Submission Preflight (respol-submission)

When to trigger

• "Submitting tomorrow" — last check before uploading to the Elsevier submission system
• Choosing between a full article and a Research Note, and what each requires
• Confirming length, abstract, anonymization, and declaration rules are RP-compliant
• Making sure the paper will not trip the out-of-scope desk screen

Process facts (source map refreshed 2026-06，editor/fee 项再核实于 2026-06-22；以官网为准)

• RP is Elsevier's flagship innovation-studies journal (Print ISSN 0048-7333); manuscripts go through the Elsevier online submission system (Editorial Manager), which assembles a single PDF for review; editable source files (Word/LaTeX) are required at acceptance for typesetting.
• Review model: double-blind — the manuscript must be anonymized; author identities are concealed from referees and vice versa (检索于 2026-06；以官网为准).
• Article types & length: full articles ~8,000–10,000 words including footnotes, references, and text in tables; Research Notes ~3,000–5,000 words (not a faster, lighter article — a Note requires a cover letter explaining its rationale, contribution, and why the Note format) (检索于 2026-06；以官网为准).
• Scope desk-screen: a paper whose literature is "almost entirely economics or management journals" is likely desk-rejected as out of scope; the cover letter and references must show innovation-studies (SPRU-tradition) grounding (检索于 2026-06；以官网为准).
• Data & code: include a data (and, where relevant, code) availability statement; verify the exact policy and any mandatory statement wording on the guide for authors (待核实).
• Editorial routing: RP runs a distributed editorial team (no single Editor-in-Chief); Maria Savona (SPRU / Luiss) is the Coordinating Editor (verified 2026-06-22). Address the cover letter to the journal and name the innovation-studies area so it routes to the right handling editor, rather than to one person by name.
• Fees: publishing via the subscription route carries no APC and no submission fee; the optional gold open-access APC is reported around USD 3,700 for 2026 (verified 2026-06-22; Elsevier shows a personalized APC by country/affiliation, so confirm the exact figure live). There is no society-style per-submission fee.
• Exact current abstract word limit and keyword/JEL requirements: 待核实 — confirm on the live guide for authors before submitting.

Preflight checklist

Scope & article type

• References and cover letter visibly anchor the paper in innovation studies (not econ/management-only)
• Article type chosen deliberately: full article vs. Research Note (with the Note rationale cover letter if applicable)
• The cover letter names the innovation-studies contribution and the suggested handling-editor area

Format & anonymization

• Length within the article-type limit (full ~8–10k incl. notes/refs/tables; Note ~3–5k) — 待核实 exact figure on the guide
• Manuscript fully anonymized for double-blind review (no author names, acknowledgements, self-citations that reveal identity, or identifying file metadata)
• Abstract within the journal's limit; keywords (and JEL if requested) present — 待核实
• Tables and figures legible, numbered, with self-contained notes; reference style per the Elsevier guide
• Editable source files (Word/LaTeX) ready for the acceptance stage

Declarations

• Data (and code) availability statement included and consistent with the analysis
• Funding, competing-interest, and authorship statements prepared per Elsevier policy
• Confirmed the paper is not under review elsewhere; AI not listed as an author

Full article vs. Research Note (decide before you format)

Anti-patterns

• Submitting a paper whose lit base is "all econ/management" — the canonical out-of-scope desk reject
• Treating a Research Note as a quick, lighter article (it needs its own justifying cover letter)
• Leaving author-identifying traces in a double-blind submission (acknowledgements, file metadata, "as we showed in [own work]")
• Omitting or mismatching the data/code availability statement
• Asserting an exact word/abstract limit or fee as fixed when it is volatile — mark 待核实 and check live

Output format

【Journal】Research Policy
【Skill】respol-submission
【Scope】lit base + cover letter anchored in innovation studies? [Y/N]
【Article type】full / Research Note (+ Note rationale letter if Note)
【Length & abstract】within limits (or 待核实)? [Y/N]
【Anonymization】double-blind clean (text + metadata)? [Y/N]
【Data/code statement】included and consistent? [Y/N]
【Declarations】funding / competing interest / authorship ready? [Y/N]
【Next step】submit via Elsevier system → respol-review-process for what to expect

Supplementary resources

• templates/checklist.md — submission self-check
• templates/manuscript_template.md — lightweight manuscript scaffold
• ../../resources/official-source-map.md — official URLs and volatile facts