Article transfer service FAQs

We put researcher services at the heart of everything we do, working with our partners to support authors in publishing cutting-edge research. That’s why we’re introducing improved researcher services on many of our journals with our article transfer service, helping researchers find the right home to publish their work.  

We’ve put together answers to the most common questions below. These apply to journals using the article transfer service.  

If you can’t find the answer you’re looking for, get in touch with us via your journal editorial office support (JEO), or our helpdesk at: [email protected].

What is the article transfer service?  

Our article transfer service helps researchers find the right home to publish their research. If rejected, authors are offered a range of high quality, relevant journals to submit to. They won’t need to enter all the details into a new submission system, saving researchers time so they can focus on their research. 

• Transfer destinations include journals across our trusted imprints: Routledge, Taylor & Francis, and F1000 Research, ensuring every piece of research can find the most suitable home.
• We aim to ask for additional details only if the receiving journal has a specific need, so research is published faster and can be used more rapidly. 
• Every article is evaluated by the receiving journal, ensuring quality, validity, and relevance.
• A choice of open access options allows the research to reach more readers and increase impact.

What are the benefits of the article transfer service?  

• Helps authors find the right home for their research.
• If rejected authors are offered a range of suitable journals to submit to, improving the experience of submitting to your journal. Authors will have the option to submit to a suggested journal for consideration, or decide to withdraw their article. 
• Authors won’t need to enter all the details into a new submission system, so research is published faster and can be used more rapidly.
• All articles transferred will be evaluated by the journal receiving the paper via the transfer service, ensuring an article’s quality, validity, and relevance. The offer of an article transfer is not a guarantee that their article will be accepted by the new journal.   

Are peer review reports transferred with the article transfer service?  

All articles transferred will be subject to peer review by the journal receiving the paper via the transfer service. We’re currently exploring how peer review reports could be transferred in future to reduce the overall time and effort for academics involved in peer review.  

What changes will be made to the decision email templates in my journal’s peer review system?   

We have  set up decision email templates  for both the ‘reject – unsound’ and ‘reject – unsuitable’ options. The body of both templates uses the same wording as your journal’s existing decision email templates. The only distinction is that the ‘reject – unsuitable’ template will include the following additional sentence: “Your manuscript may be better suited to one of Taylor & Francis’ other journals, and the Taylor & Francis editorial team might be in touch with some specific suggestions.”  

Will my journal start to receive transferred articles?   

Your journal may start to receive transferred articles from other journals, if your journal is identified as a transfer option and if an author decides to submit. Transferred articles will appear in your peer review system for you to action as usual. The ultimate decision to accept or reject the manuscript is entirely at the independent discretion of the journal editor.  

Will papers I reject be transferred to other journals?   

At the point you reject an article, you will be given the opportunity to let our transfers team know if your editorial process has already identified reasons why it should not be considered for publication. You will therefore have two reject options:

• Reject unsuitable – for all articles that do not meet the editorial threshold of your journal or are out of scope. Unless your initial review has already identified concerns about the soundness of a paper, this will be the default reject decision.
• Reject unsound – use this for unsound articles only; where the article in question should NOT be published e.g. because you have concerns over the method, research question or conclusions.

The option you choose will not be visible to authors; they will continue to receive a standard reject decision.

When you select the ‘Reject Unsuitable’ option, authors of these papers may be contacted with a selection of suitable alternative journals to consider. All transferred articles will go through the receiving journal’s usual peer review processes, with the decision to accept or reject at the independent discretion of that journal’s editor.

Can authors transfer to more than one journal?  

Papers can only be considered by one journal at a time. If authors receive more than one transfer suggestion, they will be asked to select the one that’s most appropriate for their article.  

What if I don’t know if an article is unsound or unsuitable?   

Use ‘reject unsound’ only when you believe the article in question should NOT be published by any journal  because you have concerns over the method, research question or conclusions.   

If the decision on soundness/unsoundness of a paper is outside of  your expertise, please select ‘reject unsuitable’. Articles transferred will go through peer review as normal by the journal receiving the submission via the transfer service. If this uncovers flaws in the paper, it will be rejected.  

Will authors have to pay to publish?  

There’s no cost for using the transfer process. However, if the journal they’re transferring the article to is  fully open access, publication may be subject to an article publishing charge (APC). APCs vary by journal and can depend on the type of article.   

Taylor & Francis has established a broad range of partnerships with institutions and funders around the world to support authors who wish to publish open access. Discounts and waivers are also available to researchers based in lower income economies. Find out about  open access publishing support.