Preparing research for submission to an academic journal requires care and attention.
The EQUATOR network provides researchers with a broad range of reporting guidelines and checklists that can be used when preparing a manuscript for submission. Journal editors must screen many submissions and ensuring research is clearly presented, following journal-specific guidelines is important.
Each journal has various requirements, including the structure of the manuscript and the number of figures and tables allowed. They can also have stringent word and citation counts. Researchers should check each journal to determine its specific requirements. As a rule, researchers should prepare:
- Cover letter
- Manuscript
- Tables and Figures (if applicable)
Supplementary files can also be submitted with manuscripts as a form of supporting information. This may include: checklists, data, or interview questions.
Ideally, research will be available to all readers, but this is not always the possible. Some journals require a subscription (or payment to access individual articles), some are Open Access only, and some have a hybrid option.
Journals with the option of publishing articles as Open Access provide access to all at no cost to the reader. This provides the opportunity to broadly disseminate work, but generally comes at a cost to the author.
Researchers may need to budget between $3000-$5000 to publish their work as Open Access. Funding options for assistance with publishing fees are available.
