Author Guidelines
Submit an article
All new Behavioral Interventions manuscripts are submitted through the Wiley Authors Submission platform.
About this journal
Journal Details
1. Preparing Your Submission
You can read Wiley's Preparing Your Article resource for general information about preparing a submission.
1.1 Free Format submission
Behavioral Interventions offers Free Format submission for a simplified and streamlined submission process.
Free Format submission means authors can format their manuscript and references in the style or format they would prefer. Wiley will update the formatting into the journal style if the manuscript is accepted for publication. Review Wiley’s page on Free Format submission to learn more about how it works.
While there are no requirements for the formatting you choose, we still ask authors to use a consistent format throughout the manuscript and include all information necessary for conducting peer review. Information such as ORCID IDs and co-author details are necessary for conducting timely and ethical peer review. In keeping with the latest guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, each author’s contribution to the paper is to be quantified.
1.2 Article types
Behavioral Interventions publishes the following types of submissions:
- Research articles
- Brief reports
- Reviews
- Book reviews
- Letter to the Editor
Reports of new research findings or conceptual analyses that make a significant contribution to applied behaviour analysis.
Short reports of an innovative technique, intervention for understudied areas, or intervention that may be less methodologically rigorous than a research report.
Critical reviews of the literature, systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
Critiques of books or current literature.
Contact the Editor-in-Chief for further directions if you are interested in submitting a letter.
1.3 Peer Review Model
This journal follows a single-anonymized peer review model, for applicable article types.
Behavioral Interventions has adopted the ANSI/NISO Standard Terminology for Peer Review. Standardizing the terminology used to describe peer review across journals and publishers helps make the peer review process for articles and journals more transparent. It will also help the community to better assess and compare peer review practices between different journals.
- Identity transparency:
- Single anonymized
- Reviewer interacts with:
- Editor
- Review information published:
- None
- Post publication commenting:
- On invitation
You can learn about the different peer review models on Wiley's Author Services page.
To learn more, you can review Wiley's policy on the confidentiality of the review process.
1.4 Submission Preparation Checklist
This checklist includes the information you will need to provide at submission and whether it should be included directly in their main document and/or uploaded separately on the submission platform.
Journal requirements | This information should be provided to the journal: | |
---|---|---|
In main document file (doc./.docx) | In the submission system | |
Title Page | ✓ | − |
Abstract | ✓ | − |
Keywords | ✓ | − |
Funder information | ✓ | − |
Acknowledgments | ✓ | − |
References (free format) | ✓ | − |
Figures/tables * | ✓ * | ✓ * |
Figure captions | ✓ | − |
Supporting materials | − | ✓ |
Conflict of interest statement | ✓ | ✓ |
Ethics approval and statements | ✓ | − |
Data citation | ✓ | − |
Data sharing | − | ✓ |
Data availability statement | ✓ | ✓ |
ORCID iD | − | ✓ |
Disclosing artificial intelligence use | ✓ | − |
Crediting copyrighted works | ✓ | − |
Human Studies and Subjects patient consent statement (if applicable) | ✓ | − |
Clinical trial registration name and number or explanation (at end of abstract) | ✓ | − |
*Please provide figures in the highest resolution possible, whether this means they are embedded in the main document or provided separately.
Authors also have the option to provide the following materials:
- Cover letter
- Supplementary information
Note: These materials may not be relevant for all authors or article types..
1.5 Submission Preparation Details
1.5.1 Cover Letter
Cover letters are not mandatory, but you can upload one as a separate document at submission.
Cover letters should be short and indicate the rationale for your submission and how it will advance the community. Cover letters are not shared with reviewers and will remain confidential between authors and editors.
1.5.2 Main Document
The manuscript should be an editable file (.doc/.docx) including text and tables. Please provide figures in the highest resolution possible, whether this means they are embedded or provided separately.
Note: If the manuscript, figures, or tables are difficult for you to read, they will also be difficult for the editors and reviewers, and the editorial office will send them back for revision.
