"We're submitting this week" — the last check before Editorial Manager
Unsure which files CAR's portal requires or what the submission fee is
Need to confirm the manuscript is blind and the title page is separate
Verifying length, abstract, and Data Integrity items before upload
Always re-verify current limits, fees, and required files on the official CAAA/CAR author-guideline pages and the CAR Style Guide before submitting — specifics change. As of 2026-06-01 the verified key specs are below.
Verified CAR specs (confirm current values)
Submission system: Editorial Manager (EM) at editorialmanager.com/car.
Submission fee:CA/US $250 for CAAA members, CA/US $600 for non-members (Canadian funds in Canada, US funds elsewhere), paid by Visa or Mastercard; upload the receipt. Reviewer-earned fee waivers are uploaded as proof of payment. Invited revisions pay no further fee. Desk-rejected manuscripts on/after Apr 1, 2021 get a 50% refund; otherwise non-refundable; no refund where a waiver was used.
Length:50 pages overall, with a 30-page main-text maximum (12-pt, double-spaced, 8.5"×11", 1-inch margins); the limit excludes title page, abstract, and references. Qualitative papers may modestly exceed the 30-page main-text guideline if the 50-page overall limit holds; overflow goes to an online-only supplementary appendix. Word or LaTeX; submit in Word or PDF.
Abstract:≤ 300 words on an abstract page beginning the manuscript (question/importance, predictions, method, findings, implications) + up to six keywords. (CAAA translates the abstract into French for publication.)
Style: footnotes (not endnotes); references on a new page in author-date style; each exhibit on a new page; accepted papers conform to the CAR Style Guide.
Required Editorial Manager files
Blind original manuscript — no author names, affiliations, or "our prior work" phrasing; file metadata and file name scrubbed of identifiers
Separate title page — author names/affiliations, corresponding-author contact, acknowledgements, and the data availability statement (required if the paper uses data)
Author declaration form — signed by all authors, including the overlap-disclosure of shared data/sites/materials/participants/modeling with any other paper
Ethics-approval verification — for any human participants: institutional REB/IRB clearance, an REB-issued exemption, or a senior-administrator letter (a bare assertion is not accepted)
Proof of payment (or fee-waiver document)
Optional: cover letter, research instrument, related research article(s)
Data Integrity items collected at submission (in EM)
(1) Description of how data were acquired/produced and their sources; full instrument attached for surveys/experiments
(2) For proprietary organizational data: agreement to provide a credible verification means on editor request; any NDA restrictions disclosed
(3) Disclosure of which authors had data access and ran the analyses
Any exception request to the policy attached to this initial submission (EIC-approved only in exceptional cases)
Declarations & policy
Generative-AI use declared and described in Methods (grammar/reference tools exempt)
CAR Conference acknowledgement footnote added if the paper was presented there
Conference/working-paper versions and any concurrent submission status disclosed
Hypothesis labels, construct names, and table/figure numbers consistent throughout
Anti-patterns
Uploading a manuscript with author identifiers or "in our 2021 study" intact.
Forgetting the submission fee/receipt, or assuming non-members pay the member rate.
Asserting ethics approval instead of uploading documented REB/IRB verification.
Letting main text exceed 30 pages (or the paper exceed 50) instead of using the online appendix.
