General preparation
- Submit the main manuscript in DOC, DOCX, or PDF format.
- Use a clear, readable typeface, consistent headings, continuous page numbering, and line numbers where possible.
- Define abbreviations at first use and use terminology consistently.
- Use SI units and report statistical methods and results with appropriate precision.
- Do not include author names, affiliations, acknowledgements, or other identifying information in the review manuscript.
Recommended manuscript structure
- Title
- Abstract of up to 300 words
- Four to six keywords
- Introduction
- Method, including participants, materials, procedure, analysis, and ethics
- Results
- Discussion, limitations, and conclusions
- Declarations
- References
- Tables, figure captions, and supplementary information as applicable
Review, theoretical, qualitative, and methods papers may use a structure appropriate to their design, but the organization should remain transparent and logically ordered.
Title page and declarations
Upload a separate title page listing the manuscript title, each author's full name, affiliation, country, email address, and ORCID iD where available. Identify the corresponding author and include statements on authorship contributions, funding, conflicts of interest, ethics approval, informed consent, data availability, acknowledgements, and use of generative AI where relevant.
References
Use APA style, 7th edition, unless a different established format is necessary for a specialist article type and is approved by the editorial office. Every in-text citation must appear in the reference list and every listed reference must be cited in the manuscript. Include persistent identifiers, such as DOI links, when they are available and verified.
Tables and figures
- Number tables and figures consecutively in the order cited.
- Provide a concise, self-contained title or caption for each item.
- Explain abbreviations and statistical notation in notes.
- Ensure that figures remain legible at publication size.
- Obtain written permission for copyrighted third-party material before publication.
Reporting quality
Authors should use a recognized reporting guideline suited to the study design where one exists. Reports should distinguish confirmatory and exploratory analyses, describe exclusions and missing data, and avoid overstating causal or clinical conclusions.