of Manchester, UK |
| Graeme Douglas | University of Birmingham , UK |
| Prof Gordon Dutton | Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow, UK |
| Martin Glese | Heidelberg University of Education, Germany |
| Dr David Feeney | Liverpool Hope University, UK |
| Prof Kay Alicyn Ferrell | University of Northern Colorado, USA |
| Prof Alistair Fielder | City University, UK |
| Dr Gregory L. Goodrich | Sea Bright, New Jersey, USA |
| Dr. Justin A. Haegele | Old Dominion University, USA |
| Dr. Simon Hayhoe | The London School of Economics and Political Science, UK |
| Rachel Hewett | University of Birmingham, UK |
| Dr Liz Hodges | University of Birmingham , UK |
| Jill Keeffe | University of Melbourne, Australia |
| Sue Keil | Rnib, UK |
| Vicky Lewis | Open University, UK |
| Professor Lauren J. Lieberman | The College at Brockport Kinesiology, USA |
| Paul Lynch | University of Birmingham , UK |
| Mike McLinden | University of Birmingham , UK |
| Lotfi B. Merabet | Massachusetts Eye and Ear – Schepens Eye Research Institute, USA |
| Dr Sarah Morley Wilkins | Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB), UK |
| Paul J. Pagliano | James Cook University North Queensland, Australia |
| Sue Pavey | Birmingham University, UK |
| Helen Petrie | University of York, UK |
| Jill Porter | University of Bath, UK |
| Linda Pring | Goldsmiths College, UK |
| Dr Joao Roe | Head of Sensory Support Service, UK |
| Michael Tobin | University of Birmingham , UK |
| Dr Simon Ungar | Wandsworth Schools and Community Psychology Service, UK |
| Walter Wittich | Université de Montréal, Canada |
| Margaret Woodhouse | Cardiff University, UK |
Manuscript Submission Guidelines: British Journal of Visual Impairment
This Journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics.
Please read the guidelines below then visit the Journal’s submission site http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/bjvi to upload your manuscript. Please note that manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines may be returned.
Only manuscripts of sufficient quality that meet the aims and scope of BJVI will be reviewed.
There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this Journal. Open Access options are available - see section 3.3 below.
As part of the submission process you will be required to warrant that you are submitting your original work, that you have the rights in the work, and that you have obtained and can supply all necessary permissions for the reproduction of any copyright works not owned by you, that you are submitting the work for first publication in the Journal and that it is not being considered for publication elsewhere and has not already been published elsewhere. Please see our guidelines on prior publication and note that British Journal of Visual Impairment may accept submissions of papers that have been posted on pre-print servers; please alert the Editorial Office when submitting (contact details are at the end of these guidelines) and include the DOI for the preprint in the designated field in the manuscript submission system. Authors should not post an updated version of their paper on the preprint server while it is being peer reviewed for possible publication in the journal. If the article is accepted for publication, the author may re-use their work according to the journal's author archiving policy. If your paper is accepted, you must include a link on your preprint to the final version of your paper.
If you have any questions about publishing with Sage, please visit Sage Journal Solutions Portal
- What do we publish?
1.1 Aims & Scope
1.2 Article types
1.3 Writing your paper - Editorial policies
2.1 Peer review policy
2.2 Authorship
2.3 Acknowledgements
2.4 Funding
2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests
2.6 Research ethics and patient consent
2.7 Clinical trials
2.8 Reporting guidelines
2.9 Data - Publishing policies
3.1 Publication ethics
3.2 Contributor's publishing agreement
3.3 Open access and author archiving - Preparing your manuscript
4.1 Formatting
4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics
4.3 Supplemental material
4.4 Reference style
4.5 English language editing services - Submitting your manuscript
5.1 ORCID
5.2 Information required for completing your submission
5.3 Permissions - On acceptance and publication
6.1 Sage Production
6.2 Online First publication
6.3 Access to your published article
6.4 Promoting your article - Further information
Before submitting your manuscript to BJVI, please ensure you have read the Aims & Scope.
The journal normally publishes four different types of article. These are listed below with approximate word length excluding references. Authors should indicate under which category they wish the manuscript to be considered. The text should be clearly organized, with a clear hierarchy of heading and subheading.
