Article types

Systematic Review

Systematic Review articles present a synthesis of previous research, and use clearly defined methods to identify, categorize, analyze and report aggregated evidence on a specific topic. Included in this article type are meta-syntheses, meta-analyses, mapping reviews, scoping reviews, systematic reviews, and systematic reviews with a meta-analysis. Systematic Review articles are peer-reviewed and have a maximum word count of 12,000. Authors are required to pay a fee (A-type article) to publish a Systematic Review article. Systematic Reviews should: clearly define the research question in terms of population, interventions, comparators, outcomes and study designs (PICOS), and state which reporting guidelines were used in the study. For design and reporting, systematic reviews must conform to the reporting guidelines (e.g., PRISMA, Cochrane, Campbell), and include the PRISMA flow diagram http://prisma-statement.org/prismastatement/flowdiagram.aspx (if applicable), as well as funding information (if no specific funding to carry out the research, please state so). Systematic Reviews should have the following format:

1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. Methods (including study design; participants; interventions; comparators; systematic review protocol; search strategy; data sources; study sections and data extraction; data analysis)
4. Results (including a flow diagram of the studies retrieved for the review; study selection and characteristics; synthesized findings; assessment of risk of bias)
5. Discussion (including summary of main findings; limitations; conclusions)

Systematic Reviews must not include unpublished material (unpublished/original data, submitted manuscripts, or personal communications) and may be rejected in review or reclassified, at a significant delay, if found to include such content.

Review

Review articles cover topics that have seen significant development or progress in recent years, with comprehensive depth and a balanced perspective. Reviews should present a complete overview of the state of the art (and should not merely summarize the literature), as well as discuss the following:

1. Different schools of thought or controversies,
2. Fundamental concepts, issues, and problems,
3. Current research gaps
4. Potential developments in the field.

Review articles are peer-reviewed and have a maximum word count of 12,000. Authors are required to pay a fee (A-type article) to publish a Review article. Review articles should have the following format:

1. Abstract,
2. Introduction
3. Subsections relevant for the subject
4. Discussion.

Review articles must not include unpublished material (unpublished/original data, submitted manuscripts, or personal communications) and may be rejected in review or reclassified, at a significant delay, if found to include such content.

Mini Review

Mini Review articles cover focused aspects of a current area of investigation and its recent developments. They offer a succinct and clear summary of the topic, allowing readers to get up-to-date on new developments and/or emerging concepts, as well as discuss the following:

1. Different schools of thought or controversies
2. Current research gaps
3. Potential future developments in the field

Mini Reviews articles are peer-reviewed, have a maximum word count of 3,000 and may contain no more than 2 Figures/Tables. Authors are required to pay a fee (B-type article) to publish a Mini Review article. Mini Review articles should have the following format:

1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. Subsections relevant for the subject
4. Discussion

Mini Review articles must not include unpublished material (unpublished/original data, submitted manuscripts, or personal communications) and may be rejected or reclassified, at a significant delay, if found to include such content.

Opinion

Opinion articles allow authors to contribute viewpoints on the interpretation of recent findings in any research area, value of the methods used, as well as weaknesses and strengths of scientific hypotheses. They should abide to the following guidelines: not contain unpublished or original data, be supported by evidence, be fully referenced, encourage constructive discussion, refrain from emotionally-charged argumentation. Opinion articles are peer-reviewed and have a maximum word count of 2,000 and may contain no more than 1 Figure/Table. Authors are required to pay a fee (C-type article) to publish an Opinion article. Opinion articles should have the following format:

1. Introduction
2. Subsections relevant for the subject
3. Discussion

Editorial

Editorials are submitted exclusively by the host editor(s) of a Frontiers Research Topic, to convey to the reader the aims and objectives of the research that pertains to the topic, as well as placing it in a broader context. The Editorial should present the contributing articles of the Research Topic but should not be a mere table of contents. As the final contributing article to the Research Topic, Editorials should be submitted once all expected articles have been accepted and published. Editorials should not include unpublished or original data and the inclusion of references is strongly encouraged. Editorial articles may contain 1 Figure and have a word count of 1,000 for Topics with 5-10 articles. The word limit can be increased for each additional article in the Topic, up to a maximum of 5,000 words for 50 articles or more. Topic editors are not required to pay a fee to publish an Editorial article. Submissions are required to have the title Editorial: "Title of Research Topic".

FAIR² Data

Frontiers FAIR² Data Management provides researchers with a streamlined way to fulfil FAIR data management requirements while gaining scholarly credit. Submitting through the platform gives researchers access to an AI-powered system that enhances curation, aligning datasets with the FAIR Guiding Principles (see: https://www.go-fair.org/fair-principles/) and the FAIR² Open Specification (see: https://fair2.ai), governed by the FAIR² Alliance. This specification ensures datasets are AI-ready, ethically aligned, and enriched with context to support responsible reuse, meeting and exceeding funder expectations. At the heart of the process is Clara, an AI assistant for data preparation, who guides authors through curation, organization, and cleaning while also drafting the FAIR² Data Article and creating a FAIR² Data Portal. Authors retain full control, while this structured approach boosts dataset visibility and research value. The service supports the full data lifecycle — curation, documentation, publication, preservation, and reuse. Each submission includes lifetime data hosting (up to 50 GB in the base price), supported by persistent identifiers, redundant backups, and open standards to ensure durability and accessibility. Every dataset is accompanied by a peer-reviewed, citable Data Article. These are capped at 12,000 words and may include up to 15 figures or tables, ensuring recognition and long-term visibility. Further analyses or new insights can be submitted later as research articles, provided the original Data Article is cited and contributors acknowledged. Supported formats currently include tidy spreadsheets (see: https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v059.i10) and CSV files. Submissions must comply with Frontiers' editorial and ethics policies (see: https://www.frontiersin.org/guidelines/policies-and-publication-ethics) and guidelines for AI use in publication (see: https://www.frontiersin.org/guidelines/author-guidelines).