Before You Start…
Please observe the following points as you prepare your manuscript for submission to Spora.
- With an eye on future researchers, Spora welcomes a broad range of student-accessible research or manuscripts with at least one student author. The student authors must have been graduate or undergraduate students at the time the project was concluded.
- If there is no faculty coauthor, then at least one faculty mentor must be listed as such on the manuscript, and a designated faculty mentor will be responsible for submission and communication with editors during the review and editorial processes.
What will the referees be looking for in a submitted paper?
Check out the review guidelines that we send them along with your manuscript.
- Manuscripts should be properly formatted using the Spora LaTeX template. The template itself contains important formatting guidelines.
- Figures and images should be of production quality/resolution.
Do we need to adhere to a certain style?
If you are composing your manuscript “from scratch”, it might help to consider the style guidelines mentioned on the FAQ page and demonstrated in the LaTeX template. For example, the list of references should be formatted in APA style, and the abstract should not exceed 150 words.
- Have a list of four possible peer reviewers ready. These should not include anyone from your institution or anyone with whom you have co-authored a paper in the past five years.
- Accepted manuscripts require an article processing charge (APC) to be paid before they are published. Details on the APC amount can be found on the FAQ page.
Submission Process
Fast-Track Review
For those wanting to expedite their manuscript’s review process, you can purchase ($90) a “Fast-Track Review.” This will guarantee that your manuscript is reviewed and an initial decision made within four weeks from the day of submission. Please note that this purchase does not guarantee that your manuscript will be accepted.
If you think this option is for you, please take the following steps:
- Go to the Spora online store to order a “Fast-Track Review” with a credit card.
- After the order is processed, you should receive a confirmation email with an order number.
- Include the order number in the “Cover Letter” field in Step 4 of the paper submission process (see below).
Author Support
Spora partners with Eloquenti to provide discounted services for proofreading, editing, and writing assistance.
Eloquenti is an online platform launched by academic researchers that allows customers to browse freelancer profiles and select editors based on subject matter expertise, pricing, and reviews. Many Eloquenti freelancers are scientists and researchers themselves, specialized in proofreading and copy-editing of scientific manuscripts.
Use discount code IBA5 to get 5% off services rendered at Eloquenti.
Submitting Your Article
Are you new to Spora? The faculty mentor on your manuscript will need to create an account at our manuscript submission site.
Are you a returning author? Welcome Back! You may log back in using the credentials you’ve already established.
You are now ready to submit your manuscript, but before we send you on your way to complete this four-step process, please keep the following in mind:
- The manuscript must include an “Author Contributions” section detailing each author’s individual contribution to the finished manuscript.
- You will need the name, email address, and affiliation of all authors and faculty mentor(s).
- You will need the name, email address, and affiliation of four possible peer reviewers for your manuscript—none of them should be in the same institution as yourself or have been co-authors with any of the authors of your manuscript within the past five years.
- You will need a PDF that you can upload as your submission.
- Any “Fast-Track Review” purchases should be made before you submit your manuscript, and the order number should be listed in the “Cover Letter” in Step 4.