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Taylor & Francis

Prepare your manuscript for Journal of Media Ethics.

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

Checked 2026-08-02
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Article types

Review
Research Article
Commentary
Editorial
Clinical Trial
Protocol
Letter
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 200 words.
  • Use a unstructured abstract.
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  • Title pages should contain: An abstract of no more than 200 words.
  • Should contain an unstructured abstract of 200 words.
  • 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

  • Provide 5-7 keywords chosen by the author.
  • Title pages should contain: 5-7 alphabetized keywords.
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  • Should contain between 5 and 7 keywords.

Reference style

  • Articlo formats your supplied references in APA style and checks that citations match the reference list; source validity is not verified.
  • Please provide an Author Contributions Statement at the end of your article, before the references.
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  • 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.
  • Should be written with the following elements in the following order: title page; article body; disclosure statement; funding details; biographical note; author contributions statement; data availability statement; references; appendices (as appropriate); table(s) with caption(s) (on individual pages); figures; figure captions (as a list).
  • In addition, authors should note the following: Self-citations: Authors MUST NOT remove, obscure, or mask citations to their own prior work for purposes of anonymized peer review (e.g., by replacing references with “Removed for peer review,” “Author, Year” or similar placeholders).

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.

Blinded manuscript

  • Remove author names, affiliations, acknowledgements, and other direct identifiers from the blinded manuscript file.
  • They should not be included on the anonymous submission.

Cover letter

  • Using Third-Party Material You must obtain the necessary permission to reuse third-party material in your article.
  • 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

  • Add or confirm the author-written Author contributions statement; Articlo flags it if author input is still needed.
  • 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

  • Authors should prepare two manuscripts for submission, one of which has author-identifying information on the title page and another that does not.
  • Title pages should contain: On the author-identifying version only: The names, affiliations, and where applicable, the ORCiDs, of all authors.
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  • All authors of a manuscript should include their full name and affiliation on the cover page of the manuscript.
  • One author will need to be designated as the corresponding author.
  • 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

  • The text should be Size 12 Times New Roman or similar serif typeface.
  • The first line of each paragraph should be indented 0.5’’.
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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).
  • Margins must be 1 inch on all sides.
  • Authors are required to cite their own relevant publications in the same manner as any other source, using standard third-person scholarly conventions (e.g., “Smith (2020) argues…” rather than “In our previous work…”).
  • These instructions will ensure we have everything required so your paper can move through peer review, production and publication smoothly.
  • Questions about special issues should be directed to the editor, Ryan Thomas ( ryan_thomas@wsu.edu ).
  • 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.
  • Preparing Your Paper Manuscripts must be submitted in Word format.
  • In every other aspect, the two manuscripts should be identical.
  • Biographical Note: Submissions must include a biographical note for each author.
  • Biographical notes should be included only on the author-identifying submission.
  • The text should be non-justified with a “ragged right” margin.
  • The paper should not contain any margin comments or “tracked changes.”.
  • In addition, authors should note the following: Style: APA Style (7 th edition) must be used.
  • For all NIH/Welcome-funded papers, the grant number(s) must be included in the declaration of interest statement.
  • 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.
  • Do not submit your manuscript as a PDF.
  • Title pages should contain: The paper title.
  • Proper nouns should be capitalized.
  • Pages should be numbered.
  • 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.
  • In addition, authors should note the following: Layout: Manuscripts should be double-spaced throughout.
  • If you are at the early stage of your research, you may also need to read how to start writing a journal manuscript.
  • 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

  • Tables and figures, where used, should be saved in a separate file to the main text.
  • Title pages should contain: A word count (inclusive of all elements from beginning to end).
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  • In addition, authors should note the following: Word limit: Manuscripts should not be longer than 9,000 words, inclusive of all elements.
  • A word count must be provided on the title page.

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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  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • In addition, authors should note the following: Spelling: Spelling can be US or UK English, so long as usage is consistent.

Authorship and originality

  • This Statement should include an outline of which author(s) were involved in the conception and design of the work; the analysis and interpretation of the data; the drafting of the paper; revising it critically for intellectual content; and the final approval of the version to be published; and that all authors agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Manuscript structure

  • 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.
  • 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).
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What your package checks

Abstract: 200 words
Paper: 9,000 words
Keywords: 5-7 keywords
References: APA
Declarations: Author contributions, Artificial intelligence
Format: Times New Roman, double spacing

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