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Introduction

Zeitschrift für Evidenz, Fortbildung und Qualität im Gesundheitswesen / The Journal of Evidence and Quality in Health Care (ZEFQ) is a peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary and cross-professional journal that publishes original papers, reviews, short reports, and selected conference papers on all aspects of evidence and quality in health care. Publication languages are German and English. ZEFQ addresses health practitioners, health care managers, researchers, policy-makers and methodologists who have an interest in evidence-based health care, health care quality improvement, patient safety and decision-making in health care. It is also of interest to anyone involved in the provision of health care programs and other contributors to the health care system.

Artikeleinreichungs-Checkliste

Bitte nutzen Sie diese Checkliste zur abschließenden Überprüfung Ihres Manuskripts, bevor Sie Ihren Artikel zusammen mit einem Begleitschreiben zum Begutachtungsverfahren einreichen.

Für ausführlichere Informationen lesen Sie bitte die entsprechenden Abschnitte im Guide for Authors.

Subskriptionsmodell oder Open Access
Das Journal bietet Autorinnen/Autoren zwei Möglichkeiten ihren Artikel zu publizieren: Zum einen im Subskriptionsmodell (kostenfrei für Autorinnen/Autoren und frei zugänglich im Abonnement der ZEFQ) und zum anderen Open Access gegen eine Publikationsgebühr, die von den Autorinnen/Autoren bzw. Ihren Fördermittelgebern oder Institutionen entrichtet wird. Mitglieder des Deutschen Netzwerks Evidenzbasierte Medizin e.V. können ihre Artikel als Open Access Beiträge mit einer Ermäßigung von 25% auf die Publikationsgebühr publizieren.

Reporting Statements
Wir bitten die Autorinnen/Autoren, das zutreffende Reporting Statement zu berücksichtigen (siehe https://www.equator-network.org/). Im Begleitschreiben ist darzulegen, welches Reporting Statement herangezogen wurde.

Interessenkonflikt
Alle Autorinnen/Autoren werden gebeten, bestehende und potenzielle Interessenkonflikte, die innerhalb der letzten drei Jahre seit Beginn der eingereichten Arbeit entstanden sein können, anzugeben.

Sprache
Bitte verfassen Sie Ihren Artikel entweder in deutscher oder in englischer Sprache (Amerikanisches und Britisches Englisch werden akzeptiert mit der Bitte um Einheitlichkeit).
Landestypische sprachliche Ausdrücke, die länderübergreifend in den deutschsprachigen Ländern verstanden werden, können genutzt werden, wie beispielsweise Spital anstatt Krankenhaus.

Titel, Zusammenfassung und Schlüsselwörter müssen grundsätzlich in beiden Sprachen – Deutsch und English – vorhanden sein.

Autorinnen/Autoren, die ihren Artikel in deutscher Sprache verfassen, möchten wir um die Einhaltung einer geschlechtersensiblen Sprache bitten.
Wir bitten die Autorinnen und Autoren, die von ihnen gewählten Prinzipien der geschlechtersensiblen Schreibweise konsequent im gesamten Beitrag, auch in Tabellen und Abbildungen, anzuwenden. Wenn möglich sollten geschlechtsneutrale Pluralformen wie z.B. "Personen" oder "Mitglieder" verwendet werden. Kommen solche Begriffe nicht infrage, sollte sowohl die weibliche als auch die männliche Personenbezeichnung genannt werden, entweder ausgeschrieben (z.B. "Patientinnen und Patienten") oder, wenn grammatikalisch korrekt, in kompakterer Schreibweise (z.B. "Bewohner/-innen").
Bezieht sich eine Personenbezeichnung explizit nur auf ein Geschlecht, ist der jeweilige Begriff im sprachlich korrespondierenden Geschlecht zu verwenden.
Bei Lösungen, die alle Geschlechter abbilden möchten, wird das Gendersternchen empfohlen (z.B. "Patient*innen").
Ein Hinweis wie "Aus Gründen der Lesbarkeit wird bei Personenbezeichnungen ausschließlich das männliche (oder weibliche) Geschlecht verwendet …" wird nicht akzeptiert.

