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Taylor & Francis

Prepare your manuscript for The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine.

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

Checked 2026-08-02
Check readiness freePrepare this manuscript

Article types

Review
Research Article
Systematic Review
Case Report
Brief Report
Letter
Perspective
Editorial
Commentary
Viewpoint
Protocol
Clinical Trial
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 250 words.
  • Use a unstructured abstract.
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  • Should contain a structured abstract of 250 words.
  • Should contain an unstructured abstract of 250 words.
  • Trial registration numbers should be included in the abstract, with full details in the methods section.
  • Your abstract should focus on what your research is about, what methods have been used, and what you found out.
  • 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, references.
  • 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 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.
  • Method development papers should include analytical figures of merit, interference studies, and validation by a standard method or a certified reference material.
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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 statement to confirm this must be included within the manuscript, which must provide details of the name of the ethics committee and reference/permit numbers where available.

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 color, at the correct size).
  • 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.
  • Figures should be of sufficient resolution to enable refereeing.
  • 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: PDF, PS, JPEG, TIFF, or Microsoft Word (DOC or DOCX) files are acceptable for figures that have been drawn in Word.
  • 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

  • Add or confirm the author-written Ethics statement; Articlo flags it if author input is still needed.
  • Authors should be aware that if their study required ethical approval, but ethical approval was not obtained, then the paper will be rejected.
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  • In settings where ethics approval for non-interventional studies (e.g. surveys) is not required, authors must include a statement to explain this.
  • Informed Consent Patients have a right to privacy and therefore informed consent must be obtained before identifying information is published.
  • All authors are required to follow the ICMJE requirements and Taylor & Francis Editorial Policies on privacy and informed consent from patients and study participants.
  • Authors should familiarize themselves with our policy on participant/patient privacy and informed consent.
  • Scientific articles involving clinical research and papers reporting experiments on healthy volunteers, patients, research participants, or animals, should conform to the guidelines issued in the Declaration of Helsinki, and should have received approval by a named Research Ethical Committee (Institutional or National).
  • Prior to starting the study, ethical approval must have been obtained for all protocols from the local institutional review board (IRB) or other appropriate ethics committee to confirm the study meets national and international guidelines for research on humans and/or animals.
  • All original research papers involving humans, animals, plants, biological material, protected or non-public datasets, collections or sites, must include a written statement in the Methods section, confirming ethical approval has been obtained from the appropriate local ethics committee or Institutional Review Board and that where relevant, informed consent has been obtained.
  • As above, use of patient information and data must be in accordance with the pertinent institutional review boards and the requirements of the Health Insurance and Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
  • Authors must include a statement to confirm that any patient, service user, or participant (or that person’s parent or legal guardian) in any type of qualitative or quantitative research, has given informed consent to participate in the research.
  • Case Report: a clinical case report detailing their medical history, identifiable images or media content, etc), authors must include a statement to confirm that they have obtained written informed consent to publish the details from the affected individual (or their parents/guardians if the participant in not an adult or unable to give informed consent; or next of kin if the participant is deceased).
  • You will need to indicate whether your paper has received ethical approval (and if so, from which body).
  • Case Report: For submissions where patients or participants can be potentially identified (e.g.
  • Informed consent requires that (a) the identifiable patient be shown the manuscript to be published and, (b) the patient complete the ‘Permission to Publish Personal Information’ form.

Blinded manuscript

  • Remove author names, affiliations, acknowledgements, and other direct identifiers from the blinded manuscript file.
  • The PDF should be uploaded as the “Manuscript - with author details”/”Manuscript - anonymous” file.

Cover letter

  • Using Third-Party Material in your Paper 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.
  • Please upload the completed form at submission stage by selecting 'Permission to Publish Personal Information' at the 'Attach Files' stage.

