---
name: jop-workflow
description: Use as the entry point for any The Journal of Politics (JOP) manuscript. Routes to the right JOP sub-skill based on where you are in the lifecycle and whether a Research Article (<= 35 pages) or a Short Article (<= 10 pages) fits. JOP counts pages, not words, and makes acceptance contingent on replicability. It dispatches; it does not draft content.
---

# JOP Workflow Router (jop-workflow)

The orchestrator for a JOP submission. Figure out the stage and the **category**, then send the user
to the matching skill. JOP is a **general-interest** journal that counts **pages, not words**, and makes
**acceptance contingent on replicability** — so the router's first jobs are to fix the category against
the **page budget** and to start the replication package early.

## When to trigger

- Starting a new JOP paper and unsure where to begin
- Mid-project and unsure which skill applies next
- Deciding between a **Research Article** (≤ 35 pp) and a **Short Article** (≤ 10 pp)
- Returning with a decision letter (route to `jop-rebuttal`)

## First question: which category?

| Situation | Category | Route to |
|-----------|----------|----------|
| Full original study, broad interest | **Research Article** (≤ 35 pages) | normal pipeline below |
| Single sharp contribution, fits tight | **Short Article** (≤ 10 pages) | normal pipeline, tighter scope |
| Lots of robustness / derivations / SI | keep main text lean | `jop-tables-figures` + Online Appendix (≤ 25 pp) |
| Empirical/formal results to deposit | replication package | `jop-replication-and-data-policy` early |

> JOP caps **pages** (double-spaced, 12-pt), not words. A paper that clears an APSR/AJPS word cap can
> still blow the 35-page budget — decide the category before you write.

## Routing map (stage → skill)

```text
Idea / fit?                      → jop-topic-selection
Where does it sit in the field?  → jop-literature-positioning
What's the argument?             → jop-theory-building
Is the design defensible?        → jop-research-design
Are the analyses sound?          → jop-data-analysis
Are the exhibits clear + lean?   → jop-tables-figures
Does it fit 35 / 10 pages?       → jop-writing-style
Repro package for the analyst?   → jop-replication-and-data-policy
How will it be judged?           → jop-review-process
Ready to submit?                 → jop-submission
Got an R&R / decision?           → jop-rebuttal
```

## Default order

`topic-selection → literature-positioning → theory-building → research-design → data-analysis →
tables-figures → writing-style → replication-and-data-policy → review-process → submission → rebuttal`

Iterate: most papers loop theory ↔ design ↔ analysis several times, and trim against the **page budget**
before writing-style is done.

## Anti-patterns

- Planning by word count — JOP's binding constraint is **pages**
- Padding a Short Article toward 35 pages instead of keeping one crisp contribution
- Leaving the replication package until acceptance — a **JOP replication analyst** re-checks it
- Dumping the whole paper into the Online Appendix to dodge the 35-page main-text budget

## Triage by symptom (where the manuscript actually hurts)

When a paper is mid-flight, route by the loudest problem rather than the default order. These are the
symptom-to-skill jumps a JOP author makes most often.

| Symptom | Likely real problem | Jump to |
|---------|---------------------|---------|
| "Feels specialist / incremental" | Contribution not pitched general-interest | `jop-topic-selection`, then `jop-literature-positioning` |
| "Reviewer doubts the causal claim" | Identification or theory-test link | `jop-research-design` |
| "Over the page budget" | Exhibits, notes, or references too heavy | `jop-tables-figures`, then `jop-writing-style` |
| "Worried about the analyst re-run" | Package not reproducible | `jop-replication-and-data-policy` |

## Referee pushback patterns and the JOP fix

- *"This reads like the wrong venue."* Before polishing format, confirm the contribution is general-interest
  and not better suited to a sibling venue (APSR, AJPS, World Politics); reroute early, not at submission.
- *"The replication package is an afterthought."* Start the package during analysis so the post-acceptance
  analyst check is routine; the router should trigger `jop-replication-and-data-policy` early, not last.


## Router pass for Journal of Politics

Treat this skill as an executable review pass, not a prose hint. First lock the political mechanism, evidence design, and scope condition; then judge whether the current manuscript answers the venue's real reader: political-science reviewers who want theory, identification or formal logic, and generalizable political implications in balance.

- **Do the pass:** Run the pack as a sequence: fit gate, evidence gate, writing gate, source-map gate, and final output contract; stop when a gate lacks evidence.
- **Return a ledger:** give `claim / evidence / risk / manuscript location` rows, so the next agent can edit rather than rediscover the issue.
- **Sibling guard:** compare against APSR for field-wide political science, AJPS for design-heavy empirical work, World Politics for comparative/international politics; if a sibling owns the contribution, recommend re-routing before polishing format.
- **Stop condition:** do not give submission-ready advice until the pack's `resources/official-source-map.md` has been checked for volatile rules and the manuscript has one concrete fix for the largest venue-specific risk.

## Output format

```
【Stage】idea / positioning / theory / design / analysis / exhibits / writing / replication / review / submit / rebut
【Category】Research Article (≤35 pp) / Short Article (≤10 pp)
【Route to】jop-<skill>
【Why】one line
【Then】the next skill after that
```

## Supplementary resources

- [`../../resources/external_tools.md`](../../resources/external_tools.md) — political-science data + software by method, page-budget conventions
- [`../../resources/official-source-map.md`](../../resources/official-source-map.md) — official JOP URLs behind every fact in this pack