Manuscript Type

The Indonesian Journal of Acupuncture accepts scholarly manuscripts that contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge and evidence-based practice in acupuncture and related therapeutic modalities, including acupressure, moxibustion, Tuina, and relevant herbal medicine research. All submissions must fall within the journal's focus and scope, demonstrate scientific rigor, and comply with the journal's author guidelines and publication ethics policies.

The journal accepts the following manuscript types:

1. Original Research Articles

Original Research Articles report findings from original scientific investigations related to acupuncture and associated therapeutic modalities. Eligible studies include clinical trials, observational studies, experimental research, diagnostic and measurement studies, and other appropriate quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods investigations.

Manuscripts should present a clear research objective, an appropriate study design and methodology, transparent data collection and analysis procedures, results, a critical discussion, and conclusions supported by the findings. Authors must report relevant research ethics approval, informed consent, and clinical trial registration, where applicable. Manuscripts should follow appropriate research reporting guidelines according to their study design.

2. Review Articles

Review Articles provide a critical evaluation and synthesis of existing scientific evidence relevant to acupuncture and related therapeutic modalities. The journal welcomes systematic reviews, meta-analyses, scoping reviews, and other rigorous evidence-based literature reviews.

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses should employ transparent, reproducible methods and follow relevant reporting guidelines, such as the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), where applicable. Manuscripts should clearly describe their research objectives, information sources, search strategies, eligibility criteria, study selection procedures, data extraction, and methods of quality or risk-of-bias assessment and evidence synthesis, as appropriate to the review design.

Meta-analyses must use appropriate statistical methods and report relevant effect estimates, measures of uncertainty, and assessments of heterogeneity where applicable. Reviews should critically evaluate the available evidence, identify research gaps, acknowledge methodological limitations, and discuss implications for clinical practice and future research. Systematic reviews without quantitative meta-analysis are also eligible when their methodology and evidence synthesis are appropriate.

3. Case Reports and Case Series

Case Reports and Case Series describe clinically relevant observations involving acupuncture and related therapeutic modalities. Eligible submissions may address unusual clinical presentations, noteworthy therapeutic applications, treatment outcomes, adverse events, or other observations that provide meaningful insights for clinical practice and future research.

Manuscripts should provide relevant clinical information, a clear description of the intervention, the observed outcomes, and a discussion of clinical significance and limitations. Authors must protect patient confidentiality and provide documented informed consent for publication, as required by applicable ethical standards and journal policy. Reports should follow relevant reporting guidelines, such as the CARE guidelines, where applicable.

General Requirements

All manuscripts must be original, relevant to the journal's focus and scope, and not previously published or simultaneously submitted to another journal. Authors are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of their work, appropriate acknowledgment of sources, compliance with research ethics requirements, and adherence to the journal's formatting and reference guidelines.

The editorial team conducts an initial assessment of each submission to determine its suitability for the journal and the designated manuscript category. Submissions may be returned for correction or rejected if they do not meet the journal's scope, methodological, ethical, or editorial requirements. Manuscripts that pass the initial assessment are processed according to the journal's peer review procedures.