Author Guidelines

Authorship

Authorship gives credit, assigns responsibility, and implies academic, social, and financial accountability for the published work. Those who make substantial contributions to a paper are credited as authors, understand their roles and responsibilities, and are held accountable for the research.

The journal defines authorship in accordance with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). The ICMJE recommends that authorship be based on the following 4 criteria:

• Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
• Drafting the work or reviewing it critically for important intellectual content; AND

• Final approval of the version to be published; AND

• Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Those who meet all four criteria are identified as authors. In addition, the responsibilities of co-authors for specific aspects of the work must be indicated. Please see the "Authorship information" section below for details on how to specify these responsibilities in the manuscript.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools do not meet the authorship criteria and specifically cannot meet accountability requirement. Therefore, AI tools cannot be listed as authors.

When a manuscript is authored by a large group or consortium, all members must meet all four authorship criteria. The corresponding author(s) must specify the group name and list its members, in accordance with disclosure agreements, to ensure transparency.

For guidelines on acknowledging non-author contributors, equal contributors, the corresponding author, and other acknowledgements, refer to the subsequent sections and the "Authorship information" section.

Changes in Authorship

Any requests for changes in authorship (adding, removing, or rearranging the order of authors) after the initial submission must be accompanied by a written explanation and a signed agreement from all authors, including those being added or removed. The journal follows the COPE flowcharts for handling such requests. Changes in authorship are generally not permitted after the manuscript has been accepted for publication.

Non-Author Contributions

Those who do not meet all the above-mentioned criteria are not qualified as authors; however, those who meet at least one criterion should be acknowledged as non-author contributors, and their contributions should be specified in the "Acknowledgements" section of the Title Page. For more information on non-author contributions, please see: https://www.icmje.org.

Non-author contributions include, but are not limited to, administrative support, general supervision, acquisition of funding, technical editing, language editing, and proofreading. Non-author contributions should be specified on the Title Page at submission.

Equal Contributions

When submitting multi-author articles, authors should clearly indicate the authorship status and identify any authors who contributed equally. Authorship status and equal contributions are defined as follows:

• Equal contribution: The authors contributed equally to the research.
• First authorship: The authors share first authorship.
• Equal contribution and first authorship: The authors contributed equally to the research and shared first authorship.

Corresponding Author

The corresponding author is the designated author who handles all correspondence with the journal, from submission through publication, on behalf of the authors. The corresponding author is responsible for complying with the journal's administrative requirements and for providing the necessary information and documents, including authorship, and contact details, ethics committee approval, registration documents, and signed publication agreements.

The corresponding author serves as the primary point of contact for any inquiries regarding the work, even after publication.

Cover Letter

A cover letter is required for all submissions, regardless of article type. The cover letter is important for the Editor's preliminary evaluation. The submitting author will be asked to write or paste the cover letter in a designated field in the online submission system (it will not be uploaded as a separate file). Please explain why you believe the paper is suitable for publication in Clinical Science of Nutrition. The cover letter must include statements that the manuscript has not been previously published, and is not under consideration by another journal, and that all authors have approved the submission of this version of the manuscript and take full responsibility for it. If the work has been previously presented or published as an abstract or preprint, please indicate this in the cover letter and provide details on the title page (see below). If generative artificial intelligence (AI) has been used in any part of the production of the work, this should also be declared in the cover letter and in the appropriate parts of the submitted files (see the related section below for details).

Article Types

Manuscripts submitted to Clinical Science of Nutrition should be original, unpublished, and not under review by any other publication.

It is recommended that the manuscript follow the relevant EQUATOR Network reporting guidelines for the study types (e.g., CONSORT for randomized trials, STROBE for observational studies, PRISMA for systematic reviews).

Authors must select the article type for their manuscripts and must comply with the limits and structures defined in the table below. For more details, please refer to the specific descriptions of the article types provided below the table.

*Only the main text, excluding the title page, abstract, keywords, tables, footnotes, figure captions, and references.

