Submission Preflight (jpsp-submission)

The last check before uploading to the correct section's Editorial Manager portal. The two most common avoidable failures at JPSP are (1) submitting to the wrong section and (2) an under-masked manuscript. Verify volatile per-section specifics on the live APA page first.

When to trigger

• "Submitting tomorrow" — last pass before upload
• Confirming the section, its portal, and its caps
• Confirming the manuscript is properly masked and JARS/TOP disclosures are present

Process facts (verify volatile items on the official page — 待核实)

• Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA).
• Section + portal (pick one): ASC → editorialmanager.com/asc · IRGP → editorialmanager.com/irg · PPID → editorialmanager.com/pid. Each section is edited independently.
• Review model: masked review for all submissions — mask the manuscript; provide a separate title page.
• Abstract: ≤ 250 words. A limitations statement (≤ 200 words) may be required after the abstract (待核实).
• Length / studies: ASC intro + discussion ≤ 3,500 words; IRGP intro + discussion ≤ 5,000 words and ≤ 5 studies in the main text (extras → supplement); PPID "as succinctly as possible" (待核实). Tables/figures embedded; table content not counted toward the word limit.
• Style: APA Publication Manual (7th edition); JARS required.
• Transparency: TOP Level 2 — state data/code/materials repository + preregistration status.
• Fee: no submission fee stated (待核实; confirm any post-acceptance open-access APC).

Preflight checklist

Section & length

• Correct section chosen; uploading to that section's Editorial Manager portal
• Section word cap met (ASC ≤ 3,500 / IRGP ≤ 5,000 intro+discussion)
• Study count within the section cap (IRGP ≤ 5 in main text; extras in supplement)
• Abstract ≤ 250 words; limitations statement within cap if required (待核实)

Masking (masked review)

• No author names, affiliations, or acknowledgments in the manuscript
• Self-citations neutralized; no "as we showed in…"
• Identifying file metadata stripped (document properties, comments)
• Repository / OSF / preregistration links masked (no identifying URLs)
• Separate (non-masked) title page prepared as a distinct file

Format, reporting & transparency

• APA 7th formatting; author–date citations; bias-free language
• Tables/figures embedded in the text; supplement has a table of contents
• JARS table for the design completed
• TOP Level 2 disclosures present (data/code/materials availability + preregistration status)

Compliance & files

• Ethical treatment of human subjects stated; IRB as applicable
• Disclosure of any prior JPSP rejection (any section) and any published work using the same data
• File format per section (e.g., IRGP: .docx or .tex zip + PDF; ASC/PPID: .doc) — verify

Anti-patterns

• Uploading to the wrong section's portal
• Author identifiers left in text, acknowledgments, file metadata, or a repository URL
• Abstract over 250 words; intro+discussion over the section cap
• More than the section's study cap in the main text
• Missing JARS or TOP Level 2 disclosures
• Budgeting for a submission fee that is not charged (verify)

Avoidable desk-return triggers, ranked by frequency

The screen at JPSP catches the same failures repeatedly. This is illustrative ordering of risk, not an official list — confirm the current per-section requirements against the journal's submission guidelines (待核实).

A clean submission clears all six in one pass; any single miss can cost a review cycle.

Output format

【Section + portal】ASC/IRGP/PPID → correct Editorial Manager URL? [Y/N]
【Caps met】intro+discussion words + study count within section limits? [Y/N]
【Abstract】word count (≤250) + limitations statement if required
【Masked】text + self-refs + metadata + repo links clean? [Y/N]
【APA 7th + JARS + TOP L2】all present? [Y/N]
【Files】per-section format + title page + supplement ToC? [Y/N]
【Next】await decision → jpsp-rebuttal on R&R / accept-with-revision

Supplementary resources

• ../../resources/external_tools.md — masking, JARS, repository, APA 7th tooling
• ../../resources/official-source-map.md — per-section portals, caps, masked-review, JARS/TOP policies