Types of Contributions
For Regular papers and Survey papers the upper limit is around 10,000 words in length. Papers
describing individual case studies can be included here, provided the relevance of the study is clearly
mentioned in a broader context.
Short notes. Comments or position papers of no more than 2000 words in length.
Submission checklist
You can use this list to carry out a final check of your submission before you send it to the journal for
review. Please check the relevant section in this Guide for Authors for more details.
Ensure that the following items are present:
One author has been designated as the corresponding author with contact details:
• E-mail address
• Full postal address
All necessary files have been uploaded:
Manuscript:
• Include keywords
• All figures (include relevant captions)
• All tables (including titles, description, footnotes)
• Ensure all figure and table citations in the text match the files provided
• Indicate clearly if color should be used for any figures in print
Graphical Abstracts / Highlights files (where applicable)
Supplemental files (where applicable)
Further considerations
• Manuscript has been 'spell checked' and 'grammar checked'
• All references mentioned in the Reference List are cited in the text, and vice versa
• Permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources (including the
Internet)
• A competing interests statement is provided, even if the authors have no competing interests to
declare
• Journal policies detailed in this guide have been reviewed
• Referee suggestions and contact details provided, based on journal requirements
For further information, visit our Support Center.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Ethics in publishing
Please see our information on Ethics in publishing.
Declaration of competing interest
Corresponding authors, on behalf of all the authors of a submission, must disclose any financial
and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence
(bias) their work. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies,
stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or
other funding. All authors, including those without competing interests to declare, should provide
the relevant information to the corresponding author (which, where relevant, may specify they have
nothing to declare). Corresponding authors should then use this tool to create a shared statement
and upload to the submission system at the Attach Files step. Please do not convert the .docx
template to another file type. Author signatures are not required.
Declaration of generative AI in scientific writing
The below guidance only refers to the writing process, and not to the use of AI tools to analyse and
draw insights from data as part of the research process.
AUTHOR INFORMATION PACK 19 Apr 2023 www.elsevier.com/locate/compind 5
Where authors use generative artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies in the writing
process, authors should only use these technologies to improve readability and language. Applying the
technology should be done with human oversight and control, and authors should carefully review and
edit the result, as AI can generate authoritative-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete or
biased. AI and AI-assisted technologies should not be listed as an author or co-author, or be cited as
an author. Authorship implies responsibilities and tasks that can only be attributed to and performed
by humans, as outlined in Elsevier’s AI policy for authors.
Authors should disclose in their manuscript the use of AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing
process by following the instructions below. A statement will appear in the published work. Please
note that authors are ultimately responsible and accountable for the contents of the work.
Disclosure instructions
Authors must disclose the use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process by
adding a statement at the end of their manuscript in the core manuscript file, before the References
list. The statement should be placed in a new section entitled ‘Declaration of Generative AI and AIassisted technologies in the writing process’.
Statement: During the preparation of this work the author(s) used [NAME TOOL / SERVICE] in order
to [REASON]. After using this tool/service, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed
and take(s) full responsibility for the content of the publication.
This declaration does not apply to the use of basic tools for checking grammar, spelling, references
etc. If there is nothing to disclose, there is no need to add a statement.
Submission declaration and verification
Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in
the form of an abstract, a published lecture or academic thesis, see 'Multiple, redundant or concurrent
publication' for more information), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that
its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where
the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in
English or in any other language, including electronically without the written consent of the copyrightholder. To verify compliance, your article may be checked by Crossref Similarity Check and other
originality or duplicate checking software.
Use of inclusive language
Inclusive language acknowledges diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to differences,
and promotes equal opportunities. Content should make no assumptions about the beliefs or
commitments of any reader; contain nothing which might imply that one individual is superior to
another on the grounds of age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability or health
condition; and use inclusive language throughout. Authors should ensure that writing is free from bias,
stereotypes, slang, reference to dominant culture and/or cultural assumptions. We advise to seek
gender neutrality by using plural nouns ("clinicians, patients/clients") as default/wherever possible
to avoid using "he, she," or "he/she." We recommend avoiding the use of descriptors that refer
to personal attributes such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability or
health condition unless they are relevant and valid. When coding terminology is used,
we recommend
to avoid offensive or exclusionary terms such as "master", "slave", "blacklist" and "whitelist". We
suggest using alternatives that are more appropriate and (self-) explanatory such as "primary",
"secondary", "blocklist" and "allowlist". These guidelines are meant as a point of reference to help
identify appropriate language but are by no means exhaustive or definitive.
Reporting sex- and gender-based analyses
Reporting guidance
For research involving or pertaining to humans, animals or eukaryotic cells, investigators should
integrate sex and gender-based analyses (SGBA) into their research design according to funder/
sponsor requirements and best practices within a field. Authors should address the sex and/or gender
dimensions of their research in their article. In cases where they cannot, they should discuss this
as a limitation to their research's generalizability. Importantly, authors should explicitly state what
definitions of sex and/or gender they are applying to enhance the precision, rigor and reproducibility
of their research and to avoid ambiguity or conflation of terms and the constructs to which they
refer (see Definitions section below). Authors can refer to the Sex and Gender Equity in Research
AUTHOR INFORMATION PACK 19 Apr 2023
www.elsevier.com/locate/compind 6
(SAGER) guidelines and the SAGER guidelines checklist. These offer systematic approaches to the use
and editorial review of sex and gender information in study design, data analysis, outcome reporting
and research interpretation - however, please note there is no single, universally agreed-upon set of
guidelines for defining sex and gender.
Definitions
Sex generally refers to a set of biological attributes that are associated with physical and physiological
features (e.g., chromosomal genotype, hormonal levels, internal and external anatomy). A binary sex
categorization (male/female) is usually designated at birth ("sex assigned at birth"), most often based
solely on the visible external anatomy of a newborn. Gender generally refers to socially constructed
roles, behaviors, and identities of women, men and gender-diverse people that occur in a historical
and cultural context and may vary across societies and over time. Gender influences how people view
themselves and each other, how they behave and interact and how power is distributed in society. Sex
and gender are often incorrectly portrayed as binary (female/male or woman/man) and unchanging
whereas these constructs actually exist along a spectrum and include additional sex categorizations
and gender identities such as people who are intersex/have differences of sex development (DSD) or
identify as non-binary. Moreover, the terms "sex" and "gender" can be ambiguous—thus it is important
for authors to define the manner in which they are used. In addition to this definition guidance and
the SAGER guidelines, the resources on this page offer further insight around sex and gender in
research studies.
