Author guidelines
These requirements apply to all Zocto Research journals and preprints. Submissions that do not meet them are returned before review.
Manuscript structure
Title page, structured abstract (max 300 words), keywords, introduction, methods, results, discussion, limitations, conclusion, references, and author contributions. Use SI units throughout.
Reporting standards
Follow CONSORT for randomised trials, STROBE for observational studies, PRISMA for systematic reviews, STARD for diagnostic accuracy, and CARE for case reports. Upload the completed checklist with your submission.
Ethics and consent
State the approving ethics committee and reference number. Trials must be prospectively registered (CTRI, ClinicalTrials.gov or an ICMJE-approved registry). Obtain written informed consent for any identifiable patient data.
Authorship
All authors must meet the four ICMJE criteria. List ORCID IDs for every author. Contributorship statements are mandatory; ghost and gift authorship are grounds for rejection.
Data and code availability
Include a data availability statement. Where consent and privacy allow, deposit de-identified datasets and analysis code in a public repository and cite the DOI.
AI disclosure
Disclose any use of generative AI in writing or analysis, including the tool and how it was used. AI systems cannot be listed as authors.
Conflicts and funding
Declare all financial and non-financial competing interests and all funding sources with grant numbers.
Figures and tables
Submit figures at a minimum of 300 dpi in PNG or TIFF. Tables must be editable text, not images. Number all items in citation order.
References
Use Vancouver style, numbered in order of appearance. Include DOIs where available.