Submission Essentials

Formatting Requirements

Accepted File Formats

Manuscript files may be submitted in DOC, DOCX, or RTF format. Microsoft Word files must not be locked or protected. LaTeX manuscripts must be converted to PDF prior to submission. Refer to our LaTeX guidelines for further detail.

Length and Word Count

There is no limit on manuscript length, number of figures, or volume of supporting material. Authors are encouraged to present findings as concisely as the content allows.

Typography and Layout

Use a standard font size and typeface throughout. The font named "Symbol" should not be used — instead, insert symbols via your word processor's Insert → Symbol function, or paste the relevant Unicode character directly.

Organise the manuscript into sections and sub-sections up to three heading levels. Set the manuscript in double-line spacing and do not use multi-column formatting.

Page and Line Numbers

Include page numbers and line numbers throughout the manuscript file. Use continuous line numbering and do not restart the count on each page.

Footnotes

Footnotes are not permitted. Where footnote content is necessary, incorporate it into the main body text or the reference list, depending on the nature of the information.

Language

All manuscripts must be submitted in English. Translations of the manuscript or abstract may be submitted as supporting information. See the supporting information guidelines for details.

Abbreviations

Define all abbreviations on first use in the text. Avoid non-standard abbreviations unless they appear at least three times. Keep abbreviations to a minimum throughout.

Reference Style

SJOH uses the Vancouver citation style as outlined in the ICMJE sample references.

Equations

We recommend MathType for display and inline equations. If unavailable, Equation Editor or the Microsoft Word equation function is acceptable. Avoid using equation tools to insert individual variables in running text. Do not mix MathType and Equation Editor within the same equation.

Nomenclature

Use standard, internationally accepted nomenclature throughout.

Units of measurement: Use SI units exclusively. Where other units are used, provide the SI equivalent in parentheses.
Drugs: Use the Recommended International Non-Proprietary Name (INN).
Species names: Write in italics. Give the full genus and species on first mention in the title and text.
Genes, mutations, genotypes, and alleles: Write in italics. Consult the appropriate genetic nomenclature database (e.g., HGNC for human genes).
Allergens: Follow the systematic allergen nomenclature of the WHO/IUIS Allergen Nomenclature Sub-committee. For manuscripts describing new allergens, the systematic name must be approved prior to submission.

Professional editing: Authors who wish to have their manuscript professionally edited before submission are encouraged to engage a language editing or copyediting service. Manuscripts are not copyedited prior to publication. Submissions that do not meet the SJOH language standards criterion for publication may be declined.

Manuscript Structure

Manuscripts should be organised as described below.

Section	Elements
Opening section (required, in order)	Title page: title, authors, and affiliations as the first page of the manuscript file Abstract Introduction
Core section (may be renamed and reordered)	Materials and Methods Results Discussion Conclusions (if applicable)
Closing section (required, in order)	Acknowledgements References Supporting information captions (if applicable)
Other elements	Figure captions: inserted immediately after the first paragraph in which the figure is cited; figure files uploaded separately Tables: inserted immediately after the first paragraph in which they are cited Supporting information files: uploaded separately

Sample files: Use our downloadable sample files to ensure your submission meets formatting requirements.

Figures and Supporting Information in the compiled PDF: The compiled submission PDF includes low-resolution preview images of figures placed after the reference list. A link at the top of each preview page allows you to download the full-resolution version of that figure.

Abstract

The abstract follows the title page in the manuscript file and is also entered separately in the submission system. The abstract should:

Describe the primary objective(s) of the study
Explain the study approach without methodological detail
Summarise the key findings and their significance
Not exceed 300 words

Abstracts should not include citations or abbreviations (where possible).

Introduction

The introduction should provide background that places the manuscript in context, identify the problem addressed and explain why it is important, include a brief review of the relevant literature, note any relevant controversies or disagreements in the field, and conclude with a brief statement of the study's overall aim.

Materials and Methods

The Materials and Methods section should provide enough detail to allow suitably skilled investigators to fully replicate your study. If materials, methods, and protocols are well established, authors may cite articles where those protocols are described in detail, but the submission should include sufficient information to be understood independently.

