Author guidelines for journal submission

What to send: accepted manuscript formats

Send the paper in whatever form it currently exists. LaTeX is our preferred format. Word and PDF are also accepted.

Datasets, code, appendices, supplementary material and a cover letter are welcome where you have them. None is required unless specified elsewhere in these guidelines.

There is no template to download and no reformatting to complete before you submit.

• Start a submission →
• Submission fees and waivers →

What we never ask for

These items play no part in assessment, which is why we do not request them. If this list changes, we will state what has been added and why.

• A separate title page
• An anonymised second copy
• Keywords or a classification taxonomy
• Per-author disclosure files
• File designations
• The abstract retyped into a form

Preparing the paper

Requirements are minimal, and those that exist are for the benefit of your readers.

Submit in English. Translation software and language-editing services are both acceptable and carry no penalty at assessment.

Number the pages so reviewers can refer to them. No other layout requirement applies.

Place figures and tables where you want them in the text and supply them at the resolution you have. Where a figure carries part of the argument, check that it remains legible at the size at which it will be read.

Any consistent reference style is acceptable. References are resolved automatically, so each entry must contain sufficient detail to identify the source. The formatting convention itself is not assessed.

State the paper’s central claim near the beginning.

Authorship

Authorship reflects substantive contribution. Human authors are accountable for the integrity of the work.

A person qualifies as an author where they have made a material contribution to the conception, methods, analysis, interpretation or writing of the work and can answer questions about that contribution.

Every paper must have at least one named human author who accepts responsibility for the integrity of the final work.

Funding a study, or heading the group that produced it, does not by itself qualify someone for authorship.

Author order is determined by the authors. We do not arbitrate disputes about it.

Changes to the author list after submission require written agreement from every author named before and after the change. After publication, the same change is issued as a correction stating what was altered.

AI use in a submitted paper

Using AI carries no penalty at assessment.

Assessment covers the domain, method and argument, and within those the reasoning, evidence, methods, originality, transparency and contribution—not whether AI was used to produce the paper.

AI tools are acceptable for research, analysis, coding, editing, translation, visualisation, literature searching and drafting. Substantial AI use, including generating passages or complete drafts, is permitted.

Where AI improves clarity, reproducibility or accessibility, we encourage its use. Translation and language editing in particular can allow researchers to publish work that might otherwise be excluded from English-language venues.

Three requirements apply:

1. Disclose AI use where it materially affects how the results should be interpreted, for example where a model generated, transformed, classified or labelled your data.
2. Verify every claim, citation and quotation against its source.
3. The named human authors remain accountable for the final content and integrity of the paper.

Data, code and materials

For a paper in the Empirical or Integrated track, the data and code behind the result are required, not requested. Deposit them in a durable repository and cite the deposit in the paper.

Where the data cannot be shared—for example, because they are confidential or licensed—supply the code, describe the data and explain how access may be obtained. State the restriction in the data availability statement.

A restriction that is explained is acceptable. A restriction that is unexplained is not.

The materials are checked for completeness before a paper is accepted.

Independent re-execution of replication packages, on the model of data editors at leading economics journals, is being built. Until that system is operational, we do not claim that this check has been performed. The article record states which checks were actually completed.

Ethics and consent

Studies involving human participants must state the approving body and the form of consent obtained. Studies involving animals must state the approval received and the welfare framework applied.

Where an individual is identifiable in an image or case description, confirm in the paper that consent to publish was obtained.

Where your jurisdiction did not require ethical approval, state this and explain why.

Duplicate submission, undisclosed reuse and fabricated data are grounds for rejection before publication and for retraction after publication. The notice issued will state what occurred.

Competing interests and funding

Provide a single statement for publication on the article.

Name funders and grant numbers and describe the funder’s role in the work, including where there was none.

A declared interest does not affect assessment. An undisclosed interest that emerges later is handled as a correction.

What happens after you submit a paper

Your paper is stored on receipt, before any further information is requested, and remains in your account from that point.

References are resolved against bibliographic records. Where a reference fails to resolve, the decision identifies which one it was.

The paper is then assigned to a sub-core discipline and a track and assessed against the published criteria. Where the claim requires subject expertise, it is sent to a reviewer working to our published reviewer guidelines.

A model-assisted assessment is produced during this stage and is labelled as machine-generated wherever it appears.

An initial decision may be possible within one week of submission. Measured turnaround by track and discipline will be published once sufficient assessment cycles have completed.

• How review works →
• Publication criteria →
• Reviewer guidelines →

Decisions an author can receive

Five decisions are possible. Each is issued with its reasons and with the check that produced each reason.

Desk reject. A stated criterion is not met. The decision names the criterion, identifies the check that found it, and states what would change the result.

Redirect. The work is sound but belongs in a different sub-core discipline or track. Moving it takes one click and retains your original submission date.

Revise. Specific changes are required. Each is listed with the check that produced it and what would satisfy it.

Accept with technical corrections. The finding stands. Corrections are limited to those named in the decision.

Accept. The paper is published open access under CC BY 4.0 with the verification record attached.

Revisions and appeals

No deadline applies to a revision.

To appeal a decision, write to info@acceleratedscience.org. A person will re-read the paper, and the response will state what was re-examined.

Fees and waivers

The submission fee is US$125, or US$25 for a verified educational address. The applicable fee is charged when the paper is sent. Waivers are available through the Fees and Waivers section.

Fees are non-refundable.

A revision returned at the editor’s invitation carries no further charge.

Waiver eligibility, the country list and the evidence required are set out in the Fees and Waivers section. A waiver must be requested before payment; once the fee is paid a waiver cannot be applied, because fees are non-refundable. Requests are handled by someone with no part in the decision on the paper.

There is no publication charge. Access to published papers is free permanently.

Payment is held in a separate system from assessment and is invisible to anyone assessing the paper.

• Fees and waivers →

Licensing and copyright

Authors retain copyright.

Papers are published under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0). Where a funder mandates a different open licence, that licence is applied and named on the article.

We do not publish under closed licences.

The licence appears above the abstract.

Corrections and retractions

Three levels of notice are available.

Correction. Fixes a specified error and states what changed.

Expression of concern. Informs readers that a matter is unresolved while it is examined.

Retraction. States that the finding does not stand. The paper remains online, clearly marked as retracted.

Corrections, expressions of concern and retractions remain permanently linked to the article. Published versions remain available. No published article is silently altered or removed.

Each notice identifies whose error it was, including where the error was ours.

To raise a correction or a concern about a published paper, write to info@acceleratedscience.org.

Identifiers and permanence

Preservation arrangements and identifiers are listed below with their current status.

• ISSNIn developmentNo ISSN is assigned yet. Registration is filed as each title opens.
• DOI registrationPlannedDOI deposit to Crossref is specified, but not yet built.
• Version retentionAvailableEvery version of every file you send is retained.
• Dark archive depositPlannedRuns with the first publication.
• Third-party preservation networkPlannedThe application requires published content.

Contact

Write to us with questions about a paper under assessment, complaints about conduct or process, or concerns about published work.

No account is required.

• Contact →