Research software programs (RSPs) do things like solve complex modeling problems; support the functioning of research instruments or the execution of research experiments; extract knowledge from large data sets; offer a mathematical library; et cetera.1 RSPs are an important research output.2 To promote recognition as such, we peer-review and publish software papers.3 In them, engineers describe and explain their programs’ uses, originality, and methods. In addition to rewarding engineers with a conventional research output (i.e., an article), these publications promote: understanding of RSPs; their sharing, use, and subsequent development; plus, the creation of new and improved programs.
What to Submit
The Research Software Program (RSP) featured in a software paper must:
have a clear application to criminological research; and,
be feature-complete with maintainable extensions.4
A software paper submission must include the following, in this order:
title;
contributor names;
abstract (but no key words);
statement of need (uses and originality);
methods (with an example use case);
software;
references;
contributor bio(s);
acknowledgments, if desired;
tables, figures, etc. can go in text or at the end.
All submissions should use the following template and import it into a submission. There is no word limit, but less is more. It is fine to submit a paper in any citation style, but, if accepted, you will be asked to format it in Chicago-Style. We do not publish endnotes, footnotes, or appendixes, but you can share such things on CrimRxiv (or another repository) and then link to them within your paper.
To start a submission, click the button at the bottom of this page. You will be brought to a Pub page, where you import your paper. When you click “Request Publication”, a box will appear. Therein, please put:
the corresponding author’s email address; and,
a list of five people who you deem qualified to review your paper. Include their institutional affiliations and emails.5
By submitting a paper to DC2, you acknowledge and agree to the following: I understand that DC2 encourages and permits this paper to be shared as a preprint (e.g., by depositing it in CrimRxiv or another repository). Otherwise, I confirm this paper has not been published or accepted for publication. By submitting a paper to DC2, I agree that if the journal accepts it for publication then it will be published with a CC BY 4.0 license.