Research Article

Research articles must present original findings that contribute to the scientific advancement of the subject areas outlined in the Aim and Scope. These studies should provide new information based on original research, and their acceptance is typically based on the originality and importance of the findings.

• Abstract: A structured abstract under the headings Objective, Materials and Methods, Results, and Conclusions must be provided. It must be no more than 300 words. Following the abstract, list Keywords (minimum 3, maximum 6).
• Main Text: The main text has a maximum limit of 3500 words. It must be structured under the following headings: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, and Discussion.
  • Introduction: Establish the study's position within the existing literature and clearly state its objective(s).
  • Materials and Methods: Describe the methodology, study setting, participants/sample, applied methods, and analysis type.
    • Statistical Analysis: Information on statistical analyses should be provided with a separate subheading under this section. Statistical analysis must be conducted in accordance with international reporting standards. P values, confidence intervals (CIs), and other statistical measures should be presented clearly (e.g., P = 0.002 rather than P < 0.01).
    • Clinical Trials: Clinical Science of Nutrition adopts the ICMJE's clinical trial registration policy. Prospective clinical trials must be registered in a publicly accessible registry (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov) at or before the time of first patient enrollment. The registration number must be reported in this section.
    • For studies requiring ethics approval, including ethics committee's approval details in this section, with the committee's name blinded for peer review.
    • If informed consent was required, explicitly state whether it was obtained.
  • Results: Present the study's findings and statistical significance without interpretation.
  • Discussion: Discuss implications, relate findings to previous work, address limitations, and provide a conclusion.
• Limits: Maximum total of 6 tables and figures; 20 to 40 references are permitted.

Review

Review articles must provide a comprehensive and critical synthesis of the literature on topics within the Aim and Scope. These articles should not merely summarize existing studies but critically evaluate current knowledge, identify gaps or inconsistencies in the literature, analyze ongoing debates, and propose directions for future research. Where applicable, authors should briefly describe the criteria used for literature selection (e.g., databases searched, keywords, or time frame). Authors with recognized expertise in the relevant field are especially encouraged to submit review manuscripts.

• Abstract: An unstructured abstract (maximum 500 words) summarizing the review's purpose, scope, principal findings, and key conclusions. Followed by Keywords (minimum 3, maximum 6).
• Main Text: The main text has a maximum limit of 5000 words. It should be organized under the following structure: Introduction, Thematic or relevant subject-based headings (including critical analysis of the literature and discussion of strengths, limitations, and controversies where appropriate), and Conclusions.
• Limits: Maximum total of 6 tables and figures; 40 to 80 references are permitted.

Case Report

Case reports must present rare clinical cases, atypical manifestations of common diseases, or innovative diagnostic and therapeutic approaches that contribute to the scientific understanding of the areas defined in the Aim and Scope. These manuscripts should emphasize the clinical significance of the case, providing practical insights and a comparative analysis with the existing literature.

• Abstract: A structured abstract must be provided under the headings Objective, Case Presentation, and Conclusions. It must be no more than 200 words. Followed by Keywords (minimum 3, maximum 6).
• Main Text: The main text (maximum 2000 words) must be structured as: Introduction, Case Presentation, and Discussion.
• Introduction: Briefly explain the rarity, clinical importance, and context of the case within the current literature.
• Case Presentation: Provide detailed information on patient demographics, clinical findings, diagnostic processes, therapeutic interventions, and follow-up outcomes.
• Ethical Considerations: Authors must ensure patient confidentiality. A statement confirming that informed consent was obtained from the patient (or their legal guardian) is mandatory and must be included in this section.
• Discussion: Compare the case with previously reported cases, discuss the implications for clinical practice, and address any challenges or limitations in the management of the case.
• Limits: Maximum total of 5 tables and figures; 5 to 15 references are permitted.

