Get your Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science paper right the first time: a ready-made structure with the right abstract and citations, so editors see your science, not formatting slips.
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Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 17 August, 2026
Submitting to Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science guide for authors before peer review, so formatting, structure, and required statements should be right on the first draft rather than repaired during upload. This template sets that structure up for you.
It is a manuscript shell aligned to Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science. It covers front matter, the abstract the journal expects, a body organized to the journal's article types, and a reference list in the journal's required style. Confirm current scope and article types on the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science journal page before you draft.
Prepare the title, authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs. Write the abstract to the journal's rule and word limit, organize the body to the article type, and apply the required reference style from the first citation. Complete every declaration (ethics, competing interests, funding, data availability) the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science guide for authors lists, and cite figures and tables in order.
The common failure modes are formatting or reference style that does not match the guide for authors, missing required statements, and an incomplete portal checklist. Clear all three against the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science guide for authors before you submit.
The shell mirrors what editorial staff check first: article-type fit, the abstract rules, required declarations, and the journal's reference style. For more detail see the author resources. When your draft is ready, upload it through Editorial Manager.
| Element | J Contextual Behav Sci requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Unstructured. A concise and factual abstract is required stating briefly the purpose of the research, principal results and major conclusions. Must be able to stand alone. References should be avoided but if essential cite author(s) and year(s). Non-standard abbreviations should be avoided but if essential must be defined at first mention in the abstract. The guide does not specify a word limit for the abstract, though word limits for article types (which include the abstract) are: Empirical research up to 6000 words, Brief reports up to 3000 words, Review articles up to 10,000 words, Conceptual articles up to 6000 words, Practical innovations up to 6000 words, Commentaries up to 3000 words (word limits exclude references, tables and figures but include the abstract) |
| Main text | Word limits by article type (exclude references, tables, figures but include abstract): 1) Empirical research: up to 6000 words; 2) Brief empirical reports: up to 3000 words; 3) Review articles: up to 10,000 words; 4) Conceptual articles: up to 6000 words; 5) Practical innovations: up to 6000 words; 6) Commentaries: up to 3000 words. Article should be divided into clearly defined sections with brief headings. Standard structure typically includes introduction, methods, results, and discussion sections |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | Maximum of 6 keywords required immediately after the abstract. Use American spelling, avoid general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid 'and', 'of'). Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in the field are eligible. Keywords used for indexing purposes |
| References | APA style (7th edition). Manuscripts should be prepared in APA style 7th edition as stated in the submission checklist |
| Peer review | Double-blind / double-anonymized review. The identities of the authors are concealed from the reviewers, and vice versa. Authors must prepare manuscripts for double anonymized review so only handling editors have access to author details |
| Submission | www.editorialmanager.com/jcbs/default.aspx |
Read the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science guide for authors once before drafting and once before upload. Draft the abstract after results are stable. Set the reference style before adding citations. Keep a cover letter that states your contribution and fit to Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science in under a page.
Skim two or three recent J Contextual Behav Sci papers to calibrate depth and figure style. Make the novelty clear in the first two pages. Deposit data and code when the policy on the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through Editorial Manager.