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Taylor & Francis

Prepare your manuscript for Veterinary Medicine: Research and Reports.

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
Clinical Trial
Case Report
Editorial
Letter
Protocol
Lectio
Viewpoint
Squib

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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  • Before you submit any figures for the Graphical Abstract, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: Image size: width should be 2500px or less.
  • Before you submit any figures for the Graphical Abstract, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: Lines are a minimum of 0.3pt.
  • The plain language summary has no minimum word length, but should be no more than 250 words, be written in plain English, and be placed after the Abstract and before the Introduction.
  • Graphical Abstracts Graphical Abstracts should be representative of the content of the text Abstract.
  • Before you submit any figures for the Graphical Abstract, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: One file provided per Graphical Abstract.
  • Before you submit any figures for the Graphical Abstract, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: White space and unnecessary elements removed.
  • Before you submit any figures for the Graphical Abstract, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: Font size is consistent.
  • Original research papers require a structured abstract.
  • The plain language summary should be distinct from the abstract and should be written in an accessible, interesting way without spinning or exaggerating the story.
  • Authors should speak clearly and slowly when presenting their video abstract.
  • For all journals: when submitting your final video abstract, you must supply a written transcript (a written version of the material you have presented).
  • Just as the Abstract must not introduce information not contained in the body of the paper, the Graphical Abstract should not contain new information or data not included in the body of the paper.
  • Before you submit any figures for the Graphical Abstract, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: Files are provided in our required file formats,.jpg or.tif (see the ‘Preparation’ section).
  • Before you submit any figures for the Graphical Abstract, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: If your file is not in.jpg or.tif or please convert to the accepted file type that allows the highest quality.
  • Before you submit any figures for the Graphical Abstract, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: Artwork is of high quality (correct resolution, not blurred, stretched or pixelated).
  • Before you submit any figures for the Graphical Abstract, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: All text is in English and contains no spelling or grammar errors.
  • Before you submit any figures for the Graphical Abstract, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: All fonts used are embedded and are the journal’s standard font style - Arial or Symbol.
  • Before you submit any figures for the Graphical Abstract, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: Images do not contain any layers, or transparent objects.
  • Before you submit any figures for the Graphical Abstract, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: Files are named using the naming convention ([manuscript ID] Graphical Abstract [number]).
  • Before you submit any figures for the Graphical Abstract, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: Files are provided separate from the manuscript file.
  • Before you submit any figures for the Graphical Abstract, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: Graphics downloaded from web pages are not acceptable.
  • Before you submit any figures for the Graphical Abstract, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: No copyrighted material can be used for Graphical Abstracts.
  • Research funded by pharmaceutical companies As all material published by the pharmaceutical industry is required to be peer reviewed, if your research is funded by a pharmaceutical company, please submit both the transcript of your video abstract and the video abstract itself when you submit your manuscript.

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 Vancouver style and checks that citations match the reference list; source validity is not verified.
  • All reference citations included in a table must have the relevant reference list number included (in superscript Arabic numeral).
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  • 3,4 Do not use Microsoft Word’s footnote/endnotes function to build the reference list as this can introduce errors during the typesetting process.
  • The relevant reference/permit numbers should also be included.
  • Users of the EndNote ® software should select the JAMA reference style when preparing references for any Dove Medical Press Journal.