Letter to the Editor

Letters to the Editor provide academic commentary, critique, additional information, or brief perspectives on a published article or a general topic of interest. These letters aim to encourage scientific discourse or highlight a significant point. They should not contain original data but must present arguments consistent with and supported by the existing literature.

• Structure: No abstract is required. The main text should be unstructured but logical. If the letter discusses a previously published article, the original manuscript must be properly cited.
• Limits: Maximum 1500 words. A maximum total of 3 tables and figures is permitted; 5 to 15 references are permitted.
• Review: Letters may be subject to peer review at the discretion of the editor.

Manuscript Formatting Guidelines

Before submitting a manuscript to the journal, authors are strongly encouraged to carefully review the Manuscript Formatting Guidelines.

Manuscripts should be submitted by the corresponding author to the Journal's online submission system.

The manuscripts should meet the following formatting requirements. All submissions must include the following separate files:

1. Title Page: Must be uploaded as a separate file.
2. Blind Manuscript (Main Document): Must not contain any author names or affiliations.
3. Figures: High-resolution files (if applicable).
4. Supplementary Material: If applicable.

Page Format & Style

• File Format: Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx).
• Font: Times New Roman, 12 pt.
• Spacing: Double spacing throughout the text (including abstract, references, and tables).
• Margins: 2.5 cm (1 inch) margins on all sides.
• Page Numbers: Pages should be numbered consecutively at the bottom center.

1. Title Page

Title Page Template

The Title Page should be submitted as a separate file and must include the following information and sections:

• Title: Concise and informative (no abbreviations).
• Short Title: A running head of no more than 70 characters.
• Authors: Author details must be presented as specified under the "Author Information" section below and must be consistent with the information provided in the online submission system.
• Word Count: For the main text (excluding abstract and references).
• Number of tables and figures: Must comply with the table and figure limits specified in the "Article Types".
• Declarations:
• Author Contributions: A brief description of each author's contribution (e.g., Study Design, Data Collection, Analysis).
• Ethics Committee Approval: Name of the committee, date, and approval number (mandatory for studies on human/animal subjects).
• Conflict of Interest: A statement declaring any potential conflicts.
• Financial Disclosure: Sources of funding (Grant numbers, if any).
• Data Availability Statement: A statement on where the data supporting the results can be found.
• Presented or Pre-print or Published as an abstract or as a thesis: If the work has been previously presented, published as an abstract or pre-print, or derived from a thesis, please indicate here.
• Acknowledgements: Acknowledgments should be extended to those individuals or institutions whose contributions to the study were limited or minimal.
• AI Declaration: If Generative AI was used, it must be declared here.

Guidelines for Title Page Content

Please ensure that the specific sections of the Title Page are prepared according to the detailed guidelines below:

Title

The study title should clearly and precisely reflect the content. Titles should not exceed two lines and should use sentence case capitalization, except for proper nouns. Titles should not include abbreviations or acronyms.

A short running title of at most 70 characters (including spaces) should also be provided to print at the top of every other page of the final published article.

Author Information

All authors must be declared at the time of submission and must appear consistently in both the online submission system and the manuscript. The order of authors listed on the Title Page must correspond exactly to the order provided online submission system. Authors are responsible for the accurate and complete declaration of their names and affiliations.

The exact names of the authors should be listed together on the submission's title page, separated by commas.

For each author listed in the manuscript, the following information must be provided and keyed to the authors' names. This information should be placed in the footer of the Title Page:

• Full author names: First name, middle initial(s) (if any), and surname
• Affiliation: Institutional information must be provided in the exact sequence below (in line with the availability). If an author's affiliation has changed, the institution where the research was conducted should be listed, followed by the current affiliation or status, if applicable.
• Department, Institute or Faculty, University or Institution, City, Country
• E-mail address: A valid e-mail address for each author
• ORCID: A valid ORCID (link) for each author

Example:
Jane Doe¹, John Smith², Fatma Yılmaz¹, Mehmet Yılmaz³

Author Contribution

Author contributions must be detailed on the Title Page to ensure transparency. Authors are required to complete the "Authorship Contribution Table" provided in the Title Page template. In this table, contribution roles should be selected based on the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy), while ensuring that all listed authors meet the ICMJE definition of authorship.

