brycewang-stanford Submission Preflight (psychbull-submission)
The last check before pressing submit on APA Editorial Manager. Psychological Bulletin uses masked review, so the most common avoidable failure is an under-masked manuscript — and the second is a synthesis whose MARS/PRISMA reporting is incomplete. Verify volatile specifics on the official APA page before relying on them.
When to trigger
- "Submitting tomorrow" — last pass before upload
- Unsure which files/metadata Editorial Manager expects
- Confirming masking, the abstract cap, and the MARS/PRISMA checklist are satisfied
Process facts (verify volatile items on the official page)
- Owner / publisher: American Psychological Association (APA).
- Portal: APA Editorial Manager (
editorialmanager.com/bul). - Review model: masked — author identity withheld from reviewers; no author clues in the file.
- What it publishes: research syntheses (systematic reviews, meta-analyses, meta-reviews, meta-synthesis, qualitative reviews) — not original primary studies; original theory → Psychological Review.
- Abstract: ≤ 250 words, on a separate page.
- Style: APA Publication Manual, 7th edition.
- Reporting: MARS (meta-analysis) · PRISMA (systematic review) · JARS (quant/mixed).
- Transparency: state preregistration + where; supply database, codebook, scripts (TOP, since Feb 1 2022 — 待核实 exact level).
- Fee: no submission fee stated (待核实; confirm any post-acceptance OA APC).
Preflight checklist
Fit & type
- It is a synthesis, not an original study or pure theory (else wrong journal)
- Synthesis type declared (meta-analysis / systematic / meta-review / qualitative)
Masking
- No author names, affiliations, or acknowledgments in the manuscript
- Self-references neutralized; easily identified self-citations removed from the reference list
- File metadata stripped (document properties)
- PROSPERO/OSF appendix anonymized (no registration number or author names)
Reporting & format
- Abstract ≤ 250 words on a separate page
- APA 7th-edition formatting throughout
- MARS / PRISMA / JARS checklist completed for the synthesis type
- PRISMA flow diagram + forest/funnel exhibits present (see
psychbull-tables-figures)
Transparency & compliance
- Preregistration stated with access location
- Database + codebook + scripts deposited with a DOI; availability statement drafted
- Ethics/attribution compliant; original synthesis (no plagiarized text)
Anti-patterns
- Author identifiers left in text, acknowledgments, or file metadata (breaks masking)
- A PROSPERO number visible in the masked appendix
- Abstract over 250 words
- Submitting an original empirical study or pure theory to the wrong venue
- Missing MARS/PRISMA checklist or an undeposited database
Desk-reject patterns at the APA review flagship
Most avoidable failures at Psychological Bulletin are caught before peer review — at the editor's desk. The recurring desk-reject patterns at the APA's flagship synthesis journal:
| Desk-reject pattern | Why it triggers | Pre-submission fix |
|---|---|---|
| Wrong venue | A primary empirical study or pure theory was submitted | Confirm it is a synthesis; route theory to Psychological Review |
| Broken masking | Author names, affiliations, or file metadata remain | Strip identifiers from text and document properties |
| Visible registration | PROSPERO number/names left in the masked appendix | Anonymize the appendix before upload |
| Over-long abstract | Abstract exceeds 250 words | Trim to the cap on a separate page |
| Missing reporting | No MARS/PRISMA/JARS checklist or PRISMA diagram | Complete the checklist for the synthesis type |
| No deposited data | "Available on request" instead of a DOI'd package | Deposit database, codebook, scripts before submitting |
Worked vignette — the final preflight pass
Illustrative figures only. The self-affirmation synthesis (k = 42, g = 0.34) clears preflight when:
- Fit is confirmed as a meta-analysis of existing trials, not new data.
- Masking is verified in the text, the neutralized self-citations, the stripped file metadata, and the anonymized OSF/PROSPERO appendix.
- Abstract is 218 words on its own page, stating k, the pooled g and CI, the moderator, and the robustness bottom line.
- Reporting: the MARS and PRISMA checklists are complete and the PRISMA diagram plus forest/funnel exhibits are attached.
- Transparency: the deposited database, codebook, and scripts carry a DOI and the availability statement is drafted. (Confirm the current TOP level and any APC on the official APA page.)
Referee/editor pushback → venue-specific fix
- "This appears to be a primary study." → Reframe only if it genuinely synthesizes a literature; otherwise it is the wrong journal.
- "Reviewer could infer the authors." → Remove residual self-references and metadata; re-anonymize the registration appendix.
- "MARS checklist is missing." → Attach the completed checklist matched to the synthesis type before resubmitting.
Output format
【Fit】synthesis, not primary study/theory? [Y/N]
【Type】meta-analysis / systematic / meta-review / qualitative
【Masked】text + self-refs + metadata + PROSPERO appendix clean? [Y/N]
【Abstract】word count (≤ 250)
【MARS/PRISMA/JARS】checklist complete? [Y/N]
【Transparency】database+codebook+scripts deposited + prereg stated? [Y/N]
【Next】await decision → psychbull-rebuttal on R&R
Supplementary resources
../../resources/external_tools.md— reference managers, masking, repository/deposit tooling../../resources/official-source-map.md— Editorial Manager, masked review, abstract, MARS/PRISMA/JARS, TOP