Index of Letters for Registered Reports
Letters to Reviewers
1.
2.
3.
4.
New Reviewer Invitation for Stage 1
Invitation to Review Revised Stage 1 Submission
Previous Reviewer Invitation for Stage 2 Registered Report
Invitation to Review Revised Stage 2 Submission
Letters to Authors
5. Reject Without Review
6. Reject Without Review – Resubmission Invited
7. Stage 1 Revision Invited
8. Stage 1 Rejection
9. Stage 1 In-principle Acceptance (IPA)
10. Stage 2 Revision Invited
11. Stage 2 Rejection
12. Stage 2 Acceptance
Page 1 of 13
1. New Reviewer Invitation on Stage 1 Registered Report
Dear …,
An article titled “XXXXX” has been submitted for possible publication in Journal of Business and Psychology as a
Registered Report (Stage 1), and I am writing to ask if you would kindly consider reviewing it for us.
Registered Reports are a new format of research article in which manuscripts containing a study proposal are
reviewed prior to data collection. The aim of this initiative is to neutralize a number of questionable research
practices, including publication bias, undisclosed analytic flexibility, and insufficient statistical power. Submitted
manuscripts can propose novel experiments or replications of previous high-profile studies.
The peer review process for Registered Reports happens in two stages. Stage 1 submissions include an Introduction,
Method, and Pilot Data (if applicable). In assessing these manuscripts, we ask reviewers to assess:
●
The significance of the research question(s)
●
The logic, rationale, and plausibility of the proposed hypotheses
● The soundness and feasibility of the methodology and analysis pipeline (including statistical power analysis if
applicable)
● Whether the clarity and degree of methodological detail would be sufficient to replicate exactly the proposed
experimental procedures and analysis pipeline
● Whether the authors provide a sufficiently clear and detailed description of the methods to prevent
undisclosed flexibility in the experimental procedures or analysis pipeline
● Whether the authors have used measures and procedures that are of sufficient methodological rigor for
ensuring that the results obtained are able to test the stated hypotheses
● Whether the sample used provides a good test of the stated hypotheses (e.g., no major floor or ceiling
effects).
Your decision options at the end of the review are nearly identical as what you find for a typical review. You can
recommend rejection, a major R&R, a minor R&R or an in-principal acceptance. Submissions that pass Stage 1 review
are issued an in-principle acceptance (IPA), which guarantees publication of the completed study if the authors adhere
exactly to the approved procedures and propose a defensible interpretation of the results. Completed manuscripts
are peer reviewed at Stage 2.
Complete information on the registered report initiative can be found here: [WEB LINK TO JBP special initiative
website]
We request reviews be carried out within 6 weeks.
Thank you in advance for your assistance. I look forward to hearing from you.
Best Wishes,
[ACTION EDITOR NAME]
Page 2 of 13
2. Invitation to Review Revised Stage 1 Submission
Dear …,
Thank you again for your previous review of the manuscript titled “XXXXX” submitted to Journalf of Business and
Psychology as a Registered Report (Stage 1). We have received a revision of this manuscript and are asking that you
evaluate the revised manuscript to see if the authors have adequately addressed your concerns and suggestions, and
whether you recommend rejection, further revision, or in-principle acceptance (IPA). Full reviewer guidelines about
the special initiative may be viewed here: [WEB LINK TO REVIEWER GUIDELINES]
To maintain an efficient process, we would prefer reviews to be carried out within 6 weeks.
Include Link to access review
Many thanks in advance. I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
[ACTION EDITOR NAME]
Page 3 of 13
3. Previous Reviewer Invitation on Stage 2 Registered Report
Dear …,
Thank you for your previous review of the manuscript titled “XXXXX” submitted to Journalf of Business and Psychology
as a Registered Report (Stage 1). Following in-principle acceptance (IPA) of their Stage 1 submission, the authors have
now submitted a follow-up Stage 2 manuscript. I am writing to ask if you would kindly consider reviewing it for us.
We ask reviewers of Stage 2 Registered Reports to assess:

Whether the data and sample actually collected and used provided a good test of the stated hypotheses (e.g., no
major floor or ceiling effects)