Ethics Committee Approval

Studies requiring ethics committee approval must include a statement in the Materials and Methods section of the main document (blinded) and on the Title Page (full details).

• Main Document: "The study was approved by the [BLINDED] Ethics Committee."
• Title Page: "The study was approved by the Hacettepe University Ethics Committee (Date: January 01, 2024, Decision No: 2024-01)."
• For case reports, informed consent must also be declared.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors must declare any potential conflicts of interest on the Title Page. All financial, commercial, legal, or professional relationships that could be perceived as influencing the research or its interpretation should be disclosed.

If there is no conflict of interest, the following statement must be included: "The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest to disclose."

Funding

Authors must disclose all funding and financial support received.

• Standard Wording: "The authors declare that the study received no funding." OR
• "The authors declare that the study is supported/funded by [Name of Institute], grant number: [ABC-12345]."

Data Availability Statement

All authors must include a Data Availability Statement on the Title Page. This statement will be published in the final article. It should state whether the data is available, where it can be found (e.g., a repository link), or explain why it cannot be shared (e.g., privacy or ethical restrictions).

A Data Availability Statement is mandatory for manuscripts that report, generate, or analyze research data. For manuscript types that do not involve the use or generation of research data, inclusion of this statement is not mandatory.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgments should be extended to those individuals or institutions whose contributions to the study were limited or minimal (e.g., technical help, writing assistance, general support). Acknowledgement should be a brief statement included only on the Title Page to ensure blind review.

2. Blind Manuscript (Main Document)

The main document is the file that will be sent to reviewers. It must be anonymized.

• Do not include author names, affiliations, or contact details.
• Do not include the Acknowledgements section in this file (as it may reveal identity).
• Blinding: Use third-person language when referring to your own previous work (e.g., instead of "we showed [Ref]", use "a previous study showed [Ref]"). Mask the name of the institution in the Methods section (e.g., "The study was conducted at [BLINDED]").

The Main Document should appear in the following order:

1. Title
2. Abstract: Unstructured (without subheadings), adhering to the word limits defined in "Article Types".
3. Keywords: 3-6 keywords selected from MeSH (Medical Subject Headings).
4. Main Points: 3 to 5 bullet points highlighting the most significant results and clinical/social implications of the study (Plain language recommended).
5. Main Text: Structured according to the Article Type (e.g., Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion).
6. References: Formatted according to Vancouver (NLM) Style.
7. Figure Legends: Descriptive captions for figures.
8. Tables and Figures: Placed at the end of the main document.
9. Appendices: If applicable.

Guidelines for Main Document Content

The content of the blind manuscript should be prepared according to the specific guidelines and formatting rules provided below:

Title

The study title should clearly and precisely reflect the content. Titles should not exceed two lines and should use sentence case capitalization, except for proper nouns. Titles should not include abbreviations or acronyms.

A short running title of at most 70 characters (including spaces) should also be provided to print at the top of every other page of the final published article.

Abstract

Abstracts should briefly and clearly summarize the objective of the study, methodology, main results, and implications/discussion. The structure of the abstract (structured with specific subheadings or unstructured) must align with the requirements of the submitted manuscript type, as detailed in the "Article Types" table above (e.g., structured with Objective, Materials and Methods, Results, Conclusions subheadings for Research Articles). Abstracts should not include non-standard abbreviations or citations. Abstracts that exceed the word limit specified in the "Article Types" table will not be accepted.

Keywords

Keywords increase the discoverability of articles. Authors should select 3-6 keywords that reflect the scope of the article. Keywords should be selected from MeSH (Medical Subject Headings). Authors can use the MeSH on Demand tool to identify appropriate keywords.

