Purpose and Status
This is a Journal Implementation Standard: LMI defines the requirement; each journal implements it through its own author instructions, submission system and editorial workflow.
The Standard
Each journal operating under the LMI publishing framework shall require authors to prepare research reports in accordance with the reporting guideline appropriate to the study design, and shall verify adherence proportionate to the article type before acceptance.
Selecting the Guideline
Selection follows the design of the study reported, not the journal's subject area or the author's preference. Recognised guidance is catalogued by the EQUATOR Network, and commonly applicable guidelines include CONSORT for randomised trials, PRISMA for systematic reviews and meta-analyses, STROBE for observational studies, STARD for diagnostic accuracy studies, CARE for case reports, ARRIVE for animal research, SRQR and COREQ for qualitative research, SPIRIT for protocols and TRIPOD for prediction-model studies. This list is illustrative and not exhaustive; where a design is not covered by a listed guideline, the journal shall identify appropriate guidance or require an equivalent standard of complete reporting. Authors and journals shall use the current version of the selected guideline; where a guideline is updated, the current version applies to new submissions.
Journal Implementation
Each journal determines and publishes: which guidelines it requires for which article types; whether completed checklists, flow diagrams or protocol references must be submitted, and at what stage; how adherence is verified and by whom; and how deficiencies are addressed before acceptance. These operational matters are not prescribed by LMI.
Interpretation
Adherence to a reporting guideline improves the completeness and transparency of reporting; it does not by itself establish that a study was well designed, correctly analysed or ethically conducted, and a completed checklist shall never substitute for editorial and peer assessment of methodological quality (B2). Conversely, incomplete reporting that can be remedied is ordinarily addressed by requiring revision rather than by rejection alone.