Guidelines for Authors

Guidelines for Authors

Contents


The Scholarship of Research (SOR) is an international, peer-reviewed scientific journal dedicated to the scholarship, methodology, and critical thinking that shape health and care research.

The Journal is built on the principle that scientific knowledge extends beyond research findings. It provides a scholarly forum for examining how research is conceived, designed, conducted, analysed, interpreted, reported, challenged, and improved.

SOR welcomes contributions addressing research design and protocols, methodological and analytical innovation, theory and conceptual development, ethics and epistemology, replication and reproducibility, research tools and software, open science, research integrity, artificial intelligence, and scientific dialogue.

The Journal seeks to connect methodological development with critical scientific thinking and encourages interdisciplinary exchange across health sciences, epidemiology, biostatistics, qualitative and mixed-methods research, social sciences, philosophy, bioethics, engineering, computer science, data science, artificial intelligence, health informatics, psychometrics, and related fields.

SOR is not a general health sciences journal. Conventional clinical, observational, qualitative, or intervention studies fall outside the Journal's core scope unless their primary contribution addresses a methodological, theoretical, conceptual, analytical, ethical, epistemological, or research-practice question.

The Journal's guiding question is: How can we produce better health and care research?

For detailed information concerning copyright, licensing, reuse, and author rights, authors should consult the Journal's Open Access Policy.

Aims and Scope

The Scholarship of Research aims to advance the science of research itself by publishing scholarship that:

  • Improves how research questions are conceptualised and studies are designed
  • Develops, evaluates, validates, compares, or critically examines research methods and analytical approaches
  • Advances theoretical, conceptual, and methodological frameworks
  • Examines the ethical, epistemological, and philosophical foundations of research
  • Promotes transparency, reproducibility, replicability, research integrity, and open science
  • Develops or evaluates research tools, software, measurement approaches, and computational methods
  • Examines the role of artificial intelligence, automation, and human–AI collaboration in the production of scientific knowledge
  • Makes methodological lessons, null findings, replication efforts, and other underrepresented forms of scientific knowledge visible
  • Encourages rigorous scientific debate about how research is conducted, interpreted, evaluated, and governed
  • Promotes interdisciplinary exchange between different traditions of producing and interrogating knowledge

The Journal welcomes scholarship addressing research before, during, after, and across the conventional research cycle.

Article Types

SOR publishes the following categories of scholarly contributions:

  • Research Design & Protocols
  • Registered Reports and Registered Report Protocols
  • Methods & Analytics Papers
  • Research Tools & Software Papers
  • Data Papers
  • Methodological Reviews and Meta-Research
  • Theoretical Papers
  • Conceptual Papers and Concept Analyses
  • Framework and Model Development Papers
  • Ethical Analyses
  • Philosophical and Epistemological Papers
  • Replication and Reproducibility Studies
  • Re-analysis and Sensitivity Studies
  • Scientifically Informative Null or Negative Findings
  • Methodological Lessons and Research Notes
  • Research Practice and Open Science Papers
  • Perspectives
  • Commentaries and Critical Essays
  • Methods Debates
  • Point–Counterpoint Contributions
  • Research Provocations
  • Responses and Letters
  • Editorials

Conventional original research articles, routine cross-sectional or observational studies, standard clinical trials, conventional qualitative studies, intervention studies, surveys, and case reports do not constitute independent article categories within SOR.

Such studies may be considered when their principal scholarly contribution concerns research methodology, analytical practice, measurement, research design, theoretical development, ethics, epistemology, reproducibility, research practice, or another issue directly aligned with the Journal's aims and scope.

Ethics and Editorial Policies

The Scholarship of Research adheres to internationally recognised principles of publication ethics, research integrity, transparency, and responsible scholarly communication, including guidance developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), and the Council of Science Editors (CSE).

Authors must ensure that submitted work complies with applicable ethical and scientific standards concerning authorship, competing interests, research involving human participants or animals, informed consent, data integrity, privacy, confidentiality, research misconduct, responsible reporting, and intellectual contribution.

Detailed requirements concerning publication ethics, editorial procedures, authorship, conflicts of interest, research misconduct, corrections, retractions, complaints, appeals, and other integrity matters are described in the Journal's Editorial Policies.