Example: parenteral nutrition, malnutrition, intensive care, clinical outcomes.

Main Points

To ensure the core message of the study is immediately accessible, all manuscripts (excluding Letters to the Editor) must be accompanied by 3 to 5 "Main Points." These points should be presented as a bulleted list and must:

• Highlight the most significant results of the study.
• Emphasize the primary clinical or social implication.
• Be written in clear, plain language that is easily understandable by specialists in the field.

Main Text

The main text should be structured according to the specific guidelines provided under the "Article Types" section above (e.g., Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion for Research Articles).

• Ethics Statement in Main Text: Include a statement in the Materials and Methods section regarding ethics approval, but ensure de-identification (e.g., "The study was approved by the [BLINDED] Ethics Committee.").

Tables and Figures

Visual elements such as tables and figures must be placed at the end of the main document, immediately following the references. They must not be embedded within the main text. However, all tables and figures must be cited consecutively in the body text (e.g., Table 1, Figure 1) in their order of appearance.

• Tables: Must be editable Word tables, not images. Each table should be placed on a separate page. A descriptive title must be provided and placed above the table.
• Figures: Must be high-resolution (min. 300 DPI). Allowed formats: JPEG, TIFF, PNG.
• Captions: Figure captions should be placed below the respective figure.

References

Clinical Science of Nutrition strictly adheres to the Vancouver Style, as outlined in the National Library of Medicine's (NLM) Citing Medicine guide. Authors are responsible for ensuring that all citations and references are accurate, complete, and formatted according to this style.

The use of citation management software, such as Zotero, EndNote, or Mendeley, is highly recommended to ensure accuracy.

1. In-Text Citations

• Numbering: References should be numbered consecutively with superscript Arabic numerals (e.g., ¹, ^2-4) in the order of their first mention in the text.
• Punctuation: Superscript numbers should appear after punctuation marks (periods and commas) and inside colons and semicolons.
• Example 1: Recent studies report that malnutrition significantly affects clinical outcomes.^1,3-5
• Example 2: Weber et al.¹⁰ reported that the new treatment modality...

2. Reference List Formatting Guidelines

All citations in your manuscript must be included in the reference list, and all entries in the reference list must be cited in the text.

• Authors:
• 1 to 6 Authors: List all authors (e.g., Smith AB, Doe J, Roe BC.).
• 7 or More Authors: List the first 3 authors, followed by "et al." (e.g., Rivers CI, Mix MD, Wang K, et al.).
• Titles:
• No Italics: Do not use italics anywhere in the reference list.
• Article and Book Titles: Use sentence case (capitalize only the first word, proper nouns, and the first word after a colon).
• Journal Names: Abbreviate journal names according to the NLM Catalog (PubMed) and capitalize them (e.g., Clin Sci Nutr). Do not use periods in the abbreviation.
• DOI: Include the DOI for all references where available. The preferred format is the URL (e.g., https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx). Do not add a period at the end of the DOI.

3. Examples of Reference Styles

Appendices

Appendices lists, tables, graphics, etc., should be placed separately at the end of the manuscript. Each appendix should be numbered and titled (e.g., Appendix 1. List of Data Collection Tools).

Formula and Equations

For clarity and consistency in formulas and equations, please follow these guidelines:

• Number each formula in parentheses at the end, e.g., (1).
• Use the Word mathematical processor (font size 12pt).
• Present variables in italics and numbers in plain text.

Example: "...as depicted in Equation 1."

Units

• Ensure that all units of measurement are in SI units.
• Use a period in decimal fractions (e.g., 1.24).
• Maintain a single space between the number and the unit (e.g., 4 kg, 22 °C), exceptions: angular definitions (10°), percentages (25%).
• The abbreviation for liter is "L".

Electronic Supplementary Materials

Multimedia files (e.g. video, audio, large datasets) or large datasets can be submitted as Electronic Supplementary Materials.

