Journal of Model Based Research · ISSN 2643-2811 · Open Access Pub
Instructions for Authors
Write the model down so that a reader in another field can see what you assumed and follow what you did with it.
What follows is what the Journal of Model Based Research asks of a manuscript: how it should be put together, what has to be disclosed, and how to send it in.
Before you write
Start from the contribution
The journal publishes work in which a model carries the contribution. The clearest manuscripts say early and explicitly what that contribution is — a formulation, an assumption made visible, a calibration method, an evaluation, an uncertainty treatment, an inference or an interpretation — and then spend their length supporting it.
Aims and Scope states what the journal considers. Authors who are unsure whether a manuscript fits are welcome to write to the editorial office before preparing it.
Manuscript types
Types and length guidance
The word figures below are the journal's guidance rather than strict limits, and they exclude the abstract, references, tables and figure legends. Where a manuscript has good reason to differ, say so in the cover letter.
- Original Research Articles5,000 words
- A model built and put to work on a research question, with its formulation, evidence and inference set out in full.
- Methodological and Computational Methods Papers4,000 words
- A new method, modeling approach or computational technique, with the reasoning that supports it.
- Algorithm Development Papers4,500 words
- An algorithm for optimization, simulation or analysis, with the properties claimed for it demonstrated.
- Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses6,000 words
- A structured synthesis across modeling studies, with its search and appraisal method stated.
- Review Articles6,000 words
- A critical survey of a modeling literature, a method family or a class of representations.
- Short Communications2,000 words
- A compact result, application or methodological advance that stands on its own.
- Technical Notes1,500 words
- A refinement, implementation detail or correction of technique that other modelers can reuse.
- Benchmarking Studies4,000 words
- A comparison of approaches, algorithms or tools under a stated and reproducible protocol.
- Data Descriptor Papers3,000 words
- Documentation of a dataset produced by or prepared for modeling work, written for reuse.
- Software and Tools3,500 words
- A modeling tool, package or platform, with its scope, interfaces and documentation.
- Case Studies4,000 words
- A model applied to a specific system or setting, with what the application establishes made explicit.
- Perspectives and Commentaries2,500 words
- An argued view on a modeling question, method or debate.
- Opinion Pieces2,000 words
- A scholarly position on the direction of model-based research.
- Letters to the Editor1,000 words
- Correspondence on work published in the journal or on a question the journal covers.
Structure
How to build the manuscript
Structure follows the kind of contribution. An empirical study is naturally reported as introduction, methods, results and discussion; a theoretical, methodological, conceptual or review manuscript is not, and should not be forced into that shape.
Every manuscript
- A title page carrying the title, all authors, their affiliations, and the corresponding author's contact details.
- An abstract that states the problem, what was done and what follows from it. Use the structured form where the work is empirical.
- Keywords that a reader in a neighbouring field would recognize.
- A statement of the model: what it represents, what it assumes and what it leaves out.
- Enough detail for the work to be repeated: governing relationships, parameters and their sources, estimation or solution procedure, software and versions.
- The evidence bearing on the claims made, and the uncertainty that attaches to them.
- A discussion that keeps its conclusions inside what the model and its evidence support.
- Declarations: funding, competing interests, data and code availability, ethics where applicable, and author contributions.
Where the work is theoretical, methodological or a review
Results and validation sections are replaced by what the contribution actually rests on: derivations and their conditions, worked demonstrations, the search and appraisal method of a review, or the argument of a perspective. The journal sets no universal requirement for a new dataset, an empirical benchmark or a deployment result.
Preparation
Files, figures and references
Manuscript file
Microsoft Word (.docx) or LaTeX. Number pages and lines. Equations are numbered, and every symbol is defined where it first appears. Algorithms are given as clear pseudocode with their assumptions stated.
Figures and tables
Figures at a minimum of 300 dpi, in TIFF or EPS where the format allows, each with a caption that can be read on its own. Tables are supplied in editable form rather than as images. Material reproduced from elsewhere carries its permission and its source.
References
A complete reference list, with a DOI wherever one exists. Cite the version of a dataset, model or software that was actually used, including its version or release identifier.
Supplementary material
Supplementary files carry the detail a reader needs to reproduce the work: model code, parameter tables, derivations, extended results. Each file is named and referred to in the manuscript.
Disclosures
What must be declared
Data and code
Every empirical research manuscript must include a data-availability statement.
State how the data and code behind the work can be obtained. Where material is sensitive, proprietary or otherwise restricted, state the access route and the conditions; the editors may ask for it to be made available to reviewers in confidence.
Research involving people or animals
Report the approving committee and the approval reference, and confirm consent where it applies.
Trial registration
Interventional clinical trials must be registered in an accepted public trial registry at or before the first participant provides consent for enrollment. The registry name, registration number, and registration date must be reported in the manuscript.
Authorship, funding and competing interests
List everyone who meets the authorship standard and acknowledge everyone who does not. Declare the funding that supported the work and any interest a reader could reasonably consider relevant.
Preprints and prior work
Preprints are accepted; disclose the preprint and its identifier at submission. A manuscript is under consideration at one journal at a time.
Requesting double-blind review
Single-blind by default; double-blind review is available on request.
For double-blind review, remove author names, affiliations, acknowledgments, funding details, institution names, and other identifying information from the reviewer manuscript. Provide identifying information separately in the title-page file or submission form.
Submission
How to send the manuscript
Use whichever of the routes below suits you. They reach the same editorial office.
- Primary route
- ManuscriptZone — The journal's submission portal, which tracks a manuscript from submission through decision.
- Alternative route
- Simple manuscript submission form — A short web form that arrives already set to this journal.
- Assisted route
- [email protected] — Write to [email protected] and the editorial office will start the submission for you.
Authors must use only one submission route for the same manuscript.
Where to go next
The pages below hold the scientific remit, the editorial standards and the publication charges.
Aims and Scope Editorial Policies Article Processing Charges For Reviewers