Authr guide t submissin and publicatin Cntents Cntents... 1 Preparing an article fr submissin... 1 Hw d I submit my article?... 1 The decisin prcess after submissin... 2 Reviewing... 2 First decisin... 3 Rejectin... 4 Acceptance... 4 The prductin prcess after acceptance... 4 Publicatin... 5 Citatin... 5 Cpyright and yur rights... 6 Preparing an article fr submissin See the guide t Writing articles fr cnsideratin by MUP jurnals. Hw d I submit my article? Ensure all c-authrs have seen the final versin f the article being submitted and agreed n the chice f jurnal. The crrespnding authr has the respnsibility f liaising n behalf f all the c-authrs. This includes: Ensuring that all authrs are kept infrmed f the prgress f the article thrugh the submissin, review and publicatin. Obtaining (email is OK) authrisatin frm the c-authrs t transfer cpyright r grant a licence t publish t the selected jurnal. See the sectin n cpyright at the ft f this guide. Sme jurnals welcme pre-submissin enquiries, s if yu are unsure abut the suitability f the jurnal fr yur article, cntact the jurnal directly as instructed. Yu shuld submit yur article t ne jurnal at a time submit t anther jurnal nly if yur article has been rejected. Read the jurnal s guidelines fr authrs and make sure yur article cnfrms t its requirements. Ensure that the fcus f yur article cmplies with the aims and scpe f the jurnal. Submit yur article as specified by the jurnal (by Email r nline). Make sure the frmat yu use fr the article is acceptable t the jurnal (fr instance, if yu submit an electrnic file, make sure it is in a frmat that can be easily pened and edited e.g. Micrsft Wrd). Last updated April 2015 Page 1 f 6
Althugh this is nt required by mst jurnals, cnsider writing a shrt nte fr the editr that includes any infrmatin the editr shuld be aware f fr example if yu have previusly submitted yur article elsewhere, if yu will be away frm the ffice fr any perid f time, r if there are any suitable reviewers r nes whse wrk is in cnflict with yur wn and wh shuld nt be asked t review yur article. Make sure yu prvide full cntact details fr crrespndence yur name, affiliatin, address, cuntry, email, etc. Prvide the full details (name and affiliatin) f all c-authrs. The decisin prcess after submissin When yu have submitted an article, yu shuld expect an acknwledgement if yu d nt hear frm the jurnal, cntact the editr r the editrial ffice t make sure yur article has been received. (If yu have submitted nline, yu shuld receive an email in 1 2 days as the respnses are autmatic.) If the jurnal editrs feel that yur article is ttally unsuitable (r needs substantial wrk t make it wrth cnsidering), the editrs will immediately reject it. If nt immediately rejected, yur article will be sent ut t reviewers these are subject specialists in yur area wh will read the article and return cmments t the jurnal abut the article s acceptability. Reviewing The purpse f reviewing is t prvide the editr with expert pinins the editr cannt be an expert in all areas. The reviewers will advise the editr f the strengths and weaknesses f an article and its suitability fr publicatin. Reviewers are nly advisers, hwever, and it is the editr wh makes the final decisin. Mst jurnals send articles t tw r mre reviewers, selected by the editr. Sme jurnals welcme suggestins frm the authrs, but the editr reserves the right t select the reviewers and may nt use the authr s suggestins. If there are any persns r institutins that are either in cmpetitin r cnflict with yur research, then yu can request that the editr des nt use these individuals t review yur article. Fr all MUP jurnals, the identities f the reviewers are nt revealed t the authrs, and in sme jurnals the identities f the authrs are nt revealed t the reviewers. The reasn fr this is t avid bias (e.g. a junir researcher reviewing an article f a mre senir researcher). Individual jurnals use different systems based n their knwledge f their research cmmunity. Once the article has been reviewed the jurnal will reply t yu, prviding feedback frm the reviewers this may take several mnths. The reviewing prcess is ften, unfrtunately, a lng prcess - this is usually because sme reviewers take a lng time t return their review due t their wn wrklads. Als, smetimes the reprts they prvide are unhelpful and the editr needs t send the article ut t anther persn. Please be patient, but if yu are cncerned abut the time, r if there is a specific date by which yu want yur article t be published, tell the editr. Last updated April 2015 Page 2 f 6
First decisin After the article has been reviewed yu will receive a first decisin. This is likely t be ne f the fllwing: Accept with n changes. This is relatively uncmmn. Accept with changes. The reviewers and the editr will suggest changes and after the authrs have revised the article the editrs will make the final decisin r it may be sent ut again fr review. Reject but invite a resubmissin after substantial changes. The reviewers and the editr feel that the article needs substantial changes, but wuld welcme a resubmissin frm the authrs after revisin the resubmissin will be treated as a new article. Reject n resubmissin. Revisins The article is cnsidered unsuitable fr publicatin in the jurnal. It is unusual fr any article t be accepted by a jurnal withut sme revisins being requested. Revisins may be minr (e.g. changes t the rder f references) r majr (e.g. methdlgy unclear ). Seriusly cnsider all revisins requested by the editr and make changes as advised hwever if yu disagree with any f the recmmended revisins, cntact the editr t discuss them, r make a clear argument fr yur decisin when yu resubmit the article. The revised article needs t be returned t the jurnal (sme jurnals will ask yu t re-submit using the nline submissin system, thers will ask yu t email). D nt delay in ding this sme jurnals have a rule that if authrs delay beynd a certain time (e.g. tw mnths), then the revised article will be cnsidered a new submissin and the prcess will start all ver again. When yu re-submit yur article yu shuld clearly state hw and where yu have respnded t the cmments frm the reviewers. Yu may nt agree with the cmments made by reviewers, but if yu d nt, yu shuld clearly indicate why nt. If the revisins were substantial (majr revisin), the jurnal may send the article ut fr a secnd review. It is nt uncmmn fr sme jurnals t undertake several revisins f an article. It is pssible that yur article will be rejected after yu have revised it althugh this is unlikely unless yu failed t revise the article satisfactrily. Last updated April 2015 Page 3 f 6