Authors must transparently disclose the use of generative artificial intelligence or AI-assisted technologies in accordance with the Journal's Artificial Intelligence Policy. AI systems cannot qualify as authors and may not replace human responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, interpretation, or originality of submitted work.

Peer Review

All scholarly manuscripts submitted to The Scholarship of Research undergo an initial editorial and technical assessment to determine their relevance to the Journal's aims and scope, originality, scholarly contribution, methodological or conceptual rigor, ethical compliance, and suitability for external review.

Manuscripts considered suitable for peer review are normally evaluated through a double-anonymous peer-review process, in which the identities of authors and reviewers are concealed from one another. Peer-reviewed submissions are normally assessed by at least two independent reviewers with expertise appropriate to the methodological, theoretical, disciplinary, or substantive nature of the manuscript.

Because SOR publishes diverse forms of scholarship, reviewer selection is based not only on subject expertise but also, where appropriate, on methodological, statistical, computational, philosophical, ethical, or theoretical expertise.

Editors may seek additional specialist review when a manuscript crosses disciplinary boundaries or involves complex statistical methods, qualitative methodology, artificial intelligence, software, psychometrics, ethics, epistemology, or other specialised areas.

Certain commissioned or explicitly dialogical formats, including Editorials, invited Commentaries, Responses, Point–Counterpoint contributions, or other forms of Scientific Dialogue, may undergo an editorial review process appropriate to their format rather than standard external peer review. Any such process remains subject to editorial oversight and applicable standards of transparency and research integrity.

Following review, authors may be invited to submit a revised manuscript together with a detailed point-by-point response to reviewers and editors. The Editor-in-Chief or delegated handling Editor retains responsibility for the final editorial decision.

Manuscript Preparation

Writing and Formatting

Manuscripts must be written in clear academic English. Either British or American English may be used, provided that usage is consistent throughout the manuscript.

Manuscripts should be prepared using Times New Roman, 12-point font, double spacing, and 2.5 cm margins, and submitted in Microsoft Word (.docx) format.

Authors should prioritise conceptual clarity, methodological transparency, and precise scientific language. Terminology specific to a discipline or methodological tradition should be defined when it may not be familiar to the Journal's interdisciplinary readership.

Title Page

The title page must include:

  • Full manuscript title
  • Full names of all authors
  • Institutional affiliations: Department, Institution, City, and Country
  • ORCID iDs, where available
  • Corresponding author's email address
  • Funding statement
  • Conflict of Interest statement
  • Author Contributions statement
  • Preprint DOI or permanent URL, where applicable
  • Registration or preregistration identifier, where applicable
  • Data, code, software, or repository identifiers, where applicable

Abstract and Keywords

The abstract must follow the structure required for the relevant article type and reporting guideline.

Structured abstracts should normally use headings appropriate to the methodology and nature of the contribution, rather than being forced into a conventional clinical IMRaD structure where this would not accurately represent the work.

Authors must provide between 4 and 6 keywords. Keywords should preferably be selected from a recognised controlled vocabulary relevant to the discipline, such as Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), where applicable.

Abstracts are not required for article categories explicitly identified below as not requiring one.

Contribution to Research Scholarship

Authors of full-length scholarly articles are required to provide a brief Contribution to Research Scholarship section consisting of three concise bullet points:

  • Research problem: What aspect of the research process, methodology, theory, or scientific practice does this paper address?
  • Contribution: What does this manuscript add to existing knowledge or research practice?
  • Implications: How could this contribution change the way research is designed, conducted, analysed, interpreted, evaluated, or governed?

This section should identify the manuscript's distinctive scholarly contribution and should not simply repeat the abstract.

Units and Nomenclature

SI units should be used where applicable. Abbreviations and specialised terminology must be defined at first use. Statistical notation, mathematical symbols, terminology, and variable names should be used consistently throughout the manuscript.

Research Data, Code, and Materials

SOR supports transparent, reproducible, and responsible research practices. Authors should make the data, code, analytical scripts, protocols, materials, instruments, computational workflows, and other resources necessary to understand or reproduce the work available whenever ethically, legally, and technically possible.

