Frequently Asked Questions

Use the Contact page and choose the topic that fits your question (manuscript submissions, peer review, editorial matters or publication).

Read For Authors and the manuscript template, register and verify your e-mail address, then choose Make a Submission. The form guides you through the requirements, article information, authors, files, declarations and confirmation. You can save a draft and return later.

The manuscript and its anonymized copy must be Microsoft Word files (.docx or .doc, up to 25 MB each). The plagiarism report, certificate, ICMJE form and cover letter can be PDF or Word. Supplementary files, figures and data accept the formats listed under File Upload Requirements on the For Authors page. Executable and macro-enabled files are never accepted.

A cover letter, a plagiarism (similarity) report, a language proofreading certificate and the ICMJE disclosure form, together with the Word manuscript and its anonymized copy. See Pre-submission requirements.

Manuscripts are sent for peer review with author names and affiliations removed. The anonymized copy is what reviewers receive; the identified version is kept for the editors.

The editorial office may screen submissions with similarity-checking tools. We recommend checking your own work first. See Publication Ethics.

No. Please ask a colleague, a language expert or your institution to help you polish the text before you submit.

Sign in and open your submission under My Submissions. You see the manuscript number, the current stage (Submission, Review, Copyediting, Production), decisions and the messages the editors send you. You also receive notifications in your dashboard.

While the manuscript is under review, send the editors a message through the Contact page quoting your manuscript number. They decide whether the change is possible at the current stage. If revisions are requested, you upload the revised version from your submission page.

An unfinished draft can be discarded from the submission form. After submission you can withdraw the manuscript from its page until it is accepted. After acceptance, withdrawal follows the procedure in the Publication Ethics policy.

Short extensions are usually possible. Write to the editor in the discussion on your submission page, or through the Contact page, before the deadline passes.

Copyright and the licence are stated on each article and in the agreement shown at submission.

Editors invite independent experts. You can register as a reviewer by ticking that you are willing to review and listing your interests; editors invite reviewers from registered accounts.

Check your spam or promotions folder. On the sign-in page, enter your e-mail and password again and choose Resend verification e-mail. Make sure you registered with an address you can read.

Use the e-mail you registered with, and verify it first. If you forgot your password, use Forgot password.

Check that the file type and size meet the requirements shown under the upload box, that it is not password-protected, and that its content really is the type its name says. Try again with a stable connection. If it still fails, contact the editorial office.

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