--- name: eursr-submission description: Use when running the final pre-submission preflight for the European Sociological Review (ESR) via ScholarOne Manuscripts — anonymous-manuscript preparation, word/abstract caps, OUP author-date style, the Data Availability Statement, and replication-package readiness. Final checks; it does not draft content. --- # Submission Preflight (eursr-submission) The last check before submitting through **ScholarOne Manuscripts** (`mc.manuscriptcentral.com/esr`). ESR is **double-blind**, so the most common avoidable failure is an under-anonymized manuscript; the second is a missing or vague **Data Availability Statement**. Verify volatile specifics (caps, policy dates, editors, any fees) on the official OUP/ESR page first. ## When to trigger - "Submitting tomorrow" — last pass before upload - Unsure what ScholarOne expects (anonymous manuscript + DAS + replication readiness) - Confirming the caps are met, the manuscript is anonymous, and the data statement is in place ## Process facts (verify volatile items on the official page) - **Owner / publisher:** **flagship journal of ECSR** (European Consortium for Sociological Research, a non-profit under German law hosted at the WZB Berlin), published by **Oxford University Press**. Scope: sociology with a **quantitative emphasis**. - **Editor-in-Chief:** **Prof. Fabrizio Bernardi** (National University of Distance Education, UNED) (verified 2026-06-22 via ECSR, OUP, and Wikipedia; re-confirm the full team/term on the live Editorial Board page, as offices rotate). - **Portal:** **ScholarOne Manuscripts**, `mc.manuscriptcentral.com/esr`. - **Review model:** **double-blind** — the manuscript must be **completely anonymous**; you **may cite your own work** but not in identifying wording. - **Length:** Articles **around 8,000 words including endnotes and references** (tables and figures excluded); longer papers are considered, but reviewers judge whether the contribution justifies the length. (Some renderings cite a stricter cap — confirm the current figure; 待核实.) - **Abstract:** **≤200 words**, no identifying information; keywords as requested. - **Format / style:** English; **author-date** citations (e.g., "(Gans, 1962)") per OUP/ESR conventions. - **Data Availability Statement:** **required for every manuscript** (policy applies to submissions from 5 Sep 2022). - **Replication package:** for **statistical/computational** work, **submissions from 1 Jan 2025** must deposit a package as a condition of publication (assemble it now; typically required at conditional acceptance). **Qualitative work is exempt. Restricted/confidential data are accommodated** via shareable code plus a documented access path (no need to deposit the raw data itself). - **Article types:** research **Articles**, **Comments/Replies**, and **Data Briefs**. - **Fees:** no submission fee (verified 2026-06-22); an open-access APC applies only if OA is chosen. OUP sets the exact ESR APC on its live charges page and does not publish a stable figure — confirm the current amount and any read-and-publish/transformative-agreement waiver there. **Acceptance rate, time-to-first-decision, and reviewer count are not verified in the source map — check the live OUP/ESR page; do not quote a figure.** ## Preflight checklist ### Type & length - [ ] Article (~8,000 words incl. text + endnotes + references) / Comment-Reply / Data Brief - [ ] If over ~8,000, the contribution-justifies-length case is made - [ ] Abstract ≤200 words, non-identifying; keywords included ### Anonymity (double-blind review) - [ ] No author names, affiliations, or identifying acknowledgments anywhere in the manuscript - [ ] Self-citations neutralized ("in a prior study," not "in our prior study") - [ ] Identifying **file metadata stripped** (document properties) - [ ] No identifying funding/grant numbers in the manuscript body (move to the system fields) ### Format & files - [ ] English; author-date citations consistent (Zotero/BibTeX) - [ ] Tables/figures self-contained and anonymous (see `eursr-tables-figures`) ### Transparency & ethics - [ ] **Data Availability Statement** drafted (archive/provider + version + access condition) - [ ] **Replication package** assembled (statistical/computational) or exemption noted (qualitative) - [ ] Not under review elsewhere; prior appearances disclosed ## Avoidable returns at the ESR desk | Trip-wire | Consequence | Fix before upload | |-----------|-------------|-------------------| | Author names / identifying acknowledgments in the file | anonymity broken | strip them; use system fields | | "in our prior study" wording | de-anonymizes the author | neutralize to "in a prior study" | | Endnotes/references left out of word count | over the target on recount | count text + endnotes + references | | No / vague Data Availability Statement | desk return under policy | name archive, version, access condition | | Statistical paper, no package plan | stalls at conditional acceptance | assemble the package now | ## Worked micro-example (illustrative) An author preps a comparative panel paper for ScholarOne upload. ``` Body + endnotes + references: 8,140 words → near ~8,000; brief justification added for the extra Abstract: 192 words, no institutions named → within ≤200 Anonymity sweep: 4 self-citations reworded; acknowledgments removed; document properties cleared DAS: ESS open + register via DUA, code provided → drafted Package: master.R + harmonization + README + seed=2026, deposited on Zenodo (statistical → not exempt) ``` Caps verified on a recount including endnotes and references, a clean anonymity sweep, and the data statement plus package ready — the most common avoidable returns pre-empted before upload. ## Editor pushback → ESR-specific fix - *"We could identify the authors."* → Re-run the anonymity sweep on wording, acknowledgments, funding lines, and metadata; identifiers belong only in the ScholarOne fields. - *"Over length."* → Recount with endnotes and references; prune citation strings and endnotes, or argue the contribution justifies the length (hand to `eursr-writing-style`). - *"Data statement insufficient."* → Name the archive/provider, data version, and exact access condition (hand to `eursr-transparency-and-data`). ## Calibration anchors - **Anonymity is the highest-frequency failure.** At a double-blind journal, an under-anonymized file is the most common avoidable cause of a return. - **Endnotes and references count.** ESR's target includes them — budget for them early. - **The DAS and package are gating, not optional.** A required data statement and (for statistical work) a replication package are part of the submission posture; treat volatile dates/figures as provisional and verify live. ## Anti-patterns - Leaving author names, affiliations, or identifying acknowledgments in the manuscript - Treating endnotes/references as outside the word count — they count toward ~8,000 - Abstract over 200 words - A missing or vague Data Availability Statement - Submitting elsewhere while under ESR review ## Output format ``` 【Type】Article (~8,000) / Comment-Reply / Data-Brief — cap met or length justified? [Y/N] 【Anonymous】no identifiers + self-refs neutralized + metadata clean? [Y/N] 【Abstract】word count (≤200), non-identifying? 【Style】English + author-date consistent? [Y/N] 【DAS + package】statement drafted + package ready (or exemption noted)? [Y/N] 【Next】await decision → eursr-rebuttal on R&R ``` ## Supplementary resources - [`../../resources/external_tools.md`](../../resources/external_tools.md) — reference managers, anonymization, repro tooling - [`../../resources/official-source-map.md`](../../resources/official-source-map.md) — official ESR / OUP / ECSR URLs behind every fact in this pack