Objective

These guidelines help authors understand our expectations regarding submission, peer review, revisions, publication and post-publication responsibilities.

Before Submission

• Manuscript must be original, not under consideration by another journal, and should cite prior work appropriately.
• If a pre-print exists, authors must state this in the covering letter and indicate how this submission differs.
• All authors must meet authorship criteria (substantial contribution to conception/design/data/analysis, drafting or revising of manuscript, final approval, accountability for all aspects).
• A statement of each author’s contribution must appear in the manuscript.
• Disclosure of funding sources, institutional affiliations, and any competing interests must be included.
• For research involving humans or animals: include ethics committee approval number, consent statement for human participants and animal welfare statement.
• Data and methods: Authors must state availability of underlying data and material as required by the journal’s data-sharing policy.
• Permissions: If tables/figures/text from other sources are reproduced, authors must obtain and cite permissions.
• Manuscript format: Follow journal’s formatting guidelines (e.g., abstract length, headings style, reference format, figure/table captions, supplementary materials).
• Cover letter: Provide brief summary of the manuscript’s significance, original contribution, and statement of adherence to publication ethics.

Peer Review & Revision

• Authors should respond to reviewer/editor comments constructively and within specified timelines.
• Revisions must clearly mark changes (e.g., using track-changes or annotated response letter).
• If authors withdraw a submission after peer review, they should notify the journal promptly.

Post-Acceptance & Publication

• Authors must approve final proofs by the given deadline; delays may lead to postponed publication.
• Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the published work and must inform the editor of any significant errors discovered post-publication.
• Authors should cite the published article appropriately and support open access (retaining author rights/licence as per journal policy).

Ethical Standards

• Authors must avoid plagiarism, redundant publication, image/data manipulation, and ensure honesty in data reporting.
• Any conflicts of interest must be disclosed fully.
• Authors must uphold research integrity: if investigation of misconduct arises, authors commit to cooperate.

Licence & Copyright

• Our OA journals offer a choice of licences (for example, Creative Commons BY). Authors must select and agree to the licence upon acceptance.
• Authors retain copyright under the chosen licence and grant the publisher the right to publish and archive.