Apsr workflow

APSR Workflow Router (apsr-workflow)

The orchestrator for an APSR submission. Figure out the stage and the track, then send the user to the matching skill. APSR is a discipline-wide generalist journal — the router's first job is to make sure the paper is pitched to the whole discipline, not just a subfield.

When to trigger

• Starting a new APSR paper and unsure where to begin
• Mid-project and unsure which skill applies next
• Deciding which of the five tracks fits the paper
• Returning with a decision letter (route to apsr-rebuttal)

First question: which track?

Situation	Track	Route to
Full original study, broad significance	Regular Article (< 11,000 words)	normal pipeline below
Focused single contribution	Research Note (< 7,000 words)	normal pipeline, tighter scope
Re-running / reassessing a published finding	Replications and Reappraisals	apsr-research-design + apsr-transparency-and-data-policy
Consolidating a literature or debate	Synthesis	apsr-literature-positioning + apsr-theory-building
Design finished, data not yet collected/analyzed	Registered Report	apsr-review-process (Stage 1) early

If the design is prospective, decide on Registered Reports before collecting data — that is the whole point of the track.

Routing map (stage → skill)

Idea / fit?                      → apsr-topic-selection
Where does it sit in the field?  → apsr-literature-positioning
What's the argument?             → apsr-theory-building
Is the design defensible?        → apsr-research-design
Are the analyses sound?          → apsr-data-analysis
Are the exhibits clear?          → apsr-tables-figures
Does it read for the discipline? → apsr-writing-style
Repro package & transparency?    → apsr-transparency-and-data-policy
How will it be judged?           → apsr-review-process
Ready to submit?                 → apsr-submission
Got an R&R / decision?           → apsr-rebuttal

Default order

topic-selection → literature-positioning → theory-building → research-design → data-analysis → tables-figures → writing-style → transparency-and-data-policy → review-process → submission → rebuttal

Iterate: most papers loop theory ↔ design ↔ analysis several times before writing-style.

Discipline-wide routing check

Before selecting the next skill, force a one-minute APSR fit check:

Check	Pass condition	Route if weak
Audience	A reader outside the author's subfield can state why the question matters to political science.	apsr-topic-selection
Track	The manuscript clearly fits Regular Article, Research Note, Replication/Reappraisal, Synthesis, or Registered Report.	track table above
Method pluralism	The chosen method is defended on its own terms rather than forced into a quantitative template.	apsr-research-design
Transparency	Data, code, qualitative evidence, formal proof, or interpretive materials have an explicit verification plan.	apsr-transparency-and-data-policy

If the paper fails the audience check, do not route to writing-style. It needs a theory or fit repair, because APSR reviewers reject well-executed subfield papers that never become discipline-wide claims.

Anti-patterns

• Treating APSR like a subfield journal — the contribution must reach the whole discipline
• Forcing a quantitative template onto qualitative, formal, or interpretive work (APSR judges each on its own terms)
• Choosing Registered Reports after seeing results (impossible — Stage 1 precedes data)
• Skipping the reproducibility package until acceptance — it is verified by the editorial office

Output format

【Stage】idea / positioning / theory / design / analysis / exhibits / writing / transparency / review / submit / rebut
【Track】Regular Article / Research Note / Replication / Synthesis / Registered Report
【Route to】apsr-<skill>
【Why】one line
【Then】the next skill after that

Supplementary resources

• ../../resources/external_tools.md — political-science data + software by method
• ../../resources/official-source-map.md — official APSR URLs behind every fact in this pack