For Authors

Publish Your Research with ICR Publications

ICR Publications supports researchers throughout the scholarly publishing process by providing professional publishing infrastructure, editorial support, open-access publishing opportunities, research-integrity guidance, and services designed to improve the dissemination and visibility of academic research.

Because each ICR Publications journal has its own aims and scope, article types, manuscript requirements, peer-review procedures, publication charges, and author guidelines, authors should always consult the website of their selected journal before preparing or submitting a manuscript.

Find a Journal

Selecting the appropriate journal is an important first step in the publication process. Authors should review the aims and scope of ICR Publications journals and identify the title that most closely matches the subject, methodology, contribution, and intended readership of their research.

Before submitting, authors should review the selected journal's:

  • Aims and scope;
  • Accepted article types;
  • Author guidelines;
  • Manuscript preparation requirements;
  • Peer-review model;
  • Publication charges, where applicable; and
  • Submission requirements.

Manuscripts that fall outside the scope of a journal may be declined during editorial screening without external peer review.

Publishing with ICRP

Although specific workflows may vary between journals, scholarly publishing with ICR Publications generally involves the following stages:

  1. Journal selection – identify the most appropriate ICRP journal for the research.
  2. Manuscript preparation – prepare the article according to the selected journal's author guidelines.
  3. Submission – submit the manuscript through the journal's official submission system.
  4. Editorial screening – the Editorial Office or assigned editor assesses scope, presentation, academic suitability, and basic ethical and technical requirements.
  5. Peer review – manuscripts considered suitable for external evaluation are reviewed according to the journal's peer-review policy.
  6. Editorial decision – authors may receive a decision such as revision, acceptance, or rejection.
  7. Revision – where revision is requested, authors should respond carefully to editorial and reviewer comments.
  8. Acceptance and production – accepted manuscripts proceed through relevant publishing and production processes.
  9. Publication – the final Version of Record is published online with its bibliographic information and DOI where applicable.

Detailed submission procedures and journal-specific publication timelines are provided by each individual journal.

Author Rights & Responsibilities

Authors are responsible for ensuring the accuracy, originality, integrity, and ethical conduct of the research they submit to ICR Publications journals.

Authors are expected to:

  • Submit original scholarly work;
  • Ensure that all listed authors have made legitimate contributions;
  • Obtain approval from all authors before submission;
  • Provide accurate author names and affiliations;
  • Use ORCID identifiers where required or encouraged by the journal;
  • Accurately report research methods, data, analyses, and findings;
  • Cite relevant sources appropriately;
  • Obtain required ethical approval and informed consent;
  • Declare relevant conflicts of interest;
  • Declare funding and research support where applicable;
  • Obtain permission for copyrighted third-party material where required;
  • Disclose relevant use of artificial intelligence where required;
  • Respond appropriately to editorial and reviewer comments;
  • Review proofs carefully before publication; and
  • Cooperate with legitimate post-publication enquiries concerning the published work.

Submitting a manuscript does not guarantee acceptance. Editorial decisions are based on academic quality, originality, research integrity, relevance to journal scope, methodological appropriateness, and the applicable editorial and peer-review process.

Authorship & Contributorship

Authorship should accurately reflect substantial scholarly contributions to the work.

Authors should not include individuals who have not made a legitimate contribution, and legitimate contributors should not be omitted.

ICR Publications does not accept:

  • Gift or honorary authorship;
  • Ghost authorship;
  • Purchased or sold authorship;
  • False author identities;
  • Unauthorised addition or removal of authors; or
  • Authorship manipulation intended to influence publication or research evaluation.

Requests to change authorship after submission or acceptance may require written justification and confirmation from all affected authors.

Authors may also consult the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) ↗ for recognised publication-ethics guidance.

Open Access at ICR Publications

ICR Publications supports open-access scholarly communication and the wider dissemination of academic research.

Individual journals may use different open-access and funding models, including Article Processing Charges (APCs), institutional support, society support, grants, sponsorship, or other arrangements.

Where publication charges apply, the applicable amount, waiver arrangements, discounts, and payment requirements are stated by the relevant journal.

Financial arrangements do not determine whether a manuscript is accepted or rejected. Editorial assessment remains independent of an author's ability to pay.

Authors should consult the selected journal for its current APC and waiver information.

Where an article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence, authors and readers may consult Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) ↗ for the applicable reuse conditions.

Copyright & Author Rights

Copyright and licensing arrangements depend on the journal, publication model, and applicable Author Agreement.

For open-access articles, authors normally retain copyright unless copyright is owned by an employer, institution, government body, company, or another authorised rights holder.

The licence associated with the published article determines how readers and other users may share, reproduce, or adapt the work.

Authors should consult the ICR Publications Policies & Terms ↗ for publisher-level information concerning copyright, licensing, open access, repository sharing, publication ethics, artificial intelligence, corrections, retractions, and accessibility.

For articles distributed under CC BY 4.0, see Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 ↗.

Research Integrity

ICR Publications expects authors to conduct and report research according to appropriate ethical and scholarly standards.

