Author guidelines
1. Ethics
The STAPS journal is a high-level scientific journal, publishing original research articles in a rigorous double-blind peer review process led by independent experts. To be published authors are required to agree with the following:
– That the manuscript, neither one with substantially similar content under their authorship, has never been published or accepted for publication, nor is being considered for publication elsewhere;
– That the manuscript is original and does not include duplicative materials (i.e., substantially similar content or using the same or similar data that have been previously published);
– That the manuscript does not include any illegal, defamatory, or fraudulent material;
– That the author(s) will not breach the rules of scientific ethics.
2. Submitting an unpublished manuscript
Manuscripts submitted to STAPS must be unpublished, in line with the editorial orientations and policy of the journal, and within one of the following types: “Research Article” (50,000 characters), “Work in Progress” (20,000 characters) and “Scientific Watch” (10,000 characters). Manuscripts can be submitted in French or English.
Submissions are made via the Manuscript Manager platform:
https://staps.manuscriptmanager.net
3. Authors Contact Information
On the first page should only be mentioned the given name(s), family name(s) and institution address of all authors, as well as, if possible, the phone number and e-mail address of the main author and precise date of submission. If authors wish to do so, it is also possible to mention the name(s) of experts in a position of potential conflict of interest. Authors using the address of a laboratory should check that they can do so both from an institutional and scientific standpoint.
4. Title page and abstract
After the authors contact information, on a separate page, the following should appear both in French and English:
– Title (concise and informative),
– Keywords (maximum five, for database use),
– Abstract (maximum 200 words). The abstract should include the aim of the research, method, main results and discussion.
5. Manuscript type and format
The manuscript is to be formatted using Times New Roman, size 12, double-spacing, unjustified. It should be no more than 20 pages in A4: 50,000 characters (± 10%) for “Research Article”, 20,000 characters (± 10) for “Work in Progress” and 10,000 characters (± 10%) for “Scientific Watch”. Headings should be written following the latest edition of the APA writing style (link to version 6: http://www.apa.org/pubs/books/4200066.aspx).
6. Typography, norms and submission standards
The APA writing style is to be used in the STAPS journal, no matter the manuscript type. Therefore, concerning typography, norms and submission standards, authors are required to refer to the latest edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (as of today Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Sixth Edition, American Psychological Association. Washington, DC)
Authors can refer to free tutorials to help them meet APA standards required by the journal, as can be seen on the following link: http://www.apastyle.org/learn/index.aspx
The different manuals are also described here: http://search.apa.org/publications?query=&facet=&pubtype=books§ion=series&serie=APA%20Style&subject=&sort=cd_asc
7. Standards for Tables, Figures and Photographs
Tables, figures and photographs should be inserted in the text and their location should be very clearly specified. They should be numbered (Table 1, Table 2, etc.) and each added on separate A4 pages (one table or one figure per page). Captions should all be grouped together on a separate page under the heading “Figure and Table Captions”. All tables and figures should meet the latest APA standards. After the manuscript is accepted, the author should provide originals or large-scale high-quality photographs, ready for reproduction.
8. Notes
They should be limited in number (maximum five) and concise (maximum five lines). They should all be grouped at the end of the manuscript under the heading “Notes”, just prior to “Bibliography”.
9. Bibliographical references in the text
Bibliographical references in the text should only include the name of author (uppercase for the initial, lower case for the rest) and the date of publication, in keeping with the latest APA standards.
10. Bibliography
All references quoted in the text, and solely them, should be grouped together at the end of the article under “Bibliography”. They should be listed in alphabetical order of authors’ names or main author’s name, and then in chronological order, in keeping with the lat-est APA standards.
11. Deadline and feedback
The submitted manuscript is checked by the editor-in-chief of the journal or the editor(s) of the relevant section against the journal’s Author Guidelines to make sure that it meets both the journal’s editorial standards and the latest APA stand-ards. A reply is sent to the author(s) within a period of ten days,. The editor-in-chief issues an acknowledgment receipt, quoting a registration number for the submitted manuscript. The editor-in-chief and editorial board of the STAPS journal will provide recommendations for the submitted article within three months following the acknowledgment receipt. A “feedback” form, used by all editors is forwarded to authors. It is divided into three parts: an overview written by the section editor based on two reviews conducted by two different reviewers (double blind) including the final decision; comments from reviewer A; and finally, comments from reviewer B.
12. Revisions
When major revisions are required, authors should answer point by point and in a systematic way to reviewers. If rejecting some modifications requested by reviewers, authors must justify such decision. When the manuscript is accepted at the end of the peer review process, authors send the final version to the editor of the relevant section, with the necessary amendments requested by reviewers and consistent with the formal guidelines of the journal (in keeping with the latest APA standards). The final manuscript is then sent by the section editor to the editor-in-chief. Authors then receive within a few days a formal notice of acceptance issued by the editor-in-chief and the editorial board of the STAPS journal.
Instructions for authors are available in French and English in this document: Bilingual French/English PDF (author guidelines).
In order to know more about the double-blind peer-review process, please visit http://staps.cairn.info/en/peer-review-process/ or refer to the following document: Bilingual French/English PDF (peer review process)
Special issue coordinators should take into consideration the following recommendations: Bilingual French/English PDF (instructions to coordinators).