Submission Checklist
Before submitting your manuscript to the SAPS, please ensure that the following criteria have been met. Manuscripts not adhering to these guidelines may be returned without review.
Manuscript Preparation
• The manuscript is prepared in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx).
• The title page includes the full title of the manuscript, full names of all authors, their institutional affiliations, and complete contact details of the corresponding author.
• The abstract does not exceed 300 words and is structured (for original research) or unstructured (for reviews).
• Four to six relevant keywords are provided immediately after the abstract.
• The manuscript is organized according to the journal format.
• All figures and tables are embedded at appropriate positions within the manuscript.
• All figures are also submitted separately as high-resolution files (TIFF, JPEG, or PNG format, minimum 300 dpi).
• Each figure includes a descriptive legend placed below the image; each table includes a title or caption placed above the table.
• The manuscript has been written in clear, grammatically correct English.
• Author Contributions Statement
• Data Availability Statement
• All in-text citations are numbered in order of appearance using square brackets [ ], and references are listed in Vancouver style at the end of the manuscript.
• References are correctly formatted, complete, and use official journal abbreviations.
Ethical and Legal Compliance
• For studies involving human participants, ethical approval from a recognized ethics committee has been obtained, and written informed consent has been collected where necessary.
• For studies involving animals, approval from an Institutional Animal Ethics Committee (IAEC) or equivalent has been obtained, and ethical animal handling procedures have been followed.
• If the study did not involve human or animal subjects, a clear statement to that effect is included in the manuscript.
• No identifying information or images of patients are used without written consent.
• All potential conflicts of interest have been disclosed, or a statement such as “The authors declare no conflicts of interest” is included.
• Any funding received for the study is disclosed under the "Funding Disclosure" section.
• The manuscript does not contain plagiarized content, and all sources of ideas, data, figures, and methods have been appropriately cited.
• If applicable, the clinical trial registration number is provided.
• Disclosure of AI use
Publishing Policy Compliance
• This manuscript is original and has not been previously published or submitted to another journal.
• All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
• All contributors have agreed upon the order of authorship.
• The authors agree to publish the article under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), retaining copyright while allowing open access reuse.
• Any figures, tables, or illustrations reproduced from previously published material are accompanied by permission or proper attribution.
Submission Language
All manuscripts submitted to the SAPS must be written in clear, concise, and grammatically correct English. We accept submissions in Standard British or American English, but authors must maintain consistency throughout the entire manuscript.
Language Quality Requirements:
• The manuscript must be written in formal academic English with appropriate scientific terminology and syntax.
• The language should be free from spelling, grammatical, and typographical errors.
• Sentences should be well-structured and easy to follow, with appropriate transitions and scientific clarity.
• Use of professional tone is essential; avoid overly casual, vague, or ambiguous language.
Tip:
Before submission, we recommend:
• Running the manuscript through grammar and style-checking tools like Grammarly.
• Having a colleague or mentor review the manuscript for clarity.
Manuscripts that do not meet the minimum language quality standards may be rejected or delayed during the editorial process.
