Other Article Types
Collection Overviews
PLOS Computational Biology considers Collection Overview articles within pre-planned Collections. Collection Overviews discuss the relevant history and scientific background of a Collection, and unlike Collection Reviews, they are not intended as an exhaustive summary of a particular topic, but rather aim to place the articles included in the Collection within the context of knowledge in the field.
Collection Overviews should be concise, with suitable referencing, and provide the appropriate context for the publications in the Collection.
Collection Overviews will be considered subject to prior approval by journal editors, or they may be commissioned by staff editors from the Guest Editor(s) of a Collection. PLOS Computational Biology staff editors do not consider unsolicited Collection Overviews.
PLOS Computational Biology publishes a range of articles other than research articles, methods articles, and software articles. Contributions to the front section of the journal are subject to peer review. Prospective contributors are encouraged to review contributions in the respective sections of the journal before considering a submission. Examples of each article type are provided below. Publication charges do not apply to the article types outlined in this section.
PLOS Computational Biology is no longer accepting presubmission inquiries, either through the submission system or over email. Please visit our Scope page to help inform your decision to submit, and if you aren’t sure, submit the full manuscript to the journal.
Editorials
Editorials are written by PLOS Computational Biology editors. Guest editorials are invited by or at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief. Editorials typically introduce new and changed features to the journal, discuss issues of professional development, and highlight developments in the field relevant to the readership.
Example Editorials
Bourne PE (2015) Confronting the Ethical Challenges of Big Data in Public Health. PLoS Comput Biol 11(2): e1004073. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004073
Cui Q, Nussinov R (2014) Making Biomolecular Simulations Accessible in the Post-Nobel Prize Era. PLoS Comput Biol 10(8): e1003786. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003786
Education Articles
The goal of the Education section of PLOS Computational Biology is to provide both practical and background information on important computational methods and approaches used to investigate interesting biological problems. Contributions to the Education section can take several forms, including historical reviews and practical tutorials. Education articles should aim for 2000 and should not exceed 2500 words. The articles are generally invited, but unsolicited submissions will be considered and proceed at the discretion of the Education Editor.
Example Education Articles
Goodman AL, Dekhtyar A (2014) Teaching Bioinformatics in Concert. PLoS Comput Biol 10(11): e1003896. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003896
Griffith M, Walker JR, Spies NC, Ainscough BJ, Griffith OL (2015) Informatics for RNA Sequencing: A Web Resource for Analysis on the Cloud. PLoS Comput Biol 11(8): e1004393. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004393
Formal Comments
In exceptional circumstances we may consider publication of a Formal Comment. Formal Comments are peer-reviewed, indexed in PubMed, and associated with specific articles published at PLOS Computational Biology. They are usually, but not exclusively, submitted by invitation. Formal Comments must be coherent, concise, and well-argued, and are subject to PLOS Computational Biology Criteria for Publication Editors may invite a Formal Comment from the authors of the original article in response.
Example Formal Comment
Singh PP, Affeldt S, Malaguti G, Isambert H (2014) Human Dominant Disease Genes Are Enriched in Paralogs Originating from Whole Genome Duplication. PLoS Comput Biol 10(7): e1003754. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003754
Chen W-H, Zhao X-M, van Noort V, Bork P (2014) Comments on "Human Dominant Disease Genes Are Enriched in Paralogs Originating from Whole Genome Duplication". PLoS Comput Biol 10(7): e1003758. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003758
Perspectives
Perspectives in PLOS Computational Biology typically reflect an author's viewpoint on a particular development in science and how, based on current knowledge of the field and the progress in it, this development evidences, or can lead to change in how science is conducted or interpreted. Perspectives are intended to be more prospective than retrospective but require sufficient background to place the points made in context. Perspectives are intended to invite debate and further comment as appropriate. The length should be no more than 2500 words.
Please refer to the information elsewhere in the submission guidelines about the specifics of manuscript, figure, and table preparation.
Markowetz F (2015) You Are Not Working for Me; I Am Working with You. PLoS Comput Biol 11(9): e1004387. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004387
Cerullo MA (2015) The Problem with Phi: A Critique of Integrated Information Theory. PLoS Comput Biol 11(9): e1004286. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004286
Reviews
Reviews reflect rapidly advancing or topical areas in computational biology research that are of broad interest to the entire biology community and have not been covered significantly by other journals. A review should aim for 3000-6000 words and two or three figures or other display items. A review should not be a mere summary of the field; it should be a critique with new points of view which are supported by existing literature from a variety of authors.
Review articles should be structured as follows: Title, Authors, Affiliations, Abstract, Introduction, Main Text (broken into subsections as appropriate), Conclusions, Acknowledgments, and References. Figure Captions and Tables should be inserted immediately after the first paragraph in which they are cited in the article file.
Please refer to the information elsewhere in the submission guidelines about the specifics of manuscript, figure, and table preparation. Email us if you are in any doubt about how our guidelines for research articles differ from those of Reviews.
Sporns O, Tononi G, Kötter R (2005) The Human Connectome: A Structural Description of the Human Brain. PLoS Comput Biol 1(4): e42. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.0010042
Nagelkerke NJD, Arora P, Jha P, Williams B, McKinnon L, de Vlas SJ (2014) The Rise and Fall of HIV in High-Prevalence Countries: A Challenge for Mathematical Modeling. PLoS Comput Biol 10(3): e1003459. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003459
Ten Simple Rules
The Ten Simple Rules editorial articles provide a concentrated guide for mastering some of the professional challenges research scientists face in their careers. Ten Simple Rules articles may be submitted through our online submission system as an Education article type to the General section.
Dashnow H, Lonsdale A, Bourne PE (2014) Ten Simple Rules for Writing a PLOS Ten Simple Rules Article. PLoS Comput Biol 10(10): e1003858. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003858
Bourne PE, Barbour V (2011) Ten Simple Rules for Building and Maintaining a Scientific Reputation. PLoS Comput Biol 7(6): e1002108. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002108
Quick Tips
Quick Tips are editorial articles offering advice on a broader set of topics scientists and researchers face, such as tips on using a database, resource, or workflow that the community would benefit from using. They are similar to ‘Ten Simple Rules’ articles, however they are not constrained to offering 10 points and present information as advice instead of rules.
Please note that when submitting either a ‘Ten Simple Rules’ or ‘Quick Tips’ piece, the correct article type is ‘Education’ and each should be submitted to the General section.
Post-Publication Notices
PLOS publishes Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retraction notices, as needed, to address issues that arise after a PLOS article has been published.