Research materials should preferably be deposited in stable, recognised repositories that support persistent identifiers and FAIR principles: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable.

Applicable manuscripts must include:

  • A Data Availability Statement
  • A Code or Software Availability Statement when analytical code, algorithms, software, or computational workflows form part of the contribution
  • Persistent links or identifiers for datasets, protocols, software, code, preregistrations, or supplementary materials where available
  • A clear explanation when data, code, or materials cannot be made publicly available because of ethical, legal, privacy, contractual, or intellectual-property restrictions

Where no research data were generated or analysed, authors should state this explicitly.

Availability of data or code does not replace the need for sufficiently detailed methodological reporting within the manuscript itself.

Submitting Your Manuscript

All manuscripts must be submitted through the The Scholarship of Research online submission system.

Authors should upload the files required for their manuscript type, including the title page, anonymised manuscript, figures, tables, reporting checklist, supplementary materials, and other relevant documentation where applicable.

Submission Checklist

Before completing submission, authors should confirm that:

  • The manuscript has not been formally published elsewhere and is not under consideration by another journal; any relevant prior dissemination has been disclosed.
  • The manuscript is submitted in Microsoft Word (.docx) format, double-spaced, using Times New Roman 12-point font and 2.5 cm margins.
  • A separate Title Page has been provided and the manuscript has been appropriately anonymised for double-anonymous peer review.
  • References follow APA 7th edition style and include DOI links where available.
  • Tables are editable and figures are included in the manuscript and uploaded separately as high-resolution files.
  • The appropriate reporting guideline and checklist have been provided where applicable.
  • Required ethics, registration, data availability, code/software availability, and AI-use statements have been included where applicable.
  • The manuscript is within the aims and scope of SOR and makes a clear contribution to the scholarship of research.
  • The names of three independent potential reviewers with appropriate expertise have been provided. Suggested reviewers are subject to independent editorial evaluation and may not be selected by the Journal.

Funding, Conflict of Interest, Author Contributions, acknowledgements, institutional details, and any other information capable of revealing author identity must be removed or appropriately blinded from the anonymised manuscript and provided in full on the Title Page.

After Acceptance and Publication

Following acceptance, manuscripts enter the editorial production process. Authors will receive article proofs for final verification.

Proof corrections should normally be restricted to typographical, formatting, factual, or production errors. Substantive changes to scientific content, authorship, analyses, interpretations, or conclusions require editorial approval.

The Scholarship of Research operates a continuous publication model. Once production has been completed, the article is published online individually as the final Version of Record without waiting for a scheduled issue.

The Journal publishes one annual volume. Articles are assigned to the current annual volume in the order in which they are published and are not organised into issues.

The published Version of Record is made freely and permanently available online in accordance with the Journal's Open Access Policy.

Article Requirements

The Scholarship of Research supports internationally recognised standards for transparent and complete reporting. Authors must identify and follow the reporting guideline most appropriate to their methodology and article type.

Where applicable, authors should consult the EQUATOR Network and submit the relevant completed reporting checklist.

The Journal recognises that not every methodological, theoretical, philosophical, computational, or dialogical contribution can be appropriately represented by conventional biomedical reporting structures. Reporting requirements are therefore matched to the scientific nature of each contribution.

Research Design & Protocols

Includes Study Protocols, Review Protocols, Multicentre Protocols, Research Programme Protocols, Methodological Design Papers, and other contributions in which research design itself represents a substantive scholarly contribution.

Length: normally 2,500–5,000 words.
Abstract: structured, approximately 250–300 words.
Suggested structure: Background; Objectives; Design or Conceptual Rationale; Methods; Analysis Plan; Ethical Considerations; Dissemination or Expected Contribution.

Protocols should provide a clear scientific and methodological rationale for the principal design decisions. SOR does not seek to function as a repository for routine protocols whose main purpose is simply to document a future study.

Clinical trial protocols must follow the applicable SPIRIT guidance. Systematic or evidence-synthesis protocols should follow PRISMA-P or another appropriate reporting standard.

Prospective registration or preregistration should be reported where applicable.

Registered Reports

Registered Reports evaluate the importance of a research question and the rigor of the proposed methodology before the principal results are known.