The main document should be presented in the following order:
- A title page
-
Abstract(if relevant)
- Indicate the abstract’s word limit and whether the abstract is structured (include required subheadings) or unstructured.
-
Up to 5 keywords
- Keywords may include acronyms as well as brief phrases common to your field of research
-
Main text, formatted as:
- Introduction
- Methods
- Results
- Discussion
- Acknowledgements
- Conflict of Interest Statement
- References
-
Tables
- Each table complete with title and footnotes
- Figures
-
Figure legends:
- Figure legends or captions can be included at the end of your main document if figures are submitted as separate files.
- Appendices (if relevant)
Note: Supporting materials should be submitted as separate files.
1.5.3 Title Page
The title page should include:
- A short informative title containing the major key words. The title should not contain abbreviations (see Wiley's best practice SEO tips);
- A short running title of less than 40 characters;
- The full names of the authors
- Co-author details, including affiliation and email address.
Why is this important? We need to keep all co-authors informed of the outcome of the peer review process.
-
Any statements relating to our ethics and integrity policies. For this journal, that includes:
- data availability statement
- conflict of interest statement
- ethics approval statement (if relevant)
- patient consent statement (if relevant)
- permission to reproduce material from other sources
Why are these important? We need to uphold rigorous ethical standards for the research we consider for publication.
1.5.4 Abstract
The length of abstracts must adhere to the word count specifications for your manuscript category.
The abstract should state the main problem, methods, results, and conclusions. Abstracts may have subheadings, depending on the manuscript category.
Please see the Manuscript Categories section for details on your specific manuscript category.
1.5.5 Keywords
You should provide 3 – 5 keywords below the abstract in alphabetical order.
The keywords should be taken from those recommended by the US National Library of Medicine’s Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list.
1.5.6 Acknowledgements
Contributions from anyone who does not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed, with permission from the contributor. Do not include thanks to anonymous reviewers.
1.5.7 Funding
List all funding sources in the Acknowledgements section on your title page.
You will be asked to provide your funding information at submission. You are responsible for the accuracy of your funder information. If in doubt, please check the Open Funder Registry for the correct nomenclature.
1.5.8 Conflict of Interest
During submission you should disclose any potential conflicts of interests (also referred to as “competing interests” or COI) that might appear to affect your ability to present work objectively.
These might include relevant financial interests (for example, patent ownership, stock ownership, consultancies, or speaker’s fees), or personal, political, or religious interests.
You can read more about conflicts of interest in Wiley’s Best Practices for Research Integrity and Publishing Ethics.
1.5.9 Ethical Approvals and Statements
You must state that the protocol for the research project was approved by the ethics committee of the institution where the work was undertaken.
This journal also requires you do the following, as appropriate:
- State that the research conforms to the provisions of the Declaration of Helsinki
- Provide Institutional Review Board (IRB) approvals
- Provide statements of ethical treatment of human and animal research participants
- Gather informed consent
When reporting randomized control trials, authors must provide a CONSORT flow diagram and are strongly encouraged to refer to the CONSORT guidelines for reporting.
Please review Wiley’s policies surrounding human studies, animal studies, clinical trial registration, biosecurity, and research reporting guidelines.
1.5.9.1 Human Studies and Subjects
For manuscripts reporting studies that involve human participants:
-
We require a statement identifying the ethics committee that approved the study and confirmation that the study conforms to recognized standards is required
- The statement should also state clearly in the text that all persons gave their informed consent prior to their inclusion in the study
- Patient anonymity should be preserved
- Photographs need to be cropped sufficiently to prevent human subjects being recognized (or an eye bar should be used)
- Images and information from individual participants will only be published where the authors have obtained the individual's free prior informed consent.
