Methods has introduced a new stage in its publishing process! When an article is accepted for publication, it can now be posted online within ~2 working days as an ‘Accepted Article’, prior to proofing, copyediting, typesetting and pagination. The article will be assigned its DOI (digital object identifier) at this stage, and so can be cited as normal.
The article will then slot back into the previous workflow – it will go through proofing, copyediting and typesetting, and any final changes can be made. It will then be replaced online by an officially published Early View version (in its final format, but awaiting inclusion in an issue). As usual, changes cannot be made to this version without issuing an official correction, such as an erratum.
In the past, an article would appear online for the first time in its Early View version ~5 weeks after acceptance. Therefore, the main benefit of this new stage in the workflow is that an article can now be available for reading and citing ~5 weeks earlier.
The flowchart to the right illustrates the addition of this new step (in blue) to the workflow used up until now.
A disclaimer is of course published alongside the Accepted Article, stating: “This article has been accepted for publication and has undergone full peer review, but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record“.
You can view Method’s newest Accepted Articles here.
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