Article types
- Research articles
- Research reports
- Techniques and Resources articles/reports
- Reviews
- Primers
- Hypothesis articles
- Development at a Glance articles
- Correspondence
Research articles
Research articles should be fully documented reports of original research; they are always peer reviewed. They should be written in as concise a style as possible but should still be accessible to the broad readership of Development. The total length of the article should not exceed 7000 words. This word count includes the main text and figure legends, but not the title page, abstract, Materials and Methods section, and reference list. Additional items (figures, tables, movies, datasets) may be published online at the discretion of the editor and referees (a limit of 50 Mb of supplementary material exists per article). For more information on how to prepare a Research Article for submission to Development, please see the manuscript preparation page.
Research reports
Research reports are short (maximum 3000 words), peer-reviewed, high-impact papers that can be accompanied by up to four display items (figures or tables). This word count includes the main text and figure legends, but not the title page, abstract, Materials and Methods section, and reference list. The style of a Research Report follows that of a Research Article in Development, the only difference being that Results and Discussion should be combined into a single Results and Discussion section. For more information on how to prepare a Research Report for submission to Development, please see the manuscript preparation page.
Techniques and Resources articles/Reports
Techniques and Resources Articles or Reports describe a novel technique, a substantial advance of an existing technique, or a new resource that will have a significant impact on developmental biology research. Techniques and Resources papers can be in short (Research Report) or long (Research Article) format, follow the standard formats of these articles, as described above, and are always peer reviewed.
Reviews
Reviews in Development are commissioned 4000-6000 word Reviews of topical areas of developmental biology that aim to highlight, critique and synthesize recent important findings in a field. They are always peer reviewed, are intended to appeal to specialists and non-specialists alike and to allow all developmental biologists to appreciate the significance of new findings. Unsolicited Reviews are not considered for publication by Development. If you wish to write a Review for the journal, please send the Executive Editor a brief proposal consisting of a short paragraph (of no more than 200 words) setting out the rationale for the article as a whole. Please also provide a list of the key recent references (around 12) to illustrate the timeliness of the article. Contact Executive Editor
Guidelines for writing Reviews
Summary
Reviews must begin with a summary of 100 words, which should summarize the main points made in the article in a succinct, easily digestible way. It should not contain specialist details, abbreviations or references and should give readers an idea of the general topic of the article and why the topic is timely, exciting and of particular interest to developmental biologists.
Introduction
The Introduction should ideally briefly introduce and set the topic of the Review into a broader context in a succinct and accessible way, without the use of too many specialist terms and it should provide a broad outline of the rationale, purpose and organization of the article. It should also make it clear, where appropriate, why the topic is a timely one to review. If a particular aspect of a field is not covered, the introduction should make this clear.
Main text
The main text should be organized such that background information and new findings follow on from each other in a clear and logical way. Although authors are free to express their opinions, they should provide counterbalancing viewpoints where appropriate; opinion and fact should also be clearly distinguished throughout the text. Please use short subheadings to break up the text and to help readers to navigate through the article.
Conclusion
The text should be rounded off with a Conclusion that discusses the implications of the findings and ideas discussed and their impact on future research directions. What outstanding questions remain to be answered? What techniques need to be developed or implemented to address these questions? The idea is to provide the reader with food for further thought rather than with another summary of what the article has been about. Authors can also discuss here any debates that might exist in a field by providing a balanced overview of the debate, before stating their own position and why.
References
Reviews have a reference limit of around 100 citations. Please cite significant original research papers where possible rather than reviews. Please format references in Development style (see manuscript preparation page).
Display items
Tables, boxes, diagrams and images can be used to explain specific points or background information. Each display item should have a concise title and figures a legend of no more than 200 words. Boxes can contain text (up to 250 words) alone or with a figure. Any models proposed should be accompanied by a figure that explains the important features of the model.
Primers
Primers are commissioned, peer-reviewed, educational articles that aim to explain a technique or a developmental process/pathway to a less-expert audience in a clear and concise manner. These articles are reasonably short (3500-4000 words) and rely on both text and figures to explain concepts and terms.
Unsolicited Primers are not considered for publication by Development. If you wish to write a Primer, please send the Executive Editor a brief proposal consisting of a short paragraph (of no more than 200 words) setting out the rationale for the article as a whole, explaining its timeliness and educational purpose. Contact Executive Editor
Guidelines for writing Primers
Summary
Primers must begin with a summary of 70 words that describes what the article is about in a succinct, easily digestible way. It should not contain specialist details, abbreviations or references.
Introduction
The Introduction should briefly introduce the topic of the Primer and set it into a broader context in a succinct and accessible way, without the use of too many specialist terms. It should also make it clear, where appropriate, why the topic is relevant and important to the field of developmental biology.