- Authors do not need to provide a copy of the consent form to the publisher; however, in signing the author license to publish, authors are required to confirm that consent has been obtained
- Wiley has a standard patient consent form available for use
You can learn more about the Human Studies and Subjects policy in the Research Ethics section of Wiley’s Best Practice Guidelines on Research Integrity and Publishing Ethics.
1.5.9.2 Clinical Trial Registry
This journal strongly recommends that clinical trials are registered in a publicly accessible database before participants are enrolled.
You should include the name of the trial register and the clinical trial registration number at the end of their abstract. If the trial is not registered, or was registered after participants were enrolled, please explain the reasons for this.
You can learn more about registering clinical trials in Wiley’s Best Practices Guidelines on Research Integrity and Publication Ethics.
Reporting on randomized controlled trials should follow the guidelines of The CONSORT Statement: http://www.consort-statement.org
1.5.10 Reference Style
Since this journal offers Free Format, there is no submission requirement for formatting references.
We do ask that authors use a consistent reference style throughout the manuscript and include:
- Author(s) name(s)
- Journal title/book title
- Article title (where applicable)
- Year of Publication
- Volume & Issue / Book Chapter
- Pagination
- Optional: DOI
If your manuscript is accepted for publication, Wiley will update the formatting into the journal style.
1.5.11 Data Citation
Data must be cited just like articles, books, and websites. Authors are required to include data citations as part of their reference list.
Authors can choose to follow the format recommended in Wiley’s Data Citation policy or use their preferred data citation format.
To learn more, you can review frequently asked questions about Data Sharing and Citation.
1.5.12 Data Sharing
This journal expects data sharing.
You can learn more about data sharing in Wiley’s Data Sharing Policies resource.
1.5.13 Data Availability Statement
You must include a data availability statement with their submission.
When submitting the manuscript on Research Exchange Submission, the submitting author will be asked to select from several pre-written statements or use the text editor to tell us about data availability with regard to their submission.
You can review Wiley’s Data Sharing Policies resource to understand which data availability statement is right for your submission.
1.5.14 Registered Reports
This journal accepts Registered Reports.
Registered Reports allow authors to submit their research question and study design for evaluation and “in principle acceptance” prior to conducting the study and submitting the manuscript.
You can view the Registered Reports Guidelines for full details.
1.5.15 Figures
Figures should be provided in the highest resolution possible, whether this means they are embedded in the main document or provided separately.
Please review Wiley’s general guidelines for figure preparation for manuscripts in peer review, as well as the more detailed post-acceptance figure requirements.
1.5.16 Figure Legends
All figures should have an accompanying figure legend that:
- describes the content
- explains any abbreviations or symbols
- clearly indicates which figure it explains
Use Arabic numerals to label each figure and legend in the order that they appear in your main document (for example, “Figure 1” and “Figure 1 Legend”).
If you embed figures in the main document, you may include the figure legend below each figure. If you upload your figures at submission, you may provide all figure legends in a separate “Figure Legend” section in the main document after the references.
1.5.17 Supporting Materials
Supporting materials and appendices should be provided as separate files.
For help providing supporting materials, you can view Wiley’s FAQs about supporting materials.
1.5.18 ORCID iD
This journal requires [submitting author/all authors] to provide their ORCID iD, a unique, persistent identifier available at no charge to researchers. The submitting author can provide this information in the submission system.
You can refer to Wiley’s resources on ORCID iDs or visit the ORCID site to create or check your identifier number.
1.5.19 Disclosing the use of Artificial Intelligence
If you have used Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC) tools such as ChatGPT and others based on large language models (LLMs) to develop any portion of a manuscript, their use must be described transparently and in detail in the Methods section.
You can view Wiley’s AI policy in full in the Authorship section of the Best Practices Guidelines on Research Integrity and Publishing Ethics.
1.5.20 Preprint Policy
This journal accepts articles previously published on preprint servers.
You are requested to update any pre-publication versions with a link to the final published article.
You may also post the submitted version of a manuscript to a preprint server at any time. We request authors update any pre-publication versions with a link to the final published article.
