Overview Submission Instructions Recent Publications Frequently Asked Questions

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PLOS One

PLOS One is a multidisciplinary open-access journal published online with ISSN 1932-6203. The journal highlights research across a wide range of subject areas and provides journal-specific submission links and contact options.

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Open Access Type Open

eISSN 1932-6203

Invitation Only No

Cost Range PLOS One APCs: Registered Report Protocol $1,852; Registered Report Article $1,088; Lab Protocols $1,536; Study Protocols $2,477; all other articles $2,477. Research4Life and fee assistance programs may reduce or eliminate fees for eligible authors.

Submission Instructions

PLOS One accepts the following article types. Click on an article type to view submission instructions.

Research Articles

Cover Letter A cover letter is required as a separate file and must not exceed 1 page. The cover letter must summarize the study’s contribution to the scientific literature, relate the study to previously published work, specify the article type, and describe any prior interactions with PLOS regarding the manuscript.

Abstract An abstract is required and must appear after the title page in the manuscript file. The abstract must not exceed 300 words. The abstract is unstructured.

Manuscript Manuscripts can be any length. Research Articles typically use the headings Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusions. The manuscript must include a title page first, list Acknowledgments, References, and supporting information captions at the end in that order, and clearly report any AI tool contributions in a dedicated Methods section.

References References must use Vancouver style. References must be listed at the end of the manuscript, numbered in order of first appearance, cited in square brackets in the text, and use NCBI journal name abbreviations.

Figures & Tables Figure files must be uploaded separately with captions placed in the manuscript after first citation, while tables must be inserted in the manuscript immediately after first citation and not submitted as separate files. Tables must be editable cell-based objects with a label and brief descriptive title above each table.

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Systematic Reviews

Cover Letter A cover letter must be uploaded as a separate file. The cover letter must state that the article is a systematic review or a meta-analysis, summarize the study’s contribution to the scientific literature, relate the study to previously published work, specify the article type, and describe any prior interactions with PLOS regarding the submitted manuscript.

Abstract An abstract is required. The abstract must not exceed 300 words. The abstract is unstructured. The abstract must describe the main objectives, explain how the study was done without methodological detail, summarize the most important results and their significance, and include the registry number if a protocol exists for the systematic review.

Manuscript Manuscripts can be any length. The manuscript must begin with a title page, abstract, and introduction in that order, and the subtitle must include the study design. The manuscript must include a completed PRISMA checklist and PRISMA flow diagram to accompany the main text, state in the Methods section whether a protocol exists for the systematic review, disclose AI contributions in a dedicated Methods section or in the Acknowledgments, and include supporting information captions at the end.

References References must use Vancouver style. References must be listed at the end of the manuscript, numbered in the order of first appearance, cited in the text in square brackets, and use NCBI journal name abbreviations.

Figures & Tables Figure files must be uploaded separately and not included in the main manuscript file, while tables must be inserted in the manuscript immediately after the first paragraph in which they are cited and not submitted as separate files. Figure captions must be placed in the manuscript immediately after the first paragraph citing the figure, and each table must have a label and brief descriptive title placed above the table.

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Meta-Analyses

Cover Letter A cover letter must be uploaded, and it must state that the article is a systematic review or a meta-analysis. The cover letter must summarize the study’s contribution to the scientific literature, relate the study to previously published work, specify the article type as a systematic review or meta-analysis, and describe any prior interactions with PLOS regarding the manuscript.

Abstract An abstract is required. The abstract must not exceed 300 words. The abstract must describe the study objectives, explain how the study was done without methodological detail, summarize the most important results and their significance, and include the registry number if a systematic review protocol exists.

Manuscript Manuscripts can be any length. The manuscript must begin with a title page, abstract, and introduction in that order, and the subtitle must include the study design. The manuscript must include a completed PRISMA checklist and PRISMA flow diagram with the main text, state in the Methods section whether a systematic review protocol exists, include a copy of the protocol as supporting information if one exists, and disclose AI contributions in a dedicated Methods section or in the Acknowledgments if there is no Methods section.

References References must use Vancouver style. References must be listed at the end of the manuscript, numbered in the order of first appearance in the text, cited in square brackets, and use NCBI journal name abbreviations.

Figures & Tables Figure files must be uploaded separately with captions inserted in the manuscript immediately after the first paragraph where each figure is cited, while tables must be inserted in the manuscript immediately after the first paragraph where each table is cited and must not be submitted as separate files. Tables must be editable cell-based objects with a label and brief descriptive title above each table, and figure captions must use Arabic-numbered labels abbreviated as “Fig” and include a concise descriptive title.

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Clinical Trials

Cover Letter Cover letter must be uploaded as a separate file and must not exceed 1 page. Cover letter must summarize the study’s contribution to the scientific literature, relate the study to previously published work, specify the article type, and describe any prior interactions with PLOS regarding the manuscript.

Abstract Abstract is required and must include the trial registry name and registration number. Abstract must not exceed 300 words. Abstract must be unstructured.