Supporting reproducibility with protocols

Protocol documents may be uploaded as Supporting Information or linked from the Methods section. For laboratory protocols, we recommend protocols.io. Include the DOI link in the Methods section using the format: http://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.[DOI].

Independently published protocols

SJOH offers two options for publishing stand-alone protocol articles: Lab Protocols, which describe reusable methodologies, and Study Protocols, which detail plans and proposals for research projects. Specific guidelines apply to the submission of Lab Protocol and Study Protocol manuscripts.

Results, Discussion, and Conclusions

These sections may be separate, or may be combined. Together, they should describe the experimental results, interpret those results, and draw conclusions from them. Authors should explain how the results relate to the hypothesis and provide a concise assessment of the implications of the findings.

Editorial decisions at SJOH do not rely on perceived significance or impact, so authors should avoid overstating conclusions.

Acknowledgements

Those who contributed to the work but do not meet authorship criteria should be listed in the Acknowledgements with a description of their contribution. Authors are responsible for ensuring that anyone named in the Acknowledgements has agreed to be named.

Important: Do not include editors or peer reviewers — named or unnamed — in the Acknowledgements. Do not include funding sources in the Acknowledgements or anywhere else in the manuscript file. Funding information should be entered only in the financial disclosure section of the submission system.

References

Any and all available works may be cited in the reference list. Acceptable sources include published or accepted manuscripts, and manuscripts on preprint servers provided the manuscript has a citable DOI or arXiv URL.

Do not cite the following in the reference list:

Unavailable and unpublished work, including manuscripts that have been submitted but not yet accepted. Instead, incorporate those data as Supporting Information or deposit them in a publicly available database.
Personal communications — these should be supported by a letter from the relevant authors but not included in the reference list.
Retracted research, unless necessary to discuss retracted work historically.

References are listed at the end of the manuscript and numbered in the order in which they appear in the text. Use the reference number in square brackets. Do not include citations in abstracts.

Formatting references

Important: Because all references will be linked electronically to the papers they cite, accurate and consistent formatting of references is essential.

Source type	Format
Journal articles	Author AB, Author CD, et al. Article title. Journal Abbrev. Year Month Day; Volume(Issue): Pages. doi:10.xxxx/xxxxx
Accepted, unpublished articles	Same as published articles, but substitute "Forthcoming" for page numbers or DOI.
Online articles	Author AB. Article title. Journal Abbrev. Year; Volume: Pages. Available from: [URL]
Books	Author AB. Book title. Edition. City: Publisher; Year.
Book chapters	Author AB. Chapter title. In: Editor CD, editor. Book title. City: Publisher; Year. pp. XX–XX.
Deposited articles (preprints)	Author AB. Article title. arXiv [Preprint]. Year [cited Year Month Day]. Available from: [URL]
Published media	Author AB. Article title. Publication Name [Internet]. Date [cited Date]. Available from: [URL]
New media (blogs, websites)	Author AB. Post title. Blog/Website Name [Internet]. Date [cited Date]. Available from: [URL]
Theses or dissertations	Author AB. Thesis title [dissertation]. City: Institution; Year.
Databases and repositories	Author AB. Dataset title. Repository Name [Internet]. Year [cited Date]. Available from: [URL]
Multimedia	Creator AB, producer and director. Title [Film/Video]. City: Studio; Year.

Components of a Submission

Manuscript Title

Include a full title and a short title for the manuscript.

Title type	Length	Requirements	Examples
Full title	250 characters	Specific, descriptive, concise, and understandable to readers outside the field	Effect of cigarette smoke exposure on innate immunity: a Caenorhabditis elegans study
Short title	100 characters	States the topic of the study	Cigarette smoke exposure and innate immunity

Titles should be written in sentence case. Avoid specialist abbreviations where possible. For clinical trials, systematic reviews, or meta-analyses, the subtitle should include the study design.

Author List

Authorship requirements: All authors must meet the authorship criteria as outlined in the authorship policy. The corresponding author must provide an ORCID iD at the time of submission. Read more about ORCID.

Author names and affiliations

Enter author names on the title page of the manuscript and in the online submission system. On the title page, write author names in the following order: First name (or initials), Middle name (or initials), Last name (surname). Each author must have an affiliation including department, institution, city, and country.

