brycewang-stanford Submission Preflight (devpsych-submission)
The last check before submitting through Editorial Manager (editorialmanager.com/dvl). Three things
sink Developmental Psychology submissions most often: the developmental claim not being credible (age
vs. cohort, invariance, attrition), JARS/length-tier non-compliance, and weak transparency. Verify
volatile specifics (length numbers, abstract ceiling, policy wording, editor) on the official page first.
When to trigger
- "Submitting tomorrow" — last pass before upload
- Unsure what the length tier, abstract, and transparency requirements demand
- Confirming the Public Significance Statement, anonymization, and deposits are in order
Process facts (verify volatile items on the official page)
- Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA). ISSN: 0012-1649 (print); 1939-0599 (online).
- Editor: Koraly Pérez-Edgar (Penn State; editorship since 2023-01-01) (web-verified 2026-06-22; re-verify before submission).
- Portal: Editorial Manager,
editorialmanager.com/dvl. - Review: masked peer review available on request — keep author identity out of the manuscript and out of shared links; submit a masked copy via a stable link or supplemental material.
- Length tiers (检索于 2026-06；以官网为准): ~4,500 words (brief report), ~10,500 (larger report), ~15,000 (multi-study / comprehensive longitudinal); length counts cover page, abstract, text, references, tables, and figures.
- Front matter: APA-style abstract plus a Public Significance Statement (2–3 sentences, ~30–70 words) on the abstract/keywords page.
- Style: APA 7th edition; JARS reporting (JARS-Quant / JARS-Qual / MARS).
- Transparency: TOP guidelines — data-availability statement, persistent identifiers (DOIs), preregistration where applicable, sample-size justification.
Preflight checklist
Format & front matter
- Manuscript within the chosen length tier (total counts cover page, abstract, text, refs, exhibits)
- APA-style abstract within the current ceiling; developmental change foregrounded
- Public Significance Statement present: 2–3 plain sentences (~30–70 words)
- APA 7th edition style; tables/figures and references formatted per APA
Developmental credibility (JARS)
- Age vs. cohort addressed; change claim matched to the design
- Measurement invariance reported before interpreting change (configural→metric→scalar)
- Attrition analysis + principled missing-data model (FIML/MI)
- Sample-size justification for the change parameter (power/precision)
- Effect sizes + confidence intervals for major results; full JARS disclosure
Masked review (if requested)
- No author names/affiliations in the masked manuscript
- Repository / preregistration links anonymized (e.g., OSF anonymized view; Databrary view link)
- Identifying file metadata stripped
Transparency (TOP)
- Data-availability statement present (what is shared / restricted, why)
- Data + scripts deposited with DOIs (or a justified restricted-access archive); reproduce in a fresh session
- Minors'/identifiable data handled per consent/IRB (e.g., permission-based archive)
- Preregistration linked; confirmatory/exploratory consistent
Worked micro-example — preflight verdict (illustrative)
Running the three-wave effortful-control package through the gate the night before upload:
Tier: larger research report; total 9,800 / ~10,500 words → PASS
Abstract: within ceiling; foregrounds within-person growth → PASS
Public Sig: 3 plain sentences, 58 words → PASS
Credibility: scalar invariance reported; FIML + attrition analysis;
power simulation for the interaction → PASS
Stats: slope and interaction carry effect sizes + 95% CIs → PASS
Mask: no names; OSF anonymized-view + Databrary view links;
PDF metadata stripped → PASS
Transparency: data-availability statement present; data/scripts DOI'd;
video via Databrary; prereg linked → PASS
Verdict: ready to upload to Editorial Manager (editorialmanager.com/dvl).
Last-mile failure modes that trigger a return
| Failure | Caught by | Quick fix |
|---|---|---|
| Over the length tier | format check | move robustness/full models to online supplemental material |
| No Public Significance Statement | front-matter check | add 2–3 plain sentences (~30–70 words) |
| Trajectory with no invariance test | credibility check | report configural→metric→scalar before change |
| Listwise deletion, real attrition | credibility check | refit with FIML/MI; add attrition analysis |
| OSF/Databrary link reveals author | masking check | switch to anonymized/view links before upload |
| "Data on request," no statement | transparency check | add a data-availability statement + DOIs |
Volatile specifics (length numbers, abstract ceiling, accepted article types, current editor) change. Re-confirm every number above against the journal's current submission guidelines before relying on it.
Anti-patterns
- Submitting over the length tier instead of using online supplemental material
- Missing or jargon-laden Public Significance Statement
- Interpreting change with no invariance test, or deleting dropouts
- Non-anonymized manuscript or links during masked review
- No data-availability statement / transient links instead of DOIs
Output format
【Tier】within the chosen length limit? [Y/N]
【Front matter】abstract + Public Significance Statement (2–3 sentences)? [Y/N]
【Credibility】age/cohort + invariance + attrition + sample-size justification? [Y/N]
【APA 7th + JARS】style + ES/CI + full disclosure? [Y/N]
【Masked】manuscript + links + metadata anonymized? [Y/N]
【Transparency】data-availability statement + DOIs + preregistration? [Y/N]
【Next】await decision → devpsych-rebuttal on R&R
Supplementary resources
templates/checklist.md— the full pre-submission checklist for this venue../../resources/external_tools.md— repositories, DOIs,papaja, power and SEM tooling../../resources/official-source-map.md— official Developmental Psychology URLs behind every fact in this pack