Rejectin D nt be disheartened t receive a rejectin letter. There are many reasns fr this: The quality f the research may be belw that expected by the jurnal. The quality f English writing may be unacceptable t the jurnal. The subject may be inapprpriate fr the jurnal. The jurnal may have published s many articles n the same tpic that it n lnger wants any mre. (This may seem unfair, but editrs need t balance the cverage f their jurnal t meet all reader needs.) If the jurnal gives yu reasns fr rejecting the article, cnsider their cmments seriusly ther jurnals may have similar cncerns. If yur article is rejected yu can submit it elsewhere but yu shuld review yur article befre re-submitting it (and remember t cnfrm t the authr guidelines f yur newly selected jurnal). If yu think the reasns fr rejectin are unfair r incrrect, yu may appeal directly t the editr f the jurnal. In these cases yu must clearly make yur argument t the editr. All MUP jurnals have an appeals prcedure that will be fllwed. Acceptance When yur article is accepted yu may still be asked t crrect sme frmatting issues (mst cmmnly the reference style) and t add additinal infrmatin (e.g. authr bigraphies). It is imprtant that yu respnd t these final (minr) pints as sn as pssible. Yu will als be asked t prvide any artwrk as high reslutin files suitable fr printing and nline publicatin. When yu submit the final versin after acceptance be sure t include all required elements (check previus jurnal articles if yu are unsure) e.g. full authr names, affiliatin, bigraphy, keywrds, etc. Once yur article has been accepted it will enter prductin and shuld be published in the next available issue if there is a reasn t publish it by a specific date (e.g. a cnference) please infrm the editr. Ensure yu are aware f yur rights regarding the article (see belw). The prductin prcess after acceptance Once accepted by the editr yur article will be edited and then typeset. Yu will receive a cnfirmatin email t say when it has been sent int prductin. There may be queries raised during this prcess (e.g. missing references, clarificatin f yur text, etc.). These may be sent t yu befre the article is typeset, r may be added t the prf. Yu will be sent a prf f yur article t check and apprve. At this stage yu may nt re-write the article, and any changes must be restricted t crrecting actual errrs and answering any queries. Nte that yur changes may be checked and apprved by the editr. Last updated April 2015 Page 4 f 6
The prf is the last pprtunity yu have t make crrectins n yur article; therefre yu must check the tables, illustratins, units f measurements, etc. t make sure they are crrectly presented. Yu shuld als check that yu have prvided accurate data. Yu will be sent the publishing agreement with yur prf if this is nt returned then the article cannt be published, s it is very imprtant that yu return the agreement with the prf. Nte that if yu d nt return yur prf within the time given the jurnal may prceed withut yur input s ensure yu d return yur prf, even if it is t say that yu have n crrectins. If yu knw yu will need additinal time please cntact MUP r the editr as sn as pssible. Publicatin Depending n the jurnal yur article may wait fr the issue selectin t be published in print and nline, r may be published ahead f issue selectin as an ahead-f-print versin (and then cllected int the issue when this is cmpiled). Yu will be prvided with a PDF f yur article with an email alert t infrm yu when yur article is published. If the article is published ahead f print yu will be sent an email when this is published and again when it is selected and published with the issue. Once yur article has been published yu can draw attentin t it by citing it in yur subsequent wrks. If yur publicatin is a result f funded research yu shuld ensure that the funders receive a cpy f the article. See als the MUP guide Hw t prmte yur articles. Citatin Until yur article is accepted yu shuld cite it as in preparatin. Once yur article has been accepted, yu shuld cite it as in press with the name f the jurnal. Once yur article is published (ahead f print r within an issue) ensure that yu cite it crrectly especially using the DOI which will prvide an easy link t the article. Nte: the DOI is a unique identifier that will prvide a stable link t yur article bth if it is published ahead f print and when it appears in an issue the DOI remains cnsistent and will direct readers t the mst current versin f the article. Last updated April 2015 Page 5 f 6
Cpyright and yur rights When yu write the article, cpyright in it (including artwrk) will belng either t the authrs r t their institutin/cmpany yu must cnfirm this with yur c-authrs. Yu need t grant the jurnal permissin t publish yur article, which may mean assigning cpyright t them r granting them a licence (the jurnals vary). Check the individual jurnal guidelines. The crrespnding authr will be asked t cnfirm the transfer f rights and permissin n behalf f all authrs it is imprtant that yu have their permissin (r that f their rganisatin if cpyright is nt wned by the authr) in writing (an email is acceptable). Yu will nt be asked t prvide prf unless there are any prblems r cncerns. Yu will either be asked t cmplete the agreement by the Editr when they accept yur article r when yu are sent prfs by MUP. Please take time t read the cpyright assignment r licence t publish frm, which will clearly explain yur rights after publicatin. After yur article is published by MUP, we will deal with any requests t reprduce yur article, and als investigate any ptential cpyright vilatins n yur behalf. Please frward any such enquiries t us. See als the separate resurce fr MUP s Open Access Plicy which includes rights and permissins infrmatin. Last updated April 2015 Page 6 f 6