Submission Guidelines
Submitting an Article Online
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Article Types
Software Metapapers
JORS publishes software papers, which do not contain research results but rather a concise description of research software, and where to find it. Papers will only be accepted for software that authors agree to make freely available in a public repository. This means that they have been deposited in a data repository under an open licence (such as an OSI approved license or public domain Creative Commons Zero licence), and are therefore freely available to anyone with an internet connection, anywhere in the world.
A software paper is a publication that is designed to make other researchers aware of software that is of potential use to them.
Software Metapapers:
Submitting a Software Metapaper to JORS is quick and easy, as follows. If you are submitting a paper about software that is already public, you can start from step 3.
- Choose a repository for your software. Please see our list of repositories, or choose your own.
- Deposit your software in the repository. Please see our list of peer review criteria, and aim to make sure that your software deposition meets these standards. Remember to make your software public so that the reviewers can find it.
- Download a software template (below), and write your article. Make sure that you include the persistent identifier from the repository in the appropriate section.
- If necessary register with JORS and sumbit your paper.
- A reviewer will get back to you and may recommend changes either to the way your software has been archived, or to the paper itself. Once the reviewer is happy, the paper will be published immediately.
- Copy the citation for your article and add this to the record of your software in the repository.
Article Processing Charge
If your Software Metapaper is accepted for publication, you will be asked to pay an Article Publication Fee of £350 to cover publications costs. This fee can normally be sourced from your funder or institution, and we recommend approaching them about this at the time of submission.
You will be able to pay any amount from nothing to full charge, as we recognise that not all authors have access to funding, and we do not want fees to prevent the publication of worthy work. The editor and peer reviewers of the journal will not know what amount (if any) you have paid, and this will in no way influence whether your article is published or not.
Templates
- jors_sw_paper_template_0-2.docx
- jors_sw_paper_template_0-2.odt
- LaTex Template (with thanks to Stephen Bonner of Durham University)
- Emacs Org mode Template (with thanks to Andreas Hilboll of the University of Bremen)
This section is peer reviewed.
Issues in Research Software
The Journal of Open Research Software: Issues in Research Software section publishes peer reviewed papers that cover different aspects of creating, maintaining and evaluating open source research software. The aim of the section is to promote the dissemination of best practice and experience related to the development and maintenance of reusable, sustainable research software.
Accepted formats include position papers, survey papers and experience reports, as well as articles on related aspects such as education and training, research software ecosystems and measuring the impact of software. Submissions are expected to be no longer than 3,500 words (roughly 4-6 pages including figures and references)
Issues in Research Software
Issues in Research Software articles are longer-form pieces that cover different aspects of creating, maintaining and evaluating open source research software. The aim of the section is to promote the dissemination of best practice and experience related to the development and maintenance of reusable, sustainable research software. Accepted formats include position papers, survey papers and experience reports, as well as articles on related aspects such as education and training, research software ecosystems and measuring the impact of software. Please view our peer-review criteria for specific guidance on how your article will be assessed.
Articles should be no longer than 3-4000 words (roughly 4-6 pages including figures and references). Please structure the article as you see fit, with no more than three level headings, and please do include an abstract. Display items (figures, tables, etc.) are encouraged. Please use the Vancouver (numbered) system of references.
Unlike our Software Metapaper article type, there is no template for submission. Please submit in PDF (including the source file), DOC or ODT.
Article Processing Charge
If your paper is accepted for publication, you will be asked to pay an Article Publication Fee of £400 to cover publications costs. This fee can normally be sourced from your funder or institution, and we recommend approaching them about this at the time of submission.
You will be able to pay any amount from nothing to full charge, as we recognise that not all authors have access to funding, and we do not want fees to prevent the publication of worthy work. The editor and peer reviewers of the journal will not know what amount (if any) you have paid, and this will in no way influence whether your article is published or not.
This section is peer reviewed.
Author Guidelines
Authors are invited to submit manuscripts that fall within the focus of the journal. Please follow the below guidelines, and contact the Editor if you have any questions.
Permissions
The author is responsible for obtaining all permissions required prior to submission of the manuscript for both Software Metapapers and Issues in Research Software. Permission and owner details should be mentioned for all third-party content included in the submission or used in the research.
If a method or tool is introduced in the study, including software, questionnaires, and scales, the license this is available under and any requirement for permission for use should be stated. If an existing method or tool is used in the research, it is the author's responsibility to check the license and obtain the necessary permissions. Statements confirming that permission was granted should be included in the Materials and Methods section.
Copyright Notice
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Privacy Statement
Publication Fees
Articles accepted for publication will be asked to pay an Article Publication Charge (APC) to cover publication costs. This can normally be sourced from your funder or institution. This fee covers all publication costs (editorial processes; web hosting; indexing; marketing; archiving; DOI registration etc) and ensures that all of the content is fully open access. It also includes a waiver fee that goes toward our waiver fund, so all authors can publish regardless of ability to pay. This approach maximises the potential readership of publications and allows the journal to be run in a sustainable way.
Many institutions have funds available to support open access publications by their staff, therefore we ask that you contact the relevant body to cover the APC.
If you do not know about your institution’s policy on open access funding, please contact your departmental/faculty administrators and institution library, as funds may be available to you.
If published, you will receive an APC request email from us, along with information on how payment can be arranged.
If you need to request an APC waiver, please outline this in your cover letter.
Tax will be added to all fees charged, when applicable (includes VAT/Sales tax or any other applicable taxes).
If you do not have funds available to pay the APC (e.g., because your institution/funder will not cover the fee) then we may be able to offer a discount or full waiver. We do not want fees to prevent the publication of worthy work. Should you need to discuss waiver options or the APC in general, please ensure that you contact the editor as early as possible. Editorial decisions are made independently from the ability to pay the APC. Waiver requests must be received as part of the submission information (e.g. in the cover letter).