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.
  • Before you submit any figures, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: Lines are a minimum of 0.3pt.
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  • In multi-part figures, each part should be labelled (eg Figure 1a, Figure 1b).
  • Figure legends Figure legends must begin with the number of the figure being described (eg ‘Figure 1: ‘).
  • Before you submit any figures, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: One file provided per figure.
  • Before you submit any figures, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: All figures have white space and unnecessary elements removed.
  • Before you submit any figures, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: All text is in English and contains no spelling or grammar errors.
  • Before you submit any figures, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: Font size is consistent.
  • Before you submit any figures, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: Images do not contain any layers, or transparent objects.
  • Before you submit any figures, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: Figures are provided separate from the manuscript.
  • Before you submit any figures, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: All multi-panel figure parts are labelled (eg, A, B, C, D).
  • The manuscript should not contain any pasted figures.
  • Please provide figures as high quality.jpg,.tif or.pdf files separate from the manuscript.
  • Size Figures should be supplied in the highest resolution (highest quality) possible.
  • If subfigures are present, each subfigure must be labelled and described in the figure legend.
  • Explanatory notes or a key should be present if the figure contains patterns, colours, symbols, or other formatting that indicates significant data.
  • If symbol or alphabetical indicators have been used (e.g. *, **, #, ##, a, b, etc) a key should be included in the figure legend.
  • If the image is the property of the author, then this should be acknowledged in the caption.
  • Tables: should present new information rather than duplicating what is in the text.
  • Readers should be able to interpret the table even if presented separately from the text.
  • Provide tables in their original, editable format (eg in Microsoft Word or Excel).
  • Table footnotes should be separate from the titles, and included beneath the table to which they apply.
  • Explanatory notes or a key should be present if the table includes indicators, symbols, abbreviations, bolding or other formatting that indicates significant data.
  • Letter: These letters should follow alphabetical order from the top left of the table to the bottom right.
  • This number should be consistent throughout the column, or table, if possible.
  • Graphical abstracts should not be a duplication of any figure already included in the paper.
  • Graphical Abstracts do not have a title, a caption or a note section, so should be completely self-explanatory.
  • Video abstracts must meet minimum standards of quality for both video and audio components.
  • Video Abstracts Available Our Authors use video abstracts to better convey their research beyond reading manuscripts, another unique way to talk to our readers.
  • Before you submit any figures, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: Files are provided in our required file formats,.jpg,.tif or.pdf (see the ‘Preparation’ section below).
  • Before you submit any figures, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: If your figure is not in.jpg,.tif or.pdf, please convert to the accepted file type that allows the highest quality.
  • Before you submit any figures, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: Artwork is of high quality (correct resolution, not blurred, stretched or pixelated).
  • Before you submit any figures, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: All fonts used are embedded and are the journal’s standard font style - Arial or Symbol.
  • Before you submit any figures, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: Files are named using the naming convention ([manuscript ID] Figure [number]).
  • Before you submit any figures, please check this list to ensure your files meet our criteria: All copyrights and permissions for use of third-party content have been obtained.
  • Captions should be succinct but descriptive.
  • All text in the tables should be in English.
  • Tables must not contain images.
  • Consent for publication Consent to publish statements must confirm that the details of any images, videos, recordings, etc can be published, and that the person(s) providing consent have been shown the article contents to be published.
  • Collaborating authors or Study Group members For Collaborating authors/Study Group members to be searchable in PubMed/PMC (for those journals listed on PubMed): List the collaborating authors under a section heading “Collaborators” this must be text NOT a table, the format First Name, Middle initial(s) (optional), Last Name.
  • Supplementary figures and tables should be submitted following our guidelines here.
  • Our production team cannot accept tables as images (eg tables in.jpg,.tif or other image format).

Funding statement

  • Add or confirm the author-written Funding statement; Articlo flags it if author input is still needed.
  • If you require funding, you may wish to contact Author Aid.

Competing interests

  • Add or confirm the author-written Competing interests statement; Articlo flags it if author input is still needed.
  • This is known as a competing interest and all authors of a paper submitted to any Dove Medical Press journal are required to complete a declaration of competing interests.

Data availability statement

  • Clinical Trial: Clinical trials that begin enrolling participants on or after 1 January 2019 must include a data sharing plan in the trial’s registration.
  • Clinical Trial: Data Sharing Statement Manuscripts submitted to Dove Medical Press journals from July 1st, 2018, reporting on clinical trial data must contain a data sharing statement indicating: Whether the authors intend to share individual deidentified participant data.
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  • Clinical Trial: Data Sharing Statement Manuscripts submitted to Dove Medical Press journals from July 1st, 2018, reporting on clinical trial data must contain a data sharing statement indicating: What specific data they intend to share.
  • Clinical Trial: Data Sharing Statement Manuscripts submitted to Dove Medical Press journals from July 1st, 2018, reporting on clinical trial data must contain a data sharing statement indicating: What other study-related documents will be made available.
  • Clinical Trial: Data Sharing Statement Manuscripts submitted to Dove Medical Press journals from July 1st, 2018, reporting on clinical trial data must contain a data sharing statement indicating: How the data will be accessible.
  • Clinical Trial: Data Sharing Statement Manuscripts submitted to Dove Medical Press journals from July 1st, 2018, reporting on clinical trial data must contain a data sharing statement indicating: When and for how long they will be made available.
  • Any deviations from this plan must be disclosed in the data sharing statement when published.
  • The statement of data availability should explain which additional unpublished data from the study, if any, are available, to whom, and how these can be obtained.

Ethics statement

  • Add or confirm the author-written Ethics statement; Articlo flags it if author input is still needed.
  • Ethics approval and informed consent All research studies on humans (individuals, samples or data) or animals must include a statement on ethics approval and, when human research is involved, consent.
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  • A statement confirming the name of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) or other appropriate ethics committee that approved the study must be included within the manuscript.
  • Groups of persons who contributed materially to the paper but whose contributions do not justify authorship may be listed under such headings as “clinical investigators” or “participating investigators,” and their function or contribution should be described—for example, “served as scientific advisors”, “critically reviewed the study proposal”, “collected data”, or “provided and cared for study patients”.