1.5.21 Reproduction of Copyright Material
If excerpts from copyrighted works owned by third parties are included, all sources must be credited within the manuscript. At minimum, the title and author should be provided.
The corresponding author is responsible for obtaining written permission to reproduce the material "in print and other media" from the publisher of the original source and for supplying Wiley with that permission upon submission.
For more information, you can review Wiley’s Guidelines for Obtaining Permission to Reproduce Material.
1.5.22 Refer and Transfer Program
Wiley believes that no valuable research should go unshared. This journal participates in Wiley’s Refer & Transfer program.
If a manuscript is not accepted, authors may receive a recommendation to transfer the manuscript to another suitable Wiley journal, either through a referral from the journal’s editor or through our Transfer Desk Assistant.
1.5.23 Author Pronouns
You may now include their personal pronouns in the author bylines of their published articles and on Wiley Online Library. Authors will never be required to include their pronouns; it will always be optional for the author.
You can include their pronouns in their manuscript upon submission and can add, edit, or remove their pronouns at any stage upon request. Submitting/corresponding authors should never add, edit, or remove a coauthor’s pronouns without that coauthor’s consent.
Post-publication changes to pronouns can be made without a correction notice to the paper to protect the author’s privacy, per Wiley’s Name Change Policy.
Terms that fall outside of the scope of personal pronouns (e.g., proper or improper nouns) are not currently supported.
2. Preparing your revision
A revised submission should include all the elements of an initial submission (outlined in the “Preparing your submission” section). In addition, authors should provide the following:
2.1 Tracked Changes Document
If you are asked to revise their submission, they will need to provide a version of their submission that tracks any changes made since the last submission.
2.2 Author Response Letter
When returning a revised submission, you should include a letter that responds to the reviewer and editor comments.
This can be uploaded as a separate document in Research Exchange Submission when returning your revision.
2.3 High-resolution Figures
If you did not provide high-resolution figures at initial submission, you should do so at revision. Figures can be embedded or provided separately, as long as they are in the highest resolution possible.
You can review Wiley’s general guidelines for figure preparation to learn more about providing high resolution figures.
3. Research Integrity and Publication Ethics
3.1 Authorship
All listed authors should have contributed to the manuscript substantially and have agreed to the final submitted version.
You can review the Authorship section of Wiley’s Best Practice Guidelines on Research Integrity and Publishing Ethics for Wiley’s definition of authorship.
3.2 Correction to Authorship
Behavioral Interventions allows authors to correct authorship on a submitted, accepted, or published manuscript if there is a valid reason to do so.
All authors – including those to be added or removed – must agree to any proposed change.
To request a change to the author list, please:
- Complete the Request for Changes to a Journal Article Author List Form
- Authorship changes will not be considered without a fully completed Author Change form.
- If the manuscript is still in peer review, email the form to the journal’s editorial office: [email protected]
- If the manuscript has been accepted, email the form to the journal’s production office: [email protected]
This process is in accordance with Wiley’s Best Practice Guidelines on Research Integrity and Publishing Ethics and the Committee on Publication Ethics’ guidance.
Note: Correcting the authorship is different from changing an author’s name. See “Author Name Change Policy” for details on that process.
3.3 Appeals and Complaints
You may appeal an editorial decision if they feel that the decision to reject was based on:
- a significant misunderstanding of a core aspect of the submission
- a failure to understand how the submission advances the literature
- concerns regarding the submission-handling process
Differences in opinion regarding the novelty or significance of the reported findings are not considered grounds for appeal.
To raise an appeal, please email the journal’s editorial office. In the email, provide the manuscript ID number and your rationale for the appeal. The editor’s decision following an appeal consideration is final.
To raise a complaint regarding editorial staff, policy, or process, please contact the journal. If you believe further support outside the journal’s management is necessary, please refer to Wiley’s Best Practice Guidelines on Research Integrity and Publishing Ethics.