Autorinnen/Autoren, die ihren englischen Text einer sprachlichen Überprüfung unterziehen möchten, können hierfür den English Language Editing Service im Elsevier WebShop nutzen.


Artikeleinreichung
Unser Online Einreichungssystem führt Sie schrittweise durch den Einreichungsprozess. Bitte reichen Sie das Manuskript als Word-Datei, Tabellen als Word-Dateien, Abbildungen als jpeg oder tiff Dateien, usw. ein. Das System konvertiert alle Ihre Dateien zu einer einzigen PDF-Datei, die für das Begutachtungsverfahren genutzt wird.

Artikellängen
Originalarbeiten und Übersichtsartikel (Reviews) sollten eine Länge von 4.000 Wörtern nicht überschreiten, nicht empirische Beitrage nicht mehr als 2.000 Wörter, exklusive Zusammenfassung, Tabellen, Abbildung und Literatur. Bitte beschränken Sie sich auf fünf Tabellen und/oder Abbildungen. Für Briefe an die Herausgeber (Letters to the Editor) und Editorials gilt eine Grenze von 500 Wörtern.

Zusammenfassung / Abstract
Wir bitten die Autorinnen und Autoren um die Strukturierung der Zusammenfassung / Abstract in Hintergrund / Introduction, Methode / Methods, Ergebnisse / Results, Diskussion / Discussion und Schlussfolgerung / Conclusion.

Tabellen
Bitte laden Sie alle Tabellen als einzelne bearbeitbare Word-Datei in unserem Einreichungssystem hoch, vermeiden Sie mehrseitige Tabellen.

Abbildungen
Farb-Abbildungen werden kostenfrei online (z.B. auf ScienceDirect und anderen Seiten) veröffentlicht. Achten Sie bitte darauf, dass Ihre Abbildungen (insbesondere Säulendiagramme) auch noch in einem Graustufen-Ausdruck lesbar und interpretierbar sind. Wir empfehlen eine Schriftart innerhalb einer Abbildung und für alle Abbildungen innerhalb eines Manuskripts und nur die Grundfarben zu benutzen.

Literaturangaben
Das Journal folgt dem sogenannten Number System with Article and Chapter Titles Style. Beispiele finden Sie in der englischen Version der Guide for Authors unter “Reference style”. Bitte achten Sie auf eine sparsame Nutzung von Literaturreferenzen, begrenzen Sie Ihre Literaturangaben auf maximal 30 Quellen, für Übersichtsartikel (Reviews) auf 40 Quellen, für nicht empirische Artikel auf 10 Quellen und für Leserbriefe und Editorials nicht mehr als fünf Referenzen.

Article Submission Checklist (English version)

Please use this checklist to finalize your manuscript before submitting your article for review along with a cover letter.

For more detailed information, please read the relevant sections in the Guide for Authors.

Subscription model or Open Access
The journal offers authors two options for publishing their articles: on the one hand in the subscription model (free for authors and freely accessible with a ZEFQ subscription) and on the other hand Open Access for a publication fee paid by the authors or their funding providers or institutions. Members of the German Evidence-Based Medicine Network can publish their articles as Open Access contributions with a 25% discount on the publication fee.

Reporting Statements
We ask the authors to consider the applicable reporting statement (see https://www.equator-network.org/). The accompanying letter must explain which reporting statement was used.

Conflict of interest
All authors are asked to declare existing and potential conflicts of interest that may have arisen within the last three years since the start of the submitted work.

Language
Please write your article in either German or English (American and British English are accepted with the request for consistency). Typical language expressions that are understood across German-speaking countries can be used, such as “Spital” instead of “Krankenhaus”.

The title, summary and keywords must generally be available in both languages – German and English.

We would like to ask authors who write their articles in German to use gender-sensitive language. We ask these authors to consistently apply their chosen principles of gender-sensitive writing throughout the entire article, including in tables and figures. If possible, gender-neutral plural forms such as “Personen” or “Mitglieder” should be used. If such terms are out of the question, both the female and male personal names should be mentioned, either spelled out (e.g. “Patientinnen und Patienten”) or, if grammatically correct, in a more compact form (e.g. “Bewohner/-innen”).
If a personal name explicitly refers to only one gender, the respective term must be used in the linguistically corresponding gender. The gender asterisk is recommended for solutions that want to represent all genders (e.g. “Patient*innen”).
A note such as “For reasons of readability, only the male (or female) gender is used when describing people...” will not be accepted.

