Cover letter

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When you submit your article to a journal, you need to include a cover letter. Some journals will provide information about what to include in your cover letter on their Instructions for Authors page.

Please adhere to any guidelines that are provided. Where guidelines are not provided, please use the information below. (If you are submitting your paper via Manuscript Central (ScholarOne Manuscripts) this information will be requested during the submission process.)

A cover letter should include:

• the article title
• the name of the journal
• the full names of all authors, clearly indicating the corresponding author
• the authors' affiliations in full
• correspondence details
• suggested reviewers; providing the name, email address and telephone number
• an explanation of why the manuscript is of interest to the journal and what is novel about it (some journals call this a statement of relevance)
• number of figures
• number of tables
• number of words

If the manuscript has been previously submitted to the journal, state the manuscript ID of the previous submission.

Confirm that the manuscript has been submitted solely to the journal and that it is not published, in press, or submitted elsewhere.

Confirm that all the research meets the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements of the study country.

Confirm that you have prepared:

• (a) complete text
• (b) complete text suitable for anonymous review (see our guidance on anonymous peer review)

Do you have any conflict of interest? If yes, please state.

Confirm that you have seen, read, and understood our guidelines on copyright.

Confirm that the names of all the co-authors have been included in the manuscript and that these co-authors all had an active part in the final manuscript.