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

  • All authors of a manuscript should include their full name and affiliation on the cover page of the manuscript.
  • All authors of a manuscript should include their full name and affiliation on the title page of the manuscript.
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  • Research Article: Animal Research For original research articles that report studies involving animals, the corresponding author must confirm that all experiments were performed in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations, i.e., IACUC guidelines and federal regulations. (The Animal Study Protocol, or the IACUC protocol, is a detailed description of the proposed use of animals prepared by the researcher for IACUC review and approval.).
  • 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

  • Margins Margins should be at least 2.5cm (1 inch).
  • These instructions will ensure we have everything required so your paper can move through peer review, production and publication smoothly.
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  • To reach our threshold for publication, the case must have been very well worked up in terms of differential diagnosis and ancillary studies.
  • Review: Reviews must fit in with the overall needs of JSCM.
  • Queries regarding submissions should be sent to jscmeditorial@gmail.com.
  • The new author list should be stated directly along with a justification for the change.
  • 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.
  • Clinical Trial: Authors must have registered their clinical trials.
  • Clinical Trial: Manuscripts based on clinical trials must specify the registry and identifying number.
  • Clinical Trial: Clinical trials should be registered prospectively – i.e. before participant recruitment.
  • Authors of retrospectively registered trials must be prepared to provide further information to the journal editorial office if requested.
  • Clinical Trial: The clinical trial registry should be publicly accessible (at no charge), open to all prospective registrants, and managed by a not-for-profit organization.
  • All research studies on humans (individuals, samples, or data) must have been performed in accordance with the principles stated in the Declaration of Helsinki.
  • Because these papers will only be reviewed by one referee, the quality and significance must be clearly evident.
  • Note that, regardless of the file format of the original submission, an editable version of the article must be supplied at the revision stage.
  • You will also need to upload your LaTeX source files, which should be uploaded as a single zip file alongside your submission and marked as “LaTeX Source Files”.
  • Queries Should you have any queries, please visit our Author Services website or contact us here.
  • Queries Should you have any queries, please contact the Editorial Office at jscmeditorial@kwglobal.com.
  • 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.
  • Please do not submit your paper to another journal before you have received a response from JSCM acknowledging your wish to withdraw; to do so is considered multiple submissions, and is an unethical practice.
  • Clinical Trial: Clinical Trials Registry In order to be published in a Taylor & Francis journal, all clinical trials must have been registered in a public repository, ideally at the beginning of the research process (prior to participant recruitment).
  • The process of obtaining consent to publish should include sharing the article with the individual (or whoever is consenting on their behalf), so that they are fully aware of the content of the article before it is published.
  • They should not be comprehensive treatises, but rather highlight significant developments in fundamental analytical science, instrumentation and sensors, methodology, or application in any of the scientific areas described above.
  • 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.
  • If you haven't submitted a paper to this journal before, you will need to create an account in Editorial Manager.
  • 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.

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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  • 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.

Manuscript structure

  • The results and interpretation of the analysis must be included.
  • Hence, papers in these areas should clearly demonstrate significant advantages over conventional methods, or illustrate a significant application of the methodology.
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  • Manuscripts should cite relevant literature, including the authors’ own work, and discuss how the new work relates to existing analytical methods.
  • 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.
  • Research Article: Abstracts should be structured in the following way for different article types: Original Research Article: Context/Objective; Design; Setting; Participants; Interventions; Outcome Measures; Results; Conclusion, and for registered trials, Trial Registration.
  • Clinical Trial: However, for clinical trials that have not been registered prospectively, Taylor & Francis journals requires retrospective registration to ensure the transparent and complete dissemination of all clinical trial results which ultimately impact human health.

Authorship and originality

  • We also require confirmation from all co-authors that they agree with the withdrawal of the paper.
  • Journal policy on duplicate publication If a reviewer or reader suspects duplicate publication of a submitted or published manuscript, they should inform the journal editorial office at: jscmeditorial@gmail.com.
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  • Changes to Authorship Any changes to authorship, after a paper has been submitted, should be made in writing and the document should be signed by all authors, including those being added or removed.
  • All authors submitting to medicine, biomedicine, health sciences, allied and public health journals should conform to the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals, prepared by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).
  • We do not consider posting on a pre-print server to be duplicate publication and this will not jeopardize consideration for publication.

Study reporting guidelines

  • For animal studies, approval must have been obtained from the local or institutional animal use and care committee.

Article type and manuscript length

  • 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).
  • Should be written with the following elements 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 American spelling style consistently throughout your manuscript.
  • Please use double quotation marks, except where “a quotation is ‘within’ a quotation”.
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  • Please note that long quotations should be indented without quotation marks.
  • 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.

Statistical reporting

  • Where appropriate, statistical treatment of the results should be provided.
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What your package checks

Abstract: 250 words
Keywords: 3-5 keywords
Declarations: Ethics, 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