Cover letter

  • A copy of the permission to reuse must be provided to the journal.
  • Because readers may infer their endorsement of the data and conclusions, these persons must give written permission to be acknowledged.
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  • If such assistance was provided, the authors should disclose the identity of the individuals who provided this assistance, with their permission, in the published article.

Author contributions

  • Add or confirm the author-written Author contributions statement; Articlo flags it if author input is still needed.
  • All authors must meet conditions 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 and appropriate credit for each author’s contribution should be given.
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  • All members of the group who are named as authors should fully meet the above criteria for authorship/contributorship.
  • Authors' contributions Dove ascribes to the IMCJE authorship guidelines and recommends authorship credit should be based on the following criteria: Made a significant contribution to the work reported, whether that is in the conception, study design, execution, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation, or in all these areas.
  • Authors' contributions Dove ascribes to the IMCJE authorship guidelines and recommends authorship credit should be based on the following criteria: Have drafted or written, or substantially revised or critically reviewed the article.
  • Authors' contributions Dove ascribes to the IMCJE authorship guidelines and recommends authorship credit should be based on the following criteria: Have agreed on the journal to which the article will be submitted.
  • Authors' contributions Dove ascribes to the IMCJE authorship guidelines and recommends authorship credit should be based on the following criteria: Reviewed and agreed on all versions of the article before submission, during revision, the final version accepted for publication, and any significant changes introduced at the proofing stage.
  • Authors' contributions Dove ascribes to the IMCJE authorship guidelines and recommends authorship credit should be based on the following criteria: Agree to take responsibility and be accountable for the contents of the article.

Supplementary files

  • Squib: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
  • Lectio: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
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  • Letter: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
  • Review: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
  • Protocol: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
  • Editorial: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
  • Viewpoint: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
  • Case Report: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
  • Clinical Trial: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
  • Embed or attach the author-supplied supplementary material so Articlo can extract and label it for the package.
  • Collaborating authors or Study Group members For Collaborating authors/Study Group members to be searchable in PubMed/PMC (for those journals listed on PubMed): Alternatively, you can provide a list as supplementary materials and a link should be included in the paper.

