Publication types

The TSR journal publishes the following types of manuscripts.

Research article

This is the most classical format of a scientific publication. It requires a clearly stated research problem, transparent description of the methods used to address it, presentation of the data and analysis results, discussion and conclusions sections. Research articles are always sent to external reviewers (peer scientists with the competence in the related areas).

Short communication

Short communication is a professional narrative presenting an innovative hypothesis, early findings or an interesting case when the available data does not allow to develop it into a full-scale research article.

Short communication is peer-reviewed similarly to research articles, however the reviewers are informed about the paper format and that the expectations are slightly different.

Response letter

Response letter is a format meant to facilitate high-quality post-publication discussions. It may contain critique (or praise) of the work done by the authors or point out aspects that are relevant yet not addressed in the original article. The points raised must be substantive, appropriate (legally, ethically, with regards to language, etc.) and of interest to other readers. The response letter is published as a stand-alone article and receives its own DOI address; it appears on the web page of the original article, too. In their turn, the authors are encouraged (though not obliged) to provide a response which is published together with the response letter.

A response letter is expected to be quite short (1–2 pages), though it may contain figures, tables, etc. used to illustrate the point. The author must provide his/her name, affiliation, and contact details, as well as a statement regarding conflicting interests. It must be clear from the text which TSR publication the letter responds to; similarly, the text must describe in sufficient detail how the original article treats a particular point before criticizing it.

The response letters are submitted through the journal system similar to other types of publications. The entire process is moderated by a journal editor who also has the final decision power in how the letter is treated. In general, the editor’s function is to let through only substantial and constructive discussion, free from personal accusations, unsupported opinions or questionable arguments.

Correction

Correction is a short article describing the updates that have been made to a previously published paper, such as in case the text contained an error or a piece of important information was missing (e.g. mentioning of a contributor or the source of funding in the Acknowledgements).

If an error is found, the authors should promptly contact the Editorial team. The scale of the error should be signifanct enough to initiate the correction process (e.g. a simple typo not affecting the meaning does not qualify).