Submission portal and 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 submission portal and article transfer service. The combination of a speedy submission experience and transfer service across our portfolio means research is published faster and can be used more rapidly, helping drive discovery forwards in a fast-moving world.  

We’ve put together answers to the most common questions below. These apply to journals using both submission portal and 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].

Submission portal  

What is submission portal?   

The Taylor & Francis submission portal is designed to offer the ultimate online submission experience, saving researchers time so they can focus on their research. A manuscript can be submitted in a matter of minutes, via a few simple screens. 

What will authors see when they use submission portal?  

You can preview the experience for authors with our step-by-step guide.  

What are the benefits of submission portal?  

• Seamless transfer functionality: authors can transfer submissions seamlessly between Taylor & Francis journals so they can publish important research quickly. This is designed for papers which aren’t suitable for the journal they were originally submitted to. If an article falls into this category, one or more journals from the Taylor & Francis family will be suggested. 
• Single sign-on to a centralized author dashboard: users no longer require multiple accounts for online submission systems like ScholarOne and Editorial Manager. Authors can submit manuscripts, stay updated on their progress, and put forward revisions, all from one dashboard accessed with a single login. 

• Personalized quotations for article publishing charges: these match researchers to their funding support, available through our extensive customer agreements.

• ORCiD compatible: authors can log in using their ORCiD credentials (the unique researcher identifier) and pre-populate details from their profile.
• Instant updates for WeChat users: this new Submission Portal feature ensures users of China’s biggest social media platform always know which stage of the submission and review process their articles have reached.

Do I need to do anything in submission portal? Do I need a submission portal account?  

No, you won’t need a submission portal account to carry out your day-to-day editor tasks (e.g. inviting reviewers, making decisions, etc.) because submission portal is author-facing and for the submission process only. You should continue to carry out these tasks in ScholarOne/Editorial Manager as usual. You will only need a Submission Portal account if you plan to submit a manuscript to a journal.  

What changes will I see when my journal is set up with submission portal and the article transfer service?  

You, your reviewers, and Editorial Office team will continue to use your current peer review system. You will notice some changes during this transition, outlined in detail below:  

Reject options  

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 will be contacted with a selection of suitable alternative journals to consider. The following sentence will be added to the ‘Reject – Unsuitable’ email template: “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.”  

In some cases you will not have had the opportunity to fully determine whether the article is sound. All articles will be peer reviewed by the recipient journal. Therefore, we ask you to please select ‘Reject Unsuitable’ in these instances. 

Custom questions  

There may be some changes to the wording or way that we collect information from authors, depending on the set up of your journal. When this applies, we will be in touch to discuss these with you prior to set up.   

Sending revision decisions  

When sending letters for Minor Revision, Major Revision or Reject & Resubmit decisions, you will need to ensure authors are sent the correct information based on where their manuscript originated e.g. ScholarOne, Editorial Manager, or Submission Portal.  

On set up you will  receive instructions on the steps you’ll need to follow when sending revision decisions. This is a temporary measure until all papers originating in either ScholarOne or Editorial Manager reach a final decision and all future submissions are via Submission Portal.  

New folders   

If you have administrator access you may notice additional folders on your menu. In ScholarOne this will be called ‘External manuscripts in draft’ and in Editorial Manager this will be called ‘Ingested Submissions’. Please do not action any content you see in these folders under any circumstances; they will be processed by our support team and then appear in your usual folders for you to action as normal.  

Submission Portal ID  

Papers will be given a Submission Portal ID which is a 9-digit number with the first two digits denoting the year the submission was created e.g. 19 for 2019 or 20 for 2020, which will be visible and searchable for editors. 

Changes to peer review systems: ScholarOne and Editorial Manager  

There are also some changes you may encounter which are specific to the peer review system and practices you use:  

ScholarOne  

• The subject line for all decision emails will be amended by our support team and should not be edited by the editor. There will also be an email address in the BCC field for all decision emails which should not be removed. These are built in features which tell the Submission Portal what has happened to the paper. 
• Revision letter templates will default to the new Submission Portal version, however if the paper originated in ScholarOne you will need to switch the template back to the old version. This is a temporary measure until all papers originating in ScholarOne reach a final decision, and is a quick, two-click process. Full instructions on how to do this will be provided when your journal is set up. 

Editorial Manager 

• Initially on set up, revision decision letters will be sent by our support team to ensure that the correct instructions are sent to authors. This a temporary measure until all papers originating in Editorial Manager have reached a final decision. You will receive detailed instructions on the steps to follow when your journal is set up.

An author has contacted me saying they cannot log in to Submission Portal, what should I do?  

Please direct authors to our author contact form. This will ensure the query is assigned to the right person and dealt with swiftly. Please do not try to resolve these issues yourself or provide the link to ScholarOne.  

Article Transfer Service  

What is the Article Transfer Service?  

Our goal is to provide first-class researcher services, supporting authors in publishing cutting-edge research. Our Article Transfer Service helps researchers find the right home to publish their work. 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 have been 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 papers 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.