Manuscript Manuscripts can be any length. Manuscript must begin with a title page, abstract, and introduction in that order, and the subtitle must include the study design. Manuscript must include registration details in the abstract, explain any deviation from the trial protocol, include information on statistical methods or participants not provided in the CONSORT documentation, and report AI contributions in a dedicated Methods section or in the Acknowledgments if no Methods section is present.

References References must use Vancouver style. References must be numbered in the order cited, listed at the end of the manuscript, and cited in the text using square brackets.

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Registered Report

Cover Letter A cover letter is required and must be uploaded as a separate file. The cover letter must summarize the study's contribution to the scientific literature, relate the study to previously published work, specify the article type, and describe any prior interactions with PLOS regarding the manuscript.

Abstract An abstract is required. The abstract must not exceed 300 words. The abstract structure type is not specified.

Manuscript Manuscripts can be any length. The manuscript must begin with a title page, abstract, and introduction in that order and must describe the full study and its findings upon completion, including the methods information originally outlined in the Registered Report Protocol. The manuscript must report the results of all planned analyses, detail and justify any deviations from the protocol, and clearly report contributions of AI tools and technologies in a dedicated Methods section or in the Acknowledgments if there is no Methods section.

References References must use Vancouver style. References must be listed at the end of the manuscript, numbered in the order of first appearance, and cited in the text using square brackets.

Figures & Tables Figure files must be uploaded separately with captions placed in the manuscript, while tables must be inserted in the manuscript immediately after the first paragraph in which they are cited. Tables must be editable cell-based objects and each table and figure must include a label and a brief descriptive title or concise descriptive caption.

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Collection Reviews

Cover Letter A cover letter must be uploaded as a separate file in the online submission system. The cover letter must summarize the study’s contribution to the scientific literature, relate the study to previously published work, specify the article type, and describe any prior interactions with PLOS regarding the manuscript.

Abstract An abstract is required and must appear after the title page in the manuscript file and be entered in a separate field in the submission system. The abstract must not exceed 300 words. The abstract structure type is not specified beyond being presented as an abstract.

Manuscript Manuscripts can be any length. The manuscript must begin with a title page, abstract, and an introduction summarizing the background of the topic and the purpose of the review, and it should include a conclusion outlining key points plus discussion of implications to the field and recommendations where possible. The manuscript must include supporting information captions at the end, and any use of AI tools and technologies must be disclosed in a dedicated section of the Methods or in the Acknowledgements if there is no Methods section.

Figures & Tables Figure files must be uploaded separately with captions placed in the manuscript after first citation, while tables must be inserted in the manuscript immediately after the first paragraph in which they are cited and not submitted as separate files. Each table must have a label and brief descriptive title above it, and figure captions must include an Arabic numeral label using the abbreviation “Fig” and a concise descriptive title.

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Original Research

Cover Letter A cover letter is required and must be uploaded as a separate file with the submission. The cover letter must be no more than one page and must summarize the study’s contribution, relate it to previously published work, specify the article type, and describe any prior interactions with PLOS regarding the manuscript.

Abstract An abstract is required and must appear after the title page in the manuscript file and also be entered in the submission system. The abstract must not exceed 300 words. The abstract must be unstructured.

Manuscript Manuscripts can be any length. The manuscript must begin with a title page, abstract, and introduction in that order and end with Acknowledgments, References, and supporting information captions in that order. The manuscript must include a dedicated Methods or Acknowledgements disclosure of any AI tool contributions.

References References must use Vancouver style. References must be listed at the end of the manuscript, numbered in order of first appearance, cited in the text in square brackets, and use NCBI journal name abbreviations.

Figures & Tables Figure files must be uploaded separately with captions placed in the manuscript, while tables must be inserted in the manuscript immediately after the first paragraph in which they are cited and not submitted as separate files. Figures must not be included in the main manuscript file, and tables in the main article must be editable cell-based objects with a label and brief descriptive title placed above each table.

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Qualitative Research

Cover Letter A cover letter is required and must be uploaded as a separate file. The cover letter must summarize the study’s contribution to the scientific literature, relate the study to previously published work, specify the article type, and describe any prior interactions with PLOS regarding the manuscript.

Abstract An abstract is required. The abstract must not exceed 300 words. The abstract structure type is not specified.

Manuscript Manuscripts can be any length. The manuscript must begin with a title page, abstract, and introduction in that order and end with Acknowledgments, References, and supporting information captions in that order. A dedicated section in the Methods or, for article types lacking a Methods section, the Acknowledgments must report any contributions made by AI tools and technologies.

References References must use Vancouver style. References must be listed at the end of the manuscript, numbered in the order of first appearance, cited in square brackets in the text, and use NCBI journal name abbreviations.

Figures & Tables Figure files must be uploaded separately with captions placed in the manuscript after the first paragraph where each figure is cited, while tables must be inserted in the manuscript immediately after the first paragraph where they are cited and not submitted as separate files. Each table must have a label and brief descriptive title above it, and figure captions must include an Arabic numeral label using the abbreviation “Fig” and a concise descriptive title.

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Primary Research

Cover Letter A cover letter is required and must be uploaded as a separate file. The cover letter must be no more than 1 page and must summarize the study’s contribution to the scientific literature, relate the study to previously published work, specify the article type, and describe any prior interactions with PLOS regarding the manuscript.