Authors must not engage in:

  • Plagiarism;
  • Data fabrication or falsification;
  • Inappropriate image manipulation;
  • Duplicate publication;
  • Peer-review manipulation;
  • Citation manipulation;
  • Fabricated ethics approval;
  • False authorship;
  • Undisclosed serious conflicts of interest; or
  • Other deceptive research or publication practices.

Where research-integrity concerns arise, ICR Publications or the relevant journal may request original data, ethics documentation, analytical files, images, consent information, or other evidence necessary to assess the matter.

ICR Publications may refer to recognised guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) ↗ and its COPE Core Practices ↗ when considering research-integrity and publication-ethics matters.

Artificial Intelligence

Authors may use artificial intelligence and AI-assisted technologies responsibly where permitted by the relevant journal and ICR Publications policy.

AI systems cannot qualify as authors because authorship requires accountable human responsibility.

Authors remain responsible for verifying the accuracy of AI-assisted material, including citations, references, factual statements, analyses, interpretations, and conclusions.

Material use of generative AI should be disclosed where required by the applicable journal or publisher policy.

Detailed requirements are provided in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy ↗ within ICR Publications Policies & Terms.

ORCID & Researcher Identity

ICR Publications supports the use of ORCID ↗ to improve the accurate identification of researchers and their scholarly contributions.

Authors are encouraged to use their own authenticated ORCID iD rather than creating duplicate researcher identities.

Where required by an individual journal, authors should connect or provide their ORCID during submission or publication.

Author Support Services

ICR Publications recognises that some authors may require professional support before their manuscript is ready for submission or publication.

Where available, author-support services may include assistance with:

  • Academic language and editing;
  • Manuscript formatting;
  • Reference and citation formatting;
  • Technical manuscript preparation;
  • Figures and tables;
  • Research presentation;
  • Publication preparation; and
  • Other scholarly publishing support services.

Author Support Services are independent of editorial decision-making. Purchasing an editing, language, formatting, or publication-support service does not guarantee peer review, acceptance, or publication in an ICR Publications journal.

Author Resources

ICR Publications encourages authors to use established scholarly infrastructure and responsible research-sharing practices to improve the discoverability and accessibility of their work.

Useful author resources include:

  • ORCID ↗ – researcher identification and scholarly profile management;
  • Crossref ↗ – scholarly metadata and persistent linking infrastructure;
  • Digital Object Identifier (DOI) ↗ – persistent identification and linking of scholarly objects;
  • Institutional repositories – preservation and dissemination of research in accordance with the applicable licence;
  • Research profiles – maintenance of accurate scholarly records;
  • Funding acknowledgements – transparent identification of research support;
  • Data availability statements – where required by the journal or research discipline; and
  • Supplementary materials – supporting research information where appropriate.

Sharing & Promoting Published Research

Authors are encouraged to increase the visibility of their published research through responsible scholarly communication.

Depending on the applicable licence, authors may share their work through:

  • Institutional repositories;
  • Personal academic websites;
  • ORCID profiles;
  • Professional research networks;
  • Academic conferences;
  • Institutional communications;
  • Professional and social media; and
  • Other legitimate scholarly channels.

When sharing a published article, authors should use the DOI and link to the official Version of Record where possible.

Authors may use ORCID ↗ to maintain their researcher identity and connect scholarly outputs to their profile.

Published Article Updates

Where supported by an ICR Publications journal, publication-status information may be communicated through Crossref Crossmark ↗.

Crossmark can help readers identify whether a published article is current or has been subject to a correction, retraction, or other significant post-publication update.

Journal-Specific Author Information

ICR Publications maintains publisher-wide principles and policies, but individual journals retain their own detailed author requirements.

Authors should therefore consult the selected journal for:

  • Journal aims and scope;
  • Article types;
  • Word limits;
  • Manuscript structure;
  • Abstract requirements;
  • Reference style;
  • Tables and figures;
  • Supplementary files;
  • Peer-review model;
  • Submission checklist;
  • Current APCs;
  • Waiver and discount arrangements;
  • Editorial timelines; and
  • Submission instructions.

The journal-specific requirements should be followed when preparing a manuscript for submission.

Policies & Terms

Authors should familiarise themselves with the publisher's Policies & Terms before submission and publication.

The ICR Publications Policies & Terms cover:

  • Open Access;
  • Publication Ethics;
  • Artificial Intelligence;
  • Corrections, Retractions and Removal of Published Content;
  • Copyright & Licensing;
  • Accessibility; and
  • Terms of Use.

Relevant external standards and resources include:

Contact Author Support

For questions that are specific to a manuscript, submission, review, revision, or journal requirement, authors should contact the Editorial Office of the relevant journal.

For publisher-level enquiries, author-support services, copyright and licensing matters, or general publishing assistance, authors may contact ICR Publications.

Email: publications@icrp.org.uk

ICR Publications aims to support authors through responsible scholarly publishing, professional publishing infrastructure, research integrity, open research dissemination, and international academic collaboration.