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Taylor & Francis

Prepare your manuscript for Child Care in Practice.

Review the checklist, choose your article type, and turn your draft into a cleaner submission package.

Checked 2026-08-01
Check readiness freePrepare this manuscript

Article types

Review
Original Article
Review Article
Book Review
Letter
Perspective
Editorial
Clinical Trial
Protocol
Systematic Review
Lectio

Readiness requirements

Review the key details below, or download the complete checklist with every stored source-backed requirement.

Abstract length

  • Provide an author-written abstract of no more than 300 words.
  • Use a structured abstract.
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  • Should contain a structured abstract of 300 words.
  • All article submissions should contain a structured abstract of no more than 300 words in length.
  • Your abstract should focus on what your research is about, what methods have been used, and what you found out.
  • The instructions for authors for each journal will give specific guidelines on what’s required here, including whether it should be a structured abstract or graphical abstract, and any word limits.

Keywords

  • Include or confirm the keywords required by the journal. Articlo checks this item and flags anything that still needs author input.

Reference style

  • Articlo formats your supplied references in Harvard style and checks that citations match the reference list; source validity is not verified.
  • References within the Text Itself: In the text, the surname of authors should be cited followed by the date of publication; e.g. (Brown & Blue, 1995).
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  • If an author is quoted verbatim, page references should follow author and date within the parentheses, e.g. (White & Black, 1994, p.35).
  • Where there is more than one reference cited all should be in parentheses, e.g. (White & Black, 1994; Jones et al., 1996).
  • References should be carefully checked, as the Editors cannot take responsibility for errors.
  • References which Follow the Article: These references should be compiled in alphabetical order on a separate sheet.
  • The reference should list, where applicable: author’s surname, initials (date of publication). ‘Title of article/chapter’.
  • Where applicable, this should include the hyperlink, DOI or other persistent identifier associated with the data set(s).
  • Readers should be able to interpret the table without reference to the text.
  • A declaration must be included within the submission stating: Confirmation the authors take full responsibility for the integrity of the whole content, including accuracy of references.

Figure and table rules

  • Keep every figure and table numbered, captioned, and cited in the manuscript. Keep figures embedded; Articlo also extracts numbered source files for the package.
  • Group figures at the end of the manuscript.
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  • Group tables at the end of the manuscript.
  • Figures should be high quality (1200 dpi for line art, 600 dpi for grayscale and 300 dpi for colour, at the correct size).
  • Tables and figures Show clearly in your article text where the tables and figures should appear, for example, by writing [Table 1 near here].
  • Figures should be saved separately from the text.
  • Tables should present new information rather than duplicating what is in the text.
  • It’s very important that you have been given permission to use any tables or figures you are reproducing from another source before you submit.
  • Figures should be supplied in one of our preferred file formats: PS, JPEG, TIFF, or Microsoft Word (DOC or DOCX) files are acceptable for figures that have been drawn in Word.
  • Check the instructions for authors to see how you should supply tables and figures, whether at the end of the text or in separate files, and follow any guidance given on the submission system.

Funding statement

  • You should declare only the acquired funds and grants that are directly relevant to the work reported in your article; for example, This work was supported by the [Funding Agency #1] under Grant [number xxxx]; [Funding Agency #2] under Grant [number xxxx]; and [Funding Agency #3] under Grant [number xxxx].

Competing interests

  • Include or confirm the competing interests required by the journal. Articlo checks this item and flags anything that still needs author input.

Data availability statement

  • Include or confirm the data availability statement required by the journal. Articlo checks this item and flags anything that still needs author input.

Ethics statement

  • Include or confirm the ethics statement required by the journal. Articlo checks this item and flags anything that still needs author input.

Cover letter

  • Using Third-Party Material You must obtain the necessary permission to reuse third-party material in your article.
  • Review: The use of short extracts of text and some other types of material is usually permitted, on a limited basis, for the purposes of criticism and review without securing formal permission.
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  • If you wish to include any material in your paper for which you do not hold copyright, and which is not covered by this informal agreement, you will need to obtain written permission from the copyright owner prior to submission.

Author contributions

  • Submitting authors should be prepared to submit CRediT roles for themselves and their co-authors (where applicable) as part of the submission process.

Title page and author information

  • Provide the author, affiliation, and correspondence details for the separate title page; Articlo creates the editable companion file.
  • Author Details: All authors of a manuscript should include their full name and affiliation on the cover page of the manuscript.
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  • One author should be identified as the corresponding author.
  • All persons who have a reasonable claim to authorship must be named in the manuscript as co-authors; the corresponding author must be authorized by all co-authors to act as an agent on their behalf in all matters pertaining to publication of the manuscript, and the order of names should be agreed by all authors.
  • One author will need to be identified as the corresponding author, with their email address normally displayed in the article PDF (depending on the journal) and the online article.

