Research should be communicated in a way that supports verification and reproducibility, and we encourage authors to provide a comprehensive description of their research arguments, protocols, methodologies, and analysis.
To help authors in this regard, we developed some consensus-based reports on study design guidelines, which were approved by Red Flower Publications, and encourage authors to use them as guidelines before submitting manuscripts.
A comprehensive list of reporting guidelines for medical and health research can be found on the EQUATOR network website and on the MIBBI Foundry portal for bioscience research. The following are some key reporting guidelines for specific types of research.
1. CONSORT guidelines for clinical trials (including extensions)
2.PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (including extensions)
3.ARRIVE guidelines for in vivo animal studies
4.CARE guidelines for clinical case reports
5.STROBE guidelines for observational studies in epidemiology (including extensions)
6.CHEERS guidelines for health economic evaluation studies
7.COREQ guidelines for qualitative research in medicine and health
8.SAGER guidelines for sex and gender information
9.BRISQ guidelines for human biospecimen studies
10.MIAME guidelines for microarray experiments
11.RECORD guidelines for observational routinely-collected health data
12.STRENDA guidelines for reporting of enzymology data
13.STARD guidelines for reporting diagnostic accuracy studies
Statistical methods
The manuscript must contain all the statistical methods and measures used in the study. Authors are encouraged to consult the SAMPL guidelines. Whenever it is necessary, manuscripts may be sent to specialized statistical review.
Cell line authentication
If human cell lines are used for research, the authors are strongly encouraged to include the following information in the manuscript:
- Sources of cell lines, including when and where they came from
- Whether they have been authenticated recently and by what method
- Whether they have been tested for mycoplasma contamination recently
Authors are encouraged to consult with the International Cell Line Authentication Committee (ICLAC) and to check if human cell line identity and contamination are misidentified in the NCBI database.
Gene nomenclature and reporting of sequence variants and phenomena
Standardized gene nomenclature should be used throughout the manuscript. Human gene symbols and names are available in the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC) database. Other commonly used genetic aliases can also be reported, but should not be used alone as HGNC symbols.
In order to report sequence variants, authors strongly encourage the recommendation of the Human Genome Variation Project Consortium to describe sequence variants (Human Genome Variation Society) and phenotypes (Human Phenotype Ontology).
Drug nomenclature
Red Flower Publications requisitions authors to use non-proprietary (generic) names of drugs in manuscripts where possible. If a drug does not have a non-proprietary name, the author should give a chemical name or formula. For example, if this is not possible, a drug can be identified by the trademark (commercial) name that is appropriate in complex formulations and then used by the non-commercial name. The active ingredients should be specified in the text after the first use of the proprietary name.
Non-proprietary names can be found in various sources, including the U.S. Drug Index, Merck Index Online, the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP), Physician’s Desk Reference, the U.S. Adopted Names (USAN) or the Electronic Medicines Compendium (EMC).
When using the proprietary name is required, the author must put the proprietary name in brackets immediately after the first mention of the proprietary name and use the proprietary name subsequently (the first time in the abstract and the second time in the manuscript body is acceptable).
If an alternative non- proprietary name and a proprietary name are used, both can appear in parentheses at the first mention.
If salt is included in non-proprietary names, it should only be given once.
Authors should capitalize the appropriate proprietary names and use the registered trademark symbol only on the first mention.
Nomenclature for algae, fungi, plants and animals
A standard nomenclature for organisms should be used in all manuscripts in accordance with the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants (ICN) and the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN).
Chemical compounds nomenclature
All new compounds must be described in detail and information to verify identity and purity should be included. The nomenclature and abbreviations should comply with the recommendations of the International Union of Pure Applied Chemicals (IUPAC).
Custom computer codes, software tools and mathematical algorithms
To allow full assessment of the submission, authors must provide to the editors and/or reviewers on request any computer code, software tool or algorithms custom to produce the results and conclusions reported in the manuscript.
