Author Guidelines
Style and Format
File format - Manuscript files can be in the following formats: DOC, DOCX or RTF. Microsoft Word documents should not be locked or protected.
Length - Manuscripts can be any length. There are no restrictions on word count, number of figures, or amount of supporting information. We encourage you to present and discuss your findings concisely.
Font - Use any standard font and a standard font size.
Headings - Limit manuscript sections and sub-sections to 3 heading levels. Make sure heading levels are clearly indicated in the manuscript text.
Layout - Manuscript text should be double-spaced. Do not format text in multiple columns.
Page numbers - Include page numbers numbers in the manuscript file.
Footnotes - Footnotes are not permitted. If your manuscript contains footnotes, move the information into the main text or the reference list, depending on the content.
Language - Manuscripts must be submitted in English. Exemptions will be considered for specific fields of sciences as arts and humanities.
Abbreviations - Define abbreviations upon first appearance in the text. Do not use non-standard abbreviations unless they appear at least three times in the text. Keep abbreviations to a minimum.
Reference style - Open Science Journal uses “Vancouver” style.
Equations - We recommend using MathType for display and inline equations, as it will provide the most reliable outcome. If this is not possible, Equation Editor is acceptable.
Avoid using MathType or Equation Editor to insert single variables (e.g., “a² + b² = c²”), Greek or other symbols (e.g., β, Δ, or ′ [prime]), or mathematical operators (e.g., x, ≥, or ±) in running text. Wherever possible, insert single symbols as normal text with the correct Unicode (hex) values.
Do not use MathType or Equation Editor for only a portion of an equation. Rather, ensure that the entire equation is included. Avoid “hybrid” inline or display equations, in which part is text and part is MathType, or part is MathType and part is Equation Editor.
Manuscript Organization
Manuscripts should be organized as follows. Instructions for each element appear below the list.
Beginning section - The following elements are required, in order:
- Title page: List title, authors, and affiliations as first page of manuscript
- Abstract
- Introduction
Middle section - The following elements can be renamed as needed and presented in any order:
- Materials and Methods
- Results
- Discussion
- Conclusions (optional)
Ending section - The following elements are required, in order:
- Acknowledgments
- References
- Supporting Information Captions (if applicable)
Other elements- Figure captions are inserted immediately after the first paragraph in which the figure is cited.
- Figure files are uploaded separately.
- Tables are inserted immediately after the first paragraph in which they are cited.
- Supporting information files are uploaded separately.
Parts of a Submission
Title - Include a full title and a short title for the manuscript.
- Full title (Length: 250-350 characters) - Specific, descriptive, concise, and comprehensible to readers outside the field
- Short title (Length: 50-100 characters) - State the topic of the study
Author list- 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, if used)
- Middle name (or initials, if used)
- Last name (surname, family name)
- Each author on the list must have an affiliation. The affiliation includes department, university, or organizational affiliation and its location, including city, state/province (if applicable), 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.
- Corresponding author - One corresponding author should be designated in the submission system as well as on the title page.
However, this does not restrict the number of corresponding authors that may be listed on the article in the event of publication. Whoever is designated as a corresponding author on the title page of the manuscript file will be listed as such upon publication.
Include an email address for each corresponding author listed on the title page of the manuscript.
- Consortia and group authorship - If a manuscript is submitted on behalf of a consortium or group, include the consortium or group name in the author list, and include the full list of members in the Acknowledgments or in a Supporting Information file. The corresponding author is responsible for making sure all authors approve the final manuscript before submission. Open Science Journal will contact all authors by email at submission to ensure that they are aware of the submission One corresponding author should be designated in the submission system as well as on the title page.
Title page - The title, authors, and affiliations should all be included on a title page as the first page of the manuscript file.
Abstract - The Abstract comes after the title page in the manuscript file. The abstract text is also entered in a separate field in the submission system.
The Abstract should:- Describe the main objective(s) of the study
- Explain how the study was done, including any model organisms used, without methodological detail
- Summarize the most important results and their significance
- Not exceed 250-350 words
Abstracts should not include:- Citations
- Abbreviations, if possible
Introduction
The introduction should:- Provide background that puts the manuscript into context and allows readers outside the field to understand the purpose and significance of the study
- Define the problem addressed and why it is important
- Include a brief review of the key literature
- Note any relevant controversies or disagreements in the field
- Conclude with a brief statement of the overall aim of the work and a comment about whether that aim was achieved
Materials and MethodsThe Materials and Methods section should provide enough detail to allow suitably skilled investigators to fully replicate your study. Specific information and/or protocols for new methods should be included in detail. 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 independent of these references. We encourage authors to submit detailed protocols for newer or less well-established methods as Supporting Information.
