What We Publish and What We Do Not

The editors of Autism Research would like to wish you a healthy, happy, and productive 2025. If you consider publishing a paper in the journal in the future, please read the following:

During 2024, we received an unprecedented number of submissions to Autism Research. We thank the authors and the reviewers for their support of the journal. We also received an unusually large number of submissions that were not consistent with the aims and scope of the journal and, therefore, were not suitable for publication in the journal. For many of these, it appears that the authors had not fully reviewed the Author Guidelines, which can be found by clicking the “Contribute” button on the blue banner on the journal home page. This takes authors to the following link (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/19393806/homepage/forauthors.html).

To be fully informed about the types of submission most likely to be published in Autism Research, we would encourage potential authors to review the instructions in full and to pay special attention to the second section “2. Aims & Scope” of the Author Guidelines. This section is there to help you determine whether your article is appropriate for the journal. In the text below, we summarize some of the important inclusion and exclusion criteria for submitted papers.

The journal focuses on reports of novel findings related to genetic, neurobiological, immunological, medical, epidemiological, and psychological mechanisms and how these influence developmental processes in autism spectrum disorder. The journal encourages the submission of original research papers (Research Articles and Short Reports) that take a developmental approach to the biology and psychology of autism, with a particular emphasis on identifying underlying mechanisms and integrating across different levels of analysis. Contributions are typically empirical, but the journal also publishes theoretical papers if they significantly advance thinking. The journal encourages papers reporting work on animal, cell, or other model systems that are directly relevant to a better understanding of autism or related conditions. The journal also publishes reports of carefully conducted clinical trials of treatments for the core symptoms or one of the common co-occurring conditions of autism.

For papers submitted to Autism Research, a clinical trial is defined as any research study that prospectively assigns human participants or groups to one or more interventions to evaluate the effects of those interventions on health-related biomedical or behavioral outcomes. Health-related interventions include drugs, surgical procedures, devices, behavioral treatments, dietary interventions, or educational programs. By this definition, an equine or animal-assisted intervention would be considered a clinical trial. Health outcomes include any biomedical or health-related measures obtained in patients or participants such as pharmacokinetic measures, adverse events, health-related behaviors, and changes to physiological, biological, psychological, or neurodevelopmental parameters. Please carefully read the instructions to authors for additional requirements in submitting a clinical trial including Clinical Trial Registration.

For all types of research, Autism Research will only process fully implemented studies with statistically reliable results. In general, the journal does not publish papers that report pilot or preliminary studies, including descriptive studies of clinic-based samples of autistic persons in a city or region of a country. While important first steps in hypothesis-driven investigations or to establish autism public health need in a region, results from the latter types of studies typically are not generalizable beyond the specific study setting.

Autism Research encourages the submission of genetic/genomic studies that advance an understanding of the genetic architectures of autism and related disorders.

For all papers submitted to Autism Research, we ask that authors use language that is both accurate and respectful (see previous editorial—https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/aur.2886).

If there are any questions about whether a paper is appropriate for publication in Autism Research, please contact the Editor-in-Chief at [email protected].

The author declares no conflicts of interest.