Submissions

Author Guidelines

Before Submission

Authors should submit manuscripts that fit the journal scope and are not under consideration by another journal. The title page should include all author names and affiliations, corresponding author contact details, funding information, competing interests, data availability, ethics approval details where relevant, and author contributions.

Article Types and Length

Open Applied Science may consider application papers, methods reports, technical validations, open datasets, registered replications, and reviews. The journal does not set a rigid launch-stage word limit, but authors should match article length to evidence. Short reports must still contain enough method detail for evaluation; reviews must state their search or selection logic.

Manuscript Structure

Research articles should normally include:

• title, abstract, keywords, and a concise statement of the research gap
• methods or study design with enough detail for assessment
• results presented without selective reporting
• discussion that separates evidence from interpretation
• limitations, data availability, author contributions, competing interests, funding, and references

For this journal, authors should additionally address open-method description, technical validation, and reuse conditions. Manuscripts that use specialised reporting standards should include the relevant checklist as supplementary material.

Required Statements

Each submission should include:

• data and materials availability
• code availability where applicable
• ethics
• funding
• conflicts of interest

Data, Code, Materials, and Supplementary Files

The journal expects reusable data, code, protocols, materials, and validation records whenever legal, ethical, and practical conditions allow. Suitable supplementary material may include protocols, repositories, validation sheets, data dictionaries, and materials inventories. Files should be named clearly, cited from the manuscript, and versioned where possible.

Formatting and References

The launch office may accept Word, LaTeX, or OJS-compatible source files. A complete consistent style is acceptable; final articles should include persistent identifiers for data, code, and protocols. Figures should be readable at single-column width, tables should be editable where possible, and abbreviations should be defined at first use.

Research Integrity and AI Use

Authors must identify prior dissemination, preprints, related submissions, reused figures, and any third-party material. Use of generative AI tools must be disclosed when they materially assisted drafting, coding, image generation, translation, data extraction, or analysis. AI tools cannot be listed as authors.

Editorial Screening

Submissions may be returned before review if they are outside scope, lack required statements, contain excessive overlap, use unverifiable data, or do not meet minimal scholarly standards for open applied science. In particular, submissions may be returned if they use open-science language without sharing usable materials or explaining restrictions.