• Formats: .xlsx, .csv, .jpeg, .avi, .mp4, .pdf.
• Naming: Number consecutively (e.g., ESM_1.pdf).
• Citation: Mention all ESM in the main text.
• Size Limit: Max 128 MB per file.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Clinical Science of Nutrition complies with the current ICMJE and COPE guidelines, and acknowledges guidance from Turkish Council of Higher Education on the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technology.

At submission, the authors must disclose whether they used AI-assisted technologies (such as Large Language Models [LLMs], chatbots [eg. ChatGPT], machine learning, image creators, or similar technologies) in any part of the production of the submitted work. If they did, they must confirm that they take responsibility for the integrity of the generated content. Disclosure of AI use must include the name and manufacturer of the AI tool, the date(s) of use, and how it was used in relation to the manuscript. Authors who use these tools should describe how and where they used them, and to what extent.

If AI were used for writing assistance, this should be stated on the Title Page as a separate declaration. The authors should complete the designated fields on our title page template.

If AI was used for data collection, analysis, or figure generation, this should be described in detail in the Materials and Methods section. It is appropriate to use AI in the collection or analysis only if the methodology has already been approved by an ethics board (for studies requiring ethical approval).

In either case, the use of AI should also be declared in the cover letter.

AI-assisted tools cannot be listed as authors because they cannot be responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the work, cannot determine the presence of conflicts of interest, and these responsibilities are required for authorship (see above, Authorship Criteria). Similarly, AI should not be cited as an author.

Before using any AI-assisted technology, authors should understand how it works, and its potential risks. Authors should carefully review and edit any AI-generated content, as it can produce authoritative-sounding output that may be incorrect, incomplete, or biased. AI can use a wide variety of data as input and produce outputs that may be difficult to trace back to their original source. A mere declaration of AI use is not enough to avoid legal or ethical violations, including plagiarism. Authors must be able to assert that AI has been used to the extent of applicable laws, and that there is no plagiarism in their paper, including in the text and images completely or partly produced by the AI tool. Authors are responsible for all aspects of any submitted material that includes the use of AI-assisted technologies.

Clinical Science of Nutrition conducts plagiarism and AI use checks on all accepted manuscripts prior to publication. We discourage the large-scale use of AI-assisted technology to the extent that the original human contribution to the work is called into question (e.g., large portions of text written almost entirely by AI). Failure to properly disclose the use of AI-assisted technology at submission, both in the cover letter and in the appropriate part of either the title page (for writing assistance) or the main document (for methodology) as described above, may result in the reversal of the acceptance decision or in the retraction of a published manuscript.

This does not include basic tools for checking grammar, spelling, references, etc.

Language Editing

The official language of the journal is English. Manuscripts must be written and submitted in clear, grammatically correct English. Submitted manuscripts should adhere to proper grammar and spelling conventions, and reflect accuracy and consistency with the relevant scientific literature.

Editors may request language editing and proofreading from authors. Accepted articles can be published only after the language editing and proofreading requests are met.

Post-Acceptance and Production Process

Authors are responsible for actively participating in the production process following the acceptance of their manuscript.

Once accepted, the manuscript enters a rigorous production workflow provided by the journal's service provider, Akdema Informatics and Publishing. Timely cooperation from authors is essential to ensure rapid publication.

1. Language Editing & Copyediting: To ensure accuracy, consistency, and readability, accepted manuscripts are professionally edited. Grammar, spelling, and adherence to the journal's style are checked.
2. Reference Checking: All references are verified for accuracy and completeness.
3. Galley Proofs: After the layout and typesetting process, the Galley Proof (PDF) is sent to the corresponding author. This is the final opportunity for authors to check for any typesetting errors, missing figures, or layout issues.
• Authors are expected to return their corrections or approval within 72 hours.
• Major changes to the text or authorship are not permitted at this stage.
• DOI & Publication: Upon final approval by the author, the article is assigned a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) and published online.