Demog workflow

Demography Workflow Router (demog-workflow)

The orchestrator for a Demography submission. Figure out the stage and the article type, then send the user to the matching skill. Demography is the multidisciplinary flagship of the Population Association of America — the router's first job is to confirm the paper poses a genuine population-science question (how populations change, or why, and with what consequences), not a study that merely uses demographic data in passing.

When to trigger

• Starting a new Demography paper and unsure where to begin
• Mid-project and unsure which skill applies next
• Deciding which article type fits (Article vs. Note vs. Commentary)
• Returning with a decision letter (route to demog-rebuttal)

First question: which article type?

Situation	Type	Route to
Full original population study	Research Article (<= 8,000 words)	normal pipeline below
One focused, self-contained contribution	Research Note (<= 4,000 words)	normal pipeline, tighter scope
Short response/perspective on published work or a debate	Commentary (<= 2,000 words)	demog-literature-positioning + demog-writing-style

Word caps are main-text counts (exclude abstract, keywords, footnotes, acknowledgments). Confirm current caps on the official page (see 待核实).

Routing map (stage -> skill)

Idea / fit?                       -> demog-topic-selection
Where does it sit in the field?   -> demog-literature-positioning
What's the argument/mechanism?    -> demog-theory-building
Is the demographic design sound?  -> demog-research-design
Are the analyses sound?           -> demog-data-analysis
Are the exhibits clear?           -> demog-tables-figures
Does it read for population sci.? -> demog-writing-style
Data statement & repro package?   -> demog-data-and-reproducibility
How will it be judged?            -> demog-review-process
Ready to submit (ScholarOne)?     -> demog-submission
Got an R&R / decision?            -> demog-rebuttal

Default order

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

Iterate: most demographic papers loop theory <-> design <-> analysis several times (e.g., choosing among life-table, decomposition, event-history, or APC framings) before writing-style.

Anti-patterns

• Treating Demography like a generic applied-stats venue — the question must be about population change
• Forcing one demographic method (e.g., a regression) when the question calls for a life table, a decomposition, or an event-history model
• Calling the $1,000 editorial-management fee an open-access charge (Demography is free to read via S2O)
• Leaving the data availability statement until acceptance — build it as you go

Router pass for Demography

Run this as a concrete capability pass. First lock the demographic process, data source, time scale, selection/migration/mortality issue, and uncertainty; then test whether the manuscript addresses population-science reviewers who inspect demographic process, measurement, cohort/period logic, and population validity.

• Primary move: Run the pack as fit gate, evidence gate, writing gate, source-map gate, and output contract; stop when a gate lacks evidence.
• Decision ledger: return claim / evidence / blocker / next edit rows so the next pass can patch the manuscript directly.
• Sibling comparison: compare against Population and Development Review for policy synthesis, JMF for family process, Social Forces for broader sociology; if the neighboring outlet has the stronger audience claim, recommend re-routing before polishing.
• Verification floor: before submission-ready advice, re-open resources/official-source-map.md for volatile rules and name the one unresolved fact that could change the recommendation.

Output format

【Stage】idea / positioning / theory / design / analysis / exhibits / writing / data / review / submit / rebut
【Type】Research Article / Research Note / Commentary
【Route to】demog-<skill>
【Why】one line
【Then】the next skill after that

Supplementary resources

• ../../resources/external_tools.md — population data + demographic software by method
• ../../resources/official-source-map.md — official Demography URLs behind every fact in this pack