Stage 1 submissions should clearly describe the research question, theoretical rationale, hypotheses where appropriate, design, sampling strategy, primary outcomes or analytic targets, analysis plan, decision criteria, and reproducibility strategy.

Where a Registered Report workflow is used, manuscripts receiving in-principle acceptance must be conducted in accordance with the approved protocol, subject only to transparently documented and scientifically justified deviations.

The precise format and requirements may vary according to the methodological tradition and will be communicated during editorial assessment.

Methods & Analytics

This category includes methodological innovations, statistical and biostatistical methods, qualitative and mixed-methods developments, computational methods, machine learning, artificial intelligence, Natural Language Processing, textual data analysis, psychometric and measurement methods, analytical workflows, and methodological adaptations.

Length: normally 3,000–6,000 words.
Abstract: structured, approximately 250–300 words.

The abstract structure should reflect the manuscript and may include: Background; Objective; Methodological Development; Evaluation or Validation; Findings; Conclusions.

Manuscripts should explain not only how a method works, but also the problem it addresses, assumptions on which it depends, circumstances in which it is appropriate, limitations, interpretability, reproducibility, and implications for research practice.

Where a method is evaluated empirically, authors should provide adequate validation, benchmarking, simulation, sensitivity analysis, comparison with existing approaches, or another scientifically appropriate form of evaluation.

Research Tools & Software Papers

This category includes research software, analytical packages, computational tools, research platforms, measurement tools, algorithms, and other resources developed to support scientific research.

Length: normally 2,500–4,500 words.
Abstract: structured, approximately 200–300 words.

Authors should describe the scientific problem addressed, architecture or development process where relevant, functionality, validation or testing, intended users, limitations, interoperability, and practical research applications.

Software papers should provide version information and, whenever possible, a persistent repository link, documentation, licensing information, and source code.

Data Papers

Data Papers describe scientifically valuable datasets or data resources whose principal contribution lies in their quality, structure, documentation, provenance, reuse potential, or methodological relevance.

Length: normally 2,000–4,000 words.
Abstract: structured, approximately 200–300 words.

The dataset must normally be deposited in an appropriate repository and assigned a persistent identifier.

Authors should describe data provenance, collection procedures, variables, quality-control procedures, ethical and governance considerations, potential reuse, limitations, and any relevant data-processing steps.

Methodological Reviews & Meta-Research

SOR welcomes systematic, scoping, mapping, methodological, or other rigorous evidence syntheses when the primary focus concerns research methodology, reporting, reproducibility, research practices, theoretical approaches, measurement, analytical methods, publication science, or the production and evaluation of scientific knowledge.

Length: normally 3,500–6,500 words.
Abstract: structured, approximately 250–300 words.

Reviews should follow the appropriate reporting standard, including PRISMA or relevant extensions where applicable, and should include a transparent search and selection methodology.

General clinical effectiveness reviews without a substantive methodological or research-science contribution are outside the Journal's core scope.

Theory & Concepts

Includes Theoretical Papers, Conceptual Papers, Concept Analyses, Theory Development, Theory Integration, Theory Extension or Evaluation, Framework Development, Model Development, and critical analyses of existing theoretical or conceptual frameworks.

Length: normally 3,000–6,000 words.
Abstract: unstructured, approximately 200–300 words.

Manuscripts must demonstrate conceptual clarity, logical coherence, engagement with relevant scholarship, originality of argument, and a clear contribution to how research questions or phenomena are conceptualised, investigated, interpreted, or explained.

Theoretical and conceptual scholarship is evaluated on the strength of its reasoning and scientific contribution rather than on the presence of an empirical dataset.

Ethics, Epistemology & Philosophy of Research

This category includes Ethical Analyses, Philosophical Papers, Epistemological Papers, Methods & Ethics analyses, philosophy of evidence and measurement, epistemic justice and bias, data ethics, scientific responsibility, research involving vulnerable populations, authorship, intellectual contribution, privacy, data governance, and related topics.

Length: normally 2,500–5,000 words.
Abstract: unstructured, approximately 200–300 words.

Contributions should be grounded in relevant literature and develop a rigorous, coherent argument with identifiable implications for research methodology, interpretation, governance, or scientific practice.