Main text
The main text should be organized such that background information and new findings follow on from each other in a clear and logical way. Concepts and models should be introduced and explained for non-specialists and the implications of recent findings set into the context of the field as a whole. Please use short subheadings to break up the text and to help readers to navigate through the article.
Conclusions
The text should be rounded off with a Conclusion that comments on the implications of recent findings for the topic being covered and on future research directions. The idea is to provide the reader with food for further thought rather than with another summary of what the article has been about.
References
Primers have a reference limit of around 70 citations. Please cite significant original research papers where possible rather than reviews. Please format references in Development style (see manuscript preparation page).
Display items
Figures are particularly important in Primer articles as they should be used to provide explanations for and background information on the topic of the Primer. For more information on display items, see the Display items information for Reviews.
Hypothesis articles
Hypothesis articles are commissioned, short (~4000 word) opinion-based pieces in which authors can propose a new theory, interpretation or model of a developmental process as a result of new findings published in a field. They may contain more speculation than a review, but should be based on published data and are always peer reviewed.
Unsolicited Hypothesis articles are not considered for publication by Development. If you wish to write a Hypothesis article, please send the Executive Editor a brief proposal consisting of a short paragraph (of no more than 200 words) setting out the rationale for the article as a whole. Please also provide a list of the key recent references (around 12) to illustrate the published basis for the idea or theory being discussed. Contact Executive Editor
Guidelines for writing Hypothesis articles
Summary
Hypothesis articles must begin with a summary of 100 words, which should summarize the main points made in the article in a succinct, easily digestible way. It should not contain specialist details, abbreviations or references and should give readers an idea of the general topic of the article, the new theory being proposed and why the topic is timely, exciting and of particular interest to developmental biologists.
Introduction
The Introduction should provide a brief introduction to the particular field under discussion, before turning to a summary of the hypothesis being proposed and an explanation of why it is timely and of importance to developmental biologists.
Main text
Before entering into a detailed description of a new hypothesis or model, please introduce and explain the topic under discussion to enable readers to place a new theory into the context of the field as a whole. Existing theories or models should also be summarized before a new idea is introduced and explained in more detail. Testable hypotheses should form a core part of the article, as should discussions of how a particular idea or model could be experimentally validated. Please use short subheadings to break up the text and to help the reader navigate through the article.
Conclusions
The text should be rounded off with a Conclusion that discusses the implications that the ideas proposed have for future research in this field. The idea is to provide the reader with food for further thought rather than with another summary of what the article has been about.
References
Hypotheses have a reference limit of around 100 citations. Please cite significant original research papers where possible rather than reviews. Please format references in Development style (see manuscript preparation page).
Display items
As above for Reviews.
Development at a Glance Articles
Development at a Glance articles are short peer-reviewed primers that act as an introduction to an area of developmental biology. They include a large poster and short accompanying text (~1500 words). They should appeal to specialists and non-specialists alike, and should provide a broad overview of a topic, rather than focus on the latest progress in the field.
Unsolicited At a Glance articles are not considered for publication by Development. If you wish to write an At a Glance article, please send the Executive Editor a brief proposal consisting of a short paragraph (of no more than 200 words) setting out the rationale for the article as a whole, explaining its timeliness, together with a draft outline of the poster. Contact Executive Editor
Guidelines for writing Development at a Glance article
Poster
The poster should display a lot more information than a normal figure, since it will be printed at four times the size of the journal. A single scheme is acceptable for signalling pathways, etc. but ideally it should include additional panels/insets. All posters are redrawn so authors need provide only a draft version (as a digital file) incorporating all the elements they wish to include.
Text
The text should introduce the field and summarize what is displayed in the poster in ideally ~1500 (but no more than 2500) words. The text should include a general introduction that ends with a guiding paragraph that details what is discussed in the text and should end with a short Perspectives section that summarizes the impact of recent findings, points out unresolved issues and identifies goals for future research. It is important that you present an unbiased view of the field and mention anything displayed in the poster that is controversial. These articles are peer-reviewed to ensure there are no errors or omissions.
References
References should be kept to a minimum (no more than 40) and, where possible, should be limited to resources for further reading (Reviews, etc.) rather than comprehensive citations. Please avoid the use of references in the poster itself.
Correspondence
Should a reader have cogent criticisms of a research paper published in Development, the Journal will consider publishing them in the form of a letter of no more than 1000 words with no more than 10 references. The authors of the original paper(s) under discussion are given the final right to reply, and any such response may be published together with the correspondence. The Editor reserves the right to edit items of correspondence/response and, where appropriate, to have them peer reviewed. As a courtesy, we usually share the contents of the response with the correspondence authors before publication, but it is intended that the correspondence authors focus on the original papers (and not on the response that results from their correspondence).
Correspondence and Response articles are free to read. This ensures that there is no restriction to the publication of valid and important comment on published work in Development.
To submit a correspondence to the journal, please contact the Executive Editor with a brief description of the article.