Authors who would like to subject their English text to linguistic review can use the English Language Editing Service in the Elsevier WebShop.


Article submission
Our online submission system guides you step-by-step through the submission process. Please submit the manuscript as a Word file, tables as Word files, figures as jpeg or tiff files, etc. The system converts all your files into a single PDF file that is used for the review process.

Article length
Original and Review articles should not exceed 4,000 words in length, non-empirical articles should not exceed 2,000 words, excluding abstracts, tables, figures and literature. Please limit yourself to five tables and/or figures. There is a limit of 500 words for letters to the editor and editorials.

Zusammenfassung / Abstract
We ask the authors to structure the Zusammenfassung / Abstract in Hintergrund / Introduction, Methode / Methods, Ergebnisse / Results, Diskussion / Discussion und Schlussfolgerung / Conclusion.

Tables
Please upload all tables as a single editable Word file to our submission system, avoid multi-page tables.

Illustrations
Color images are published online free of charge (e.g. on ScienceDirect and other sites). Please make sure that your illustrations (especially bar charts) are readable and interpretable even in a grayscale printout. We recommend using one font within a figure and for all figures within a manuscript and only the primary colors.

Literature references
The journal follows the so-called Number System with Article and Chapter Titles Style. Examples can be found in the English version of the Guide for Authors under “Reference style”. Please ensure that you use literature references sparingly; limit your references to a maximum of 30 sources, for Review articles to 40 sources, for non-empirical articles to 10 sources and for letters to the editor and editorials no more than five references.

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

Reporting Guidelines

The ZEFQ endorses the Equator Network (http://www.equator-network.org/) an international initiative that seeks to improve reliability and value of research literature in health care by promoting transparent and accurate reporting of studies.

The editors require that manuscripts adhere to recognized reporting guidelines relevant to the research design used and require authors to submit a checklist verifying that essential elements have been reported for all primary research and systematic reviews.

You are required to adhere to these guidelines (or a suitable recognized alternative) and to submit a completed checklist from the reporting guideline to assist the editors and reviewers of your paper. You can search for the correct guideline for your study using the tools provided by the EQUATOR network: http://www.equator-network.org/ The guideline used must be indicated in the Author Checklist.

Studies reporting on the development of scales, measures or questionnaires
All research papers whose primary purpose is reporting the development or testing of scales / measures / questionnaires must include a copy of the full instrument as a supplementary file at submission stage so it can be published as an appendix online. The ZEFQ does not accept instrument development papers which are not accompanied by a copy. We are unlikely to consider papers where there is no validation against a robust criterion, where findings indicate that the version published requires further development or where the underlying constructs are not well established.

Authors are required to obtain written permission from the copyright owner of the instrument to reproduce it, and ensure that it is credited appropriately and the correct copyright line qualifying the permission to use/translate the instrument is supplied underneath the submitted scale. If authors want to retain copyright of their own scale they can do so and indicate that it is reproduced with their permission.

If the newly developed scale is a translation of an existing scale then the ZEFQ requires author(s) to obtain written permission from the copyright owner of the original scale to publish the translated version with full credit given also to the original scale. We are unlikely to publish instrument translations from one language to another unless the scale is useful for directly guiding clinical practice (e.g. diagnostic/ screening instruments) related to important and defined outcomes or there is some other clear contribution to the wider international literature from the publication.

Where questionnaires or existing scales are used as measures to address a substantive question in the paper authors are strongly encouraged to submit the instrument for publication as an online appendix.

Ethics in publishing

Please see our information on Ethics in publishing.

Many medical journals follow ICMJE Recommendations. For these titles, you can download the ICMJE COI form, complete it and save it on your computer, then submit the completed form to the journal along with your manuscript.
Extra remark: In case there are pdf building performance problems (of your full total submission) in the submission system, submit only the generated disclosure statement of the COI form along with your manuscript.