Article structure and word limits

  • A typical paper for this journal should be between 3000 and 5000 words.
  • Papers should be no longer than 5,000 words in length.
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  • This could be adapted from your departmental website or academic networking profile and should be relatively brief (e.g. no more than 200 words).
  • Margins Margins should be at least 2.5cm (1 inch).
  • Review: These instructions will ensure we have everything required so your paper can move through peer review, production and publication smoothly.
  • Your research funder or your institution may require you to publish your article open access.
  • Use our APC finder to view the APC for this journal.
  • Unnecessary capitalisation and underlining should be avoided, and quotations should be in normal type.
  • – The author(s) must discuss rigour and steps to reduce bias.
  • Before you submit your article, make sure you’ve checked the instructions for authors for your chosen journal, so you are aware of everything required.
  • Most journals create image descriptions during the production process, but a minority may require authors to provide image descriptions.
  • Review: Running heads and received dates These aren’t required when submitting a manuscript for review.
  • A declaration must be included within the submission stating: Originality and accuracy of content has been confirmed by the authors.
  • Authors must provide full methodological details and adhere to relevant reporting guidelines where applicable.
  • Authors must retain the original and revised versions which must be shared upon request.
  • The PLSP guidelines for authors must be followed at all times.
  • – The study must be outcome evaluated.
  • – There must be a clear evidence base.
  • – The author(s) must avoid self-promotion.
  • Key words should also be outlined.
  • Please use SI units (non-italicized).
  • Special characters If you are preparing your manuscript in Microsoft Word and your article contains special characters, accents, or diacritics, we recommend you follow these steps: European accents (Greek, Hebrew, or Cyrillic letters, or phonetic symbols): choose Times New Roman font from the dropdown menu in the “Insert symbol” window and insert the character you require.
  • Special characters If you are preparing your manuscript in Microsoft Word and your article contains special characters, accents, or diacritics, we recommend you follow these steps: Asian languages (such as Sanskrit, Korean, Chinese, or Japanese): choose Arial Unicode font from the dropdown menu in the “Insert symbol” window and insert the character you require.
  • Submissions based on a single case study are welcomed with the following stipulations: – The article must promote high quality practice.
  • If you are at the early stage of your research, you may also need to read how to start writing a journal manuscript.
  • Audience includes but is not limited to: Social Workers, Psychologists, Lawyers, Psychiatrists, Nurses, Sociologists, Public Health Workers, Law Enforcement, Educators, and Pediatricians.
  • Image descriptions are typically used by systems such as pronouncing screen readers to make images accessible to people that cannot read or see the object due to a visual disability.

Reporting guidelines

  • Include or confirm the reporting guidelines required by the journal. Articlo checks this item and flags anything that still needs author input.

Preprints and prior publication

  • If you have shared an earlier version of your Author’s Original Manuscript on a preprint server, please be aware that anonymity cannot be guaranteed.

Artificial intelligence disclosure

  • Add or confirm the author-written Artificial intelligence statement; Articlo flags it if author input is still needed.
  • Please include a statement disclosing whether and how generative AI has been used in the research and manuscript preparation process.
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  • Use of AI tools as part of ethical research studies is permitted.
  • A declaration must be included within the submission stating: The name and version number of the AI tool used.
  • Systematic Review: Use of AI tools as part of ethically conducted literature reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analysis and bibliometrics studies is permitted.
  • Use of AI tool assisted plain language summaries (PLS) of authors own work is permitted.
  • Please read our guidance on using AI tools in your research and manuscript preparation to understand scenarios where their use may be permissible, and the required information that must be disclosed.
  • A declaration must be included within the submission stating: Confirmation the authors have checked terms of use for the specific AI tool used, and therefore confirm suitability for publication.

Article type and manuscript length

  • Authors should include a word count with their manuscript.
  • Preparing Your Paper Structure Your paper should be compiled in the following order: title page; abstract; keywords; main text introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion; acknowledgments; declaration of interest statement; references; appendices (as appropriate); table(s) with caption(s) (on individual pages); figures; figure captions (as a list).

Language and text style

  • Please use double quotation marks, except where “a quotation is ‘within’ a quotation”.
  • Please note that long quotations should be indented without quotation marks.
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  • It should contain no errors of spelling, grammar or punctuation.
  • The main title of the publication should be in italics, the titles of articles/chapters in normal type.
  • Headings This will show you the different levels of the heading section in your article: Fourth-level headings should be in bold italics, at the beginning of a paragraph.
  • Headings This will show you the different levels of the heading section in your article: Fifth-level headings should be in italics, at the beginning of a paragraph.
  • Letter: Headings This will show you the different levels of the heading section in your article: Second-level headings should be in bold italics, with an initial capital letter for any proper nouns.
  • Letter: Headings This will show you the different levels of the heading section in your article: Third-level headings should be in italics, with an initial capital letter for any proper nouns.

Manuscript structure

  • Should be clearly organised with headings and subheadings as required.
  • Letter: Headings This will show you the different levels of the heading section in your article: First-level headings (e.g. Introduction, Conclusion) should be in bold, with an initial capital letter for any proper nouns.
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  • Authors must retain full records of the methods undertaken, including full descriptions and records of the prompts used, which must be shared with the journal upon request.

Study reporting guidelines

  • Authors must provide full methodological details and adhere to relevant reporting guidelines where applicable (e.g. CONSORT-AI, STARD-AI, GAMER, TRIPOD-AI, etc).
Save journal and get updates Download complete checklist

What your package checks

Abstract: 300 words
Paper: 5,000 words
References: Harvard
Title page: separate file
Declarations: Artificial intelligence
Format: Times New Roman

Source transparency

This preparation guide uses published journal-specific author requirements. Journal instructions can change, so authors should complete a final review before submission.

Open official guideline source