brycewang-stanford Submission Preflight (joap-submission)
The last check before submitting through Editorial Manager (editorialmanager.com/apl). Three
things sink JAP submissions most often: a missing or weak theoretical contribution surfacing late,
broken masking, and incomplete open-science compliance. Verify volatile specifics (length caps,
abstract limit, checklist contents, current editor) on the official APA page first.
When to trigger
- "Submitting tomorrow" — last pass before upload
- Unsure what the masking and open-science requirements demand
- Confirming the abstract, anonymization, data-availability statement, and deposits are in order
Process facts (verify volatile items on the official page)
- Owner / publisher: American Psychological Association (APA). ISSN 0021-9010 / e-ISSN 1939-1854.
- Portal: Editorial Manager,
editorialmanager.com/apl. - Review: masked (anonymized) — keep author identity out of the manuscript and repository links.
- Submission checklist: completing the APA-published submission/masking checklist is required at upload and signifies you have read and will follow the guidelines.
- Style: APA 7th edition throughout.
- Article types: Feature Article (length commensurate with contribution); Research Report (tighter; confirm current page cap, 待核实); theory-development / integrative review; qualitative; meta-analysis.
- Abstract: structured, content-bearing; confirm the current word limit (commonly ~250 words; 待核实).
- Open science (TOP): empirical work (including meta-analyses) held to the TOP framework — data/materials/code availability with DOIs, a data-availability statement, and preregistration weighed (effective for empirical submissions; confirm current TOP level, 待核实).
- Current Editor: Mo Wang (University of Florida), Editor-in-Chief from January 2026, succeeding Lillian T. Eby (web-verified 2026-06-22; re-verify the live masthead before submission).
Preflight checklist
Style & format
- APA 7th edition throughout (headings, statistics with ES + CI, references)
- Article type chosen; length appropriate (Feature Article vs Research Report cap, 待核实)
- Structured abstract within the current limit (待核实); states contribution, design, samples, result
- Tables/figures APA 7th; Table 1 has reliabilities; path tables/figures carry CIs and fit indices
Masking (for anonymized review)
- No author names/affiliations anywhere in the manuscript
- Self-citations neutralized ("as we showed in…" removed)
- Repository / preregistration links anonymized (e.g., OSF anonymized view)
- Identifying file metadata stripped (document properties, tracked-change authors)
- Separate, non-anonymous title page prepared as a distinct file
Open science (TOP)
- Data deposited + DOI + codebook (or justified exemption)
- Materials (scales, manipulations, instructions) deposited + DOI
- Analysis code deposited; reproduces results in a fresh session
- Data-availability / transparency statement drafted per current TOP wording
- Prior-use disclosure if the dataset overlaps another paper
- Preregistration linked (anonymized); confirmatory/exploratory split consistent
Stats & rigor
- Measurement model reported (CFA fit + reliability) before structure
- Effect sizes + CIs for key paths; indirect effects with bootstrap/Monte Carlo CIs
- Nesting modeled (ICC/r_wg); CMV remedies stated
- Full disclosure of N-determination, exclusions, conditions, measures
Worked micro-example — preflight verdict (illustrative)
Running the servant-leadership package through the gate the night before upload:
Style: APA 7th throughout; structured abstract drafted (confirm limit) → PASS*
Contribution: cross-level mechanism + boundary stated by p.3 → PASS
Masking: no names; self-cites neutralized; OSF anonymized-view links;
PDF metadata stripped; separate title page → PASS
Open sci: data + materials + code each have a DOI; data-availability
statement + prior-use note; experiment preregistration linked → PASS
Stats: CFA fit + reliabilities reported; indirect = .13, 95% CI [.05, .23];
multilevel model + ICC/r_wg; CMV remedies declared → PASS
Verdict: ready to upload to Editorial Manager.
*Re-confirm the current abstract limit and Research Report cap on the APA page.
Last-mile failure modes that trigger a return
| Failure | Caught by | Quick fix |
|---|---|---|
| Author name in self-citation or OSF link | masking check | neutralize self-cites; switch to anonymized view |
| Abstract over the current limit | abstract check | cut to the limit; keep contribution + design + result |
| "Data on request" instead of a DOI | open-science check | deposit and mint a persistent identifier |
| No data-availability statement | TOP check | draft it from the live DOIs |
| Table 1 missing reliabilities; paths lack CIs | exhibit check | add ω to the diagonal; add CIs + fit indices |
Volatile specifics (length caps, abstract limit, TOP level, checklist contents, current editor) change. Re-confirm every item above against the journal's current submission guidelines before relying on it. See
templates/checklist.mdfor a copy-paste preflight list.
Anti-patterns
- Submitting with the theoretical contribution buried or absent
- Broken masking (names, self-references, or identifying repository links)
- "Available on request" instead of persistent DOIs; missing data-availability statement
- Abstract over the current limit or missing the contribution/design/result
- Tables/figures without reliabilities, CIs, or fit indices
Output format
【Style】APA 7th + article type + abstract within limit (待核实)? [Y/N]
【Contribution legible early?】[Y/N]
【Masking】manuscript + self-cites + repo links + metadata + title page? [Y/N]
【Open science】data + materials + code + DOIs + availability statement? [Y/N]
【Stats】measurement model + ES/CIs + indirect CIs + nesting + disclosure? [Y/N]
【Next】await decision → joap-rebuttal on R&R
Supplementary resources
templates/checklist.md— copy-paste pre-submission preflight checklist../../resources/external_tools.md— repositories, DOIs,papaja, SEM/HLM/meta tooling../../resources/official-source-map.md— official APA Journal of Applied Psychology URLs behind every fact in this pack