Whether the Introduction, rationale and stated hypotheses are the same as the approved Stage 1 submission
(required)

Whether the authors adhered to the registered experimental procedures

Whether any unregistered exploratory analyses added by the authors are justified, methodologically sound, and
informative

The quality and appropriateness of the discussion section. A good deal of attention should be focused here.
Please note, that if relevant, authors are free to include additional post hoc data analyses that were not registered in
Stage 1, however these are reported in a separate sub-section of the Results and should be appropriately caveated. In
addition, authors must report the outcome of all pre-registered analyses. Full reviewer guidelines may be viewed
here: [WEB LINK TO initiative GUIDELINES]
Please note that the statistical significance, novelty, or perceived importance of findings will not factor into editorial
decisions.
To maintain an efficient process, we would prefer reviews to be carried out within 4 weeks.
Thank you in advance for your assistance. I look forward to hearing from you.
Best Wishes,
[ACTION EDITOR NAME]
Page 4 of 13
4. Invitation to Review Revised Stage 2 Submission
Dear …,
Thank you again for your previous review of the manuscript titled “XXXXX” submitted to Journalf of Business and
Psychology as a Registered Report (Stage 2). We have received a revision of this manuscript and are asking if you
would be willing to look through the revised manuscript to see if the authors have adequately addressed your
concerns and suggestions, and whether you would recommend further revision or acceptance of this paper.
To maintain an efficient process, we would prefer reviews to be carried out within 4 weeks.
The original referee reports, original version of the manuscript, revised manuscript, and the author's reply, including a
detailed response to the referee reports, can be found by logging into [MANUSCRIPT HANDLING SYSTEM]. Your login
details are appended to this email.
Many thanks in advance. I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
[ACTION EDITOR NAME]
Page 5 of 13
5. Reject without review for Stage 1 Registered Report
Dear …,
Thank you for submitting your manuscript titled “XXXXX” to Journal of Business and Psychology for consideration as a
Registered Report (Stage 1).
After careful deliberation, we regret to inform you that we are unable to consider your paper for publication.
Competition for space in the journal has become increasingly intense as we receive an ever-growing number of
submissions. Like some of the other high impact journals, we reject a proportion of manuscripts without sending them
to referees. These decisions are not taken lightly and may involve the Editors in Chief, appropriate members of the
Editorial Board, as well as Expert Readers.
For Registered Reports, rejections without review are based on a number of different factors, such as likely
contribution of the proposed research to the field, clarity of proposed hypotheses and methodology, and relevance of
the manuscript with respect to the aims of the Journal. A manuscript may also simply be deemed not competitive with
other papers submitted to Journal of Business and Psychology, and this does not imply that the proposal is not
appropriate or potentially important, or that the results would not be informative or potentially useful if published in
a different journal.
EDITOR STATES PRINCIPAL REASONS AS RELEVANT
We are sorry we cannot be more positive on this occasion. Thank you for supporting the Registered Reports initiative
and we hope that you will continue to consider Journal of Business and Psychology as an outlet for your work in
future.
Yours sincerely
Steven G. Rogelberg
Editor
Page 6 of 13
6. Reject without review for Stage 1 Registered Report – Resubmission As New Manusript
Invited
Dear …,
Thank you for submitting your manuscript titled “XXXXX” to Journal of Business and Psychology for consideration as a
Registered Report (Stage 1).
The Registered Reports (RR) editorial team has now had a chance to consider your submission for in-depth Stage 1
review. As standard, we triage submissions for scientific significance, clarity and general adherence to the RR
guidelines. For submissions that have promise but are not yet suitable for Stage 1 review, we offer feedback to help
authors maximize the chances that reviewers will respond positively to a resubmission.
I do have a few concerns that are preventing me from sending your manuscript out for review in its current form. I
have outlined these concerns below. My hope is that you will revise your manuscript according to the concerns and
resubmit to JBP for consideration as a new submission.
EDITOR SHOULD PROVIDE SOME SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS FOR WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO GET THE PAPER
READY FOR REVIEW [INSERT SPECIFIC COMMENTS]
I do hope that you will take the time to address the concerns that I have detailed above and resubmit your manuscript
to JBP. Please note that resubmitting your manuscript with the above changes will not guarantee in any way
acceptance of your manuscript for publication. However, I believe that making the above changes will help the
reviewers to better see the merits of your work.
Yours sincerely,
[ACTION EDITOR NAME]
Page 7 of 13
7. Revision invited for Stage 1 Registered Report
Dear …,
Thank you for submitting your manuscript titled “XXXXX” to Journal of Business and Psychology for consideration as a
Registered Report (Stage 1). Your paper has now been reviewed by expert referees, whose comments are included at
the end of this letter.
On the basis of these comments, we cannot accept your manuscript in its present form but would like to invite you to
revise your paper, taking into account the issues raised by the reviewers. Please note that in-principle acceptance
(IPA) and progression to Stage 2 is not guaranteed and any revision will be sent back to the referees for further
review. You should, therefore, include a point-by-point response to the reviewers' comments, outlining each change
made in your manuscript or providing a suitable rebuttal.
Insert Editor Comments
If you would like to submit a revised manuscript, we request that you do so within three months. Please let us know if
you will not be able to meet this deadline.
Please also remember to check the style of your manuscript and make sure that it complies fully with Journal of
Business and Psychology guidelines: [LINK]
To submit your revision, please do the following:
[INSERT TECHNICAL INSTRUCTIONS]
I look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.
Yours sincerely,
[ACTION EDITOR NAME]
[ANY COMMENTS FROM THE REVIEWERS WILL BE APPENDED]
Page 8 of 13
8. Rejection letter for Stage 1 Registered Report
Dear …,
Thank you for submitting your manuscript titled “XXXXX” to Journal of Business and Psychology for consideration as a
Registered Report (Stage 1).
We are grateful for the opportunity to consider your work, but I regret to inform you that we are unable to offer inprinciple acceptance (IPA) of your paper and progression to Stage 2.
Your paper has been reviewed by expert referees, whose comments are enclosed at the end of this letter. This
decision was based on the reviewers' comments and my own reactions to the paper. Competition for space in the
journal has become increasingly intense as we receive an ever-growing number of submissions. As a result, we cannot
accommodate all submissions that may ultimately be publishable.
Insert Editor Comments
I realize this news is disappointing and hope that you will find the reviewers' comments helpful as you continue work
on the design and execution of this project. Many thanks for considering Journal of Business and Psychology as an
outlet for your work.
Yours sincerely,
[ACTION EDITOR NAME]
[ANY COMMENTS FROM THE REVIEWERS WILL BE APPENDED]
Page 9 of 13
9. In-Principle Acceptance (IPA) Letter for Stage 1 Registered Report
Dear …,
Thank you for submitting your manuscript titled “XXXXX” to Journal of Business and Psychology for consideration as a
Registered Report (Stage 1). We are pleased to offer in-principle accepance (IPA) of your paper. You may now
progress to Stage 2 and complete the study as approved. Given the nature of the proposed research, we request that
we receive your Stage 2 submission within XXXXXXX days. Please contact the journal office if this deadline cannot be
met or if any unforeseen problems arise.
Following completion of your study, we invite you to resubmit your paper for peer review as a Stage 2 Registered
Report. Please note that your manucript can still be rejected for publication at Stage 2 if the Editors consider any of
the following conditions to be met:






