Submissions

Articles

Original Research

Requirements for Original Research Articles

Original Research Articles should report research with a clear objective, complete study design, appropriate data analysis, and reliable conclusions.

1 Structure

Original Research Articles must include the following sections:

1. Introduction and Objective;
2. Materials and Methods;
3. Results;
4. Discussion;
5. Conclusions;
6. References.

Subheadings may be used where appropriate, but the basic structure listed above should be maintained.

2 Abstract

Original Research Articles must include a structured abstract. The abstract should contain 1,400–1,800 characters, including spaces. It should be divided into the following sections:

1. Introduction and Objective;
2. Materials and Methods;
3. Results;
4. Conclusions.

The abstract should accurately summarize the research background, objective, methods, main results, and conclusions. It must not include data, findings, or conclusions that are not presented in the main text.

3 Length

The main text of an Original Research Article must not exceed 20,000 characters, including spaces, excluding the abstract and references.

4 References

Original Research Articles may include up to 25 references.

5 Tables and Figures

The total number of tables and figures should not exceed 8. Tables and figures should be self-explanatory. Titles and legends should clearly explain the content, abbreviations, statistical symbols, and necessary experimental conditions. Information fully presented in tables or figures should not be mechanically repeated in the main text.

Review Articles

Requirements for Review Articles

Review Articles should provide a systematic, objective, and critical summary of existing evidence in medicine, exercise science, rehabilitation, nutrition, physical activity, public health, or population health. Reviews should have a clear research focus, transparent literature selection criteria, logical evidence synthesis, and academic value.

1 Structure

Review Articles must include the following sections:

1. Introduction and Objective;
2. Review Methods;
3. Description of the State of Knowledge;
4. Summary;
5. References.

The “Review Methods” section should clearly describe the sources of literature, databases searched, search strategy, inclusion and exclusion criteria, literature selection process, limitations and/or quality of the included studies, and the method of literature review. Authors should state whether a systematic review method was used. If the review is not systematic, the rationale for literature selection and the scope of the review should still be clearly described.

The “Description of the State of Knowledge” section should synthesize, compare, and critically analyze existing research evidence. It should not simply list previous studies.

2 Abstract

Review Articles must include a structured abstract. The abstract should contain 1,400–1,800 characters, including spaces. It should be divided into the following sections:

1. Introduction and Objective;
2. Review Methods;
3. Brief Description of the State of Knowledge;
4. Summary.

The abstract should accurately reflect the review topic, literature sources, main findings, current state of evidence, and implications.

3 Length

The main text of a Review Article must not exceed 30,000 characters, including spaces, excluding the abstract and references.

4 References

Review Articles may include up to 50 references.

5 Tables and Figures

The total number of tables and figures should not exceed 8. Authors are encouraged to present the most important data, study characteristics, evidence comparisons, intervention strategies, conceptual frameworks, or major conclusions in tables and figures. Information presented in tables and figures should not be repeated in detail in the main text.

Case Study

Case Studies provide a detailed analysis of a specific clinical or scientific case with educational or practical relevance to medicine, exercise science, or rehabilitation.

• Main text: 2,000–4,000 words

Authors are encouraged to follow the CARE (Case Report) guideline to improve transparency and completeness of reporting.

Authors must obtain and state explicit publication consent for any identifiable case details, images, or clinical information, even if anonymized.

• Describe study population, design, sample source, inclusion/exclusion criteria, and measurement instruments in sufficient detail
• Human studies: state ethics committee name, approval number, and informed consent method
• Clinical trials: provide registry name and registration number
• Statistical analysis: state software, version, significance level, tests used, effect sizes, and confidence intervals

Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

Requirements for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses should state a clear research question and use transparent methods for literature search, study selection, quality assessment, data extraction, and statistical synthesis.

Authors should describe the databases searched, search period, search terms, screening process, inclusion and exclusion criteria, data extraction method, risk of bias assessment tool, and statistical methods.

Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses are encouraged to follow the PRISMA reporting guideline and to include a flow diagram of the study selection process. Where the review involves clinical trials, observational studies, diagnostic accuracy studies, or other specific study designs, appropriate reporting guidelines and quality assessment tools should be used.

Meta-analyses should report the type of effect size, model selection, heterogeneity assessment, sensitivity analysis, publication bias assessment, and the rationale for subgroup analysis or meta-regression where applicable. Conclusions should be based on the quality of evidence and limitations of the included studies, and statistical pooling should not be overinterpreted.