Instructions for Authors

TheResearchPost recognizes the importance of the peer-review process to ensure the quality of original research that it publishes and strives to ensure a timely and informed peer review. TheResearchPost strives to comply with accepted best practices for academic publishing. All original submissions to TheResearchPost are managed for editorial and peer review prior to the lead author being permitted to post on the channel upon acceptance.

TheResearchPost encourages submissions of original research posts in multiple academic disciplines across medicine, pharmaceutical research, disease, epidemiology, and healthcare in any therapeutic area.

To submit an original research post for peer-review, at least one of the authors must be a member of TheResearchPost network. Membership is free, and it is recommended that all authors join the network to allow all authors the ability to share and discuss their findings with interested peers and their own research network.

Submission

There is no fee to submit an original research post. Please note that a research post processing charge of $2500 will be assessed for accepted submissions, and invoiced via e-mail to the submitting author member.

Here is the link to Submit an original research post.

Format and Requirements for Submissions

TheResearchPost recognizes that many readers consume academic research in digital format on computer and mobile devices and phones. We encourage authors to format their submissions with this in mind.

Submissions to TheResearchPost must be in English.

Multiple formats are acceptable at the determination of the authors, but generally submissions should be in a format with approximately 12-15 slides using mostly graphs, tables, and figures to convey the study design and results. A limited use of text is recommended. Although text-only submissions are permitted, it is recommended to keep such submissions to a brief report format of less than 800 words.

At this time, TheResearchPost accepts original research post submissions as slide presentations in .pdf format. Contact TheResearchPost for questions about submitting other formats.

When submitting research in slide format, it is recommended to use a straightforward slide template with limited or moderate design elements in the slides, such as a template with a single color background. If submitting slides, it is recommended to convert the slides to .pdf format prior to submission.

At this time, TheResearchPost does not offer a template for formatting submissions, but it is planned for the near future.

Submissions are required to have an abstract. It is recommended, due to the format of the published content, to create a visual abstract in .jpg or .png format summarizing the study for submission that includes the research post title and author names. A key figure from the study may be used as the visual abstract with the title and author names. A structured text abstract is also required as a brief synopsis (175 words maximum) to support indexing services.

Authors should consider TheResearchPost’s peer-reviewed, visual, publishing channel format in developing their submissions. A sample guideline for a clinical trial submission in slide format would be:

• Introduction (1-2 slides)
• Methodology (1-3 slides, with a schematic for the study design). Authors are encouraged to provide adequate details on methodology, including the statistical analysis, to represent the scope of the research.
• Results (5-8 slides with tables, figures, text captions/descriptions/interpretations)
• Discussion and Conclusions (1-3 slides)
• References, Disclosures, Acknowledgements, Links to supplemental information (1-3 slides)

The recommended format for references is that described by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) as based on the National Library of Medicine website on Samples of Formatted References for Authors of Journal Articles.

TheResearchPost is not intended for reporting raw data or large databases, although the authors may include a link to supplemental information in the research post, such as a study protocol, study report, or data tables and figures as appropriate. Some supplementary information may not be peer-reviewed by TheResearchPost.

Research posts reporting studies of human subjects or human data must include a statement showing compliance with ethical research practices. Studies of human subjects should include a statement showing the research was conducted according to the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki, including as related to patient privacy and consent.

The submission should include a statement on institutional review board (IRB) approval of the research project. If no IRB approval was considered necessary, the submission should include a statement explaining why the review board considered the research project to be exempt. For case reports or case studies, submissions must include a statement describing any institutional review board requirements and confirmation of patient consent to publish the data.

Clinical trials submissions should be registered with an acceptable clinical trials registry, such as clinicaltrials.gov or EudraCT, prior to submission to TheResearchPost, and the clinical trial registration number should be included in the research post submission, preferably in the Methods.

Authors should take appropriate necessary steps to protect patient privacy in text, tables, figures, and images/videos prior to submission, particularly for studies involving a low number of patients.

