Must authors use the template with their initial submission, or only after their manuscript has been accepted?
Authors may submit their manuscripts in any Microsoft Word format for the initial peer-review process. However, authors are encouraged to download and use the Journal’s manuscript template even at the pre-peer-review stage. Using the template provides an additional measure of protection for author anonymity, as the electronic file may identify the Journal’s editor who created the template as its creator or owner rather than the author. Nevertheless, authors should manually remove all identifying information from their submitted files, including names and other identifying details in the document properties and metadata, to help preserve the integrity of the double-blind peer-review process.
If a manuscript is accepted for publication, authors are encouraged to use the Journal’s template to prepare the final version. Although using the template at this stage is recommended, it is not mandatory; editors may transfer the manuscript into the template when necessary. When using the template, authors should complete all required sections, including the statement declaring the use or non-use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in preparing the manuscript.