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Taylor & Francis

Prepare your manuscript for Research Synthesis in Applied Linguistics.

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
Protocol
Book Review
Editorial
Lectio
Clinical Trial
Systematic Review
Letter

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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  • Should contain an unstructured abstract of 200 words.
  • Preparing Your Paper Article Types Research Synthesis These research syntheses can be on any topic (methodological and substantive) in Applied Linguistics but must indicate clearly the type of research synthesis they belong to in their title, abstract, and methodology (see the typology in Chong & Plonsky, 2023 ).
  • Please note that this additional abstract will not be copyedited by the journal and, therefore, must be ready for publication in its submitted version.
  • There are no strict formatting requirements, but all manuscripts must contain the essential elements needed to evaluate a manuscript: abstract, author affiliation, figures, tables, funder information, and references.
  • Should be written with the following elements in the following order: title page; abstract; keywords; acknowledgments; declaration of interest statement; references; appendices (as appropriate); table(s) with caption(s) (on individual pages); figures; figure captions (as a list).
  • Established methodological guidelines for conducting research syntheses such as the Synthesis Methods and Reporting Tool (SMART) need to be referred to.
  • For translated abstracts, the content of the abstract needs to be identical to the English version.
  • Please add the title, keywords and abstract in another language as an additional file with your submission.

Keywords

  • Provide 3-5 keywords chosen by the author.
  • Should contain between 3 and 5 keywords.

Reference style

  • Articlo formats your supplied references to the journal's stored style and checks that citations match the reference list; source validity is not verified.
  • Should include a mandatory AI use declaration statement which should be included above the Reference list.
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  • For manuscripts submitted in LaTeX format a.bib reference file must be included.
  • All bibliographic entries must contain a corresponding in-text citation.
  • 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: background and review rationale; review questions; inclusion and exclusion criteria; search strategy; data extraction and management; study appraisal (if applicable); data synthesis; reporting; personnel; conflict of interest; timeline; references; supplementary materials (if applicable).

Figure and table rules

  • Keep every figure and table numbered, captioned, and cited in 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).
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  • Figures should be of sufficient resolution to enable refereeing.
  • Tables should present new information rather than duplicating what is in the text.
  • 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.

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.

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

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

Supplementary files

  • Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.

Title page and author information

  • 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 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

  • Book Review: Potential contributors should send a statement (150-200 words) on how the book contributes to the Book Review editor for approval before submission.
  • Should be between 8000 and 20000 words.
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  • Should be between 4000 and 7000 words.
  • Should be between 2500 and 4000 words.
  • Should be no more than 1500 words.
  • 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.
  • If a protocol is available, it should be cited, and any methodological changes need to be reported in the submission.
  • Review / Book Review: Contributions to Book Reviews must be pre-approved by the Book Review Editor, Takumi Aoyama ( tkm.aoyama@gmail.com ).
  • Note that, regardless of the file format of the original submission, an editable version of the article must be supplied at the revision stage.
  • 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.
  • Adhering to the definition of research synthesis in the “ Aims and Scope ” page, this journal does not publish “traditional literature reviews” that do not include a pre-determined methodology, i.e., search strategy, inclusion and/or exclusion criteria, screening of documents, data extraction, data synthesis.
  • Title registration is required for all syntheses published in this journal and publication of a protocol either with the journal or in a research repository is strongly recommended.
  • Please use SI units (non-italicized).
  • Should be written with the following elements in the following order: structure not applicable.
  • We do so by: Ring-fencing at least one quota of our ECR support schemes for researchers from the Global South and/or low- and middle-income countries (OECD).
  • Regardless, the paper needs to be accompanied with examples, preferably in Applied Linguistics or a cognate field, to illustrate the information presented.
  • We do not consider protocols that are already published elsewhere e.g., on OSF, IDESR as the primary purpose of publishing a protocol is to pre-register a research synthesis.
  • 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.

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.

Manuscript structure

  • 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.
  • Should be written following established guidelines such as the Synthesis Methods and Reporting Tool (SMART).

Language and text style

  • We advise that the translated version to be proofread by at least one independent colleague who is proficient in the translated language.

Article type and manuscript length

  • Book Review: Direct submissions for this article type should be sent to the Book Review Editor, Takumi Aoyama.

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
Keywords: 3-5 keywords
Declarations: Artificial intelligence

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