Likewise, submissions that involve research with animals should include a statement confirming compliance with national or international standards for animal research.

Corporate or product logos should not be included in the submission.

At the time of submission, the corresponding author may select a date and time for publication upon acceptance of a research post, for example, so a research post is not published prior to a congress presentation.

Please inquire about submission of a research post that is a data review, opinion or commentary with a brief description of the proposed topic to editor@theresearchpost.com. Where available, members are able to comment on and interact with authors of original research posts in an academic manner consistent with TheResearchPost Terms.

Peer-Review Procedures

Upon submission of a research post, the corresponding author will receive an email confirming the submission has been received, at which time the editorial team will evaluate the article for peer-review. The decision will be made whether to proceed with peer-review. During peer-review, the research post will be held in TheResearchPost moderation stage, during which it cannot be posted on the channel.

TheResearchPost strives for a timely and quality peer-review of submitted research posts and works with editorial staff, advisors, and peer-reviewers to maintain the confidentiality of submitted research posts. Invitations to provide peer-review will be sent by email. When an invitation to review is accepted, TheResearchPost will request comments back within 2 weeks, consistent with our vision of and commitment to timely publication. TheResearchPost content format will allow for timely initial peer-reviews.

TheResearchPost identifies qualified experts to serve as peer-reviewers based on:

• existing relationships and professional collaborations
• literature searches of published or ongoing research related to the submitted content
• recommendations by other experts, colleagues, or, if necessary, the submitting authors

If a peer-reviewer has been invited to review a submission for which the reviewer has a direct or potential conflict of interest (financial, intellectual property, relationship, or other), the peer-reviewer is required to turn down the invitation to review that submission. Conflicts of interest of TheResearchPost staff and editorial board members are based on ICMJE recommendations.

TheResearchPost uses a standard single-blind peer-review method, where the peer-reviewers know the authors’ names and remain confidential to the authors. The peer-reviewers will keep submitted research posts and any supporting materials, such as study protocols or statistical analysis plans, strictly confidential. Peer-reviewers should not maintain copies of any submissions or supporting materials for which they conduct peer-review beyond what is necessary to complete their invited peer-reviews. Peer-reviewers are asked to not seek review support from any colleagues, to not reach out to submitting authors directly during the review process, or to not publicly discuss any of the research post submissions they review prior to publication. It is possible that any submission could be subjected to more than one round of peer-review to gain acceptance.

For submissions that are not accepted, TheResearchPost will delete all submission materials from its editorial system.

During the review process, the editorial team or peer-reviewers may request revisions or additional information to aid in their review, for example, a statistical analysis plan or study synopsis. Such information may be shared with peer-reviewers to support their assessment but will not be published.

Comments from the peer-review and a preliminary assessment or decision will be sent by email to the corresponding author. The corresponding author may, along with co-authors, address any comments by revising the research post and/or submitting a response to address the specific comments. The revised version would need to be resubmitted to TheResearchPost for additional review, including an additional round of peer-review when warranted to ensure comments were adequately addressed prior to a decision on acceptance.

Decisions on acceptance will be based on peer-review recommendations. If necessary following peer-review, members of the editorial board will determine whether to accept a research post submission.

Upon a research post’s acceptance, the publisher will post the research report to the corresponding author’s network page. Upon publication, the author can tag his or her coauthors, the study sponsor, the author’s institutions, or any other collaborators who are members of TheResearchPost. Others, including co-authors, study sponsors, and TheResearchPost network members may share the research post with their own networks and link to social media sites.

Best Practices

TheResearchPost strives to comply with accepted standards for publishing academic research:

• The authors should identify any sources of funding or support for the research.
• Any additional support for developing the research post submission, such as writing, editorial, or statistical support (that does not qualify for authorship), should be acknowledged, as well as any funding for such support.
• Authors should disclose any financial support or arrangements or professional or personal relationships that may be relevant to the submitted research post or general research activities in line with accepted standards in the field of study.

If you have any questions about formatting your submission, please contact the editorial office at editor@theresearchpost.com.