For Authors

On this page: Did you know? | Submitting an article | Benefits of Publishing with Polymer Journal | Open Access & Self Archiving| Extend the reach of your paper

Did you know?

  • Polymer Journal now welcomes submission of papers on its new submission system eJournal Press.
  • The Users of nature.com can now sign up for a monthly e-mail of the table of contents for Polymer Journal.
  • That the Polymer Journal has an impact factor of 2.8 (2022 Journal Citation Reports®).
  • That articles published in the journal in 2022 were downloaded 924,488 times.
  • The median time (2022) from submission to the first editorial decision is 7 days.

Submitting an article

To read about how to prepare your article, please click on Instructions for Authors. If you are ready to submit an article please click on Online Submission.

Benefits of publishing with Polymer Journal

Polymer Journal (PJ) is the official journal of the The Society of Polymer Science, Japan (SPSJ), publishing high-quality original research articles, reviews, notes, rapid communications and editorials spanning all areas of polymer research.

The journal is published in partnership with Springer Nature, which uses pioneering technologies, innovative formats and world-class production to provide premium information for scientific researchers in the public and private sectors, government agencies and educators.

A key strength of Springer Nature is its close relationship with the scientific community. By working closely with scientists, listening to what they say, and always placing emphasis on quality rather than quantity, Springer Nature is the leading scientific publisher at finding innovative solutions to scientists' information needs, both for the Nature-branded publications and those published on behalf of society partners, including SPSJ.

Publishing with PJ and Springer Nature from January 2010 will provide an author with a wide range of benefits:-

The Society of Polymer Science, Japan does not require authors of original research papers to assign copyright of their published contributions. Authors grant The Society of Polymer Science, Japan an exclusive license to publish, in return for which they can re-use their papers in their future printed work.Springer Nature's author license page provides details of the policy and a sample form. Authors are encouraged to submit their version of the accepted, peer-reviewed manuscript to their funding body's archive for public release six months after publication. In addition, authors are encouraged to archive their version of the manuscript in their institution's repositories (as well as on their personal websites), also six months after the original publication. Authors should cite the publication reference and doi number on any deposited version, and provide a link from it to the published article on the Springer Nature website. This policy complements the policies of the US National Institutes of Health, the Wellcome Trust and other research funding bodies around the world. Springer Nature recognizes the efforts of funding bodies to increase access of the research they fund, and strongly encourages authors to participate in such efforts.

Online presence - reducing publication times

PJ has adopted Springer Nature's online submission system, which allows authors to submit papers via the Web. Speeding up the submission and refereeing process, this system also allows you to view the status of your paper online.

Weekly publication online

New articles in PJ, as in all Springer Nature journals, are published weekly online ahead of the archival print issue, ensuring the research is made publicly available and can be cited as soon as possible after acceptance for publication. The online publication is identical to the printed version and is not a preliminary, unedited version, thus maintaining the journal's tradition of excellence and the integrity of the published record.

Supplementary online material

Authors are invited to submit additional supporting material such as data sets or video for publication in the online version of the journal. Online supplementary material makes the most of the Web as a delivery platform and can often give articles greater depth, making them more useful to readers.

Quality

Authors who choose to publish in any Springer Nature journal can be assured that its staff's publishing, editorial and production skills are committed to maintaining the highest possible quality and standards.

Exposure - widest possible readership

All Springer Nature journals, including PJ, are available online via site licenses to academic, corporate and government institutions and consortia. Journals are available to members of these institutions at the click of a mouse, adding speed and visibility to authors' research papers.

Regular free e-mail alerts

Content published in PJ has the potential to reach scientists around the world who have signed up for Springer Nature's free table of contents e-alerts, ensuring additional exposure to authors. These e-alerts allow recipients to click through to the full article if they subscribe or work at an institution with a site license, or click through to the article's abstract for other readers.

Focused subject areas on nature.com

From immunology to physics, genetics to materials, subject-specific areas provide a focused environment for readers, providing a monthly updated focus for a particular field.

Abstracting and indexing

PJ is included in the leading abstracting and indexing services including ISI, EMBASE and BIOSIS. Extensive reference linking to ISI, Chemport and others via services such as Crossref and DOI numbers provide seamless online linking between articles and databases.

Media coverage

The Springer Nature press office provides information about exceptionally interesting papers published throughout Springer Nature. More than 2,000 journalists and media organizations worldwide subscribe to the press service, ensuring that papers receive maximum exposure in the world's most important media channels including newspapers, magazines, radio and television.

Extending science further - global collaborations

Springer Nature and PJ support some projects aimed at making current research available to a broader community of scientists and practitioners.

In 2010, Polymer Journal will be part of INASP (International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications) program, which provides access to public institutions in developing countries.

Open Access & Self Archiving

Self-archiving and green open access

Where articles are published via the subscription route, Springer Nature permits authors to self-archive the accepted manuscript (the version post-peer review, but prior to copy-editing and typesetting) on their own personal website and/or in their funder or institutional repositories, for public release after an embargo period of six months after first publication. 

Learn more about self-archiving.

Open access publication (gold open access)

Authors of research articles can opt to pay an article processing charge (APC) for their accepted articles to be open access online immediately upon publication. Open access articles are published under a CC BY license (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License). Under Creative Commons, authors retain copyright in their articles. The CC BY license allows for maximum dissemination and re-use of open access materials and is preferred by many research funding bodies. Under this license, users are free to share (copy, distribute and transmit) and remix (adapt) the contribution including for commercial purposes, providing they attribute the contribution in the manner specified by the author or licensor (read full legal code). All Springer Nature journals with an open access option offer intergovernmental organisation (IGO) versions of Creative Commons licences on request, where required by the author’s employer.

To facilitate self-archiving Springer Nature deposits open access articles in PubMed Central and Europe PubMed Central on publication. Authors are also permitted to post the final, published PDF of their article on a website, institutional repository or other free public server immediately on publication.

Visit our open research site for detailed information about publishing open access in Polymer Journal:

Find out more about open access publishing at Springer Nature:

Compliance with open access mandates

Springer Nature's publishing policies ensure that authors can comply with the public access requirements of many major funding bodies worldwide. Authors may need to take specific actions to achieve compliance with funder and institutional open access mandates. If your research is supported by a funder that requires immediate open access (e.g. according to Plan S principles) then you should select the gold OA route, and we will direct you to the compliant route where possible. For authors selecting the subscription publication route, the journal's standard licensing terms will need to be accepted, including self-archiving policies. Those licensing terms will supersede any other terms that the author or any third party may assert apply to any version of the manuscript.

Extend the reach of your paper

We encourage you to take some immediate and simple steps that can help extend the reach and impact of your paper. Learn how you can disseminate your research to your inner circles through the use of social media and online communities by visiting our Author Tips page.

Authors who opt to make their article open access will not be charged standard publication charges

Visit Springer Nature's open access funding page for information about research funders and institutions that provide funding for open access.

Springer Nature also offers an APC support service to make it easier for Springer Nature authors to discover and apply for open access funding. For advice on what funding is available to you and help in approaching funders and institutions, please contact us at openaccess@nature.com.

For more information about Springer Nature's open access publishing options and policies, please see our open access homepage