-
- Research article (3000-5000 words) (peer reviewed)
Most research articles will be empirical submissions that are evidence based and data driven. They may also include scholarly articles such as reviews of research literature or contributions to theory.
- Research article (3000-5000 words) (peer reviewed)
-
- Research report (1500-3000 words) (peer reviewed)
Research reports would normally meet the criteria for research articles but their shorter length might reflect a narrower scope: for examples pilot studies/studies with a small number of participants, or summaries of research in progress.
- Research report (1500-3000 words) (peer reviewed)
-
- Practice report (1500 words) (to be reviewed at discretion of editors)
Practice reports will include contributions from practitioners relating to innovative developments in areas such as teaching methods, curriculum development or provision.
- Practice report (1500 words) (to be reviewed at discretion of editors)
-
- Comment (1000 words) (to be reviewed at discretion of editors)
These contributions may typically initiate, or contribute to, debate on a topical issue of broad concern to the field of visual impairment and will draw upon the author's personal/professional experience. No anonymous contributions will be accepted.
- Comment (1000 words) (to be reviewed at discretion of editors)
The Sage Author Gateway has some general advice and on how to get published, plus links to further resources. Sage Author Services also offers authors a variety of ways to improve and enhance their article including English language editing, plagiarism detection, and video abstract and infographic preparation.
1.3.1 Make your article discoverable
When writing up your paper, think about how you can make it discoverable. The title, keywords and abstract are key to ensuring readers find your article through search engines such as Google. For information and guidance on how best to title your article, write your abstract and select your keywords, have a look at this page on the Gateway: How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online.
BJVI operates a strictly anonymous peer review process in which the reviewer’s name is withheld from the author and, the author’s name from the reviewer. Each manuscript is reviewed by at least two referees. All manuscripts are reviewed as rapidly as possible.
As part of the submission process you will be asked to provide the names of peers who could be called upon to review your manuscript. Recommended reviewers should be experts in their fields and should be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. Please be aware of any conflicts of interest when recommending reviewers. Examples of conflicts of interest include (but are not limited to) the below:
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- The reviewer should have no prior knowledge of your submission
- The reviewer should not have recently collaborated with any of the authors
- Reviewer nominees from the same institution as any of the authors are not permitted
Please note that the Editors are not obliged to invite any recommended/opposed reviewers to assess your manuscript.
All parties who have made a substantive contribution to the article should be listed as authors. Principal authorship, authorship order, and other publication credits should be based on the relative scientific or professional contributions of the individuals involved, regardless of their status. A student is usually listed as principal author on any multiple-authored publication that substantially derives from the student’s dissertation or thesis.
Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools.
All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an Acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or a department chair who provided only general support.
2.3.1 Third party submissions
Where an individual who is not listed as an author submits a manuscript on behalf of the author(s), a statement must be included in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript and in the accompanying cover letter. The statements must:
• Disclose this type of editorial assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input
• Identify any entities that paid for this assistance
• Confirm that the listed authors have authorized the submission of their manuscript via third party and approved any statements or declarations, e.g. conflicting interests, funding, etc.
Where appropriate, Sage reserves the right to deny consideration to manuscripts submitted by a third party rather than by the authors themselves.
2.3.2 Writing assistance
Individuals who provided writing assistance, e.g. from a specialist communications company, do not qualify as authors and so should be included in the Acknowledgements section. Authors must disclose any writing assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input – and identify the entity that paid for this assistance”).
It is not necessary to disclose use of language polishing services.
Any acknowledgements should appear first at the end of your article prior to your Declaration of Conflicting Interests (if applicable), any notes and your References.
BJVI requires all authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent fashion under a separate heading. Please visit the Funding Acknowledgements page on the Sage Journal Author Gateway to confirm the format of the acknowledgment text in the event of funding, or state that: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests
BJVI encourages authors to include a declaration of any conflicting interests and recommends you review the good practice guidelines on the Sage Journal Author Gateway.
2.6 Research ethics and patient consent
Medical research involving human subjects must be conducted according to the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki.
Submitted manuscripts should conform to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, and all papers reporting animal and/or human studies must state in the methods section that the relevant Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board provided (or waived) approval. Please ensure that you have provided the full name and institution of the review committee, in addition to the approval number.