Results, Discussion, Conclusions These sections may all be separate, or may be combined to create a mixed Results/Discussion section (commonly labeled “Results and Discussion”) or a mixed Discussion/Conclusions section (commonly labeled “Discussion”). These sections may be further divided into subsections, each with a concise subheading, as appropriate. These sections have no word limit, but the language should be clear and concise. Together, these sections should describe the results of the experiments, the interpretation of these results, and the conclusions that can be drawn. Authors should explain how the results relate to the hypothesis presented as the basis of the study and provide a succinct explanation of the implications of the findings, particularly in relation to previous related studies and potential future directions for research. Open Science Journal editorial decisions do not rely on perceived significance or impact, so authors should avoid overstating their conclusions.
Acknowledgments Those who contributed to the work but do not meet our authorship criteria should be listed in the Acknowledgments with a description of the contribution. Authors are responsible for ensuring that anyone named in the Acknowledgments agrees to be named.
References - Any and all available works can be cited in the reference list. Acceptable sources include:
- Published or accepted manuscripts
- Manuscripts on pre-print servers, if the manuscript is submitted to a journal and also publicly available as a pre-print Do not cite the following sources in the reference list:
- Unavailable and unpublished work, including manuscripts that have been submitted but not yet accepted (e.g., “unpublished work,” “data not shown”). Instead, include those data as supplementary material or deposit the data 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)
References are listed at the end of the manuscript and numbered in the order that they appear in the text. In the text, cite the reference number in square brackets (e.g., “We used the techniques developed by our colleagues [19] to analyze the data”). Open Science Journal uses the numbered citation (citation-sequence) method and first six authors, et al.
Do not include citations in abstracts or author summaries.
Make sure the parts of the manuscript are in the correct order before ordering the citations.
Supporting InformationAuthors can submit essential supporting files and multimedia files along with their manuscripts. All Supporting Information will be subject to peer review. All file types can be submitted, but files must be smaller than 10 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 number. For example, “S1 Appendix” and “S2 Appendix,” “S1 Table” and “S2 Table,” and so forth. Supporting files should be publication-ready, as they are not copyedited.
Supporting Information captions - 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 we highly recommend including a one-line title as well. You may also include a legend in your caption, but it is not required.
Figures and tables
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 upon first appearance in the manuscript file.
Figure captions must be inserted in the text of the manuscript, immediately following the paragraph in which the figure is first cited (read order). Do not include captions as part of the figure files themselves or submit them in a separate document.
At a minimum, include the following in your figure captions:
- A figure label with Arabic numerals, and “Figure” abbreviated to “Fig” (e.g. Fig 1, Fig 2, Fig 3, etc). Match the label of your figure with the name of the file uploaded at submission (e.g. a figure citation of “Fig 1” must refer to a figure file named “Fig1.tif”).
- A concise, descriptive title
- The caption may also include a legend as needed.
Tables - Cite tables in ascending numeric order upon first appearance in the manuscript file. Place each table in your manuscript file directly after the paragraph in which it is first cited (read order). Do not submit your tables in separate files. Tables require a label (e.g., “Table 1”) and brief descriptive title to be placed above the table. Place legends, footnotes, and other text below the table.
Data reporting
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 either subject-specific (where these exist) and accept specific types of structured data, or generalist repositories that accept multiple data types. We recommend that authors select repositories appropriate to their field. Repositories may be subject-specific (e.g., GenBank for sequences and PDB for structures), general, or institutional, as long as DOIs or accession numbers are provided and the data are at least as open as CC BY. Authors are encouraged to select repositories that meet accepted criteria as trustworthy digital repositories, such as criteria of the Centre for Research Libraries or Data Seal of Approval. Large, international databases are more likely to persist than small, local ones.
Striking image
You can choose to upload a “Striking Image” that we may use to represent your article online in places like the journal homepage, socila media account or in search results. The striking image must be derived from a figure or supporting information file from the submission, i.e., a cropped portion of an image or the entire image. Striking images should ideally be high resolution, eye-catching, single panel images, and should ideally avoid containing added details such as text, scale bars, and arrows. If no striking image is uploaded, we will designate a figure from the submission as the striking image.
Copyediting manuscripts
Prior to submission, authors who believe their manuscripts would benefit from professional editing are encouraged to use language-editing and copyediting services. Obtaining this service is the responsibility of the author, and should be done before initial submission. These services can be found on the web using search terms like “scientific editing service” or “manuscript editing service.” Submissions are not copyedited before publication.
