Common Ground Research Networks

We will evaluate your submission to determine if it meets the technical requirements and the journal's scope, concerns, and current needs.

Technical Requirements:

• Word Count: Manuscripts must be between 4,000 and 8,000 words. The title, abstract, and references are not counted toward the final word count.
• Author Names: All author names need to be on the original submission document. Our editorial team will take care of anonymizing the manuscript as necessary. Additional authors cannot be added once the manuscript has been approved to move into peer review.
• AI Acknowledgment: All submissions need to include an AI Acknowledgment regardless of whether AI tools were used or not. See the Journal Template for examples. (button below)
• CGScholar Profile: All submitting authors must have a completed CGScholar profile. The Micro-Bio, Affiliation, and Interests sections need to be filled out.
• Format: Manuscripts must be in .doc or .docx format. We do not accept PDF files.
• References: in languages other than English must include a translation in [square brackets] following the original. All reference entries should have a corresponding in-text citation, and vice versa.

Content Review:

• Scope and Concerns: To ensure your submission is a content fit, please review the scope and concerns of our Research Networks and Journals to make an appropriate choice. The CGRN Journal Publishing team will move your article for consideration in a different journal if it fits our needs.
• Fluency: Manuscripts must read fluently in English. They should be clear, concise, and accessible, and word choice should not reflect a conversational or relaxed dialogue.
• Scholarly Sources: References should contain an appropriate number of recent scholarly sources (see FAQs for definition).

Author Responsibilities:

• Publication Ethics: Authors should review all statements in the Publication Ethics Guide (see button below). Submissions must be original works that are not being considered for publication nor published elsewhere. No multiple, redundant, or concurrent submissions are allowed. Studies must comply with the Informed Consent for Human and Animal Rights statement.
• Use of AI/AI Authorship: Studies must comply with the Policy on the Use of Generative AI and AI-assisted Technologies.
• Eligibility: Authors must be currently enrolled in a graduate-level program (Master's degree or higher) or have equivalent academic or professional experience.
• Verify all references before submission: Ensure that every source in your reference list is accurate, up to date, and verifiable (e.g., correct author names, title, publication details, and active DOIs/URLs) to maintain the integrity and credibility of your manuscript. We strongly recommend that you exercise caution if using AI tools for references, as this can result in errors or fabricated details. It is the author's responsibility to cross-check references/citations against the original source material prior to submission. Manuscripts with unverifiable references will be withdrawn from consideration.

Adding Co-Authors

All co-authors must have a completed CGScholar profile. There are two ways to add a co-author:

At Article Submission: Provide your co-author's names.

After Article Submission: Provide your co-author's names and email addresses to the CGRN Journal Publishing Team via the Task/Query tab on your article Works page. Please ensure each co-author has a completed CGScholar profile before requesting addition.

Articles are two-way-blind peer-reviewed. The publisher, editors, reviewers, and authors agree on the standards of expected ethical behavior based on the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices.

After peer review has been completed, the author will have an opportunity to rate the review in terms of its completeness and helpfulness for revisions following our rubric. We encourage authors to be respectful and fair with their rating. This rating system is meant to help encourage and guide reviewers to improve feedback practices and to acknowledge the importance of critical and constructive reviews.

Reviewers who provide complete and constructive reviews will be given a certificate for their valuable contribution. Reviewers who successfully complete six reviews in a year will be considered for inclusion in a Research Network Editorial Board

If you pass Phase 1, your manuscript enters the peer review process, which consists of two parts: Stage 1 - Peer Review; Stage 2 - Content Review.

Please be aware that, along with others in the field of academic publishing, we are experiencing delays in finding qualified reviewers who are willing to respond to our requests. To help keep delays to a minimum, we rely on you and your co-authors, along with our pool of volunteers, to review the work of your peers when requested. Please respect your peers who are reviewing your submission by reciprocating this responsibility.

Stage 1: Peer Review

Your manuscript is sent to qualified peer reviewers for feedback. Once we have received two completed reviews, the reports and decision are released. You will receive one of the following decisions: Accepted (Minor Revisions), Accepted (Major Revisions), Rejected

Stage 2 Content Review

You must revise your manuscript based on the peer reviewers’ feedback. This will be the Accepted Manuscript (AM) version. Your revisions should be tracked using the “Track Changes” function in Microsoft Word, and you must complete a Change Note detailing responses to the feedback given by the peer reviewers. Our Editorial teams will review your revisions.

Please note that no content updates to the manuscript can be made after this phase.

After completing the Peer Review phase, you will receive a notification that your manuscript has entered the Rights Agreement phase. You will need to select the appropriate Rights Agreement.

Rights Agreement Options:

You will select from the following options: All Rights Reserved (+ Green Open Access), Open Access (CC-NC-BY-ND), Gold Open Access (CC-BY)

Gold Open Access:

If you have submitted to a Gold Open Access (CC-BY) journal, the only rights agreement option is Gold Open Access (CC-BY). This designation ensures that your article's Final Published Version, also known as the Version of Record (VOR), is permanently available online at no cost for anyone to read anywhere in the world. On passing peer review, an Article Publication Charge (APC) will be applied during the Rights Agreement phase. We provide two options for covering the APC:

• You may purchase a Membership (Membership is automatically included with all Conference Presenter Passes). However, Membership does not cover the total cost of the Gold Open Access APC by default. Nonetheless, depending on the number of points in your CGScholar account, you may receive a discounted or complimentary APC.
• Alternatively, you can pay the full Article Publication Charge (APC) during the Rights Agreement Phase of our publication process.

Changing Rights Agreement:

You can also change this agreement at any time after publication.

Journal articles need to be formatted in the journal’s template and use Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) Author-Date (18th ed.) rules for references and in-text citations.

Your manuscript will need to meet the following requirements to move into Copy Editing

Style: your references and citations must follow the Eighteenth Edition of the Chicago Manual of Style Author-Date. No other styles are allowed. (see download button)

Formatting: your manuscript must be in the CGRN Article Template (see button below). Figures and tables must fit the guidelines, and you will be asked to review statements regarding image permissions, informed consent, and conflicts of interest. All authors must have a CGScholar profile/account before this phase can be completed.

Please note that no content updates to the manuscript can be made in this phase.

After your manuscript has met the requirements of Phase 4, it will be moved into Copy Editing.

Your manuscript will be copy edited to correct grammar, spelling, and syntax issues. You may be asked to correct or resolve minor issues during this phase. Once all copy-editing notes are resolved, you will receive a typeset proof in Phase 6 for final inspection.

Please note that no content updates to the manuscript can be made in this phase.

Once all copyediting corrections have been resolved, you will receive a typeset proof.

You will be asked to inspect and approve the typeset proof for publication. Once approved, your manuscript will move into Publication.

Please note that no content updates to the manuscript can be made in this phase.

After you have provided publication approval, your manuscript will be queued for publication.

Your manuscript will be published Online First in the CGScholar Bookstore. This is the Final Published Version (FPV). All Online First publications include a full citation and a registered DOI. The CGRN Journal Publishing Team will contact you with all the relevant details.