For research articles, authors are also required to state in the methods section whether participants provided informed consent and whether the consent was written or verbal.
Information on informed consent to report individual cases or case series should be included in the manuscript text. A statement is required regarding whether written informed consent for patient information and images to be published was provided by the patient(s) or a legally authorized representative. Please do not submit the patient’s actual written informed consent with your article, as this in itself breaches the patient’s confidentiality. The Journal requests that you confirm to us, in writing, that you have obtained written informed consent but the written consent itself should be held by the authors/investigators themselves, for example in a patient’s hospital record. The confirmatory letter may be uploaded with your submission as a separate file.
Please also refer to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Protection of Research Participants.
BJVI conforms to the ICMJE requirement that clinical trials are registered in a WHO-approved public trials registry at or before the time of first patient enrolment as a condition of consideration for publication. The trial registry name and URL, and registration number must be included at the end of the abstract.
The relevant EQUATOR Network reporting guidelines should be followed depending on the type of study. For example, all randomized controlled trials submitted for publication should include a completed CONSORT flow chart as a cited figure and the completed CONSORT checklist should be uploaded with your submission as a supplementary file. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses should include the completed PRISMA flow chart as a cited figure and the completed PRISMA checklist should be uploaded with your submission as a supplementary file. The EQUATOR wizard can help you identify the appropriate guideline.
Other resources can be found at NLM’s Research Reporting Guidelines and Initiatives.
Sage acknowledges the importance of research data availability as an integral part of the research and verification process for academic journal articles.
At Sage we are committed to facilitating openness, transparency and reproducibility of research. Where relevant, The Journal encourages authors to share their research data in a suitable public repository subject to ethical considerations and where data is included, to add a data accessibility statement in their manuscript file. Authors should also follow data citation principles. For more information please visit the Sage Author Gateway, which includes information about Sage’s partnership with the data repository Figshare.
BJVI requests all authors submitting any primary data used in their research articles to be published in the online version of the journal, or provide detailed information in their articles on how the data can be obtained. This information should include links to third-party data repositories or detailed contact information for third-party data sources. Data available only on an author-maintained website will need to be loaded onto either the journal’s platform or a third-party platform to ensure continuing accessibility. Examples of data types include but are not limited to statistical data files, replication code, text files, audio files, images, videos, appendices, and additional charts and graphs necessary to understand the original research. [The editor(s) may consider limited embargoes on proprietary data.] The editor(s) can also grant exceptions for data that cannot legally or ethically be released. All data submitted should comply with Institutional or Ethical Review Board requirements and applicable government regulations. For further information, please contact the editorial office at john.ravenscroft@ed.ac.uk
Sage is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics page on the Sage Author Gateway.
3.1.1 Plagiarism
BJVI and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software. Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarised other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where the authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article; taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; or taking appropriate legal action.
3.1.2 Prior publication
If material has been previously published it is not generally acceptable for publication in a Sage journal. However, there are certain circumstances where previously published material can be considered for publication. Please refer to the guidance on the Sage Author Gateway or if in doubt, contact the Editor at the address given below.
3.2 Contributor's publishing agreement
Before publication, Sage requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. Sage’s Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement is an exclusive licence agreement which means that the author retains copyright in the work but grants Sage the sole and exclusive right and licence to publish for the full legal term of copyright. Exceptions may exist where an assignment of copyright is required or preferred by a proprietor other than Sage. In this case copyright in the work will be assigned from the author to the society. For more information please visit the Sage Author Gateway.
3.3 Open access and author archiving
BJVI offers optional open access publishing via the Sage Choice programme and Open Access agreements, where authors can publish open access either discounted or free of charge depending on the agreement with Sage. Find out if your institution is participating by visiting Open Access Agreements at Sage. For more information on Open Access publishing options at Sage please visit Sage Open Access. For information on funding body compliance, and depositing your article in repositories, please visit Sage’s Author Archiving and Re-Use Guidelines and Publishing Policies.