If an author has multiple affiliations, enter all affiliations on the title page only. In the submission system, enter only the preferred or primary affiliation.

Author names will be published exactly as they appear in the manuscript file. Please double-check all information carefully to ensure it is correct.

Corresponding author

The submitting author is automatically designated as the corresponding author in the submission system. Only one corresponding author can be designated in the submission system, but this does not restrict the number of corresponding authors listed on the article upon publication. Include an email address for each corresponding author listed on the title page.

Consortia and group authorship

If a manuscript is submitted on behalf of a consortium or group, include its name in the manuscript byline. Do not add it to the author list in the submission system. You may include the full list of members in the Acknowledgements or in a supporting information file.

Read the group authorship policy.

Author contributions

Provide at minimum one contribution for each author in the submission system. Use the CRediT taxonomy to describe each contribution. Read the policy and the full list of roles.

Contributions will be included in the final article and should accurately reflect each author's contributions. SJOH will contact all authors by email at submission to ensure they are aware of the submission.

Cover Letter

Upload a cover letter as a separate file. The length limit is 1 page. The cover letter should include:

A summary of the study's contribution to the scientific literature
How the study relates to previously published work
The article type (e.g., research article, systematic review, clinical trial)
A description of any prior interactions with SJOH regarding the submitted manuscript
Suggested Academic Editors to handle the manuscript
Any opposed reviewers

Important: Do not include requests to reduce or waive publication fees in the cover letter. This information will be entered separately in the online submission system. Read about publication fee assistance.

Title Page

The title, authors, and affiliations should all be included on a title page as the first page of the manuscript file.

Download our sample title, author list, and affiliations page (PDF).

Financial and Competing Interests Disclosure

Financial Disclosure Statement

This information describes the sources of funding that have supported the work. Enter this statement in the Financial Disclosure section of the submission form — do not include it in your manuscript file. The statement should include:

Specific grant numbers
Initials of authors who received each award
Full names of commercial companies that funded the study or authors
URLs to sponsors' websites

Also state whether any sponsors or funders played any role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

If the study was unfunded, include this sentence: "The author(s) received no specific funding for this work."

Read our policy on disclosure of funding sources.

Competing Interests

All potential competing interests must be declared in full via the submission system — do not include this in your manuscript file. If the submission is related to any patents, patent applications, or products in development or on the market, these details must be disclosed in full.

Read our policy on competing interests.

Manuscripts Disputing Published Work

For manuscripts that dispute previously published work, it is SJOH policy to invite a signed review by the disputed author during the peer review process. Authors submitting manuscripts that dispute previous work should explain the relationship between the manuscripts in their cover letter, and will be required to confirm that they accept the conditions of this review policy.

Data, Reproducibility, and Methods

Data Availability and Deposition

All data and related metadata underlying the findings reported in a submitted manuscript should be deposited in an appropriate public repository, unless already provided as part of the submitted article. Repositories may be subject-specific or general, as long as DOIs or accession numbers are provided and the data are made available under at least an open CC BY licence.

See our list of recommended repositories.

To support data sharing and compliance with the SJOH data policy, our submission process is integrated with select repositories including Dryad and FlowRepository. Instructions for submissions with data deposited in an integration partner repository:

Deposit data in the integrated repository of your choice.
Once deposition is final and complete, the repository will provide a dataset DOI (provisional) and a private URL for reviewers to access the data.
Enter the data DOI in the Data Availability Statement in the Additional Information section of the submission form.

Accession numbers

Accession numbers (and version numbers, if appropriate) should be provided in the Data Availability Statement and also when the data set is mentioned within the manuscript.

Identifiers

Where possible, provide accession numbers or identifiers for all entities such as genes, proteins, mutants, and diseases, for example from: Ensembl, Entrez Gene, FlyBase, InterPro, Mouse Genome Database (MGD), OMIM, PubChem. Identifiers should be provided in parentheses after the entity on first use.

Striking Image

Authors may choose to upload a "Striking Image" to represent the article online. The striking image must be derived from a figure or supporting information file from the submission. Striking images should ideally be high resolution, eye-catching, and single-panel images, and should avoid containing added details such as text, scale bars, and arrows.

Striking images should not contain potentially identifying images of people. The SJOH licences and copyright policy also applies to striking images.

