Build a Manifest of Supplementary Files

Start with the references in the article

Read the methods, results, and data availability sections for references to appendices, protocols, supplementary tables, and data files. Enter each cited object in a manifest with the article identifier, label, stated purpose, expected file type, and location of the citation. Then compare that list with the publisher's attachment links. JATS can describe supplementary material and link to resources outside the article text.

Open each relevant file and confirm its internal title, version, and contents. An attachment named simply “supplement” may contain several appendices. Conversely, two download links may deliver the same archive. Record a separate file-level identifier and item-level label so that the structure survives local renaming.

Reconcile a hypothetical attachment list

A paper cites five supplementary tables. The publisher offers three files. One workbook contains Tables S1 through S3, one PDF contains S4, and a second PDF contains an author questionnaire. Four of the five cited tables are accounted for. Counting three downloads against five table citations would obscure both the multi-table workbook and the missing S5.

Document the missing item, attempted retrieval route, and consequences for extraction. Revisit the article version and any corrections before concluding that the file was omitted. A completed manifest should let another reviewer open the precise attachment and find the named item within it.

JATS supplementary material reference

Related worksheet: Study-to-report linkage worksheet.

Source checked on 5 November 2026.