SOR does not publish purely abstract philosophical discussion without a recognisable connection to the production, evaluation, or interpretation of research knowledge.

Replication, Reproducibility & Re-analysis Studies

SOR welcomes direct and conceptual replication studies, reproducibility studies, re-analysis of existing data, sensitivity analyses, robustness analyses, and other contributions that evaluate the reliability or stability of scientific evidence or methodological conclusions.

Length: normally 3,000–5,000 words.
Abstract: structured, approximately 250–300 words.

Authors must clearly distinguish confirmatory from exploratory analyses and describe the relationship between the present work and the original study, dataset, analysis, or claim being evaluated.

Preregistration and transparent sharing of analytical code are strongly encouraged where applicable.

Scientifically Informative Null or Negative Findings

SOR recognises that scientifically meaningful knowledge is not limited to statistically significant or positive findings.

Length: normally 2,500–4,500 words.
Abstract: structured, approximately 250–300 words.

Null or negative findings must arise from a scientifically justified question, an appropriately rigorous design, adequate methodological execution, and transparent analysis.

A manuscript will not be considered solely because its findings are non-significant or contrary to expectations. Authors must demonstrate why the result is scientifically informative and what it contributes to theory, methodology, replication, evidence interpretation, or future research.

Methodological Lessons & Research Notes

These contributions communicate transferable methodological knowledge generated during the planning, conduct, analysis, or evaluation of research.

They may address unexpected methodological challenges, failed approaches, adaptations, analytical decisions, implementation problems, lessons learned, or innovations developed during a study.

Length: normally 1,500–3,000 words.
Abstract: unstructured, approximately 150–250 words.

The manuscript must move beyond description of a local experience and explain why the lesson is relevant and transferable to other researchers, methods, settings, or disciplines.

Research Practice & Open Science

This category addresses the systems and practices through which research is produced, evaluated, communicated, and governed.

Topics may include research integrity, reproducibility, replicability, transparency, preregistration, open data, open methods, reporting science, reporting guidelines, peer review, publication bias, authorship, team science, interdisciplinary collaboration, patient and public involvement, research culture, responsible research, responsible use of artificial intelligence, and publication science.

Length: normally 2,500–5,000 words.
Abstract: structured or unstructured according to the nature of the manuscript, approximately 200–300 words.

Perspectives, Commentaries & Critical Essays

These articles provide scientifically grounded interpretation, critical analysis, or forward-looking discussion of methodological, theoretical, ethical, epistemological, technological, or research-practice questions.

Length: normally 1,500–3,000 words.
Abstract: normally not required.

Opinion alone is insufficient. Arguments must engage critically with relevant scholarship and demonstrate clear implications for how research is conceptualised, conducted, analysed, interpreted, evaluated, or governed.

Methods Debates, Point–Counterpoint & Research Provocations

SOR encourages structured scientific dialogue on contested, emerging, or insufficiently examined questions in research methodology and scientific practice.

Formats may include Methods Debates, Methods & Ethics Debates, Point–Counterpoint contributions, interdisciplinary dialogues, Research Provocations, and other editorially coordinated exchanges.

Length: normally 1,000–2,500 words per contribution.
Abstract: not required unless requested by the Editors.

Contributions should present a clearly defined position supported by scientific reasoning and relevant literature. Provocative arguments are welcome when their purpose is to advance rigorous scholarly debate rather than generate controversy for its own sake.

Editorials

Length: normally 800–1,500 words.
Abstract: not required.
References: normally up to 15.

Editorials address issues of strategic, methodological, scientific, ethical, or conceptual importance to the Journal and the wider research community. Editorials are usually commissioned, although proposals may be considered.

Letters & Responses

Length: normally up to 1,000 words.
Abstract: not required.

Letters may respond to published SOR articles or address a focused methodological, conceptual, ethical, epistemological, or research-practice issue of direct relevance to the Journal.

Responses may be invited from authors or other scholars when a Letter raises a substantive scientific issue.

References

References must follow the APA 7th edition style.

Authors are strongly encouraged to use reference management software such as EndNote, Zotero, or Mendeley to ensure accuracy, consistency, and completeness.

Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) should be included whenever available.