The results were unable to test the authors’ proposed hypotheses by failing to provide a good test of the stated
hypotheses (e.g., occurrence of major floor or ceiling effects)
The authors altered the Introduction, rationale, or hypotheses, as approved in the Stage 1 submission
The authors failed to adhere closely to the registered experimental procedures
Any post hoc (unregistered) analyses were either unjustified, insufficiently caveated, or overly dominant in
shaping the authors’ conclusions
The authors’ conclusions were not justified given the data obtained
The discussion section is inappropriate or of poor quality.
We encourage you to read the complete guidelines for authors concerning Stage 2 submissions at [WEB LINK TO
AUTHOR GUIDELINES]. These guidelines discuss the inclusion of exploratory analyses, how to discuss new literature,
etc. that may be relevant to your paper.
Yours sincerely,
ACTION EDITOR NAME
[ANY FINAL COMMENTS FROM THE REVIEWERS AT STAGE 1 WILL BE APPENDED]
Page 10 of 13
10. Revision invited for Stage 2 Registered Report
Dear …,
Thank you for submitting your manuscript titled “XXXXX” to Journal of Business and Psychology for consideration as a
Registered Report (Stage 2). Your above paper has now been reviewed by expert referees, whose comments are
enclosed at the end of this letter.
On the basis of these comments, we cannot accept your manuscript in its present form but would like to invite you to
revise your paper, taking into account the issues raised by the reviewers. Please note that final acceptance is not
guaranteed and any revision will be sent back to the referees for further review. You should, therefore, include a
point-by-point response to the reviewers' comments, outlining each change made in your manuscript or providing a
suitable rebuttal.
Insert Editor Comments
If you would like to submit a revised manuscript, we request that you do so within three months. Please let us know if
you will not be able to meet this deadline.
Please also remember to check the style of your manuscript and make sure that it complies fully with Journal of
Business and Psychology guidelines: [LINK]
To submit your revision, please do the following:
[INSERT TECHNICAL INSTRUCTIONS]
I look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.
Yours sincerely,
ACTION EDITOR NAME
[ANY COMMENTS FROM THE REVIEWERS WILL BE APPENDED]
Page 11 of 13
11. Rejection letter for Stage 2 Registered Report
Dear …,
Thank you for submitting your manuscript titled “XXXXX” to Journal of Business and Psychology for consideration as a
Registered Report (Stage 2). We are grateful for the opportunity to consider your work, but I regret to inform you that
we are unable to accept your paper for publication.
Your paper has been reviewed by expert referees, whose comments are enclosed at the end of this letter. As noted in
the Guidelines to Authors, Registered Reports can be rejected at Stage 2 for several reasons. In your case, the
following bar(s) to publication applied:
[EDITOR TO DELETE AS APPLICABLE FROM THE LIST BELOW]






