Table of Contents

• Manuscript preparation
• Template
• References
• Language
• The types of manuscripts the journal will consider for publication
• Typology of contributions
• Previously published papers
• Submission process
• Submission Preparation Checklist
• Authorship and contributorship
• Corresponding Author Responsibilities
• Authorship Changes
• Author Identification
• Data sharing and reproducibility
• Ethical oversight
• Studies involving animal subjects
• Studies involving human subjects
• Global Research
• Reporting Guidelines & Statistic
• Territorial Descriptions
• Intellectual property & Research integrity
• Peer Review process in detail
• Post-publication discussions and corrections
• Post-publication discussions
• Corrections

Manuscript preparation

Template

The authors are kindly requested to use the following MS Word Template and provide camera ready version of the manuscript. ACM referene style have to be used. To minimze your time in formating, we recommend to use some refence manager software, like Zotero, Citavi, EndNote, Mendeley or else. 

After acceptance, the journal will add the DOI, page numbers and metadata to the article.

During the submission process, authors are asked to copy and paste their references in the submission system. These will be used for cross-refferencing articles by Crossref.

References

The references have to be formatted following the ACS reference style

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acsguide.40303

This is available in Citavi, Zotero, Endnote, and many other reference managers.

For Zotero the Style is available as "ACS Style" and can be found here:  https://www.zotero.org/styles?q=american%20chemical%20society

For EndNote the style can be found here:  https://endnote.com/downloads/styles/ 

Language

The language of the peer reviewed articles is only English.

The non-reviewed communications have to be preferably in English, but can be published in German or other languages, too, if the editorial team is able to check the formal level and the quality of the material in this language. In this case, you have to provide the title and abstract in the English language as well.

The types of manuscripts the journal will consider for publication

Typology of contributions

CDATP publishes the following types of articles:

Peer-reviewed articles: This section contains peer-reviewed articles. Submit here new, not published manuscripts with good quality for single blind peer review process.

Previously published papers

As stated in our Publication Ethics page, submissions to our journal may only contain content that has not been published previously. Exceptions are the following:

Posting a manuscript on a preprint server or an author's personal or institutional webpage (without DOI, publisher) does not count as a previous publication. Once the manuscript is accepted and published, the author is responsible to update the preprint record with a publication reference, including the DOI and URL link to the published version. 

Submission process

To submit a manuscript click on the "How to submit" button on the journal landing page. You will be forwarded to the Submissions page where you will find all the relevant information such as author guidelines and a Submission Preparation Checklist. Click on “Make a new submission”. Either login or register a new account. If you register a new account, fill in your data (the username can contain only lower-case alphanumeric characters, underscores, and hyphens, and must begin and end with an alphanumeric character) and decide whether you would like to be contacted in the future to review submissions. You will receive an email for verification.

After logging in you will be forwarded to the author dashboard. Click on "New Submission" and follow the steps in the dashboard. This includes checking all boxes and adhering to the Submission Checklist and acknowledging the copyright statement.

Please also copy and paste your references in the relevant step in the submission system. This is important for cross-referencing scientific papers and will help your and the referenced papers to be more visible to the scientific community.

Please provide your submitted manuscript (that you have prepared via the provided tamplate) in the following format: DOCX.

In step "4. Confirmation" click on "Finish Submission" and confirm that you want to submit your manuscript for review. The journal will be informed of your submission and you will receive an automatically generated email providing a link where you can track the progress of your manuscripts throughout the editorial process.

Articles can be submitted at any time.

Submission Preparation Checklist

Authors are asked to adhere to the following preparation checklist: 

The authors adhere to the policies of CDATP.

The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).

The authors agree that their manuscript is screened for plagiarism with the then offered version of Crossref's Similarity Check, currently iThenticate...

The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines and the provided template.

Where available, URLs for the references have been provided.

The submission contains information on how the underlying data and other material can be accessed (data availability statement).

The submission contains a statement on authors' contributions according to the CreDIT guidelines.

