Publication Types
Open Palaeontology supports publication of all aspects of the research process, in order to better capture the real work inherent that is often not visible. Open Palaeontology therefore publishes several types of manuscript, outlined below.
Open Palaeontology also supports accessible multimedia publication formats. Video and audio submissions must be accompanied by a full script, a full written description of the methods, and a complete reference list. All code and data should be made available in the same way as with a written manuscript.
Open Palaeontology is a 'PCI-friendly' journal which means we have a simple process for considering submissions which have been reviewed and received a recommendation from Peer Community In Paleontology. Submissions that have received a PCI Paleo recommentation should flag this in their cover letter and/or comments to the editor and we aim to make an initial decision on the submission within five working days. We will consider the reviews and recommendation provided during the PCI Paleo process but may request additional reviews if we think they are editorially necessary.
Our publication types are flexible – if you have an idea that does not fit into one of our boxes, or if your submission needs to be longer than the limits given in the table below, please contact us.
Overview of publication types
|
Type |
Description |
Written |
Multimedia |
|
Hypotheticals |
Short opinion pieces outlining a novel idea |
2000 words |
15 minutes |
|
Preregistered |
Outline of methods for a planned future study |
3000 words |
30 minutes |
|
Research articles |
A full research article with traditional sections |
10000 words |
60 minutes |
|
Reviews |
Detailed review articles synthesising previous |
10000 words |
N/A |
|
Comments |
Short articles commenting on/refuting/ |
3000 words |
N/A |
|
Amendments |
Post-publication changes to work submitted |
N/A |
N/A |
1 Hypotheticals
Hypotheticals are short, concise pieces outlining a novel idea or hypothesis. This is broadly equivalent to the introduction and aims of a traditional research article. Hypotheticals represent early-stage thought experiments, descriptions of testable hypotheses, new ideas, or open calls for collaborations in key areas.
The suggested length for Hypotheticals is up to 2,000 words (manuscript text only, not including references or figure/table captions) and usually up to one figure and one table. For a multimedia article this should be up to about 15 minutes long.
2 Preregistered research protocols
Preregistered research protocols are plans for work to be done. These plans should include the detailed aims, objectives, and hypotheses to be tested, as well as clear strategies for data collection and analysis to be carried out. Preregistration of research protocols in this way is common practice in clinical and social sciences. These articles may be primarily focused on publishing protocols that represent method developments, or may represent plans for a full study and an anticipated follow-up full Research article.
The maximum length for Preregistered research protocols is 3,000 words (manuscript text only), with an additional reference list, and up to two figures and two tables. This equates to up to about 30 minutes in length for a multimedia article.
3 Research articles
Full research articles containing, broadly, an introduction, methods, results, and discussion. A Research article can be submitted as a standalone paper, or can be a full article comprising a previously published Hypothetical and a Preregistered research protocol plus a follow-up results and discussion. We also accept full research articles that focus on presenting novel methodologies or protocols, and proof of their efficacy.
The maximum length for full Research articles is 10,000 words (manuscript text only), with 10 figures, 5 tables, and an unlimited reference list. Multimedia articles should be up to about 60 minutes long.
4 Reviews
Review papers, synthesising existing research to reach new conclusions or suggestions for future research, are accepted in any area covered by Open Palaeontology.
The maximum length for Reviews is usually 10,000 words (manuscript text only), with a limit of 10 figures and an unlimited reference list. We do not expect the Review structure to be compatible with a multimedia article, but please contact the Editorial Board if you wish to discuss this.
5 Comments
Comments are short papers that directly respond to a published article, which may have been originally published in a different journal. These may focus on any research area covered by Open Palaeontology.
The maximum length for Comments is usually 3,000 (manuscript text only) with one figure, but this may be extended upon contacting the Editorial Board. Comments should be written articles rather than multimedia articles.
6 Amendments
Amendments are post-publication changes made to work published in Open Palaeontology. Amendments fall into three categories: minor, major, and complete. In other publications minor and major amendments may be called errata, corrigenda, or corrections, and complete amendments are similar to retractions. Here we have followed the terminology and ethos of Barbour et al. (2017) in trying to reduce the stigma around updating articles after publication. We think that this will help improve the transparency and accuracy of the scientific record.
The category of amendment will be determined by the Open Palaeontology Editorial Team. Requests for amendments should be made either by emailing contact@openpalaeo.org or your original Handling/Managing Editor, or by accessing the original submission on the Open Palaeontology website and addressing a comment to the Editors.
Minor and major amendments will be published as new versions of existing publications, retaining the same DOI. The original article PDF (for written publications) will be updated with the following text added below the abstract (depending on amendment category), and the text of the amendment itself will be added at the end of the PDF. In some cases, the original text, tables, or figures of the publication will need to be amended (rather than added at the end of the PDF); in which case, the text added to the first page will clarify this. For complete amendments, a new version will be created that describes the timeline and nature of the complete amendment, and the original version of the article will remain available at the old DOI.
Minor amendments
A minor amendment was made to this article on [DATE]. Details of this amendment can be found at the end of the article PDF, with the article [text/figures] [unmodified from the original/replaced by the amendment].
Major amendments
A major amendment was made to this article on [DATE]. Details of this amendment can be found at the end of the article PDF, with the article [text/figures] [unmodified from the original/replaced by the amendment].
Complete amendments
A complete amendment was made to this article on [DATE]. This article cannot be considered [scientifically/ethically reliable] in its original form. The updated text detailing the complete amendment is available here: [new version DOI]. The original article remains in place here: [original version DOI]. [The HTML abstract should be replaced by a description of the timeline and nature of the complete amendment, and this description should also appear at the top of the article PDF.]
7 Preprint policy
We encourage authors to share their work as a preprint before or during its consideration at Open Palaeontology. We do not provide a preprint service at Open Palaeontology but there are several subject-specific and non-specific preprint servers available online. We urge caution for authors considering preprinting work that includes new taxonomic descriptions and names (see ICZN Article 21.8).
8 Additional considerations
Video submissions are also accepted, which can come under any of the publication types described above. These will be subject to the same review process as for all manuscript submissions.
Authors may submit a Hypothetical article, followed by a Preregistered research protocol and later a full Research article, on the same study as it progresses through the stages of the scientific method. In principle, a researcher could write a Hypothetical piece, outlining a knowledge gap and proposing hypotheses to evaluate. They could choose to follow this up with a Preregistration research protocol describing in detail the protocol they will follow to test their hypotheses. Finally, the researcher could publish a full Research article comprising links to their first two articles alongside the results and a discussion of their findings. The journal pages for each article will be updated with each subsequent publication to link the articles under a single study. Authors are not obligated to publish their research in these separate categories, and may publish a full Research article as a complete standalone research paper.
Open Palaeontology encourages the submission of articles containing or comprising negative or null results. This includes results of statistical analyses, of unsuccessful methodologies (laboratory protocols and otherwise), and field campaigns. Negative or null results and the methods that led to their production are as important to publish as ‘positive’ results, in no small part because they prevent the duplication of unnecessary work within academia, and better evidence the catalogue of work that a researcher has carried out.
If you have an idea for an article that doesn’t fit the publication types defined above, or you’re uncertain which publication type your article falls under, please contact the Editorial Board.