Help > Preprints and CCCURJ Flagship
Preprints and CCCURJ Flagship
CCCURJ has two parts. The archive posts preprints: work a preprint editor has checked but that has not been peer-reviewed. CCCURJ Flagship is the peer-reviewed journal: it publishes preprints that passed open peer review. Every CCCURJ Flagship article starts as a preprint, but not every preprint goes on to the journal.
| Preprint | CCCURJ Flagship article | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A public, permanent copy of your work, shared before or without peer review. | A peer-reviewed journal article: a preprint that passed open peer review. |
| Who checks it | A preprint editor checks scope, format, disclosures and eligibility. This is not peer review. | A managing editor runs open peer review with at least two peer reviewers, who judge the work itself. |
| Reviews | None. Nobody judges whether the results are right. | Signed reports, the authors' responses and the editor's decision, published with the article. |
| How to get in | Submit from your account. | Apply with a preprint that has already been announced. |
| When it appears | In the next listing, once a preprint editor has checked it. | When the managing editor accepts it, usually after one or more rounds of revision. Articles are published continuously, in two volumes a year. |
| How to cite it | CCCURJ:2610.00003v1 (identifier and version) | CCCURJ Flagship 1, 7 (2026) (volume, article number, year) |
| Versions | Post new versions at any time; the latest is shown by default. | Fixed to the version that was accepted. Later preprint versions do not change the article. |
| Removing it | It can be withdrawn but stays on record. | It cannot be withdrawn. The editors handle corrections and retractions. |
| License | CC BY 4.0; you keep the copyright. | CC BY 4.0; you keep the copyright. The reviews are CC BY 4.0 too. |
| On a CV or transfer application | List it as a preprint, for example Preprint, CCCURJ:2610.00003 (2026). Do not call it peer-reviewed. | List it as a peer-reviewed publication. |
Who reviews what
There are two kinds of editor, and they look at different things.
- Preprint editors
- Check every preprint before it is announced, and every new version or withdrawal. They check that the work is scholarly and on topic, has the right artifact type and category, that the LaTeX source matches the PDF, that the disclosures are complete and that the submitting author is eligible. They do not judge whether the research is correct or important, and they take no part in CCCURJ Flagship decisions.
- Managing editors
- Run CCCURJ Flagship peer review. For each application a managing editor becomes the handling editor, invites at least two peer reviewers, reads their reports and decides: accept, revise, or decline. Managing editors also approve peer reviewers. They do not check preprints for the archive.
- Peer reviewers
- Students approved by a managing editor. They read the whole work and write a signed report on its quality, accuracy and ethics, with a recommendation: accept, minor revision, major revision or reject. See becoming a peer reviewer.
No editor or reviewer handles their own work or a paper they co-authored; another editor takes it.
All three are open to applications: see review for CCCURJ. Managing editors approve peer reviewers; an admin approves editors.
Requirements
To post a preprint
- An eligible submitting author.
- The LaTeX source and the PDF compiled from it (see formatting with LaTeX).
- Title, authors, an abstract of at most 1,920 characters, an artifact type and a category.
- Disclosures: funding, conflicts of interest, collaborations, generative AI use, and ethics approval for work with human participants.
- Every author's agreement to CC BY 4.0.
- Scholarly work on topic for its category. It does not have to be finished, new or proven right: research in progress is welcome.
To be published in CCCURJ Flagship
Everything above, plus:
- The work is already an announced CCCURJ preprint.
- All authors agree to open peer review: signed reports, responses and decisions are published with the article.
- A short cover letter for the managing editor. You may suggest or exclude reviewers.
- The work meets the publication standard: sound methods, conclusions supported by the evidence, accurate citations, original and properly attributed, free of fabricated results, and ethical under COPE guidance. It may be screened for similarity.
- At least two submitted reviewer reports on the accepted version, and the managing editor's acceptance.
What to expect
From the preprint check
- One of three outcomes: announced (the editor may move it to a better category), on hold with a note saying what to change, or declined with a reason.
- No comments on the quality of the research. That is what peer review is for.
- No fixed schedule yet: work is usually announced once it has been checked. Your account page shows the status.
From CCCURJ Flagship peer review
- A managing editor takes your application and invites at least two reviewers.
- Reviewers write reports. You see them, with the reviewers' names, when the editor decides that round.
- The decision is one of: accept; revise, where you post a new version and answer each report; or decline, always with reasons. Revision is a normal outcome, not a failure: review here is meant to show you how to make the work publishable.
- If accepted, the article is published with its whole review history. If declined, nothing from the review is published and your preprint stays in the archive.
There is no fixed deadline for each round yet; your account page shows where your application is. To appeal a decision, email the editors.
Telling them apart
- A preprint's abstract page says Preprint · not peer-reviewed.
- A paper published in the journal shows a red Published in CCCURJ Flagship banner on its abstract page, with a link to the article and its open peer review.