The submission contains a statement on competing interests: authors need to declare competing interests and also must explicitly state if they have no competing interests.

The authors are aware that if the manuscript gets accepted, the published article/contribution and its metadata will be distributed to various search engines, data bases, and abstracting and indexing (A&I) services.

Moreover, its metadata (including abstract and references) will be sent to Crossref during the DOI registration process. Crossref makes all metadata available through APIs.

The text was created using the template provided in the Guidelines for Authors , which can be found below this checklist.

Authorship and contributorship 

The author list of the manuscript must only include individuals who have made significant scientific contributions to the research. Likewise, every person who has made a substantial contribution must be included. 

All papers accepted for publication after 12.2021 have to provide at the end of the paper the roles of all authors.
The following terms are available: conceptualization, methodology, software, validation, formal analysis, investigation, resources, data curation, writing – original draft preparation, writing – review and editing, visualization, supervision, project administration, and funding acquisition. Add the statement: “All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.”
Sample author contributions statement: “A. Brand: conceptualization, methodology, investigation; C. Popa, formal analysis, investigation, writing – original draft preparation; E. Lee: visualization, supervision, writing – review and editing.”

If someone does not meet these criteria, they can still be recognized in the acknowledgement section with their consent. 

We expect all authors to take public responsibility for the content of the manuscript submitted to CDATP. Furthermore, all authors agree to ensure that inquiries related to the correctness or integrity of any section of their work are suitably examined, resolved, and that the resolution is recorded in the published literature.

CDATP asks that all authors are listed during submission prior to peer review. 

Corresponding Author Responsibilities

The corresponding author is responsible for representing and speaking on behalf of all authors before and after the publication of the article. 

After acceptance, the corresponding author is required to sign a publication agreement, which formally grants the publisher the right to publish the work. Before signing, the corresponding author must obtain consent from all co-authors, ensuring that everyone agrees to the terms of publication and the final version of the manuscript. Once the agreement is signed, the article proceeds through the final production stages, before it is published online.

Before publication, the corresponding author should ensure that the manuscript adheres to all of CDATP's editorial and publishing policies and that all authors have reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to the authorship list. The corresponding author must also provide written confirmation of all authors' consent to any changes to the manuscript's authorship.

After publication, the corresponding author remains the main point of contact for any queries about the published article and is responsible for informing all co-authors of any issues and making sure they are resolved in a timely manner.

Authorship Changes

Altering the author list after submission is only allowed with the agreement of all authors. This includes adding, removing, or reordering authors. Any modifications must be initiated by the corresponding author, along with a rationale for the changes and evidence of each author's consent, including any new authors. Authorship changes are subject to approval by CDATP. 

If issues related to authorship are not resolved in a timely manner, CDATP might decide to reject the manuscript. However, a resubmission could be considered if the problem is solved during that time. CDATP might consider a resubmission if/when the authorship issue has been fully addressed and resolved. 

Author Identification

CDATP requires that corresponding authors provide their ORCID iD during submission. While it is not mandatory, CDATP encourages all authors to provide their ORCID as well.

Upon acceptance of a manuscript, CDATP discloses all ORCIDs provided.

CDATP uses the Crossref-implemented automatic update feature which means that the authors’ ORCIDs will be saved and used to update the records of authors once the paper gets published.

Conflicts of interest / Competing interests 

Please refer to the Publication Ethics page for information on what and how to declare conflicts of interest.

Data sharing and reproducibility 

CDATP is committed to upholding the principles of good scientific practice and Open Science. Our goal is to promote research that adheres to the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable). We aim to cultivate an open research culture, as recommended by the UNESCO guidelines for Open Science, which advocate for research to be "as open as possible" (UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science).