Declaration of interest

All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential competing interests include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. Authors must disclose any interests in two places: 1. A summary declaration of interest statement in the title page file (if double anonymized) or the manuscript file (if single anonymized). If there are no interests to declare then please state this: 'Declarations of interest: none'. 2. Detailed disclosures as part of a separate Declaration of Interest form, which forms part of the journal's official records. It is important for potential interests to be declared in both places and that the information matches. More information.

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.

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 AI-assisted 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

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 copyright-holder.

Preprints
Please note that preprints can be shared anywhere at any time, in line with Elsevier's sharing policy. Sharing your preprints e.g. on a preprint server will not count as prior publication (see 'Multiple, redundant or concurrent publication' for more information).

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 (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.

Author contributions

For transparency, we require corresponding authors to provide co-author contributions to the manuscript using the relevant CRediT roles. The CRediT taxonomy includes 14 different roles describing each contributor’s specific contribution to the scholarly output. The roles are: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Methodology; Project administration; Resources; Software; Supervision; Validation; Visualization; Roles/Writing - original draft; and Writing - review & editing. Note that not all roles may apply to every manuscript, and authors may have contributed through multiple roles. More details and an example.

Changes to authorship

Authors are expected to consider carefully the list and order of authors before submitting their manuscript and provide the definitive list of authors at the time of the original submission. Any addition, deletion or rearrangement of author names in the authorship list should be made only before the manuscript has been accepted and only if approved by the journal Editor. To request such a change, the Editor must receive the following from the corresponding author: (a) the reason for the change in author list and (b) written confirmation (e-mail, letter) from all authors that they agree with the addition, removal or rearrangement. In the case of addition or removal of authors, this includes confirmation from the author being added or removed.
Only in exceptional circumstances will the Editor consider the addition, deletion or rearrangement of authors after the manuscript has been accepted. While the Editor considers the request, publication of the manuscript will be suspended. If the manuscript has already been published in an online issue, any requests approved by the Editor will result in a corrigendum.

Article transfer service
This journal uses the Elsevier Article Transfer Service to find the best home for your manuscript. This means that if an editor feels your manuscript is more suitable for an alternative journal, you might be asked to consider transferring the manuscript to such a journal. The recommendation might be provided by a Journal Editor, a dedicated Scientific Managing Editor, a tool assisted recommendation, or a combination. If you agree, your manuscript will be transferred, though you will have the opportunity to make changes to the manuscript before the submission is complete. Please note that your manuscript will be independently reviewed by the new journal. More information.

Copyright

Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' (see more information on this). An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or a link to the online version of this agreement.

Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles including abstracts for internal circulation within their institutions. Permission of the Publisher is required for resale or distribution outside the institution and for all other derivative works, including compilations and translations. If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included, the author(s) must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the article. Elsevier has preprinted forms for use by authors in these cases.

For gold open access articles: Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a 'License Agreement' (more information). Permitted third party reuse of gold open access articles is determined by the author's choice of user license.

Author rights
As an author you (or your employer or institution) have certain rights to reuse your work. More information.

Elsevier supports responsible sharing
Find out how you can share your research published in Elsevier journals.

Role of the funding source

You are requested to identify who provided financial support for the conduct of the research and/or preparation of the article and to briefly describe the role of the sponsor(s), if any, in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication. If the funding source(s) had no such involvement, it is recommended to state this.

Open access

Please visit our Open Access page for more information about open access publishing in this journal.

Language (usage and editing services)

Please write your text either in German or in good English (American or British usage is accepted, but not a mixture of these). Authors who feel their English language manuscript may require editing to eliminate possible grammatical or spelling errors and to conform to correct scientific English may wish to use the English Language Editing service available from Elsevier's WebShop (https://webshop.elsevier.com/language-editing/) or visit our customer support site (https://service.elsevier.com) for more information.

Please note that the article title, the abstract and keywords need to be submitted in both German and English language.

Submission

Our online submission system guides you stepwise through the process of entering your article details and uploading your files. The system converts your article files to a single PDF file used in the peer-review process. Editable files (e.g., Word, LaTeX) are required to typeset your article for final publication. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor's decision and requests for revision, is sent by e-mail.