Methods, Software, Databases, and Tools

SJOH will consider submissions presenting new methods, software, databases, or tools as the primary focus if they meet the following criteria:

Utility

The tool must be of use to the community and must present a proven advantage over existing alternatives, where applicable. Recapitulation of existing methods, solutions, or databases is not considered suitable for publication.

Validation

Submissions must demonstrate that the new tool achieves its intended purpose. If similar options already exist, the manuscript must demonstrate that the new tool is an improvement. This requirement may be met by including a proof-of-principle experiment or analysis.

Availability

If the manuscript's primary purpose is the description of a new software package, this software must be open source, deposited in an appropriate repository, and conform to the Open Source Definition. If the manuscript mainly describes a database, this database must be open-hosted and publicly accessible.

Software submissions

Manuscripts whose primary purpose is the description of new software must provide full details of the algorithms described. Include demo data and explain how to install and run the software. Authors should provide a direct link to the deposited software from within the paper.

Database submissions

For descriptions of databases, provide details about how the data were curated, as well as plans for long-term database maintenance, growth, and stability. Authors should provide a direct link to the database hosting site from within the paper.

Read the SJOH policy on sharing materials, software, and code.

Figures, Tables, and Statistical Reporting

Figures

Do not include figures in the main manuscript file. Each figure must be prepared and submitted as an individual file. Cite figures in ascending numeric order at first appearance in the manuscript file.

Read the guidelines for figures and requirements for reporting blot and gel results.

Figure captions

Figure captions must be inserted in the text of the manuscript, immediately following the paragraph in which the figure is first cited. Do not include captions as part of the figure files themselves or submit them in a separate document. At a minimum, include a figure label with Arabic numerals (e.g., Fig 1) and a concise, descriptive title.

Tables

Cite tables in ascending numeric order upon first appearance in the manuscript file. Place each table directly after the paragraph in which it is first cited. Do not submit tables in separate files. Tables require a label and a brief descriptive title placed above the table. Place legends, footnotes, and other text below the table.

Read the guidelines for tables.

Statistical Reporting

Manuscripts are expected to report statistical methods in sufficient detail for others to replicate the analysis. Ensure that results are rigorously reported in accordance with community standards and that statistical methods employed are appropriate for the study design.

Consult the following resources for additional guidance:

SAMPL guidelines for general guidance on statistical reporting
SJOH guidelines for clinical trials requirements
SJOH guidelines for systematic review and meta-analysis requirements
EQUATOR for specific reporting guidelines for other study types

Reporting of statistical methods

In the Methods section, include a section on statistical analysis reporting a detailed description of the statistical methods used, including: name and version of any software package used; technical details required to reproduce the analysis; and a repository identifier for any code used in the analyses.

Reporting of statistical results

Units of measurement: Clearly define measurement units in all tables and figures.
Properties of distribution: Make clear which measures of variance (SD, SEM, confidence intervals) and central tendency (mean, median) are being presented.
Regression analysis: Include the full results of any regression analysis as a supplementary file, including all estimated regression coefficients, standard errors, p-values, and confidence intervals.
Reporting parameters: Test statistics (F/t/z) and associated degrees of freedom should be provided. Effect sizes and confidence intervals should be reported where appropriate.
P-values: Report exact p-values for all values ≥ 0.001. P-values < 0.001 may be expressed as p < 0.001.
Displaying data in plots: Format plots so that they accurately depict the sample distribution. Avoid 3D effects in plots where regular plots are sufficient.
Open data: Make individual data points, underlying graphs, and summary statistics available at the time of publication.

Supporting Information

Authors may submit essential supporting files and multimedia files alongside their manuscripts. All supporting information will be subject to peer review. All file types can be submitted, but files must be smaller than 20 MB in size.

Authors may use almost any description as the item name for a supporting information file as long as it contains an "S" and a number (e.g., "S1 Appendix", "S1 Table"). Supporting information files are published exactly as provided and are not copyedited.

Captions for Supporting Information

List supporting information captions at the end of the manuscript file. Do not submit captions in a separate file. The file number and name are required in a caption, and a one-line title is strongly recommended.

Example caption: S1 Text. Title is strongly recommended. Legend is optional.