Research outputs extend beyond traditional written works to encompass data, code, software, and other materials. To ensure transparency and reproducibility, we encourage authors to deposit all of these research outputs in a publicly accessible, FAIR-aligned public repository. This may be a subject-specific database or a cross-disciplinary database, such as OpARA for TU Dresden and TU Bergakademie Freiberg. Whenever no ethical or legal constrains apply, authors should publish their data and other materials. Please do so in the Data Availability Statement

If research data or other research material cannot be published, for example for reasons of data protection, research ethics or copyright, this can also be indicated. Data Availability Statements should include information on where data supporting the results reported in the article can be found including, where applicable, hyperlinks to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study.

CDATP offers suggested language for data availability statements on this page. Please adapt these suggestions to suit your submission, specifying the type of research material you are referring to, such as datasets, questionnaires, transcripts, observation protocols, audio/video/image material, literature collections, archival material or code. If none of these suggestions seem suitable for your work, you can find additional guidance and language suggestions on the Iowa University Libraries website.

Data availability	Sample language
Research material is freely accessible in a repository or research data centre.	The research material used in this study is freely available in the repository/research data centre [name of repository/research data centre] under [DOI].
The research material has not been published and can be obtained from the authors.	The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly publicly available due [REASON WHY DATA ARE NOT PUBLIC] but are available from the corresponding author if there is a legitimate interest.
not applicable	No research material was generated or analysed as part of this study.
Research material is available within the article or in an appendix.	The research material generated or analysed as part of this study is included in this article and/or in the appendix.
Research material is available in a repository with restricted access.	The metadata of the research material analysed in this study are available in the repository/research data centre [name of repository/research data centre] under [DOI]. Release of the dataset can be requested from the authors under certain conditions [name of person holding rights, e-mail address].
The data is subject to third party restrictions.	The data that support the findings of this study are available from [third party name] but restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under license for the current study, and so are not publicly available. Data are, however, available from the authors upon reasonable request and with permission of [third party name].
The research material is not freely available.	The research material will not be published for ethical, privacy or other reasons.

The chart above is adapted from the Open Gender Journal, the chart provided by Iowa University Libraries and the article cited below and it is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (CC-BY): Hrynaszkiewicz, I, Simons, N, Hussain, A, Grant, R and Goudie, S. 2020. “Developing a Research Data Policy Framework for All Journals and Publishers.” Data Science Journal, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2020-005

Ethical oversight 

Any research submitted to CDATP for publication must comply with our guidelines on research ethics. In accordance to COPE guidelines, we retain the right to reject a manuscript if we believe it does not meet our high ethical standards, regardless of whether the authors obtained ethical approval or it falls outside the requirements for such approval. 

Studies involving animal subjects

CDATP recommends that authors adhere to the ARRIVE guidelines when designing, analysing, and presenting their scientific research.

Studies involving human subjects

Our journal recommends that research involving human participants be carried out in compliance with the principles outlined in the World Medical Association's Declaration of Helsinki, which provides guidance on ethical considerations in human research. We recommend providing the appropriate information in the manuscript. 

Global Research

CDATP aims to promote inclusivity in global research by ensuring that publications adhere to high standards for research ethics and authorship. Authors of research articles that involve global research may be required to complete a questionnaire that addresses ethical, cultural, and scientific considerations specific to inclusivity in global research. This questionnaire is typically requested for research that involves:

• Conducting research in a different country
• Using samples collected in another country
• Working with Indigenous populations or their lands
• Studying cultural artefacts

However, researchers who only travel to another country to use laboratory equipment may not be required to complete the questionnaire. If you have been requested to complete the questionnaire, please do so and include it as a Supporting Information file with your manuscript. The questionnaire will be published with your article if your paper is accepted for publication. Please reference the questionnaire in the main body of your manuscript. Additionally, please add a separate section to your Methods section titled "Inclusivity in global research" and include the following statement: "Further details on the ethical, cultural, and scientific considerations relevant to our global research are provided in the Supporting Information."

Reporting Guidelines & Statistic

Authors must follow reporting guidelines tailored to their specific study types and research resources. The table below outlines common CDATP standards; visit the EQUATOR Network and  FAIRsharing Portal for specialized design guidelines. Please upload all required checklists or documentation as supporting information during submission.

