Guidelines for Publication of Supplemental Material

Updated 08 December 2023

Authors are free to submit certain types of supplemental material for online-only publication. If the manuscript is accepted for publication, such material will be published online on the journal’s web site, linked to the article. However, such material must be supplemental and cannot be essential for the reader to understand the manuscript. Please see the Submission Guidelines and Contributor FAQ for additional information.

Note that these guidelines refer to supplemental material intended for online publication with an article. Authors may also upload supplemental material intended only to aid reviewers. Please follow the instructions in the submission system to ensure that files are given the proper designation during the submission process.

Video files can be submitted in QuickTime (*.mov), MPEG Movie (*.mpg), and Microsoft AVI Video (*.avi); acceptable audio files include Windows Media Player (*.wma) and MP3 (*.mp3). Signed release from all people shown in still images and audio and video clips is required; please use the Audio/Visual Likeness Release Form for this purpose. If the source of the images allows them to be used without prior permission (e.g., Thinkstock), documentation of this blanket permission (e.g., a URL) should be provided. In addition, if copyrighted material is included in Supplemental Material, documentation of permission to post it must be submitted.

It is preferable for supplemental figures and tables to be included in a single file along with any supplemental text, although multiple files are allowed. Tables, figures, and videos should be numbered separately, with the prefix “S” (e.g., Table S1, Table S2, etc; not Supplementary Table 1, Supplementary Table 2). The caption for a supplemental figure must be in the same file with the figure itself.

If an article will have multiple supplemental files, each must be given a descriptive name that differentiates its content (e.g., Supplemental Method, Model Specifications). If an article will have just one supplemental file, it can be named Supplemental Material or named more specifically. Citations of Supplemental Material in the manuscript should be sufficiently specific to allow readers to easily locate what is being cited. For example, if there are multiple supplemental files, a citation should give the name of the file in question (e.g., “see Model Specifications in the Supplemental Material available online”). Even when there is just one supplemental file, if it has many sections, it is preferable for an in-text citation to point readers to the appropriate section (e.g., “Table S1 in the Supplemental Material presents findings for individual scenarios,” “see Pilot Study in the Supplemental Material”).

If you have questions about how to label your Supplemental Material, feel free to e-mail us at [email protected].