Abstract An abstract is required. The abstract must not exceed 300 words. The abstract structure type is not explicitly specified. The abstract must describe the study objectives, explain how the study was done including any model organisms used without methodological detail, and summarize the most important results and their significance.

Manuscript Manuscripts can be any length. The manuscript must begin with a title page, abstract, and introduction in that order and end with Acknowledgments, References, and supporting information captions in that order. The manuscript must include a dedicated Methods or Acknowledgments disclosure of any AI tool contributions.

References References must use Vancouver style. References must be listed at the end of the manuscript, numbered in the order of appearance, cited in the text using square-bracketed numbers, and use NCBI journal name abbreviations.

Figures & Tables Figure files must be uploaded separately with captions placed in the manuscript after first citation, while tables must be inserted in the manuscript immediately after first citation and not submitted as separate files. Tables in the main article must be editable cell-based objects, and measurement units must be clearly defined in all tables and figures.

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Registered Report Protocol

Cover Letter A cover letter is required as a separate file. The cover letter must summarize the study’s contribution, relate it to previously published work, specify the article type, and describe any prior interactions with PLOS regarding the manuscript.

Abstract An abstract is required. Abstract must not exceed 300 words. An unstructured abstract is required.

Manuscript No manuscript length limit is stated for this article type. The manuscript must begin with a title page, abstract, and introduction and, for this article type, must describe the study design, rationale, timeline, and proposed methodology for data collection and analysis before experiments, data collection, or patient recruitment. The manuscript must include a dedicated Methods or Acknowledgments disclosure of any AI tool contributions, and articles that do not report data must state in the Data Availability Statement that no data are reported and the data availability policy does not apply.

References References must use Vancouver style. References must be listed at the end of the manuscript, numbered in order of first appearance, and cited in the text using square brackets.

Figures & Tables Figure files must be uploaded separately and not included in the main manuscript file, whereas tables must be inserted in the manuscript immediately after the first paragraph in which they are cited. Figure captions must be placed in the manuscript immediately after first citation, and each table must include a label and brief descriptive title above the table.

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Submissions Describing Methods, Software, Databases, Or Other Tools

Cover Letter A cover letter is required as a separate file and must not exceed 1 page. The cover letter must summarize the study’s contribution to the scientific literature, relate it to previously published work, specify the article type, and describe any prior interactions with PLOS regarding the manuscript.

Abstract An abstract is required and must appear after the title page in the manuscript and also be entered in the submission system. The abstract must not exceed 300 words. The abstract is unstructured.

Manuscript Manuscripts can be any length. The manuscript must begin with a title page, abstract, and introduction in that order and end with Acknowledgments, References, and supporting information captions in that order. Software submissions must provide full algorithm details, dependencies on commercial products or operating systems, details of supplied test data, installation and running instructions, and a direct link to the deposited software within the paper; database submissions must provide data curation details, long-term maintenance/growth/stability plans, and a direct link to the database hosting site; contributions of AI tools must be clearly reported in a dedicated Methods section or in the Acknowledgements.

Figures & Tables Figure files must be uploaded separately with captions placed in the manuscript immediately after the first paragraph where cited, while tables must be inserted in the manuscript immediately after the first paragraph where cited and not uploaded as separate files. Tables must be editable cell-based objects with a label and brief descriptive title above each table, and figures and tables must be cited in ascending numeric order on first appearance.

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Studies Reporting Negative Results

Cover Letter A cover letter must be uploaded as a separate file and must not exceed 1 page. The cover letter must summarize the study’s contribution to the scientific literature, relate the study to previously published work, specify the article type, and describe any prior interactions with PLOS regarding the manuscript.

Abstract An abstract is required. The abstract must not exceed 300 words. The abstract must be unstructured.

Manuscript Manuscripts can be any length. The manuscript must begin with a title page, abstract, and introduction in that order, and end with Acknowledgments, References, and supporting information captions in that order. The manuscript must include a dedicated section in the Methods or Acknowledgments disclosing any contributions made by AI tools and technologies to the study or article contents.

Figures & Tables Figure files must be uploaded separately with captions placed in the manuscript, while tables must be inserted in the manuscript immediately after the first paragraph in which they are cited and not submitted as separate files. Figures must not be included in the main manuscript file, and each table must have a label and brief descriptive title placed above the table.

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Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to publish?

Median times for Jan–Jun 2023 were 17 days to first editorial decision, 45 days to first decision, 87 days to final decision, 188 days to acceptance, 204 days to publication, and 10 days from acceptance to publication.

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Is a cover letter required?

A cover letter is required and must be uploaded as a separate file in the online system. The limit is 1 page and it should summarize the study's contribution, relate it to previous work, specify the article type, describe prior interactions with PLOS, suggest appropriate Academic Editors, and list any opposed reviewers.

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What are the publication costs?

PLOS One article processing charges are $1,852 for Registered Report Protocols, $1,088 for Registered Report Articles, $1,536 for Lab Protocols, and $2,477 for Study Protocols and all other articles.

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