Research Resource / Study Type	Reporting Requirements and Guidelines
Antibodies and other reagents	Papers featuring research with antibodies and related reagents must specify the commercial vendor or source laboratory, the catalog or clone designation, and—when available—the specific lot or batch number.
Cell lines	Manuscripts utilizing cell lines must detail the species, strain, sex of origin, and any genetic alterations. Authors need to disclose the acquisition timeline and source, identifying the specific investigator, repository (with accession identifier), or vendor (with catalog/clone information). To ensure cultures are uncontaminated and authentic, authors must cross-reference established cell lines with the ICLAC Database. Cell line authentication methods (such as STR profiling, karyotyping, or isozyme testing) are highly advised and may be requested during the review stage. For newly established (de novo) or gifted cell lines, authors are required to comply with standard ethical frameworks governing human and animal research subjects.
Clinical trials	Reports on clinical trials must follow design-appropriate frameworks, such as CONSORT for randomized trials or TREND for non-randomized designs. Please consult our complete clinical trial guidelines for more details.
Diagnostic studies	Manuscripts evaluating diagnostic accuracy are expected to comply with STARD reporting standards.
Life sciences	The journal endorses the MDAR Framework for life science research submissions. Authors should review its principles, as compliance with core MDAR baseline criteria is required.
Mendelian randomization studies	Mendelian randomization papers must provide impactful insights and follow the STROBE-MR framework. Submissions must include a completed STROBE-MR checklist indicating corresponding page numbers and text excerpts, uploaded as supporting documentation. During evaluation, the study’s rationale and its novel contribution to the field will be scrutinized. If the work replicates existing studies, authors must offer a compelling scientific justification and thoroughly evaluate the current literature.
Observational studies in epidemiology	Epidemiological research papers must adhere to the STROBE reporting criteria.
Plants and microorganisms	Manuscripts documenting plant or microbial research must report the taxonomy, strain, provenance (including geographical details for wild samples), and accession numbers when available. Cultivar and ecotype details should also be provided for plant studies where applicable.
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses	Systematic reviews and meta-analyses must align with the PRISMA statement. A finalized PRISMA flow chart and checklist must be provided as supplementary files during submission.  Authors must state in the Methodology section whether an initial review protocol was established, providing a copy if available. Prospective registration is highly encouraged; if registered beforehand (e.g., via PROSPERO), please include the registration ID directly in the abstract.

At the same time, editors and reviewers of CDATP must respect confidentially of any non-public information they see during peer review.

Territorial Descriptions

In submitted manuscripts, territorial descriptions should adhere to international conventions and agreements. PUBLIA – SLUB Open Publishing and CDATP maintain neutrality and take no position on any claims to territory, be they explicit or implicit, made in published manuscripts, maps, or institutional affiliations.

Intellectual property & Research integrity 

For information on intellectual property and research integrity including redundant publications and listing AI tools as authors, please refer to the Publication Ethics section.

Peer Review process in detail

CDATP is committed to upholding a fair, transparent, and timely peer review process that ensures scholarly integrity and protects the rights and responsibilities of authors, editors, and reviewers.

All submission are reviewed by at least four persons. All submissions undergo an initial editorial assessment by two of the Editors-in-Chief, or one Editor-in-Chief and one Member of the Editorial Board (in case the other Editor-in-Chief is co-author or related to the authors of the manuscript) to assess their formal suitability for publication, including relevance to the journal’s scope, compliance with submission and ethical guidelines, overall clarity, completeness, and scientific quality. This step may include a plagiarism check.

Manuscripts that do not meet minimum criteria may be desk-rejected without external review, with reasons clearly communicated to authors. If the manuscript demonstrates sufficient originality and content relevance, it proceeds to a single-anonymized peer review process. Two or more external reviewers are invited to evaluate the manuscript's scientific quality. Reviewers evaluate the submitted manuscript. If further material was submitted it is at the discretion of the reviewers to review the additional material. Reviewers know the authors' identities. Authors do not know the identities of reviewers.

