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Submission guidelines

To facilitate the submission process, we are flexible with regard to the format, style and length of initial submissions. HOWEVER, data that supports the research within the manuscript MUST be made available at the time of submission.


For the purpose of peer review, please provide one editable manuscript document (such as .doc .docx or .RTF), with figures and tables placed in the body of the text at the point where they are referenced.  Only LaTeX manuscripts should be submitted as a .pdf. You will be asked to provide .tex files at a later date.

Supplemental information and cover letters should be uploaded separately. Please refer to the submissions criteria regarding our policy on data.


Journal-specific formatting is only required once manuscripts have completed one round of peer review and authors have been asked to revise their manuscript.

Our 3-step submission process

  1. Before you submit

    Now you’ve identified a journal to submit to, there are a few things you should be familiar with before you submit.

  2. Ready to submit

    To give your manuscript the best chance of publication, follow these policies and formatting guidelines.

  3. Submit and promote

    After acceptance, we provide support so your article gains maximum impact in the scientific community and beyond.

    Please note that manuscript can only be submitted by an author of the manuscript and may not be submitted by a third party. 

Submit manuscript

Annual Journal Metrics

  • Citation Impact 2023
    Journal Impact Factor: 6.2
    5-year Journal Impact Factor: 7.1
    Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP): 1.377
    SCImago Journal Rank (SJR): 1.713

    Speed 2023
    Submission to first editorial decision (median days): 12
    Submission to acceptance (median days): 118

    Usage 2023
    Downloads: 486,860
    Altmetric mentions: 977