-->PONE-D-24-43698-->-->Potential intervention targets to promote physical activity among people with multiple sclerosis: A scoping review protocol for evidence of moderation-->-->PLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Amireault,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

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Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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Additional Editor Comments:

Dear author/s,

My decision is in line with reviewers and I will ask you to do a major revision.

Regards

[Note: HTML markup is below. Please do not edit.]

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

-->Comments to the Author

1. Does the manuscript provide a valid rationale for the proposed study, with clearly identified and justified research questions?

The research question outlined is expected to address a valid academic problem or topic and contribute to the base of knowledge in the field.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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-->2. Is the protocol technically sound and planned in a manner that will lead to a meaningful outcome and allow testing the stated hypotheses?

The manuscript should describe the methods in sufficient detail to prevent undisclosed flexibility in the experimental procedure or analysis pipeline, including sufficient outcome-neutral conditions (e.g. necessary controls, absence of floor or ceiling effects) to test the proposed hypotheses and a statistical power analysis where applicable. As there may be aspects of the methodology and analysis which can only be refined once the work is undertaken, authors should outline potential assumptions and explicitly describe what aspects of the proposed analyses, if any, are exploratory.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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-->3. Is the methodology feasible and described in sufficient detail to allow the work to be replicable?

Descriptions of methods and materials in the protocol should be reported in sufficient detail for another researcher to reproduce all experiments and analyses. The protocol should describe the appropriate controls, sample size calculations, and replication needed to ensure that the data are robust and reproducible.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: No

**********

-->4. Have the authors described where all data underlying the findings will be made available when the study is complete?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception, at the time of publication. The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: No

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-->5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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-->6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above and, if applicable, provide comments about issues authors must address before this protocol can be accepted for publication. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about research or publication ethics.

You may also provide optional suggestions and comments to authors that they might find helpful in planning their study.

(Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)-->

Reviewer #1: Thank you for the opportunity to review this manuscript.

1.Could the authors elaborate on why a scoping review is deemed more appropriate for addressing the research question compared to a systematic review?

2.How do the authors plan to ensure that all relevant studies are identified and included? For example, is the use of seven databases and hand-searching sufficient to capture the breadth of the literature?

3.How will the authors address potential biases or inconsistencies in the reporting of moderating factors across the included studies?

4.Could the authors clarify how the proposed ratio (number of times moderation is reported vs. total investigations) will be interpreted? Additionally, how will studies with incomplete or ambiguous reporting of moderation factors be handled?

Reviewer #2: Dear author/s,

Thank you for the opportunity to review this manuscript, which presents a protocol for a scoping review on promoting physical activity (PPA) among people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The protocol is well presented and provides a framework for an interesting and useful review. The search strategy, which includes the PRISMA-ScR checklist, appears to be comprehensive. My only concern is ensuring that the review does not extend beyond the limits of a scoping review. The research questions regarding evidence of moderation of the relations between factors that may qualify as a target for interventions and PPA among people with MS may lead to different synthesis methods. A scoping review will allow you to map these features as they are reported in the literature, but it is not an appropriate method for providing evidence on effectiveness or etiology.

If the main goal of the review is to map and characterize features of the reported literature on PPA among MS, then a scoping review is appropriate. However, I would suggest rephrasing the research questions slightly to align with the acronym PCC, which is more common for scoping reviews - Population, Concept, Context - as recommended in reference 27: Peters, M., Godfrey, C., McInerney, P., Khalil, H., Larsen, P., Marnie, C., Pollock, D., Tricco, A., Munn, Z. Best practice guidance and reporting items for the development of scoping review protocols. JBI Evidence Synthesis 20(4): p 953-968, April 2022. | DOI: 10.11124/JBIES-21-00242. If, however, the main goal is to determine effectiveness, then I suggest using systematic review methods, which will allow you to determine effectiveness, or a review of etiology and risk for identifying causal factors influencing outcomes.