4. Preparing your manuscript for submission
The preferred format for your manuscript is Word. LaTeX files are also accepted. The text should be double-spaced throughout and with a minimum of 3cm for left and right hand margins and 5cm at head and foot. Text should be standard 10 or 12 point. Articles must be typed, written in English and avoid discriminatory language. They should be aimed at an international audience, using a clear style, avoiding jargon. You must therefore explain points that might only be understood within your own education system. Acronyms, abbreviations and technical terms should be defined when they are first used. UK spellings are preferred. If notes are essential only use endnotes. Do not indent at the start of a new paragraph; instead, leave one line between each paragraph; and at least two lines between each (sub)section and the next. Word and (La)Tex templates are available on the Manuscript Submission Guidelines page of our Author Gateway.
4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics
For guidance on the preparation of illustrations, pictures and graphs in electronic format, please visit Sage’s Manuscript Submission Guidelines.
Figures supplied in colour will appear in colour online regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. For specifically requested colour reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Sage after receipt of your accepted article.
This journal is able to host additional materials online (e.g. datasets, podcasts, videos, images etc) alongside the full-text of the article. For more information please refer to our guidelines on submitting supplementary files.
BJVI adheres to the APA reference style. View the APA guidelines to ensure your manuscript conforms to this reference style.
4.5 English language editing services
Authors seeking assistance with English language editing, translation, or figure and manuscript formatting to fit the journal’s specifications should consider using Sage Language Services. Visit Sage Language Services on our Journal Author Gateway for further information.
BJVI is hosted on Sage Track, a web based online submission and peer review system powered by ScholarOne™ Manuscripts. Visit http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/BJVI to login and submit your article online.
IMPORTANT: Please check whether you already have an account in the system before trying to create a new one. If you have reviewed or authored for the journal in the past year it is likely that you will have had an account created. For further guidance on submitting your manuscript online please visit ScholarOne Online Help.
As part of our commitment to ensuring an ethical, transparent and fair peer review process Sage is a supporting member of ORCID, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID. ORCID provides a unique and persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from every other researcher, even those who share the same name, and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between researchers and their professional activities, ensuring that their work is recognized.
The collection of ORCID iDs from corresponding authors is now part of the submission process of this journal. If you already have an ORCID iD you will be asked to associate that to your submission during the online submission process. We also strongly encourage all co-authors to link their ORCID ID to their accounts in our online peer review platforms. It takes seconds to do: click the link when prompted, sign into your ORCID account and our systems are automatically updated. Your ORCID iD will become part of your accepted publication’s metadata, making your work attributable to you and only you. Your ORCID iD is published with your article so that fellow researchers reading your work can link to your ORCID profile and from there link to your other publications.
If you do not already have an ORCID iD please follow this link to create one or visit our ORCID homepage to learn more.
5.2 Information required for completing your submission
You will be asked to provide contact details and academic affiliations for all co-authors via the submission system and identify who is to be the corresponding author. These details must match what appears on your manuscript. The affiliation listed in the manuscript should be the institution where the research was conducted. If an author has moved to a new institution since completing the research, the new affiliation can be included in a manuscript note at the end of the paper. At this stage please ensure you have included all the required statements and declarations and uploaded any additional supplementary files (including reporting guidelines where relevant).
Please also ensure that you have obtained any necessary permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere. For further information including guidance on fair dealing for criticism and review, please see the Copyright and Permissions page on the Sage Author Gateway.
6. On acceptance and publication
Your Sage Production Editor will keep you informed as to your article’s progress throughout the production process. Proofs will be made available to the corresponding author via our editing portal Sage Edit or by email, and corrections should be made directly or notified to us promptly. Authors are reminded to check their proofs carefully to confirm that all author information, including names, affiliations, sequence and contact details are correct, and that Funding and Conflict of Interest statements, if any, are accurate.
Online First allows final articles (completed and approved articles awaiting assignment to a future issue) to be published online prior to their inclusion in a journal issue, which significantly reduces the lead time between submission and publication. Visit the Sage Journals help page for more details, including how to cite Online First articles.
6.3 Access to your published article
Sage provides authors with online access to their final article.
Publication is not the end of the process! You can help disseminate your paper and ensure it is as widely read and cited as possible. The Sage Author Gateway has numerous resources to help you promote your work. Visit the Promote Your Article page on the Gateway for tips and advice.
Any correspondence, queries or additional requests for information on the manuscript submission process should be sent to the BJVI editorial office as follows:
E-mail: john.ravenscroft@ed.ac.uk