Length of Articles
The following are restrictions for various article lengths: Original and Review Articles: no more than 5,000 words; Letter to the Editor: no more than 500 words.

Preparation

Peer review

This journal operates a double anonymized review process. All contributions will be initially assessed by the editor for suitability for the journal. Papers deemed suitable are then typically sent to a minimum of two independent expert reviewers to assess the scientific quality of the paper. The Editor is responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles. The Editor's decision is final. Editors are not involved in decisions about papers which they have written themselves or have been written by family members or colleagues or which relate to products or services in which the editor has an interest. Any such submission is subject to all of the journal's usual procedures, with peer review handled independently of the relevant editor and their research groups. More information on types of peer review.

Use of word processing software
It is important that the file be saved in the native format of the word processor used. The text should be in single-column format. Keep the layout of the text as simple as possible. Most formatting codes will be removed and replaced on processing the article. In particular, do not use the word processor's options to justify text or to hyphenate words. However, do use bold face, italics, subscripts, superscripts etc. When preparing tables, if you are using a table grid, use only one grid for each individual table and not a grid for each row. If no grid is used, use tabs, not spaces, to align columns. The electronic text should be prepared in a way very similar to that of conventional manuscripts (see also the Guide to Publishing with Elsevier). Note that source files of figures, tables and text graphics will be required whether or not you embed your figures in the text. See also the section on Electronic artwork.
To avoid unnecessary errors you are strongly advised to use the 'spell-check' and 'grammar-check' functions of your word processor.

Article structure

Subdivision - numbered sections
Divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, ...), 1.2, etc. (the abstract is not included in section numbering). Use this numbering also for internal cross-referencing: do not just refer to 'the text'. Any subsection may be given a brief heading. Each heading should appear on its own separate line.

Introduction
State the objectives of the work and provide an adequate background, avoiding a detailed literature survey or a summary of the results.

Material and methods
Provide sufficient details to allow the work to be reproduced by an independent researcher. Methods that are already published should be summarized, and indicated by a reference. If quoting directly from a previously published method, use quotation marks and also cite the source. Any modifications to existing methods should also be described.

Theory/calculation
A Theory section should extend, not repeat, the background to the article already dealt with in the Introduction and lay the foundation for further work. In contrast, a Calculation section represents a practical development from a theoretical basis.

Results
Results should be clear and concise.

Discussion
This should explore the significance of the results of the work, not repeat them. A combined Results and Discussion section is often appropriate. Avoid extensive citations and discussion of published literature.

Conclusions
The main conclusions of the study may be presented in a short Conclusions section, which may stand alone or form a subsection of a Discussion or Results and Discussion section.

Appendices
If there is more than one appendix, they should be identified as A, B, etc. Formulae and equations in appendices should be given separate numbering: Eq. (A.1), Eq. (A.2), etc.; in a subsequent appendix, Eq. (B.1) and so on. Similarly for tables and figures: Table A.1; Fig. A.1, etc.

Essential title page information

Title. Concise and informative. Titles are often used in information-retrieval systems. Avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible.
Author names and affiliations. Please clearly indicate the given name(s) and family name(s) of each author and check that all names are accurately spelled. You can add your name between parentheses in your own script behind the English transliteration. Present the authors' affiliation addresses (where the actual work was done) below the names. Indicate all affiliations with a lower-case superscript letter immediately after the author's name and in front of the appropriate address. Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name and, if available, the e-mail address of each author.
Corresponding author. Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, also post-publication. This responsibility includes answering any future queries about Methodology and Materials. Ensure that the e-mail address is given and that contact details are kept up to date by the corresponding author.
Present/permanent address. If an author has moved since the work described in the article was done, or was visiting at the time, a 'Present address' (or 'Permanent address') may be indicated as a footnote to that author's name. The address at which the author actually did the work must be retained as the main, affiliation address. Superscript Arabic numerals are used for such footnotes.

Abstract

A concise and factual abstract is required. The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the research, the principal results and major conclusions. An abstract is often presented separately from the article, so it must be able to stand alone. For this reason, References should be avoided, but if essential, then cite the author(s) and year(s). Also, non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself.