These articles may be of use:

Munn, Z., Peters, M.D.J., Stern, C. et al. Systematic review or scoping review? Guidance for authors when choosing between a systematic or scoping review approach. BMC Med Res Methodol 18, 143 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874- 018-0611-x

Tricco, A.C., Lillie, E., Zarin, W. et al. A scoping review on the conduct and reporting of scoping reviews. BMC Med Res Methodol 16, 15 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-016-0116-4

However, the feedback provided outlines several critical areas for improvement in the manuscript before it can be accepted for publication. Addressing these points will enhance the clarity and quality of the research presented.

1. The author should rewrite the abstract, because it does not adequately describe your work. The authors should ensure that it accurately reflects the scope and outcomes of their study.

2. The introduction is pivotal in setting the stage for the research. It should clearly articulate the main ideas and motivations behind the proposed study. The authors must explicitly state the research question and the motivation for their work, ensuring that the research gap is adequately addressed. This clarity will help readers understand the context and importance of the research. 3. Add a table of used symbols in the paper to improve readability. 4. The authors should comment on the relevance of the results, comparison of the approaches, and critical review of the relevant literature. 5. The authors should identify and discuss open problems related to their research. Highlighting these issues can provide a pathway for future research and demonstrate the ongoing relevance of their work.

6. The manuscript currently lacks sufficient literature citations. The authors should expand their discussion of related work.

7. It is crucial for authors to address potential biases or inconsistencies when reporting on moderating factors. This involves a systematic approach to ensure that the findings are credible and reflect the true nature of the relationships being studied.

8. The authors explain how to interpret the ratio of the number of times moderation is reported versus the total number of studies.

9. It seems that using seven databases and manual search to obtain the breadth of literature may not be enough. The comprehensiveness of the literature review is very important. Relying on only a limited number of databases can lead to gaps in the literature, as different databases may index different journals and articles. A systematic approach to literature search often involves the use of multiple databases, including specialized databases related to a particular field of study, to ensure a thorough exploration of available research.

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-->7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review?   For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.-->

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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Potential intervention targets to promote physical activity among people with multiple sclerosis: A scoping review protocol for evidence of moderation

PONE-D-24-43698R1

Dear Dr. Amireault,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

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Kind regards,

James Mockridge

Staff Editor

PLOS One

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

-->Comments to the Author

1. Does the manuscript provide a valid rationale for the proposed study, with clearly identified and justified research questions?

The research question outlined is expected to address a valid academic problem or topic and contribute to the base of knowledge in the field.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

-->2. Is the protocol technically sound and planned in a manner that will lead to a meaningful outcome and allow testing the stated hypotheses?

The manuscript should describe the methods in sufficient detail to prevent undisclosed flexibility in the experimental procedure or analysis pipeline, including sufficient outcome-neutral conditions (e.g. necessary controls, absence of floor or ceiling effects) to test the proposed hypotheses and a statistical power analysis where applicable. As there may be aspects of the methodology and analysis which can only be refined once the work is undertaken, authors should outline potential assumptions and explicitly describe what aspects of the proposed analyses, if any, are exploratory.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

-->3. Is the methodology feasible and described in sufficient detail to allow the work to be replicable?

Descriptions of methods and materials in the protocol should be reported in sufficient detail for another researcher to reproduce all experiments and analyses. The protocol should describe the appropriate controls, sample size calculations, and replication needed to ensure that the data are robust and reproducible.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

-->4. Have the authors described where all data underlying the findings will be made available when the study is complete?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception, at the time of publication. The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

-->5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

-->6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above and, if applicable, provide comments about issues authors must address before this protocol can be accepted for publication. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about research or publication ethics.

You may also provide optional suggestions and comments to authors that they might find helpful in planning their study.

(Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)-->

Reviewer #1: Thank you for answering my question. I don't have any further inquiries at the moment. The authors may add response two to their study strengths.

**********

-->7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review?   For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.-->

Reviewer #1: No

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