Submissions

Before Submission

Authors should submit manuscripts that fit the journal scope and are not under consideration by another journal. The title page should include all author names and affiliations, corresponding author contact details, funding information, competing interests, data availability, ethics approval details where relevant, and author contributions.

Article Types and Length

Network Science and Complex Systems may consider network analyses, modelling papers, simulation studies, data notes, theory articles, and reviews. The journal does not set a rigid launch-stage word limit, but authors should match article length to evidence. Short reports must still contain enough method detail for evaluation; reviews must state their search or selection logic.

Manuscript Structure

Research articles should normally include:

  • title, abstract, keywords, and a concise statement of the research gap
  • methods or study design with enough detail for assessment
  • results presented without selective reporting
  • discussion that separates evidence from interpretation
  • limitations, data availability, author contributions, competing interests, funding, and references

For this journal, authors should additionally address network construction, model assumptions, and parameter sensitivity. Manuscripts that use specialised reporting standards should include the relevant checklist as supplementary material.

Required Statements

Each submission should include:

  • data provenance
  • code availability
  • simulation settings
  • ethics for social networks
  • conflicts of interest

Data, Code, Materials, and Supplementary Files

Network edge lists, model code, parameter files, simulation seeds, and metadata should be shared where legal and ethical conditions permit. Suitable supplementary material may include network files, simulation scripts, seed lists, model equations, and visualisation data. Files should be named clearly, cited from the manuscript, and versioned where possible.

Formatting and References

The launch office may accept Word, LaTeX, or OJS-compatible source files. Numbered or author-date references are acceptable; datasets and software should be cited as research objects. Figures should be readable at single-column width, tables should be editable where possible, and abbreviations should be defined at first use.

Research Integrity and AI Use

Authors must identify prior dissemination, preprints, related submissions, reused figures, and any third-party material. Use of generative AI tools must be disclosed when they materially assisted drafting, coding, image generation, translation, data extraction, or analysis. AI tools cannot be listed as authors.

Editorial Screening

Submissions may be returned before review if they are outside scope, lack required statements, contain excessive overlap, use unverifiable data, or do not meet minimal scholarly standards for network science and complex systems. In particular, submissions may be returned when network data cannot be described, visualisations replace analysis, or simulations lack reproducible settings.