Reviewer anonymity is protected at all stages. Reviewers must not use pseudonyms or false identities. All reviewer identities must be verifiable internally by the journal to maintain trust and transparency. Fraudulent reviewing (e.g., the use of fabricated reviewer names or emails) is grounds for immediate investigation and reporting to relevant authorities.

The editorial team is mindful of the diverse knowledge cultures within its scope and takes this into account when selecting reviewers. This approach is intended to prevent the privileging of particular schools of thought or methodologies, thereby ensuring a balanced representation of the field’s varied perspectives.

Reviewers are asked to disclose any potential conflicts of interest transparently, in line with the journal's ethical guidelines. The full text of the reviews is made available to the authors. With mutual consent, reviewers may also receive each other’s reports.

Reviewers are encouraged to provide constructive, respectful, and actionable feedback.

A publication decision is made after at least two reviews of independent experts becomes available. When expert assessments conflict, the Editors-in-Chief determine how to proceed. They may seek additional opinions if needed or they may make a decision. They then present the authors with a proposed way forward. Possible outcomes include:

• Accept
• Minor revisions
• Major revisions
• Reject

Authors may be required to revise their manuscript multiple times. Throughout this process, they communicate with the reviewers and describe how they have addressed the reviewers’ comments. They retain the academic freedom to decide how to incorporate the reviewers’ suggestions based on their own judgment. It is the reviewers decision if additional material provided (e.g. study protocols, data) are reviewed. After the review stage concludes, the editors issue the final decision on whether the manuscript is accepted or rejected.

The review process is open and transparent for authors and reviewers:

• the reviewers can see the authors of the material
• the authors receive the complete feedback of the reviewers, without their personal data (single anonymized review process). 
• If reviewers wish to disclose their identity, they may sign their review

Reviews are not posted with the articles.

The average time from submission to publication is approximately 15 weeks.

The journal tracks and reports delays to ensure efficiency and accountability. Authors will be kept informed of delays in the process, if any.

The length of the reviewed papers is not limited, but only well-structured materials will be considered for publication.

Post-publication discussions and corrections 

Post-publication discussions

CDATP allows post-publication discussion through Short Communications or Peer-reviewed articles. In bothe cases materials need to be constructive and useful to the community.

If the discussion paper is a short entry it will be published without a dedicated peer review in form of Short Communication (including a DOI). 

If a substantial discussion is submitted, they will be peer-reviewed and revised. The decision is made at the discretion of the editors-in-chief. The original authors may be asked for a response or reply, which again will be peer reviewed and revised and, if accepted, both will be published and indexed in bibliographic databases.

Corrections

In certain instances, corrections may be necessary to maintain the integrity of published scientific research. CDATP recognizes the following methods to correct the scientific record:

Corrigendum: Minor technical errors can be corrected with the new version of the same article without notification. This type of correction may also be used when the author list is incorrect. Changes of co-authors after submission requires objective reason and written agreement of all remaining co-authors.

Retraction: CDATP adheres to the retraction guidelines set by COPE. An article may be retracted when a violation of the research ethics is detected or substantial errors are found. The original version of the paper is in this case replaced with a version, marked as retracted and a retraction statement is included. When issuing a retraction, CDATP will provide a detailed note explaining the reasons for the removal.

If you suspect a CDATP article or submission contains errors, unethical research, or other issues related to its integrity, please contact CDATP‘s Editorial Office directly through email (yordan.kyosev@tu-dresden.de) and cc PUBLIA – SLUB Open Publishing (info@publia.org). To bring concerns to our attention, please provide the article's citation, DOI, and a clear explanation of the issue, along with any potential conflicts of interest you may have with the authors, funders, or sponsors. CDATP will investigate concerns raised about our submissions or publications, independent of the study's age and source.