Authors should ensure that references accurately support the claims for which they are cited and should preferentially cite primary sources when appropriate.

Journal Article
Iovino, P., Uchmanowicz, I., & Vellone, E. (2024). Self-care: An effective strategy to manage chronic diseases. Advances in Clinical and Experimental Medicine, 33(8), 767–771. https://doi.org/10.17219/acem/191102

Book
Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2021). Nursing research: Generating and assessing evidence for nursing practice (11th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.

Website
World Health Organization. (2023). Neonatal care guidelines. https://www.who.int/neonatal

Technical Requirements for Tables, Figures, and Files

The Scholarship of Research follows high technical standards for tables, figures, diagrams, analytical workflows, conceptual models, and supplementary materials to ensure accuracy, readability, reproducibility, and high-quality production.

Tables

  • Tables must be included within the manuscript near their first relevant citation for peer-review purposes.
  • Tables must be fully editable in Microsoft Word and must not be submitted as screenshots or images.
  • Use Word's built-in table function and avoid manual spacing or tabulation.
  • Each table must include:
    • A clear and concise title above the table
    • Explanatory notes below the table when required
    • Definitions for abbreviations
    • Units of measurement for numerical data where applicable
  • Avoid merged cells unless necessary for clarity.
  • Avoid unnecessary colour shading or decorative formatting.
  • Tables must be cited in numerical order in the manuscript: Table 1, Table 2, etc.

Figures and Images

  • Figures should be inserted in the manuscript near their first citation for peer-review purposes and should also be uploaded separately as high-resolution files for production.
  • Accepted formats include JPEG (.jpg), PNG (.png), and PDF (.pdf).
  • Minimum resolution:
    • 300 dpi for photographs and raster images
    • 600 dpi for charts, diagrams, conceptual frameworks, analytical workflows, and line drawings
  • Each figure must include a legend within the manuscript rather than within the figure file.
  • Figures must be numbered sequentially: Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.
  • All labels, symbols, abbreviations, and analytical elements must be clearly explained.
  • Authors are responsible for obtaining permission for copyrighted or previously published material.

Graphical Quality and Accessibility

  • Text within figures should remain legible at final publication size.
  • Fonts should normally be at least 8 pt at final size.
  • Figures must provide sufficient contrast and should remain interpretable for readers with colour-vision deficiencies where possible.
  • Avoid unnecessary 3D effects, gradients, decorative elements, or visual complexity.
  • Text within figures must be in English.
  • Conceptual diagrams, methodological frameworks, and analytical workflows should be designed so that their logical structure remains understandable independently of colour.

File Naming Conventions

  • Figures: Fig1.jpg, Fig2.png
  • Supplementary files: SuppFile1.pdf, SuppFile2.docx
  • Datasets: Dataset1.csv
  • Code or scripts: Code1.R, Code1.py, AnalysisScript1.txt

Supplementary Material

Supplementary material may include extended methods, questionnaires, instruments, reporting checklists, analytical code, simulation procedures, algorithms, search strategies, conceptual appendices, datasets, additional analyses, multimedia, or other resources that support transparency and reproducibility.

  • Supplementary files must be clearly labelled and cited in the manuscript.
  • Supplementary materials may be published online alongside the Version of Record.
  • Large datasets, software, and code should preferably be deposited in an appropriate external repository rather than uploaded solely as supplementary material.
  • Repository materials should use persistent identifiers whenever possible.
  • Video formats accepted: MP4 or MOV, subject to technical limitations of the submission platform.
  • Authors retain copyright in their original work in accordance with the Journal's Open Access Policy.
  • Unless otherwise indicated, published articles are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0).
  • Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission to reproduce or adapt any copyrighted figure, table, questionnaire, scale, software component, image, or other protected material.
  • Required permissions must be provided during submission or before publication.
  • The original source must be fully acknowledged.
  • Authors must ensure that licences associated with datasets, code, software, images, or other reused research materials permit the intended form of publication and reuse.

For detailed information concerning copyright, licensing, reuse, self-archiving, and third-party material, please consult the Journal's Open Access Policy.

For submission enquiries and additional requests, please contact the Editorial Office of The Scholarship of Research: sor@ieditore.com.