Title page and author information

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

Article structure and word limits

  • Preparation and Submission Recommended image resolutions: Colour photographic images: minimum 300 dpi.
  • Preparation and Submission Recommended image resolutions: Grayscale photographic images: minimum 600 dpi.
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  • Preparation and Submission Recommended image resolutions: Line art or monochrome images: minimum 1200 dpi.
  • Preparation and Submission Recommended image resolutions: Combination images (photographs and labelling): minimum 600 dpi.
  • Graphical Abstracts should take up no more than one third of an A4 page.
  • Both types of abstracts should be no more than 300 words.
  • Submit your corrections within 72 hours to ensure speedy publication of your paper.
  • Files should not exceed 50MB.
  • Maximum file size: 1 GB.
  • These instructions will ensure we have everything required so your paper can move through peer review, production and publication smoothly.
  • Clinical Trial: Clinical trials Registration 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: Authors must include the Clinical Trial Registration number in the manuscript.
  • Equations must not be inserted into the manuscript as images (such as jpeg) as this is not compatible with our proof creation tools.
  • Do not use effects such as outlining and shadows on any lettering.
  • Our view has always been that editorial decision-makers should not have their view clouded either for or against a paper simply because it has been invited.
  • Good papers should be accepted and bad papers rejected irrespective of their source.
  • These are: External peer-review with a minimum of two comprehensive sets of narrative comments and two numerical scores are required.
  • After first editorial review Many manuscripts will require to be modified in order to address points raised by peer-reviewers or suggested by editorial decision-makers.
  • Rather we require that the author provide us with a revised manuscript and a point-by-point response to the points raised.
  • If authors disagree with individual points or feel that they are misguided they should detail this in their point-by-point response.
  • Manuscripts should be submitted in Microsoft Word format.
  • You must not treat your audience as stupid or patronise the reader.
  • Use short, clear sentences broken up into paragraphs for readability.
  • Authors must be prepared to provide copies of signed consent forms to the journal editorial office if requested.
  • In cases where authors do not wish to share their data or are unable to do so, they should state that data will not be shared and the reasons why.
  • The group should jointly make decisions about contributors/authors before submitting the manuscript for publication.
  • The contact person should be prepared to explain the presence and order of these individuals.
  • Authors should declare whether they had assistance with the study design, data collection, data analysis, or manuscript preparation.
  • Financial and material support should also be acknowledged.
  • Users should cite this official version when citing the document.
  • Pre-submissions We are currently only accepting pre-submission enquiries for meta-analyses, which require a pre-submission check prior to submitting.
  • Use of Brand Names in submitted manuscripts We require that non-proprietary names are used in submissions.
  • The presentation should be understandable and accessible to users outside of the immediate field of the article.
  • Do not include small text that will be difficult to read.
  • Numbers should be placed after punctuation marks, eg,.
  • Clinical Trial: Dove Medical Press defines a clinical trial as: A research study in which one or more human subjects are prospectively assigned to one or more interventions (which may or may not include a placebo or control group) to evaluate the effects of those interventions on a health-related biomedical or behavioural outcome.
  • Image colour should be RGB.
  • Review: We invite the submission of reviews on a particular topic and, in some instances, will even suggest a structure for the review that the authors should follow when writing their review.
  • Use the active voice rather than the passive voice (for example, “Dr Smith’s team report several improvements” rather than “Several improvements were reported by Dr Smith’s team”).
  • To access the OCT you will need to use one of the following browsers: for Windows, Chrome (latest version) or Firefox (below 64); for Mac, Safari (latest version) or Chrome (latest version).
  • Submit New Manuscript.
  • Remove any elements that are not intended for publication, including any excess space around the image.
  • Make sure that the image files do not contain any layers, or transparent objects.
  • Keep the font size consistent throughout your work.
  • The decision will be based solely on the outcome of peer review, and we cannot guarantee acceptance of any article.
  • As it takes PubMed additional time to code these groups these may not be present when an article is initially included on PubMed.
  • Keep corrections and amendments minimal, and only to correct errors.
  • Keep a backup and hard copies of the material submitted.
  • Market forces and physician workforce reform: why they may not work.
  • Clinical Trial: However, for clinical trials that have not been registered prospectively, Dove Medical Press journals may consider clinical trials which have been registered at least prior to data analysis.
  • These are: Most journals do not consider meta-analyses for publication any longer, so please check before preparing this type of paper for submission as it will likely be turned away.
  • The author submitting a manuscript for a paper for any study funded by an organization with a proprietary or financial interest in the outcome shall have access to all the data in that study, and to have complete responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of the data, and the decision to publish.
  • The opinions expressed in all articles published here are those of the specific author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Dove Medical Press Ltd or any of its employees.

Artificial intelligence disclosure

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

Submission forms

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

Language and text style

  • After completing the Manuscript Language Assessment, we may require that a manuscript undergoes English editing before it can proceed to peer review.
  • In these cases, the contact author will be notified to advise that English editing is required.
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  • No. While minor corrections can be made later in the process, we require that major English language errors are corrected prior to being sent to peer review.
  • Is professional English editing required for Dove Medical Press to consider my manuscript?
  • Should I use American English or British English?
  • American spelling (all components of a manuscript must be in English).
  • Use International Systems of Units (SI) symbols and recognized abbreviations for units of measurement.
  • The plain language summary should not be a “dumbed down” version of your work.
  • You should use everyday English words rather than complex words.
  • If you need to use a technical term or abbreviation, please explain it the first time you use it.
  • Use person-centred language rather than focussing on the condition/illness or disability.
  • All manuscripts should be submitted via our website (in English).
  • Review: The Manuscript Language Assessment is the first step in our Editorial policy, and manuscripts must pass this assessment before they can be sent to our Consulting Editor team for review.
  • Does your manuscript need to have its English improved?
  • Please note that the Manuscript Language Assessment report is automatically generated, and thus some errors may not have been identified.
  • Further, please note that Manuscript Language Assessment reports are only sent out in cases where we have determined that a manuscript requires English language revision.
  • Unfortunately, in some cases, a paper may not have been sufficiently improved to pass our language assessment.
  • Please be reassured that these terms do not need to be corrected for spelling.
  • Do not punctuate abbreviations eg, et al, ie.

Manuscript structure

  • Provide answers to the questions: Why was the study done, What did the researchers do and find, What do these results mean?
  • They should find it interesting and they should be able to understand what your study was, what the conclusions are and what the impact of the research may be.
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  • Please disable EndNote ® before you submit your manuscript.
  • This section contains a detailed breakdown of each section that the manuscript will contain, as well as all disclosures and acknowledgements that are required by Dove Medical Press.

Authorship and originality

  • Acknowledgments All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the Acknowledgments section.
  • Use only your own original work.
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What your package checks

Abstract: 300 words
References: Vancouver
Declarations: Funding, Competing interests, Ethics, Author contributions, Acknowledgements
Format: Arial

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