3.4 COPE
This journal follows the core practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and handles cases of research and publication misconduct accordingly (https://publicationethics.org/core-practices).
Any concerns about research practices (e.g. plagiarism, data manipulation, and image manipulation) raised via the use of screening software, editors, peer reviewers or third parties will be followed up by the journal in accordance with COPE Guidelines
You can read Wiley’s Top 10 Publishing Ethics Tips for Authors and Best Practice Guidelines on Research Integrity and Publishing Ethics for more information on publication ethics.
3.5 Data Protection
Personal contact information that you may provide when you submit a manuscript for this journal will be used for the regular operations of the publication.
You can review Wiley’s Privacy Policy to learn more.
4. After Acceptance
4.1 Requests from the Editorial Office
After an article is accepted, the files will be assessed by the editorial office to ensure they are ready for production. You may be contacted if any updates or final files are required.
4.2 Registering for Wiley Author Services
When Wiley’s production team receives an accepted article, the corresponding author will receive an email asking them to login or register with Wiley Wiley Author Services.
The corresponding author will be asked to sign a publication license at this point as well as pay for any applicable Article Publication Charges (APCs).
Note: Authors may be eligible for APC waivers or discounts through their institution, their funder, or a country waiver. Please read more about this on Wiley’s APC information page.
4.3 Proofs
You will receive an e-mail notification with a link and instructions for accessing page proofs online. Proofs must be returned within 48 hours of receipt of the email.
You should also make sure that any re-numbered tables, figures, or references match text citations and that figure legends correspond with text citations and actual figures.
4.4 Early View Publication
When proofing and production are complete, the final type-set version of the article is available as full-text HTML or PDF in Early View prior to inclusion in an issue. The article can then be cited as a reference using its Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number.
4.5 Article Promotion Support
Read the Wiley Promotion Guide to learn more about available resources to maximize the impact of your article after publication.
Wiley Editing Services offers professional video, design, and writing services to create shareable video abstracts, infographics, conference posters, lay summaries, and research news stories for your research—so you can help your research get the attention it deserves.
4.6 Publication-related Charges
4.6.1 Open Access
This is a subscription journal that offers an Open Access publication option.
After acceptance, you will have the option to make the article Open Access. If authors choose to make the article Open Access, the article will be subject to an article publication charge (APC) unless a waiver applies.
Please read more about APCs and whether you may be eligible for waivers or discounts at Wiley Author Services.
4.6.2 Color Figure
Color figures may be published online free of charge. Please note, however, that it is preferable that line figures (e.g. graphs and charts) are supplied in black and white so that they are legible if printed by a reader in black and white.
4.7 Copyright and Licensing
You may choose to publish under the terms of the journal’s standard copyright agreement or publish Open Access under the terms of a Creative Commons (CC) license.
Standard re-use and licensing rights vary by journal.
Note: Some funders require authors to use a particular type of CC license. Please check directly with your funder to determine whether you must publish your article under a specific license. You can also use the Author Compliance Tool to find out which funders have CC license type restrictions. You will receive a link to select and sign a CC license only if your article is accepted for publication.
4.8 Self-Archiving Definitions and Policies
The journal’s standard copyright agreement allows for self-archiving of different versions of the article under specific conditions.
You can learn more by reading Wiley’s self-archiving policy.
4.9 Author Name Change Policy
In cases where authors wish to change their name following publication, Wiley will update and republish the paper and redeliver the updated metadata to indexing services.
Our editorial and production teams will use discretion, since we recognize that name changes may be of a sensitive and private nature.
Accordingly, to protect the author’s privacy, we will not publish a correction notice to the paper, and we will not notify co-authors of the change.
Authors should contact the journal’s editorial office with their name change request.
4.10 Contacts
If you have additional questions for the editorial office, please contact [email protected].
For technical help with the submission system, please review Wiley’s Research Exchange Author Help Documents or contact [email protected].