Create a declaration evidence sheet
For every required statement, record the information source and the author who will confirm it. Useful sources include grant records, approval letters, consent procedures, contributor agreements and data-management documents. Keep reference numbers and dates consistent across files.
Describe funding and interests accurately
Use the funder’s required acknowledgement wording when applicable and verify grant identifiers. Distinguish funding from other support and describe the funder’s role if the journal asks. Each author should review the journal’s competing-interest questions rather than relying on a blanket assumption.
Write a truthful data-availability statement
State what can be accessed, where, under what conditions and why any restrictions apply. Do not promise open data that consent or agreements prohibit. A request-based route should identify a real process and responsible contact, not an unsupported statement that data are “available” indefinitely.
Reconcile the submission package
Check the title page, manuscript, portal fields and supplementary files for contradictions. Confirm ethics, consent and registration information with the investigators. Never invent an approval number or imply that an approval covers work outside its actual scope.