Publications And Presentations Policy

Manuscripts and papers based upon the RURAL Cohort Study data, including ancillary studies, are welcomed.

Manuscript proposals are required for all papers and abstracts that use RURAL Cohort Study data, including ancillary studies. Main study manuscripts analyze data collected as part of the original funded RURAL Cohort Study, whereas ancillary study manuscripts focus on the collection of new data that were not part of the original Study protocol as approved and funded by the NHLBI.

The RURAL and non-RURAL Investigators consider potential publications as falling into four broad categories:

• Methodological Papers: This will describe the approaches used to gather and evaluate the RURAL Cohort. For example, this could include manuscripts that develop new statistical methodologies.
• Cross-sectional Papers: This will focus on reporting data collected as part of the baseline evaluation, including a description of risk factors, and the association between risk factors.
• Longitudinal Papers: This will focus on the association of the baseline characteristics with data collected during the follow-up of the RURAL Cohort Study participants.
• Event Data Papers: This will focus on adjudicated stroke events, MI events, other vascular events, all-cause mortality, and adjudicated causes of death.

Investigators who propose a manuscript should refer to the Publications and Presentations Policy for detailed instructions.  You can access the RURAL Publications & Presentations (P&P) Subcommittee Submission Portals through the following links:

• Submit a RURAL Manuscript proposal here.
• Submit a RURAL Abstract and Presentation proposal here.

If you are interested in submitting a manuscript, please contact the RURAL Cohort Study Coordinating Center at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio: rural@uthscsa.edu prior to doing so.

Data analyses can be conducted at the RURAL Cohort Study Statistical Data Coordinating Center at the University of Pennsylvania or a local institution. For analysis performed at the local institution, data will be provided in de-identified formats with unique identifiers where appropriate. Data will be provided in comma separated values (CSV) and SAS formats.

Please note that for investigators that do not reside at a RURAL Core, a data use agreement (DUA) between the University of Pennsylvania and the receiving institution is required prior to data sharing. Additionally, the investigator will be asked to sign the RURAL Data Access Agreement for access to the data. In the Data Access Agreement, the investigator will appoint a Data Steward who will have responsibility for downloading the data and maintaining data security. The Data Steward will be the only individual at the receiving institution with access to download the datasets.

To ensure accuracy and consistency in reporting RURAL Study data, all data requests must be submitted to the Study Coordinating Center (SCC) via this Dataset Request REDCap Form. All data requests will be assessed by the SCC in collaboration with the appropriate sub-committee.

Please see the RURAL Data Request Policy document for detailed information on RURAL Study data-related processes.

The RURAL Publications and Presentations Subcommittee Policy, the RURAL Publications and Presentations Policy Flowchart for Manuscripts and Abstracts, and the RURAL Working Group and Writing Group Processes documents are available by emailing the RURAL Cohort Study Coordinating Center at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio: rural@uthscsa.edu.

The RURAL Investigators maintain a culture of representation, respect, and collaboration. RURAL investigators have organized into core-oriented and topic specific working groups. Writing groups based on approved manuscript proposals, are formed within the working groups. If you are interested in joining one of the RURAL Working Groups, please contact the respective chair for more information.

These policies and processes are subject to change based upon the growth and needs of the RURAL Cohort Study, NHLBI requests, OSMB review, and internal input.

The RURAL Study investigators have organized into domain-themed phenotypic working groups. The Working Groups are available for collaboration with both internal and external investigators. The RURAL Study suggests that lead authors present manuscript proposals to the appropriate working group for their assessment. If the working group is supportive of the proposal, lead authors may submit their proposal for review by the RURAL Publications & Presentations Subcommittee via the Manuscript portal.

If you are interested in developing a working group on a topic not listed or need additional information or assistance, please contact the RURAL Cohort Study Coordinating Center at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio: rural@uthscsa.edu.