Step 1. Check whether your manuscript fits the journal 
Step 2. Prepare your manuscript
Step 3. Prepare required statements 
Step 4. Submit
Step 5. Peer Review 
Step 6. After Acceptance
Step 7. Publication and Promotion 

Step 1. Check whether your manuscript fits the journal

• Read the Aims & Scope
• Read the description of the article types
• In case of doubt, contact the editor-in-chief of the journal

Step 2. Prepare your manuscript

• Download and use the journal template (mandatory)[link coming soon]
• Prepare and submit manuscripts using the official journal template, ensuring correct structure, formatting, and inclusion of all required sections.
• Manuscripts that do not use or modify the template will be returned to the author.

Figures & Tables

• Add figure number, source(s), copyright license, alternative text.
• We recommend you include high resolution figures (images, maps, charts and tables) in your manuscript.
• You should include image captions
• Authors are responsible for ensuring they have the necessary rights and permissions to reproduce any third-party material.
• We strongly recommend using CC-BY 4.0 licensed material in your manuscript.
• Where a figure, image, or other third-party material is subject to a different license, this must be clearly indicated in the caption or credit line.  
• Example of a credit line for third-party material: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0). Images or other third-party material are included in the article's Creative Commons licence unless otherwise indicated in a credit line

References

• We use the APA citation style. Organise references alphabetically (not in the order they appear in the text). Include in-text references.  
• Ensure proper citation and permissions. Accurately cite sources and obtain permission for any third-party material.

Anonymous Review: authors are responsible for ensuring that all submitted materials are anonymised where reasonably possible.

• Prepare a separate title page containing author names, affiliations, ORCID iDs, acknowledgements, funding information, corresponding author details and suggested reviewers (where requested).
• Remove author-identifying information from the manuscript, including acknowledgements, affiliations, and self-identifying statements where possible.
• Check document properties, comments, tracked changes, filenames and metadata before submitting.

Supplementary materials

• Authors should clearly indicate whether supplementary materials are intended to be included in peer review or are provided solely for informational purposes.
• Supplementary materials that are necessary for the evaluation of the manuscript should be submitted for peer review and clearly identified as peer-reviewed. Suggested text: "This supplementary material has been peer reviewed as part of the manuscript review process."
• Supplementary materials that are not part of the peer-review process may be published separately and made available through the publication landing page. Such materials must be clearly labelled as not peer reviewed. Suggested text: This supplementary material has not been peer reviewed.
• Whenever possible, TU Delft OPEN Publishing prefers supplementary files to be deposited in a trusted repository that provides a persistent identifier (e.g. DOI) rather than hosting supplemental files alongside the publication.
• Research data, software, and source code should NOT be submitted as supplementary materials. Instead, authors are encouraged to deposit these outputs in a trusted repository and cite them in the manuscript. Refer to our data and software sections.
• Supplementary materials submitted for peer review should be anonymised where reasonably possible. If anonymisation is not feasible (e.g. because the materials are already publicly available through a repository with a DOI), authors should inform the editor at the time of submission.

Spelling: You can choose American or British style, but be consistent throughout the manuscript.

Language editing

• While preparing your manuscript, you are permitted to use language editing tools to improve your manuscript readability.
• Disclose any use of AI or LLMs tools in the AI disclosure statement

Step 3. Prepare required statements

To promote transparency, reproducibility, and appropriate attribution, authors should provide Funding, Data Availability, and Contributor Statements where applicable.

Authorship and ORCID

• Ensure all authors, affiliations, ORCID IDs, and author sequence are correct before submitting the manuscript. Confirm names with authors before submitting the files to the publisher.
• Affiliation Format. Provide the complete affiliation of contributors using our standard format: Name, Department, Faculty, University/Institute, Country, ORCID.
• Names should be displayed consistently in full or in abbreviated form.
• ORCID iD: An ORCID iD is required for all authors. Registration is easy and available to all. Go to https://orcid.org/register

Authorship/Contributor Changes: Adding or Removing an Author/contributor, or Changing the Order of Authors.

