journal-intelligence

Journal Intelligence

Fetches live, current submission requirements for any scientific journal before writing begins. Journal guidelines, word limits, AI authorship policies, and LaTeX templates change without notice — this skill always retrieves the authoritative current version rather than relying on cached or hardcoded information.

Run this before every manuscript session. The output (journal_profile.yaml) becomes the single source of truth for all formatting decisions in the scientific-writing skill and any other writing tools.

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When to Use

• Before starting any manuscript, letter, review, or methods paper
• When you need to know a journal's current word limits, figure limits, or abstract format
• To get the exact AI authorship disclosure language a journal requires
• To download the current LaTeX template before writing
• To check desk-rejection criteria before investing time in a submission

Requirements: This skill requires WebSearch and WebFetch to be enabled in the agent's tool set. It cannot fetch live guidelines without these tools. If they are unavailable, see the fallback behavior below.

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What It Does

Step 1 — Locate Author Guidelines

Searches and fetches the journal's official submission/author guidelines page.

Example URL patterns to try (publisher structures vary — these are starting points, not authoritative):

• Nature family: https://www.nature.com/[journal]/submission-guidelines
• Elsevier: https://www.elsevier.com/journals/[journal]/[issn]/guide-for-authors
• Cell Press: https://www.cell.com/[journal]/authors
• PLOS: https://journals.plos.org/[journal]/s/submission-guidelines
• Wiley, Springer, ACS, RSC, IEEE, ACM — searched via WebSearch

If the pattern-based URL fails, fall back to a direct WebSearch for "[journal name] author guidelines submission".

Step 2 — Extract and Store Requirements

Extracts all format requirements into journal_profile.yaml:

journal: ""
article_type: ""
guidelines_url: ""
guidelines_fetched: ""        # date fetched

# Length limits
main_text_limit: ""           # words; what is excluded?
abstract_limit: ""            # words; structured or unstructured?
abstract_sections: ""         # required section labels if any
methods_limit: ""
figure_limit: ""
figure_legend_limit: ""
reference_limit: ""
supplementary: ""

# Format
citation_style: ""            # Vancouver numbered / Author-date / etc.
reference_format_example: ""
section_order: ""
methods_placement: ""         # inline / online / after references
special_elements: ""          # Key Resources Table, Significance Statement, eTOC, etc.

# AI policy
ai_policy_summary: ""
ai_disclosure_required: ""
ai_tools_declaration_format: ""
ai_tools_declaration_location: ""

# Template
latex_template_url: ""
latex_template_notes: ""

# Editorial
acceptance_rate: ""
desk_rejection_criteria: ""
editorial_priorities: ""