Please submit your abstract in both German and English language.

Keywords
Immediately after the abstract, provide a maximum of 6 keywords, using American or British English spelling, but not a mixture of these, and avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, 'and', 'of'). Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in the field may be eligible. These keywords will be used for indexing purposes.

Please submit your keywords in both German and English language.

Abbreviations
Define abbreviations that are not standard in this field in a footnote to be placed on the first page of the article. Such abbreviations that are unavoidable in the abstract must be defined at their first mention there, as well as in the footnote. Ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article.

Acknowledgements
Collate acknowledgements in a separate section at the end of the article before the references and do not, therefore, include them on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise. List here those individuals who provided help during the research (e.g., providing language help, writing assistance or proof reading the article, etc.).

Formatting of funding sources
List funding sources in this standard way to facilitate compliance to funder's requirements:

Funding: This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health [grant numbers xxxx, yyyy]; the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, WA [grant number zzzz]; and the United States Institutes of Peace [grant number aaaa].

It is not necessary to include detailed descriptions on the program or type of grants and awards. When funding is from a block grant or other resources available to a university, college, or other research institution, submit the name of the institute or organization that provided the funding.

If no funding has been provided for the research, it is recommended to include the following sentence:

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Math formulae
Please submit math equations as editable text and not as images. Present simple formulae in line with normal text where possible and use the solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line for small fractional terms, e.g., X/Y. In principle, variables are to be presented in italics. Powers of e are often more conveniently denoted by exp. Number consecutively any equations that have to be displayed separately from the text (if referred to explicitly in the text).

Footnotes
Footnotes should be used sparingly. Number them consecutively throughout the article. Many word processors can build footnotes into the text, and this feature may be used. Otherwise, please indicate the position of footnotes in the text and list the footnotes themselves separately at the end of the article. Do not include footnotes in the Reference list.

Artwork

Electronic artwork
General points
• Make sure you use uniform lettering and sizing of your original artwork.
• Embed the used fonts if the application provides that option.
• Aim to use the following fonts in your illustrations: Arial, Courier, Times New Roman, Symbol, or use fonts that look similar.
• Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.
• Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files.
• Provide captions to illustrations separately.
• Size the illustrations close to the desired dimensions of the published version.
• Submit each illustration as a separate file.
• Ensure that color images are accessible to all, including those with impaired color vision.

A detailed guide on electronic artwork is available.
You are urged to visit this site; some excerpts from the detailed information are given here.
Formats
If your electronic artwork is created in a Microsoft Office application (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) then please supply 'as is' in the native document format.
Regardless of the application used other than Microsoft Office, when your electronic artwork is finalized, please 'Save as' or convert the images to one of the following formats (note the resolution requirements for line drawings, halftones, and line/halftone combinations given below):
EPS (or PDF): Vector drawings, embed all used fonts.
TIFF (or JPEG): Color or grayscale photographs (halftones), keep to a minimum of 300 dpi.
TIFF (or JPEG): Bitmapped (pure black & white pixels) line drawings, keep to a minimum of 1000 dpi.
TIFF (or JPEG): Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone (color or grayscale), keep to a minimum of 500 dpi.
Please do not:
• Supply files that are optimized for screen use (e.g., GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG); these typically have a low number of pixels and limited set of colors;
• Supply files that are too low in resolution;
• Submit graphics that are disproportionately large for the content.

Color artwork
Please make sure that artwork files are in an acceptable format (TIFF (or JPEG), EPS (or PDF), or MS Office files) and with the correct resolution. If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable color figures then Elsevier will ensure, at no additional charge, that these figures will appear in color online (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in color in the printed version. For color reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Elsevier after receipt of your accepted article. Please indicate your preference for color: in print or online only. Further information on the preparation of electronic artwork.

Figure captions
Ensure that each illustration has a caption. Supply captions separately, not attached to the figure. A caption should comprise a brief title (not on the figure itself) and a description of the illustration. Keep text in the illustrations themselves to a minimum but explain all symbols and abbreviations used.

