Marble submission guide

Marble submission guide

This guide provides detailed instructions to help you prepare and format your Marble for submission to Research Agora. Don’t be intimidated—it's long because we want to make your submission as smooth as possible! The process itself is simple and fast, designed to minimize your workload.

General Information

General Information

  • Marbles must be linked to a published research article (via DOI).
  • Marbles follow a structured format to ensure clarity, transparency, and reproducibility.
  • All Marbles undergo peer review.
  • Approved Marbles receive a unique identifier and are linked to the original article.
  • Only one figure can be included per Marble. However, this figure may summarize multiple findings.
Copyright and Licensing
By submitting to Research Agora, you agree to publish your Marble under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. This allows others to share and adapt your work, provided they give appropriate credit. Before submission, ensure you have the necessary rights for all included content, such as figures or images. If your submission contains previously published material, ensure you have obtained the appropriate permissions.

Marble structure

Marble structure

Each Marble must contain the following sections:
  1. Marble Classification
  2. Corresponding Author & Linked Article Information

  3. Marble Formatting

  4. Figures & Statistics

  5. Additional Information

  6. Submission

  1. Marble Classification
Begin by selecting the type of Marble that best represents your work. Answer the following questions to determine the appropriate classification. Answer the following questions to select the type of your Marble:
  • Are you testing a hypothesis that does not appear in the article?
If yes:
  • Is the hypothesis confirmed?
If not:
  • Are methods the same?
  • Are materials the same? Please note that, while changes in materials do not affect the classification of a Marble, any deviation from the materials used in the original article must be reported in the corresponding section.
  • Is the result different from the one described in the article?
  • Are you testing a hypothesis that does not appear in the article?
If yes:
  • Is the hypothesis confirmed?
If not:
  • Are methods the same?
  • Are materials the same? Please note that, while changes in materials do not affect the classification of a Marble, any deviation from the materials used in the original article must be reported in the corresponding section.
  • Is the result different from the one described in the article?
  • Are you testing a hypothesis that does not appear in the article?
If yes:
  • Is the hypothesis confirmed?
If not:
  • Are methods the same?
  • Are materials the same? Please note that, while changes in materials do not affect the classification of a Marble, any deviation from the materials used in the original article must be reported in the corresponding section.
  • Is the result different from the one described in the article?
Select the Marble type that best suits your data based on these answers. Please find below a summarized guide for each type:
Replicate
Repeat the exact experiment and confirm the results of an existing research article.
New hypothesis
Same methods
Same results
Flag
Repeat the exact experiment but find different results than in the original research article.
New hypothesis
Same methods
Same results
Confirmation
Validate the same hypothesis under different experimental conditions
New hypothesis
Same methods
Same results
Build on
Extend or modify the original study by testing and confirming a new hypothesis.
New hypothesis
Confirms hypothesis
Dead-end
Share negative results to prevent repeated efforts on failed hypotheses.
New hypothesis
Confirms hypothesis
Replicate
Repeat the exact experiment and confirm the results of an existing research article.
New hypothesis
Same methods
Same results
Flag
Repeat the exact experiment but find different results than in the original research article.
New hypothesis
Same methods
Same results
Confirmation
Validate the same hypothesis under different experimental conditions
New hypothesis
Same methods
Same results
Build on
Extend or modify the original study by testing and confirming a new hypothesis.
New hypothesis
Confirms hypothesis
Dead end
Share negative results to prevent repeated efforts on failed hypotheses.
New hypothesis
Confirms hypothesis
If you are still unsure, check the classification guide or contact us and we will be happy to assist you in the submission process.
  1. Corresponding Author and Linked Article Information
Once you have selected the type of Marble that you want to submit, provide some information about the article the Marble is linked to.
Corresponding author email
Please provide the institutional email of the corresponding author of the Marble, that is, the person responsible for submission, payment, and correspondence with Research Agora.
DOI
Provide the Digital Object Identifier of the published research article your Marble is based on.
Figure number(s) related to your Marble
Provide the figure number(s) of the linked article that your Marble addresses. Even though Marbles only have one figure, it may address several figures from the linked article.
  1. Marble formatting
  • Marble written sections are designed to be as concise and structured as possible.
  • Use clear, professional language and avoid redundancy.
  • Submissions are currently only available in English. However, we are working on making it possible to report in other languages to avoid bias for non-native speakers. Stay tuned!

