Editors' Newsroom - Latest | Social Behavior and Personality

Editors' Newsroom: Preparing your manuscript for submission—An editor Q&A

Alexandra Cheyne and Annaliese Ludwig, Scientific Journal Publishers, 54(7), e16486

54(3), e16485

In our latest edition from the Editors’ Newsroom, Managing Editor Alex Cheyne speaks with Assistant Editor Annaliese Ludwig, who shares some tips on preparing a strong and compelling submission package. Annaliese has reviewed hundreds of manuscripts and knows what makes a strong submission stand out!

Annaliese Ludwig, Assistant Editor

Preparing your manuscript for submission to a scholarly journal requires a lot of work: You have devoted time to designing, planning, and conducting your research, and now you have written it up to share with the world. We are thrilled when you choose to submit your work to Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal (SBP), and our goal is to make your submission a success!

Annaliese, how can authors ensure their study is relevant to the fields of social psychology and personality and thus falls within the scope for SBP?

Before clicking “Submit,” take a moment to ensure your article theme is a good fit for SBP. Generally, we’re looking for papers that advance understanding of social, personality, or developmental psychology. That can include research in niche or interdisciplinary areas, as long as the psychological contribution is clear. Have a read of the Aims and Scope page on our website, or check if your topic has been published before by searching for your manuscript keywords on our website or in a journal database.

How should the authors of a manuscript work together to ensure communication is clear through the publication process?

There are three key steps to prevent confusion or communications issues: First, communicate as a group before submitting. It’s important to make sure everyone listed as an author has actually agreed to be included and that their details are correct on the title page. It’s also a good idea to confirm the author list together, including the order in which authors will appear.

Second, nominate a submitting author. The process from submission to possible publication involves back-and-forth communication with our editorial team over several weeks or even months. If your submission includes multiple authors, you’ll want to nominate a submitting author to manage all communication on behalf of the group.

Third, as submitting author, make sure you communicate with all coauthors about any changes. Keep each other informed about any major changes to the manuscript along the way.

SBP asks for 3–5 article highlights: What differentiates good highlights from simply a restatement of the abstract?

We now request article highlights to provide a top-line snapshot of the main findings of your research. You don’t need to repeat the abstract; instead, focus on the key points you want readers to notice right away. Keeping them short, clear, and engaging can really help your work stand out and be noticed! Can’t decide what to list? Tell us what you found to be the most interesting outcomes from your work, and try to make them understandable to any layperson looking at your paper.

What are the most common citation/reference errors that slow down a submission’s progress?

Don’t forget to check your reference section! Before submitting, make sure the entries are formatted in APA (7th ed.) style and listed in alphabetical order.

We have noticed a growing problem with nonexistent references, where DOIs or sources cannot be verified and may have been fabricated. This raises serious ethical concerns and can indicate inappropriate use of AI. Our journal maintains high standards of academic integrity, so be sure not to use AI to suggest a work to reference without carefully checking it is both real and relevant.

What will a strong SBP submission package include?

When your submission is received, we are on the lookout for the complete package! It should show you have read the Publication Policies and Manuscript Guidelines for authors. Upload a high-quality manuscript with all necessary supporting documents. Here’s what a good submission package looks like:

Manuscript:

A Word document with identifying data removed (blind), following the formatting style of the APA Publication Manual (7th ed.). Unsure of the correct formatting? See our manuscript template here: SBP Manuscript Template.

Key Supporting Documents:

Title page that lists names, affiliations, contributions (using CRediT), and unique email addresses of all authors, with the corresponding author clearly labeled.

Ethical approval documentation in English.

Dataset file or link to an open data repository.

Certificate of editing if English editing services have been used.

When your submission package is accurate, you can avoid requests for early-stage revisions and proceed more quickly to the review stage

.How does the SBP editorial team deal with questions of research integrity during the review and editorial processes?

Your submission will go through several integrity checks to ensure quality and credibility of the research. We screen for plagiarism, potential AI-generated content, and reference authenticity using tools such as iThenticate from Crossref. We are also exploring additional tools to strengthen these checks. You’ll see that we request ethical approval documentation, as well as access to underlying datasets. These requirements support transparency and the overall reliability of the research presented.

Thank you so much, Annaliese. These answers should guide our prospective authors in their manuscript preparation. So, what part of this work do you most enjoy?

I enjoy reading the wide range of topics submitted to SBP and seeing how psychology and social behavior connect with so many aspects of life. It’s a privilege to read your research and help guide authors through the early stages of the editorial process as smoothly as possible. I also value the opportunity to play a small part in helping your research reach the public. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions about the scope or suitability of a manuscript! I am more than happy to assist or point you in the right direction. Contact me at [email protected]