Article transfer service

If we receive an article that is not quite right for a journal, our Editors work with you to help find a more suitable home for your research. We will assess your article to see if it is meets the requirements for a different IOP Publishing journal and if it does, we will offer you the chance to transfer your article to the selected journal(s).

Benefits of transferring to another IOP Publishing journal

• For authors – transferring your manuscript can save you time as you do not need to complete a new submission elsewhere. As previous reviews can also be transferred, and the same reviewers used again, the time to acceptance can be shorter for transferred articles.
• For reviewers – transferring reports means that no review is a wasted effort: a decision can be made by the Editors using the existing reviews, removing the need to restart the entire peer review process again.

Our Editors have an expert knowledge of the requirements for each journal we publish. As a result, we only offer a transfer if we know the article has the potential to be published by another IOP Publishing journal. If you do not want to transfer to the selected journal(s), you can simply decline the offer and can then submit your work elsewhere. The choice is entirely yours.

I’ve been offered a transfer: what happens next?

1. You need to decide whether you want to accept the transfer offer. The email we sent you will contain information about the journal(s) we have suggested, and we recommend you visit the ‘About the Journal’ information on our website to help make your decision.
2. If you would like to accept the offer, the article, along with all relevant submission information and reviewer reports (if present), will be transferred to the new journal by the IOP Editor.
3. The Editor on your chosen journal will then do one of two things, which depend on whether we have already received reviewer reports or not. They will either:
   • send it for peer review
   • allow you to revise the manuscript based on the existing reviewer comments
4. Once the reviewer reports or revisions have been received, the Editor makes a final decision on the manuscript.

It’s important to note: a transfer is not a guarantee of acceptance. The Editor on the new journal may decide that the article needs further rounds of review to ensure suitability for the journal.