  • Please note that some of these sections are specific for a Marble type. You can check the submission form of each Marble type here: Replicate, Flag, Confirmation, Build on, Dead end.

Title
For Replicate and Flag Marbles, the title is auto-generated: "[Type of Marble]: Figures X–Y"
For Confirmations, Build on and Dead end Marbles, the title should be concise and descriptive of the study’s aim.
Authors & Affiliations
List all contributing authors, providing full names, institutional affiliations, and email addresses. If needed, indicate equal contribution and corresponding/lead author.
Abstract (150 words maximum)
Summarize the purpose, methodology, and key findings of your Marble.
New hypothesis (200 words maximum) —only for Build on and Dead end Marbles
For Marbles testing a new hypothesis, briefly describe the rationale and key findings.
Materials & Methods (no limit)
Clearly describe all experimental procedures, providing enough detail to allow full replication of your Marble. If methods or materials differ from the original study, specify the changes in the next section.
Ethics compliance
Ensure your research adheres to ethical standards. For studies involving human or animal subjects, provide full information and evidence of approval from the relevant ethics committee or institutional review board. Include a brief statement in the Methods section detailing this compliance.
  • If human participants were involved, state whether informed consent was obtained, and add information about sex and gender, population characteristics and recruitment.
  • For research involving animals, affirm adherence to relevant welfare guidelines, and report information about species, strain, sex and age.
In the Methods of your Marble, include a subsection detailing the ethics compliance. This should detail:
  • Approval: Provide full information on the approval of the study and confirm that it received approval from the appropriate ethics review board or institutional review board (IRB).
  • Consent: if human participants were involved, state whether informed consent was obtained, and add information about sex and gender, population characteristics and recruitment.
  • Animal welfare: for research involving animals, affirm adherence to relevant welfare guidelines, and report information about species, strain, sex and age.
In the Methods of your Marble, include a subsection detailing the ethics compliance. This should detail:
  • Approval: Provide full information on the approval of the study and confirm that it received approval from the appropriate ethics review board or institutional review board (IRB).
  • Consent: if human participants were involved, state whether informed consent was obtained, and add information about sex and gender, population characteristics and recruitment.
  • Animal welfare: for research involving animals, affirm adherence to relevant welfare guidelines, and report information about species, strain, sex and age.
Changes to materials & methods (no limit) —only for Replicate, Flag and Confirmation Marbles
If you modified the experimental design of the linked article or the materials used for the experiments, briefly describe the differences here. If there were no changes, simply type 'No changes'.
Results (500 words maximum)
Report your findings clearly and concisely. Use statistical analysis where applicable, but specify all details of the statistical analysis in the ‘Statistics’ section.
Discussion (300 words maximum) —optional
Provide context for your findings within the broader scientific landscape. Discuss potential limitations, implications, or future directions.
References (no limit)
List all references (besides the linked article) cited in your Marble, listed in alphabetical order. Leave this section blank if no additional references were cited. Please use the following format:

  • Journal Article: Last name, First initials, et al. Article title. Journal Name Volume(issue), Page numbers (Year). DOI. Example: Smith, J., Doe, A., & Lee, R. Protein Y regulates oxidative stress in fibroblasts. Nature 587(4), 123-135 (2023). doi:10.1038/s41586-023-01234-5
  • Book Chapter: Last name, First initials, et al. Chapter title. In Book Title, Ed. Editor Name (Publisher, Year), Pages. Example: Brown, M. & Green, T. Mitochondrial Stress Responses. In Cellular Metabolism (Springer, 2020), pp. 45-67.
    Preprint: Last name, First initials, et al. Article title. Preprint server name (Year). doi. Example:

Garcia, P., et al. New insights into cellular respiration. bioRxiv (2024). doi:10.1101/2024.02.01.123456
  • Dataset: Last name, First initials, et al. Dataset title. Repository name, DOI (Year). Example:

Wang, L., et al. Raw data for oxidative stress study. Zenodo, doi:10.5281/zenodo.1234567 (2023).

