Manuscript Readiness Level
The Manuscript Readiness Level (MRL) is a pre-submission self-assessment framework developed by the Journal of Educational Research and Practice (JERP) to help authors determine whether a manuscript is sufficiently complete and prepared for editorial screening and, where appropriate, external peer review.
The MRL assesses submission readiness, not the scholarly quality or publishability of a manuscript. It is not an editorial scoring system and does not guarantee that a manuscript will proceed to peer review or be accepted for publication.
1. Manuscript Readiness Criteria
Before submission, authors should review the following areas.
| No. | Readiness Area | What Authors Should Check |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Relevance to JERP | The manuscript falls within JERP’s aims and scope and addresses a relevant issue in education or educational studies. Its contribution to educational knowledge, policy, or practice should be clearly stated. |
| 2 | Research Purpose and Contribution | The research problem or scholarly issue is clearly defined. The manuscript explains its purpose, research questions or objectives where applicable, rationale, and intended contribution. |
| 3 | Engagement with Literature | The manuscript engages critically with relevant and credible scholarship, establishes an appropriate research gap or rationale, and uses literature that is directly relevant to the study. |
| 4 | Methodology or Scholarly Approach | Empirical studies clearly report research design, context, participants or data sources, sampling, data collection, analysis, and relevant quality criteria. Review, conceptual, theoretical, or policy papers clearly explain their analytical or synthesis procedures. |
| 5 | Findings, Analysis, or Argument | Findings, evidence, synthesis, or arguments are presented clearly and correspond to the research questions, objectives, or analytical framework. Tables and figures are used only where they improve understanding. |
| 6 | Discussion and Conclusion | The manuscript interprets findings or arguments in relation to relevant scholarship, explains the contribution of the study, acknowledges relevant limitations, and avoids conclusions that extend beyond the evidence. |
| 7 | Research Ethics and Transparency | Where applicable, the manuscript reports ethical approval, informed consent, privacy and confidentiality safeguards, funding, competing interests, and data availability. Ethical requirements should be appropriate to the research design and context. |
| 8 | Originality and Research Integrity | The manuscript represents original scholarly work. All sources are appropriately acknowledged, references are genuine and verified, and previously disseminated or related work is disclosed where relevant. Similarity is considered according to the source, extent, nature, attribution, and context of textual overlap rather than a fixed percentage. |
| 9 | Generative AI Disclosure | Any substantive use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies is disclosed in accordance with JERP’s policy. AI-generated or AI-assisted content has been verified by the authors, and AI has not been used to fabricate data, evidence, citations, references, participant responses, or findings. |
| 10 | Technical and Submission Readiness | The manuscript follows the current JERP template, uses academic British English, follows APA 7th edition for citations and references, has been anonymised for double-anonymous peer review, contains an accurate abstract and 3–5 keywords, and includes all required submission files and declarations. |
2. Manuscript Readiness Levels
The following levels provide a qualitative guide to manuscript readiness. Authors should consider the manuscript as a whole rather than calculate a numerical score.
| Level | Readiness | Description |
|---|---|---|
| MRL 1 | Not Ready | Several essential elements are absent, incomplete, or insufficiently developed. Substantial work is required before submission. |
| MRL 2 | Developing | The main components are present, but important issues relating to literature, methodology, analysis, ethics, integrity, or presentation still require substantial revision. |
| MRL 3 | Nearly Ready | The manuscript is substantially complete but still requires identifiable revisions to meet JERP’s submission and reporting expectations. |
| MRL 4 | Review-Ready | The manuscript is complete, coherent, appropriately reported, ethically prepared, and technically suitable for initial editorial assessment and possible peer review. |
| MRL 5 | Fully Prepared for Submission | The manuscript has been carefully checked against JERP’s current author, ethical, originality, AI, formatting, and submission requirements and is ready to enter the editorial process. |
Authors are encouraged to submit manuscripts that meet MRL 4 or MRL 5.
However, MRL 5 does not indicate that a manuscript is stronger academically than another manuscript or that it is more likely to be accepted. It indicates only a higher level of pre-submission completeness and policy compliance.
3. Important Notes
The MRL is a self-assessment tool for authors and is not part of JERP’s formal editorial decision-making criteria.
A manuscript assessed by its authors as MRL 4 or MRL 5 may still be declined during initial editorial assessment or external peer review if it:
- falls outside the journal’s aims and scope;
- does not demonstrate a sufficient scholarly contribution;
- contains significant methodological or analytical limitations;
- raises ethical or research-integrity concerns;
- contains unreliable or unverifiable information; or
- does not comply with applicable journal policies.
JERP uses double-anonymous peer review for manuscripts that proceed to external review. Manuscripts should therefore be appropriately anonymised before submission.
Submitted manuscripts may undergo similarity and research-integrity screening. JERP does not use a fixed similarity percentage as an automatic criterion for acceptance or rejection. Similarity reports are interpreted in context.
Editorial and peer-review decisions remain the responsibility of the journal’s editors and are independent of an author’s self-assessed MRL.
4. How Authors Should Use the MRL
Authors should use the MRL before submission to:
- identify incomplete or unclear aspects of the manuscript;
- check compliance with JERP’s current policies and submission requirements;
- reduce avoidable technical or reporting problems; and
- determine whether further revision is needed before entering the editorial process.
The MRL should be used together with the current Author Guidelines , Editorial and Peer Review Policy , Originality, Plagiarism, and Similarity Policy , Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies Policy , and Publication Ethics .
Related JERP Policies
| Author Guidelines | Editorial and Peer Review Policy |
| Peer Review Process | Originality, Plagiarism, and Similarity Policy |
| Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies Policy | Publication Ethics |
Last updated: October 2026