Tables

Please submit tables as editable text and not as images. Tables can be placed either next to the relevant text in the article, or on separate page(s) at the end. Number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text and place any table notes below the table body. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented in them do not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article. Please avoid using vertical rules and shading in table cells.

References

Citation in text
Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). Any references cited in the abstract must be given in full. Unpublished results and personal communications are not recommended in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the text. If these references are included in the reference list they should follow the standard reference style of the journal and should include a substitution of the publication date with either 'Unpublished results' or 'Personal communication'. Citation of a reference as 'in press' implies that the item has been accepted for publication.

Please limit your reference list to 30 sources for original articles and to 40 sources for review articles.

Web references
As a minimum, the full URL should be given and the date when the reference was last accessed. Any further information, if known (DOI, author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc.), should also be given. Web references can be listed separately (e.g., after the reference list) under a different heading if desired, or can be included in the reference list.

Data references
This journal encourages you to cite underlying or relevant datasets in your manuscript by citing them in your text and including a data reference in your Reference List. Data references should include the following elements: author name(s), dataset title, data repository, version (where available), year, and global persistent identifier. Add [dataset] immediately before the reference so we can properly identify it as a data reference. The [dataset] identifier will not appear in your published article.

Preprint references
Where a preprint has subsequently become available as a peer-reviewed publication, the formal publication should be used as the reference. If there are preprints that are central to your work or that cover crucial developments in the topic, but are not yet formally published, these may be referenced. Preprints should be clearly marked as such, for example by including the word preprint, or the name of the preprint server, as part of the reference. The preprint DOI should also be provided.

References in a special issue
Please ensure that the words 'this issue' are added to any references in the list (and any citations in the text) to other articles in the same Special Issue.

Reference style
Text: Indicate references by number(s) in square brackets in line with the text. The actual authors can be referred to, but the reference number(s) must always be given.
Example: '..... as demonstrated [3,6]. Barnaby and Jones [8] obtained a different result ....'
List: Number the references (numbers in square brackets) in the list in the order in which they appear in the text.
Examples:
Reference to a journal publication:
[1] J. van der Geer, J.A.J. Hanraads, R.A. Lupton, The art of writing a scientific article, J. Sci. Commun. 163 (2010) 51–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.Sc.2010.00372.
Reference to a journal publication with an article number:
[2] J. van der Geer, J.A.J. Hanraads, R.A. Lupton, 2018. The art of writing a scientific article. Heliyon. 19, e00205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e00205.
Reference to a book:
[3] W. Strunk Jr., E.B. White, The Elements of Style, fourth ed., Longman, New York, 2000.
Reference to a chapter in an edited book:
[4] G.R. Mettam, L.B. Adams, How to prepare an electronic version of your article, in: B.S. Jones, R.Z. Smith (Eds.), Introduction to the Electronic Age, E-Publishing Inc., New York, 2009, pp. 281–304.
Reference to a website:
[5] Cancer Research UK, Cancer statistics reports for the UK. http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/aboutcancer/statistics/cancerstatsreport/, 2003 (accessed 13 March 2003).
Reference to a dataset:
[dataset] [6] M. Oguro, S. Imahiro, S. Saito, T. Nakashizuka, Mortality data for Japanese oak wilt disease and surrounding forest compositions, Mendeley Data, v1, 2015. https://doi.org/10.17632/xwj98nb39r.1.
Reference to software:
[7] E. Coon, M. Berndt, A. Jan, D. Svyatsky, A. Atchley, E. Kikinzon, D. Harp, G. Manzini, E. Shelef, K. Lipnikov, R. Garimella, C. Xu, D. Moulton, S. Karra, S. Painter, E. Jafarov, S. Molins, Advanced Terrestrial Simulator (ATS) v0.88 (Version 0.88), Zenodo, March 25, 2020. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3727209.

Journal abbreviations source
Journal names should be abbreviated according to the List of Title Word Abbreviations.

