Formatting Information for Authors
Manuscript Preparation Checklist
When submitting a paper to JoS, please include the items below and follow the formatting requirements. Submissions that do not meet these requirements may be returned for correction prior to review or production.
- Author details
- Full name of all authors
- ORCID for each author (if applicable)
- Affiliations: department, institution, postal address, country/region
- Corresponding author’s email address (clearly indicated in the manuscript)
- Manuscript elements
- Abstract: approximately 150 words
- Keywords
- Citation style: APA 7
- Tables, figures, and images (if included)
- Provide numbered titles and sources for all tables, figures, and images (unless the source is the manuscript itself).
- Tables must be editable (created in the document), not images. JoS does not recreate or reformat tables from pictures.
- If the authors are the source, cite as “Author(s), current year”.
- Numbered headings
- All sections must use numbered headings (format: 1., 1.1., 1.1.1.).
- A maximum of three heading levels is permitted.
- Author contributions (CRediT-style): e.g., Person X: conceptualisation, methodology, testing; Person Y: review & editing; …
- Declarations
- Funding declarations
- Data availability (see requirement below)
- Competing interests
- Ethics approval/consent (if applicable)
- Open Access: JoS publishes under CC BY 4.0. See our Open Access page.
Data availability statement (required where relevant):
A data availability statement is required for all manuscripts with relevant data submitted after 30 June 2025 or published after 31 December 2025. The statement must specify:
- Whether and how the supporting data can be accessed
- Repository name and link (if applicable)
- Any restrictions or conditions for access
- A justification if data cannot be shared (e.g., ethical, legal, proprietary reasons)
Declarations
Funding: The authors declare that (no) funding was received for this research.
Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
Open Access: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) and the source, a link to the license is provided, and any changes are indicated. Third-party material is included in the article’s Creative Commons license unless otherwise indicated in a credit line. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder. License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Final Manuscript Submission
After acceptance, please submit your final manuscript as a .doc or .docx file where possible. Ensure all checklist items and declarations above are included in the final version.
You can view the target layout in this template, and you are welcome to apply it before submission. A preprint may be posted on our website and later de-linked once the formatted version is published.
Edits: Authors are responsible for ensuring the manuscript is complete, internally consistent, and compliant with JoS requirements (including references, APA 7 style, tables/figures, and section numbering) before submission for production formatting. JoS may make minor language edits, but does not perform substantive rewriting or reconstruct tables/figures. If further corrections are required after acceptance, authors may be asked to implement them before publication can proceed.