Ensure all references are complete, accurate, and properly cited to maintain transparency.
List all references cited in your RR listed in numerical order as they appear in the text. Please use the following format:

  • Journal Article: Last name, First initials, et al. Article title. Journal Name Volume(issue), Page numbers (Year). DOI. Example: Smith, J., Doe, A., & Lee, R. Protein Y regulates oxidative stress in fibroblasts. Nature 587(4), 123-135 (2023). doi:10.1038/s41586-023-01234-5
  • Book Chapter: Last name, First initials, et al. Chapter title. In Book Title, Ed. Editor Name (Publisher, Year), Pages. Example: Brown, M. & Green, T. Mitochondrial Stress Responses. In Cellular Metabolism (Springer, 2020), pp. 45-67.
    Preprint: Last name, First initials, et al. Article title. Preprint server name (Year). doi. Example:

Garcia, P., et al. New insights into cellular respiration. bioRxiv (2024). doi:10.1101/2024.02.01.123456
  • Dataset: Last name, First initials, et al. Dataset title. Repository name, DOI (Year). Example:

Wang, L., et al. Raw data for oxidative stress study. Zenodo, doi:10.5281/zenodo.1234567 (2023).


Ensure all references are complete, accurate, and properly cited to maintain transparency and reproducibility.
List all references cited in your RR listed in numerical order as they appear in the text. Please use the following format:
  • Journal Article: Last name, First initials, et al. Article title. Journal Name Volume(issue), Page numbers (Year). DOI. Example: Smith, J., Doe, A., & Lee, R. Protein Y regulates oxidative stress in fibroblasts. Nature 587(4), 123-135 (2023). doi:10.1038/s41586-023-01234-5
  • Book Chapter: Last name, First initials, et al. Chapter title. In Book Title, Ed. Editor Name (Publisher, Year), Pages. Example: Brown, M. & Green, T. Mitochondrial Stress Responses. In Cellular Metabolism (Springer, 2020), pp. 45-67.
    Preprint: Last name, First initials, et al. Article title. Preprint server name (Year). doi. Example:

Garcia, P., et al. New insights into cellular respiration. bioRxiv (2024). doi:10.1101/2024.02.01.123456
  • Dataset: Last name, First initials, et al. Dataset title. Repository name, DOI (Year). Example:

Wang, L., et al. Raw data for oxidative stress study. Zenodo, doi:10.5281/zenodo.1234567 (2023).

    Ensure all references are complete, accurate, and properly cited to maintain transparency and reproducibility.
  1. Figures & Statistics
Figures
Format: PDF, JPEG or EPS, max 10MB (A4 size). The figure should summarize your key findings and may correspond to multiple figures in the original study.
Figure legend (no limit)
Provide a detailed caption describing the figure. Include statistical values, sample sizes, and significance levels where applicable.
Statistics (no limit)
Clearly describe all statistical tests performed. Include relevant values (e.g., p-values, confidence intervals, effect sizes).
  1. Additional information
Resource availability
Provide details on:
  • Material availability: Availability of any new reagent generated in this study, if applicable.
  • Lead contact: Further information and requests for resources and reagents should be directed to and will be fulfilled by this contact.
  • Data and Code availability: Provide details on how the code and/or data are available, including accession codes/identifiers, and a link to the repository for this Marble.
Acknowledgements —optional
Recognize individuals or institutions that contributed but do not meet authorship criteria. If required, you may add information about funding and grants.
Author Contributions
Describe the specific role of each author in the study.
Declaration of Interests
Disclose any financial or personal relationships that may influence the study.
  1. Submission
  • Ensure all sections are completed correctly.
  • Upload your Marble via our Submission form.
  • Once submitted, your Marble will undergo peer review before publication. After a decision is reached by the reviewers, you may address their comments and submit a new version of your Marble and a response to reviewers.
For inquiries, get in touch through our contact form.

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Copyright Research Agora Collective SL, 2025

Quick links

Pricing
Submission guide
Contact form
FAQs

Legal

Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Cookie Policy
Legal Notice

Contact

Get in touch
Copyright Research Agora Collective SL, 2025

Quick links

Pricing
Submission guide
Contact form
FAQs

Legal

Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Cookie Policy
Legal Notice

Contact

Get in touch
Copyright Research Agora Collective SL, 2025