Video

Elsevier accepts video material and animation sequences to support and enhance your scientific research. Authors who have video or animation files that they wish to submit with their article are strongly encouraged to include links to these within the body of the article. This can be done in the same way as a figure or table by referring to the video or animation content and noting in the body text where it should be placed. All submitted files should be properly labeled so that they directly relate to the video file's content. In order to ensure that your video or animation material is directly usable, please provide the file in one of our recommended file formats with a preferred maximum size of 150 MB per file, 1 GB in total. Video and animation files supplied will be published online in the electronic version of your article in Elsevier Web products, including ScienceDirect. Please supply 'stills' with your files: you can choose any frame from the video or animation or make a separate image. These will be used instead of standard icons and will personalize the link to your video data. For more detailed instructions please visit our video instruction pages. Note: since video and animation cannot be embedded in the print version of the journal, please provide text for both the electronic and the print version for the portions of the article that refer to this content.

Supplementary material

Supplementary material such as applications, images and sound clips, can be published with your article to enhance it. Submitted supplementary items are published exactly as they are received (Excel or PowerPoint files will appear as such online). Please submit your material together with the article and supply a concise, descriptive caption for each supplementary file. If you wish to make changes to supplementary material during any stage of the process, please make sure to provide an updated file. Do not annotate any corrections on a previous version. Please switch off the 'Track Changes' option in Microsoft Office files as these will appear in the published version.

Research data

This journal encourages and enables you to share data that supports your research publication where appropriate, and enables you to interlink the data with your published articles. Research data refers to the results of observations or experimentation that validate research findings, which may also include software, code, models, algorithms, protocols, methods and other useful materials related to the project.

Below are a number of ways in which you can associate data with your article or make a statement about the availability of your data when submitting your manuscript. If you are sharing data in one of these ways, you are encouraged to cite the data in your manuscript and reference list. Please refer to the "References" section for more information about data citation. For more information on depositing, sharing and using research data and other relevant research materials, visit the research data page.

Data linking
If you have made your research data available in a data repository, you can link your article directly to the dataset. Elsevier collaborates with a number of repositories to link articles on ScienceDirect with relevant repositories, giving readers access to underlying data that gives them a better understanding of the research described.

There are different ways to link your datasets to your article. When available, you can directly link your dataset to your article by providing the relevant information in the submission system. For more information, visit the database linking page.

For supported data repositories a repository banner will automatically appear next to your published article on ScienceDirect.

In addition, you can link to relevant data or entities through identifiers within the text of your manuscript, using the following format: Database: xxxx (e.g., TAIR: AT1G01020; CCDC: 734053; PDB: 1XFN).

Data statement
To foster transparency, we encourage you to state the availability of your data in your submission. This may be a requirement of your funding body or institution. If your data is unavailable to access or unsuitable to post, you will have the opportunity to indicate why during the submission process, for example by stating that the research data is confidential. The statement will appear with your published article on ScienceDirect. For more information, visit the Data Statement page.

After acceptance

Proofs

To ensure a fast publication process of the article, we kindly ask authors to provide us with their proof corrections within two days. Corresponding authors will receive an e-mail with the PDF attached, allowing annotation and correction of the PDF proofs. All instructions for proofing will be given in the e-mail we send to authors, including alternative methods to the PDF.
We will do everything possible to get your article published quickly and accurately. Please use this proof only for checking the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness of the text, tables and figures. Significant changes to the article as accepted for publication will only be considered at this stage with permission from the Editor. It is important to ensure that all corrections are sent back to us in one communication. Please check carefully before replying, as inclusion of any subsequent corrections cannot be guaranteed. Proofreading is solely your responsibility.

Offprints

The corresponding author will, at no cost, receive a customized Share Link providing 50 days free access to the final published version of the article on ScienceDirect. The Share Link can be used for sharing the article via any communication channel, including email and social media. For an extra charge, paper offprints can be ordered via the offprint order form which is sent once the article is accepted for publication. Corresponding authors who have published their article gold open access do not receive a Share Link as their final published version of the article is available open access on ScienceDirect and can be shared through the article DOI link.

Author inquiries



Visit the Elsevier Support Center to find the answers you need. Here you will find everything from Frequently Asked Questions to ways to get in touch.
You can also check the status of your submitted article or find out when your accepted article will be published.

Editorial Office
Managing Editor
Verena Eichhorn
E-mail: [email protected]