In-text Citations of Supporting Information

We recommend citing supporting information files in the manuscript text, but this is not a requirement. If you do cite supporting information in the text, citations do not need to be in numerical order.

Read the supporting information guidelines for more details.

Study-Type Guidelines

Study design, reporting, and analysis are assessed against all relevant research and methodological technique standards held by the community.

Registered Reports

For Registered Report Protocols:

Provide enough methodological detail to make the study reproducible and replicable
Confirm that data will be made available upon study completion in keeping with the SJOH Data Policy
Include ethical approval or waivers, if applicable
For meta-analyses or Clinical Trials, use the protocol-specific reporting guidelines PRISMA-P or SPIRIT respectively

If data need to be collected, modified, or processed specifically for your study, or if participants need to be recruited specifically for your study, this should occur only after your Registered Report Protocol is accepted for publication.

For Registered Report Research Articles: report the results of all planned analyses and, if relevant, detail and justify all deviations from the protocol. The manuscript may also contain exploratory, unplanned analyses.

Research Involving Human Participants

All research involving human participants must have been approved by the authors' Institutional Review Board (IRB) or by an equivalent ethics committee(s), and must have been conducted according to the principles expressed in the Declaration of Helsinki.

Subjects must have been properly informed and must have indicated that they consent to participate. If consent was verbal instead of written, or if consent could not be obtained, the authors must explain the reason in the manuscript, and the use of verbal consent or the lack of consent must have been approved by the IRB or ethics committee.

Manuscripts should conform to the following reporting guidelines:

Studies of diagnostic accuracy: STARD
Observational studies: STROBE
Microarray experiments: MIAME
Other types of health-related research: Consult the EQUATOR website

Research Involving Animals

All research involving vertebrates or cephalopods must have approval from the authors' Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) or equivalent ethics committee(s), and must have been conducted according to applicable national and international guidelines. Approval must be received prior to beginning research.

Manuscripts reporting animal research must state in the Methods section: the full name of the relevant ethics committee that approved the work and the associated permit number(s); and relevant details of steps taken to ameliorate animal suffering.

Clinical Trials

All clinical trials must be registered in one of the publicly accessible registries approved by the WHO or ICMJE. Authors must provide the trial registration number. Clinical trials must be reported according to the relevant reporting guidelines, including CONSORT for randomised controlled trials and TREND for non-randomised trials. Submissions must also include the study protocol as supporting information.

Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses

Reports of systematic reviews and meta-analyses should include a completed PRISMA checklist and flow diagram to accompany the main text. Authors must also state in their Methods section whether a protocol exists for their systematic review, and if so, provide a copy as supporting information and provide the registry number in the abstract.

Qualitative Research

Qualitative research should be reported in accordance with the COREQ checklist or SRQR checklist. Further reporting guidelines can be found in the Equator Network's Guidelines for reporting qualitative research.

New Taxon Names

When publishing papers that describe a new zoological taxon name, SJOH aims to comply with the requirements of the ICZN and requires registration in ZooBank. When publishing papers that describe a new botanical taxon, SJOH aims to comply with the requirements of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN).

Preprints

SJOH encourages authors to post a preprint of their manuscript. Posting a manuscript on a preprint server does not impact its consideration at any SJOH journal. Authors submitting manuscripts in the life and health sciences to SJOH may choose to have SJOH forward their submission to bioRxiv or medRxiv for consideration for posting as a preprint.

Related Manuscripts

Upon submission, authors must confirm that the manuscript, or any related manuscript, is not currently under consideration or accepted elsewhere. If related work has been submitted elsewhere, authors must include a copy of the submitted article with the submission.

SJOH strongly discourages the unnecessary division of related work into separate manuscripts. Each submission must be written as an independent unit and should not rely on any work that has not already been accepted for publication.

Read our policies on related manuscripts.

Publication Fee Support

Many institutional partners have agreements with SJOH to allow their corresponding authors to publish with reduced or no Article Processing Charges (APCs). To determine if your corresponding author is eligible, please visit our institutional partners page.

Read the full instructions for submitting to a journal with the Flat Fee Agreement.

If your corresponding author is not from a participating institution and requires assistance paying publication fees, please consider applying for a fee waiver at submission.