 If an author/contributor changes are necessary, please contact us explaining the reason for adding/removing an author/contributor or changing the order of authors listed in the journal article. Please ensure to obtain permission from all authors concerned. See the complete policy here 

Funding or Grant (if applicable). Use this section to include any funding received in support of the research, including funding organisation, grant or project number.

Data/Software Access Statement (if applicable)

• Provide information on how the data, software, or code supporting the research can be accessed. Include the repository name, DOI, URL, and a short description where applicable.
• Example 1: "The data supporting the findings of this study are available in [Repository Name] at [DOI/URL]."
• Example 2: "The data are not publicly available due to ethical and privacy restrictions."

Contributor statement (mandatory)

• Describe properly all author contributions and all types of relevant contributions using Contributor Role Taxonomy (CRediT), see Policies.
• Example 1: Author A: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing - Original Draft.
• Example 2: Author B: Data Curation, Formal Analysis, Writing - Review & Editing.
• Example 3: Author C: Supervision, Funding Acquisition.

Use of AI (if applicable): During the preparation of this work, the author(s) used [NAME TOOL / SERVICE] in order to [REASON]. After using this tool/service, the author(s) reviewed, edited, made the content their own and validated the outcome as needed, and take(s) full responsibility for the content of the publication.

Acknowledgement (if applicable). Acknowledge any other support that is not covered in the Contributor Statement section.

Conflict Of Interest -COI (mandatory): State any conflict of interest. If there is no COI say: “There is no conflict of interest”

References: APA citation style. Organise references alphabetically (not in the order they appear in the text). Include in-text references.  

Step 4. Submit

Submit through OJS your ready manuscript and supporting materials only.

• Upload the Title Page (author details, affiliations, ORCID iDs, acknowledgements, funding information, corresponding author details and suggested reviewers).
• Upload the Anonymised Manuscript (prepared using the journal template and excluding author names, affiliations, ORCID iDs, acknowledgements, funding information, and other identifying information).
• Upload any anonymised supplementary materials intended for peer review and indicate whether they should be included in the review process.
• Check document properties, comments, tracked changes, filenames and metadata before submitting.

Before submitting, make sure that:

• your manuscript follows the journal template and formatting requirements;
• all authors meet the authorship criteria and have approved the manuscript;
• a corresponding author has been designated and that, where applicable, the submitting author has the authority to act on behalf of all authors.
• all required statements (e.g. conflicts of interest, funding, data availability, AI disclosure where applicable) are included;
• all figures, tables, and supplementary files are complete and correctly referenced.

After submitting, you will receive a confirmation, and your manuscript will go through an initial screening.

Step 5. Peer Review

Only manuscripts passing the initial editorial screening are sent for peer review. Independent experts evaluate your work and provide recommendations to the handling editor.

Authors may be invited to revise their manuscript in response to reviewer comments before a final editorial decision is made.

Go to the journal Peer Review Policy for more details

Step 6. After Acceptance

Upon acceptance of your manuscript, it enters the production stage.

During this stage, the publisher will check your manuscript for publication.

Authors may be asked to:

• review and approve the final version of the manuscript;
• verify author names, affiliations, ORCID identifiers, and contact details;
• review figures, tables, and supplementary materials;
• check metadata, abstracts, keywords, and references for accuracy;
• complete any outstanding publication requirements.

The submitting or corresponding author will receive proofs for review.

This stage is meant to identify typographical, formatting, or production errors.

Substantive changes to the content should normally not be made after acceptance.

Once all required checks have been completed and the final version has been approved, the manuscript will proceed to publication.

Authors may also be invited to provide a short promotional text or plain-language summary for use on websites, newsletters, and social media channels to support the visibility and dissemination of their research.

For information on publication ethics, authorship changes, corrections, or withdrawals after acceptance, consult the relevant journal policies (TU Delft OPEN Publishing policies).

Step 7. Publication and Promotion

Once published, your article becomes freely accessible to readers worldwide through Diamond Open Access, free to publish, free to read.

The journal and publisher support the dissemination and discoverability of published content through scholarly communication channels, repositories, and indexing services where applicable. Authors are encouraged to share and promote their work within their professional networks.