Author Guidelines
Please read these guidelines in full before submitting. Manuscripts that do not meet the requirements below are returned for correction before entering peer review.
Manuscript preparation
- Submissions must be in English, in editable format (.docx or LaTeX source), A4, 1.5 line spacing, 11pt body text, with continuous line and page numbering.
- Original research articles: typically 4,000–8,000 words excluding references.
- Review articles: up to 10,000 words. Short communications: up to 2,500 words. Case studies: up to 3,500 words.
- Include a structured abstract of no more than 250 words and 4–6 keywords.
- Figures and tables must each be cited in the text, numbered sequentially, given a caption, and supplied at a resolution of at least 300 dpi.
- Use SI units throughout. Define all abbreviations at first use.
- References must be complete and consistent, and include a DOI where one exists.
Structure
Research articles should normally follow: Title page · Abstract · Keywords · Introduction · Materials and Methods · Results · Discussion · Conclusions · Declarations · References.
Required declarations
Every submission must include the following, placed after the Conclusions:
- Author contributions — what each named author contributed.
- Conflict of interest statement — see the Conflict of Interest Policy. If there is none, state "The authors declare no competing interests."
- Data availability statement — see the Research Data Sharing Policy.
- Funding statement — all sources, with grant numbers.
- Ethical approval — where the work involves human participants or animals, name the approving committee and the approval reference, and confirm that informed consent was obtained.
- AI use disclosure where applicable — see the AI Use Policy.
- Confirmation that the work is original and is not under consideration elsewhere.
Authorship
Authorship should be limited to those who made a substantial contribution to the conception, execution, analysis or drafting of the work, and who approve the final version and agree to be accountable for it. Anyone who contributed less should be acknowledged rather than listed as an author. Requests to add, remove or reorder authors after submission must be signed by all authors and explained to the handling editor.