The results were unable to test the authors’ proposed hypotheses by failing to provide a good test of the stated
hypotheses (e.g., occurrence of major floor or ceiling effects)
The authors altered the Introduction, rationale, or hypotheses, as approved in the Stage 1 submission
The authors failed to adhere closely to the registered experimental procedures
Any post hoc (unregistered) analyses were either unjustified, insufficiently caveated, or overly dominant in
shaping the authors’ conclusions
The authors’ conclusions were not justified given the data obtained
The discussion section is inappropriate or of poor quality.
Insert Editor Comments
I realize this outcome is disappointing, but hope that you will find the reviewers' comments helpful should you wish to
revise your paper for submission elsewhere. Many thanks for considering Journal of Business and Psychology as an
outlet for your work.
Yours sincerely,
ACTION EDITOR NAME
[ANY COMMENTS FROM THE REVIEWERS WILL BE APPENDED]
Page 12 of 13
13. Acceptance Letter for Stage 2 Registered Report
Dear %TITLE% %FIRST_NAME% %LAST_NAME%,
I am pleased to report that your manuscript, "%ARTICLE_TITLE%" has been accepted for publication in
%JOURNALFULLTITLE%. The reviewers and I appreciated your responsiveness to our comments and
feedback. Your manuscript will make an important contribution to our literature.
I will now hand your paper over to production.
For queries regarding your accepted paper, please contact Mr. Thangarasan at
B.Thangarasan@springer.com
JBP is now part of Springer's Online First program. After a manuscript has been accepted for publication, it
is immediately referred to the production department. Following production (about two months), the
manuscript is published online and available in the Online First section of the journal web page. Sometime
later, the manuscript is published in print. The timing of the print publication is difficult to predict, but we
make every effort to avoid delays in publication.
In closing, I thank you for choosing JBP as a publication outlet for your research. I hope that you will
continue to consider JBP as an outlet for your work. Congratulations.
Respectfully,
Page 13 of 13